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Plugged In: Yacht Rock Revue's dream tour with Kenny Loggins swings home to Georgia. 'It's a rush!'

May 10, 2023 12:06 PM

• Kristi York Wooten

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Welcome to Plugged In, our digital interview series on GPB.

GPB's Kristi York Wooten talks with members of Yacht Rock Revue, an Atlanta band known for playing hits of the 1970s, '80s and beyond. The band is currently on tour with one of its musical heroes, Kenny Loggins, and will perform May 13 at Ameris Bank Amphitheatre in Alpharetta. Frontmen Nick Niespodziani and Peter Olson are here to talk about this once-in-a-lifetime gig.

Kristi York Wooten: Welcome, Nick and Peter. How are you? 

Nick Niespodziani and Peter Olson: Great. Thanks for having us, Kristi.

Kristi York Wooten: Excited to talk to you. So I want to get started with something that's in the news today, and that is that while you were on the Kenny Loggins tour in Texas, you had some things stolen, your instruments and things. Do you want to give us a little bit of an update on what happened? 

Nick Niespodziani: Yeah, we came off stage with Kenny Loggins in Fort Worth on Friday, our first show with Kenny, and it was amazing, incredible energy from the crowd, everything you would hope for. And we woke up the next morning to discover our entire trailer had been stolen off the back of one of our vans. It was wild. Very high moment, followed by a very low moment. 

Kristi York Wooten:  So I know that's disconcerting for musicians to not be with their instruments, some of which I believe you told me earlier you've had since high school or college. So what are you going to do about the next couple of shows? I know you said you might borrow some instruments and things like that to get those shows done, and until you find out what happens to the others. 

Nick Niespodziani:  Yeah, the show goes on. 

Peter Olson:  That's right. Yeah. We've had incredible support from the musician industry. All of our friends have reached out not just to offer, you know, emotional support, but lots of offers to borrow gear, anything that we need to. To keep the show going. Just Saturday night, the night after we had the gear stolen, we were fortunate in that another band was on the bill and they allowed us to play some of their gear in order to make things happen. So we cobbled it together with some rented pieces and pieces borrowed from other musicians. And that's how we'll make it happen here until we can get things replaced.

Nick Niespodziani:  And I just want to make the point, you know, we're lucky we have insurance and we're also lucky that we're big enough and our organization is established enough that we can take a hit like this and keep going. Like, if this happened to an indie rock band who's not playing on the same scale as we are, it can be a deathblow to a band. So just next time you see this happen to a smaller band, find a way to get out there and support them. Like, we're lucky we're going to be okay. But not everyone is so lucky. 

Kristi York Wooten:  Good advice. So take us back to the beginning. Nick, we'll start with you. Take us back to the beginning: You're putting your band together. It had to stem from a childhood love of these — these songs that you heard on F.M. radio in the '70s or '80s. So can you take us back to the beginning of the idea for the band? 

Nick Niespodziani:  I mean, the band kind of came about on accident. It was never intended to be a band. It was supposed to be a one-off show that we were doing in a series of other one-off shows, and this one-off show connected with people in a completely different way than any of the other ones did. And ever since that moment, we saw the way it connected with the audience and the feelings that this music gave people. And we've been kind of chasing the head of that snake ever since. 

Kristi York Wooten:  And what year did you start, Peter? 

Peter Olson:  2007 was the first Yacht Rock show. 

Kristi York Wooten:  So tell me a little bit about when  The New York Times featured you in a 2020 story about the pandemic. You guys were one of the first bands out there playing in that sort of bizarre moment of people driving cars to watch a concert in their cars in a field. Can you talk a little bit about that experience, each one of you? 

Nick Niespodziani:  Man. That was one of the most nerve-wracking weeks leading up to a concert that I've ever experienced, because the week before that, another artist, I can't remember his name, it was a country artist, had thrown a concert that was not, like, COVID-friendly and had just gotten lambasted all across the media. And, you know, we were taking it very seriously and the last thing we wanted was for our one New York Times article to be about how we were going against COVID protocols or whatever. So we had extensive talks with Live Nation to make sure that this was going to be actually a safe situation and they were going to enforce it. And it all turned out okay. But it was very nerve-wracking. 

Peter Olson:  Yeah, and it was, I think, in normal times everyone was so spread out and it was we were playing to a giant field of people that were so far away that it would be hard to harness that energy on stage and give it back. But because of the circumstances of coming from isolation and quarantine, it was like just the honking of horns from all the cars and everything. It was like we were just feeding off of that, that there were real people in front of us.

Kristi York Wooten:  That's great. 

Nick Niespodziani:  I forgot about the horns, though. That was how the encore was asked for. It was like a choir of car horns. Yeah. 

Kristi York Wooten:  So you've kind of experienced the gamut of what live performance is in ... the age of streaming. So around the time you all started your rock revue is when things like Spotify were becoming popular. So tell me a little bit about how live performance itself has changed since then — or has it? How have things changed over the course of ... obviously you've made it through the pandemic … and here we are at a new phase. How has either your audience or the way you approach music … has any of that changed since you started? Do people request different things from you? Do different songs get bigger cheers, anything like that? 

Nick Niespodziani:  I mean, I think part of what we do is definitely emblematic of the Spotify era in that we are like a playlist, an infinite playlist of songs from an era. And that's an experience that people are looking for now. But I think, you know, whether we're talking about our first shows when we were starting out, or whether we're talking about the live streaming during the pandemic or everything that's happened since then, the one constant threat is that people want that person-to-person connection of live music. And that's been our livelihood. You know, we never made a bunch of money off of selling records so those changes to the business haven't affected us. And I think that, you know, whatever changes are coming in the future, that person-to-person like live music connection is the thing. 

Peter Olson:  Yeah. I feel like from a performance standpoint, we kind of picked up where we left off. Not a lot changed. It's amazing how long ago that the pandemic phase can feel. But it was like when we started playing again, it was just like we had just had our last gig a month before. But the thing that was really different was that we kind of were at a phase in our career where we were garnering a national fanbase, and over the course of the pandemic, they had this opportunity to connect with each other via the livestream concerts that we did. So when we came out back out on tour, there was already this connection, not necessarily with the — well, there was a deeper connection with the band and our fans, but also the fan-to-fan connection was just unbelievable. And we see that live on, which is really cool. 

Kristi York Wooten:  That's a good point. So you talked about your live show being a playlist. So let's talk about this playlist. So how did you first come up with your very first gig of which songs you were going to choose? And let's tell the audience to what your personal definition of yacht rock is. I asked a member of Toto what his definition of Yacht Rock is, and he said, "I don't know because I don't have a yacht yet." But you can tell us how you came to love bands like Toto, artists like Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, The Doobie Brothers, and how you kind of put that first playlist together and how, that has grown or changed over the years as well. I know that that Yacht Rock has now been expanded to allow some songs from '90s and 2000s to sneak in a little bit.

Nick Niespodziani : Yacht Rock is now whatever we say it as far as we're concerned. [Laughs]

Kristi York Wooten:  You own it. 

Nick Niespodziani : Yeah, well, you know, there's no point in a limited definition for us because our whole thing is having fun with people at the concert and like, saying that Yacht Rock can only be made between 1976 and 1984 in Southern California doesn't really, like do anything for us or for our fans, you know. I mean, that is the that is the center of it. That's where it starts. But it goes out from there. And Yacht Rock is really less, to me, of a genre than it is a vibe. And if you set that vibe, then anything can be Yacht Rock.

Peter Olson:  Yeah, people like to put those parameters on like the date and where it was recorded and that kind of thing. But you don't do that to any other genre. It's not like grunge had to come from Seattle, right? Grunge was made all over the country. It was just a style of music. It's a feeling or a general sound. 

Nick Niespodziani : It's kind of like basketball, like it's fun to talk about, like whether, you know, Kobe's Lakers would have beaten Jordan's Bulls. But in the end, you just want to go watch people play basketball and have fun. And that's kind of my view on the whole ‘what is Yacht Rock?’ and ‘what is not Yacht Rock’ debate? 

Kristi York Wooten:  So you're out on tour with Kenny Loggins. Tell us about the first gig. Tell us about what went over well in your show. And then you said that you were able to talk with [Kenny Loggins] as well. So tell me a little bit about that first night on tour with Kenny Loggins. Peter, we'll start with you. 

Peter Olson:  It was the first time I think we all had butterflies in quite a while going up on stage, but it was incredible. It was at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, and it was a packed house, and we had a little bit of arena experience, but not like this. And so when we got up there and I think we kind of were all in our heads a little bit through the first few songs and a little nervous. But once we found our flow, it felt really good, and it was a lot of fun and then it was over like that. Our set was 45 minutes that night and it just came and went so fast. But it was a rush.

