Author: vowls

Hello 2020!

Where were we on NYE?

Hello New Year! VOWLS is here and we are ready to reap all the amazing opportunities 2020 has to offer. We started the New Year off right at the Flaming Phoenix Party in Melrose, FL with fireworks, alien beings and jams until the morning hours. We enjoyed the amazing food and we greatly appreciate the hospitality shown to us by Patrick and Amy.
Later on in the week we performed at the sweetest local folk fest, Riverine Reunion. Located at the beautiful Oleno State Park just north of High Springs, FL, this was a fest to remember. The organizers of this event took such great care of us. We enjoyed our Saturday afternoon set inside the log cabin right by the river in the scenic Florida woods. At the end of the night after all the bands played everyone at the fest met up at the community campfire and we jammed out to each others songs and had a great time. We look forward to performing at these two events in the future.

Upcoming Shows

As the new year unfolds we have some shows that we are looking forward to playing the first being on Friday 01/24/20 at the HighDive Gainesville. We will be opening for Florida’s favorite grateful grass band, Grass is Dead! These are guys are some of the nicest, fun loving, and all around great musicians and we are so excited to open for them.

Next on Saturday 01/25/20 the ladies of VOWLS will perform at the Roe v Wade Anniversary party at the WOOLY in Gainesville.

The following weekend 02/01/20 we will be performing at the Springs Run 7.2k at First Magnitude Brewery. This event raises money for the Springs Institute and brings awareness to the help that our springs so greatly need.

What are our plans for 2020?

As most of you know we released not one, but TWO mixtapes last November. We also released USB drives with all of our recorded albums, live sets and solo material. You are probably wondering, “That is pretty awesome. What will VOWLS do next?” That is a great question.

We look forward to playing more festivals and awesome gigs and we hope that 2020 will be the year we explore more of Florida’s sweet spots like St. Pete, St. Augustine and Jax Beach. We hope to be back at some of our favorite festivals throughout the year like Orange Blossom Jamboree, Spring Fest, Danksgiving, Riverine Reunion, JamFest, Changeville, Fest, VegFest, Spirit Fest, and Heartwood Fest.

In addition to gigging and playing around our lovely Sunshine State we will begin planning and recording a 10-13 track album featuring some music that has never been recorded.

Our personal plans for the year may vary but we all can agree that the members of VOWLS are excited about what this year has in store for us. Thanks for listening.

Countdown to our Mixtape Release Party! 11/02/2019

We are proud to announce the unveiling of our new Ep/Mixtape “FLOAT.” Recorded at Goldentone Studio right here in our hometown of Gainesville. Rob from Goldentone, and our personal friend, was not only accommodating in a musical sense, but also amazingly hospitable. Rob also makes a mean shot of espresso. We appreciate Rob’s focus and attention to detail and we think that you can hear it in the final product of “FLOAT.”
We had so much fun recording and mixing with Goldentone and we hope to utilize their services for our next (even bigger!) project for 2020.

We are about one week away from hosting our Mixtape Release Party at the Big Top Brewery in Downtown Gainesville on Saturday November 2nd. That sounds pretty cool, how could this event possibly get any cooler? IT CAN! We will be performing downtown in the heart of Gaiensville during FEST18 with our friends Locochino and Wilson Stern.

On top of releasing a new CD we will also be rolling out a new line of merchandise (tshirts, stickers, usbs, cds, art…)! We are so excited to share our progress and growth with you and we hope to see you on November 2nd!

For more information about the event click here : VOWLS Mixtape Release Party Event Page

The extremely skilled, talented, and multi-faceted Wilson Stern.

Locochino – “Wiggle Room”
Locochino – “On My Feet”
VOWLS – “Mr. Owl”

Let Us All Be Home – Episode 3 – “Thank You Bruce Lee”

Enjoy this sweet video of us playing one of our favorite songs, “Thank You Bruce Lee.”


