The Hails + Juice Take On NYC's Irving Plaza in a Kaleidoscopic Night of Indie Sound

Words & photos: Natalia Barroso

A captivating fusion of indie funk and indie rock set ablaze the stage of New York City’s beloved Irving Plaza last Friday, January 19, with Florida’s heartthrob musicians, The Hails, and Brooklyn’s very own indie-funk orchestra, Juice.

Gainesville’s power musicians took Juice along on their North American 2024 tour, with The Hails’ mellow style providing a perfect contrast to the New Yorkers’ unapologetic pop-funk sound.

If you’re not familiar with The Hails, the band comprises lead vocalist Robbie Kingsley, guitarists Dylan McCue and Franco Solari, bassist Andre Escobar, and drummer Zach Levy. The group swears by having met by coincidence, experimenting with their sound in their high school years, and later established themselves formally as The Hails in Gainesville, FL. The band claimed the city as their own, with their vibrant sound creating a movement for indie rock music near the outskirts of the University of Florida.

Robbie Kingsley’s soft vocals lulled us into an introduction of “Sugar,” where confessions of melancholy exploded into a whirlwind of exuberance as drummer Zach Levy rushed us into the emotion of heartbreaking rendezvous. The stage glimmered with lights matching up the flirtatious melody the instruments alchemize, kicking into a stomach-full-of-butterflies chorus.

The boys performed their music with the kind of love and abandon that can only derive from living with the songs as they’ve lived with each other. A resonance born from years of mutual influence, evolving together, exploring life's depths beyond the realm of music. Such phenomenon becomes clear after seeing Kingsley’s and McCue’s musical chemistry on stage, revealing the beating heart beneath “Younger’s” wistfulness, with their lush guitar sounds being crafted with meticulous care.

The band captivated listeners as they concluded with a fusion of melodic catharsis and indulgent cataclysm on their hit “Stay,” a song that exudes rock and roll from their palpable enthusiasm.

Juice brought on delicacy and funk as the main event, with an array of strings, rhythm and intricate wordplay. Drawing influences from rock, pop, hip-hop, and R&B, the group is composed of Ben Stevens (lead vocals), Christian Rose (violin, vocals), Kamau Burton (acoustic guitar, vocals), Daniel Moss (guitar), Michael Ricciardulli (guitar), Rami El-Abidin (bass), and Miles Clyatt (drums), all of whom work together to cultivate the unique range that jumps from soulful hip-hop to indie rock, often in a single track. The band was founded at Boston College in 2013, eager to combine the sounds that raised each of them musically, before moving to Brooklyn.

The crowd beat with enthusiasm as Christian Rose conquered “DiCaprio” with a playful sense of rhythm, giving Ben Stevens and bassist Rami El-Abidin plenty of room to roam, sliding in and out of grooves and charging into playful crescendos. Each break into a rap-verse danced beautifully with Steven’s ear worm vocals. The stage was akin to that of a jazz band, each musician as gifted as the next, dominating one another in a harmonious clash of melodies.

Though the crowd was split, with fans in attendance for both bands, it didn’t take listeners with a deep knowledge of both to indulge in the renaissance of sound that took over Irving Plaza. It is bittersweet to admit that gate-kept spaces in music have hidden this kind of kaleidoscopic musical artistry, though allowing for a pleasant shock upon discovery of these artists.

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