The six members of Los Angeles-based folk-rock band Run River North, whose families emigrated to southern California from Korea, share the perspective of "children of immigrants," which ebbs and flows through their music.

Run River North is in concert, 8 p.m.July 25, Fowler Blast Furnace Room, ArtsQuest Center, SteelStacks, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem.

Run River North, which formed in 2011, released a self-titled debut album earlier this year. Producer Phil Ek captured the group's energetic indie-rock style whose uplifting anthems, full of layered harmonies and dynamic instrumentation, reveal emotional topics and lyrical narratives.

Alex Hwang, lead singer, together with Daniel Chae and Jennifer Rim, both on strings; Joe Chun, bass; Sally Kang, keyboards, and John Chong, drums, went from playing local shows to catching the attention of Honda Motor Corporation and appearing before a television audience of millions on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

In a phone interview from his home in the San Fernando Valley, Hwang says his parents didn't listen to music when he was growing up, and his introduction to music came from animated Disney movies in the 1990's.

"Then I learned about the Beatles, and Crosby, Stills and Nash," says Hwang, whose music inspirations are anyone "with a strong voice in storytelling."

Hwang says with a laugh, "I'd like to consider us gangster-folk, but I don't think that's a genre yet. I admire storytellers. That's the category I want us to be [considered.]"

With only a six-song demo, the band won the Bronze Lion Award at the Cannes Film Festival for its video, "Surprising Monsters Calling Home."

The video shows how officials of Honda Motor Corporation, upon learning that the struggling band was recording in their Honda vehicles, booked the band for a show purportedly to be for Honda executives. But when the band arrived, they were told, while being filmed, that the booking was bogus and they were actually going to perform live on Jimmy Kimmel's late-night television show.

The original band name, Monsters Calling Home, was a reference to their parents: "Not quite American, and no longer Korean, they are 'monsters trying to figure out where they call home.'" The song, "Monsters Calling Home" references immigrant parents in their quest to make the American dream happen.

The band's name, Run River North, was inspired by a friend's daughter's name (River) and the fact that Hwang runs in the Los Angeles marathon. "And North," adds Hwang. "That's a nice direction.

"We lived with the name [for awhile]. It made sense for our band. River means movement."

Movement indeed. Run River North is charting its course and has sold out dates in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles' legendary venue, The Troubadour.

The group's songs are intriguing musical journeys, such as "Growing Up," which possesses a delightful acoustic melody that includes soft tambourine and poignant violin.

"Lying Beast" is a prodigal-son tale based on an ancient Korean folk song.

Run River North's newfound notoriety is pleasantly surprising, but not unintentional.

"I definitely planned on it, although the timing is something I didn't expect," says Hwang. "Seeing the response to one song was amazing."

Run River North competed in Kollaboration 11 at the Nokia Theater, Los Angeles. in 2011.

"But we lost," Hwang says wryly. "We lost to a guy with two yo-yos and a hip-hop track."

The humbling experience helped the band stay on track and manage their expectations.

While on tour, Hwang continues to write new songs and hopes to record another album next year.

"We're still learning what it means to be a band," says Hwang. "We have a great label, agent and management. We're busy working. We can't bask in the glory yet."