Warmth fills the air as the band plays the first notes of their song—the strum of the guitar, the smooth vocals, the steady drums, the soothing piano. Founded a little more than a year ago, five Richard Montgomery sophomores and one freshman make up the band Cherry Lane.

The band was originally founded Oct. 13, 2024 for a Tri Music Honor Society performance. This honor society requires members to perform music, so sophomores Evie Hall and Lin Shoemaker created a musical group for their performance. “And then, we were like, “Hey, this is a pretty good group.’ So what if we just keep playing and eventually just turn into a real band?” Hall said. Since then, the members of the performance have been playing together in Cherry Lane. The group hasn’t seen drastic changes since the original performance. “We’ve cycled through a couple of drummers who they’re good, they’re very talented, but they haven’t had the time commitment to us,” sophomore Koko Kudashov said.

The name Cherry Lane came from “Mary Poppins,” a drama production most members of the band were involved in during middle school. “The Mary Poppins family lives on Cherry Tree Lane and we were like, ‘Oh, Cherry Tree Lane.’ Maybe that would be a cool band name, but it’s too long, so we cut out the “Tree” so it’s just Cherry Lane,” Hall said. 

Shoemaker and Hall have each played the guitar for around four years, but have been playing with the band for a year. They say they like guitar because of how versatile the instrument is. Shoemaker is the lead vocalist of the group, which means she sings the main parts of the songs. In addition to singing, she is also involved in the songwriting process for the band along with Hall. “A lot of times it’s me just writing a whole song, lyric-wise and then putting an easy guitar beat to it. And then I’ll give it to Evie and Evie will make a demo of it and then we’ll see if we like it, change things to it, add harmonies,” Shoemaker said.

Sophomore Koko Kudashov plays the piano and bass for the band. She has been playing piano since she was five years old, and has always had a passion for the instrument. Kudashov has been learning the guitar and bass for four years. She switches between the three instruments, depending on which one is required for a specific song. Playing in the band has been a transformative experience for her. “I never thought to pursue music as a job, but now I’ve just realized how much I love it, so it will be a really tough decision for me,” Kudashov said.

Sophomore Jackie Williams is the backup vocalist for the band. Coming from a family of singers, singing has always been a part of her life, which varied from singing at retirement homes to musical theatre. The backup vocals are there to add harmonies to the melody, to fill in empty spaces and improve the overall song.

Freshman Gabriel Garcia is the band’s drummer. He has been playing drums for six years before he joined the group. Garcia has always been inspired by Ringo Starr of the Beatles, especially his rhythms and drum fills. The drum’s job in the band is to keep everybody on beat and provide a steady rhythm.

Each member adds their own unique own touch to the songs.  “It really takes all of them to put together the sounds and to work together as a unit,” senior Cal Murphy, a friend of the band, said. “I think it’s really cool getting to see art and stuff you made, especially by people I know.”

Learning an instrument takes time, dedication and a lot of practicing. But on top of that, being in a band necessitates open mindedness, communication and collaboration skills. “I’ve learned so much about communication and problem solving, because being in a band with four other people—five, including me—means conflict,” Kudashov said. For example, when the band was first formed, the group had trouble choosing a name.  However, they collaborated to combine things that were important to all of them and came up with the name.

The band’s rehearsals usually occur once a week at Hall’s house. They get together and practice their songs, as well as work on new songs. “We talk because we’re all good friends. And sometimes it’s really productive and sometimes it’s really not, but we just play music. And have fun,” Garcia said. The band not only bonds over music together, but they are close friends as well, who all share the same love for their music. “We’re like a family, we’re always there for each other,” Williams said. 

While their songs are diverse in style, the band members said they would categorize their genre as pop rock, rock or indie plus a little bit of jazz. Some artists that the group takes influence from are Paramore and Green Day, bands that some of the group members enjoy listening to. Attributes of Paramore that can be heard in Cherry Lane’s music are octave layered guitar chords, a technique used often by Paramore and the band’s spunky attitude. Their official first single, “My Cherry Blossom” came out March 1.

Cherry Lane covers other artists’ songs as well. “I think one of the most memorable ones we’ve done is “Snow Angel” by Renee Rapp and we dedicated it to a senior last year, because she did that song for RM idol.” Kudashov said. The senior, Liliana Katz-Hollandar, was a friend of the group’s and participated in activities like Tri-M and theater with them.  Some other covers they have done in the past are songs by Paramore and Billie Eilish.

Memorably, the group once performed at the Feminist Fest in Alexandria, Virginia, and with that experience they hope to book more events in the future. As of now, most of their performances are still once a month at Tri-M meetings, in the chorus room, during lunch. 

At the end of the day, Cherry Lane is made up of busy students, with tests, homework, and other hobbies. “We’re all busy. We all have a lot of clubs we’re in,” Shoemaker said. But the five are all committed to prioritizing the band. “It’s not all math problems and English essays, you know? Music is something that’s all around us—something that changes how you think about things,” Garcia said.