New York Indie Soul Band MELT Brings Snow Day Show to Stone Church

With a recent European tour under their belt and a debut album in tow, "If There's a Heaven" (2024), New York indie soul band MELT rolls into Brattleboro for their debut performance at Stone Church on Feb. 14. Known for their joyous melodies and catchy lyrics, MELT was formed in 2017 by three high school friends during their senior year when they "accidentally started a queer rock band." The trio won a Battle of the Bands contest which allowed them to record their first song, "Sour Candy," which was called "one groovy superorganism" by NPR, as it blew up on Facebook and Reddit. Five years later, they were playing at Levitate Music Fest and garnering national and international attention. MELT is comprised of: Veronica Stewart-Frommer on lead vocals and guitar; Marlo Shankweiler on lead guitar and background vocals; Lucas Saur on bass; Kai Ono on keys and background vocals; and Andres Valbuena on drums. The Keene Sentinel caught up with Veronica Stewart-Frommer, 27, at their studio in Brooklyn recently to talk about the upcoming show at Stone Church and their recent European tour. Victoria Chertok: Hi Veronica! Where does the name MELT come from? Veronica Stewart-Frommer: MELT was an accident. We were called Big Deli Chain up until the night of our first release, and then at 3 a.m., I and a former band mate realized that we could not, in good conscience, be in a band called Big Deli Chain. We started throwing out words that just had a vibe, and I threw out melt, and it stuck. We feel that MELT was kind of a prophecy, because we have become known as a band that kind of bends genres and a lot of our music is about building a better world and believing that things can change. V.C.: Along those lines, what messages are you hoping to convey to your fans? V.S.F.: We are an indie band with no label. For most of our careers, we've had no management (though) we do have an incredible community of creatives here in New York City. We're a queer band — I'm nonbinary and we have other queer members. A lot of our work comes down to the belief that the world can change. We've built this really amazing village in NYC that has helped us be a nationally and now internationally touring act without the support of a label and without doing it (the traditional way). The message that we try to send is do it your own way; spread the love and anything is possible. V.C.: Your debut album "If There's A Heaven" was recorded in upstate New York, with Sam Evian at Flying Cloud… V.S.F.: Yeah, so it's been about a year and a half (since) now, and we're finishing up the album cycle for "If There's a Heaven" and it's been an amazing experience. We just did our first European tour for the album! V.C.: Very cool! Where did you play? V.S.F.: We started in the UK in a small 200-capacity room which sold out — with no AC. It was our sweatiest show by a light year, and it will go down in MELT history as one of the most insane things we've ever done. We went from London to Dublin, Glasgow, back for a second show in London, and then we did three shows in Germany. We did Cologne, Berlin and Hamburg. We (also) did Antwerp, Paris and Utrecht. V.C.: How did the European audiences respond to your music? Were there any surprises? V.S.F.: All the shows were really wholesome, and everyone was singing along. We were most surprised by the fact that people traveled so far to see us. Like in Berlin, I don't think we had one Berliner at our show. It was people from Australia and Budapest who had traveled hours. It was so inspiring to see new cities, especially while we're writing a new album. So that was a really special experience. V.C.: Who were some of your early music influences? V.S.F.: The biggest one was Avril Lavigne. I've never seen her live and we were supposed to play at Bonnaroo on the same day as her set but then it got flooded out! And Tchaikovsky: my dad was always playing Tchaikovsky, and I love the big sound. I also always loved classic soul singers like Etta James, Otis Redding and Amy Winehouse. Listening to those people sing is how I fell in love with the voice as a vehicle for music. V.C.: Interesting! What does this music mean to you? V.S.F.: I have moments of reflection where I get to see not only how much we've built as a band, but how much our fans have become their own subculture. When I started this band, I hadn't come out as queer in any capacity. I was a 17-year-old brunette gearing up to go to college to study international relations. This band has been a coming-of-age story for me. It was my first declaration of self as an artist, and I think from there, I allowed myself to dare to be who I really am. V.C.: What's it like playing with the other band founders: Marlo and Lucas? V.S.F.: My unbiased opinion of Marlo is that she is unlike any guitarist and it matches her personality. I was always in awe of Marlo growing up, because I felt she missed the stage of being socialized as a woman, where you learn that you shouldn't totally speak your mind and be loud and take up as much space as you want. She's always been so hilarious and bold! V.C.: And Lucas? V.S.F.: Lucas is the true artist soul of MELT. Lucas is the one out of the three of us who went to school for music. He really lives and breathes his craft; it's not cerebral for him. And I think that Marlo and I can be Type A and we can really overthink and get into the nitty gritty and Lucas always keeps us grounded in the music. V.C.: What can the audience expect at your Stone Church show? V.S.F.: We're calling them Snow Day Shows. It will hopefully be a snow day in Vermont. We are doing a lot of festivities around these shows. We're going to have a special MELT ice hat that we'll be selling. It's a collaboration with the New York Immigration Coalition's Emergency Response Fund. And we'll be selling our magazine, a Fan Mag. You can dress the part, bring your ski goggles, and bring some layers, because we'll get sweaty as we dance. I think it's going to be a really special show. IF YOU GO: WHAT: Indie Band MELT at the Stone Church WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 14 Show at 8 p.m., doors at 7 p.m. All ages show. WHERE: Stone Church, 210 Main St., Brattleboro, Vt. MORE INFO: Visit www.stonechurchvt.com/#/events www.melttheband.com and on Instagram TICKETS: www.tickets.venuepilot.com/e/melt-2026-02-14-stone-church-brattleboro-ba38c7