7.7 (yes! 7.7!) A wknd w/ Yella Belly
A week ahead of time, the band on boiled blues, dessert for breakfast and their album-release show July 7th at Our Wicked Lady
SUMMER IS UPON US and ‘TIS THE SEASON TO SLACK… by which we mean go on vacay without bringing a laptop for the first time in like a decade.
All to say, the SETLIST experience is coming at you a week early so we can sit somewhere (mostly) without wifi for like week. But here’s the plus side: For once, you can actually plan more than like eight hours ahead!
NOW LET’S GET TO IT with none other than YELLA BELLY, BABY!
It seems like a million years ago that we spent a long n lovely evening at Anchored Inn with the band whose sound is impeccably described as “equal parts Texas grit and New York grime.” While crushing beer, wine and White Claws, we discussed the band’s origin story (it came together in those very booths), the pros and cons of beers before vs. after rehearsal (plus the mildewed carpet that may or may not have resulted from shotgunning in the practice space) and, of course, their favorite places in BK (including the Williamsburg outpost of Rough Trade—RIP—where the artist experience included two very important band staples: beers and hummus, naturally).
And a lot has happened since then! The band released some new songs… then, some more new songs… and next Friday, they’ll drop their DEBUT ALBUM: Evil In The Heart Of The Old Country Gentleman.
“The record is a Frankenstein of all my favorite genres and styles of music,” Yella Belly’s Will Thompson said of the record. “I kept finding myself leaning into different worlds when writing the album, so it became this challenge of finding a common thread between them all. Having a zydeco track weave into a 1:30 punk song that then went into an Americana folk-style standard became the big BUT exciting challenge of it all.”
Don’t miss the opp to celebrate that album liiiiiiive with the band on release day (again, NEXT FRIDAY) on the Our Wicked Lady rooftop with High Waisted, Joseph King and Evan Charles, plus a DJ set from Last Nite (tix available here).
As for the rest of that weekend—honestly, most of it works for this one as well—read on!
It’s gonna be two very, very good ones. LYSM. See ya on the other side~
[BUT FIRST: PRESS PLAY]
FRIDAY
Start your day off at Dunkin. Getting as close as you can to dessert for breakfast is the yella belly way. Lunch at Anchored Inn 'cause that's where Bands Do BK and the band fell in love. Their burgers and dive vibe are the best in Brooklyn anyways. That evening you will be attending the OFFICIAL Yella Belly Record Release Party! Giddy up.
SATURDAY
You're movin slow, so take a lazy stroll through Greenpoint and hit Peter Pan for breakfast bagels (bacon, egg and cheese classic...w/ ketchup). Next, meet up with all your seafaring friends and cruise out to Fort Tilden beach for the afternoon and chill in the sand. Take a dip in that cold Atlantic to jolt you back to life. Rockaway Beach Surf Club for lunch and margaritas. On the way out, go to Clemente's Crab House for more drinks on the pier and a couple boiled blues. Jazz, cocktails and and dinner at Canary Club back in the city. Drop the name Yella Belly and you might get free oysters at the bar. You deserve it.
SUNDAY
You're a tired lil critter so veg out and order in some Russ & Daughters or better yet, bodega breakfast sammy from the nearest corner. Brunch Reunion in Williamsburg for some Israeli food. Walk around Domino Park until Skinny Dennis opens for those big whiskey teas with the floating mint. Skip over to Left Hand Path for backyard beers. End at Bamonte's for real deal old Brooklyn. Saluti!
Itinerary above written + submitted by Yella Belly. Follow the band at @yellabellyband, buy their music on Bandcamp and add the songs to your Spotify playlists!
Feature image (provided by the band): Ashley Adele
MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS
TONIGHT (6/29)! Break outside the go-to-shows box — or just pregame your music plans — at Brooklyn Works (159 20th Street Brooklyn) where mixed-media artist Keith Kelly of Jelly Kelly will be showing his sick series “Forces Of Burst,” which “focuses on the synergetic struggle between modern architecture and nature, especially here in NYC.” This project been in the works for years, and now’s your chance to see the very rad results! Go out, admire some art and support and celebrate one of the most talented and genuinely excellent artists and humans we know. PLUS! Learn more about Keith’s process, inspiration and the way his visual art and music influence each other in our OFF THE RECORD feature, available for your reading pleasure here.
Stoked to announce our BdBK showcase at ROCK! AWAY! Music Festival, taking place July 14-17, at ROCKAWAY BEACH!
Our show is going down on Saturday 7/15 at Rockaway Bazaar (97th and the boardwalk) and is also doubling as the release party for Mary Shelley’s new single — a track perfectly designed to serve as your summer AIM away message: “Goin’ to the Beach.” (Pre-save that song here.) Get ye to the ocean and stay for the FREEEEEE show! Lineup announcement coming soon. In the meantime, please see your beach mood board below:
Impeccable. Catch ya on the boardwalk babez ☀️☀️☀️☀️
ICYMI, earlier this month Anti Social Producers Club hosted their annual Anti Social Camp—the world’s largest songwriting camp, where 150 artists come together for 100+ songwriting sessions, along with a week’s worth of performances, parties and live events, to celebrate collaboration and creation. As the camp’s participants took over studios across the city to unite and write, we had the ridiculously sick opportunity to host some intimate studio sessions with four of the amazing musicians at Platinum Sound Recording Studios, produced by I Know We Should.
First up: Ben Thornewill of Jukebox the Ghost! In this session, Ben showcases a few of his many songwriting sides (plus mad enthusiasm and charisma) with a performance and interview in which he talks music nerdom, his Anti Social Camp experience and strolling down the BQE in a hurricane. As one does. WATCH NOW! And stay tuned for the other three, coming soon.
Come July 9th, we’re celebrating two years of THE SETLIST! Huge, huge thanks to every artist that’s helped us plan a sick-ass itinerary, starting with our first wknd warrior, Johnny Dynamite, back in 2021. (And, of course, to you for subscribing!) Remember you can find all 100+ editions ~in the archives~. Thanks to these bands, you’ll never be bored ever again.
RELEASE RADAR
New(ish) stuff from local (+ occasionally, once-local) artists we love, listed in no order whatsoever:
“Light Blue Sheets” // Strawberry Launch
“Local Celebrity” // Wetsuit
“Same Page” // Di Ivories
“Call Me More” // Pleasure Island
“Forever” video // BIG GIRL
“Tell Me When You’re Ready” // Big Bliss
At Arm’s Length // Le Big Zero
IT’S HAPPENIN’
Here’s a look at the events we’ve got coming up. Mark your calendars and come hang!
7/7 BdBK Presents: Yella Belly w/ High Waisted, Evan Charles and Joseph King @ Our Wicked Lady - tix here
7/11 BdBK Presents: wakelee, Marinara, Real Burn, BRODEO @ Our Wicked Lady - tix here
ICYMI
Around the blog and from the archives
VIDEO PREMIERE: “Woohoo” from Night Spins
Thx 4 reading! Find more fun stuff at bandsdobk.com and @bandsdobk. <3
Order the Bands do BK BOOK (!) (out now via Lit Riot Press) here.