is yacht rock revue a cover band

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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 Release 'Between The Moon And New York City' Live Album From PBS Special

Today, these masters of smooth grooves unveil their live album, Between the Moon and New York City.

Embark on a journey down memory lane through radiant musical waters with Yacht Rock Revue. Today, these masters of smooth grooves unveil their live album, Between the Moon and New York City.

LATEST NEWS

The new 15-track collection is the audio companion of the band's recent PBS Special that graced the airwaves on November 24, 2023. Captured on the Rooftop at Pier 17 in New York City on July 7, 2023, this album transports audiences to the golden era of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Offering a reprieve from the daily hustle, it guides listeners on a musical odyssey through timeless hits.

Reminiscing on the concert special, lead vocalist Nicholas Niespodziani praised, “The vibe was epic that night, and I'm proud (while totally unsurprised) that our performance was as breathtaking as the setting. I can't wait to be flipping through the channels in a random hotel room and come across myself crushing some Doobies in front of the Brooklyn Bridge.”

The powerhouse 10-piece band — Nicholas Niespodziani (Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards, Percussion), Peter Olson (Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards, Percussion), Greg Lee (Bass, Vocals), Mark Dannells (Guitars, Vocals), Mark Bencuya (Keyboards, Vocals), David B. Freeman (Saxophones, Keyboards, Flute, Piccolo, Percussion, Vocals), Keisha Jackson (Vocals, Percussion), Kourtney Jackson (Vocals, Percussion), Jason Nackers (Drums), Ganesh Giri Jaya (Drums) — is set to tour through May, with additional dates to be announced soon. 

Sarah Bahr of The New York Times reported on her first-hand account of the free-flowing vibe the band injects into an audience, witnessing fans that “danced for two hours to tunes from the 1970s and '80s by Yacht Rock Revue.” Entertainment Weekly noted that “the shows tend to be unabashedly joyous affairs” while Joseph Hudak of Rolling Stone deemed them the “world's premier soft-rock party band.” 

Inspired by the golden era of soft rock, Yacht Rock Revue has mastered the art of recreating the breezy and laid-back tunes that defined a generation. From the sun-kissed melodies of Steely Dan and Michael McDonald to the velvety harmonies of Hall & Oates, their repertoire spans an ocean of beloved hits that evoke memories of palm trees, ocean breezes, and carefree summers. Since their formation in 2007, the band has amassed a devoted following, drawing fans from all walks of life to their extraordinary live performances. Their meticulous attention to detail and commitment to authenticity transport audiences to an era when yacht parties and smooth sailing were the norm.

Beyond the stage, Yacht Rock Revue's infectious energy extends to their fans, creating a community that celebrates the joy of music and the timeless allure of yacht rock. Their concerts transcend mere shows; they are immersive experiences leaving audiences yearning for more.

However, Yacht Rock Revue is more than just a tribute band; they are musical alchemists seamlessly blending their distinctive style with the iconic yacht rock vibe. Their original compositions, such as the debut record titled Hot Dads In Tight Jeans, showcase the band's complete range of skills, simultaneously transporting listeners to a more modern era. While the first single, “Step,” is a lively number with falsetto and thumping bass, the rest of the album resonates with the contemporary vibes of bands like Phoenix or Air, which adapted Yacht for a younger audience.

Whether you're a longtime aficionado of the yacht rock era or a newcomer to its smooth grooves, Yacht Rock Revue promises an unforgettable journey across the azure waters of musical history. So don your captain's hat and set sail with Yacht Rock Revue for a melodic adventure like no other.

Making It Work as a Cover Band: Why Yacht Rock Revue Stopped Playing Their Original Music

Guest Post By  Hugh McIntyre on SonicBids Blog

Standing out from the rest and surviving takes a lot of effort, and you have to be smart enough to see opportunities as they come and take whatever you can get.

Sometimes there's a niche that needs to be filled, and perhaps your band could be the one to fill it.

The Atlanta-based band  Yacht Rock Revue  is a great example of a group that stumbled upon an odd way to make music their everyday jobs. While playing small shows with their own original songs, the band would occasionally throw in a throwback cover or two just for fun, and after only doing that a few  times, they noticed that people really loved hearing soft-rock hits (and lesser- known tracks) from the

Member Nicholas Niespodziani explained that when the members of YRR were trying to make it as a band playing original material, it was incredibly difficult, as they all had to keep other jobs just to make ends meet. Niespodziani balanced touring and recording with being an SAT prep teacher and a golf caddy, all of which took him away from doing what he loved most: playing music. It was looking more and more like the world didn't need his indie rock band, but he and his friends did have a talent – one that people responded to.

Switching to playing other people’s songs wasn’t an entirely easy decision though, and groups who are thinking of doing the same should be aware of this. In an honest and candid moment, Niespodziani said that when the group first became a "cover band" (for lack of a better term), he did struggle with the choice.

