Thomas Harbin, an Auburn alumnus, has followed his dreams to Music City. His band, Mariela, played their first show in September of 2017 and has been thriving ever since.
Harbin graduated from Auburn in 2013 with a double major in piano performance and Spanish. He now is a piano professor at Belmont University as well a private studio teacher and a freelance musician. Harbin does everything from accompanying voice lessons and studio work to touring with Mariela and the occasional drum line gig on the crash symbols.
Harbin spent seven years studying classical music in college. He had to put most of his musical ambitions on hold during this time period, so when he finally finished he said he “needed to rediscover what it was about music that made me love it enough to get a bachelors and a masters degree in piano."
"Since moving to Nashville I’ve tried teaching, being a session player, touring with artists and playing a lot of jazz, but I’ve realized that my favorite part of music is the song itself," Harbin said. "So, I started Mariela to start making songs that will hopefully be meaningful for other people in the way that so many songs have been meaningful to me.”
Mariela is composed of four members, including Harbin (lead vocals, keys, rhythm guitar), Tommy Nixon (bass, producer), Jordan Morrison (drums) and Luke Gibson (lead guitar). Harbin decided to book and ask his friends to play with him and the rest was history.
“It was really fun so we kept booking shows," Harbin said. "Different friends filtered in and out and eventually, we settled into a rhythm with the same four guys. Tommy and I had written some music together and recorded some demos for a school project so it was natural for him to be the first choice as a bandmate.”
Harbin described his band as sounding “like a heartfelt lyric-driven indie pop band with a mix of keys, synth textures, and singable guitar riffs.” Harbin said Mariela is influenced by bands like Bleachers, The Killers, St. Vincent and The National.
The name Mariela was inspired by Harbin’s study abroad while he was at Auburn University. He spent the summer in San Sabastian, Spain, where he met the band's namesake.
“I met Mariela through a church I was working with," Harbin said. "When my housing situation fell through, Mariela offered to let me live with her and her husband Omar and their daughter Delfina.”
The band's frequent gigs are around Nashville, Birmingham and Atlanta areas.
“Our favorite venue would definitely be a house show we played at an actual Pyramid in Atlanta," Harbin said. "We are actually doing a live session with WEGL on April 27 and then headed up to Atlanta for a house show that night. After that, we are at 116 East Mobile in Florence, Alabama.”
“Though we aren’t seeking fame and fortune, we’re going to push Mariela as far is it will go," Harbin said. "We want to push ourselves to keep writing really honest, heartfelt music that helps us feel our own lives more deeply but is still fun to sing and dance to. We want the music to reach as far and wide as possible. So that will hopefully mean a lot of touring as the band continues to grow and gain traction. We really want to sing these songs together with as many people as possible. I really hope this involves getting connected with a new generation of the Auburn family.”
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