Who Is Yacht Rock Revue

One night in 2008, singers Nicholas Niespodziani and Peter Olson and drummer Mark Cobb, then members of the Atlanta-based indie rock band Y-O-U, showed up to their weekly residency at 10 High with an unusual set list. "As a gag, we thought we'd play cheesy soft rock hits from the 1970s, stuff that you'd hear in the dentist's office," says Niespodziani. It wasn't long before Y-O-U had given way to Yacht Rock Revue.

Sail away with the smoothest music this side of your dentist's office. Yacht Rock Revue is Michael McDonald meets Steely Dan and Toto in a battle of the bands judged by both Hall & Oates. It's funny, with tongue firmly planted firmly in cheek, but actually very hot music that everyone knows and loves in spite of themselves.

Grow that mustache, put on the aviator shades and sing along the thousands of members of the nation of smooth who have become fans of the Yacht Rock Revue. See them at clubs, concerts and upscale events all around the USA. YRR is a genuine touring phenomenon, consistently selling out venues across the country and bringing out their dedicated fanbase (AKA "Anchorheads") to every show in captain's hats and boat shoes, ready to raise a glass and sing along with the group.

Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly have acclaimed their mastery of the genre and ability to wow concert-goers with their irreverent yet sincere note-perfect renditions of classic hits. The cool thing for me especially is that I've made a lot of records over the years, little side projects that had no budget and no hope for people to hear them. And this experience has been the opposite of that.

We were able to get an incredible producer and make a cool video all with the power of the Yacht Rock machine that we've built behind it. The Yacht Rock Revue is the Greatest Show on Surf and the finest tribute to 70s light rock to ever perform anywhere. Their spot-on renditions of Hall & Oates, Michael McDonald, Steely Dan, and the rest of the Time-Life Infomercial Catalog have enthralled fans across the United States.

It goes without saying they have taken their act to the high seas, performing showcase sets on music cruises with Weezer, Kid Rock, Train, Zac Brown Band, Sister Hazel, and fitness guru Jillian Michaels. By blurring the lines between a tribute, an original act, and a comedic troupe, the Yacht Rock Revue has forged a unique niche market and a special bond with their fans. The band attacks each song as if it were their own, and the energy exchanged between the band and the crowd has more in common with a stadium U2 show than that of a typical bar band. Today the Atlanta tribute band/comedy troupe has become a booming business.

To keep up with booking demands, they've even spawned Yacht Rock Schooner, a second cover act. Recently Niespodziani discussed their career trajectory. LIVE NATION announces LIVE FROM THE DRIVE-IN CONCERT SERIES in Parking Lot A at Ameris Bank Amphitheatre. Created as a way to reimagine the live music experience during a time of social distancing, the Live From The Drive-In concert series allows you to enjoy concerts from your own individual tailgating zone. Safety is our top priority, and each event will comply with all health and safety standards per local jurisdictions and state regulations in order to protect fans, artists, crews and staff. If you would've told me when we did the first show "that this is going to be your career," I would have slapped you in the face.

I never imagined doing something like this. And it's funny because I feel like in that early band, I thought music was all about what's inside of you as an artist and that if I can find inside myself this great, soul-wrenching truth that will be the reason that I become famous and whatever. And I think over the years with Yacht Rock — grudgingly at first — I started to realize that music is actually about the shared experience and being there in the room together, having fun, and just escaping from life for a while. And I feel like it's been this 11-year penance that I've gone through, and now I've come out on the other side and I have a completely different view of what music is and what it should be.

That's what inspired this record and it makes me so happy to do what I do now. Far beyond the average cover band that plays the hits of the '70s and '80s, Yacht Rock Revue is a touring phenomenon fulfilling the nation's need for a subculture people didn't know they wanted, but can't live without. Its dedicated fanbase, known as the Nation of Smooth, is akin to Jimmy Buffet's Parrotheads. Fans are there for every show in captain's hats and boat shoes, ready to raise a glass and sing along with the group. And though time will tell where the album will fit in the pantheon of yacht rock, the prospect of another tribute band bringing things full circle and covering a YRR song has crossed Niespodziani's mind. By their own admission, this was never supposed to happen.