"For some of us it was a psychological challenge. I'd always thought of myself as a songwriter more than a performer, and now performing is the way that I primarily make my living. That was difficult to get through. I had to drink quite a lot of whiskey to move beyond that," Niespodziani joked. While spending the majority of your time working another artist's catalog might be tough for some, it's also a legitimate way to be able to pay the bills, and not one that should be scoffed at. Many musicians have to do things that might not be their first choice (such as having other jobs in between tours and albums), but one that involves playing live could certainly be considered a better option.

As it turns out, Niespodziani and the other musicians in Yacht Rock Revue don't have to compromise much. When they're not onstage playing covers, Niespodziani and the other members of the band all have other projects that help them unleash their creative energy. They get to run their band as they want, while also having fun on the side.

In the years since they've gone all-cover, Yacht Rock Revue has become a local favorite, and they play over 100 shows a year around the country. The band even has its own festival in Atlanta where they draw several thousand people to come out and hear their best covers, which are sometimes performed with the original songwriters or members of the bands that made the songs into hits (such as Journey and Starship).

Though the majority of what he does is play other people's music, Niespodziani says that he now derives quite a bit of pleasure from his work, both because he's actually working with his instrument for a living and because what he does creates nothing but joy. At the shows, he and his bandmates can see how much fun everyone has, and the realization that it's their playing that caused all of this happiness is truly something to feel good about.

So, should your band start playing more covers? It can be a complicated route – both technically and personally, as Niespodziani mentioned – but it's an idea worth kicking around with your bandmates.

Hugh McIntyre  is a freelance pop music journalist in NYC by way of Boston. He has written for Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, and MTV, as well as various magazines and blogs around the world. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of the blog Pop! Bang! Boom! which is dedicated to the genre of pop in all of its glory.

“Big surprise”… people like well known cover songs. The truth is, this band is only playing safe, AND their original music obviously sucks, nothing new here… of course people like covers of GOOD songs instead of listening to BAD songs. And of course it’s always easier to sell cover songs than to learn to compose good songs. If you are not a good songwriter (nor willing to learn it), AND/OR not willing to learn how to sell (marketing), then it is easier to play cover songs. It’s the same like starting a new brand, creating a great product and try to sell it, OR try to sell Coca Cola… which one is easier?

Des – Your post seems a bit too quick out of the gate and obvious uncreative response. If you read closer, most all of these guys ARE composing their original music right alongside YYR and doing it very well. What this article doesn’t really display is what makes this band unique over other cover bands. The biggest aspect I’ve witnessed is their rapport with their audience. Their fans are devout passionate attendees and followers who return most every gig wherever they play. It’s a bit of a phenomenon, not what you normally see with a cover band. There’s a coolness, tongue planted firmly in cheek but no cheese. And they play the music WELL, giving each song it’s due respect. They “own it” in other words, paying heed to every fine minute detail. Then they can deliver it as a group in way I haven’t seen any other cover band do. Plus they’re amazing business people, so they have all bases covered. The venues they’re packing are impressive…Gramercy Theater in NYC for example. Not your typical venue for a cover band. There’s way more to this story in other words. Go check em out live, as well as listen to their original projects, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

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‘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…”

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“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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Making It Work as a Cover Band: Why Yacht Rock Revue Stopped Playing Their Original Music

Making a living as a musician is tough – nobody can argue that. Whether it's because of grueling touring schedules or low payouts from streaming services and dwindling single and album sales, this isn't an easy industry. Standing out from the rest and surviving takes a lot of effort, and you have to be smart enough to see opportunities as they come and take whatever you can get. Sometimes there's a niche that needs to be filled, and perhaps your band could be the one to fill it.

The Atlanta-based band Yacht Rock Revue is a great example of a group that stumbled upon an odd way to make music their everyday jobs. While playing small shows with their own original songs, the band would occasionally throw in a throwback cover or two just for fun, and after only doing that a few times, they noticed that people really loved hearing soft-rock hits (and lesser-known tracks) from the '70s. It didn't take long before the band transitioned from performing their own tunes to those of former stars for a living, and since then, the band has become increasingly popular in their area.

[ How Covering the Right Song at the Right Time Can Catapult Your Music Career ]

Member Nicholas Niespodziani explained that when the members of YRR were trying to make it as a band playing original material, it was incredibly difficult, as they all had to keep other jobs just to make ends meet. Niespodziani balanced touring and recording with being an SAT prep teacher and a golf caddy, all of which took him away from doing what he loved most: playing music. It was looking more and more like the world didn't need his indie rock band, but he and his friends did have a talent – one that people responded to.

Switching to playing other people’s songs wasn’t an entirely easy decision though, and groups who are thinking of doing the same should be aware of this. In an honest and candid moment, Niespodziani said that when the group first became a "cover band" (for lack of a better term), he did struggle with the choice.

