Republic file photo Yacht Rock Revue will play the Brown County Music Center again on Jan. 31.
The Columbus-infused, nationally touring Yacht Rock Revue will return to Brown County Music Center in Nashville Jan. 31, according to a news release.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday and will be available at browncountymusiccenter.com, ticketmaster.com, and at the venue box office (open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays through Mondays open only on event days, at 3 p.m.) via outdoor ticketing windows and phone sales at (812) 988-5323).
The band last played the area venue Feb. 10. Members recently completed a summer tour with Train and REO Speedwagon.
The band was scheduled to headline the local Our Hospice of South Central Indiana Labor Day Weekend concert in 2020, 2021 and 2022, but COVID-19 and rain washed away those plans.
Besides performing what band members have called covers of “smooth grooves” from the 1970s and 1980s, they also have performed with some of the vocalists from that era, ranging from John Oates (“She’s Gone”) to Eddie Money (“Two Tickets to Paradise”) to Robbie Dupree (“Steal Away”).
Originally, yacht rock referred, in part, to a stereotypical yuppie yacht owner enjoying smooth music while sailing, according to online music sites.
The Atlanta-based 10-piece group landed the support of mega-promoters Live Nation several years ago and began selling out 6,000-seat arenas in major metro areas just before the pandemic and immediately afterward. Guitarist and lead vocalist Nick Niespiodziani and fellow vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Peter Olson, boyhood friends from Columbus, have been a part of the group since it formed in 2007 on a whim for what members figured would be a single, Seventies-oriented event.
Rolling Stone magazine has hailed the group as the “world’s premier soft-rock party band.” The have been the focus of a national PBS Special, a New York Times story, and much more attention. Entertainment Weekly noted that “the shows tend to be unabashedly joyous affairs.”
The group’s upcoming original album, “Escape Artist,” slated for release Nov. 29 across four sides of vinyl, is a bold homage to the yacht rock sound. The disc includes collaborations with yacht rock veterans Dupree and Elliot Lurie.
“When we went into the studio to make this record, everyone brought songs and vibes from all over the place,” the band recently posted on its Facebook page. “We didn’t put any limits on what we would try, or have any preconceived notions about what we were trying to do.”
Initial singles are the songs “Tropical Illusion” and “Passengers,” which reviews already have noted for lush instrumentations and more.
“It’s ridiculously ambitious,” Niespodziani said of the effort, adding that it includes “super-legit yacht rock,” acoustic, electro-pop and more. “But somehow all those styles make incredible sense together.”
