A lifelong observer, chronicler, and creative force, Lily Vakili has spent years gathering fragments of the world – memories, landscapes, voices, losses, joys – and transforming them into urgent, electric songs. She was raised across Honduras, Florida, Thailand, Puerto Rico, and Iowa – absorbing pieces of each place, each culture, along the way. This international upbringing shaped her worldview, her voice, and her lifelong search for connection.  The past decade has seen her channel that force through multiple studio albums – released both as a solo artist and with her successful Vakili Band – each one experimenting with the wide, untamed possibilities of rock.  

Off the heels of her 2025 full-length release Oceans Of Kansas and East Coast tour, Vakili released her first live EP, Live Wire on May 8, 2026, an in-studio, live audio and video recording of songs named for what fans and critics alike say is a perfect description of her charismatic performance style.  For this stripped down and intimate six-song release, Vakili called upon her collaborator, the Grammy-Award winning, Emmy-nominated producer/engineer Reed Turchi, to produce the EP at his studio Second Take Sound (now Voyager Sound) in New York City.  Live Wire reimagines old favorites and introduces new songs showcasing her emotionally raw, live sound – a genre-blending fusion of blues, rock, and art rock elements, backed by poetic storytelling. 

Based out of Philadelphia, PA, Mighty Joe Castro & The Gravamen have been described as sounding like Buddy Holly, if he’d had access to a stack of effects pedals and some Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds records. Influenced by 50’s Rock and Roll and infused with post modern Easter eggs cribbed from old episodes of MTV’s 120 Minutes, Mighty Joe Castro takes a modern, lyric driven approach to songwriting while The Gravamen layer on Jesus and Mary Chain-cover-Link Wray guitar atmosphere, booming doghouse bass and swinging beats. The quartet lurks at a crossroads where Sun Records and Creation Records meet.

Formed in 2018, the band quickly released their debut EP, “Wake Up, You’re Rockin’!” that same year, with their debut full length album, “Come On Angels” following in 2020. Known for their energetic live shows, the Gravamen have shared the stage with a diverse collection of groups including The Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Heavy Heavy, Wayne Hancock, and BIg Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys

Their latest album, “Between the Lightning and the Thunder” will be released June 6, 2025. It was recorded at Miner St. Recordings and produced by Brian McTear and Amy Morrissey (Sharon Van Etten, Dr Dog, Dead Milkmen).