"For some of us it was a psychological challenge. I'd always thought of myself as a songwriter more than a performer, and now performing is the way that I primarily make my living. That was difficult to get through. I had to drink quite a lot of whiskey to move beyond that," Niespodziani joked. While spending the majority of your time working another artist's catalog might be tough for some, it's also a legitimate way to be able to pay the bills, and not one that should be scoffed at. Many musicians have to do things that might not be their first choice (such as having other jobs in between tours and albums), but one that involves playing live could certainly be considered a better option.

As it turns out, Niespodziani and the other musicians in Yacht Rock Revue don't have to compromise much. When they're not onstage playing covers, Niespodziani and the other members of the band all have other projects that help them unleash their creative energy. They get to run their band as they want, while also having fun on the side.

In the years since they've gone all-cover, Yacht Rock Revue has become a local favorite, and they play over 100 shows a year around the country. The band even has its own festival in Atlanta where they draw several thousand people to come out and hear their best covers, which are sometimes performed with the original songwriters or members of the bands that made the songs into hits (such as Journey and Starship).

Though the majority of what he does is play other people's music, Niespodziani says that he now derives quite a bit of pleasure from his work, both because he's actually working with his instrument for a living and because what he does creates nothing but joy. At the shows, he and his bandmates can see how much fun everyone has, and the realization that it's their playing that caused all of this happiness is truly something to feel good about.

[ 5 Easy Ways to Spice Up Your Cover Songs ]

So, should your band start playing more covers? It can be a complicated route – both technically and personally, as Niespodziani mentioned – but it's an idea worth kicking around with your bandmates.

Hugh McIntyre  is a freelance pop music journalist in NYC by way of Boston. He has written for  Billboard ,  The Hollywood Reporter , and MTV, as well as various magazines and blogs around the world. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of the blog Pop! Bang! Boom! which is dedicated to the genre of pop in all of its glory.

Topics: Musician Success Guide , Strategies for Success , Motivation & Inspiration

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Ridin’ The Storm Out: Train, REO Speedwagon, Yacht Rock Revue Play The Hits In Atlanta [Photos/Videos]

Train , REO Speedwagon , and Yacht Rock Revue  brought their joint summer tour to Ameris Bank Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, GA earlier this month for a soft-rock celebration.

The show was a hometown tour stop for Yacht Rock Revue, which first formed in Atlanta in 2007, and the band used its home-field advantage to get the evening off to an electrifying start despite a weather delay. Even with the late start, each band was able to play a full set for the packed audience.

REO Speedwagon kept it classic with fan favorites like “Can’t Fight This Feeling”, “Roll with the Changes”, “Keep On Loving You”, “Take It on the Run”, “Don’t Let Him Go”, “Keep Pushing”, and the particularly appropriate “Ridin’ the Storm Out”.

In addition to original hits like “Calling All Angels”, “Hey, Soul Sister”, “Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)”, and “50 Ways to Say Goodbye”, Train incorporated covers of recent chart-toppers “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims and “Too Sweet” by Hozier , as well as “The Joker” by Steve Miller Band , and “Hey Jude” by The Beatles .

Check out fan-shot videos from Train, REO Speedwagon, and Yacht Rock Revue at Ameris Bank Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, GA, scroll down for the full setlists, and click below to view photo galleries courtesy of photographer Emily Butler .

The tour continues with shows in Denver, Salt Lake City, and down the West Coast before concluding in Phoenix on September 11th. For a full list of dates and to purchase tickets, visit Train , REO Speedwagon , or Yacht Rock Revue ‘s website.

Setlist : Train | Ameris Bank Amphitheatre | Alpharetta, GA | 8/17/24

Set: Calling All Angels, If It’s Love, Get to Me, Save Me, San Francisco, Meet Virginia / The Joker, Lose Control (Teddy Swims cover), AM Gold, Play That Song, Angel in Blue Jeans / Too Sweet, Long Yellow Dress, 50 Ways to Say Goodbye, Marry Me, Seven Bridges Road / Bruises, Hey Soul Sister, Drive By / Hey Jude, Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)

Setlist : REO Speedwagon | Ameris Bank Amphitheatre | Alpharetta, GA | 8/17/24

Set: Setlist: Don’t Let Him Go, Take It on the Run, Keep Pushin’, Live Every Moment, Tough Guys, I Wish You Were There, Music Man, Can’t Fight This Feeling, Son of a Poor Man, Time for Me to Fly, Ridin’ the Storm Out, Keep On Loving You, Roll With the Changes

Setlist : Yacht Rock Revue | Ameris Bank Amphitheatre | Alpharetta, GA | 8/17/24

Set: Sweet Freedom (Michael McDonald cover), Kiss You All Over (Exile cover), You Make Loving Fun (Fleetwood Mac cover), Heart to Heart (Kenny Loggins cover), Brandy (Looking Glass cover), Tropical Illusion, Africa (Toto cover), Baker Street (Gerry Rafferty cover), More Than a Feeling (Boston cover)

Train | Ameris Bank Amphitheatre | Alpharetta, GA | 8/17/24 | Photos: Emily Butler

Reo speedwagon | ameris bank amphitheatre | alpharetta, ga | 8/17/24 | photos: emily butler, yacht rock revue | ameris bank amphitheatre | alpharetta, ga | 8/17/24 | photos: emily butler.

