Alex Howard and Kara DuBose met in Abilene, West Texas, on their very first day of college. They sang together a few times in social settings but soon realised that there was a special magic to the way their voices meshed and harmonised. There and then, they formed a duo, The Light Parade. On November 20, the duo posted a cover of Poison and Wine.
The video of the Civil Wars cover received positive comments, even though the viewing numbers were modest. As a young duo playing for fun, The Light Parade were unperturbed by the number of streams. They continued to play together, and regularly posted videos online. On 5th April 2012, the Light Parade posted a video that would take them to a new level.
The Light Parades’s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Lookin’ For (U2) and Stand By Me (Ben E King) medley went viral. It now has 15 million views. When one considers that the band’s next most popular video – a July 2017 cover of Chris Stapleton’s interpretation of Tennessee Whiskey – has 399k views, one can gauge the impact of the U2/Ben E King medley on the young duo. Nonetheless, life is not always linear. A month after posting their viral video, the duo took a five-year hiatus.
As The Light Parade describes it, “We moved to Austin, toured internationally for a few years, wrote lots of music, made a few YouTube videos and a lot of great friends”. In May 2012, Alex Howard and Kara DuBose set aside The Light Parade and started families. Despite their chemistry and ease in each other’s company, they are not a couple. As the U2/Ben E King video gained traction, the pressure to reform The Light Parade grew. In July 2017 the duo posted their cover of Tennessee Whiskey.
Covering Chris Stapleton’s Tennessee Whiskey was an internet trend at the time. While the trend was the immediate spur for The Light Parade to get together, the reasons ran deeper. On their website, The Light Parade state that their fans reminded them that what they had is “truly special. So thank you for enjoying real, raw music. YOU are a big reason we continue to create the down-to-earth, authentic music you love so much. It’s healing for our souls and we hope it is for yours too”.
After reforming, The Light Parade resumed posting videos of covers and original music. They played a few gigs, but not that many due to family commitments (Howard has two boys, while DuBois has two girls). This continued until the Covid19 pandemic struck. The last post on the duo’s Facebook page was made in October 2020. The Light Parade apologises for not having been able to play together due to Covid. To compensate, they said, they were posting Live from Denver, an eight-track album of previously recorded original songs, on streaming sites.
The last video the band posted to YouTube was in September 2019. Ironically, the video is a demonstration of how The Light Parade record their music and videos.
Fans of the unpretentious, heartfelt music of The Light Parade hope that the duo will reform. Meanwhile, the duo’s U2/Ben E King medley continues to win fans. As an anonymous recent Youtube comment puts it:, “His voice, her voice, the lighting, the perfect blend, and then right into Stand by me! I found EXACTLY what I was looking for!! VERY WELL DONE!!!!”
If you would like to see more from The Light Parade, you can subscribe to their YouTube channel or follow them on Facebook. You can also visit their official website for more information.