Lila Mae and Jeff Hahn on the Taz Michaels Show 7/19/2011

Words by John Powell. Photo by Sam Donnelly.

Folk purists Lila Mae and Jeff Hahn tried a few other names for their duo. “They were either taken or cheesy,” says Lila. So they went with their own names and put out an album, ‘One More Yesterday,’ a set of all originals. Lila grew up in Shelburne and Jeff grew up in Jay Peak. “We both played music independently,” the couple explains, and so playing together was natural. “It’s fun,” says Jeff. “It’s hard for me to get on stage. I just like playing with her.”

Jeff bought Lila a ukulele as an early birthday present. “I’m a soon-to-be ukulelist,” Lila says, laughing. Although the two are bright with energy and positivity, their acoustic music (they both play guitar and sing) is slow and sometimes dark. They are totally DIY, from their album to their website. Their song “Falling Overnight” is the title track of Parker Croft, Lila’s brother’s, film, which won an award for best composer/director collaboration. The film trailer can be watched online.

“Like us on Facebook,” Lila asks with a grin. Jeff grins too. They don’t seem down and out, like some of the softer songs on their set list, but they’re also down to Earth, which is quite folk, and quite In these days.