For 17 years as ilyAIMY (i love you And I Miss You), Rob Hinkal and Heather Aubrey Lloyd have played everything from bait shops to biker weeks to clothing-optional resorts nationwide. They engage audiences with humor and award-winning narrative songs that pair a powerful female vocalist/percussionist with an innovative, clawhammer-banjo-meets-metal acoustic guitarist. Their infectious energy and rapid-fire lyricism is softened with cello and lush harmony, making ilyAIMY "an acoustically roiling, combustible attack on the usual singer/songwriter fare," say reviewers. Their energetic brand of new folk earned honors from Kerrville NewFolk, the National Association for Campus Activities, the Northeast and Southeast Regional Folk Alliances and the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. They are repeat Washington Area Music Association Winners for Best Contemporary Folk Group.

The last few years have been ilyAIMY's most exciting. Heather returned from backing Dar Williams' Promised Land Tour. The band added cellist Kristen Jones, now part of the touring trio. Heather released her CD, "A Message in the Mess," with songs that won her 4th place as a Telluride Troubadour at the prestigious Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Most Wanted Artist at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and Album of the Year from the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest. ilyAIMY also released its 10th CD, "Cicada."