“Carry Illinois is making music for the right reasons, and that sort of honesty and transparency makes its way into the band’s sound, to great effect.” – James Parker, KUTX
“Carry Illinois serves as a voice and musical vehicle for all that grapple with anxiety and tragedy to revel in.” – Glide Magazine
ABOUT:
Carry Illinois, the indie-pop band founded and fronted by Lizzy Lehman, have independently released the new EP, Work in Progress, and announced a summer tour in support of the record.
Work in Progress was co-produced by Carry Illinois and Grant Johnson (Calliope Musicals, Abram Shook, Feverbones, Bayonne), and is the follow up to 2017’s, Garage Sale, which gained critical acclaim from outlets such as No Depression, Paste, Bitch, NewNowNext and more, earning Carry Illinois the title of Austin Monthly’s Artist of The Month, May 2017. Many of the songs on Garage Sale reflected the band’s struggle to find the will to write and record after Carry Illinois’ original bassist, John Winsor, took his own life. Lehman explains, “After John committed suicide in March of 2016, I decided that I no longer needed to shy away from the real struggles that I face. I decided that writing about it, singing about it, and performing with utmost strength and courage is what I need to do.” After its release, Garage Sale gained critical acclaim, with praise from No Depression, Paste, Bitch, NewNowNext and more, earning Carry Illinois the title of Austin Monthly’s Artist of The Month, May 2017.
On Work in Progress, Lehman continues to delve into deeply personal issues, displaying “a knack for connecting with her audience through lyrically revealing life in the rawest form.” (Volup2) She touches upon topics that many can relate to, including coming out of the closet, her relationship with her body and mental health issues, including dealing with Winsor’s suicide.
Lehman and her band-mates, Darwin Smith, Rudy Villarreal and keyboardist Benjamin Rowe Violet are touring this summer in support of Work in Progress.