Yacht Rock Revue started on a lark, a joke, but soon enough, they had themselves damn near a cult following. Dad rock, yacht rock, or soft rock – call it what you will, but the fact remains that YRR are smart enough to recognize their strengths and savvy, and to capitalize on them. For the first time in their decade-plus history, the Atlanta-based group is set to release a record of original material, Hot Dads in Tight Jeans, perhaps one of the most self-aware, perfectly titled albums in recent memory. Yacht Rock Revue is a name for the popular soft rock that peaked between the years of 1975 and 1984. Significant "yacht rockers" include Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross and Toto, but there are also many more from the period. In the musical sense, yacht rock refers to the highly polished brand of soft rock that emanated from Southern California during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In part, the term relates to the stereotype of the yuppie yacht owner, enjoying smooth music while out for a sail. Additionally, since sailing was a popular leisure activity in Southern California, many "yacht rockers" made nautical references in their lyrics, videos, and album artwork, particularly the anthemic track "Sailing" by Christopher Cross. If "Bad Tequila" ends up being like "Steal Away" was for Robbie Dupree, then I definitely can. That's what this move is, just to see if we could have one song that makes people feel the same way that I felt when I danced with my wife to "Steal Away" at my wedding.

And he has this relationship with that song where he got tired of it and he loves it again. But for us, in the next 20 years, I don't want to get morbid about it, but a lot of these bands that we love and the classic rock artists are going to age out of touring. And there's going to be a void there and I hope that we will be positioned to help fill it. By blurring the lines between a tribute, an original act, and a comedic troupe, the Yacht Rock Revue™ has forged a unique niche market and a special bond with their fans.

The kings of '70s tribute are hitting the road as they bring you an authentic throwback to the era, right down to the bell-bottom jeans. Performing hits from the likes of Hall & Oates, Kenny Loggins and Steely Dan, Yacht Rock Revue are a lot more than just tribute band. Blurring the lines between an original act, tribute band and comedic troupe, Yacht Rock Revue bring you a unique experience that you'll never forget. After nearly a dozen years confidently steering the S.S.

Nostalgia, playing the beloved soft rock hits of the '70s and '80s to packed crowds wearing captain's hats, Yacht Rock Revue are charting a new course by releasing their first album of original material. Hot Dads in Tight Jeans won't be released until Feb. 21, but EW is bringing you the first single, "Step," right here. Wicked Weed Brewing presents Yacht Rock Revue live in the Moo & Brew party lot for our annual "Shipwrecked Halloween Ball"!

Burgers, beer, costume contest and the smoothest band in the land. Grab your squad, get your tickets and get ready to set sail! This is our biggest party of the year and you do not want to miss it! This event is 21 AND UP ONLY. You must show valid ID at the gate to enter. Proceeds from the event benefit The SBT Foundation.ALL TICKETS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE. CTI will contact the The Yacht Rock Revue agent, manager or representative on your behalf to inquire about the current The Yacht Rock Revue booking fee and availability, while negotiating the lowest cost on your behalf.

Choose CTI as your booking agency for The Yacht Rock Revue to hire at corporate events, conventions, trade shows, business retreats or for television and radio commercials, voice overs, and charity events. CTI agency will help book The Yacht Rock Revue if the buyer has the budget and if they are interested in the event. CTI can also assist on the production requirements for The Yacht Rock Revue, when needed. Currently on a U.S. tour with gigs scheduled at the Wiltern in L.A., Webster Hall in New York, and the House of Blues in Boston, Niespodziani, Olson and the band are hopeful that their core fans will embrace the "new" yacht rock.

They've already been slotting "Step" and "Bad Tequila" alongside perennials like "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" and "Baker Street." Who knows — perhaps their own 21st-century yacht jams will one day become a part of the genre's core canon. Like their live show, which features a vintage boutique's worth of loud shirts and the titular constricting denim, there's an element of humor to the record. But the 10 tracks aren't parodies or goofs. "It's in my best interest for yacht rock to have as broad of a definition as possible," Niespodziani said. "When you're playing live and you get to the end of the show, you could play 'Sailing' by Christopher Cross or you could play 'More Than a Feeling' by Boston. The reaction you're going to get from the crowd for the Boston song is many levels higher."

Yacht Rock Revue's first original record is ten songs inspired by the smooth sounds of the Seventies and Eighties. They've brazenly titled it "Hot Dads In Tight Jeans". Forgive them for bragging, but that's what they are, and it returns Yacht Rock Revue to their roots in original music.

And it feels like the transition from "I Keep Forgettin'" into "Juice" doesn't feel like a hard left turn. I guess our perspective is that people are going to need yacht rock now and in the future, and what it can be is a lot wider than the strict dictionary definition. Lake Street Dive, they're a genre-bender for me. I think that they have a lot of different influences. And again, it's the positive energy behind it is what makes it yacht rock.