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Atlanta’s Yacht Rock Revue to perform with Train, REO Speedwagon in Alpharetta

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Even if you’ve never heard of Yacht Rock, you’ve certainly heard of some of the genre’s staple artists, like the Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan and Boz Scaggs. And soon, you can hear the classics all over again thanks to Yacht Rock Revue!

Nicholas Niespodziani, a vocalist with Yacht Rock Revue, came to Atlanta News First to talk about the group’s upcoming performance in Alpharetta. Described by Rolling Stone as “the world’s premiere soft rock party band,” the group was formed in Atlanta in 2007 and now tours all across the country, playing beloved soft rock classics from the mid-’70s to mid-’80s.

Yacht Rock Revue performs at the Ameris Bank Amphitheatre with Train and REO Speedwagon on Saturday. Click here for ticket information.

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Artist to Artist: How to Be Original in a Cover Band

By Yacht Rock Revue

No Honor Among Thieves

Let me begin by admitting this article is a cover version of Dirk Diggler’s column “5 Tips for Making Your Lady Happy” from the March 1978 issue of Men’s Reproductive Health . 

A cover band can scratch your creative itch, ensnare you in random romantic encounters, and even pay your rent and healthcare and support your bad habits (and children) if you’re awesome and smart and hard-working and lucky. Best job I’ve ever had. Strongly recommend.  

I’m a singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter (yes you can still do that), producer and band leader in Yacht Rock Revue. We specialize in Yacht Rock , obviously—the smooth sounds of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s made by incredible musicians like Michael McDonald, Steely Dan, Hall & Oates and Kenny Loggins. We opened for Loggins on his final tour last year, have performed with John Oates, Eddie Money, Gary Wright, Robbie Dupree and a bunch of other artists you hear on the SiriusXM station. No, we don’t have a stake in that station, but I do think we are part of why it exists.  

There’s nothing wrong being the guy in the baseball cap and an acoustic guitar in front of a wall of hot sauce playing Van Morrison covers on your own PA. I’ve been that guy. These hot tips are for those ready to journey beyond the tip jar. Initiative and preparation will be required. It’s an investment of time and resources and brainpower. You have to be fastidious and disciplined in some respects, reckless and instinctual in others. You might imagine this to be an easy or cheap route. It is not. I’ve seen many incredible players, some of whom have toured in wildly successful bands, flailing in their attempts to pivot to a cover band. 

What does it mean to be “original” in a cover band? It means elevating your show in some way that differentiates you. Being original doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to make a living. Contraband is a group that provides the soundtrack verbatim as a player beats the Nintendo Game Contra on a screen behind the band. Awesome band and concept, but probably not a career on its own. To make a living at this, you’ll need to make LOTS of people happy. Happy enough to buy tickets and tell their friends. Your differentiating qualities will need to be qualities that connect with an audience. 

When we started in 2007, no “cover” bands were doing shows on the scale we are now (headlining small amphitheaters on our own and opening for Train and REO Speedwagon this summer in sheds), outside of Australian Pink Floyd and the ultimate hair metal tribute pioneers: Steel Panther. The guys in Steel Panther don’t trust anybody with sleeves, man. I studied Steel Panther closely when we realized our band was going to be more than just a hobby or side hustle… to be honest we are a soft rock cover of Steel Panther.

They had every element of their show nailed. It was all familiar, yet unlike anything I had ever seen. They’ve leveled up in the years since and turned their band into a fully original band that only sprinkles in covers, making their own records and touring their own show. They’re living the ‘80s spandex and hairspray dream. 

And as far as I can tell, Steel Panther still follows all five of these rules: 

You’ve got to play this music as though it’s your own, as though each song you sing is the most important song in the world for this moment. When you’re committed the crowd can tell. If your performance is timid and apologetic, they can smell it on you like animals smell fear. It’s a mindset and it can be hard to maintain that mindset in front of a sparse audience, but that’s the most important time to bring it. No matter how good and successful you are, there will be small audiences. Especially on the way up (and I am presuming on the way back down, I’ll let you know.) 

