BUZZ BAND Boo City. |
The "rocksteady blues and R&B" crew Boo City is in the booty-shaking business, and business is booming. Boo City's artistic blend of styles is impossibly seamless and on full display on the full-length debut, Midnight Folklore. Vocalist Tai Awolaju and guitarist Andrew Moon Bain formed Boo City in 2009, and they refer to their 2012 debut release as a "mixtape," which could be taken in the literal sense considering that Boo City is all over the place and then some (the band deems Folklore "an unhinged musical roller coaster"). Scoop up the download (name-your-price for the digital files, or $12 for the limited-edition disc with silkscreened artwork and poster) at boocity.bandcamp.com. Elements of R&B and reggae intertwine ("Don't Deny Me," "Sugar Skull Lover," "Long Gone"), and Bain cruises alongside Awolaju on "We'll Be Just Fine." Bain's acoustic picking and vocals take centerstage on "Goin' Down to Wall Street." "Take it Easy" (with guest vocalist Miss Wensday) is a gem, as is the closing, six-minute love jam "No Good." This is one act that truly transcends genres; they've gained plenty of new fans at Foo Fest, Wooly Fair, and other shows around the region, and have shared stages with Olneyville Sound System, the Famous Winters, Triangle Forest, Sit Down Baby, and the Agents, to name a few.
The band traveled to Nashville earlier this summer and recorded a single with producers Adam Landry and Justin Collins (Deer Tick, Diamond Rugs), with plans to return early next year and complete a full-length album. Next up is a self-produced five-song EP recorded at Machines With Magnets titled Anchortown, with a CD release party tentatively scheduled for November 9 at Local 121's Speakeasy (plus a Thanksgiving Eve show at Nick-a-Nee's lined up). Expect a packed room for Boo City's "Endless Summer" bash on Saturday.
"We have sold out the Fête lounge twice before, and we're hoping for a third," said Bain via email.
BOO CITY + RAVI SHAVI + special guests | Saturday, September 15 @ 8 pm | Fête Lounge, 103 Dike Street, Providence | $8 | 401.383.1112 | boocitymusic.com
