Romantica are an

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

band formed in 2002 by Ben Kyle. The band's members, past and present, have come from the

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

area of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Mixing together elements of

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, and

, Romantica creates a rich and unique sound. The original line-up consisted of Kyle (vocals and guitar), Luke Jacobs (bass and keys), Mark Hedlund (drums) and Christopher Becknell (violin). While the group's members and contributors have changed over the years, Kyle's vision, vocals and songwriting have been the consistent thread throughout the different iterations. To date, the band has recorded four albums (Three studio, and one live session album).

History

2002-2006

The band's first album, ''It's your Weakness That I Want'', brings together Americana with an Irish rock flair. The album, produced by Alex Oana, won the band a Minnesota Music Academy award for ''Best Folk/Roots/Americana Recording'' in 2004. Christopher Becknell left the band during this first recording and was replaced by

Jessy Greene Jessy Greene is a violinist, cellist and vocalist from St. Paul, Minnesota. She was a former member of Geraldine Fibbers and The Jayhawks. Career A native of Sheffield in western Massachusetts, Jessy started playing the violin at the age of fo ...

(founding member of

Geraldine Fibbers The Geraldine Fibbers were an alt-country band founded in 1994 by Carla Bozulich. Initially, band members included Bozulich, Daniel Keenan, Julie Fowells, William Tutton and Kevin Fitzgerald.Strong, Martin C.:"The Great Alternative & Indie Discog ...

and collaborator with

The Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the Foo Fighters (album), epony ...

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently dur ...

and

The Jayhawks The Jayhawks are an American alternative country and country rock band that emerged from the Twin Cities music scene in the mid-1980s. Led by vocalists/guitarists/songwriters Gary Louris and Mark Olson (musician), Mark Olson, their country rock ...

). Other significant contributors to this recording included

Susan Enan Susan Enan is an English singer and songwriter. Susan Enan is known for writing and performing the 2009 song "Bring on the Wonder" which was featured in the television show '' Bones''. The song featured Sarah McLachlan on backing vocals, and was ...

, Darren Jackson, and Erik Applewick of the band Tapes and Tapes. The live band, for much of this period, also included Erik Brandt, Jeremy Szopinski, and Peter Rasmussen.

2007-2009

Romantica's second studio recording ''America'' was produced by Ben Kyle at Slow Studios and went on to be named #58 on Paste Magazines "Top 100 Albums of 2007". James Orvis joined the band as drummer for this recording, and in addition to Kyle, Jacobs and Greene, significant contributors to the sound and shape of this project included pedal steel guitar player Eric Heywood (of

Ray LaMontagne Raymond Charles Jack LaMontagne (; born June 18, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. LaMontagne has released eight studio albums: ''Trouble'', ''Till the Sun Turns Black'', '' Gossip in the Grain'', ''God Willin' & the Creek Don' ...

and the Pariah Dogs fame), guitarist Peter Rasmussen, and vocalist Laurie Kyle. Tony Zaccardi joined as bass guitar player after the recording. The core touring band for the next three years (2007 - 2010) was Zaccardi, James Orvis, Luke Jacobs and Kyle. While on tour in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

in 2009, this instantiation of Romantica wrote and recorded the album ''Control Alt Country Delete'' live, in the space of one day. Joe Savage joined 2008, frequently contributing to the live show.

2010-Onwards

In 2010, Kyle recorded a duets album with frequent touring partner

Carrie Rodriguez Carrie Luz Rodriguez (born July 31, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter and the daughter of Texan singer-songwriter David Rodriguez and Texas painter Katy Nail, and is the granddaughter of prolific Texas essayist Frances Nail. She sings and ...

and toured Europe playing Romantica's music as a duo with Luke Jacobs. In 2010, James Orvis retired and was replaced by Ryan Lovan. "Danger" Dave Strahan joined as significant live contributor in the same year. In 2011 Aaron Fabbrini and

Jayanthi Kyle Jayanthi Kyle is an American gospel and soul singer/songwriter based in Minneapolis, Minnesota who uses music, song, and storytelling to empower both youth and adults alike. Kyle has been active in more than 11 bands in her career, including Blac ...

joined the live show as well.

Personnel

Over 15 musicians have performed live as a part of Romantica. Some have spent only a short time with the band, contributing to a single tour or album, while others have been long-term members with significant contributions. Kyle has been the band's lead vocalist, motivating force, and sole songwriter throughout the group's history, but a number of other musicians are closely identified with the band.

Current members

* Ben Kyle - vocals, guitar, piano (2002–present) *Luke Jacobs - guitar, pedal steel guitar, vocals (2002–present) *Tony Zaccardi - bass, vocals (2007–present) *Ryan Lovan - drums (2010–present) *"Danger" Dave Strahan - guitar (2010–present) *

- vocals (2011–present) *Joe Savage - pedal steel guitar (2008–present) *Aaron Fabbrini - pedal steel guitar (2011–present)

Former Members

*James Orvis - drums (2007-2010) *Jessy Greene - violin (2003-2009) *Eric Heywood - pedal steel guitar (2007) *Mark Hedlund - drums (2002-2006) *Peter Rasmussen - guitar (2004-2005) *Erik Brandt - keys, accordion (2004-2007) *Jeremy Szopinski - guitar (2004-2007) *Laurie Kyle - vocals (2007-2009) *Phillip Potyondy - trumpet (2007-2009) *Christopher Becknell - violin (2002-2003)

Discography

* ''It's Your Weakness That I Want'' (2004) * ''America'' (2007) * ''Control Alt Country Delete'' (2009) * ''Shadowlands'' (2016)

References

{{Authority control Americana music groups