No matter how old you are, where you are from, or where you are going, at some point in your life you’ve felt lost and in the dark. During those difficult times, something always seems to pulls you through and back into the light. For the band, “Lost & Found,” this light in the darkness is their faith and their music.
Within five minutes of talking with the members of this loving group, you feel the warmth and camaraderie that make up this merry quintet and pretty soon you wish you could join, too!
This Folk/Americana band is comprised of Drury University students: senior Addison Jones, sophomore Bridger Falkenstien, junior Katie Dougherty and senior Avery Smith. In addition the band’s bass player, Christopher Powell, affectionately known as “Uncle Bass.”
The band actually originated around five years ago as a ukulele trio that consisted of Addison Jones, Bridger Falkenstien, and their friend Annie Mehl. Like most early bands, they started with an “interesting” name. With the title of “Mehlkenstones,” a mix of the three member’s last names, the trio started out performing small shows for family, school, and even worked as a wedding band, playing covers and some rudimentary originals.
Eventually as the young musicians aged Addison went to Drury, Bridger followed two years later, and Annie moved to Colorado. With the loss of their female lead, in fall of 2014, Addison recruited Katie Dougherty, the band’s female vocalist. Dougherty and Addison had actually worked together in another Drury band, Blue False Indigo.
A few months later the band added trumpeter, Avery Smith.
“I was approached by Addison and Bridger. They asked if I wanted to play in their band. I jumped at the chance,” said Smith.
With the band assembled they were ready to play.
“Around those few months right there, “Lost and Found” completely changed. Our music evolved, our sound evolved, and we wrote a lot of new music. So, that was a big turning point,” Jones stated.
Jones and Falkenstien, the two original members, are the song creators. When describing the writing process, Jones conveyed, “I would say, overall, the very best experiences are when we first write a new song.”
Falkenstien was just as inspired, “I’m usually like the melody finder, and then Addison really has a lot of awesome lyrics that he brings. So, we are kind of the perfect team, as far as song writing goes.”
Then, there is “Uncle Bass,” or Christopher Powell, who is the oldest member of the group. His age difference gives him some very valuable insight and perspective in regards to the business side of music.
“Chris is like 30 years old, he is like the ‘grandpa’ of our group. He’s so funny and spontaneous. Also, he’s been in the real world for a while, so as far as the logistics of our band and the business side of it, he really helped us start out.” said Jones.
Avery Smith is the light of the group, bringing positivity and joy to every situation.
“Avery just has this overview picture of the purpose of the band, and always keeps our mentality on that. He is always so positive and reminds us of why we are playing music,” said Jones.
Last, but most certainty not least, is Dougherty, who is affectionately called the “Band Mom” by all of the male members.
“I am the band mom,” said Dougherty with a laugh. “Even though maybe I wouldn’t want to admit it, I totally am. This summer when we went on tour for two weeks, definitely my mom side came out.”
Falkenstien went even further saying, “She makes sure we are on time. She makes sure we are where we are supposed to be. She is kind of like our manager in a lot of ways, too, because she takes care of us in every way. Without Katie, oh gosh, we would be a mess without Katie.”
Their closeness is one of the favorite parts of the band but for two members this actually extends even further. On March 26th Jones and Dougherty became engaged.
“It’s been awesome, [for] two people who are in a relationship [to be] able to do the same thing that they love together, in a band,” said Jones.
The name “Lost & Found,” can be ambiguous. Dougherty joked, “Some people think we are a physical lost and found, like that people lose their stuff. To me it’s more of a spiritual thing.”
“For me it’s about kind of the idea that we were lost and now we’re found. We used to be in darkness, now we are in lightness, because of what Christ did for us. For me,” said Falkenstien.
Last summer the band went on their first successful tour, and in December of 2015, the group released their first album, “Dear Life.”
As exciting as that was the band is focused on the future.
“We’ve been talking a lot about, not necessarily a new direction, but just using this opportunity to experiment with new sounds, and a new kind of product, new songs, and then [being] able to start fresh again in the fall,” said Jones.
“It will be huge for us to just really push the limits [of] what we have kind of enclosed ourselves in. That’s really the biggest thing right now, just writing and experimenting with new elements.”
While they are making their new music, there are still plenty of ways to hear their songs: Facebook, Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, ReverbNation, Instagram, and Twitter.
This band, built on mutual love and friendship, has been inspiring fans for the last five years. Who knows where their next journey will lead them. But now, more than ever, is the time to fall in love with this heartwarming musical group and witness their exciting musical future.
