Goodbye June is a band created from a tragedy. In mid 2005, guitarist Tyler Baker received the worst news of his life. His brother, PFC Shane Baker, was home on leave from the military and had been in a fatal car accident. His cousins Brandon Qualkenbush, Landon Milbourn and the rest of the family traveled to southern Indiana to comfort and ease the sting of unexpectedly losing a close loved one. For the next few weeks, the three cousins stayed together to comfort each other, reminisce about old times, laugh and cry over memories and, of course, play music together which essentially lead to the three of them writing songs to help pass the time.
When songs formed, they would take them to a local studio and started recording a demo. Once the demo was ready and they had a few shows under their belt, their family and friends began asking what their band name was. “We decided to name the band Goodbye June, to honor the memory of our brother passing and encapsulate what inspired the beginnings of this band,” explains Brandon, “if he wouldn’t have passed, I’d probably still be painting and never would have pursued music as a career.”
You can hear shadows of black gospel, blues, and old country hymns mixed into Goodbye June’s brand of rock. Over the next three years after that long summer of 2005, the boys of Goodbye June began playing their material across the Midwest. In 2009, taking the advice of close friends in the music industry, the cousins made the plunge and moved to Nashville TN, and became part of Music City’s emerging rock scene.
The members of Goodbye June have spent much of the past decade honing their skill as songwriters along with their proficiency as vocalists and musicians. Although Landon and Brandon are principally identified playing acoustic guitar and electric guitar, both cousins also play piano, drums, accordion and most anything else with strings or keys. The cousins of Goodbye June are constantly working on their music and perfecting their artistry, because they know that's what it takes to make music that matters.
Goodbye June are playing MidPoint Music Festival Thursday September 26th, 9:15 at Mr. Pitiful's!
