Little did Jon Middleton and Sierra Lundy know that a chance meeting at a coffee shop in 2016 would blossom into a musical and romantic partnership.
The couple first crossed paths when Middleton, vocalist and guitarist of folk-rock outfit Jon and Roy, was playing the Tree House Café on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia, Canada, where Lundy had been working in her hometown.
“I don’t really remember too much about it except that she invited me to her family festival, which was on her parents’ property, called Donkey Fest,” Middleton recalls with a laugh. “It had nothing to do with actual donkeys. It was just a backyard party.”
The two went their separate ways after that, but eventually reconnected. It wasn’t until Lundy’s sister urged them to team up and make music together that the duo known as Ocie Elliott was officially born.
“The next time we met, there was a bit more of a spark. But we didn’t consider singing together for another year after that,” he says, adding that Lundy’s sister “kind of forced us” to start a band.
“We wanted to,” Middleton says. “But it took her to make us do it.”
‘Growing pains’
Now the Canadian duo is an established indie-folk act, having performed this summer at the Newport Folk Festival, Bonnaroo and Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Their music can also be heard on several Grey’s Anatomy episodes, in addition to New Amsterdam and the Netflix series Sweet Magnolias.
The couple is currently embarking on their biggest U.S. outing to date, following the release of new singles “Adelina” and “These Days.” The tour includes two Front Range stops at the Aggie Theatre in Fort Collins and Boulder Theater on Oct. 11-12.
Showgoers can expect a live showcase of Ocie Elliott’s soothing brand of acoustic folk featuring both Middleton and Lundy’s soft, whispered vocal delivery.
“Much like our relationship, there’s something unique about us singing together,” Lundy says. “If I’m weak in some way, Jon’s voice will be there.”
As Ocie Elliott’s star rises, the couple’s bond strengthens around the music, carving a sometimes difficult path the partners are happy to walk, hand in hand.
“It’s challenging for us both to navigate in a number of respects, mixing business with personal relationships,” Middleton says. “To spend so much time with one person, there’s a lot of growing pains that go with that.”
‘A very beautiful thing’
But Lundy and Middleton complement one another just as much as songwriters as they do better-halves. One of Ocie Elliott’s earliest songs, “Down by the Water,” highlights this dynamic with flair.
“Waking in odd spaces, knowing now / That I'm not alone and you are around,” Middleton croons. Then it turns into a duet: “And we're out, down by the water singing our songs.”
“We each bring separate things to the table,” Middleton says. “From the first time we sang together, we instantly reacted like, ‘Wow, this feels so good.’ Sierra forces me to be a much better songwriter. There was a connection and synergy when we started harmonizing, and it’s only become stronger.”
“I’m a severe perfectionist, and I’m quite ADHD. I can never finish anything. Having Jon there, he’s so prolific. He’s always getting things done,” Lundy adds. “Both of our personalities forge better music than we could make separately.”
Middleton enjoys when they “hammer out the harmonies,” whether it’s after he comes up with a guitar lick or Lundy writes a moving lyric. The point is that they’re doing it together.
“We don’t take for granted that we get to do this and get to connect that way, especially on stage,” he says. “It is a very beautiful thing.”
ON THE BILL: Ocie Elliott with Charles Staples. 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, Aggie Theatre, 204 South College Ave., Fort Collins. $35-$40. | 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $30-$35