Cincinnati’s very own folk band, Young Heirlooms, have captivated their listeners with their passion of folk and are ready to take their music to a bigger audience on Sunday at the Bunbury Music Festival.

Multi-instrumentals and vocalists, Chris Robinson and Kelly Fine, met in 2010 at a music festival in Dayton, OH.  Fine was a solo artist and Robinson was playing electric guitar for a  local band at the time. Robinson and Kelly jammed by a campfire and immediately started writing music the next day. A few years later, upright bassist, Kyle Elkins joined the band and sooner or later become a permanent member.

Robinson, who was a former member of Walk the Moon, left the band right before the band became huge and joined Young Heirlooms. “Synth pop was fun but wasn't fulfilling. Plus I didn't feel that creatively liberated or challenged in that group,” said Robinson. “With YH however, we are able to explore a larger spectrum of ideas and themes. Plus I feel much more ownership in YH.”

Influenced by Ryan Adams and the Civil Wars, the band’s sound is very haunting and sultry. They put an audience to silence by expressing their intellectual story-telling through folk music. The band has only released an EP, One Louder Studio Demo, in August of 2012 and a full-length album self-titled album in April of 2013.

Their music sucks a person into a whole different dimension and Fine easily paints a story into one’s mind, especially in their latest album. Their self-titled album is a little different than their EP, whereas it focuses more on a serious time for the band. Fine, who was just finishing her degree in graphic design, was trying to figure out how to fully focus on music. “The music feels a bit melancholy and brooding because there was a lot of that going on,” said Fine.

As of now, the band is working on an album a little bit less deep.  “We have made it through the trenches so to speak as far as figuring out what we want, what we like, and who we are as writers, performers, and people!”

One of the songs, “Hotel Benvenuti,”is a song that is not only going to be played at the show on Sunday, but is about Fine’s memories of Florence, Italy. “The song is a time capsule (as most of our songs are) about my memories of the quaint bed and breakfast north of the Duomo which is in the city center,” said Fine. “The hotel was run by three generations of an Italian family. The way that they lived and worked as a complete unit was inspiring.”

As of right now, the band is not only preparing for their show on Sunday, but is also recording new music. There will be some new tunes that the band is going to perform on Sunday, as well as trying to captivate a bigger audience.

“Folk music in general is about storytelling – we want people to hear our stories! That’s why we are so excited to have an opportunity to play on a stage the size of the one at Bunbury,” said Fine. “People will actually be able to hear what we’re singing and saying with our music. We also hope that they just enjoy it in general!” 

Catch Young Heirlooms at Bunbury Music Festival Sunday on the Amphitheater Stage at 2:45p and again in the VIP tent at 8:15!