Snohomish County musicians climb the charts with new album

Snohomish County natives Beth Whitney and Bradford Loomis have each been performing independent of one another and making name for themselves for years. They met each other almost two years ago when Loomis caught wind of Whitney’s record release.

“I had seen her name before but wasn’t familiar with who she was, but I loved her music and found out she was from Snohomish,” Loomis said. “I hadn’t seen her before so I asked if she would do a show. She was really really good and I loved it.”

Once they met, Loomis asked Whitney and her husband Aaron to be his band for his upcoming record release show. After that the two stayed in touch and in August 2013 they decided to sit down and write together.

“We wrote the first song in two hours, just happened real quick,” Loomis said. “Our styles are very different but blended together real well and we had to decide what to do. Would she release them? Would I release them? So we decided to release them together.”

What followed was the release of their album, “The Banner Days,” which came out last month and has been climbing the Alternative chart on iTunes, reaching as high as No. 22, which is higher than many well-known national names who had releases the same week.

“The Banner Days” consists of seven tracks — two originally written by Whitney, two by Loomis and three songs written together. Though four of the songs were not written together, the album is a cohesive beacon for hope.

“There is a theme, I don’t know if it was intentional or just where we both were in our lives, but a seed of hope through suffering,” Whitney explained of what inspired their songs. “The songs that we wrote together spring from this place where things are tough, the situation is hard. What are you going to do about it? That is the springboard for these songs.”

This is clearly illustrated in the lines of the song “Song in My Head,” when Whitney sings “Some carry sorrow like a blanket of lead, but I tell you I carry mine like a song in my head.”

Listening to “The Banner Days” isn’t just nice on your ears, but also makes it easy to remember that while things may be hard right now, they are getting better all the time.

When asked if it was reasonable to expect that these two will work together again on another record, they said in unison without a doubt in their faces: “Yes.”

Judging by their fast success on this first project together, it will be exciting to see what Whitney and Loomis do next.

Steven Graham writes about local music at www.heraldnet.com/whatradio. Email him at steven@whatradio.com or follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/whatradioblog.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.