Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with The Six Foot Tide
Charleston-based The Six Foot Tide deliver Lowcountry Americana infused Indie Rock across the Southeast United States and are thrilled to announce their first single, “Given to the Night,” a hauntingly melodic track that blends coastal Southern soul, cinematic folk textures, and lyrical vulnerability. Produced, mixed, and mastered by Manny Galvez, known for his work with Lil Wayne (Tha Carter V, The Carter Vi), the track showcases his rare ability to pull emotional depth from any genre.
“Given to the Night” feels like twilight: grounded, mysterious, and full of heart. With a pulse that leans into atmospheric Americana and storytelling reminiscent of Lord Huron or Ray LaMontagne.
Lead vocalist Eric Richard—trained in opera and rooted in the Lowcountry—anchors the track with restrained soul and a poetic edge, supported by a tight rhythm section, textured guitar work and a soaring saxophone melody that pulls the listener across the song. The Six Foot Tide are rising voices in the southeastern indie scene, managed by Andrea Felber (BADE Consulting) and recently nominated for Charleston’s Favorite Local Band.
This single is the band’s first release; an emotionally resonant release for listeners who love mood-driven Americana and Indie Rock with cinematic weight.
www.thesixfoottide.com
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
We lived in this Appalachian Eden of sorts, tucked away on the Tennessee River. When I was a kid, my parents would open up the house and blast music out into the night from the turntable and their collection of vinyl under the summer stars. It was heaven.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
Music has always been a part of my life; but creating music is new. I spent 15 years on the road and always said, “If I ever get off this road I want to come back to music with a band.” Well, 2020 got me off the road along with the rest of the world and I didn’t start the band… Then in 2022 I briefly got pretty sick and it woke me up, and I knew it was time to get started. I picked up a guitar, learned to play, and learned to write.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
The Six Foot Tide came together around the music. I was writing and performing and got together with Billy Lockwood who helped build out the vision for the band. Billy would say, “Hey man, those words and the music appeal to people’s heads and hearts but if you want them to feel it in their hips and in their feet we need a whole band.”
We met multi-platinum producer, Manny Galvez here in Charleston. Manny was just wrapping up “Tha Carter VI” with Lil Wayne, and Manny loved the music. We put a plan together to bring it to life in the studio and not just on the stage and it has been an amazing journey so far. This year is our first as a band and it has been incredible.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
The Six Foot Tide is Coastal Americana. It’s a little bit 90s, a little bit Country, and a little bit Rock and Roll; it’s genre bending in a way that feels like the fabric of the band and our diverse influences.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
Learning how to play with other people has been a revelation. Since I was a kid I would sing and always felt like I was channeling something larger than me. Playing with other people amplifies that in a way that is wonderful; connecting to the music and channeling it in that way has changed me as an artist, for the better.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
Recent years have me surrounded by my own notes, in the margins of notebooks, post it notes, on my phone, and in text messages to myself—which is so fun and so very often inconvenient in the best possible way. From these notes an acoustic guitar, bass guitar, electric guitar, and piano are my best companions for developing the work and collaborating with the band on the music.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
Charleston, South Carolina has so many great musicians. I’m loving what the band Hot Mustard has cooking; great music and a mixed media partnership with Opus Thimble that is impossibly cool.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
I love story, poetry, and metaphor. So, there are a few stories of me in the music but so many about the universal experiences we all have, simply filtered through my lens.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
I want people to feel and hear their own experiences in our stories and the music. The most rewarding thing I’ve experienced so far is when people come up and say “This thing happened to me and I’m so moved to hear you write about it.”—That’s amazing.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
Music has this incredible way of putting things in perspective. To me it’s like a version of sailing on a dark ocean under a moonless starry sky. It shows you at once that you are both tiny and universal. And that second part, the universal part… music has taught me about community; it’s the thing that we can all relate to. Every single one of us.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
We are so excited about the venues here in Charleston and the festivals around the Southeast in particular. I hope to see fans at Riverfront Revival in 2026 and I’ll be excited to hear from Newport Folk Festival when they are ready 🙂
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
There is a list of like 100 but if you want one, I’d love to collaborate with Jeremie Albino. I love the feeling in his music and I love what I hear in his work with Crispin Day on production.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)
https://www.instagram.com/thesixfoottide
https://www.bandsintown.com/a/15603105-the-six-foot-tide
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
We are back in the studio around the holidays in 2025, we’ve got a stack of new singles forthcoming; we are so excited to continue to make and share music with the world and to see where that journey takes us!
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
If listeners discover something about themselves through our music, that’s us at the top of our game.
