Erinn Lukes (guitar/vocals), Pete Weber (mandolin), and R.P. Oates (banjo/vocals) met amongst the many late night picking circles that arose at the Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival in the fall of 2013. Shortly thereafter, they decided to form Thunder and Rain based on their love for songwriting and desire to use their art to inspire other people to follow their passions. In the spring of 2014, Ian Haegele (upright bass extraordinaire) joined T&R as they began their tour of Colorado’s front range. As a young project out of Golden, CO they were able to display their talents at the 2014 Golden Music Festival, top the hill of the Vail Bluegrass Series as an opener for bluegrass legend Peter Rowan, and place in the finals at the 42nd Rockygrass Band Competition. The Fall of 2014 brought T&R’s first successful Kickstarter campaign and completion of writing for their first studio album. The band recorded the record, titled Holler Out in Fort Collins, CO at Swingfinger’s Studio, owned and operated by Aaron Youngberg (FY5). The album encompasses T&R’s love of bluegrass instrumentation, rock sensibility, and arrangements that lean on vocal harmonies that support catchy melodies. The sound is acoustically modern yet rich in traditional elements that gives rise to a unique blend of mountain music that is appealing to listeners young and old. Their debut album is scheduled for release in February 2015. T&R will be touring Colorado and the Midwest into 2015 as their musical story continues to unfold. The band aspires to tour nationally by summer of 2015.