Empire Wild blew audiences away with their Morris Museum debut on The Back Deck this past June, now they return inside the Bickford Theatre for a holiday concert that puts a fresh twist on familiar favorites. They are a genre-bending, crossover trio founded by Ken Kubota, Brandon Ilaw, and Mitch Lyon. Ken and Mitch bring all the cello has to offer – bowed, plucked, chopped and more. Brandon can be found singing and playing anything he can get his hands on – often a cajon, sometimes a guitar or piano, maybe some ankle bells. All classically trained, the three musicians met at Juilliard and formed Empire Wild as a vehicle for their love of musical exploration – fusing the sounds of pop, folk, Broadway and more into their songwriting and composition.