“The way to transcend karma lies in the proper use of your mind and will. The oneness of all life is a truth that can be fully realized when all false notions of the separate self, Whose destiny can be considered apart from the whole, Are forever annihilated. ” -Bruce Lee

Presenting our third video, “Thank You Bruce Lee,” in the Let Us All Be Home Video Series. We have taken a series of videos at Caitlyn’s childhood home and created this series to pay homage to all of the hard work, dedication, and love that has brought each of the individual VOWLS together in this moment. As we take inspiration from the Dragon himself, Bruce Lee’s legacy has shown us that with simple ideas, directness, perseverance and love we can do anything. Like water we adapt, change and grow continuously in our effervescent sound. We hope you enjoy this video.

We are going to be hosting an EP/Mixtape Release Party on Nov. 2nd

Check out our Google Calendar for details.

Let Us All Be Home – Episode 2

Welcome to the second installment of our internet community series “Let Us All Be Home.”

We hope you will join us on this journey of creating home wherever we go. All you have to do is upload a video of yourself singing/playing a song, sharing words, or however you express yourself and your feeling of home and tag us and we will feature your video on our social media platforms. We hope this project will bring people together and we hope that with the use of social media we can help connect and inspire one another.

“Twilight” came to be while Caitlyn Vinci was surrounded by friends and family in a cabin in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Twilight caught our attention while VOWLS was camping at the Spirit of the Suwannee Park as we gathered around in hammocks and we looked up at the trees at twilight and felt right at home, together in that moment. Now a permanent resident in our repertoire, “Twilight” is one of our favorite songs to perform live and we love sharing this song with all of you!

A Very VOWLS Summer

Here is what we have been doing this summer. . .

Summer 2019 has been quite a productive summer for us. We have several different creative projects in the works that will be coming together with rapidity in the fall.

In the beginning of the summer we started shooting music videos at Caitlyn’s childhood home for a community video series entitled, “Let Us All Be Home.” We invite you to join us on this musical journey to share your songs of home with us. We hope that you can take your own video of yourself/selves playing your songs of home in a lovely homey location, uploading it to your social media platforms, and tagging us. #vowlslikeowls #letusallbehome

We hope this project can be an ongoing engagement that brings our community of creators together.

You can find our first few submissions to this project on our YouTube Channel.

Over the last few weeks we have started cultivating some of our new songs and started focusing on recording and releasing new music. That’s right, NEW MUSIC.
We have not one, but TWO short EPs that we will be releasing this fall. The first is a home studio recording mixed by our drummer and dear friend Tristan Harvey and the second is a studio recorded EP that we recorded with Rob McGreggor at Goldentone Studio.

photo by Rob McGreggor – Goldentone Studio

Our Fall Schedule is staring to fill up fast so stay connected with us and follow our social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and of course right here on our website!

Let Us All Be Home – Episode 2 – “Twilight”

VOWLS Variety Show 04/02/2019

This past Tuesday (04/02/2019) we came back to one of our favorite local venues, Lightnin’ Salvage. LSE is an eclectic bar with an excellent stage that caters to artists of all types. VOWLS is a collective of artists and musicians and for our show we decided to showcase our individual strengths.

Up first we had the lovely and talented Caitlyn Vinci showcasing her original songs and powerhouse of a voice. Her songs encompass the human experience and touch on a range of topics from world issues to self-love. Next up we have the delicate and ethereal Miss Sweet Irene showcasing her original music as well. Sweet Irene’s voice will take you to the moon and back again while her lyrical content talks about real life situations and how we can few them from within.

After these two lovely lady all star performances we have VOWLS, Gainesville Florida’s Premier Progressive Swamp Folk Collective. The first set included some classic VOWLS songs like, “You Can’t Hide What’s Inside,” “Matter and Blues,” “Surrender” and some newer tunes like, “Slips Away,” and “Thank You Bruce Lee.” This was a very laid back easy going first set with light jams throughout and we featured two LBX Freestyles during “Slips Away” and TYBL.