Nick Niespodziani : It was interesting because most bands who've gotten to the level that we're at spent a lot of time on the road opening up for other bands, right? Like, that's pretty common. That's what you do. And when we when we were in an indie rock band, we would play 45-minute sets opening up for, you know, whoever. But this band had actually never opened up for someone else before, so that was a new experience. And we were also — another thing we haven't done a long time, we were playing in front of a bunch of people who we needed to win over. Like we're, you know, at this point we're playing places like Chastain headlining ourselves and everyone is there to see us and we've been there already and they've bought into what we're doing. So it was kind of like being the young buck again out there, like having to prove ourselves in an opening set. It was unfamiliar territory and a lot of that kind of like nervous energy came out, I think, in a pretty positive way. 

Peter Olson:  Yeah, and we're taking that two-hour playlist that we're so used to delivering. And when laying it down, when you talk about what is the Yacht Rock sound, like doing what we're best at, we had a limited time to, to deliver that.

Kristi York Wooten:  So what songs can folks expect when they come to Alpharetta next Saturday night? 

Nick Niespodziani:  We won't be playing any Kenny Loggins songs in our set. [Laughs]

Peter Olson:  So we check out what you might call the major boxes mean you can anticipate. Doobie Brothers and Christopher Cross and Toto. We can't give away the set list. I can’t tell you everything. 

Kristi York Wooten:  We’ve got to have some surprises there. You told me earlier that Kenny Loggins had asked you all to be on this tour. That it was a request from him. So how did that feel? 

Nick Niespodziani:  It was so cool. He came up right before we played and introduced himself to all of us and said, ‘You know, I'm really excited to have you guys. And it was my decision to have you on this tour. It wasn't my agent. It wasn't my manager telling me I had to do it. It was it was my decision, because I see the energy that you guys bring, and I want that to be a part of my show.’ And that was really a ‘Wow, we've made it’ kind of moment. 

Kristi York Wooten:  So did you watch from the wings? You watched Kenny from the wings, or were you out in the audience?

Peter Olson:  Oh, yeah. From the wings. We watched the whole show, and it — man, he brings it. He's still incredible.

Nick Niespodziani:  Yeah. If you're out there wondering, ‘Can Kenny Loggins still sing?’ The answer is emphatic, 'Yes!' His voice is money. 

Kristi York Wooten:  Do you have a show highlight from his set list? 

Nick Niespodziani:  Oh, there were several. For me, “Danny’s Song” is always one that gets me because that was one that my dad would play. He’d play those Loggins and Messina records in the garage when I was a kid. But then [Kenny] closed the show with “Forever,” which is a song that I hadn't really remembered as well. But then it got to that, that moment where he sings the big “forever” [sings] at the at the end. And he just nailed the note after his whole set. It was ... that one just knocked me back. It was incredible. 

Peter Olson:  Yeah. “Keep the Fire” is one of my favorites. But he touches on, he does the whole span of his career, and he breaks it down and pulls out the acoustic guitar. And not only can the guy sing, but the guy can still wail on the guitar. He's incredible. 

Kristi York Wooten:  And so this tour is going for several months this year. So do you have any plans for. Is it going to Europe or just this is just the North America tour? 

Nick Niespodziani:  Just United States? I don't know. Tell Kenny that he's wanted in Europe because we want to go. 

Kristi York Wooten:  Well, thank you both for being here. Nick Niespodziani and Peter Olson from Yacht Rock Revue performing and opening for the first time on a tour when they are used to being headliners. Opening for Kenny Loggins at the Ameris Bank Amphitheater in Alpharetta, Georgia, on May 13. Thank you again.

Peter Olson:  Thank you. 

Nick Niespodziani:  See you out there, Atlanta. 

Secondary Content

About the author.

Kristi York Wooten ( she/her ) is a digital editor and journalist based in Atlanta. She works with the GPB radio and digital news teams as an editor, writes and produces features for digital and radio and leads editorial and production for the GPB News Weekend newsletter. Her work appears in  The New York Times ,  The Economist ,  The Atlantic ,  Newsweek, Rolling Stone  and others.

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Upcoming concerts for Yacht Rock Revue

• Saturday August 17, 2024 Train and REO Speedwagon Ameris Bank Amphitheatre, Alpharetta

Friday 13 January 2023

Yacht Rock Revue

Discover more in Atlanta

800 Old Flat Shoals Road 30312 Atlanta, GA, US easternatl.com/

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Doors open: 20:30

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Confessions of a Cover Band: Yacht Rock Revue croons the hits you love to hate

"I never would've guessed I'd be doing what I'm doing now. The 23-year-old me would punch me in the face."

One night in 2012, a man in a Ronald Reagan mask paused beneath a stop sign in the Old Fourth Ward. Armed with a stencil and a can of white spray paint, he transformed the sign into a tribute to a 1978 hit by a mostly forgotten Canadian pop crooner named Gino Vannelli: “I just wanna STOP & tell you what I feel about you, babe.”

“I Just Wanna Stop” is the kind of song whose words most Americans over 40 know despite never consciously choosing to listen to it. After peaking at no. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978, the tune never quite disappeared, becoming the aural equivalent of a recurring wart. The song found a second life—an endless one, as it turns out—in the musical nether region where the smooth, soft-rock hits of yesteryear remain in heavy rotation. Yes, that’s “Africa” you’re hearing in the dentist’s office. And “What a Fool Believes” in line at CVS. And that faint melody burrowing into your brain while on hold for the next available customer service agent? That’s “Steal Away.” Songs like these, disparaged by critics in their time then jokingly christened “yacht rock” by a comedy web series in 2005, are now the soundtrack to American tedium.

They’ve also become the source of a very good—if conflicted—living for the man who defaced the stop sign: Nick Niespodziani, the singer, guitarist, and de facto leader of the wildly popular cover band Yacht Rock Revue , which tours the country, headlines 1,000-plus capacity venues, and occasionally even plays with the original artists behind these hits.

At the time of the Vannelli vandalism, Yacht Rock Revue had begun to graduate from a local curiosity to a national one. Niespodziani’s sister videotaped the incident and posted it on YouTube. They then printed T-shirts of the sign and, when Vannelli performed at the Variety Playhouse, they got one to him.

On a gray Monday afternoon not long ago, Niespodziani was standing at this crossroads, looking at the sign, trying to explain the motivation behind the prank. “We had this idea, so we videotaped,” he said. “It was definitely guerrilla marketing.” Also, he was pretty drunk.

The episode seems to capture something ineffable about Yacht Rock Revue—part fandom, part joke, part self-promotion, each element infused with irony. When YRR takes the stage at Venkman’s, an Old Fourth Ward restaurant and nightclub co-owned by Niespodziani and bandmate Pete Olson, the band is fully in character, complete with gaudy shirts and sunglasses. They crack jokes about each other’s moms and theatrically highlight multi-instrumentalist Dave Freeman’s one-note triangle solo during America’s “You Can Do Magic.”

“This music isn’t easy to perform,” Olson says. Yacht rock songs tend to be filled with complicated chord changes. All seven band members are accomplished musicians, and Niespodziani, who trained for a spell as an opera singer, is a rangy vocalist, capable of gliding through the high notes in Hall & Oates’s “Rich Girl,” Michael McDonald’s gruff tenor in “I Keep Forgetting,” and Dolly Parton’s amiable twang in “Islands in the Stream,” without seeming to strain. He, Olson, and drummer Mark Cobb first played together in Y-O-U, a band they formed at Indiana University in the late ’90s. They found scant support for original music there, so they relocated to Atlanta in 2002.

Photograph by Mike Colletta

Y-O-U built a buzz in Atlanta, thanks to Niespodziani’s catchy, Beatles-esque songs and the group’s playful gimmicks. They performed, straight-faced, as Three Dog Stevens, a sad-sack trio playing what they called “sandal-rock” (a made-up, synth-heavy genre defined by its purveyors’ predilection for wearing sandals with socks); they covered Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” entirely on keyboards while dressed as the Royal Tenenbaums; they created a YouTube mockumentary series about a competitive jump-roping team. “Comedy has always been part of what we do,” Niespodziani said. “We were doing anything to get noticed because we felt we had good songs but just couldn’t break through with them.”

“I said, ‘That sounds like hell on Earth.’ He was like, ‘But you’re going to make a lot of money.’ So we did it.”

