yacht rock revue lead singer wife

• Sep 14, 2020

Faces of the 4th | Nick Niespodziani & Pete Olson

One night only. a cover band plays one hit wonders from the 70's in a smoky basement in the virginia highlands. the room is packed, the mood is groovy, and yacht rock revue is born..

Fast forward 11 years and I’m talking to Nick Niespodziani, singer, guitarist, leader of Yacht Rock Revue, and co-owner of Venkman’s, while he’s sitting in a hotel conference room eating a salad. “In the beginning there was an idea to do a night of 70’s one hit wonders. Like songs that everybody knew the words to but nobody knew who the band was. Like forgotten by time, kind of like some of the band members would’ve been if they hadn’t gotten in this band.”

I hear a “hey, hey” in the background, some laughter, and a final “here we are, 11 years later with a retirement plan.”

There sure aren’t any plans to retire anytime soon though. Yacht Rock Revue is still going strong today, as they’re on tour and sidestepping their way through the whole journey. Niespodziani didn’t imagine their success to be as big as it is though. There was a point where he realized that this wouldn’t last forever, and “needed to capitalize on this local C-list celebrity status and cash in on the restaurant.” Now, Venkman’s is born. A modern comfort food spot in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood that “ features eclectic live music curated by partners Nick Niespodziani and Peter Olson, ” vocalist, guitarist and percussionist of YRR.

Venkman’s is all about eating good food while listening to good music. They’re not trying to reinvent the hamburger, they just want you to have a tasty hamburger. The de facto leader’s favorite item on the menu right now is the chicken sandwich, and just as I’m about to make a joke comparing it to the Popeye’s chicken sandwich, he beats me and says “it’s better than Popeye’s” and I take his word for it.

I questioned whether or not the band or the restaurant would find the same success if they were located in a different neighborhood, but it seems as if it was never really a question to begin with. Their band used to practice in what used to be a rehearsal space across from Venkman’s, so they were familiar with the neighborhood and knew that the idea of the Beltline was in line with the values they wanted to keep with the restaurant. He also jokes: “We had our cars broken into in that neighborhood, so we knew.” A right of passage, some might say.

“We were always going to be a part of urban redevelopment in some way. It’s gone about the way that I thought. I didn’t realize we were as far ahead as we were, as challenging as it was in the beginning, but it’s coming around now.” People have since come up to him after YRR shows to talk about Venkman’s and the O4W neighborhood. “It’s a thing now, where before it was a mystery zone.”

Looking at the Venkman’s website, there’s an event that’s happening almost every night. What’s the best practice to balance being in a popular band while also owning a restaurant? “It’s not very balanced. You just kinda try to keep all the balls in the air and hope that they don’t fall.” And he doesn’t forget to give credit where credit is due. They have a great staff that holds it down while they’re on tour, and that’s “not just a PR statement, it’s actually very true.” They found out early on that people were wanting these events within the space they own, centered around the idea that they wanted to bring people together, sing songs, watch movies and eat food.

“That’s the cool thing about Venkman’s. If a venue only does acoustic singer/songwriter stuff, it has a certain type of audience that comes there. But that’s not what Venkman’s is playing. We have country shows, R&B shows, and brunches for kids that bring in soccer moms from the suburbs. It’s a pretty diverse audience. That’s one of the things about Venkman’s that I’m most proud of is that, on any given night you can go in and there can be a totally different vibe, a different age group, or demographic of people.”

As Niespodziani finishes his salad and our conversation comes to an end, we talk breakfast, his favorite being the duck egg hash from his restaurant. He continues to make a light sarcastic comment about Cracker Barrel being “good” to which I genuinely agree, and he responds with “that was a joke.”

Justice for Cracker Barrel!

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Keisha & Kourtney Jackson

This mother and daughter duo were making music together for over a decade before officially branding themselves as the Ladies of Soul (circa 2018). Kourtney’s sweet and sultry voice is the perfect complement to Keisha’s gutsy grit as they coast through a catalogue of classic ‘60s and ‘70s Soul.

The Ladies do not shy away from traditionally male-led selections, making soul-stirring pieces like “I Can’t Get Next to You“ and “Work to Do“ staples in their set.

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Live from Venkman’s 2022

Full band…or tracks

All bases are covered…concerts, corporate events, and private parties. 

