Yachtley Crew Will Ride Yacht Rock Wave to Robins Theatre

WARREN, Ohio – The “yacht rock” music genre has no formal definition.

But people know it when they hear it. And they love it.

The term encompasses the soft pop music that was all over the airwaves in the ’70s and ’80s. Think “Lido Shuffle,” “Brandy,” “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” and “Ride Like the Wind.”

They’re not heavyweight tunes, but for anyone who lived through the era – and many who didn’t – they evoke good times and carefree days.

The resurgence of yacht rock has become a national phenomenon.

Just ask Yachtley Crew, the California-based band that is riding the resurgent genre’s wave. Yachtley Crew will make its Mahoning Valley debut Thursday, Aug. 8, when it comes to the Robins Theatre.

Philly Ocean – his real name is Phillip Daniel – is the lead singer and frontman for Yachtley Crew. He said the genre needs no introduction.

“We’ve been doing this for seven years and we still get asked the question, ‘What is yacht rock?’” Ocean said.

His stock answer is, “You know what yacht rock is even if it’s the first time you’ve heard that term.”

By the way, the term originated with the YouTube comedy series “Yacht Rock,” which spoofed that music scene in a campy way.

The seven-piece Yachtley Crew band has been making ports of call all over the country for years. Clad in nautical Navy dress whites and captain hats, the act delivers a Jimmy Buffett-style party wherever it goes.

Yachtley Crew likes to get the crowd involved and having fun, but it also has respect for the music. Part of the appeal of the songs, Ocean said, is that they connect with almost everyone.

“The fans are passionate about it,” he said. “There is a core set of songs that they need and want to hear, and they’ll get mad if we don’t play them.”

Diehard fans of Yachtley Crew have been dubbed “crewpies” (rhymes with “groupies”) and they are ready to get into the spirit at concerts.

“Some of them wear captain’s hats,” Ocean said. “I’ve seen them dressed as Gilligan and The Skipper or wearing a life preserver.”

The members of the band are all seasoned musicians and performers who had careers before Yachtley Crew. They not only do justice to the songs but infuse them with new energy.

“These are not just three-chord pop songs,” Ocean explained. “They are interesting and complex, with complicated chord changes and a lyric that tends to tell a story.”

Appreciation of the yacht rock genre is growing.

“There’s fun and nostalgia to these songs, and it connects to people of our generation,” Ocean said. “But the cool thing is, since the pandemic, there’s been a resurgence, and it exposed a much younger generation to this music. We just played five shows in the New England and New York area, and we saw kids under 10 with captain’s hats on, singing the songs like they’ve known them all their lives.”

The success of Yachtley Crew has taken even the band by surprise.

“We had no idea of the attraction it would have on people,” Ocean said. “We started this in 2017, just because we thought it would be fun. We grew up with this music and love it. But it’s always been the guilty pleasure, the elevator music. It was a sin to admit you liked it.”

Fans responded to the act from the very first show.

“It’s cool to see this music get to have a second life, or a third or fourth, or whatever life it’s on,” Ocean said.

Yachtley Crew recently released its first album, “Seas the Day,” on Jimmy Buffett’s Mailboat Records. It includes five classic yacht rock songs (“How Deep Is Your Life,” “Lido Shuffle, “Steal Away,” “Ride Like the Wind” and “How Long Has This Been Going On?”) plus one original, “Sex on the Beach.”

The latter tune sounds like a hit waiting to happen.

“We’ve all had careers and made original music, so bringing our own creations was a goal,” Ocean said. “But the timing had to be right. [‘Sex on the Beach’] fits right in alongside the other songs on the album and sounds like it’s from the era, both in lyric and theme. It tells a specific story, kind of tongue in cheek, with a playfulness.”

The video stars actor Mario Lopez, who is a fan of the band, as the bartender. Check it out HERE.

Thursday’s concert at the Robins Theatre starts at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $45 to $25 and are available at the theater’s box office and its website.

Pictured at top: Yachtley Crew will play the Robins Theatre in Warren on Thursday.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.