While people were off prepping for Valentine’s Day on Feb. 12, a small crowd at The Thought Lot had a different idea.
The Thought Lot hosted indie bands Run the Willow and Conversations for a small crowd from 7 - 9:30 p.m.
Hannah Nawa, who recently became the brand manager at The Thought Lot, organized the show. Nawa normally handles social media, the distribution of posters and the like, but this time she organized the show, which was her first.
Nawa went with a Valentine’s Day theme for the show, which worked very well. There were cupcakes and candy, along with glow sticks and other Valentine’s Day-themed material.
Ryad Chaoui from Conversations started the night. Everyone turned their attention to the stage as they dimmed the lights and washed the stage with warm red lights before he started his set.
He played an acoustic set of a few of his own songs, including a cover of “Yellow” by Coldplay, which a lot of people seemed to recognize on the first chord. He dedicated a song to his father and another to his brother, later.
Next up was Conversations, which was Evan Frolov and Chaoui with their acoustic guitars. They did a small set composed of their own songs. Part way through the set, Frolov thanked Nawa and The Thought Lot, saying thank you “for making this place feel like home, where home is not . . . for us.”
They closed out the set with a small piano ballad that ended with a powerful acoustic guitar outro.
Run the Willow closed out the night. They brought a big band sound with them that contained large vocal harmonies and various instruments, such as an acoustic guitar, small percussion set, standup electric bass, electric banjo, accordion and more.
They had some light onstage banter. Vincent Bruinsma, lead vocalist, and David Sheads, bassist, started “arguing” if one of their upcoming songs was their only love song.
“This is the part of the show where I argue with you and everyone feels awkward,” Sheads said.
They closed their set with a big thanks and let everyone know that they brought Dr. Seuss valentines for everyone.
After the show, the bands grabbed some snacks and struck up conversations with various audience members. Frolov opened up about Conversations, saying that this was his first show as Conversations.
“This is us graduating from open mics,” Frolov said.
They are based out of Northern Virginia. Chaoui joined about a month ago as a sort of a stand-in member. They plan to do more local shows, some summer festivals and expand to a full band.
Run the Willow started out over the summer of 2014. Bruinsma did some solo work, under Vincent James, and Sheads joined on. Chris Hartlaub, Aaron Susek and Rebekah Foster hopped on next. They have done between seven to 10 shows, so far. This is their second time playing in Shippensburg.
Run the Willow is influenced by groups like Head and the Heart, Blind Pilot, The Avett Brothers and Josh Garrels. They have smaller band goals, such as to play at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and print a vinyl record.

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