Indie-pop duo “So Long Solo,” treated Iona with a pleasantly refreshing performance. The married couple Mark and Heather Miller set up the End Zone with merchandise and a tea station last Wednesday where the audience was free to make their own cups of flavorful tea.

The performance featured many different types of instruments such as a ukulele, cello, flute and a melodica.

“Great performance, I was really impressed by how talented they are,” said freshman Brandy Gonzalez.

This is the second time “So Long Solo” has made an appearance at Iona and the duo surely recognized some of the previous attendees in the audience. The Millers interacted with the audience individually introducing and conversing with the students. They even asked for a volunteer to perform with them in one of their songs.

“The performance was uplifting. Iona should do this more often,” said Freshman Steven Weldon.

“So Long Solo” performed many of their original songs but also covered various songs such as “Lucky” by Jason Mraz and “Stay” by Rihanna. Their passion for music and each other was clearly communicated when the duo was on stage.

Their favorite part about music is being able to share it with others in order to help people heal and gain a connection that proves nobody is ever alone.

Mark Miller said that his musical inspirations include Andrew Bird, musicals and the Harry Potter soundtrack. Heather Miller said that her musical inspirations are Ingrid Michelson and God. The couple felt that pursuing two separate careers would not have been an option in their relationship. They were booked the first year they decided to go to a national convention where they met with 400 colleges across the nation.

The majority of the places “So Long Solo” performs are colleges and churches. One could clearly see how passionate the couple is about music, but also about helping others. Next to the tea station, the duo set up an area to sell bracelets made by women who were rescued from the sex trade. The couple showed pictures from their trip to Uganda, and sold their albums for whatever price best suited the student’s budget.

The duo met when they were 25 years -old and have spent the last five years working on their music careers together. Music was always the number one career option for Mark Miller so he became a singer/songwriter. Heather Miller, on the other hand, began to play the flute in middle school and was in the choir growing up. She never imagined doing what she is doing now. She dreamed of going back to Uganda (she had visited after college) and reuniting with the amazing people she had met there. However, the couple met and pursued their careers together. Miller listened to many artists that would blend well with her husband and retrained her opera-like voice to be the light and refreshing voice it is now.

The couple continues to grow with each other and inspire others with each performance. Their success is clearly measured by the amount of love they spread through their music. Mark Miller says that he will be rooting for Iona in March Madness and Heather Miller can’t wait to come back to Iona again next year.