Rucca is LINK nky readers’ choice for best band in 2025. Formed by two friends who have known each other since elementary school, the female duo is known for their beautifully integrated harmonies. They play both covers and original pieces they write together. Although they started out on electric guitars, much of their music now is acoustic and leans toward folk and songs that highlight their voices.
Lauren Hartman and Ashley Lilly grew up in Florence, and both went to Boone County High. They started playing together in middle school, and by the time they were 15 they’d landed their first official “gig” at Willis Music.
“We’ve been playing together a long time,” said Hartman. I think we came to be as Rucca heading into maybe our late teens, early 20s. We were set up to do a Fox 19 interview and one of the morning shows. At the time, our band name was called Strike Me Pink, and we wanted to change it up…to have a different presence for this interview…We came up with this band name Rucca, which I think is slang for my girl or my friend.”
Becoming Rucca
The band went through a few different configurations, but kept the duo dynamic throughout, she said. Their musical influences started at home.
“We’ve both always had interest in music,” said Lilly. “I grew up singing in church, and my parents made me take piano lessons and all that. And then in middle school, I think we both decided we wanted to play guitar.”
Their influences in the early 2000s included Michelle Branch, Avril Lavigne and others popular at the time, but Lilly said their parents’ musical tastes also played a role in what each brought to the band.
“I know Lauren’s dad is a big classic rock fan, like Led Zeppelin, and she also is very folk inspired, like Bob Dylan. My side is more new wave, ‘80s rock and things like that — New Order, The Cure, The Clash, Pat Benatar. So we have all these different influences,” she said.
They discovered their own sound while playing together over the years, finding that their strong harmonies were key.
In harmony
“We’ve always just kind of gravitated more towards folk music with our harmonies. That just is a great place for us to land. It suits us really well. And I think when we tend to write originals, we gravitate towards more of a folk sound,” Lilly said. “Our covers range all over the place, anything from Stevie Nicks to the Foo Fighters to Lana Del Rey and you name it. We try to do a little bit of everything.”
Hartman said the band has been compared to the Indigo Girls, but she was never a big fan. It wasn’t until she saw a documentary on them that she saw there were correlations, especially in how they work together when creating their own songs and sound.
“I really think that what we’re known for is our natural harmonizing abilities. We’ve been doing it for so long that it’s just it comes easy. It’s really natural for us, and that is kind of the selling point. I think we both notice every time we get booked when people write a little caption about us, they say our harmonies are mesmerizing or something to that extent. And we’re like, oh, wow, thanks. We’re just having fun singing,” she said.
She said the duo remains flexible and will bring in different instruments, like the mandolin or the tambourine and often invites special guests to join in.
Women in music
Although even today the music industry is male-dominated, Hartman and Lilly said, but thanks to the internet, there’s a lot more information and access available to young women musicians today than it was when they first began.
“There are a lot more opportunities, I think, for women to be able to access information to help them grow as musicians, as vocal artists, or in whatever they’re pursuing,” Hartman said. “We do see a lot more women musicians on the rise. It’s awesome to see. If anyone is interested in getting into it, what we would say is ‘Go for it.’”
“There’s actually a really cool group on Facebook. It’s called Cincy Women in Music… a community page for all the female musicians in Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, in the tri state area, to communicate, bounce ideas off each other, talk about their upcoming shows and how they can support each other. It’s a huge, awesome resource. I wish we would have had it when we were just starting out,” Lilly added.
You can catch Rucca at any number of gigs in Northern Kentucky and throughout the region at different bars and restaurants. They play regularly at Brianza Gardens and Winery in Walton. They’ve played at a number of music festivals in summer months and venues such as Barleycorns, Cock and Bull in Mainstrasse and Buffalo Bobs in Florence. For information on their upcoming shows, check out their Facebook page at facebook.com/ruccaband