Local Band Fretland: New Tunes + a Beautiful Collaboration with PNW Ballet
My favorite local band Fretland has a new album coming out this month and because sharing is caring, I caught up with Fretland founder Hillary Grace Fretland for a quick interview.
The first time I heard Fretland was at Everett Music Initiative’s Holiday Round concert at Schack Art Center in December 2019. Hillary belted out an acoustic version of Black & Gold and I was blown away and hooked.
If you don’t know, Fretland is a local Americana band which means their music is infused with American music influences such as folk, country, blues and rock. In addition to Hillary Grace Fretland, Luke Francis plus others round out the band.
Creative Crisis
Fretland’s self-titled debut album was released in Spring 2020 and their second album releases March 26, 2021. Wow - two albums in two years. This is a good place to note that their first album has surpassed a million streams.
Because a lot of artists have been challenged with being creative during the pandemic, I asked how Fretland has been able to continue to put out music. Hillary told me that they finished recording their second album in January 2020, right before the pandemic hit and that it has been challenging to revisit and express songs written during a time very different from now.
Paragon Chef Stephan Bourgond and his husband Lucien Postlewaite, Principal Dancer at Pacific Northwest Ballet // Christine Mitchell @housetornado
She felt a lot of pressure dealing with a job loss and though that opened up time for music, she found it creatively challenging. More recently she’s been feeling her creativity come back as I think many of us have.
European Americana Bands is a Thing
While the debut album was released on schedule last year, the 5-week European tour, local shows and U.S. tour did not happen because of the pandemic. I asked specifically about the European tour and it turns out that Americana music is a thing in Europe and that there are actual European Americana bands.
Missing the Best Part of the Job
Missing out on the excitement of the events surrounding the release of their first album was disappointing, but thankfully they were still able to connect with fans via online shows and Facebook streams. The connection was not the same as performing live night after night and meeting other artists and listeners, which Hillary says is the best part of the job.
On stage at the beautiful Paramount Theater // Christine Mitchell @housetornado
#SupportLocal
In addition to supporting local musicians by purchasing and streaming music, I asked what else can be done. Hillary said support for music venues by local government and citizens is important. Thankfully we are seeing some venues starting to open back up.
Fretland // Christine Mitchell @housetornado
Beautiful Collaborations
In a story too long to tell in my allocated words (but you can read it here), Fretland recently collaborated with Paragon Chef Stephan Bourgond, his husband Lucien Postlewaite, Principal Dancer at Pacific Northwest Ballet and Seattle Theater Group to film a beautiful music video for “Do You Think of Me.” Don’t miss this breathtaking video. 👇
2021 and Beyond
Future plans for Fretland include local shows and tours and Hillary hopes to be able to work full time as a musician one day. Their songs are being added to playlists on major streaming platforms which gives them great exposure to new audiences. I’m excited to see how far our local band Fretland will go in the music industry.
You can purchase Fretland’s new album Could Have Loved You on their website.
Linda War Bonnet represents south Everett on the Live in Everett Team. When she isn’t working, she is running the Westmont-Holly Neighborhood Association. You might spot her walking her dog in the Holly neighborhood.