Keisha began singing professionally at age 15 and went on to record 2 albums with Sony Records. Keisha has performed on recordings with Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Kaiser Chiefs, Erasure, and toured with rap music icons Outkast (20+), Erykah Badu (11), and George Clinton. 

By age 13, Kourtney was singing background for her mother, and within a year she was recording background vocals for Janelle Monáe. This led to opportunities including working with Atlanta’s Dungeon Family, performing local radio jingles, and flowing through the live music scene as lead vocalist for several bands. Kourtney is a respected singer, published songwriter and looks forward to continuing to carve out a place for herself in the music industry.

“We’re In The Band”

Keisha joined national touring band Yacht Rock Revue in 2014, and a couple of years later Kourtney came aboard. Shimmer and shine and everything fine? “The incredible DNA-fueled blend of Keisha and Kourtney’s voices has taken our show to another level. When you already have perfect chemistry among 7 dudes, adding a couple ladies to the mix could have been a risky move. But not with these two!” (Nicholas Niespodziani, Yacht Rock Revue)

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Yacht Rock Revue as Stunned as Anyone With Its Crazy Success

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Interview: Nicholas Niespodziani of YACHT ROCK REVUE at Van Wezel

Read our full interview here!

Taking a short break from his busy schedule of touring and cutting a new studio album (to be released soon) and a Live album to be released later this month, I got a chance to catch up with Nick, the lead singer of Yacht Rock Revue. If he sounds like he is busy now, just wait till you hear what he has been doing the last few years.

Yacht Rock Revue has single-handedly led the growing popularity of the yacht rock genre. For those of you that are scratching your head wondering what you are missing, yacht rock is a variety of music that emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It features smooth, melodic tunes with elements of soft rock, jazz, and R&B. The term “yacht rock” is often used humorously to describe the laid-back, sophisticated sound associated with sailing and luxury lifestyles. Artists like Steely Dan, Christopher Cross , and Kenny Loggins are often considered yacht rock contributors.

“While most tribute bands play as the performers, or on a set-playlist, Yacht Rock Revue plays as a band in and of itself” Nick says. While some might consider the smooth tunes kitschy and a joke, Yacht Rock Revue has a real love of the music. Without a doubt, this love is conveyed to the audience and Yacht Rock Revue has grown a cult following in the last few years.

Yacht Rock Revue formed in Atlanta in 2007 as a side project for a few musicians. “We are totally music nerds,” says Nick “and every band member has studied music formally in some form or fashion.” A handful of members attended Indiana University (considered among the most impressive, diverse, and extraordinary music schools in the world), while other members attended Berkley. “We play easy listening music, which is not always simple to play. The trick is making the audience feel it is easy!” Out of sheer curiosity I asked Nick how many songs are in their songbook repertoire. He said that they all could easily play 150 or so songs off the top of their head, though they have played and performed closer to 500 different songs!

Today they perform sold out shows in Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Washington DC and the list goes on. They put on an average of 100 shows per year throughout the nation and have been seen by close to 3 million people. As their tenure continues the band keeps adding more songs to their catalogue. Soon a double studio album will be coming out as it’s own EP. The first side will be released in May 2024 with additional sides coming out in the following months. The new album looks to “bridge the gap between legit 1970’s to present music” Nick says. Also keep an eye out for a Live Album and Live Recording recently filmed in New York and to be released on January 22nd by PBS.    

Coming to the Cultural Sun Coast, Yacht Rock Revue will be performing at Van Wezel on Wednesday January 24th. Tickets are surprisingly still available!

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Creativity abounds in Yacht Rock Revue singer’s intown Atlanta home

The walls in musician and singer Peter Olson’s home scream out his family’s love for making art and making music.

The children’s red, white, black and green paintings and drawings of sea creatures, flowers and people join album covers, guitars, chalkboards, magnets, family photos and pictures of landmarks shot by Peter, who collects vintage cameras.

“There’s not really anything in our house that’s totally off limits for the girls. It’s their space just as much as it is ours,” he said.

While they hadn’t planned to tape the kids’ artwork on the walls of the playroom, bedrooms and bathroom of their home in Lake Claire, an intown neighborhood, he said they figured, “Why not?”

“What are we going to do, put this in a folder and look at it 20 years from now? It’s just enjoying celebrating their style, just as much ours,” he said.

Residents: Peter and Alyssa Olson and their kids, Synnove, 5, and Seija, 3, and cat, Buster. Peter, a musician, is a frontman of Yacht Rock Revue and a restaurateur, and Alyssa is an event planner. They're expecting a baby boy this summer.