In 2008, Y-O-U was booked every Thursday at the 10 High club in Virginia-Highland. They’d stage “Rock Fights,” playing dueling sets of covers by artists like Bob Seger, John Mellencamp, and INXS, or rejigger Y-O-U songs as soul rave-ups with horns and backing singers, or do a standup comedy night. Yacht Rock Revue was just another of these goofs: Put on silly clothes, and play songs everybody knows but nobody really likes—or claims not to. It was Cobb and guitarist Mark Dannells who came up with the idea. Dannells thought about calling it “A.M. Gold” but Cobb had recently seen a viral web series called Yacht Rock and felt like the term would resonate. Niespodziani went along because his friends needed his vocals. Two band members wore wigs to that first show, and, at one point, Niespodziani stripped off his shirt. People loved it. The club’s booker invited them back the next Thursday. The gig sold out. He asked them to do it every Thursday.

“I said, ‘That sounds like hell on Earth,’” Niespodziani recalls. “He was like, ‘But you’re going to make a lot of money.’ So we did it.”

Most cover bands are awful. But because they play well-known songs, they often secure regular, paying gigs that bands playing original music can’t. Even for the good ones, there’s a ceiling. Few ever perform further than 20 miles from wherever they played their first gig. What’s more, performing other people’s music for a living carries a degree of shame. Cobb has heard the mutterings about Yacht Rock Revue: “Why are these guys playing covers? They could write their own songs. They don’t need to hide behind a gimmick.”

Most of the guys in Yacht Rock Revue—which also includes bassist/vocalist Greg Lee and keyboardist/vocalist Mark Bencuya—had already spent half a lifetime dragging gear into dank basement bars to play for a few bucks and even fewer people. They did this in an era when the music business was cratering. The rise of the internet taught a generation of consumers that music is free, devaluing the dream to which musicians dedicate their lives.

When Yacht Rock Revue started in 2008, Dannells was nearly 40. “It’s not like the world is beating down the door of 40-year-old rock stars,” he says. Today, Yacht Rock is a business, owing its success partially to the corners of the business that haven’t collapsed: live music and merchandising. Besides their public shows, Yacht Rock Revue plays a steady stream of well-paying corporate gigs. They also sell lots of captain’s hats, T-shirts, and other swag. The success of the franchise means it’s been more than five years since any of them had a day job. Niespodziani and Olson created a company, Please Rock , that provides the bandmembers and their families with health insurance, 401Ks, and all the other trappings of comfortable, upper-middle-class stability few musicians ever achieve. All this grants bandmembers some real creative freedoms. “I just released a whole record of orchestral music,” Dannells says. “I don’t care if it sells. I just do it for enjoyment.”

Niespodziani shuttered Y-O-U years ago but still writes elegant power-pop songs for his other band, Indianapolis Jones . But the difference between his two bands’ profiles is stark. Troy Bieser, who has been working on a documentary about Yacht Rock Revue, says he’s seen this in the juxtaposition of the footage he’s compiled. “I’ve seen Nick going through the journey of being thankful for the success but it also feeling ill-fitting,” Bieser says. “That existential dilemma has followed him.”

Niespodziani knows whenever Yacht Rock plays anywhere, that’s a slot a band like Indianapolis Jones can’t get. “We’re a big part of the problem,” he says. As a 39-year-old father of one, who’s worked hard to get what he has, he isn’t about to give it up, but he’s also honest about the compromises he’s made and doesn’t hide from the question that is a natural byproduct of his own success: When a joke becomes your life, how do you keep your life from becoming a joke?

“I never would’ve guessed I’d be doing what I’m doing now,” he says. “The 23-year-old me would punch me in the face and leave me for dead.”

Yacht rock was mostly made in the late ’70s and early ’80s, but the genre wasn’t named until 2005 when JD Ryznar, a writer and actor, created the Yacht Rock web series with a few friends. The video shorts imagined the origins of songs like the Doobie Brothers’ “What a Fool Believes,” Toto’s “Rosanna,” and Steely Dan’s “FM.” The music, Ryznar says, was well-crafted, like a yacht, and recurring nautical imagery in songs like Christopher Cross’s “Sailing” or on Loggins and Messina’s album Full Sail made the term fit. According to Ryznar, true yacht rock has jazz and R&B influences, is usually produced in California, and frequently involves a rotating group of interconnected studio musicians. The term was never intended to be a pejorative—“we never thought it was silly music,” Ryznar says—but the web series is most definitely comedy, and feelings about the music itself tend to be buried under layers of hipster irony, warm nostalgia, and veiled contempt. Yacht rock songs are finely constructed: They’ve got indelible pop hooks, but they’re decidedly professional, not ragged and cool like punk or early hip-hop, which were canonized among the music of that era.

For the first Yacht Rock Revue gig, much of the set list came from a compilation CD that Cobb had burned titled The Dentist’s Office Mix. It included songs like Player’s “Baby Come Back,” Ambrosia’s “The Biggest Part of Me,” and Rupert Holmes’s “Escape (The Piña Colada Song).” “I’d put it on at parties and just see what the reactions would be,” Cobb says. “It was a weird, guilty pleasure.”

Niespodziani’s initial feelings about the music were uncomplicated. “I wasn’t a fan,” he says. “I was really into music that made people feel something, that had some grit and humanity to it. The ethos I thought was important in rock ’n’ roll was rebellious fun crossed with a heart-on-your-sleeve kind of thing. Yacht rock doesn’t do any of that. It doesn’t rebel.” He found a lot of yacht rock to be technical, clinical, and sterile. “Sophisticated for the sake of being sophisticated.”

Onstage, Niespodziani is the picture of unapproachable retro cool. Tall, with shaggy hair and an angular face, he hides behind large, dark sunglasses and frequently surrenders a thin half-smile. In other words, he personifies the classic, arrogant, coked-up, late-’70s rock frontman. In person, he gives off nearly the opposite impression. Over coffee, he’s thoughtful, earnest, and self-deprecating. His sharp facial features are accentuated by wide-lensed prescription glasses, and, having traded the polyester shirts he favors onstage for a camouflage green hoodie, the vibe Niespodziani exudes is hardcore music geek. Olson, who has known Niespodziani since they were in fourth grade in Columbus, Indiana, says when they met, “Nick was the nerdy kid who was good at math and jump-roping.”

Photograph by Emily Butler

Yacht Rock Revue, for Niespodziani, is a part he plays: “I’m almost more an actor than a musician.” He and his bandmates spend hours prowling vintage stores looking for the retro leisure wear that they don onstage—and then a not inconsiderable amount of money getting those old clothes tailored to fit. “It’s a war of attrition,” he says. “You find something that might work, and then it’s itchy or it smells or holes develop because the shirt is older than I am. You have to be shopping at all times.” They once did a gig in street clothes, but it felt wrong. “Polyester,” he says, “is our armor.”

Sometimes that armor hasn’t been enough for Niespodziani. During the band’s first few years, they played weekly at the 10 High. “I would drink a lot and almost sabotage myself, sometimes onstage, and make fun of it,” he says. “People would ask me about the band, and I’d talk down about it and act like I was too cool. I didn’t lash out at people, but it was strange to get well-known for something that didn’t make me feel good about myself. I’d get drunk onstage to deal with it.”

His bandmates certainly noticed, but, for the most part, they let their friend work through it. “He’s been the moodiest about it,” Cobb says. “He just hates Rupert Holmes’s ‘Escape (The Piña Colada Song).’ Hates it. But he knows it goes over well.” So when Niespodziani’s got to play it, he’ll often deadpan an introduction comparing Holmes to da Vinci and Picasso. “By talking about how great it is, it helps me shed that song’s terribleness.”

Niespodziani believes the ironic distance he puts between the guy he is onstage and the guy drinking coffee at Ponce City Market is fundamental to the band’s success. “Because we thought—or at least I thought—I was too cool to be doing this, everything has keyed off what the audience reacts to, whether it’s the clothes we wear, the sidestep dance we do, whatever. The audience has been the head of the snake. We’ve just been following it.” It helps that with more than 500 songs in their repertoire, the band doesn ’ t burn out too badly on any tune. “The only song we have to play is ‘Africa.’” The 1982 hit by Toto, by a band made up of talented but largely anonymous studio musicians, has become something of an Internet meme itself, with multiple think pieces devoted to untangling its allure. “Part of it may be the audacity of the synthesizer sound,” Niespodziani says. “They’re just so cheesy. The chords are fairly complex and pretty unexpected. The way it goes to the minor key in the chorus is kind of a cognitive disconnect. And when you listen to the words, it’s not really about anything. Maybe that’s why it’s so quintessentially yacht rock. It’s not so much what the words are saying, it’s how they make you feel, this combination of pure joy crossed with reminiscing.”

