Florida Bands EJ Hervey & Bench Warmer Hit the Road

Article and Photos by Katy Bloodwell

The other week I had the awesome opportunity to travel with two local musicians as their photographer on their first multi-state tour. It was such a cool experience documenting their journey, so I wanted to take some time to put together and share a little look into a quick tour of some fantastic rising indie singer-songwriters.

Who Are These Guys?

EJ Hervey, the first of the two that I traveled with, is an acoustic indie-R&B style singer-songwriter with rich vocals based out of Orlando. EJ put together and headlined a week-long tour entitled The Study Buddy Tour, on which he decided to have a few of his buddies come along. Cameron Gilson, aka Bench Warmer, joined for the first four dates, and Krysten Dore, aka Doré, continued on for the next two shows, playing in Gainesville and winding up back in Orlando.

Bench Warmer (Cameron Gilson), my second and main travel partner, is an indie-pop singer-songwriter of sad songs that make you want to dance. Based out of Tallahassee, lover of Corgis and dad jokes, Cameron is the one who reached out and brought me along on this tour for the dates he was playing with EJ.

The Adventure Begins

The tour started out at a house show in Tallahassee, which happened to be the last show hosted by a fairly popular venue known as The Vacation House. With an intimate living room stage area, those who came to enjoy the sounds of the night gathered close on couches, in doorways, and resting on the floor. It was my first house show, and it was an experience that was unlike any other I have ever attended, in a really cool way. I highly recommend attending one if you have the chance.

The next morning, we packed up and set off for our second show of the tour in a quaint little town about an hour south of Atlanta called Griffin. The venue was an old warehouse by the name of Iris City Artist Market. We ran around and explored a few different areas surrounding the venue when we had the chance. On the lineup, EJ and Bench Warmer were two of five sets that night, including Jaxxon Wynn from Tennessee, Sofia Caterina, and Mixed Tribe from Georgia.

A Grande Time

Day three, the guys played at a coffee shop called Just Love Coffee on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. This stop was probably the overall favorite of the tour for myself and the guys. It wasn’t any super special venue or a huge crowd; there weren’t a lot of people there really at all (gotta start somewhere in the music world), but that is probably what made it the most fun. Both Cameron and EJ were able to just goof off and have fun playing to our little group and the coffee shop employees, who were extremely entertained by all of our antics, Cameron’s jokes, and slinky fillers between songs. EJ’s sister was also able to attend this show, and we all had the pleasure of hearing her join her brother on stage, singing beautifully alongside EJ for a few of his songs. All of these pieces came together to make a real gem of a show.

Bench Warmer and EJ Hervey – Photo by Katy Bloodwell

Off Day

After the Nashville show, we had a ten-hour journey back down to Florida and a whole extra day. So naturally we took it as an opportunity to explore and split the drive up a bit, taking our time getting there. We found a cool creek, a lot of corn, water towers, and much more before finally making our stop in Chattanooga, exploring for the night before continuing on to Jacksonville the next morning.

Last of the First Leg

Day five on the road, we made our way down the remaining six hours to a neat little pub in Jacksonville. Before moving to Orlando and Tallahassee respectively, EJ and Cameron both lived in Jacksonville, so the show brought several old friends and family out to support and enjoy the night. Accompanying EJ and Bench Warmer were Jax locals and friends Mar and Krysten Dore, who joined the run with EJ as they continued on to the final two stops in Gainesville and Orlando. During this tour, I was brought on by Bench Warmer who was only on the bill for the first four of the six shows, so, unfortunately, this was the last stop for the two of us. Bittersweet, this was the end of our first run. Cameron and I had such an incredible time traveling and playing with EJ that it was hard to say our goodbyes as we made our way back to Tallahassee.

The Wrap-Up

This was my first experience hitting the road as a tour photographer, Cameron’s first time playing outside of Florida as Bench Warmer, and EJ’s longest run of shows yet and first time playing in Nashville. So needless to say, it was a fantastic adventure for each of us. Each city gave the guys more exposure and confidence. They got to see old friends and fellow musicians as well as make new friends, connections, and fans at each stop. They shared their music and humor, making everyone in the venues feel at home. We got to explore places we have never been, learned a lot about the ups and downs of touring as a small band, and shared countless laughs and memories.

Both EJ Hervey and Bench Warmer are excellent musicians and absolutely wonderful people. They are continuing to work on their music, which can be found on Spotify and SoundCloud, so keep an eye on them and their social media, and go check out any shows they play if you have the chance!