Akenda

Akenda is an American electronic dance music band founded on the campus of Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA early 2013. The trio consists of lead singer/keyboardist Melissa Hayes, drummer Kaj Sorensen, and founder/guitarist Bert Cheshire. With strong female pop vocals, intricate dance oriented drumming, fierce guitar playing, and futuristic synth soundscapes Akenda draws influence from across the board to birth a distinct style explicitly their own. The group's trademark sound advanced and matured through several lineup transformations as well as heavy integration of electronic production. The band now blurs the line between modern producer/DJ's and exciting instrumentalists. The original four person roster performed shows regionally throughout the northeast US from 2013 - 2015. In summer 2015 Melissa Hayes joined the band as they embarked internationally for debut performances in Spain, France, and Japan amidst being based out of Valencia, Spain. In 2016 Akenda returned to the U.S. as a three-piece to occupy the rest of the year cooking up their self-titled debut EP and performing shows around the southeastern states. The band gained notoriety when lead singer Melissa Hayes’ voice was featured in a Nike swimsuit commercial January 2017. Akenda’s first full official release will drop early 2018. All tracks were written, produced, and engineered by the band then passed off to Grammy heavyweights Andrew Wuepper (Justin Bieber, Beyonce, Celine Dion, Katy Perry) for mixing and Sterling Sound (Bruno Mars, Babymetal, Wu-Tang Clan, D’angelo) for mastering. Currently residing in Denver, CO Akenda is amassing new fans while carving their name out as a must experience live spectacle!