They were a big hit last year; Seattle folk rockers Kuinka return to Richland

The Seattle band Kuinka brought down the house at Emerald of Siam last year.

With their contagious energy, tight harmonies, effortless musicianship and clever, often rollicking songs, the folk rockers won plenty of fans at the Richland venue.

They’re returning this weekend — and they promise to bring the fun once again.

“We’re really excited to come back and dig deeper. We had a really good time last time,” said Miranda Zickler, who sings and plays synth, banjo, guitar and percussion in the band.

“It’s going to be a really fun thing to bring the show to Richland,” she said.

Music starts at 9 p.m. Nov. 18 at Emerald, 1314 Jadwin Ave. Cover is $8.

Planes on Paper also will take the stage.

Kuinka used to be known as Rabbit Wilde, going through a name change after a trademark dispute.

The new moniker — “kuinka” is Finnish for “how” — suits the band, Zickler said. “It’s fun to say, it feels really light, it feels like it fits us really well,” she said.

Along with Zickler, Kuinka includes brothers Nathan and Zach Hamer, plus Jillian Walker.

Walker sings and plays cello and percussion, and the Hamers both sing, with Zach on lead guitar/percussion/harmonica and Nathan on ukulele/mandolin.

Zickler and the Hamers all grew up in Mount Vernon, but she didn’t meet the guys until they all left home for New York.

“We decided to start playing music together,” Zickler said, and they brought out something special in each other.

“I was pretty reserved with my songwriting until I met the guys. I would write every once in a while, but I was nervous about letting go and showing it,” she said. “They got me out of my shell.”

Zickler and the guys all eventually moved back west, and with Walker — another Mount Vernon native — they formed the band.

They’ve been tearing up the Northwest music scene and earning raves.

The Stranger, for example, said their “seraphic vocals bookended by ukulele, cello and heavy percussion will leave you feeling giddy and glad to be alive.”

Zickler said she and her bandmates love playing music and connecting with audiences.

“We’re all very passionate people. There’s a little bit of a trend of apathy being cool, and we try to counteract that idea. We’re not concerned about looking cool or hip or any certain thing. We really try to just have fun and enjoy ourselves and connect with people however we can,” she said. “It’s fun — it’s great to be able to let go in that way.”

This story was originally published November 16, 2017 at 2:27 PM with the headline "They were a big hit last year; Seattle folk rockers Kuinka return to Richland."