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'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

band formed in 2002 by

Ben Kyle Ben Kyle (born 21 May 1981) is an Irish-American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter for the Americana band Romantica. Kyle's singing style has been compared to those of Tom Odell an ...

. The band's members, past and present, have come from the

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

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 stat ...

area of

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. Mixing together elements of

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

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 Wale ...

, 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 The Minnesota Music Academyhttp://minnesotamusicacademy.org/ https://web.archive.org/web/20031004090950/http://www.minnesotamusicacademy.org/about.cfm Minnesota Music Academy is a non-profit music institution in Minnesota. The Academy gives out t ...

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 an American violinist, cellist and vocalist. She is a former member of Geraldine Fibbers and the Jayhawks. Career A native of Sheffield in western Massachusetts, Greene started playing the violin at the age of four. During high ...

(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 Disc ...

and collaborator with

The Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, guitarist Pat Smear, guitaris ...

Wilco Wilco is an American Rock music, rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its fir ...

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, their country rock sound was influentia ...

). Other significant contributors to this recording included Susan Enan, 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

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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 nine 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, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

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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 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

- 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) * Jayanthi Kyle - 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