Violinists Wynton Grant, Nick Kennerly, and Julian McClanahan join Rostam on tour

Three USC Thornton violinists — Popular Music seniors Julian McClanahan and Nick Kennerly and GCRT candidate Wynton Grant – are attracting notice as a tightly-knit strings backing trio for pop artists. Having recently opened for HAIM at a sold-out show at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre, the trio is currently on a two-week European tour with former Vampire Weekend producer and multi-instrumentalist, Rostam.

As McClanahan described to the Daily Trojan, the trio booked their engagement after meeting Rostam at an Amoeba Records album-signing. “I ended up, like, impulsively just writing my name down on the back of this receipt with my number with a Sharpie,” said McClanahan. A week later, arrangements were underway.

“You’ve got to put in the work and be ready […] when opportunity knocks, you open the door,” Grant said.

Rostam’s European tour in support of his debut release, “Half-Light,” continues at Amsterdam’s Milkweg venue this weekend and concludes in a sold-out show at London’s Courtyard Theatre on November 14th.