Kendall Street Company

From late night jam sessions at the University of Virginia to the main stages of venues throughout the East Coast, the Company has broken out of the college bubble and into a world that loves to groove to a great live show. The band was founded in the early months of 2013 by guitarist/vocalist Louis Smith and saxophonist Andrew Drehoff. The duo had been playing together for some time in the greater Virginia Beach area, joined by a rotation of talented musicians who performed behind Louis as the Louis Smith Band. After moving to Charlottesville in late 2012 to attend the University of Virginia, the pair began putting together a group of student musicians, adding Brian Roy on bass/vocals and Ryan Wood on drums/percussion in early 2013. Since then, the band has added Andrew King on keyboards, Ben Laderberg on the electric guitar, and Jake Vanaman on saxophone. Kendall Street Company performs regularly along the East Coast, maintaining a central presence around the state of Virginia. While the Company's music is influenced by a variety of musicians and styles, the group has been described as "psychedelic," "alternative," "jammy," "rock," "indie," and "ska". Their recent performance at the 2017 Lockn Music Festival was praised by Relix magazine as having "[raised] the crowd's energy with frontman Louis Smith and guitarist Ben Laderberg's acoustic/electric interplay and lively, technical breakdowns". It is not uncommon for guest performers to join the group on stage for extended jams. RELEASE HISTORY: Space for Days - LP [2017] Earth Turns - LP [2016] Kendall Street Company - EP [2014] MEMBERS Louis Smith - Lead Vocals/Guitar The frontman of Kendall Street Company. Louis was raised in the beautiful city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, before moving to Charlottesville in 2012 to pursue a degree in music performance. He, along with Andrew Drehoff, founded Kendall Street Company the following year. Brian Roy - Backup Vocals/Basses A Charlottesville-based musician who was born and raised inside the D.C. beltway. He came to Charlottesville to study music and history at the University of Virginia. Brian plays upright, electric, and acoustic basses along with producing some of the band's live and recorded music. Ryan Wood - Drums/Percussion A drummer from the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. He moved to Charlottesville in 2011 to pursue a degree in Environmental Engineering, joining Kendall Street Company two years later. Ben Laderberg - Electric Guitar Raised in the 757, Ben Laderberg lays down electric guitar with the Company. Following extensive jam sessions and recording on Earth Turns, he continues to influence the tunes with his savory noodles, ferocious tone, and good vibes. Jake Vanaman - Saxophone "Young Gun" Jake Vanaman hails from Northern Virginia and joined Kendall Street Company as their saxophonist in the Summer of 2016. His horn playing is heavily-influenced by the music of Sonny Stitt, Snarky Puppy, and Sonny Rollins. Andrew King - Keyboards Andrew King is a multi-instrumentalist from Birmingham, Alabama who joined the Company in 2017 after their release of Space for Days. Be on the lookout for his righteous live jams! PAST MEMBERS Price Gillock - Keyboards, Flute Appears on: Earth Turns (2016), Space for Days (2017) Price "Thomas Jefferson" Gillock is a keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist from Staunton, Virginia. Performing as a member of the Company from 2013 to 2017, Gillock was a key player in the development of the band's sound during their formative years. Andrew Drehoff - Saxophone (2016) Appears on: Kendall Street Company (2014), Earth Turns (2016) "Dre" grew up playing saxophone with Louis in Virginia Beach. After moving to Charlottesville, he became a founding member of Kendall Street Company. He continues to join the band at live performances in and around Richmond, where he is working on his Masters degree at Virginia Commonwealth University. Bucky Henry - Auxiliary Percussion Appears on: Earth Turns (2016) Grooving and unassuming, Bucky Henry is a percussionist from Virginia Beach. He offers diverse rhythmic arrangement to the group's foundation. His setup includes rainsticks, wood blocks, bongos, timbales, chimes, cowbells, and various other accouterments. He currently resides in California.