Trio’s new single due out March 8
Kyndon Oakes, Mark Vikingstad and Michael Boris make up the trio known as Lockeland. They were drawn to Nashville by their mutual love of music and have been writing and performing together now for several years.
Each brings a unique music vibe that blends them together as a trio. Kyndon began singing alongside family members before moving to Nashville in 2009, originally to pursue a solo career. Mark says he joined his high school band “because chicks dig it.” He moved to Music City just days after receiving his BA diploma in Music Business from SUNY Fredonia. Michael grew up in Apalachin, NY, but moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University, graduating with a degree in Commercial Music Percussion.
Together they create a three-part harmony that gives them a unique edge in the world of contemporary country music.
They are about to break out with their infectious debut single, “Til The Cows Come Home,” released March 8, 2019. Check out their website here.
A couple of days before Country Radio Seminar (CRS) hit town, we met up to talk about their new single and how they make music together.
Trio ‘locked in the land’
How did you come up with the group name Lockeland?
Kyndon: When we came together to form the group, we were trying to come up with a name and we kept texting each other with all these different names that we thought would work best. We fell on Lockeland just by chance. Mark and Michael are from New York and I’m from Kansas, and we ‘locked the land’ in between and met in Nashville. Plus it helps that Nashville is landlocked, so we settled on Lockeland.
Looking at your set list, it seems you’re open to playing music from a lot of different genres. What do you think of as your musical influences?
Michael: That’s one of the very cool things I love about this band because we all come from very diverse musical backgrounds. I started playing drums when I was eleven. I played a lot of ‘fife and drum core’ stuff. Then I moved into classical music, then I started listening to hard rock and a lot of punk, stuff like that. When I moved to Nashville, I simply hadn’t listened to a whole lot of Country. But when I moved here eleven years ago, I gave it a try and I was like, “You know what? There’s a lot of really great music here.” So there’s honestly not a music genre that I, personally, don’t like. I love R&B, rock, funk, country. I think that’s kind of the same for all of us.
“When people come up to you after the show and they’re talking to you and giving you that feedback, that’s when you know you’ve had a good show. You can feel that. You can feel the energy. They’re singing along, they’re clapping along, they’re in it.” – Kyndon Oakes
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