Lavendula — 7 September 2022 on Rocket Shop Radio Hour

Lavendula joined host Tom Proctor on ‘Rocket Shop,’ Big Heavy World’s weekly local Vermont music radio hour on 105.9 FM The Radiator. Catch up with them at lavendula.bandcamp.com and instagram.com/lavendulamusic

On Wednesday, September 7th, 2022, host Tom Proctor was joined by Lavendula, a fiery folk trio with origins in Montpelier, Vermont, for a session of moody autumnal ballads and witchy, punk-edged resistance songs.
The band is a collaboration between three powerhouse musicians: Johanna Rose on upright bass, Henri June on banjo, and Lilith on acoustic guitar. The three of them also all sing, together building miraculous, arresting harmonies on top of liltingly precise folk instrumentals. Each member of the band also writes original songs: Wednesday’s session featured one original composition from each person, as well as a song that was collaboratively written by all three of them. Although different flavors come through in the different works, there is an overall artistic unity that makes for a powerful and resonant set. 
To see them play their songs is to be entranced. Their instagram bio humorously reads, “We’re witches and all our songs our spells,” and they aren’t lying. Between the warm hum of bowed and plucked bass, the haunting harmonies, and the emotional sincerity of the group’s songwriting, the overall listening experience is nothing short of bewitching.
The figure of the ‘witch’ has often been understood as a category reflecting women’s agency within patriarchal contexts. In this respect, the association is a brilliant compliment to the band’s activist stance, especially regarding current issues of bodily autonomy and reproductive rights. This elegant blend of witchy aesthetics and immediate social relevance is epitomized by their song “Queen Anne’s Lace,” a ballad that describes a woman who cultivates herbs in her garden — among them queen anne’s lace — with contraceptive properties. The song is both a bucolic resistance narrative and itself a work of political resistance, as it spreads awareness about contraceptive methods external to the medical contexts which are currently imperiled by political developments like the repeal of Roe v. Wade. In addition to songs like this, the band distributes ’zines at their shows, to further promote awareness about these issues, and to inform people of the options and resources available to them.Originally formed in 2021 as a weekend busking group, Lavendula quickly attracted attention, and began playing shows at venues all across Vermont and beyond. The momentum has continued through 2022, and the band has had a very exciting past year. Highlights include playing for multiple olympic athletes, going viral on TikTok, and perhaps most memorably, playing at the Alaska Folk Festival in Juneau this past spring.
For Henri June, this was a notable homecoming: having grown up in Alaska and frequently  attending the yearly folk festival, it had long been an aspiration of hers to be one of the performers. That aspiration was fulfilled in April, when the band played a memorable set in one of the oldest bars in Juneau. It was an electric event. The structural integrity of the floorboards was tested by the rambunctious dancing of the crowd they drew, and bassist Johanna Rose’s fingers began bleeding, “It had been so long- since a punk show that I played ’til my hand got bloody!” 
Another Lavendula achievement from 2022 has been the release of their first recorded music, a self-titled EP of covers and folk standards released in February. The project features all three vocalists alternating the lead, and was recorded in multiple home studio setups, including Johanna Rose’s treehouse home. The project is available on all streaming platforms, and you can support the band by purchasing the album digitally on Bandcamp. You can also follow Lavendula at their social media platforms on Facebook and Instagram, to keep up with their upcoming shows and releases!

Text by Gideon Parker
Monochrome photo by James Lockridge