Despite his ambivalence about the music, Niespodziani is first among equals within the band. He sings lead on more songs than anyone else, and it’s his judgment they trust when adding songs to their catalog. He has a system: “Generally, the more a song annoys me, the more likely it makes sorority girls want to eat each other’s brains. Also, almost every song would be an encore for the band we’re covering. So, those are the basics: Does it annoy me? Are girls going to like it? Would it be an encore for the band we’re covering?”

“I’m almost more an actor than a musician.”

Others in the band are more unabashed about the music. “I’ve always loved all this stuff,” says Lee, the bassist. “You have to love it before you can play with it in that comedy sense and do it right.” This ability to walk that line between having fun with the music and making fun of the music has won over many of the original artists. When the band first reached out to guys like Dupree, Gary Wright (“Dream Weaver”), and Player’s Peter Beckett, some artists disdained the term “yacht rock” and feared being treated as a joke. Dupree was an early convert and evangelized about the band to his peers, touting their musicianship and enthusiasm. He says those who eventually performed with Yacht Rock Revue were “staggered that they were playing in front of 4,000 people who knew every word to their songs.”

The genre’s rise as a cultural touchstone—Jimmy Fallon has been a big booster, inviting Dupree, Cross, McDonald, and others to perform on TV, and there’s now a SiriusXM station devoted to it—has benefited these artists. Their Spotify and YouTube streaming numbers have risen noticeably. “It’s made a big impact financially,” Dupree says. “Even the skeptics have seen the power of it.”

For a while, the band had a bit of a good-natured Twitter beef with the creators of the Yacht Rock web series. Ryznar admits he initially felt like the band had hijacked his idea, but now his only real gripe is Yacht Rock Revue’s liberal definition of yacht rock. “Half their set is incredible yacht rock,” Ryznar says. “The other half, they play way too much Eagles, America, and Fleetwood Mac. Those aren’t yacht rock bands.”

The band makes no apologies. As Niespodziani puts it, “Yacht rock is what we say it is now.” That’s not just bravado. Yacht Rock Revue trademarked the term “yacht rock” for live performances, so other acts can’t use it without permission. The maneuver helped snuff out competition from other cover bands but occasionally puts them in conflict with some of the genre’s originators. When Cross’s manager tried to assemble a “Yacht Rock” tour featuring Cross, Orleans, and Firefall, it ran afoul of the trademark.

“We said, ‘If you want to call it Yacht Rock, we’ve got to be the [backing] band,’” Olson says. That compromise collapsed when Cross’s manager “wanted a piece of the trademark and of all our earnings over three years.” Yacht Rock Revue sent a cease-and-desist letter instead.

The band’s set list is anchored in the classic late ’70s, early ’80s yacht-rock era but can stretch to include songs as old as the late ’60s or as recent as the early ’90s. Of course, there’s a balance to be struck: If they go too far afield, they risk becoming just another cover band, but there are other considerations to take into account, too. As Cobb explains, “Nothing about Whitney Houston is in the genre, but when we play ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody,’ the chicks go crazy, everybody orders another round, the bar sells out of Tito’s and Red Bull, and they’re like, ‘When can you come back? You broke alcohol records.’”

The band’s audiences have evolved over time. The earliest shows were heavy on hipsters and fellow musicians. Then, those fans brought their parents. At a Buckhead Theatre gig in March, the crowd leaned toward balding guys in button-down shirts and platinum-blond women wearing expensive-looking jewelry. Niespodziani once called yacht rock “the music of the overprivileged,” which was a joke, but also not. Getting older, wealthier fans out to shows is an impressive accomplishment most artists would envy, but it has changed something fundamental about Yacht Rock’s appeal. “When we started, it was people elbowing each other, laughing at this music,” Niespodziani says. “Now, there’s no irony.”

On a night off during a Vegas stand in 2015, the entire band went to see Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band perform at the Pearl Theater in the Palms Casino. Starr began doing these tours in 1989, fronting a band of aging rockers like Gary Wright, Steve Lukather (Toto), and Gregg Rolie (Santana, Journey), whose names and faces you might not recognize but whose songs you certainly would. Just past the midway point in the show at the Pearl, Lukather stepped to the mic, and Starr began beating out a familiar rhythm on the drums. As Lukather picked out the first few notes on the guitar and the synths pumped out the insistent melody, the song was instantly recognizable: “Africa.” In the theater balcony, Cobb recalls looking across at Niespodziani and seeing something change in his friend. “I just watched Nick’s face and, all of a sudden, it was as if this weight lifted off him.”

The Beatles had always been Niespodziani’s favorite band. “Now, I’m watching Ringo Starr, and he has to play fucking ‘Africa’ every night, too,” Niespodziani says. “He was in the Beatles! That was a life-changing moment for me.” Starr and his band were touching many of the same nerves in the audience at the Pearl Theater that Yacht Rock Revue touches all the time. “When we started Yacht Rock, I didn’t like the music we were playing. I didn’t like myself for being in a cover band. I had some dark times. It’s been a journey for me to get okay with it. That was a pretty key moment. Once you get to a certain point in the music business, everybody’s hustling. I’m not going to look down my nose at anybody for doing anything that makes it possible to feed their family by singing songs.”

Seeing Starr go yacht rock was a significant step that’s made enjoying Yacht Rock Revue’s triumphs a little easier. For years, Olson and Niespodziani waited for interest in yacht rock—and their band—to fade. Opening Venkman’s was a hedge against that. But Yacht Rock Revue’s stock continues to rise. Their touring business has grown 375 percent since 2014. “It’s not a fad,” Niespodziani says. “This is going to be our biggest year by far.” They play increasingly larger venues and have recently started booking dates overseas, including this summer in London.

The question is, where else can they take this, literally and figuratively? Back in 2013, the band quietly released a five-song EP: four original songs and a cover of—what else?—“Africa.” They used to occasionally drop an original tune into their shows, sometimes announcing it as a “Hall & Oates B-side.” The crowds were amenable, kind of. “It’s hard when they know every word to every song,” Niespodziani says. “They don’t come for discovery; they come for familiarity.” That’s a truism any band who has ever had a hit knows all too well. The essential appeal of Yacht Rock Revue—and yacht rock—is a combination of nostalgia and escape, a yearning for the simpler, easier time these songs evoke. Yet Niespodziani has been wondering lately if it’s possible to pivot fans to his own songs, either with Yacht Rock Revue or Indianapolis Jones.

“That’s still my dream,” he says, “to have one song that matters to somebody the way ‘Steal Away’ matters to people. No matter what else I do in life, if I don’t ever get over that bar, part of me will feel like I failed at the one thing I wanted. I don’t know if I can ever let go of that. I don’t know if I’m ready to face that darkness.”

In 2013, during a commencement speech at Syracuse University, the author George Saunders told graduates, “Success is like a mountain that keeps growing as you hike up it.” Niespodziani brought this quote up to me while we were having coffee. He knows his life is nothing to complain about. He lives a rarefied existence where he gets paid a lot of money to play music. But clearly, the mountain grows in front of him, and the hike up isn’t always easy. He’s still prone to self-deprecating asides about his band, he still kinda envies the Robbie Duprees of the world—but, hey, he doesn’t need to get drunk onstage anymore, and he doesn’t lose sleep wondering if he’s a force for good or evil in the world. That stop sign at the crossroads in the Old Fourth Ward isn’t an omen or a cautionary tale. It’s simply a funny story that makes people smile. He’s just working on becoming one of them.

“The way I really made peace with it is, it occurred to me that everywhere we went, everyone was so happy to see me,” he says. “These people, it’s the highlight of their week to come sing along with these tunes. If your job is making people happy, that’s a pretty good calling.” He leans back in his chair and smiles. “My job is to make it okay for everybody else to have fun. That’s kind of cool.” He gets quiet for a moment and shrugs.

This article appears in our  July 2018 issue .

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Yacht Rock Revue not a fad but a phenomenon

Credit: RODNEY HO/[email protected]

In the fall of 2007, the Atlanta power pop trio Y-O-U was on life support. They never got their big break despite building a decent local following. The lead singer had entered law school. The bassist, a fitness instructor at an independent living facility, was pondering a move to Denver.

But the Y-O-U musicians weren’t ready to mothball their amps just yet. Inspired by a Time/Life CD infomercial, Y-O-U drummer Mark Cobb created a kitschy compilation CD he dubbed “The Dentist Office Mix” featuring 19 soft rock hits from the 1970s by the likes of Little River Band, Firefall and 10cc. He figured: why not turn that into a theme night?

