Our Story

Herm, Vince and Wayne

     The music of Herm and Vince originated in 1978 on a small college campus in Hesston Kansas. Their energetic vocals blended with extraordinary ease and seemed made for each other. Very quickly, they became a hit duo on and off campus. 

     After college they added Herm’s brother Wayne as a bass player and vocalist and  played in restaurants, clubs and honkey-tonks around Sarasota Florida, gathering a growing base of followers by playing covers of popular songs of the day by artists such as Merle Hagard, John Prine, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and more. In addition to playing cover songs, they were also writing and playing original songs like “Sarasota,” “Colorado you’re on my Mind” and “Musician’s Song.”

 Calling themselves “Free Spirit” they attempted to organize a tour in 1980 with this flier.

Delivering straightforward, honest music with passion while having fun doing it was their M.O. and it was hard not to like! They honed a signature sound while building a base of followers that cheered them on. 

     With aspirations of Nashville on the horizon, they also encountered the new realities of careers, girlfriends and starting families. Reluctantly they separated ways and postponed their music dreams for another day. 

     Forty years later, Vince and Herm met again at a music retreat high in the Colorado Rockies. Outside the retreat house a bitter cold raged, while inside a warm fellowship of friends were singing loud, joyful music. At the urging of friends, Herm and Vince played a few original songs from 40 years earlier. To the surprise of the humble gathering, their music flowed easily and came to life once again. It’s “as if they’d never stopped playing” someone said! 

     This experience was the spark that rekindled their music. So, they decided to give it another go. Today, Herm, Vince and Wayne play a mix of the songs they wrote 40 years ago alongside present day compositions. The old tunes harken back to a time of youth, innocence and searching, while the new bring together honest melodic perspectives on life after forty years of living, loving, raising families, experiencing tragedies, and broken dreams…a music that is surrounded in goodness and JOY!