Vedera doesn’t have a tour bus, so when the members were invited by the guys in the Wallfowers to hang out on theirs, the Vedera members were nothing short of ecstatic.

“We drive in a van and trailer, and a lot of bands that we support have buses,” said Kristen May, Vedera’s vocalist. “Some bands are like, ‘Yeah, come hang out on our bus,’ and some bands are very off limits, don’t-come-near-us. But [the Wallflowers members] are really fun and nice folks.”

Throughout July and August Vedera has joined the Wallflowers and the Fray from city to city. The band is taking a detour through Iowa City to play at the Picador, 330 E. Washington St., on Friday. Doors will open at 6 p.m.

There is undoubtedly a huge difference in sound when it comes to the Bled versus the Fray, but May says Vedera doesn’t customize its music for each different type of audience.

“We definitely feed off the energy of the crowd, and we kind of know going into it what the crowd is going to be like,” the singer/songwriter said. 

Vedera, which has been together for five years and was formed in Kansas City, was originally called Veda — which means “sacred writings” — before a Los Angeles band alerted the members that it had already taken the name.

“We decided to change the name and add the word ‘era’ onto Veda,” May said. “A new era of Veda.”

Despite whichever era the band chooses to associate itself with, Vedera most definitely keeps the band a family affair.

Originally the bassist and drummer were May’s brothers. When those two found themselves unable to travel as a band, May and the guitarist, Brian Little, recruited Little’s younger brother, Drew Little, to drum. They also brought in longtime friend Jason Douglas for the bass.

Just to add to the band’s intimacy, May and guitarist, Little, had been dating for three years and recently married. May uses their relationship, and the relationships of the others on board, as inspiration for her music, namely the group’s most recent album, Stages, its first with Epic Records.

“It’s still talking about relationships,” May said. The album follows the band’s first full-length album, Weight of an Empty Room.

“Stages is definitely continuing with that idea and as with any band, we’ve been together for a long time, and we’ve had four years of experience to put into this new album,” May said.