Five years of the Lonely Mountain Band!

[Harperella]

We just passed our 5th year anniversary on March 26th! It has been a grand 5 years indeed! Here's some of the highlights:
The video that kicked it all off:

Harper's first big event in 2009, Assault on Fornost (Machinima by Welby)

Our first Weatherstock in 2009!

Ales and Tales begins in Fall of 2009. It was a small affair to start...


But was quite large when Free to Play hit LOTRO in 2010:

The Curse of Harperella was released as a machinima in 2010:

Galenhir's first LOTRO cover in 2010:

The second Weatherstock in 2010 was much better organized. The Hobbiton Philharmonic took 2 prizes!

And finally, we released our first Lonely Mountain Band album. Our founder, Galenhir Swordsong (John DiBartolo) was the key force behind this album.


This is still my favorite album, since it features Tolkien's lyrics in many of the tunes. We realized after this album that we needed to move away from using LOTR lyrics due to the litigiousness of the Tolkien Estate.

You can still buy this album here:
http://minstrelsongs.com/album/beyond-the-western-seas

In 2011, our kinship had really gained a large amount of notoriety. We moved to Guild Launch and started to tighten up on our recruiting policies. This is also the period where LMB started being known for in-game music as well as out of game music. Astleigh started to curate our LMB songbook. We gathered regularly as Old Winyards to provide music at Ales and Tales. Many musicians found their way to our kinship via this regular concert slot. In fact, music was undergoing a rennaissance across LOTRO, with many new bands forming and Landroval becoming a musical hotbed. During this time, we gathered some of our finest musicians--Keli, Beorbrand, Aegthil and his fool. Of course, Weatherstock was off the hook that year!

2011 was also the first year we had the Spring Racing Carnival. This was originally Duvelon's event, though LMB had a large part in its execution. Andeon singlehandedly put on a horse breed show (it involved a lot of mounting/dismounting and running around) and Lennidhren ran our fashion show. It was a whole new kind of event!

With 2012, our kinship bands really developed their own personalities. BBB was playing weekly and putting out incredible videos! They even -almost- made it to Weatherstock!

Our EU timezone players weren't to be left out. Andune Ensemble was formed to give concerts at more convenient hours. They started modestly enough playing the Michel Delving crafting area (a misguided idea from Harperella).

They really picked up steam (and a regular following) as they moved to the Prancing Pony. I've really enjoyed the creativity and musical acumen that this band within the band has shown. Keli and Floradine deserve a special shout out for being two wonderful musical minds behind this collaboration.


Aegthil's Fool has given us a great many musical gifts over the years (Aegthil himself has given more contagious gifts). Many of our band members have received tribute songs. But in my opinion, the best tune of all is still "Far Apart, but Never Alone" our kinship anthem! The tune was from Aegthil's Fool, and we wrote the lyrics collaboratively, then recorded various kin members for the vocals and many instruments. Here's the wonderful final product (and a great video to boot!)

Weatherstock 2012 was epic, of course! It even got its own theme song!

In 2012, we also took over management of the Spring Racing Carnival. The winner of the 2011 prize joined us, this time as big time organizer. That's right--Kiralynn of Rohan is a title holder of the Bree Cup. Kiralynn did more to encourage racing and horse related activities than anyone had ever done before. The Windy Acres Ranch has put on countless events emphasizing racing, fashion, RP, and more.

And now here we are in 2013, more active than ever. There's something going on in the band nearly ever day of the week. Our players are among the most active and vocal in the community. Such shining lights our members are! I've only scratched the surface of the many incredible events and activities our members put on. Sunday night seiges, EEE, Baiting the Dragon, Ales and Tales, the Welcome Wagon, the Winter Ball, and so many more! Now we go forward into 2013 with renewed vigor and creativity! What will the Lonely Mountain Band do next? Wait and see...






Far Apart, Never Alone!

[Anthemisa]

\o/

Long Live, Lonely Mountain Band!

*hugs her virtual family*

FAR APART, NEVER ALONE!

[Keli]

Well, what can I say!

What a great Kin to be a part of :)

[Floradine]

Great, great memories and the best time in any game I ever had and still have. Thank you Lonely Mountain Band you are the best :)

[Lauralda]

Hip hip hurrah!

I've only been here for 3 + 4months - but this time's been a total blast. What an awesome kin and creative folks. Lovely videos there, my fav by far is the LMB anthem (and Floradine's note on how it all came about).

Much <3 to everyone. Far Apart, Never Alone!

[Aedon Durreah]

Huzzah and Happy Anniversary to a wonderful Kinship.

[Jorui]

Having only joined last year it was fantastic to read back over the history of LMB and watch some amazing videos. What can I say, I'm so proud to be part of the Lonely Mountain Band :)

[Dannigan]

I'm with Anthe - *Hugs all around!*

The Lonely Mountain Band is a special people in a special place. Together, we create beautiful and fun things that last and make people smile. If only Tolkien were alive today that we might welcome him over for a smoke and a pint! Ha ha!

Far Apart, Never Alone!

Honor and fun,
Dannigan of Rohan a.k.a. Gori "Mithrilfist" Brightforge

[Cennwyn]

/salute and /hugs to all of you! My time in LMB has been marvelous indeed!

[Kiralynn]

Could we please (please please!) make the multi-video announcement post a regular post, and make a smaller announcement post with a link to this post? I can't load the Home page at all right now.

I sure hope I can make the anniversary party!

[Byrcha]

/swordsalute. What a wonderful retrospective! And thank you all for making the Lonely Mountain Band what it is and continues to be!

[`Tinki`]

Now this is a kin for the ages. May we be together for many years to come. I picked the greatest kin in the game to be a part of it seems.

FAR APART, NEVER ALONE!

[Moragaeth]

I find it fitting that the best kin ever in the game is as old as the game itself is. What changes everyone has seen!

I've only been playing LOTRO since August 2011, discovered Landroval later that year (Andurula and I had heard accolades on the web about how much of a social server this one is) and once we got there, we wondered at all of the people running around with "Lonely Mountain Band" under their names. Then Weatherstock IV happened and it was just marvelous.

Then I got invited to join in February. What a kin. I'm proud to be part of a large creative group of individuals, and above all, with a group who is active in helping to make this game even better.

[eliclily]

Hey guys! Glad to be apart of the team! just thought I would share that emotion. =D