After set one the man, the myth, the destroyer of universes, LUNCHBOX takes the stage and has the entire room captivated during his comedy set. He performed a couple classic LBX jokes and performed an original joke written by our friend Blake Briand. LBX then regaled us with his pop-gone-poetry sketch that had the entire crowd cracking up. He truly is the Best that Ever Lived.

Next up Mr. Tristan James Harvey performed an amazing solo set with his acoustic guitar. Some say the man has soul, some say the man IS soul. Tristan’s masterful guitar techniques paired with a voice that could fill the greatest of canyons set the stage for a heartfelt and an honestly good show. His poetic lyrical content keeps your mind engaged while also punching you right in the heart. Whether he is playing the drum kit, playing bass, creating beats in his living room, or playing his acoustic guitar Tristan Harvey is an artist by every definition. Notable songs: “Pleasant Menace” “Corn Squash and Beans” “The Jackal”

Amy Cecilia up next, sweet and demure paired with a writing style that is catchy and concise her songs ring true to the human experience. After Amy we had the lovely and beautiful Vagileles take the stage and play their two smash hits “Honey Pie” and “Naturally.” The lady trio is comprised of Caitlyn Vinci, Sweet Irene, and Amy Cecilia. Their three part harmonies are unmatched by any other ladytrio out there and their songs are just oh so sweet. Warning: these songs will get stuck in your head and you will be singing them for the next little while.

Russ Tyndall takes the stage next performing an original song on his ukulele. Gainesville famous as the Ukulele Dad at Westside Park, Russ Tyndall plays the ukulele with an innate virtuosity that is admirable. Russ takes inspiration from greats like Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead and writes complex songs with relatable themes and messages.

SET TWO is in full swing after a quick break and stage change. Set Two was packed with jams, smiles, and good times all around. Notable Songs: “Float” “Foggy” “Bliss” “Shining Gold” and “Fleeting Glimpse.”
In VOWLS we all share the spotlight as individuals and as a team. Our songs take you through a full range of experiences and emotions. We hope that anyone that participates in our shows feels comfortable, feels loved, and feels like they are a part of something great.

Thank you, We love you.

Fat Tuesday at Lightning Salvage

We are heading back to one of our favorite venues in town, Lightnin Salvage. As part of the Gainesville famous restaurant Satchel’s Pizza, Lightnin Salvage offers a laid back dining experience with eclectic atmosphere as well as a family friendly environment. Our whole family should be there so come on out and stay a while.

We will be performing from 6pm-9pm. In the mean while here is a video of our original song “Thank You Bruce Lee,” from our last show at Satchel’s Pizza.

Vowls at Heartwood Music Festival

On Saturday February 23rd 2019 we took the stage at the Acrosstown Repertory Theater for Heartwood Music Festival. We are so grateful to be a part of this event and to perform on the A.R.T.’s stage again. We hope to make another appearance next year.

We had our very best MC LBX lay down some sweet rhymes during “Bliss” and “Slips Away.” Tristan, king of the drums, driving the train, held down our swampy swingy rhythms with outstanding grace, while Sweet Irene laid down the truth with her saxophone and ethereal harmonies. Caitlyn Vinci, leader of the band, queen of the banjolele, carried us home with her soulful powerhouse of a voice, while Amy Cecilia came in with her delicate harmonies and bright, sparkly guitar riffs. Tying the whole symphony of sound together with the thumpiest and most melodic of bass lines we have Russ Tyndall, bassman extraordinaire, binding us together into the magnificent arrangement that we call VOWLS.

Set List:
Foggy
Slips Away
Twilight
Bliss
That Song
Mr. Owl
Encore: You Can’t Hide What’s Inside

Photo Courtesy of our friend Samantha Compostrini

Thanks again to Heartwood Soundstage and everyone that participated and that volunteered their time. We love you!