By James Herd

Reporter

The full-band stylings of Lomelda echoed through the auditorium of University Baptist Church on Friday, with front-woman Hannah Read delivering a solid performance, according to those in attendance.

Lomelda, which started as a solo project by Read, has expanded to a huge local following over the past five years. Their music, which could be called a mellow, harmonic sound, had the audience in awe at the CD release show.

“I thought it was a really cool experience to have such an intimate show with all the instruments put together,” said Corpus Christi freshman Jeaneva Alvarez, who attended the show.

Zachary Daniel, drummer of the band, said Read had been playing for a long time when he and guitarist Andrew Hulett joined.

“Andrew and I had been playing together for a little bit just since we met each other in Waco,” Daniel said. “We both saw Hannah play at different times. We weren’t together in deciding that she was awesome, but we both decided that she was awesome.”

Read says that she feels like the release of Lomelda’s debut album is like the end of an era, but yet the beginning of something brand new.

“It’s like when you finish a good book, you know? And [it’s] like, I don’t want this to be over, that kind of thing,” Read said. “But it’s over, and you’re like, ‘I completed that.’ It was a journey, and it was awesome. You went from beginning to end, you’ve gone to the Shire and back, and there’s no other way [to describe it.]”

Read had no idea how she would feel after the album release.

“We’ve been looking forward to it for so long, this release, and it feels really good,” she said. “It feels open and we’ve got a lot more coming, but it feels so good to have something done that we’re proud of.” As for the future of Lomelda, Hulett said the band has hopes for the future, but nothing concrete yet.

“We have a lot of hopes for just moving on with our artistry, and continuing to create and play shows and try to get out of Waco,” Hulett said. “We love playing Waco, but we’d love to start sharing the music outside of Waco as well and just kind of expand and figure out what it’s about. We’re just kind of stepping out into the future.”

Lomelda will perform on Nov. 10 at Common Grounds with Zombie Western, Ryan Pickop, Fly Sekretaries, Wild Okra, Skyline Motorways and Cellar Door. Their debut album, entitled “Late Dawn Inheritance,” can be purchased at one of their shows or by visiting www.Lomelda.com.