Tart Vandelay are an Indie Pop duo based in Los Angeles, CA. Formed in 2014, the group consists of vocalist Katie Halligan and guitarist/producer Marty LoFaso. The duo began making music together while they were students in Boston before moving back to their hometown of Rochester, NY in 2015.
Once back in Rochester, they began touring and performing in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions, including trips over the border to Canada. During this time the group experimented with a jazz-pop sound while expanding to include a rhythm section and performing as a quartet.
In the spring of 2018, Halligan and LoFaso decided to begin incorporating more electronic elements into their sound and returned to their roots as a duo. To finalize their first chapter as a group, Tart Vandelay released the “Janus” EP on May 31st 2019, just before relocating to Phoenix, AZ. The duo spent the year 2020 refining their new electronic sound, and released several singles throughout 2021.
Halligan and LoFaso have been particularly busy in 2022, getting married, relocating to Los Angeles, and releasing their hottest new single “R U Mine?” all within the first half of the year. Currently, Tart Vandelay is writing and recording fresh material, booking performances for 2023, and making friends in Los Angeles.
Our Core Story:
As individuals, we both had to overcome challenges in order to be together as a couple, but our love for each other kept us going strong. The same story relates to our music. We’ve had to overcome personal and professional barriers in order to pursue music as a full-time endeavor, but it’s our love for music that keeps us pushing forward. It is now our mission to improve other peoples’ lives by encouraging self-positivity through our music, and by demonstrating first-hand that people do have the power to change their own lives for the better.