ROCK-N-ROLL, Grungy-BLUES, and COUNTRY-SOUL

Based out of Fort Collins, CO with roots in Memphis, TN and Dominican Republic. Bevin Luna’s guitar- and gut-driven songs package sly intelligence inside a rough-and-rugged sound. Playing various configurations including fronting a four-piece band that combines heavy riffs, punk rhythms, blues accents, and grunge-inspired arrangements with hints of country and folk, she concocts a versatile style she calls “rock and roots.” Her tough yet soul-searching sensibility “straddles the line between insightful songwriting and full-blown rock and roll in the grand tradition of The Pretenders” (Salt Magazine), while her deep, honey voice evokes the heady tones of Grace Slick and articulations of Patti Smith.

Born in Hawaii as a military brat, raised in Memphis by a musical family with Caribbean and Southern roots, Bevin grew up steeped in the influences that compose her distinctive sound.

Photos by Kelley Robinson.

Madison & Angelus EP Release

June 24, 2022

'Madison & Angelus' is a garage rock EP because it’s rock and roll and it was literally recorded in a garage in LaPorte, Colorado.  Having spent her formative years in the birth land of rock and roll in Memphis, TN, this had a massive impact on her music. With inspiration from Memphis bands such as The Lost Sounds, River City Tanlines, Sweet Knives, Alicja Trout, Jay Reatard, Oblivians, Compulsive Gamblers, along with Colorado bands such as Matson Jones and Monofog. The recordings have strong elements of garage-rock, blues, rock and roll, grunge, indie, alternative, surf rock and pop music.

Credits

Justin Maul (bass, background vocals)

Morgan Coley (drums)

Lance Ruby (lead guitar)

Shane Zweygardt (Space Echo)

Bevin Luna (rhythm guitar, vocals)

Produced by Shane Zweygardt

Engineered by Mike Kwiatek

Mixed by Andrew Berlin - The Blasting Room

Mastered by Jason Livermore - The Blasting Room

The artwork for ‘Madison & Angelus’ was created by the incredibly talented Randy Hand. If you don’t follow his page, please do yourself a favor and go check him out! He is a creative genius. He presents alternate universes with his characters through sculptures, sketches and paintings.

The EP title, ‘Madison & Angelus’ stems from a couple of ghouls who crawled their way out of the Bettis Family Cemetery in the parking lot of the old Piggly Wiggly grocery store in midtown Memphis, TN. Bevin lived across the street from this cemetery and saw them wandering from time to time. They 💯 percent influenced the entire vibe of this EP. Legend has it, Madison & Angelus are still wandering the streets of midtown asking for cigarettes, loose change and your Blockbuster card.

Extra special THANK YOU to Martina Grbac and Matson Jones, Young Jessie and Jeff Finlin for allowing us to record your music. Also, sending massive love and appreciation to Justin Maul, Morgan Coley, Lance Ruby, Shane Zweygardt, Mike Kwiatek, Kelley Robinson, Fur Banks, Randy Hand, Mary Moses, Carmen Luna-Benzor, Gabe Luna, James Gant, Jenny Robertson Green, Rusty Griffin, Karen Cruse, and the long-gone Piggly Wiggly in midtown Memphis, TN. You're all so inspiring artistically and musically and you helped bring Madison & Angelus to life.

Lastly, muchísimas gracias to all of you who support, share and listen to my music. It really means more than you know. I got nothing but love for each and every one of you and can't wait to share more. In the meantime, here’s a playlist with Madison & Angelus interspersed with some of my favorite tunes.

The opening track BOB is an original song written about the turmoil of being a musician in the digital age in the middle of a pandemic sandwich. It touches on the feeling of never knowing where to begin or if it’s ever going to end.

The second track A Little Bit of Arson Never Hurt Anyone is a cover of the former beloved Colorado band Matson Jones who have highly influenced Bevin’s music over the years. The third track Masquerade is a co-write with Bevin and bassist Justin Maul of A.M. Pleasure Assassins and The Great Aerodrome. It conveys the mania that was experienced deep in the pandemic not knowing what would happen next and constantly trying to reassure ourselves that everything was gonna be ok.

The fourth track is a cover of Mary Lou written by the 1950’s blues/jazz musician Young Jessie that was recorded by the garage-punk band Oblivians, Frank Zappa, Ronnie Hawkins and others over the years.

The last track is a collaboration through the Music District in Fort Collins, CO with a program called "Song Lotto" where Bevin and bandmates were paired with with local songwriter, Jeff Finlin. He signed up to write a song for them and through the process they met with him to discuss his writing process and their writing process and the end result was a super cool retro-pop-rock tune titled Summer just in time for the season. As with all of her releases, Madison & Angelus is an amalgam of influences from Memphis, Colorado and beyond. 

Released Spring 2021

When my 2020 goals of touring were halted by the pandemic, I shifted focus into the studio to produce an album that was a conduit of gritty stripped-down vulnerability. A departure in style from my previous digital recordings, ‘Buchanan’ was officially released Spring 2021. It was recorded on a Tascam 388 analog, reel-to-reel tape machine with producer and sound engineer, Shane Zweygardt (Wire Faces).  

I have carefully curated a selection of songs that are very personal, raw, and imperfect. The process was an unexpected evolution, in true 2020 fashion, from just myself and my guitar to a remote collaboration with some of my favorite musicians. The intimacy and the style of the recording transforms you to a place of reflection, love, and where the past meets the present.

Buchanan is a town in West Tennessee where much of my mama’s side of the family has lived and been laid to rest since the 1800’s. The album cover is Buchanan school (1921-1996). The school has been abandoned for 25 years while the invasive vine, Kudzu, lives on rooting into the ghosts left behind. Buchanan school was the first place where I performed for an audience outside of my family. It was the place where I learned about love, friendship, loss, and connectivity.

Thanks for the support, always. Abrazos, Bevin

‘Buchanan’ the album is a love story of loss, resilience, and growth.

Album Credits

Bevin Luna / Guitar, Vox

Jesse Bates (Grails, Whippoorwill, Quiet Life) / Pedal Steel

Brigid McAuliffe (Somerset Catalog, Bela Karoli, Picture Me Here) / Backing Vox

Shane Zweygardt (Wire Faces) / Percussion, Synths, Backing Vox

Engineered, produced, and mixed by Shane Zweygardt

Mastered by Jason Livermore of The Blasting Room

Album photography by Kelley Robinson

Updates