The Honeyhawks
Music, like literature, explores many themes—usually boiling down to love, life, and loss. In this column we discuss the locals that play the music; however, this duo epitomizes potentially the most widely sung-about theme there is.
Lelah and Jay Eppenbach’s love story began in the city of romance when Lelah was visiting Paris with her acapella group from Yale and Jay was celebrating cancer remission on a trip with his brother. And in classic romance-story fashion, they have been inseparable ever since.
They quickly connected over music backgrounds, both growing up in environments where eclectic record collections and strumming a six string was the standard setting—a tradition perpetuated by the Eppenbachs in the home they’ve made together.
After living together in Santa Cruz, California—Jay’s birthplace—they eventually married and rooted themselves in Cape May to raise their two daughters who have both taken after mom and dad in the music department.
“Music is a daily part of our family life. Our girls sing all the time and listen to a wide variety of music. They’ve started singing in harmony instead of trying to out-sing each other,” said Lelah. “Our older daughter has started playing open mics, which is great. They’re both involved with music and musical theater at school.” So, it is safe to say the music genes are strong in this family—but let’s rewind a bit to when the couple branched out from singing in private to in public.
A decade ago, once they felt settled, and after years of enjoying the pleasures of playing music with family and friends, they were urged to participate in an open mic event. Their first live performance took place at Elaine’s, urged by local musician and nose flute aficionado Debrah Donahue. Their indie-folk style and on-stage chemistry was so well received that night that they felt encouraged to continue.
Gigs began to pick up naturally, beginning with Fins Bar and Grille. They continued to frequent open mic nights, specifically the one hosted by MQ Murphy at the Mad Batter. In response to the momentum, it was time for a band name.
After opening the digital room to suggestions via Facebook post, the comment section played around with different word combinations. “The Honeyhawks” struck the right chord, a proper moniker for being sweet like honey with the talons to back them up.
It is evident that the presence of music brings peace to the duo, which is conveyed through their extremely soothing performances—a specialty of theirs being seamless vocal harmony. You could expect to hear anything from The Beatles to Led Zeppelin to Brandi Carlile and the Avett Brothers—carried out with their raw acoustic sound and minimal electronic interference.
Lelah shared how performing as a husband-wife combination affects their dynamic; “Playing music together has definitely enhanced our relationship. The non-verbal communication that happens during a gig is a huge thing! We read each other pretty well.”
Over the past decade they have had plenty of performances and participated in local collaborations like Cape May’s Singer Songwriter Festival and Songs from the Barn produced by Marnie Lengel—they even have a few originals under their belt which they sprinkle into occasional sets.
They previously organized their own music junction with the online hub they created with help from Michael Kline during Covid. Known as the Virtually Cape May Happy Hour, a Facebook page consisting of “A series of virtual happy hour concerts by Cape May musicians, to fill the gap and soothe the spirit during COVID19 isolation.” These live streamed concerts allowed musicians to generate income under the conditions of the pandemic while also breathing some life back into the music scene.
“We ended up booking three months’ worth of concerts with 66 different musicians and 180 shows. People still tell us at the shows meant a lot to them to still have access to live music from Cape May County musicians,” said Lelah. The abundant success of this mission is a testament to the integrity and merit of the area’s creative talent.
“The local music community in Cape May is incredible and we would not be here without it,” a sentiment the couple gushed in harmony.
Music also serves as an outlet as they balance raising a family while both being full-time teachers. Jay transitioned from teaching fourth grade to music at Cape May City and West Cape May Elementary. “It’s been a fun switch to go from teaching fourth grade to teaching music,” he said. “Elementary students are mostly excited about music class, so they’re happy to see me, which is nice.”
Lelah, who directs the school musical and teaches a recreational class of ukulele and guitar, also has insight on how the students respond to music: “Music learning supports all other learning—I love when students have the tenacity to explore and work out the kinks on something they like. My musical theater students usually come with a healthy love of singing, and drama helps them get even more into it.”
This wholesome pair acknowledged how fortunate they are to do what they love with who they love. “We’re lucky to get to do what we do together, and that is never lost on us. It’s kind of like a date night,” making for an inspiring partnership with plenty more date nights to come.
