Forlorn Strangers stop by Wilmington’s The Whiskey

Elizabeth Heglar | Lifestyles Editor | @ElizabethHeglar

If you enjoy instruments such as banjos, mandolins and harmonicas, there is a band coming to The Whiskey on Oct. 13, that just might be for you. American-Folk quintet Forlorn Strangers bring a string-heavy sound to Wilmington as they tour their self-titled debut album.

The album, titled “Forlorn Strangers,” debuted on Aug. 5, 2016. Funded entirely by a successful Kickstarter campaign, the album was recorded at John Prine’s Nashville studio The Butcher Shop. Grammy award winner Phil Madeira produced the album.

“Songwriting doesn’t get much more pure than that,” according to No Country for New Nashville.

The band itself is comprised of five individual songwriters who create swelling family harmonies and foot-stomping percussion. Only last month the band released an official video for their song “Bottom of the Barrel” exclusively through Elmore Magazine. 

“Forlorn Strangers… sing with a delight and power reminiscent of the greatest brother/sister combos in traditional music,” said Blue Ridge Outdoors.

The bands five members are Benjamin Lusk, Chris Banke, Hannah Lusk, Jesse Thompson and Abigail Dempsey. Banke plays guitar and mandolin, Dempsey is talented with the fiddle, harmonica, guitar and percussion, while Thompson plays bass, dobro and guitar. Lusk plays banjo and guitar while the other Lusk is skilled with a mandolin, bass and percussion. The entire group sings.

The Lusk’s and Banke all met when they attended school at Palm Beach Atlantic University. The trio started a writer’s group to share poetry and songs, which then turned into a band that played local shows. Eventually, they moved to Nashville and [Hannah] Lusk’s sister, Abigail Dempsey, moved down to be part of Forlorn Strangers. Thompson produced the bands first EP and ended up officially joining the band afterwards.

When asked what artists inspire their music the most [Hannah] Lusk stated, “Fleetwood Mac, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Pete Seeger, The Mamas & The Papas,” are all big influences to their sound.

The band has been playing live shows roughly since its inception, and the group was very excited to get to sit down and put time into creating a record.

“We were looking forward to recording for so long,” said [Hannah] Lusk, “Actually being in the studio and having the time and opportunity to explore and record the songs we’d been playing for so long was very fulfilling.”

The group is not just excited about their record, they are also excited about the music they produce and being able to bring it out into the world and share it with people outside of the band.

“We greatly value bringing music to people. We believe in writing and playing great songs, so that we can put on a meaningful show. We believe in the light, love, joy, and hope that comes from good art,” [Hannah] Lusk said of performing live.

You can catch Forlorn Strangers live this Thursday, Oct. 13, at The Whiskey at 10 p.m.