I often tell people our secret is that we perform these soft rock hits as though they’re Van Halen or AC/DC songs. Don’t be afraid to adjust elements of the original track to add energy: tempo, volume, augmenting instrumentation, endings, etc. are all fair game. Be judicious in how you take these liberties, because it’s also fun to nail a song note for note with all the little details for the music nerds. Balancing between precision and rock and roll energy is key. If you’re having fun so will the audience. If you don’t have that energy, I can’t help you. This is more important than my below points combined. 

Have An Angle

Easy for me to say, the guy with the biggest yacht rock band in the world (Is that a brag? A humble brag? Or is it self-deprecating? You decide).  None of this would have happened to me if JD Ryznar, David Lyons, Hunter Stair and Hollywood Steve Huey hadn’t coined the term “Yacht Rock” in their viral YouTube series. We were going to call our first show ‘70s AM Gold, and we discovered their wonderfully creative DIY take on the comedic misadventures of Michael McDonald and Steely Dan a few weeks before.

That seemed like a more concise name for the set list we had put together, which was based on what we called “The Dentist Office Mix” (Which actually would be a great yacht rock cover band name). The concept and personas they created permeated pop culture as our band was on the rise. Tremendous good fortune for us, and we were well-positioned to take advantage.

Anyways, branding and marketing are important. Yacht Rock is now an instantly recognizable brand—captains hats, nautical imagery, fruity drinks, flamingos. People need to know what they’re coming to see, and it needs to seem really fun at a glance. Attention spans are short and getting shorter. Of course there are bands out there doing what you’re doing—there are probably a hundred Yacht Rock bands in the U.S. alone. But if you find your own angle on it, your unique cocktail of ingredients, then you can stand out. 

Form a sound and a visual identity and a vibe. If your Neil Diamond tribute has a gunslinger on guitar, don’t be afraid to let him rip. I’ve seen it work. Each player should incorporate the key stylistic elements from the original songs, but also find the right moments to bring some of their own sauce to the barbecue. It’s easier for the audience to suspend disbelief and feel like your show is a “real” show if you actually look cool.

Wear what works for you, riff on your source material instead of taking it literally. If your band uniforms look like you should be playing at Six Flags, you might look sharp-ish the first time someone sees you… but there’s a ceiling to that approach. 

Change It Up

If every show has a little something different for people to talk about, that will keep them coming back. Make incremental changes, and never stop changing. You don’t have to always open the set in the same way, or play the same song as the encore. If every gag is the same every time, there’s no surprise in the “surprise and delight.” Always be expanding your set list, giving songs a rest when you’re tired of them, trying something new, challenging yourself. The edge and excitement that freshness gives your band will translate to the crowd. 

Don’t Be A Shmuck

Be kind to everyone who works in the venues. You’re not Prince even if your job is pretending to be. You’re in show business and so is the person running your monitors and working security at the door and pouring your drink. 

Don’t pander to the worst instincts of your audience. There will be times when they behave badly, but that doesn’t mean you have to react in kind. You don’t have to say yes to every request, but you probably shouldn’t turn down every request either. 

Don’t engage in petty rivalries with other bands and musicians, because you know who doesn’t care about any of that BS? Your audience. 

Let Your Audience Lead You

This one applies to all bands, a fact of life I learned far too late to save our indie rock band. 

It’s not about you. It’s about how you make people feel. 

When we started Yacht Rock Revue, we played every Thursday night in a basement club for four years straight. I knew the gig well enough to be able to spend a lot of the time watching the audience. I was always wearing mirror sunglasses so they couldn’t tell I was watching them. Mirror sunglasses also allow you to pretend you can’t hear someone’s requests, even if you can. The person you’re talking (or not talking) to also can’t tell which of their body parts you’re looking at. No eye contact. Highly recommend. 

But I digress. You can learn so much by really paying attention to what pushes your crowd’s buttons. We didn’t have any preconceived notions about what a “Yacht Rock” show was supposed to be when we started. We tried a bunch of stuff in the ballpark and kept what connected and ditched what didn’t. And that wasn’t just regarding the songs in the set list - we watched for which dances had the audience trying to imitate us, which jokes landed and which fell flat (like when we tried to bring back the Budweiser “WASSSUP” commercial on stage), which sax solos had the effect of suddenly turning random audience members into amateur strippers… 

Take these nuggets of wisdom, go forth and prosper. It’s not easy. Or maybe it is and now all of my secrets are out and every Yacht Rock band will be as good as ours. Expect your local iteration with a punny nautical band name to be sandwiched between the Taylor Swift Dance Party and Live Band Karaoke at the small theater down the street before you know it. Wish me luck and listen to our new album.

Escape Artist , the new double concept album by Yacht Rock Revue, is out November 29. Listen to the latest singles on Spotify.

