Sibling songs: GoldenOak set to perform at Santa Fe Plaza

It’s like a chess match as Zak Kendall becomes strategic when it comes to making moves with his music.

He patiently waits for the right time to release a song and tries to get the most out of each opportunity.

As the co-founder of GoldenOak alongside his sister, Lena, Kendall is also open to collaborations.

The band released its album, “Room to Grow” in 2021 and more recently, the single “Geese” was released on May 19.

“The key to it all is to keep going,” Kendall says. “It seems like every time we go through the recording process, it’s always a little different. We’re reinventing the way we engage together and with songwriting. ‘Geese’ was the fastest we’ve gone through this process.”

GoldenOak is set to perform as part of Lensic 360’s Summer Scene with a free show at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 21, on the Santa Fe Plaza.

The performance in Santa Fe is a return for the band, who first performed in New Mexico in October 2021.

“That was our first trip to the Southwest, and we love New Mexico,” he says. “Santa Fe, particularly, has so many similarities to where we’re from in Portland, Maine. It’s this arts center. We fell in love with Santa Fe.”

GoldenOak was approached by Jamie Lenfestey and Time Franke of Lensic 360, about the show.

“Jamie and Tim are wonderful people and when they reached out, we were like, ‘Count us in,’” he says. “We booked this show at the beginning of the year. Jamie came to visit his daughter in Maine and came to one of our shows. That was super special for us.”

GoldenOak began as two children playing around backyard bonfires and was more firmly established with their 2016 debut, “Pleasant St.”

Kendall says creating “Room to Grow” felt like a research project because it took so long to create.

As a student of human ecology in college, his songwriting contains front-line accounts of the current situation.

“Art isn’t a dumbed-down version of climate issues,” he says. “It’s OK that I’m not writing a book. There’s a place for music and art in climate conversations, and turning research data into art still does these ideas justice because that’s an important way to convey information and knowledge to push these issues to the forefront and make positive change.”

Kendall says through all the music that has been written, the band has found its sound.

“It did take us a moment,” he says. “I think all artists go through that. But ours was done in a very public way, as we released a record while we were still figuring out the sound. Now we lean into that folk music and hip-hop low end.”