Smilo & the Ghost write songs that land like confessions. Tyler Smilo, the Erie, PA songwriter at the center of the band, has built his catalog around recovery, survival, and what he calls “the ghosts we carry,” and that weight is audible in the music in a way that feels earned rather than performed. The four-piece plays Lovin’ Cup in Rochester on Saturday, October 24.
About the Show
Smilo formed the band in Erie in 2016 after meeting his core bandmates at what he’s called a legendary open mic night at The Crooked Eye, a meeting he’s described as “somewhat serendipitous,” with the group evolving from there. The current lineup is Smilo on guitar and vocals, Adam McKillip on mandolin and vocals, Jassen Wilber on bass guitar, and Dominick DeCecco on banjo and vocals. Wilber has toured the world with American blues guitarist Bernard Allison; DeCecco’s banjo extends the band into genuine bluegrass territory. Their sound draws comparisons to Trampled by Turtles, Dawes, and Ryan Bingham, with the lyrical sensibility of John Prine and Bob Dylan underneath — Americana the band describes as falling “somewhere between dusty desert highways and dimly lit city bars.”
Their discography has earned back-to-back recognition from the Erie Reader: Ghost Writers (2018) and Fingers Crossed & Godspeed (2021) were each voted among the publication’s top three albums of their respective years. Twang & Fire, their most recent full-length, addresses what the band describes as “fire and fragility in a post-pandemic world.” The Phantom EP, released January 2026, is their most recent work overall, continuing the confessional arc that defines the catalog. Live, they deliver hard-driving, emotionally charged sets — music built for singing and dancing alongside high-energy stage presence. They’ve opened for Grammy Award-winning duo Dan + Shay and alt-rock veterans 10,000 Maniacs, and have performed across Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Kentucky, and Michigan. Earlier in 2026, they took a crowd-voted prize at the Laurel Cove Festival in Pineville, Kentucky, an award that funds their next EP.
Venue & Logistics
Lovin’ Cup is a bar, restaurant, and music venue at 300 Park Point Dr in Rochester. It’s an intimate room, the kind where mandolin and banjo fill the space without effort, and the venue serves food, making it easy to arrive early and settle in before the set. Rochester puts this show squarely in Finger Lakes territory.
Tickets
Tickets are $16–$20. Buy tickets