rob@ilyaimy.com // 301.910.2575 // professional resume // all photos are downloadable for promo purposes
“Percussive, rhythmically driven guitar that freely composites fingerpicking, classical melodies, running bass lines, harmonics, & hard-charging chords. [rob’s] vocals are needled & gaunt, with the jittery energy of a dockyard stray on speed …”
Someone once told rob that what he does to his guitar is illegal in three states. They meant it as a compliment. They went on to say that “rob is that perfect combination of complete proficiency combined with punk rock ‘fuck you'”. And he took THAT as a compliment too.
As a songwriter and performer, more official compliments have taken the form of honors from the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest (Gold, 2020), Kerrville Folk Festival (Grassy Hill New Folk Competition), the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (Emerging Artist, Most-Wanted Artist), Washington Area Music Awards (multiple WAMMIES for “Best Contemporary Folk Group”) and others.
Living on the road for five years with his partner Heather Aubrey Lloyd gave rob a healthy Love for his home town of Baltimore, MD, where he now Lives with his wife, cellist Kristen Jones, and their Very Large Cat. rob spends his Life fronting his band ilyAIMY and pushing hard to be the trouble that he’d like to see in the world, creating community and music within his band ilyAIMY’s fanbase and his award-winning, nationally-recognized open mics. He is the technical director of Institute of Musical Traditions, the executive director of FocusMusic, and a freelance audio and video engineer working closely with additional clients when and if he sees fit.
“With rob’s uncanny vocals & distinctive annunciation & the unbelievable percussive playing style, there’s a lot to listen to…”
– Shea Carver, Encore Magazine
Additional Bio…
rob Hinkal was raised with a healthy conflict of influences: his father’s NASA roots engendering an interest in science, exploration and practicality while his mother’s profession as a teacher instilled an idealistic passion for education and community-building. From there he was fortunate enough to be part of Maryland’s arts and science magnet program where he discovered a love of, and later a career in the arts. First at Suitland Center for the Arts University High School (where he later taught) and then Maryland Institute College of Art (where he discovered music and songwriting – graduating with a degree in Illustration).
On September 2nd, 2003 he put all of that to the side to go on the road as a musician. What was initially envisioned as a year-long road trip escalated into a five year exploration of the United States playing music, maintaining freelance web, graphic design, and illustration projects from the road as well as doing portraits of fans and friends.
Living out of a car with no fixed address for five years was an exhausting exercise in balancing a (tiny) budget and determining one’s own fate – but in 2008 he came home to the unique environment of Baltimore, MD. With the context of having traveled broadly over the United States and Mexico rob was inspired to create a number of successful open mics in the uniquely diverse Charm City scene with a focus on drawing disparate cultures and genres together – an effort he was recognized for by DCMusicDownload, Shure Microphones and the Library of Congress. The Smithsonian Institution, citing the “social power of music”, added his open mics to their Year of Music in 2019. In 2020 his work was further recognized with grants from Baltimore and the Maryland State Arts Council as he sought to support and preserve these communities through streaming and virtual events throughout the COVID pandemic.
He has worked hard to create diverse, safe and inclusive music communities through his work with his own open mics, Institute of Musical Traditions, Takoma Park Folk Festival and as the Executive Director of Focus Music. (professional resume here)
Between rob and his partner Heather Aubrey Lloyd, their band ilyAIMY has received accolades from Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Kerrville Folk Festival as well as the Washington Area Music Awards and more. Most recently rob won a Gold in the category of “Freedom Songs” from 2020’s Mid-Atlantic Song Contest. Additionally, rob’s visual work has appeared on numerous CD covers and posters in the DC metropolitan area.
Currently rob is working with artists literally from all across the world to present streaming shows and showcases in a broad variety of formats as ilyAIMY writes new music in preparation for recording their 11th album.