Indian Summer

The story of Indian Summer began when Summer Mencher and Toby Karlin met in high school at a one-week music program held by Berklee College of Music. After workshops and all-night adventures, they became fast friends. The following year, they connected again, but this time as students at Berklee. Their first day in the dorms, the three met their new neighbor and future bandmate, Jon Lall.

Although they occasionally played with one another, the three of them never created a band; at Berklee they were busy perfecting their individual skills at piano, voice, guitar, and songwriting. After graduation, they went separate ways, but kept in touch. Five years later, fate would bring them together again in Los Angeles.

Toby had returned to LA, his home, and was performing and writing with several projects, including composing for a local dance company. Summer and Jon traveled the country and the world, both as strong singer-songwriters in their own right, but felt themselves drawn to the Southwest, and to each other. Summer was centered in San Diego, but when Jon moved to LA to pursue his dreams, they began performing together occasionally for growing crowds. Jon's flair for R&B perfectly complemented Summers progressive folk-rock, and their harmonious duets became a highlight among their fans. They officially decided to start making music together and appropriately called themselves Indian Summer.

But just playing music together wasnt enough; later that year, Jon proposed. After their engagement, Summer and Jon invited Toby over for hours of jamming and talking, and Indian Summer became something truly special. "We were just playing for fun. We had no intention of crafting full songs, but in a matter of a few hours, we had three great tunes," recalls Jon. In 2012, IS released their debut EP, Four Days in Arkham. The album is named after the make shift home studio which they call Arkham Studios (Jon and Toby being die-hard Batman fanatics), in West Hollywood, CA. Months later, Austin joined the mix and added a whole new layer of rhythm and drive. In 2014, electric guitar player Luke H. Duffy from Connecticut moved to LA and was brought into the band.

Indian Summer is now hitting the ground running. They are busy preparing for the release of their debut full length album, music videos and west coast tour this summer. Often told at shows that their songs bring to mind the heartfelt lyrics and soaring, soulful melodies of bands like Fleetwood Mac, The Black Keys, Marvin Gaye, and Mumford & Sons, Indian Summer is more than the sound of a passing season, they're lifetime friends who plan keep good music coming for the long run.