To label Calliope Musicals a band might be selling them short, because—while the six-piece group’s primary medium is music—their live show is an auditory, visual and genuinely transportive experience.

The group’s roots date back to 2009, when frontwoman Carrie Fussell and guitarist Matt Roth began playing head shops around town. Soon Fussell’s boyfriend, now husband, Josh Bickley joined the band on drums (a choice they made hesitantly, for fear of “Fleetwood Mac drama”), and—with the addition of Craig Finkelstein, Andrew Vizzone and Chris Webb—the trio transformed into a six-person musical tribe.