ReverbNation Feature Artist: Of Sea and Stone

Discovering the origins of Americana folk duo Of Sea and Stone

In 2014, Morgan Manson and Luke Dierker matched on Tinder. Morgan was swiping right on guys with an instrument in their profile picture and by fate she found Luke. They had previously worked on “Poison and Wine” by The Civil Wars separately and after bantering over the phone a bit, they decided to meet up and collaborated on covering the same song. It was after Morgan was taken aback by the beauty in the blend and harmonies of their voices that Of Sea And Stone was born. Two years later, the pair married, left Missouri, and began their journey together as a folk band out of Austin, Texas.

When asked if either of them had more of a strength when it came to the process of songwriting, Morgan tells me that Luke is more so the kindling when it comes to forming a new piece, from concepts and lyrics to melody. She then will come in with harmonies and take on the other point of view and be the “answer to the call” of a song that is from two perspectives. Luke’s notepad app on his phone is home to endless ideas and lyrics for new music, a vault of content at his fingertips.

You may not know this, but originally the band was called A Simple Exchange. Workshopping names as they traveled around the country after they moved away from their backing band, their sound evolved and it was time for a change. They had their hearts set on a band name that was deeper than just a name. “We wanted something that was a metaphor. Something that was visual, but also tells a story. After going round and round, we ended up on Of Sea and Stone. That’s because we’re both very different personality wise,” Morgan explains. She’s more of an emotionally based person, up and down and all around; she’s the sea, while Luke is the stone, he keeps her grounded and is the more mellow of the two.

“We also like the imagery of it, like the sea and the stone crashing into each other. They’re both very different but they’re always coming back together,” Luke adds. They feel the name is representative of their sound and their marriage, being together while simultaneously being very different.

As with many artists, the pandemic forced Of Sea and Stone to scale back their touring and live shows, so the bulk of their recent shows have been mid-western based. They’re itching to get back out into a full U.S. tour and grow their audience, and performing at festivals is on their wishlist as well as their horizon. They are in the works of booking a tour for this year, as well as some anchor dates and even festivals. You can expect a new song from the band pretty soon and a few more singles after that before we get a new album, possibly in the fall of 2023.

Until then, you can stream their single “Annalise,” which was released in August of 2022. It’s a beautiful, slow-paced acoustic piece filled with angelic harmonies. Of Sea and Stone is definitely one to keep an eye on if you’re a fan of folky, emotional, and romantic tunes. You can keep up with them by visiting their website, which features an adorable video background of Luke and Morgan dancing together in their kitchen. The charisma between them as husband and wife is evident and a peek into the sweetness and perfection that is their music.