Kenya: Teen rockers Lone Tree ‘feeling the blues’

In between the songs, the band members offer snippets of their lives, both as musicians and individuals. It is here that the story of Lone Tree is laid bare, perhaps for the first time. And what a story it is.

For a band composed of such young members, you would imagine that ‘fun’ is the primary motivation, but not so for Lone Tree. For these young musicians, this is not just a teen angst powered phase before they move on to ‘real careers’. Well, they could still do that, but they will have made a statement.

Any lingering doubts about their musical abilities are soon banished as they give Bob Marley’s ‘Jamming’ a bluesy rock treatment, before Teresa, whose Amy Winehouse-esque voice belies her young age, sends the house into a delirium with a rousing rendition of The Animals’ ‘House of the Rising Sun’.

Not that Lone Tree is a cover band. Far from it. It is just that the five piece pays homage to their musical heroes. They include the Allman Brothers, Pink Floyd, Gary Clark Jr, The Wailers, Xavier Rudd, Brittany Howard, Funkadelic, Sublime, Jethro Tull, Groundation, Fleetwood Mac, and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard.

So who exactly is Lone Tree? The simple answer is that it’s a rock band whose sound is as diverse as its origins. Its members are Teresa Sanders (lead vocals),15, Patrick Sanders (lead guitar and vocals), 18, Gabe Gebremedhin (drums and vocals), 18, Silas Piper (rhythm guitar, slide guitar and vocals), 17, and Ben Matsaert (bass and keys), 17. Teresa and Patrick are siblings.

The band may be composed of children of expatriates working and living in Nairobi, but make no mistake, Lone Tree considers itself a Kenyan band with roots in the US, Bolivia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, the UK and Belgium, where the members are originally from or have lived at some point in their lives. Indeed, they have collectively lived in 10 countries and speak six languages.

Formed six years ago as Refuge, the band underwent a transformation and adopted the name Lone Tree to reflect their new musical direction. In 2019, the band recorded its first EP of nine original songs under the old name Refuge, and four singles under the new name Lone Tree, including ‘True Love’, ’Wind Song’, ‘One Season’ and ‘Rude Bwoy’ in mid-2021.

Three years later, the music has evolved dramatically. Lone Tree’s influences, as heard in their latest EP titled Refuge, are broad and reflect their deep knowledge of music history across many genres.

Written and produced in collaboration with Grammy-winning songwriter Bensoul and Sauti Sol producer Joe Mutoriah, the songs embody the band’s credo to create a high energy sound that is contemporary yet firmly rooted in their influences in rock, blues, funk, reggae, and the legacy of great, live music.

As their influence in Kenya continues to grow, so is their global reach. In August 2019, Lone Tree played to an audience of 10 000 people at Bautz Music Festival in Germany – its first international gig. Headliners included Nena, Dog Eat Dog and Any Given Day.

Later, in the summer of 2021, it played its first US gigs, including at Fantastic Negrito’s studio in Oakland, and The Basement in Nashville for the New Faces Night, where they won themselves many admirers.

“I am always inspired when I see young talented musicians, playing real instruments while at the same time embracing the rich history of this continuum called music,” Groundation’s Harrison Stafford said.