Credit: MARK COBB

10 High Club, a lovably grungy venue downstairs from the Dark Horse Tavern in Virginia Highland, green lit the show called yacht rock after Cobb saw a YouTube web series by that name.

For the Y-O-U musicians, Yacht Rock night was meant as a fun diversion, a one-time jam to laugh about later. They met up at Cobb’s basement with other musician friends and rotating lead singers to learn each song. “Kiss You All Over” by Exile. “Baker Street” by Gerry Rafferty. “Still the One” by Orleans. “Love Will Keep Us Together” by Captain & Tennille. These were largely songs that had been left in the dustbin of rock history by that time, too soft and light for classic rock stations and too old for pop radio stations to play.

With tongue firmly in cheek, guitarist Mark “Monkeyboy” Dannells Photoshopped a promo poster with five of their heads superimposed on the heads of the band members for Orleans from its 1976 “Waking and Dreaming” LP. For the concert, Y-O-U lead singer Nicholas NIespodziani chose a floral shirt and plaid vest top. Monkeyboy opted for a beret, aviator sunglasses, bell bottoms and an “I’m With Stupid” T-shirt. Cobb wore his grandfather’s plaid leisure suit and a wig.

Credit: RODNEY HO

Something clicked that Friday evening at 10 High for the 150 inebriated, sweaty audience members and the band members on stage. Nicole Jurovics, a former 10 High talent booker, recalled feeling both bemused and oddly taken by the show. “I knew every word to every song, and I had no idea why because I never owned any of those records,” she said.

Glen Pridgen, who sang Rupert Holmes’ cheesy 1979 hit “Escape (”The Piña Colada Song)” that night, had a blast: “Even as an outsider, I sensed something special was happening, a chemistry among the band members.”

But nobody on stage had any idea this was the genesis of what would become Yacht Rock Revue, and that 14 years later, seven of the musicians from that 10 High gig (three of whom are named Mark) would play many of those same songs in front of 6,000 cheering fans at Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park.

Credit: CON

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

The rise of Yacht Rock Revue

In the summer of 2008, after a second yacht rock night packed 10 High, the venue’s booker Curtis Clark offered the core musicians, including former Y-O-U members and childhood friends Niespodziani and Peter Olson, a residency every Thursday night as long as they did yacht rock. They soon became proficient at songs by Boz Scaggs, Christopher Cross and Ambrosia, drawing a surprisingly wide swath of fans.

In those early days, they saw this as a side hustle that would soon die out. And Niespodziani was clearly conflicted about the band’s growing success.

After performing Elton John’s “Little Jeannie” while dressed in yacht-friendly outfits at the Dunwoody Beer Festival in 2009, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Niespodziani told the audience, “We appreciate your tepid response. Tepid is good. Too much reaction and you’ll rock the boat. And that’s bad.”

At the time, Niespodziani wasn’t a fan of a lot of the songs. The indie rock part of him felt “a little evil” making money off this type of music: “Sometimes I feel like I’m part of the problem, not the solution.

“I’m surprised how few people snicker at us,” he added in 2009. “If I weren’t in this band, I think I’d be a hater.”

For four years, Yacht Rock Revue kept the weekly 10 High gig, each member pocketing $100 a night, but their popularity led them to bigger venues, first Buckhead’s Andrews Upstairs, then the larger Park Tavern by Piedmont Park. People began asking them to perform at weddings, corporate events and private parties.

By 2011, they were all able to quit their day jobs and focus solely on Yacht Rock Revue.

Around that time, Andy Levine, founder of the Atlanta-based, music-themed cruise company Sixthman , placed the band on two of his Rock Boat cruise ships with Sister Hazel and multiple cruises with the group Train. They also jumped on cruises themed around KISS, Kid Rock and even “Star Trek.”

The exposure seeded their fan base nationwide, resulting in bookings to play shows in Denver, Boston and Indianapolis, Indiana.

Yacht Rock Revue also drew the attention of the acts they covered. Musicians from Looking Glass (”Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl”), Player (”Baby Come Back”), Orleans (”Dance With Me”) and Starbuck (”Moonlight Feels Right”) began joining them on stage for their annual Yacht Rock Revival all-star concerts at Park Tavern, the Tabernacle and Chastain.

Robbie Dupree, who had two yacht rock-friendly hits in 1980, “Steal Away” and “Hot Rod Hearts,” saw them play at the Canal Room in New York City and joined them on stage.

“They just have a great heart for the music,” said Dupree. “They dig the music. They are really responsible for making this a more legitimate category.”

Copycats have proliferated nationwide, with puns firmly attached. There’s. Yachty By Nature based in Orange County, California; New England’s Hall & Boats ; Nashville’s Monsters of Yacht ; the Los Angeles-based Yächtley Crew ; and a female-fronted group out of Chicago called Yacht Rock-ettes .

“I call them the yachtfathers,” said Carl Nelson, lead singer of Yachty By Nature who has seen Yacht Rock Revue twice. “They got there first and are totally cool bros.”

Even with the praise from peers and fans, Olson and Niespodziani, childhood friends going back to Indiana, sought diversification, awaiting for Yacht Rock Revue to start sinking. They opened the music venue Venkman’s in the Old Fourth Ward. They started a Beatles cover band called Please PleaseRock Me . They performed theme nights covering the “Thriller” album or Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” LP. For a time, they fronted a more traditional wedding band called The Tupperware Party.

But the fan base for Yacht Rock Revue kept growing, imbibing the polyester, the cutesy choreography, the entire vibe.

Greg Prato, the author of “The Yacht Rock Book” (Jawbone Press, 2018) , credits part of their success to pure musicianship, providing fans the opportunity to hear songs by artists who no longer perform or are no longer around. He specifically recalled the band’s rendition of “Baker Street,” noting that Dave Freeman’s “sax bit gives you the goosiest of goose bumps.”

In 2016, the band added two female singers, mother-daughter team Keisha and Kourtney Jackson, providing the band deeper vocal depth and the ability to do songs by the likes of Tina Turner and Captain & Tennille with more credibility. Over the years, they have played at least 600 different songs, and the setlist changes constantly.

To prove they weren’t just a pure cover band, Yacht Rock Revue recorded an original album in 2019 called “Hot Dads in Tight Jeans” and released it in early 2020. Rolling Stone magazine last year compared their new tunes to that of the respected psychedelic pop band Tame Impala .

The yacht kept on sailing ― until it hit the pandemic shoals.

The Pandemic and the Anchorheads

In 2017, Ella Leitner, a 48-year-old Manhattan marketing executive, entered the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, New Jersey, to see Yacht Rock Revue for the first time. She was super cranky. The traffic had been awful. It was raining. She and her husband were late.

But her mood lifted as soon as she heard the band’s version of Toto’s “Africa.”

“They captured our hearts,” she said. “They captured the essence of yacht rock. It was about having a good time, feeling carefree and taking away whatever was bothering you that day.”

Seeking to recapture that joyful feeling, she saw the band every time they came into town and was looking forward to celebrating her 47th birthday with them at Webster Hall a few blocks from her home in March 2020.

But there would be no concert that day. Instead, for weeks, she only heard the sad sounds of wailing sirens and the daily clanging of pots and pans to honor essential workers treating COVID-19 patients. Individual members of Yacht Rock Revue began holding livestream concerts on Facebook from their basements and seeking donations from fans. Leitner would Venmo money to the band on occasion.

She also got to know the band members as they showed off their homes, their families and their quirky interests, interacting directly with fans. Keyboardist Mark Bencuya revealed his love for alt rock and punk. Cobb did an entire livestream about 1980s TV theme songs. Olson and his wife Alyssa played duets and brought in the kids for fun.

“I was pretty transparent emotionally” on the livestreams, Niespodziani said. Viewers “could tell when I was feeling bummed or stressed and they’d send me stuff in the mail. It was so sweet.”

He received bottles of whiskey, masks with the Yacht Rock album cover on it and earnest letters from people trying to convert him to Christianity.

Leitner began corresponding with other Yacht Rock Revue lovers, and they created a fan group called the Anchorheads with their own logos and T-shirts. The private Facebook page now has more than 1,200 members .

“We were all isolated in our homes,” Leitner said. “This was a shared experience, a way for us to build an active community. The anchor was the natural symbol. It’s in their logo. The symbolism works. We are now anchored to the band.”

For more than a year, PleaseRock , the corporate entity that oversees the band and provides health insurance and a 401(K), couldn’t pay its employee salaries when touring was not an option. But financial support from the Anchorheads enabled them to maintain health insurance for everybody until they got back on the road in April.

“It speaks to the heart of who they are,” Leitner said. “They treat their staff well. They aren’t a novelty act. They’re consummate professionals.”

