Fresh off the success of their recent album Mid-Atlantic Dub, rising Reggae Rock outfit Bumpin Uglies have announced the release of ‘Underdog: The Acoustic Sessions,’ a visceral 16-track collection arriving September 8 via Controlled Substance Sound Labs/The Orchard (Slightly Stoopid, Rebelution, Pepper).
While the new project boasts searing stripped-raw takes of classics from fan favorite releases Buzz (“Locust Avenue”, “Self-Loathing”, “This Is Ours”), Keep It Together (“Load In / Load Out”, “Keep Moving”) Beast from the East (“City by the Bay”), Keep your suitcase packed. (“Shades of Gray”, “Suburbia”), and 2022’s Mid-Atlantic Dub (“Wild Girls”), seven new songs join the fray to supercharge the day.
Acoustic can be urgent. It’s because of the words. Lyrics are the marvels that move you. The message is what resonates long after the beats dissipate.
On the band’s first ever career-spanning milepost, band co-founder/vocalist Brandon Hardesty revisits some of the band’s most solemn streets, from Suburbia and Locust Avenue to Self-loathing and City by the Bay, it’s shades of gray, it’s spinning plates, it’s catch & release and keep moving. It’s vitality, the pure essence of Bumpin Uglies. Full of passion and integrity, these are the anthems of a thinking man’s society. The land of the free. The home of the brave, these are the days we commemorate when the fire in the belly inflames, when you demand change. This is Ours. Don’t count out the Underdog.
“This is an anthem for authenticity. It’s for all the artists that choose to embrace their passion as a form of art, rather than a transactional medium. A celebration of the imperfections that make us beautiful,” offered Hardesty.
From the emotional umbrage of lead single “Underdog” (releasing June 16), to the lilting blue-collar confessional “The Work,” the bouncy ebullient self-awareness of “Spinning Plates,” and the tension-filled, fed-up verve of “Loneliness in Ab,” to the pandemic-fueled melancholy of “Livestreams & Vaccines” and album closer, “Jerry’s Song,” a heartbreakingly moving tribute Brandon wrote in remembrance of his father who passed away in 2021, the new tunes find Hardesty digging even further into his core, rescuing himself from another crossroads while providing guidance for those still in the throes.
The upcoming full-length expands upon the band’s two ‘Live at Sugarshack Sessions’ acoustic EPs, the latest of which featured a sparse passionate rendition of Jason Isbell’s “Cover Me Up,” to which the former Drive-By Trucker championed with the social media comment “Lovely job!” Americana Highways seconded that sentiment by professing, “Vocals that are youthful and disarming and sound a bit like indie folksters like Passenger.”
Bumpin Uglies – Underdog: The Acoustic Sessions
1. Locust Avenue (from Buzz)
2. City By The Bay (from Beast From The East)
3. Underdog
4. Wild Girls (from Mid-Atlantic Dub)
5. Load In / Load Out (from Keep It Together)
6. Catch & Release
7. Livestreams & Vaccines
8. Spinning Plates
9. Self-Loathing (from Buzz)
10. The Work
11. Shades of Gray (from Keep your suitcase packed.)
12. Suburbia (from Keep your suitcase packed.)
13. Keep Moving (from Keep It Together)
14. Loneliness in Ab
15. This Is Ours (from Buzz)
16. Jerry’s Song
Pre-save “Underdog” single: https://cssl.fanlink.to/bumpin-uglies-underdog
Pre-save ‘Underdog: The Acoustic Sessions’ album https://cssl.fanlink.to/bumpin-uglies-UTAS
A lovely ride it’s been. For more than a decade, the Maryland-based band, whose members include Dave “Wolfie” Wolf (bass, vocals), T.J. Haslett (drums), Ethan Lichtenberger (keys) and Will Lopez (tenor saxophone), blend rock, hip hop, dub, reggae and punk into a refreshing blast of spacetime funk. The revered road warriors have toured constantly, starting with local open mics and backyard parties to ever-expanding audiences, festival slots and sold-out shows coast to coast.
This fall, they’ll join reggae-rock icons The Expendables, as support on select dates, from September 13 – November 12, while also making appearances at a number of festivals including Lake Tahoe Reggae Fest (July 22), Everwild Music Fest (Aug 3), Montana Hempfest (Sept 8) and Reggae Rise Up Vegas (Oct 8).
