The Maintenance Shop will feature Joe Hertler and The Rainbow Seekers on Feb. 6. 

Joe Hertler and The Rainbow Seekers have been together for about four years since the group’s debut performance together at a New Year celebration festival. 

“I had known some of the guys at the time, but it was just making music together and it just clicked. They offered to back me up for a show and it just clicked,” Hertler said. Hertler is the lead singer of the group.   

The band has a new album arriving this month, “Terra Incognita.” According to Hertler, the overall theme of “Terra Incognita” is permanence. 

“All things come to an end at some point. You can find permanence in the way things might affect you. It sounds pretty somber, but the record is really uplifting,” Hertler said. 

Hertler said the trust and respect among the band members makes writing music easier. 

“We have done some full band structuring, but usually I present a simple, folky-sounding song and they change it into a whole different piece. We don’t really tell each other what to do,” Hertler said. 

The band has an original way of promoting its music.

“They have a unique way of mixing their instruments that I’m not familiar with. They change the tempo frequently, which I like, so that the same song sounds different at different parts,” said Steve Kryk, junior in industrial engineering. 

Joe Hertler and The Rainbow Seekers have performed across the country and plan to increase touring time this year. While the group still isn’t touring as frequently as most full-time musicians, Hertler said they love performing for an audience. 

“There’s something appealing to have a group of people sharing in an experience, and helping curate this experience is an innate calling. When people are in church, they feel good. When they’re at a rock concert, they feel good. It’s very rewarding for me to help curate that, like your brain actually rewards you for doing it,” Hertler said. 

Joe Hertler and The Rainbow Seekers perform at 9 p.m. Feb. 6 in the Maintenance Shop. The doors will open at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for the public. There will be a $2 increase the day of the show.