The dynamic 10-piece ensemble Yacht Rock Revue features Nicholas Niespodziani (vocals, guitars, keyboards, percussion), Peter Olson (vocals, guitars, keyboards, percussion), Greg Lee (bass, vocals), Mark Dannells (guitars, vocals), Mark Bencuya (keyboards, vocals), David B. Freeman (saxophones, keyboards, flute, piccolo, percussion, vocals), Keisha Jackson (vocals, percussion), Kourtney Jackson (vocals, percussion), Jason Nackers (drums), and Ganesh Giri Jaya (drums).

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Published since 1977, Music Connection magazine is a monthly music trade publication catering to musicians, industry pro’s, and support services. Music Connection exists to serve artists and music people, to offer connections to the unconnected and to provide exclusive information that can help our readers take their music to the next level.

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Majority Moto 2.0 review: an astoundingly cheap Bluetooth record player with USB – but that comes with compromises

The moto 2.0 punches above its price tag, but our turntable had some problems.

TechRadar Verdict

The Majority Moto 2.0 combines a turntable, speakers, Bluetooth transmission/receiver and USB output in a single package with a very low price. And on that basis it's very tempting, although inevitably it doesn't sound as good as more expensive rivals, and some of the key components are flimsy and caused us problems.

Extremely affordable

Everything in one unit

It's a Bluetooth speaker too

Weedy speakers

A little noisy

Some quality concerns

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

• Two-minute review
• Price and release date
• Sound quality
• Usability and setup
• Should you buy it?
• Also consider

Majority Moto 2.0: two-minute review

The Majority Moto 2.0 is the first record player from the budget audio company: the number isn't a version number but a reference to the built-in 2.0-speaker setup. It is an entire music system in a single box: thanks to its built-in speakers and Bluetooth 5.3, you can stream audio from your phone or computer as well as play records, and even rip them to digital via your PC, thanks to its USB port. 

The Majority Moto 2.0 is clearly aimed at someone who doesn't have an existing sound system of any kind and it offers a lot of features for relatively little money. There are, of course, many compromises at its £79 price compared to the best turntables , but the Moto 2.0 is better than you might expect, due in part to the inclusion of a good-quality Audio-Technica cartridge. However, we did experience some quality issues with our review unit that suggest this is a record player that'll need careful handling.

The Moto 2.0 is clearly designed to be your first turntable that covers all the bases: Bluetooth streaming to headphones or speakers and from other devices, USB output for recording, even the ability to play ancient 78s as well as the much more common 45 and 33 and 1/3 speeds. 

But you shouldn't expect room-shaking volume from those integrated speakers: they don't go loud because if they did, their vibration would do a Taylor Swift to your tonearm and shake it off. The sub chassis is separate to isolate it from their vibrations and copes fine with the volume levels available, but if you've got a big space or like to listen loud you'll want to connect an amp, or wirelessly connect it to one of the best Bluetooth speakers that you place on a different surface, or to some of the best wireless headphones .

I would encourage people to step up to the similar-but-just-overall-better Audio-Technica AT-LP60XBT if you can, which also offers Bluetooth and USB, and is fully automatic, but offers no built-in speakers… however, it's around twice the price of the Majority, so if you want to keep it under £100, this is still a solid choice.

Majority Moto 2.0 review: Price and release date

• Released in February 2024
• Available in UK and Europe
• £79.95 / €99.95

Despite a very low price, the Moto 2.0 is packed with features including one very significant one: it comes with an Audio-Technica AT3600L cartridge, which is definitely unusual at this end of the market. That cartridge alone typically retails for around £20, or one-quarter of this entire turntable's price. 

For comparison, consider than Pro-Ject's super-cheap (for Pro-Ject) entry-level turntable, the E1, is around £200, and doesn't have speakers, USB, a phono stage or Bluetooth (though more expensive versions do have those things). However, it does sound a lot better as a result, as our Pro-Ject E1 review will attest.

Majority Moto 2.0 review: Features

• Bluetooth and USB
• Three turntable speeds
• Integrated speakers and phono stage

You can't fault the feature list here: it does basically everything a turntable can do.

It has three playing speeds, and while it's not fully automatic, it does have auto-stop. There's an integrated phono stage if you want to connect it to an amp – though as mentioned before, it has its own speakers, so you don't technically need to.

It also has Bluetooth, and this goes in both directions: you can beam your records out to Bluetooth speakers, or you can send music over to the Moto 2.0 and listen over its built-in speakers. There's no aptX or anything else higher-res, though. It also has an aux-out if you prefer the best wired headphones to wireless ones.

And with a USB port on board, you can connect it to a computer and record your vinyl to a digital file – either because you want to preserve rare tracks that aren't available elsewhere, or just to capture the song complete with crackles.

Features score: 5 / 5

Majority Moto 2.0 review: Sound quality

• Better than you might expect
• Built-in speakers aren't great
• Speakers aren't built for bass

There's a limit to how much air two small speakers can push, but while the Moto isn't very loud the sound is pleasant enough on well-recorded records at reasonable levels; it's bass-light but does the job provided you don't turn the volume up too much. Do that and the sound starts to get harsh, the middle frequencies taking over as the speakers struggle.