To honor them, Leitner and many of her fellow Anchorheads nationwide flew to Peachtree City for two nights to see them play at Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheatre in late April.

“It was like a family reunion,” Leitner said, “family you actually want to spend time with.”

Since then, despite the uncertainties regarding the virus, Yacht Rock Revue has been able to perform dozens of shows again including two at Chastain Park, selling more than 10,000 tickets combined in August and October. They also held two shows at Venkman’s, before and after Thanksgiving, celebrating the venue’s reopening after 20 months.

Credit: RODNEY HO/rh

Robin McCannon, a 51-year-old teacher from St. Simon’s Island, stood in the front during the Turkey Eve show with a look of rapt wonder on her face during the 27-song set that began with “Believe It or Not (Theme to ‘Greatest American Hero’)” and ended with “More Than a Feeling.”

“This matters,” she told Niespodziani after the show,” even more than just the music.”

“Spreading love and positive energy is what we’re about,” he said.

The seven original members are now in their 40s and 50s. Most have kids and own homes. They appreciate the steady paychecks, the ability to pursue creative side projects and the Anchorheads.

The week after the Venkman’s reopening, Niespodziani and other Yacht Rock Revue members spent a few days working with John Driskell Hopkins of the Zac Brown Band on a Christmas album for 2022. They are planning another original album next year.

And in February, the band will host its first four-day yacht rock “Steal Away” extravaganza at Runaway Bay in Jamaica with Robbie Dupree and the band Ambrosia and hundreds of fans. “The Anchorheads get to hang with us at the pool and hike with us to a waterfall,” Niespodziani said.

“We started out as a pure party cover band,” he mused, “and have become respected as artists.”

Every year for the past 14 years, he has asked the same questions: “How big are we going to get? How far is this going to go?”

He smiled and shrugged his shoulders: “We still can’t really tell.”

Credit: Akili-Casundria Ramsess

Origins of yacht rock

The Yacht Rock Revue did not invent yacht rock. In 2005, a group of friends taped a series of mockumentary video shorts for a monthly Los Angeles comedy festival called Channel 101. Scanning the liner notes of 1970s vinyl they had purchased for $1 apiece at Amoeba Music , they noticed many studio musicians in L.A. overlapped with acts such as Kenny Loggins, Toto, Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers.

This observation led to them to create a fake “origin” story and sub-genre of music they dubbed “yacht rock.”

“We had no idea this would ever go beyond the 300 people who saw it in that room,” said “Hollywood” Steve Huey , a music critic and narrator of the series.

But the 12 short episodes were loaded onto YouTube, at the time a new video content service thirsty for content. Soon, it went viral.

Music historian Chris Molanphy, on a recent episode of his podcast “Hit Parade,” said the name stuck in part because prior attempts to categorize the music such as “Revlon rock” or “Jazz rock” had failed to stick.

“Yacht rock is just so evocative,” Molanphy said. “Smooth music, relaxing, ‘70s when yachts were hot. I get it!”

The kitschy wardrobe that goes along with it is easy and accessible as well. A captain’s hat is $10, he said, and you can dig a Hawaiian shirt out of your closet. “Very thrift store friendly,” he said.

Molanphy noted that people often get into the music with an ironic wink and nod but ultimately end up just enjoying it.

Greg Prato, author of the 2018 oral history “ The Yacht Rock Book,” said the genre’s enduring appeal is multi-faceted, noting the “Impeccable song craft, instrumentation and vocal harmonies that are spotlighted in most yacht rock songs. For most older music fans, it takes us back to a time that was seemingly more carefree and jolly, and it serves as the perfect soundtrack for a summertime backyard barbecue.”

Concert Preview

Yacht Rock Revue Holiday Spectacular. 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 18. $37.50-$203. Coca-Cola Roxy,

800 Battery Ave. SE, Atlanta. www.livenation.com

About the Author

Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.

Credit: TNS

Credit: Jason Getz / [email protected]

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Photo provided

Credit: Natrice Miller / [email protected]

Credit: Courtesy photo/ABC

Credit: Rosie Manins

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• Saratoga - SPAC Lawn Chair Rental: Train
• Spac Terrace Club Presented By Jack Daniel's: Train
• Fast Lane Access - Train - Not a Concert Ticket
• Saratoga - SPAC Blanket Voucher: Train

Bethel Woods Center for the Arts | Bethel, NY

• Premium Parking - Train & REO Speedwagon
• Bethel Woods Camping: Train & REO Speedwagon
• The Green Room - Train & REO Speedwagon
• Reserved Lawn - Train & REO Speedwagon (NOT A CONCERT TICKET)
• Lawn Chair Rental - Train & REO Speedwagon (NOT A CONCERT TICKET)

Freedom Mortgage Pavilion | Camden, NJ

• VIP Club Access: Train & REO Speedwagon
• Freedom Mortgage Lounge Access: Train & REO Speedwagon
• ESPNBet River Deck Access: Train & REO Speedwagon
• Fast Lane Access: Train & REO Speedwagon
• Lawn Chair Rental: Train & REO Speedwagon
• Live Nation Blanket - Train & REO Speedwagon
• Riverlink Ferry Pass: Train & REO Speedwagon

Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater | Wantagh, NY

• Premier Parking: Train & REO Speedwagon - This is NOT a Concert Ticket
• Citi VIP Club Access:TRAIN & REO SPEEDWAGON
• Fast Lane: TRAIN & REO SPEEDWAGON- This is NOT a Concert Ticket

BankNH Pavilion | Gilford, NH

• BNHP Event Parking & Camping: Train 7/28
• Coors Light VIP Club Add-On: Train
• Sam Adams Brewhouse Add-On: Train
• Fast Lane Access - NOT A CONCERT TICKET: Train
• Lawn Chair Rental: Train

Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview | Syracuse, NY

• Premier Parking - Train & REO Speedwagon - NOT A CONCERT TICKET
• Fastlane Access - Train & REO Speedwagon - Not a Concert Ticket
• Lakeview Lawn Chair Rental: Train & REO Speedwagon

PNC Bank Arts Center | Holmdel, NJ

• VIP Club Access: Train & REO Speedwagon - This is NOT a Concert Ticket
• Shore Club Cabanas:Train & REO Speedwagon-This is NOT a Concert Ticket
• VIP Fast Lane: Train & REO Speedwagon - This is NOT a Concert Ticket
• Lawn Chair Rental: Train & REO Speedwagon-This is NOT a Concert Ticket
• Party Decks: Train & REO Speedwagon - This is NOT a Concert Ticket

Xfinity Theatre | Hartford, CT

Train & reo speedwagon- summer road trip 2024.

• Reserved Parking: Train & REO Speedwagon
• Xfinity Theatre VIP Club Access: Train & REO Speedwagon
• Xfinity Theatre Unplugged in the Hot spot :Train & REO Speedwagon
• Xfinity Theatre Fast Lane:Train & REO Speedwagon
• Xfinity Theatre Lawn Chair Rental: Train & REO Speedwagon
• Xfinity Theatre Blanket Voucher:Train & REO Speedwagon

Xfinity Center | Mansfield, MA

• Xfinity Center Parking : Train & REO Speedwagon
• Xfinity VIP Club Access: Train & REO Speedwagon
• Fast Lane Access - NOT A CONCERT TICKET: Train & REO Speedwagon
• Live Nation Blanket Purchase: Train & REO Speedwagon

Jiffy Lube Live | Bristow, VA

• Dominion Lounge: Train & REO Speedwagon (Not a Concert Ticket)
• Fast Lane: Train & Reo Speedwagon (not A Concert Ticket)
• Lawn Blanket: Train & REO Speedwagon (Not a Concert Ticket)
• Early Parking: Train & REO Speedwagon (Not a Concert Ticket)
• Oversize Parking: Train & REO Speedwagon (Not a Concert Ticket)

Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach | Virginia Beach, VA

• Premium Parking: Train & REO Speedwagon (Not a Concert Ticket)
• VIP Club Access: Train & REO Speedwagon (Not a Concert Ticket)
• Flight Deck Access: Train & REO Speedwagon (Not a Concert Ticket)

Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek | Raleigh, NC

• Premier Parking - Train & REO Speedwagon (NOT A CONCERT TICKET)
• VIP Club - Train & REO Speedwagon (NOT A CONCERT TICKET)
• Coastal Fast Lane - Train & REO Speedwagon (NOT A CONCERT TICKET)
• Live Nation Blanket - Train & REO Speedwagon (NOT A CONCERT TICKET)
• Early Parking - Train & REO Speedwagon (NOT A CONCERT TICKET)

