Max & Gillian

An audience member should expect to hear beautiful original music, that includes virtuosic piano playing, skillful banjo and guitar and playing, and beautifully crafted harmonies. They should expect folk songs with which they can relate. They should expect a fun and wonderful musical experience orchestrated by two classically trained and broadly influenced musicians.

Max & Gilllan, folk duo formed in 2010, consists of Max McCann, senior Community Health major at SUNY Potsdam, on guitar and vocals, and Gillian Orwoll, senior Music Business major at the Crane School of Music, on banjo and vocals. The two play in a rough folk style centered on strong harmony, vocal counterpoint, and complicated form. They were the winners of this year's Battle of the Bands hosted by Madstop Records at Between the Buns.

Coming from classical, rock, punk, folk, and jazz backgrounds, the two have a variety of styles that strongly influence their songwriting. Gillian has been studying classical piano for fourteen years and has played piano in her college’s jazz band. She has also studied mandolin, cello, and drums. Max McCann has been studying classical viola for thirteen years.

The band’s influences include Sufjan Stevens, Bright Eyes, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Antlers, Bon Iver, Tallest Man on Earth, Elliot Smith, Wilco, Regina Spektor, and classical composers Claude Debussy, Frederic Chopin, and Bela Bartok. Max & Gillian try to have no limitations on the genres of music from which they draw inspiration.

The band has recently performed two hour-long shows at Hurley’s Nightclub. At this year's Battle of the Bands, they performed with a twelve-piece group that included acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin, banjo, trombone, three violins, trumpet, bass, harmonica, and drums. They are also in the midst of recording their debut album, which will include 12-13 original songs and an interesting array of instrumentation, ranging from trombone to harmonica, from a string quartet to mandolin and xylophone. The duo has plans of touring the country next summer.