One key thing the integrated speakers don't do is deliver a sweet spot, that perfect place where the soundstage is at its most immersive. To do that you need the sound waves to be coming towards you and the speakers some distance apart; these speakers are just an album's width apart and send their soundwaves towards the ceiling. 

Things improve considerably when you team up the turntable with external, forward facing speakers or a decent set of headphones, but the flaws are more apparent too: there's noticeable mechanical noise in the quieter bits. If you're listening to songs with a lot of sustained notes, such as U2's With Or Without You , you might also notice some slight speed variation. It's not apparent on faster, choppier songs, and vocal vibrato tends to hide it for singing. But it's audible on very clear, sustained tones such as Edge's trademark infinite guitar. 

No matter what you listen on, the sound is slightly boxy and cluttered in the way so many budget audio products are: everything's doing its best but the overall result lacks the spaciousness, separation and sparkle that you get with better-quality gear. 

A lot depends on what you're listening to: give it some yacht rock with some expensive-studio smoothness and it's really rather nice, although the lush arrangements of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours lose some of their sparkle here with an emphasis on the cookie-tin snare drums and rubber-band bass. 

More electronic pop such as Sigrid's second album is fun when it's well separated but feels claustrophobic in the busier tracks: there's a lack of air and low-end separation, with harshness creeping in as you turn the volume up. That harshness is particularly apparent with heavier genres of music, especially modern rock featuring brick-wall compression designed to make everything louder than everything else.

This isn't an audiophile product. But it's a fun one, especially if you skip the built-in speakers and hook up something more substantial either by Bluetooth or via an amp: connecting the turntable to an Ultimate Ears Wonderboom added some of the bass the built-in speakers lacked, and connecting the Moto to my Onkyo amp and Bowers & Wilkins bookshelf speakers was better still. Is it up there with turntables that cost four times the price or more? Absolutely not. But with decent speakers it doesn't sound like it cost £80 either.

Sound quality score: 3 / 5

Majority Moto 2.0 review: Design

• Unusual platter placement
• Integrated speakers and lots of connectivity
• Feels a bit fragile

The Moto 2.0 comes in a dark wood effect with black hardware, with the wooden section overhanging the front and sides of the chassis. The two built-in speakers are behind circular black grilles facing directly upwards from the top front of the turntable and the controls are on the front and sides. On top of the dampened sprung platter there's a slipmat to keep your records in place.

The Moto 2.0 is smaller than many turntables, at just 38cm wide compared to the much more common 43cm. And the platter is smaller than usual too, at 20cm/8 inches. The speaker placement means the platter is oddly positioned: instead of sitting centrally it's off-centre, nearer the back than the front. That means if you're playing 12-inch records they will extend beyond the rear border of the turntable and through a space in the back of the dust cover. 

There are some issues, however. The plastics here are cheap-looking, especially at the speed switch, and the tonearm is very thin and feels eminently breakable. Between these and the upfiring speaker design that doesn't lend itself to ideal audio quality, there are definitely flaws to how this is put together.

Design score: 3 / 5

Majority Moto 2.0 review: Usability and setup

• All you need to do is plug it in
• Switches and controls are around the edge
• Doesn't get much easier

This turntable is all about simplicity, and because everything's in one unit all you need to do is remove the protective cover from the stylus and the plastic wire from the tonearm, plug the power supply into the wall and turn it on. So for a user-friendly beginner turntable, you can't get much better than that.

The two most important controls – the on/volume and the audio source – are both on the front along with the 3.5mm headphone socket. Other connection options are easily accessed along the edges, so no usability struggles there.

Frankly, it doesn't get any easier for your first turntable than this.

Usability and setup score: 5 / 5 

Majority Moto 2.0 review: Value

• You get a lot for your money...
• ...but you're paying for features you might not use
• Quality is limited, though

The sub-£100 turntable market should probably be labelled "here be monsters", but the Majority is not one of them: you'd be hard pushed to get a better value turntable at this price. It's less than half of the price we'd typically expect to pay for a decent budget turntable. 

However, the trade-off for that low price is audio quality, especially if you're going to be listening via the integrated speakers: they're okay but they're not great. If you're serious about sound quality you might want to save a little longer for something like the Pro-Ject E1 if you want to go the hi-fi route, or the Audio-Technica AT-LP60XBT if you want to stick with something with Bluetooth and USB. Or scour the second-hand market for a bargain.

Value score: 4 / 5 

Should you buy the Majority Moto 2.0?

Buy it if...

You have no equipment No hi-fi kit? No problem. This is a one-box solution that not only plays records but streams from your phone too.

You have no space This is small compared to all-in-one standards, and it's designed to sit solo without a separate amp or speakers.