We didn't want to come out with something that could maybe be viewed as a novelty single for the first thing. When you're a cover band coming out with original music, getting taken seriously is the first hurdle that you have to leap over. So "Step" felt like the right choice because it's a mission statement for the whole album in a way. It's about deciding who you want to be and making the space for that in your life. That musical mood dovetails nicely with the vibe of a group that began on a lark in 2007 and has steadily grown into an act that crisscrosses the country to play for its own devoted fans.

While there may have been an element of irony for some attendees at the beginning, the shows tend to be unabashedly joyous affairs. They've brazenly titled it Hot Dads In Tight Jeans – forgive them for bragging, but that's what they are – and it returns Yacht Rock Revue to their roots in original music. The Yacht Rock Revue has defined and popularized a genre that was a fringe guilty pleasure when the group played its first show as a basement bar band in 2007. Fast forward to 2018 and it's just like quinoa - a few years ago nobody knew about it but now all the girls love it.

Yacht Rock has a dedicated SiriusXM channel and YRR sold out Atlanta's 6,500-seat Chastain Park Amphitheatre. A national tour partnership with Live Nation and the SiriusXM Yacht Rock Channel has the Yacht Rock Revue primed to reach a record number of soccer moms in 2019. The music you listen to at the dentist's office while getting your teeth cleaned. We are single-handedly responsible for the reunion of 6 out of 7 members of the band Starbuck.

The Yacht Rock Revue™ is the Greatest Show on Surf and the finest tribute to '70s light rock to ever perform anywhere. We usually play with a lot of old timers — I've sung "She's Gone" with John Oates, for example, and a few times with Eddie Money before he passed. But I understand there's a certain stigma around us as a cover band.

Kenny Loggins was skeptical, but he eventually got it. We decided to do this about a year and a half ago. We all have side projects where we do original music; I have this psychedelic indie rock band called Indianapolis Jones [According to their Facebook post, they "sound like Tears for Fears, the Beatles and Beck"].

The biggest surprise is that the audience likes it — I thought they would all be headed to the bathroom during the new stuff. I guess I shouldn't underestimate our fans. More so, this certainly isn't an overnight sensation story.

In fact, he jokingly told Entertainment Weekly that at the start, he felt like "a glorified stripper," and that the band described itself as a really expensive wedding band. Fans should be ready for smooth sounds, Dad bods, tight jeans and even tighter grooves, and an all-out party. "In terms of what we do, we feel like yacht rock is more of a vibe, almost more of an emotion than it is a strict genre," Niespodziani said. "Because when you're at our concert if we decide to encore with a song by Boston that isn't yacht rock, of course no one would claim that it is, but in the context of what you've seen for the last couple of hours it makes total sense." The foundation of the yacht rock scene was a local pool of versatile session musicians who frequently played on each other's records.

This professionalism often gave yacht rock recordings a high level of sophistication in composition, arrangement, and instrumental skill. Fast forward to 2018 and it's just like quinoa – a few years ago nobody knew about it but now all the girls love it. Songs like "The Doobie Bounce" and "Step," with their layered production and Niespodziani's sky-high falsetto, transform the staid notion of yacht rock — or, more broadly, soft rock — into something immersive and, dare one say, hip and cool. These are tracks that could slide in comfortably next to anything off Tame Impala's latest, The Slow Rush. The sounds and tones employed by Tame Impala mastermind Kevin Parker actually served as validation for Niespodziani.

From humble beginnings in a basement, touring in partnership with Live Nation and Sirius XM, they now headline sold-out shows across the country, from Webster Hall in New York to the Wiltern in L.A. They've ticked every box on the Rock Star Accomplishments bingo card except for one… writing and singing their own songs. Eclectic rock band, Yacht Rock Revue, will perform at The Amp on Saturday, May 15, 2021. The concert is limited- capacity with distanced seating.

In the last few years, several other bands in this vein have popped up. I imagine it's hard to be mad about other cover bands when you're a cover band. We wanted to make sure that anybody who hasn't gotten familiar with the yacht rock yet — which I don't know who that might be at this stage — got a good dose of the healthy vitamins of what real, 100-percent yacht rock is. So we picked the ones that felt right to us and then also had something in common with our record.

Which is funny on one level because probably for 90 percent of what you're performing, the original artist is sick to death of playing that song. But you all have now performed some of these songs so many times that it is entirely possible that you are as sick of singing something like "Africa" as Toto is. And yet you always legitimately seem like you are having fun. The Yacht Rock Revue is the greatest show on Surf and the finest tribute to '70s light rock to ever perform anywhere. Their spot-on renditions of Hall & Oates, Michael McDonald, Steely Dan, and the rest of the Time-LifeInfomercial Catalog have enthralled fans across the United States.