If one followed the warmly lit stone path right off the corner of Southeast Sixth Ave and South Main Street Friday, they’d find Heartwood Soundstage’s spacious outside venue full of fans wearing vintage clothing. But if they ventured past the crowds and merchant tables, a dark doorway would lead them into a small indoor stage where local musicians Jordan Burchel, The Nancys and Hotel Fiction performed.
Just before 8:30 p.m., 34-year-old singer-songwriter Jordan Burchel opened the night with songs like “Chemicalz” and “Duck Yourself” alongside fellow singers who harmonized with his rich tones and back-up musicians who kept the melodies alive. A carefree feeling lingered in the air as the crowd of over 100 people swayed to the mid-tempo beat.
Following Burchel was The Nancys at 9 p.m., a band made up of UF students Ella Norris, Shane Barrera, Luke Sechrest and Theo Lorenzen. As soon as they took the stage, fans crowded as close as possible while the stage lights flooded the room in an orange haze.
Norris, a 21-year old information systems and psychology senior, said she and Sechrest, a 23-year-old criminology senior, formed The Nancys in October 2023 after they studied abroad together in Italy and realized they had similar tastes in music.
While Norris and Sechrest are both vocalists and guitarists for the band, Sechrest was the only band member who said growing up in Gainesville had a strong influence on how he makes music.
Sechrest said the band was named after a friend whom The Nancys would call ‘the Nancy’ of the Gainesville music scene, referring to Sid and Nancy of the Sex Pistols back in the late 1970s.
Sechrest said he began experimenting with music because of his brother, Riley Sechrest, who now plays in the Gainesville band Madwoman.
“I always wanted to perform in some capacity, but joining this band has definitely given me more opportunities to revisit the stage,” he said.
Pulling inspiration from major musicians that originated from Gainesville like Tom Petty and Against Me, Sechrest said he felt a deep connection to them while growing up. In addition to these Gainesville musicians, Norris said The Nancys is also reminiscent of classic rock musicians of the 1970s, like Stevie Nicks.
In comparison to other Florida cities’ music scenes, the indie scene in Gainesville is very prominent, Barrera said. The 23-year-old computer science and digital arts senior plays the drums for the Nancys. The music scene in other cities like Tallahassee is more separated than Gainesville’s, Barrera said.
“I feel like there’s no link between the [people who attend] house and venue shows,” he said. “Whereas here, you’ll see people at the house shows and also downtown. It’s like everyone is aware of these shows, whether they’re independently run or at a venue, the word is everywhere.”
Near the end of their set, The Nancys played “Best Dressed”, a single released that same morning. Despite the slow tempo and deep bass sound, the crowd only got more energized. Sechrest said the song is about not meeting peoples’ expectations through queerness and self-experimentation.
Compared to their single, “Sweet”, which they released in September, the sounds of “Best Dressed” are completely different. Their newest single has a grunge soft rock style while “Sweet” has a high, energetic pop tone.
“It’s very liberating to have creative freedom over what we want for a song,” Barrera said.
After an encore of “Sweet”, The Nancys left the stage as the crowd thinned out for about a 15 minute break outside before Hotel Fiction performed. At the edge of the hallway stood Jess Anderson, a UF computer science freshman, who sold off-white T-shirts with organic designs and a chalkboard-style font that read, “The Nancys” on it.
Anderson was asked to promote the band because she does website design for Swamp Records, a student-run music artist resource agency. The Nancys recently signed with Swamp Records, and Anderson said she chose to help the band because she enjoys everything they’ve made so far.
“I think their songwriting is my favorite part,” she said. “They’ve caught the attention of Gainesville. I think they’re going places.”
Anderson also said she enjoys being involved in the local music scene, where she can see it from a creative perspective and use her interests as an outlet outside of schoolwork.
In between artists, Vea Lopez, a 19-year-old clinical lab science sophomore at Santa Fe and Brendan Tuliao, a 22-year-old recent UF graduate, eagerly waited by the outdoor stage for Hotel Fiction to perform. The band merges the lines between rock and pop music, which Lopez said helped her to discover the different sub-genres in between the two.
“It’s a creative thing [to blend genres],” she said. “I like to think it’s what the musicians put into their work rather than something that will attract more fans.”
Tuliao said they believe Hotel Fiction’s genre-mixing style brings something new to the table, which excites fans. As for the indie music scene in Gainesville, Tuliao said they see it as a great place for musicians to start off and for the community to come together.
“You really have to go to events and get yourself familiar with the music scene,” Tuliao said. “A lot of people say they don’t know what to do in Gainesville, or if you’re not familiar with [the indie scene], just come out to the show and have a good time.”
As Jade Long and Jessica Thompson of Hotel Fiction sang the night to a close, the final reverberations of their time-transcending electric guitars echoed across Depot Park.
The Nancys can expect a busy schedule in the future, including major performances at the Riverine Reunion Music Festival that runs from Feb. 14-16 and Gainesville Indie Night downtown at The Wooly March 29.
Contact Autumn Johnstone at ajohnstone@alligator.org. Follow them on X @AutumnJ922