You have no money The specification is impressive for a system with such a low price tag: it's suitcase-player money with better-than-suitcase specs.

Don't buy it if...

You like to listen loud Without separate speakers, this isn't built to deliver big volumes.

You're serious about sound The Moto 2.0 sounds fine, but it won't make you gasp by revealing previously unheard details.

You're clumsy Build quality is one area where the low cost is really apparent. This turntable wasn't built tough.

Majority Moto 2.0 review: Also consider

Audio-Technica AT-LP60XBT The Audio-Technica AT-LP60XBT is our pick of the budget turntables right now, and while it lacks the speakers of the Moto 2.0 it has the same Bluetooth and USB abilities. It's fully automatic, delivers an impressive performance and doesn't cut any corners it shouldn't. Here's our full Audio-Technica AT-LP60XBT review .

How I tested the Majority Moto 2.0

• Tested at home for two weeks with more than a dozen new and used records 
• Tested solo, on headphones and through an external amp and speakers
• Streamed Apple Music from iPhone 

I tested the Majority Moto 2.0 at home, focusing on its vinyl performance and listening intensely to records I know inside-out across a range of genres from the most polished productions to ragged punk rock. I also streamed Apple Music from my iPhone to test its streaming prowess.

When I connected the Moto 2.0 to other equipment I used Beyedynamic wired headphones, which are known for their relatively flat performance (so reveal the sound of the underlying player well), and an Onkyo amp with the direct setting engaged to bypass the bass and treble circuits. The amp was connected to a set of Bowers & Wilkins bookshelf speakers, giving the Moto access to some pretty sweet-sounding hardware in order to show what it's capable of.

• First reviewed June 2024
• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than a dozen books. Her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man , is on sale now and her next book, about pop music, is out in 2025. She is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind .

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NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

70s rock icon forced to quit band after hospitalisation

Share this with

Bruce Foxton, the legendary bassist of The Jam , has announced that he is stepping back from performing with his current band, From the Jam, due to ongoing health issues.

The 68-year-old musician, who has been a cornerstone of British punk rock since the late 1970s , shared the sad news with his dedicated fanbase.

He explained that he had to go into hospital for an ‘immediate procedure,’ and will no longer be able to perform with his band as a result.

The Jam, which formed in 1972 and rose to prominence with hits like A Town Called Malice and Going Underground, disbanded in 1982 at the height of their success.

The group, which also included frontman Paul Weller and drummer Rick Buckler, is one of the most beloved bands of its era with all 18 of their singles and seven albums reaching the Top 40 in the UK.

After The Jam’s split, Foxton joined Stiff Little Fingers before eventually forming From the Jam in 2006. The tribute band has been Foxton’s primary focus for the past decade.

In an emotional statement on the band’s official Facebook page , Foxton revealed: ‘To all my lifelong wonderful fans, as a lot of you know, my health has not been good for the past few years, and the latest news is that I have had to go into hospital for an immediate procedure.

‘It is with much regret and sadness that I will not be able to perform again with From the Jam until I have made a full recovery.’

Despite his health challenges, Foxton remains optimistic about returning to the stage eventually.

Foxton concluded his message with: ‘The band has done everything to help me for the past couple of years and have even suggested several times that I take time off to look after my health and recuperate. That time has now come, so I wish the band (my dear friends) continued success until I return, and with God’s will, I will see you all in the not-too-distant future.’

Fans were quick to share their well wishes with Foxton.

Craig Marshall commented on the post: ‘Take your time Bruce. Your health is the most important thing to look after. We can look after ourselves. You’ve given us all so much already young fella. After buying my first Jam album in 1977, I was so grateful to finally see you live in Brisbane earlier this year. Rest up. Get well. And most of all thank you.’

Tina Horsfield wrote: ‘Bruce, you, the jam and from the jam have been a big part of my life ever since the early eighties and I’m truly grateful for your music. Mods for life mods forever 😁 I hope you have a speedy recovery.’

Darren Mark Snow emotionally commented: ‘You are our hero and have been a influence on a generation. Style, class, amazing hair cut, and your beautiful bass lines as part of The Jam – that band and the three of you did something no other band did, not even The Beatles, you tuned in a gang of lads, showed us what to wear and got us thinking too.’

While it remains unclear exactly what health issues the procedure will address, Foxton has been open about his battle with tinnitus over the years.

Tinnitus, which causes a persistent ringing in the ears, is a common affliction among musicians who are exposed to loud volumes for long periods of time. Foxton wears a hearing aid to combat the condition.

He also told Guitar World in 2023 that he had experienced a recent cancer scare, saying: ‘My main hope for the future now is good health. I’ve had a scare with a lymph node being cancerous, but so far, so good, and I’m having immunotherapy treatment. So my ambition is just to stay healthy, more than the music.’

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