Today we’d like to introduce you to Sonia and Travis Even.
Hi Sonia and Travis, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Our first practice was on January 1st, 2011. By that point, I’d already been playing in bands for years—everything from touring with post-punk acts to backing a Garrison Keillor show with an instrumental group. Along the way, I was quietly stockpiling song ideas, waiting for the right moment to use them.
At the same time, my partner Sonia was in acupuncture school, and the two of us started building this little world together through music. We shared some of it with our friend Max Becker, who’d played drums with me in a previous band, and he immediately suggested we make it a real band instead of just having it be a recording project. Not long after, drummer Ben Johnston joined, and our current bass player, Brian Lake, first came in as a second guitarist.
Our debut album, Territories, had a very organic feel. We swapped instruments, traded lead vocals, and leaned into a stripped-down sound. There’s no distortion on the record at all. Even so, the themes that would stick with us were already there: nature, mysticism, folklore. Thanks to the strength of our previous bands, our very first live appearance ever was on Radio K’s Off the Record.
The second album, Into the Roil, hit a little harder but felt like a natural step forward. That momentum carried us into our first major shift with our third record, New Born. This time we let ourselves get more expansive with flutes, strings, and richer production. The sound edged into something more proto-metal, with a darker, folk-tinged atmosphere. We also made the switch to Sonia as the primary singer across the entire album. Eleven people played on that record, and within five months of its release, five children were born to the musicians—including Sonia and me.
Our fourth album, Perfectly Alive, pushed things further and centered on the heroine’s journey. It came out during COVID, and I created a deluxe art book to go along with it, illustrating each song and drawing inspiration from Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and fairy-tale artists like Arthur Rackham.
Now we’re releasing our fifth album, Golden Bough. We tracked it ourselves, and it was mixed in Sweden by Magnus Lindberg, who’s worked on several records we deeply love. The music has continued to evolve into something darker and more tangled like a knotted tree reaching for the sky. People have called it “witchpunk” or “animist post-punk,” but to us, it’s just our sound. It’s a melting pot of our combined record collections, fables and myths, bardic studies, herbals, punk ethos and sound, and just enough pop hooks to keep things grounded.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For a long time, the biggest challenge was just finding a scene that fit. We were often too quiet for the loud bands and too loud for the quiet ones, which can make things feel a little isolating. Lately, though, the Minneapolis scene has been shifting, and it finally feels like there’s a great crop of bands that make sense alongside what we do.
We’ve also always been a six-piece, which brings its own set of challenges. Four of us have been constant from the start, but with every album we’ve ended up rotating a guitar player. That kind of change can slow momentum, but it’s also brought some real gifts like new perspectives, different energies, and fresh ways of approaching the songs. On top of that, everyone’s juggling other projects, careers, and parenthood. Sonia and I have two kids, and being in the same band without any family nearby has made us especially grateful for the babysitters who’ve come through for us.
And then there’s the ongoing work of finding our audience. We’re really thankful for the support we’ve had so far, but we know we’re a bit of a niche band. We’re still figuring out how to better connect with like-minded folks here in the Twin Cities and beyond.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We honestly don’t know any band that sounds quite like us. A local radio station, The Current, once described our music as a “fairy tale walk through the woods,” which felt pretty spot-on. Sonia and I have always been drawn to folk songs from medieval times onward, and a lot of what we do starts in those old, dusty corners of history. We take those influences and run them through the filter of a rock band, with big, anthemic vocals on top.
We’re incredibly lucky with the musicians we get to play with. Everyone is open to finding their own way into the music, brings a unique perspective, and is just genuinely great at what they do. Not to mention being solid humans. Our new guitar player, Conrad, also plays with our main drummer Ben in the math-rock band Self-Evident, who just got back from touring Japan. Our bass player, Brian, plays in the noise-rock band Buildings, who’ve been popping up on festivals all year.
Beyond the sound, Sonia and I collaborate closely on the lyrics. We try to pull from ancient fables, modern metaphysical books, and such, but shape them so they still fit within the structure of a pop song. With two drummers, the sound gets huge, and when we play live, the goal is always the same, to pull you out of the room and into somewhere else entirely.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
We’d love for you to come out to a show or check us out on-line. If something grabs you, tell a friend. Being heard above the din is difficult for a band. We’ve been putting our blood, sweat and tears into this organism for years and believe that we’ve crafted something special. It might not be for everyone but there’s likely a group of folks out there who are into the same weird things we are and are hoping to find a band like us. We just want to find those folks..and whomever comes along for the ride.
Our vinyl release show will be at the Hook and Ladder in Minneapolis on January 17th. The venue is a historic, community-centered arts and music venue that is housed in a renovated 19th century firehouse. The event is our third annual Gathering Darkness mini-fest where we bring in similar artists. This time we’ll be joined by Another Heaven, The Rope, The Muatas, shadingthesun, and Finesse.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/LovelyDark
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovelydarkband
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovelydarkband
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lovelydark8342
