Acaciawood

Acaciawood was born around a single microphone in an old Pittsburgh attic. 

That was where they recorded their first single, "Bend the Roses," in 2021. The trio of women (Brigid Burt, Aislin Hilgeman, and Luna Oppus) met at Franciscan University of Steubenville and discovered a shared passion for music. Their individual influences varied widely, but there was one thing on which they could agree: in an age of overproduced pitch-perfection, they wanted to create music that sounded real. 

After recording and releasing their live take of “Bend the Roses,” followed by the literary-folk tune “Amory Blaine,” the girls launched a grassroots campaign to fund a full-length album. With the support of their community, they recorded their debut album Acaciawood in Steubenville, Ohio during the summer of 2023. The album was recorded and produced (this time using more than one microphone) by Joe Mello. Acaciawood is a compilation of experience rather than songs — each track was written amidst the intensity, vivacity, and uncertainty of life in the girls’ early twenties. They released the album on April 12, 2024. 

Now the group is based out of Pittsburgh, PA, where they gained a new member following Oppus’s departure in March of 2026. Viola player Catherine Mattern joined Acaciawood just in time for the West Virginia recording session for their single “Roots.” The song was produced by Jadon Hayes (of Kindred Valley) and released on April 24, 2026. 

The group has found a new well of inspiration in the sounds of traditional American music. This is always close at hand in their new home of Pittsburgh, once widely known as “The Paris of Appalachia.” This is evident in the band’s fresh emphasis on tight three-part harmonies and incorporation of banjo and mountain dulcimer in their live performances. Their upcoming single, “Haunted Like a House,” was written as an homage to traditional lovelorn ballads written by women of the Blue Ridge throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.