Nestled in the heart of Seattle, Washington, stands Aurora Ave, an indie pop rock band that has burst into the music scene, leaving uplifted spirits in every room they walk in. Their sound, a blend of soulful and rich harmonies, feels similar to painting on a blank canvas. With a strong and passionate community presence, blended with their pure essence of creativity, Aurora Ave is a testament of simply creating music for the beauty of expression. Whether it’s their newest EP, ‘sun/rise/down’ or fan favorite, ‘Skipping Stones’ they’ve amassed over 17,000 monthly listeners, and over 700,000 streams.
Every great story has a beginning, and theirs started during a time that was difficult for most people in the world. In the heat of the pandemic, they spent their time social distancing and putting on rehearsals in their front yards. Koh Casaba (Producer) shared the story of the band's early beginnings. With Koh’s early inspirations coming from Lawrence, a band based in New York, he wanted to take this thought to reality. While in high school at the time, he missed the in-person rehearsals and thought about getting a group together to make some music. With a social media post, and some scouting, he was able to get all of the band together. Samara Reign, the lead vocalist, joined a bit later in early 2023. Samara, while always having a passion for singing, felt the urge to join something special, and ever since then they’ve been together.
Although the band has faced some challenges, as all groups do, they never fail to acknowledge the beauty in how far they’ve come. They always take steps back to remind themselves, solely about the release you can get from creating. “Creativity can be so cathartic emotionally. Sometimes it’s hard to put it in words. Sitting down with an instrument and just transferring that energy is important.” - Gabi (Lead Guitar)
The band has drawn many inspirations for their music, and have a fully collaborative creative process. The music they create is all from everyone's various interests, like indie-rock, J-pop and RnB they’ve all had input creating their beautiful harmonies. Highlighting their newest EP ‘sun/rise/down’, Sam (Tenor Sax) had a major influence in coming up with the name.
“This was just us in a transitory period. It’s only 4 songs but each has a specific sound to it. It has a mold of our first album, and also the things we’re moving towards. A sound that’s many ways separate but many ways the same.”
Everyone’s moment of realization was different when it came to discovering their long term passions for the band, but they all had a similar thought process behind it. While music has been a lifelong passion for all members, their impact on their community is a phenomenon they hold dearest to them. “I’ve always loved doing music, but never saw myself doing it as a career. This year when we started releasing merch and selling them at our shows, the switch was already 80% there but that pushed it all the way. At one of our first shows one guy came up and asked us to sign his shirts. The next show we had a line.” - Michael (Drums/Producer)
From front yard rehearsals to hundreds of thousands of streams, Aurora Ave’s presence is enough to show the beauty of music in it’s simplest form; A way to create, fulfill and inspire, not only them, but the world around them.
The Band:
Koh Casaba – Producer, Guitar, Piano, Vocals
Michael Smithgall – Producer, Drums
Samara Reign – Lead Vocals
Gabi Meredith – Lead Guitar
Henry Parker – Alto Sax
Sam Llanillo – Tenor Sax
Peyton Smith – Trumpet
Neizer Olivera Rivera - Bass