Location: Atlanta's Lake Claire neighborhood

Size: 3,000 square feet, four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths

Year built/bought: 1999/2011

Architectural style: Shotgun-style Craftsman with Colonial elements

Favorite architectural elements: "Because it's long and skinny, it's nice and deceiving from the front. It's very understated from the front, but when you come inside, it's bigger than it appears," he said.

Renovations: They refinished the hardwood floors with a darker stain and painted the walls to provide some contrast between the two, which originally had the same light look. The kitchen had open shelves, so they added cabinets, a Viking vent hood, and GE Profile, Jenn-Air and Kenmore appliances. They replaced the white Corian countertops with black granite and created a dry bar. The main level floor plan also was a bit too open for them. They found the blueprints and discovered that some doorways and walls were removed in prior renovations. They added a half wall in the kitchen and a wall in the living room, where Peter's piano now sits.

Design consultants: Claire Wire with Claire Wire Interiors for the kitchen design. Custom cabinets by George Emerick.

Interior design style: Shabby chic

Favorite interior design elements: Mid-century modern furniture. Their hometown of Columbus, Ind., began in the 1950s to bring in architects from around the world, including Scandinavian designers, to create public buildings and interiors. As a result, they have some tables and chairs by some of those designers that were passed down from friends.

Favorite collections: Album covers and vintage cameras. Covers on the walls are signed by performers that Yacht Rock Revue has joined. He has signatures from Bobby Kimball, the lead singer of Toto, and Steve Augeri, a former Journey frontman.

Favorite artwork: Their late friend, artist Dolores Williams, painted a portrait of the couple on their wedding day based on an image taken by photographer Sarah Dorio at Piedmont Park. Peter met Williams, a nun who spent most of her life in the Peace Corps in Africa, when he was a fitness instructor at Clairmont Oaks, a retirement community.

Resources: Furniture from IKEA, Intaglia, Kudzu Antiques, ABC Carpet & Home

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The accidental success of 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. The fans ate it up, so they did it again. And again. It wasn’t long before Y-O-U had given way to Yacht Rock Revue.

Today the Atlanta tribute band/comedy troupe has become a booming business. On August 22, the act returns to Piedmont Park for the fifth annual Yacht Rock Revival, where thousands of so-called Nation of Smooth faithful sing along to hits from Hall & Oates, Steely Dan, and other soft rock icons—some of whom show up to play alongside the band. To keep up with booking demands, they’ve even spawned Yacht Rock Schooner, a second cover act. Recently Niespodziani discussed their career trajectory.

On playing alongside recording artists like Robbie Dupree, Firefall, and Journey singer Steve Augeri . . . They come and they realize that while we’re not taking ourselves seriously, we are taking the music seriously. We approach Little River Band as if it’s AC/DC.

On accidentally reuniting the Atlanta band Starbuck . . . Jimmy Cobb, the bass player in Starbuck, played with us a few times, and we put him and another former band member on the poster for the 2012 show. Before the gig, the band’s singer, Bruce Blackman, showed up with our flyer in his hand, asking, “What is this?” He was a little pissed. Backstage, these guys talked for the first time in 30 years. Bruce came on stage that night, and the next year they got the whole band back together.

On being named both “Best Overall Music Act in Atlanta” and “Best Place to Get Drunk With Your Dad” . . . We’re pretty proud of the “Drunk with Your Dad” distinction. We actually had a fan in Charlotte who came up to us with his pregnant wife and said, “Oh man, we got pregnant the last time you were here. We went in the club’s bathroom while you guys were on stage!” Clearly, we’re setting a mood.

On the calendar: On August 22, coast to the smooth sounds of easy-listening at Yacht Rock Revival at Piedmont Park. pleaserock.com

This article originally appeared in our August 2015 issue.

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Yacht Rock Revue explain why they're charting a new course with original music

Sarah Rodman is the Entertainment Editor, covering TV and music for EW.

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.

“We wanted to hit a note that was both retro and could be right now,” says shades-sporting co-frontman Nick Niespodziani of the synthy-smooth jam. “We wanted it to be outside of time.”

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. The Atlanta septet can draw thousands of people to sing along to spot-on renditions of hits by Hall & Oates, Toto, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, and other artists whose names some in the audience have forgotten, or never knew, but whose hits have endured, such as “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl),” by Looking Glass. While there may have been an element of irony for some attendees at the beginning, the shows tend to be unabashedly joyous affairs.