Whether live at the Sugarshack, on beachfronts, in ballrooms or fancy microbrews, anchoring main stages or their very own ‘Weekend at Wolfies,’ in rural Pennsylvania, the thinking man’s party band continues to bump, and grind, from ocean city to sector nine.
Bumpin Uglies Tour Dates:
6/8-11 – Bedford, PA – Weekend At Wolfies
6/14 – New York, NY – Brooklyn Made w/ Mike Pinto
6/15 – Hampton, NH – Bernie’s Beach Bar w/ Mike Pinto
6/16 – Albany, NY – Lark Hall w/ Mike Pinto
6/17 – Fairfield, CT – The Lot @ FTC w/ Mike Pinto
7/05 – Ocean City, MD – Seacrets Nightclub w/ The Grilled Lincolns
7/14 – Youngstown, OH – Westside Bowl w/ C Level & Joint Operation
7/15 – Covington, KY – Paradise Music & Beer Festival
7/22 – Olympic Valley, CA – Lake Tahoe Reggae Festival
7/28 – Matunuck, RI – Ocean Mist w/ Van Gordon Martin 7/29 – Portland, ME – Bayside Bowl
7/30 – Pembroke, MA – Soundcheck Studios
8/3-5 – Thornville, OH – Everwild Fest w/ Pepper, Tropidelic, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
8/10 – Virginia Beach, VA – New Realm Brewing Co.
8/11 – Kill Devil Hills, NC – Outer Banks Brewing Station
8/12 – Roanoke, VA – Black Dog Salvage w/ Lazy Man Dub Band
8/13 – Myrtle Beach, SC – Boathouse
8/25 – Bethlehem, PA – Levitt SteelStacks
9/07 – Billings, MT – The Pub Station w/ Jon Wayne & the Pain Trio
9/08 – Lolo Hot Springs, MT – Montana Hempfest
9/09 – Spokane, WA – Lucky You Lounge w/ Jon Wayne & the Pain
9/12 – Bend, OR – Volcanic Theatre Pub
9/13 – Arcata, CA – Humboldt Brews (supporting The Expendables)
9/14 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom (supporting The Expendables)
9/15 – Tacoma, WA – The Spanish Ballroom (supporting The Expendables)
9/16 – Bellingham, WA – Wild Buffalo House of Music (supporting The Expendables)
9/18 – Talent, OR – Talent Club
9/20 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory (supporting The Expendables)
9/21 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex (supporting The Expendables)
9/22 – Reno, NV – Virginia Street Brewhouse (supporting The Expendables)
9/23 – Chico, CA – Sierra Nevada Brewing Company (supporting The Expendables)
10/8 – Las Vegas, NV – Reggae Rise Up Vegas
10/16 – Tulsa, OK – The Vanguard (supporting The Expendables)
10/23 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues (Parish) [supporting The Expendables]
10/24 – Pensacola, FL – Vinyl Music Hall
10/28 – Fort Meyers, FL – The Ranch Concert Hall (supporting The Expendables)
11/08 – Chicago, IL – Martyrs’ (supporting The Expendables)
11/09 – Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room Lounge (supporting The Expendables)
11/10 – Fort Collins, CO – Aggie Theatre (supporting The Expendables)
11/11 – Denver, CO – Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom (supporting The Expendables)
11/12 – Grand Junction, CO – Mesa Theater (supporting The Expendables)
11/14 – Kansas City, MO – recordBar w/ The Bastard Sons
11/15 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th St Entry w/ The Bastard Sons
11/16 – Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon w/ The Bastard Sons
11/17 – Peoria, IL – Kenny’s Westside Pub w/ The Bastard Sons
11/18 – Indianapolis, IN – HI FI Indy w/ The Bastard Sons
Connect with Bumpin’ Uglies:
https://www.bumpinugliesmusic.com
https://www.instagram.com/bumpinugliesmusic
https://www.youtube.com/user/bumpinugliesmd
https://www.facebook.com/bumpinugliesmusic
https://twitter.com/BumpinUglies
Jason Price founded the mighty Icon Vs. Icon more than a decade ago. Along the way, he’s assembled an amazing group of like-minded individuals to spread the word on some of the most unique people and projects on the pop culture landscape.