PNC Music Pavilion | Charlotte, NC

• Parking Upgrades: Train - This is NOT a Concert Ticket
• VIP Club Access: Train - This is NOT a Concert Ticket
• Fast Lane: Train - This is NOT a Concert Ticket
• Lawn Chair Rental: Train - This is NOT a Concert Ticket
• Live Nation Blanket: Train - This is NOT a Concert Ticket

Live Oak Bank Pavilion | Wilmington, NC

• Vip Club Access - Train (Not A Concert Ticket)
• Fast Lane - Train (Not A Concert Ticket)
• Lawn Chair Rental -Train (Not A Concert Ticket)
• Clear Bag Voucher -Train (Not A Concert Ticket)
• Blanket Voucher - Train (Not A Concert Ticket)
• Coat Check- Train - Not a Concert Ticket

Oak Mountain Amphitheatre | Birmingham, AL

• Oak Mountain Premier Parking - Train (Not A Concert Ticket)
• Oak Mountain Preferred Parking - Train (Not A Concert Ticket)
• Oak Mountain VIP Club - Train (Not A Concert Ticket)
• Oak Mountain Fast Lane - Train (Not A Concert Ticket)

Ameris Bank Amphitheatre | Alpharetta, GA

• Beaver Toyota Lounge: Train & REO Speedwagon - NOT A CONCERT TICKET
• Fast Lane: Train & REO Speedwagon - NOT A CONCERT TICKET
• Oversized Vehicle Parking: Train & REO Speedwagon - NOT A CONCERT TICK

FirstBank Amphitheater | Franklin, TN

• Premium Field Parking

MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre at the FL State Fairgrounds | Tampa, FL

• Premier Parking: Train (NOT A CONCERT TICKET)
• VIP Club Access: Train (Not A Concert Ticket)
• Fast Lane: Train (Not A Concert Ticket)
• Lawn Chair Rental: Train (Not A Concert Ticket)
• Live Nation Blanket: Train (NOT A CONCERT TICKET)

iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre | West Palm Beach, FL

• Parking Upgrades: Train & REO Speedwagon (Not A Concert Ticket)
• Ford Fast Lane: Train & REO Speedwagon (Not A Concert Ticket)

Daily's Place | Jacksonville, FL

The wharf amphitheater | orange beach, al, the cynthia woods mitchell pavilion presented by huntsman | woodlands, tx.

• Train & REO Speedwagon - Garage Parking
• Train & REO Speedwagon - Lawn Chair Rental

Dos Equis Pavilion | Dallas, TX

• Dos Equis Parking Upgrades- Train & REO -this is not a concert ticket
• Live Nation Lounge Presented by Citi - Train & REO Speedwagon
• Lonestar Cabana: Train & REO Speedwagon. this is not a concert ticket
• AmegyBank Fast Lane Access: Train & REO Speedwagon
• Lawn Chair Rental: Train & REO Speedwago. this is not a concert ticket
• Live Nation Blanket - Train & REO Speedwagon - Not a Concert Ticket

Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre (formerly USANA Amp) | West Valley City, UT

• Gold Parking - Train & REO Speedwagon (NOT A CONCERT TICKET)
• Premium Parking -Train & REO Speedwagon (NOT A CONCERT TICKET)
• Fast Lane Access - Train & REO Speedwagon (NOT A CONCERT TICKET)
• Lawn Chair Rental -Train & REO Speedwagon (NOT A CONCERT TICKET)
• Live Nation Blanket -Train & REO Speedwagon (NOT A CONCERT TICKET)

White River Amphitheatre | Auburn, WA

• Star Parking: Train & REO Speedwagon - Not A Concert Ticket
• Fast Lane Entry: Train & REO Speedwagon - Not A Concert Ticket
• Eagle Club Access: Train & REO Speedwagon - Not A Concert Ticket

Hayden Homes Amphitheater | Bend, OR

• South Lot Premier Parking-Train & REO Speedwagon- Not a Concert Ticket
• Lawn Chair Rental - Train & REO Speedwagon - NOT A CONCERT TICKET

RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater | Ridgefield, WA

• ilani VIP Club Access - Train & REO Speedwagon - NOT A CONCERT TICKET
• Fast Lane Access - Train & REO Speedwagon - NOT A CONCERT TICKET
• Live Nation Blanket - Train & REO Speedwagon x96 NOT A CONCERT TICKET

Toyota Amphitheatre | Wheatland, CA

• Premier Parking: Train & REO Speedwagon
• Fast Lane - Train & Reo Speedwagon
• Lawn Chair Rental - Not a Concert Ticket - Train & REO Speedwagon
• Club Upgrade - Train & Reo Speedwagon

Shoreline Amphitheatre | Mountain View, CA

• Citi VIP Terrace: Train & REO Speedwagon
• The Hideaway: Train & REO Speedwagon
• Fast Lane: Train & REO Speedwagon

Kia Forum | Inglewood, CA

• Parking | Train & REO Speedwagon

North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre | Chula Vista, CA

• VIP PARKING - Train & REO Speedwagon - NOT A CONCERT TICKET
• Parking Upgrades - Train & REO Speedwagon - NOT A CONCERT TICKET
• VIP Lounge - Train & REO Speedwagon - NOT A CONCERT TICKET
• The Backyard Access - Train & REO Speedwagon - Not a concert ticket
• Kona Beach Pass - Train & REO Speedwagon - NOT A CONCERT TICKET
• Fast Lane - Train & REO Speedwagon - NOT A CONCERT TICKET
• Lawn Chair Voucher - Train & REO Speedwagon - NOT A CONCERT TICKET
• Live Nation Clear Bag - Train & REO Speedwagon - NOT A CONCERT TICKET

Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre | Phoenix, AZ

• Premier Parking - Train - NOT A CONCERT TICKET
• Casino Arizona VIP Lounge - Train - Not A Concert Ticket
• Oasis Lawn Lounge - Train - Not A Concert Ticket
• Deck Access - Train - Not A Concert Ticket
• Lawn Chair Rental - Train - Not a Concert Ticket
• VIP Upgrade - Train - Not A Concert Ticket
• Live Nation Blanket - Train - Not a Concert Ticket

Latest Setlist

Yacht rock revue on april 26, 2024.

Avondale Brewing Company, Birmingham, Alabama

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Yacht Rock Revue

• December 18, 2021 Setlist

Yacht Rock Revue Setlist at Coca-Cola Roxy, Atlanta, GA, USA

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Tour: Hotter Dad in Tight Jeans Tour statistics Add setlist

• Do They Know It's Christmas? ( Band Aid  cover) Play Video
• Feliz Navidad ( José Feliciano  cover) Play Video
• What a Fool Believes ( Kenny Loggins  cover) Play Video
• Somebody's Baby ( Jackson Browne  cover) Play Video
• One of These Nights ( Eagles  cover) Play Video
• Right Down the Line ( Gerry Rafferty  cover) Play Video
• Jingle Bell Rock ( Bobby Helms  cover) Play Video
• Step Play Video
• Wonderful Christmastime ( Paul McCartney  cover) Play Video
• Sailing ( Christopher Cross  cover) Play Video
• Steal Away ( Robbie Dupree  cover) Play Video
• What You Won't Do for Love ( Bobby Caldwell  cover) Play Video
• This Christmas Play Video
• Last Christmas ( Wham!  cover) Play Video
• Forever Play Video
• Let Your Love Flow ( The Bellamy Brothers  cover) Play Video
• Go Your Own Way ( Fleetwood Mac  cover) Play Video
• Sister Golden Hair ( America  cover) Play Video
• Only the Good Die Young ( Billy Joel  cover) Play Video
• Africa ( Toto  cover) Play Video
• Let's Hear It for the Boy ( Deniece Williams  cover) Play Video
• What's Love Got to Do With It ( Graham Lyle  cover) Play Video
• You Can Call Me Al ( Paul Simon  cover) Play Video
• Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town ( Harry Reser and His Orchestra  cover) ( E Street Band arrangement ) Play Video
• Lido Shuffle ( Boz Scaggs  cover) Play Video
• Dick in a Box ( The Lonely Island  cover) Play Video
• She's Gone ( Daryl Hall & John Oates  cover) Play Video

Edits and Comments

14 activities (last edit by sternfeld , 30 Nov 2023, 17:51 Etc/UTC )