Niespodziani, drummer Mark Cobb, and co-frontman Peter Olson were all in a band called Y-O-U in the early 2000s that enjoyed some regional success but ended up petering out. “We were all splitting off to do other things,” says Niespodziani. “Peter was thinking about moving to Colorado and I had started law school and we were all kind of ready for what was happening after music. Because when you’re 27 and you haven’t made it yet, you’re an ancient guy. And in the midst of that we did this one Yacht Rock show and then all of a sudden it became what it is now. We’ve got an office, and a band, and a 401k.”

Soon they will have that album of original material as well as a documentary detailing their unlikely route to success as they rose from bar band to amphitheater band.

In addition to sharing “Step,” the group also curated the ultimate Yacht Rock Spotify playlist for EW, and we chatted with Niespodziani about the band’s step toward original songwriting and mixing up the smooth classics in their set.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You’ve finally decided to make original music, again. How much anxiety do you have about fan reception since they’re used to you playing songs they love? NICK NIESPODZIANI: We played it for the first time at our big Atlanta show in August at Chastain Park Amphitheater in front of 7,000 people. I was pretty nervous because all these songs that we play, everybody knows every word. Like, every song we play would be the encore for whatever artist it is that we’re covering. So how do you put up a song that people have never heard before, at all, against those songs? I was originally super nervous about it, but our fans really surprised me. I expected everybody to leave for the bathroom or the bros to start booing. But they stayed and they got into it, and the reception everywhere we’ve been with it has been awesome. People are into it. So I’m much less nervous now than I was before.

The album itself is not a “yacht rock” record but is obviously in a similar wheelhouse and has a cheeky humor to it. Do you get the sense that you’ve built up enough goodwill from the fans since you’ve been playing for so long that they’re open to original songs? Yeah, and I’ve noticed, especially over the last three or four years, when we go places, whether it’s the people at the venue or the fans that we’ve talked to, they treat us like artists. In the beginning, I felt like a glorified stripper where people just wanted to pull my hair and see if it was real and it was more of a novelty thing. But now I feel like we’ve earned that respect from our fans and they’re open to it, or at least they have been so far. I’m hoping that that streak continues.

How did you decide that now was the time for you guys to try this? I was kind of going through my midlife crisis checklist, choices like “I could wreck a red sports car” or “I could have an affair with a busty nurse.” And I was like, “You know what I really should do is make an album with my ’70s soft rock band.” So we threw the idea around and were like, “Why not try it,” talking about that goodwill we built up with our fans. 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. And it’s been really inspiring and fun.

Who produced it? Ben Allen, he’s from here in Atlanta. He produced Walk The Moon and Animal Collective’s big records and he just did the new Kaiser Chiefs record, which is [a hit] in the UK right now. He did Gnarls Barkley. He’s a close friend of mine and I was kind of nervous, even though we hang out and go to the gym together, to ask him about making a record with Yacht Rock because I thought there would be this stigma because he produces Deerhunter and all these super hipster bands. And he was immediately like, “Yeah, let’s do it. That sounds really fun.”

A song like “Step” could probably slip into your sets with relative ease since it has that blue-eyed soul falsetto thing happening that spans from disco, like a sliver of Giorgio Moroder, to a group like Hall & Oates to something like Beck’s song “Debra.” Yeah, we definitely leaned on more on that ’80s side of the coin, Hall & Oates and even some ’80s David Bowie and some of the synthier stuff like Giorgio Moroder. That just strikes closer to our personal taste and I think it’s easier to see how that fits in with modern music. Whereas if you make something that’s just like a Steely Dan rip, that’s really a very segmented thing off to the side.

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.

I guess in my view everyone is putting on an act of some sort. We pretend to be these coked-up ’70 dudes, but we are who we are inside and I’m inspired by people like Lizzo and Pete Buttigieg and Puddles The Clown. It’s definitely an act that all of them are doing, but the heart of what they’re doing is true. The center of it emotionally is honest and unapologetic. And that’s what “Step” is about. And that’s what this whole album is about for us. Because we are a bunch of 40-year-old dads who are trying to make our first record that people listen to, why not just bear hug it instead of run away from it?

Do you ever think how wild it is that you all have built a career out of this, particularly since you’re not a straight tribute band of one group? All the time. It’s crazy. 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. There’s just no way. 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.

