Erwilian

In 2000 Melton, a high school English teacher, approached Buetow, his student, after he performed in a school music concert. Together the duo recruited other students to meet at lunch in Melton’s classroom to experiment with acoustic and folk instruments, which eventually led to performances at seasonal school events.[7] The group took on the name "Wood, Wind, & Wire," reflecting its primary instrumentation, but ultimately dwindled in size as students graduated, a catalyst for Melton and Buetow to find musicians outside the school. Melton's wife Bethel, as well as mutual friends mandolinist Robert Schuweiler and guitarist Scott Milliron, joined the band as a result. Over the next three years, the band performed locally in the Seattle area and began work on their first recording project. In 2004, the group renamed themselves Erwilian[8] and in 2005 released their first album, Renovata.

Through 2006-07 the group added percussionist Jeff Reed, guitarist Bill Bowser, and sound engineer Brian Matheny. 2007 also marked the beginning of Erwilian's popular series of annual Holiday concerts.[9] Through 2008-09 the group continued performances throughout the Pacific Northwest, and released live concert album Midwinter’s Night in late 2009. The next three years were spent almost entirely in the studio, and in 2012 Light From Darkness was released. As the group's sound expanded, Malcolm Lee joined in the summer of 2012 and Matt Garcia joined in the spring of 2014. In April 2014 Reed was diagnosed with cancer, and passed away later that year. Shortly after Reed's death, Bowser and Matheny departed to pursue other music projects, and by the end of 2014 Erwilian evolved into its current lineup with the addition of John Hintze and Keely Rendle.

Following the addition of Hintze and Rendle, the group spent much of 2014-15 developing new material, as well as collaborating on other projects including Ricky Kej & Wouter Kellerman’s Grammy-winning Winds of Samsara (2014)[5] and Kellerman’s Grammy-nominated Love Language (2015).[6] Recording sessions throughout 2016-2018 became the basis of the band's 2019 EP Advent.