Ash & Eric have never shied away from life’s hard edges.
The married couple’s latest album “Sure”is “a tale of love… [with] some heartaches and a pinch of disputation along the way” (Americana UK). Hailing from the gritty heart of New England (Worcester, MA), the two are experts in discovering beauty in the challenges of life. Their musings reflect the hope and pain we all experience, sung in voices as vulnerable and honest as their lyrics. Their songs feel like a warm welcome, a shoulder to lean on and a hand to hold at the end of a long day. No Depression says their writing will leave listeners “...coming away from many of these [songs] cleansed,”.
Their warm harmonies, swirling acoustic guitars, and easy stage presence have earned them a dedicated following in the emerging US folk scene, performing with folk legends like Livingston Taylor, Vance Gilbert, Heather Maloney, and Mark Erelli. Their independent 9-song release, “Sure”, was recorded, mixed and produced by Eric at a boarding school in Western Massachusetts, and was accompanied by a 29-minute visual album, “A Song for Every Sadness”. The film premiered at Club Passim (Cambridge, MA) in June 2024 and is now available to stream globally.
Ash & Eric played together for the first time in 2012. The intense connection was immediate. They both describe a feeling that they knew each other before they knew each other.
They began playing together frequently and fell in love quickly. Their first project as a duo, The Promise is Hope, was born March 1, 2014 in Worcester, MA -- their beloved home city. At the end of the house concert, with many friends gathered, Eric proposed and Ash said “yes.”
The journey that has unfolded since that first concert has been defined by these two dreamers’ daily choice to continually pursue their vision. The vision, which began as two people sharing their hearts through the artistry of songwriting and performance, has grown and expanded to envelop a beautiful and growing community of faithful followers.
Under the moniker The Promise is Hope, Ash & Eric released two full-length albums, “Where We’ve Been & Where We’re Going” (2015) and “Every Seed Must Die” (2018) before changing their band name to Ash & Eric in 2021.
They have performed countless shows in a myriad of venues from house and living room concerts to legendary rooms like Club Passim (Cambridge, MA), Southern Vermont Arts Center (Manchester, VT), and Godfrey Daniels (Bethlehem, PA). They have performed on the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival’s Emerging Artist Stage (Hillsdale, PA), won the CT Folks Grassyhill Songwriter Competition, and performed at the CT Folk and Black Bear Americana Festivals. Ash & Eric have been nominated for New England Music Awards, won many Worcester Music Awards, and was offered a Semi-Formal Showcase at the 2019 NERFA Conference in Stamford, CT. Their vision has been tested and tried through long hours on the road, playing their best shows for whoever showed up in a room.