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. It’s funny you mention “Africa.” That’s the only song we have to play at every show. And I think it kind of goes through waves. It’s like a Saturday Night Live joke where they keep repeating the same thing and it gets really monotonous and not funny. And then if you repeat it for long enough, it becomes funny again. It got to where it got old for a while and now it’s really fun to sing that song, even though I’ve probably sung it 2,000 times, literally. It’s not a problem.

Coldplay has to sing “Yellow” every night no matter what. There are five or six other songs they have to sing every night no matter what. We don’t have to do that. We have thousands of songs to choose from. So, in some ways, it’s been a blessing that we can stay fresher because we can always change out songs and add new songs.

Let’s talk about this playlist. You have a pretty wide range here, including yacht rock staples like Michael McDonald’s “I Keep Forgettin'” but also songs from Lake Street Dive and “Juice” by Lizzo. How do you all even define yacht rock now? For me, yacht rock is more of a vibe and an energy than necessarily “soft rock music made in Los Angeles between 1976 and 1984.” It’s more about when the song comes on, does it put a smile on your face in the first 10 seconds? If you use that as your first barrier to entry, then what can be considered yacht rock becomes a lot more wide. If you’re out cruising on your boat on Saturday afternoon, what’s going to feel good?

“Juice” is going to feel good. Yeah. And it feels like the transition from “I Keep Forgettin'” into “Juice” doesn’t feel like a hard left turn. It feels natural. 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.

How did you pick the classic ones to intersperse in there? 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.

You’re in your forties now. Is this sustainable? Can you do this until you retire? That’s a great question. If “Bad Tequila” [from the upcoming album] 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 I’ve talked to Robbie about that. 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. It’s weird to think about but it is true. It gives us a little bit of job security.

In the last few years, several other bands in this vein have popped up. How do you feel about that? I imagine it’s hard to be mad about other cover bands when you’re a cover band. It’s great that this music has become so popular and imitation is finest form of flattery, right? So when I see these bands doing our dance moves, or wearing the sailor outfits like we used to 10 years ago or adding the same songs to their setlists, that’s cool. Part of me wants to say, “Go get your own unoriginal idea.” But like you said, there’s no honor among thieves, really. So it’s fine. I got nothing but love for any of them. I think what we do stands on its own.

Yacht Rock Revue will hit the road for the Hot Dads in Tight Jeans tour Jan. 9 and will be pulling into ports across the country, from Boston to Los Angeles.

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Yacht Rock Revue Kicks Off First Night of Drive-In Concerts in Indiana

Live Nation’s outdoor music series attracted many captain hats, but few masks (which weren’t required).

By Sarah Bahr

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. — On a breezy, 80-degree summer night, more than a thousand, mostly middle-age smooth rock fans, many of them sporting cargo shorts and captain’s hats, danced for two hours to tunes from the 1970s and ’80s by Yacht Rock Revue , who were performing in an Indiana parking lot.

A couple who looked to be in their 50s twirled like two young lovers around a camper van to a rendition of Toto’s “Africa.” Dads in polo shirts and shorts decorated with palm trees clutched cans of Coors Light as they took group selfies in front of SUVs and pickups bearing “Hall/Oates ’20” stickers.

The drive-in concert in the grassy parking area west of Ruoff Music Center, an outdoor amphitheater approximately 30 miles northeast of downtown Indianapolis, kicked off the first night of Live Nation’s “ Live From the Drive-In ” series, which includes nine performances this weekend by artists like Brad Paisley and Darius Rucker at three venues in the Midwest and Southeast. (Nashville and Maryland Heights, Mo., near St. Louis, are the other two host cities.)

The coronavirus caseload in Indiana increased on Friday, with the state reporting 748 new infections , the highest daily total since May 6. But Dan Murphy, a self-described Yacht Rock Revue groupie who follows the band around the country and has seen them play more than 20 times, said he wasn’t worried. Murphy, a 53-year-old father from Carmel, Ind., said he felt safe attending with his wife and 23-year-old daughter because he believes outdoor activities are low risk. “I feel like it’s safe as long as you’re wearing the mask when you’re near other people,” he said.

Sarah Gaspary, 37, who was attending with her husband and neighbors and wearing a white captain’s hat with gold trim, an accessory wildly popular among the group’s fans, said it was hard to know what to believe because she was hearing conflicting information from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “I don’t want to be insensitive, but everyone’s going to die at some point,” she said. “At some point, you have to live your life.”

