Lake Street Dive

In the spring of 2025, just a few short months after playing their near-sellout first show at Madison Square Garden, and earning their first GRAMMY® nomination for 2024’s Good Together, the members of Lake Street Dive – vocalist Rachael Price, bassist/background vocalist Bridget Kearney, drummer/background vocalist Mike Calabrese, keyboardist/vocalist Akie Bermiss, and guitarist/background vocalist James Cornelison – gathered to work on new music for what would become their very first independent release, and ninth album, What About Flamingos?. It was a year and a half journey, and rather than working with a topical theme, the band’s mission was taking a new approach to their recording process: live in a room together. The idea originated with Rachael. She explains, “Something we’ve definitely heard from our fans for years, is that they love our live shows, but I realized that we’ve never achieved a live recording. And personally, I wanted to be a part of the recording process from the beginning, instead of going in after the band had done the track, and then singing over that. So I sent an email to the band with all my thoughts and reasonings, and everyone said, ‘Let’s go for it.’”

As songs were being written for the album, bassist/background vocalist Bridget Kearney was inspired to write the title track “What About Flamingos?” after hearing a podcast interview with record producer Brian Eno, discussing how awe-inspiring and unique life on planet Earth is. It  spurred her to write the mantra-like refrain “This might be the only place”, and the song asks us to ponder everyday wonders we often take for granted (like flamingos), including the joy of being part of a band and making music with your friends for twenty-two years. This gratitude for what we have and the magic alive-ness of the “now” infuses the entire album, and is embodied in the recordings. Marking another first, the band worked with two different producers, on opposite coasts: GRAMMY®-nominated producer, Philip Weinrobe (Adrianne Lenker, Big Thief, Cass McCombs) at Spillway Sounds in West Hurley, NY, and producer Jonathan Wilson (Father John Misty, Angel Olsen, Dawes, Margo Price) at his Topanga Canyon Five Star Studios in Los Angeles, CA. While the Upstate New York session brought the close intimacy of a cozy living room studio in winter, the second round of recordings in the warmer and more open L.A. environment mirrored opening up their approach as well. Rachael remembers, “When we went to Jonathan’s, it became a choose-your-own-adventure for everyone.” Bridget adds, “We were a little more lenient with the rules that we had imposed for ourselves. While we wanted to get that magic of us playing together, we realized it’s not gonna be any less magic if I’m wearing headphones and I can hear the bass really well. We shifted to figuring out what each of us needs.” Calabrese reflects, “Keeping as many firsts in our process seems to work. Sometimes you swing and you miss but it’s kinda cool because you get this other thing. For us it was a reminder to follow our instinct.”

Lake Street Dive’s instincts have led them here: an album that is a document of shared moments of being in the moment, and the joy and freedom of sharing that with their fans. This is not only the most live album they have ever made, but also the most ALIVE. Akie Bermiss puts it this way: “It feels like it’s finished, but yet it still has the potential to grow. It’s a living, breathing thing, like an organism, not a relic of last year. This album is a testament to the band being alive now.”

This might be the only place. So what about friends making music together? What about Lake Street Dive? What About Flamingos?

SNACKTIME

Philly phenom SNACKTIME is more than a band – it’s a feeling: a feeling of togetherness, community, and collective catharsis. And now the fast-rising septet is entering a new era of its deeply resonant songcraft and irresistibly vibey live shows with single “Can’t Imagine Why You’d Stay” on Sept. 2, ahead of their debut album in 2027.

SNACKTIME’s story began with free shows in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square in the summer of 2020. After those events started getting shut down due to huge crowds, the band quickly elevated from hometown faves to a nationally recognized band with opening slots on tours with Portugal. The Man, Fitz and The Tantrums, and Electric Guest, and appearances at major music festivals including Boston Calling, Life Is Beautiful, and Roots Picnic.

A whirlwind 2026 that has included SNACKTIME’s first headline tour, signing with Thirty Tigers, and show-stealing sets at Newport Folk and Lollapalooza festivals, continues with a US trek with kindred spirit Devon Gilfillian, beginning on Sept. 14.