Vedera

At once aggressive, atmospheric, and emotionally forceful, Vedera is an indie rock quartet from Kansas City, MO. Vocalist/guitarist Kristen May and lead guitarist Brian Little first worked together in a band called Red Authentic; following that group's split during the spring of 2004, the two joined forces with bassist Jason Douglas and drummer Drew Little (Brian's younger brother, who was in high school when the band first formed). The group was named Veda, in part for "Vedha," a Hindu word meaning "sacred writings" and in part for Vada, the character played by Anna Chulmsky in the 1991 film My Girl. The new band quickly went into the studio and released its first EP, This Broken City, though Second Nature Recordings, a Kansas City-based independent label. Veda subsequently landed tours opening for Mute Math and Owen while also sharing stages with the likes of Underoath, Thrice, and Communiqué.

In 2006, the group released its first full-length album, The Weight of an Empty Room, before changing its name from Veda to Vedera to avoid legal action from a similarly named group. Vedera wasted little time establishing the new moniker, as the group reissued The Weight of an Empty Room and logged more road work during the subsequent months, including a co-headlining tour with Dear and the Headlights. Vedera announced plans in early 2007 to return to the studio in the summer for work on a second album, which would mark the band's first release for Epic Records. The final product, Stages, was digitally released in October 2009 and earned the band a good deal of increased exposure, including a performance on the MTV series The Hills and a spot on the revamped Lilith Fair tour. A physical release of the album followed in February 2010.