Live Nation instituted safety measures for the series: All tickets had to be purchased in advance and were scanned through car windows by staff members in masks who were careful not to make physical contact. There were about 400 cars gathered on Friday night, and each was capped at four occupants and allotted three spaces: one for the vehicle, one for tailgating and one that acted as a buffer space, allowing cars to remain about 18 feet apart.

Attendees were told to wear face coverings upon arrival, but they weren’t required to do so within the tailgating areas. (People were asked to wear them when they walked to the portable toilets — some did; some didn’t.) And to make up for the distance, LED screens were set up facing the temporary stage, giving attendees up-close shots of the lead singer Nick Niespodziani’s shaggy hair and form-fitting boot-cut jeans.

At around 7:45 p.m., Niespodziani’s call to arms rang out through the lot: “Indiana, it’s time to yacht rock!” The band then began a set that saw dads in rainbow shark shorts and boat shoes boogeying to Jackson Browne’s “Somebody’s Baby” and “You Make My Dreams” by Hall & Oates.

Martha Harms, 54, was bopping to strains of the Doobie Brothers’ “Takin’ it to the Streets” in a designated “gold zone” closest to the stage. “Aren’t they just so cute?” she said, motioning toward the band’s line of real-life dads (well, one cat dad) shaking a tambourine and soloing on the sax while standing six feet apart.

Harms had been worried attendees would be confined to their cars, but was glad to see that wasn’t the case. She said the night felt like a mix of a tailgate — though grills and open fires were prohibited, fans set coolers full of fruit salads, ranch dip and hot dog condiments on red-and-white-checked tablecloths — and a concert at The Lawn, the outdoor amphitheater in downtown Indianapolis. “It’s still a party,” she said. “It’s just separate parties.” She said it was the first concert she and her husband had attended all year because of “this stupid virus.”

Yacht Rock Revue, a tribute band that covers soft-rock hits from acts like Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac and the Bee Gees, and that released its first album of original music, “Hot Dads in Tight Jeans,” in February, was also shaking off the cobwebs. Niespodziani told the crowd it was the first time the band had played together since March. “It’s been four months since we’ve done karate kicks,” he said. “So it’s a good thing nobody busted their ass.”

Niespodziani said in a phone conversation on Wednesday that he hoped the performance would give people a safe way to escape. “If 300 or 400 cars are at our show instead of going out to the bars in Broad Ripple in Indianapolis, that’s probably a net win against the virus,” he said.

While many of the light-rock-loving attendees were in their 40s and 50s, Isabel Murphy, Dan Murphy’s 23-year-old daughter, said it was her first time seeing the group perform live. She discovered the dad rockers through her parents’ “playing their music nonstop on Pandora,” but has since become a fan. (As it turns out, other young women across the country have also recently found themselves in a Steely Dan phase .)

Isabel Murphy, a fifth-year student in the pharmacy program at Butler University in Indianapolis, works as an intern at CVS. “I come into contact with people every day, and I haven’t gotten sick,” she said. “So it’s this weird duality of knowing I have to be safe and social distance, but also not having been affected by it personally.”

Niespodziani said that he had been feeling anxious as case numbers were increasing in other areas of the country. But after talking to Live Nation in the weeks leading up to the event, he felt reassured. “I feel like this setup is safer than going to the grocery store,” he said.

But some attendees were ready for much more than a trip down the cereal aisle. Michael Gaspary, who is married to Sarah Gaspary, said he and his wife had tickets for the Indianapolis 500 on Aug. 23, which, even at half capacity, could attract as many as 175,000 fans. “The information we’re getting is coming in cycles of three to four days,” he said. “So it’s very difficult to say what those numbers are going to be in two weeks, much less six to eight weeks.”

As the Yacht Rock Revue concert drew to a close, the sun sank to the left of the stage and a chorus of car horns clamored for an encore. Niespodziani led one last round of jean-straining jams, and “We’ll Meet Again” played over the loudspeakers as the crew closed up shop. Attendees returned hot dog buns and watermelon slices to Tupperware containers, and masked staff members waved as cars snaked back through the maze of orange cones and metal barriers to the 146th Street exit.

Sarah Bahr is a reporter on the Culture desk and a member of the 2020-2021 New York Times fellowship class. More about Sarah Bahr

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