Songs on Albums

• Last Christmas by Wham! (2)
• Africa by Toto
• Dick in a Box by The Lonely Island
• Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid
• Feliz Navidad by José Feliciano
• Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac
• Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms
• Let Your Love Flow by The Bellamy Brothers
• Let's Hear It for the Boy by Deniece Williams
• Lido Shuffle by Boz Scaggs
• One of These Nights by Eagles
• Only the Good Die Young by Billy Joel
• Right Down the Line by Gerry Rafferty
• Sailing by Christopher Cross
• Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town by Harry Reser and His Orchestra
• She's Gone by Daryl Hall & John Oates
• Sister Golden Hair by America
• Somebody's Baby by Jackson Browne
• Steal Away by Robbie Dupree
• What You Won't Do for Love by Bobby Caldwell
• What a Fool Believes by Kenny Loggins
• What's Love Got to Do With It by Graham Lyle
• Wonderful Christmastime by Paul McCartney
• You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon
• This Christmas

Complete Album stats

More from this Artist

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Yacht Rock Revue Gig Timeline

• Nov 13 2021 Empire Live Albany, NY, USA Add time Add time
• Nov 24 2021 Venkman's Atlanta, GA, USA Add time Add time
• Dec 18 2021 Coca-Cola Roxy This Setlist Atlanta, GA, USA Add time Add time
• Jan 07 2022 House of Blues Boston, MA, USA Add time Add time
• Jan 08 2022 House of Blues Boston, MA, USA Add time Add time

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[url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/yacht-rock-revue/2021/coca-cola-roxy-atlanta-ga-2b8b242a.html][img]https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=2b8b242a[/img][/url] [url=https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=2b8b242a&amp;step=song]Edit this setlist[/url] | [url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/yacht-rock-revue-63dc3253.html]More Yacht Rock Revue setlists[/url]

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Yacht Rock Revue Verified

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About yacht rock revue.

‘People Don’t Let Go of These Songs’: The Surprising Evolution of the Yacht Rock Revue

By Joseph Hudak

Joseph Hudak

“If you asked me five years ago to do a full original album with this band, I’d say, ‘Tear my heart out and leave it on the floor,'” Yacht Rock Revue singer Nick Niespodziani says.

It’s hard to tell if he’s being hyperbolic.

The 41-year-old frontman of the Atlanta-based tribute band has always been conflicted about his gum-chewing, polyester-wearing, hair-feathering throwback group. In his eyes, it was a way to make a living, not a serious creative outlet. Besides, he had other projects to flex that muscle, like the psychedelic and experimental rock of Indianapolis Jones. But as he slowly came to accept, nothing had the reach of Yacht Rock Revue.

Since forming in 2008, the seasoned party band has graduated into a national touring act, packing clubs, anchoring corporate events, and setting sail on themed cruises with their note-perfect re-creations of soft-rock’s smoothest jams, from “Brandy” by Looking Glass and “Lido Shuffle” by Boz Scaggs to Ace’s “How Long” and Toto’s irrepressible “Africa.” (Yacht Rock Revue cut it well before Weezer did .) Their crowds are far from passive too, buying tickets in advance and showing up in boat shoes, ascots, and aviators to recite aloud the sacred texts of saints Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald , and Robbie Dupree. Captain’s hats are ubiquitous.

It’s not an oldies fan base either. “Kids, young people, are the ones who have adopted this music, and they’re there to have a good time,” says Dupree, who often performs his 1980 hit “Steal Away” with the band at their all-star “Yacht Rock Revival” shows. “The audience looks like they used to [when these records first came out] — only you got older. But it’s more exciting now because these people know every single song in the show.”

Still, Niespodziani could never fully get on board the boat he helped build. When he and the band took a stab at releasing original material in 2012 with the on-the-nose “Can’t Wait for Summer,” they did so sheepishly. “Our hearts weren’t all the way in it,” he says now. “We were kind of apologetic about it.”

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As pop music evolved over the past eight years, however, so did Niespodziani’s perception of Yacht Rock Revue. The songs that make up the band’s set lists are now celebrated, “Yacht Rock” has transcended its gag tag to become a legitimate subgenre, and the icons of the scene are getting long-overdue recognition — in May, the Doobie Brothers will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Most important, Niespodziani peered over his onstage shades and recognized the happiness that he and his group were bringing to their crowds.

“When we started out, I wasn’t super proud of being in a cover band,” he says, “but as we’ve done this, I’ve seen that joy in people, which changed my thinking and changed my heart about it, and made me open to the vulnerability of doing an original album.”

In February, the seven-piece band of fortysomething musicians — along with Niespodziani, there’s fellow vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Peter Olson, bassist Greg Lee, sax player Dave Freeman, guitarist Mark Dannells, drummer Mark Cobb, and keys man Mark Bencuya — released its first full-length album of original music, Hot Dads in Tight Jeans . 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.

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.

“We finished recording this album and were mixing it in spring and summer, and that’s when Tame Impala started to leak tracks from their new album,” he says. “They were really similar to the sounds we had on our record, and that made me feel really encouraged, that the sound that we had was not going to be throwaway or irrelevant.”

Olson, Niespodziani’s onstage foil in choreography (they’re experts at re-creating Paul Simon and Chevy Chase’s “You Can Call Me Al” routine ), says the band aimed to expand the boundaries of what yacht rock is, or could be, while in the studio.

“We felt free to redefine the genre a little bit, as more of an attitude than a sound,” Olson, also 41, says. “We weren’t tied to just having Rhodes pianos and super-lush harmonies and sax solos, but there are elements of that. We weren’t afraid to sing about something meaningful and not just piña coladas. Although there is a song about tequila, so…”

Sail Away: The Oral History of 'Yacht Rock'

Doobie brothers' 5 greatest songs.

“Bad Tequila,” with its pithy, made-for-merch payoff line — “when life gives you bad tequila/make a good margarita” — is insanely catchy but modern, more in line with something by Portugal. The Man and Daft Punk than Seals and Croft or Loggins and Messina. Yes, it has a yachty sax breakdown, but the woodwind fits in just as naturally as one of Lizzo’s flute solos .

The band credits producer Ben Allen with helping them connect the dots between yesteryear’s soft rock and contemporary flourish. The track “Another Song About California” opens with a synth line that nods to Hall and Oates’ “She’s Gone” before spiraling off on its own psych-pop journey.

“Ben has been instrumental in finding the middle ground between staying true to what the band has always done in the yacht-rock vibe, but not being afraid to make a record that could fit in a playlist with Justin Timberlake or Lizzo,” says Niespodziani, who also challenged the way the band approaches its lyrics. He used yacht-rock buzzwords (think “sand,” “ocean,” “sun,” and “girl”) as a gateway to convey deeper thoughts and mindsets.

“I’d take little nuggets of the yacht-rock vibe or culture and look at it through my own lens,” he says, citing “The Doobie Bounce.” “That song sneaks in little nods to nihilism and things that have meaning to me.”

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.

After years spent wondering and worrying when the yacht-rock wave would crash, Niespodziani and Olson have come to just enjoy the ride.

“We always thought the fad would end. But people don’t let go of these songs. It’s evident in the way that doctors’ offices, Home Depots, and Bed Bath & Beyonds haven’t let go of these songs either,” says Olson. “These are the playlists of public areas.”

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Yacht Rock Revue at Cadence Bank Amphitheatre

Yacht rock revue tickets, cadence bank amphitheatre | atlanta, georgia, event rescheduled to saturday 28th august 2021. originally saturday 22nd august 2020. all original tickets are still valid.

The illustrious Cadence Bank Amphitheatre in Atlanta, Georgia will be the only place to be on Saturday 22nd August 2020 when Yacht Rock Revue finally comes back to take the stage for a live event! This famous artist will deliver their greatest live performances of their chart-topping classics for what may be a capacity crowd. Their unmatched stage presence, unsurpassed theatrics, and incredible lyrics will all be on full display that Saturday evening. Fans from Atlanta and all nearby cities are flooding down to be first in line to get tickets to this event, but you can have the first chance to get the best seats in the house here! What are you waiting for? All you have to do is click the Buy Tickets button below and get your tickets today, while stocks last!

Imagine this. Finally, it is Saturday 22nd August 2020, the day has arrived, and you could not be more excited to see Yacht Rock Revue. The feeling you get when the doors to the venue finally open and everyone cheers gives you goosebumps. At last you finally get to your seats, or snag a spot in the pit after getting a snack or a drink, using the conveniently located restroom, snatching merchandise, you wait for the light to go off so you finally know it is time! Time seems to be dragging so slow, but there is no reason to be bored when you have your friends and Yacht Rock Revue’s family surrounding you; you find yourself taking about how you think the concert will go or what the opening song will be. And then… the you hear the first cord of their biggest hit, you watch the crowd explode and.. the rest is history. All of that and more is just one click away. Secure your ticket now.

• | Yacht Rock Revue