Today, Yacht Rock Revue have announced their upcoming original album, Escape Artist, will be due out November 29. This 21-song concept album, spanning four sides of vinyl, showcases the band’s evolution beyond a mere tribute act, seamlessly integrating their unique style with the iconic yacht rock vibe.
Tonight, the band embarks on the 44-city tour with Train and REO Speedwagon as direct support on the Summer Road Trip 2024 Tour at Somerset Amphitheater in Somerset, WI. They’ll make stops in Chicago, Toronto, New York, Atlanta, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and more, wrapping up on September 11 in Phoenix, AZ at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre.
Escape Artist will be released in two parts: the A-side and B-side on October 4, and the C-side and D-side on November 29. This ambitious ode to yacht rock captures waves of emotion, paying homage to the vinyl era and transporting audiences back to the sun-soaked anthems of the ‘70s and ‘80s.
On July 12, Yacht Rock Revue will release sophomore singles “Lost In The Meantime” (focus track) and “Steal Away.” Nicholas reflects, “Some of my clearest memories aren’t major milestones or significant global events, like where I was when I heard Prince passed away. They’re random snapshots from everyday moments that stick in my head for some reason. That’s the essence of ‘Lost In The Meantime’— it explores how the true essence of a relationship often lies in those ordinary, in-between moments.”
“Steal Away,” a reimagined ukulele rendition of Robbie Dupree’s 1980 track, serves as the album’s sole cover. “I’ve been a fan of Yacht Rock Revue since first seeing their show 10 years ago at a small club in New York City,” Robbie Dupree shares. “They’re a national group now! Their new music is brilliant and their rendition of my song, ‘Steal Away,’ is fresh and delightful.”
PRE-SAVE “LOST IN THE MEANTIME” AND “STEAL AWAY” HERE.
The lead singles, “Tropical Illusion” and “Passengers,” debuted on May 24. “Tropical Illusion,” co-written by Elliot Lurie of Looking Glass and Nicholas Niespodziani of Yacht Rock Revue, honors Looking Glass’s 1972 hit “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl).”
Speaking on the collaboration, Elliot Lurie elaborates, “I played my first gig with Yacht Rock Revue about 12 years ago. I didn’t know who they were then, but there were 5,000 people in a park in Atlanta groovin’ to a killer band. I sang Brandy with them and I was an instant Yacht Rock Revue fan. It’s great to now have co-written a tune with Nick for their new album.”
STREAM / SHARE “TROPICAL ILLUSION” and “PASSENGERS” HERE.
Escape Artist captures the desire to escape modern society, using music as a primary tool to break away from the worries of daily life. “Look out in the crowd and imagine what each person is escaping from. They’re escaping the modern condition to the idea of a less complicated time,” Yacht Rock Revue’s lead vocalist Nicholas Niespodziani explains. “We see it every night on the road — an audience transported somewhere else. We are Escape Artists. That’s our magic trick.”
“Of course, there’s the literal layer — I want to escape the confines of what our band is supposed to be,” Nicholas continues. “Are we allowed to be artists, or are we trapped by a genre? We’ve always been pushing the envelope, going where no band like ours has gone before. I want it to be OK for us to express optimism and sadness and fear and vulnerability. I want to escape the caricature that defines us. The ‘Escape Artist’ song lyrics tell that story.”
ESCAPE ARTIST TRACK LISTING:
Escape Artist
Make You Miss Me
Separate Grooves
Waves
Reverse Sunset
Lost In The Meantime
Sail On
Steal Away (Robbie Dupree Cover)
Tropical Illusion (feat. Elliot Lurie)
Passengers
Triangle of Combustion
Lonely For You
Inverse Sunrise
San Junipero (Every Night Like Tonight)
Things Look Different
Monkeys Always Swinging
Bad Decisions
Worse Decisions
Here For the Feeling
Four in the Morning
What A Year
After a successful 2023 tour with Kenny Loggins, Yacht Rock Revue’s debut as direct support for iconic hitmakers Train and REO Speedwagon on a 44-city tour marks a monumental moment for a band redefining the limits of what a cover band can achieve.
Nicholas expresses excitement, stating, “Every song by all three bands is gonna be a raucous sing-along! Holy sh*t that’s a lot of hit songs in one lineup. As a singer, I’m excited to watch Kevin Cronin and Patrick Monahan every night. Those guys are both wildly talented vocalists and I’m gonna soak in as much wisdom and technique and as many crowd control tactics as I can.”
Sarah Bahr of The New York Times reported her first-hand experience of Yacht Rock Revue’s liberating on-stage energy, observing fans who “danced for two hours to tunes from the 1970s and ’80s,” while Entertainment Weekly noted that “the shows tend to be unabashedly joyous affairs.”
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