The pandemic took its toll on musicians everywhere, but the Americana quintet Fruition managed to emerge from their forced time off the road fully recharged and sounding better than ever.

The band, who have been together for over 15 years, recently released their eighth album “How to Make Mistakes,” a work that showcases their gorgeous three-part harmonies and a mixed bag of styles. They are on tour now in support of the album and will make a stop at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. Alt-country musician Joelton Mayfield and the local band Splendid Torch will open.

Fruition got their start busking on the streets of Portland, Oregon. Their music benefits from having three songwriter/vocalists and multi-instrumentalists: Jay Cobb Anderson, Mimi Naja, and Kellen Asebroek. Rounding out the band is Jeff Leonard on bass and Tyler Thompson on drums.

In the months before COVID-19 struck, the band was making great strides — playing bigger venues, getting airplay, and building their audience. But when the lockdown arrived all that came to a halt.

“The time before COVID was good and not so good,” said band member Mimi Naja, calling from her home in Atlanta. “It was good in that we were straying really busy and gaining more fans at a strong rate, but at the cost of kind of burning out.”

While it was initially hard to put everything on pause, the band soon discovered that there was a silver lining to having some time off.

“More than anything, it was great to take a break, get a bird’s eye view of your life and what you are up to, and try to reevaluate the ‘why’ of it all,” she said. “In this industry nobody is really taking the time to do this because we live in such a grind culture. I feel guilty at times, but I immensely enjoyed my little break.”

For a working musician, the grind often comes in the form of constant touring, and that can take its toll. Once the band had a break they were able to tend to their personal lives. For Naja it meant going to rehab. Two of her bandmates became parents and another got married.

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Naja expressed the desire to get away from it all in one of the songs of the album, “Get Lost,” where she sings: “I’m tired of people and concrete/Sick of these fast cars and loud streets/Soon as I’m done working and collect my fees/I’m gonna get lost, don’t come for me.”

Despite all the changes over the last few years, the band never lost sight of the music or each other.

“We stayed in close communication throughout those years, and we were definitely remaining a unit, just talking and thinking,” said Naja, who said she also did a lot of songwriting during this time. “There were phases for all of us where we were thinking ‘should I be doing this or should I learn a trade of something?’ But we came out on top, and we know the music is worth it.”

Once it was time to get back in the studio, the band decided to take a different approach to recording. They recorded all the songs live in the studio and produced them themselves with no overdubs, going for a warts and all sound that resulted in a recording they feel most accurately captures the band’s sound.

“The thinking behind it is that we had a ton of material and we needed to get something fresh out there,” Naja said. “It’s almost like a live show in the studio.”

The band is pleased with the album and hope that listeners who may be unfamiliar with the group will check it out.

“We really think that for any fan of good music, or any fan of what falls under the ‘Americana’ umbrella — be it folky, rock, soul or blues — we think our little kitchen-sink genre will appeal to you,” Naja said.

The band members have a new and refreshed approach to their jobs and are enjoying being on the road and bringing these new songs to audiences.

“Having the pandemic just strip everything away really changed everyone’s personal approach and we don’t take anything for granted,” Naja said. “Every day we know that it’s not a given to get to do this and we just love it to our core. We just have to keep the faith that it will fall on enough ears who love it as much as we do so we can continue to do this.”

Opening the show is Splendid Torch, a new local band making their area debut. You will likely discover is that you are familiar with these musicians: they were all formerly part of the progressive bluegrass band Mamma’s Marmalade. The group, which was based in Northampton, played its last show together in August at the Arcadia Folk Festival in Easthampton. Founding member, mandolin player Mitch Bordage, decided to leave the group so they decided that after almost 10 years and four albums together, it was time to call it a day. But the three remaining members — fiddler Lily Sexton, bassist Joshua Ballard and guitarist Sean Davis — wanted to continue working together, and while they are grateful for the memories they made with Bordage, they felt it was time for a reinvention and to move forward with a new sounds as a new band: Splendid Torch!

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. To purchase tickets and for more information, visit Hawksandreed.com.

Erin McKeown and her friend Dean Judy Raper of Greenfield Community College had been looking for a project that they could collaborate on with Tara Brewster of Greenfield Savings Band, and they finally found it: a free concert to benefit the food pantry at the college. The show will take place on Thursday, Sept. 26, at 6 p.m. on the grounds of the college. Those in attendance are asked to bring a donation for the Corner Market Food Pantry that operates on campus and provides food for students and employees.

“I’m really psyched to do something outdoor, free, and for a good cause,” said McKeown.

This show is on the East Lawn at GCC and will feature local food trucks with food and beverages for purchase. Bring lawn chairs or blankets. RSVP requested so they can share additional details with attendees as the date draws closer and in case of a location change due to weather. RSVP at https://go.gcc.mass.edu/erin/.

McKeown has been making genre-defying music over the last 20 years, they have released 11 albums, and written for film, television and theater. The singer-songwriter from Northampton is currently writing a new musical, has a podcast called Fax of Life, and is about to launch a series of songwriting workshops at the Parlor Room in Northampton. For information on those workshops, visit parlorroom.org.

For this performance McKeown will be joined by local drummer J.J. O’Connell (Spouse, the Soul Magnets).

“J.J. will be playing and singing with me. Guitar and drums duo is like riding a motorcycle on a high wire,” said McKeown. “I love it!”

Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer who resides in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national publications. She can be reached at soundslocal@yahoo.com.