The Penny Candies are the brainchild of Riah Packer, who had been writing songs here and there for about a decade and posting them online for friends and family to see. The band crowdfunded their debut album, Lemon, which comprises a handful of favorite songs from the many Riah had written over the years, and I was lucky enough to have had the opportunity to capture a little bit of the process.
I first spent a couple of days with the Penny Candies in October of 2021 to photograph their first live show since the beginning of the pandemic, just after they'd successfully wrapped their crowdfunding campaign.
Rehearsing in Riah's living room
Rehearsing in Riah's living room
Riah and Callie
On top of being a Penny Candy, Riah is a mom and a full-time student, which means her calendar is pretty jam-packed
Riah
On the way to the show
In the greenroom
December 2021: in the studio, recording "Resolutions."
Laying down choir vocals for "Resolutions"
Riah gets ready to record the lead vocal track
Landon, the album's producer, prepares to record Annie's violin tracks
Shannalee on the keys
Callie tells a story between takes
Listening back to the tracks
The album took quite a bit longer to finish than I think anyone had expected at the start, as such projects often do. It wasn't until May of 2024 that I returned to Salt Lake City for the release concert.
The final rehearsal was scheduled for the day before the show. It would be the first time the entire band played with all of the backing musicians, as well as the first time they'd be playing in the actual performance space. However, a communication mix-up within the venue staff meant that the rehearsal couldn't happen there—there was only time to load in some gear and scenery before the space would be closed.
So after a quick load-in, the band crammed into one of its members' living rooms once again.
Loading in
Checking out the space
Dallin tries to hear what he's playing
Riah designs and makes all of the artwork and decorative pieces for The Penny Candies, from album covers and show posters to costumes and set pieces, and her bandmates chip in to help whenever they can. Making seven costumes from scratch—three suits and four dresses—was no small feat. Riah and Callie, the trumpet player, were hard at work until the eleventh hour getting the last pieces finished.
Just an hour or two later, the band piled into the venue for sound check and the show.
