On Monday night, we learned of the passing of Sabrina Duim, harpist and vocalist of Volunteer Pioneer, who were scheduled to be this week’s featured band. When we spoke to Sabrina, Kyle Williams and Jason Byers last Tuesday in our studio, we learned that they were a sweet, funny group of people who have created some fantastic pop music. In our one conversation with her, we were struck by Sabrina’s humility, warmth and her talent. The original draft of this post contained the following remarks:

The harp work (and absence of low-end) isn’t a novelty thing. Not only is Sabrina a terrifically-skilled musician, but, like the rest of the instrumentation, her role just makes sense. The sound is sometimes sparse, with the vocals up front to drive some very compelling, sometimes very funny narratives, but the music fits in in just the right way to create a wonderfully unique and catchy sound.

We spoke to Volunteer Pioneer with Deb Zeller to discuss their now-cancelled performance at the next Playing in Fog concert. The band is on hiatus in light of this tragedy. Please head to their MySpace page here, both to give them your condolences and to hear more of their great music.

We wish Sabrina’s family and friends our deepest condolences. We hope you enjoy this episode as a tribute to this great band and their excellent music.

Update (1/18): For more information about this tragedy please see this article.