Courtesy: Andtheecho.com
And The Echo, and its signature singer Morgan Pennington, have been performing around Oxford since 2014, but the band’s roots reach far into the town.
“Their originality, their energy,” said Proud Larry’s manager, Scott Caradine, on what he enjoys about And The Echo’s performances. “Morgan Pennington really brings a lot of that to the stage.”
The mutual admiration doesn’t stop there.
“We love Proud Larry’s,” said Morgan Pennington, singer and synth-player for And the Echo. “They’re my favorite venue. The sound engineers are so helpful. And they just make me feel at home. We’ll be so nervous right before a performance, and then we get up on stage, and it’s like, ‘I like being up here better’.”
Friday’s performance will be special because it promises new tracks and new t-shirts, the latter a first for the band.
“Our first t-shirts, that’s pretty exciting,” Pennington said. “New music is a collaboration. Winn is the genius behind the music. He’s the genius behind the sound. I come up with lyrics and the melody. Caple comes in and figures out where guitar would sound good, sometimes Winn does that too. We figure out what we want the song to sound like together.”
And The Echo started with Morgan Pennington approaching Winn McElroy, owner and producer of Black Wings Studio, to help her create a band in order to perform for Double Decker 2014. The band has only grown since. McElroy plays the keys, and Caple Howorth provides the guitar and plays for a number of other bands as well.
“We’ve matured a lot in our sound,” Pennington said. “We mesh well. The more we write together, the more we perform together, the more we find our true sound.”
Friday’s performance brings new music. However, And The Echo will continue to work on new pieces, as well. They aim to put an EP with six songs out by October. There is no doubt Oxford will be the first place to experience the new album, being so close to the hearts of the members of the band.
“Oxford is our home base, it’s where we’re most comfortable,” says Pennington. “We’ve performed in Hattiesburg, New Orleans, Birmingham and other places. We really love seeing familiar faces and seeing people singing our songs. That’s the best feeling, when you look out into the crowd and see people mouthing the words along with you. Everyone’s so supportive. Oxford is just special like that.”
It certainly is special for And The Echo, given both Howoth and McElroy grew up in Oxford. Pennington came to the University of Mississippi in 2004. Together they have all been here for 12 years. The band began here with Double Decker, and McElroy telling Pennington, “Let’s go get a band together!”
Venues like Proud Larry’s have been supporting And The Echo since the beginning, support that And The Echo appreciates more and more. It’s encouragement and support like that of Proud Larry’s that allows local bands to grow and mature.
“I never thought I’d be in a band,” Pennington said. “I was in choir until high school, but quit until I got to Oxford. I’d always admired musicians, and I was inspired by the artists in Oxford. It’s so saturated in music, art and literature. I wanted to try it too.”
On the subject of giving advice to other young musicians, Pennington said, “Stick with it! If you want it, keep pushing. Keep trying to get your sound out there. Don’t stop playing at home, even if it’s just a hobby for you. Music is such a good hobby. It’s a great creative outlet.”
You can catch And the Echo at Proud Larry’s tonight at 9 p.m.
