The Vespertines

The Vespertines played their first show at a crowded Long Beach coffee shop in May 2009. The band combines an action-packed, genre-busting mix of indie rock, jazz, funk and reggae, all wrapped around Acosta's raw, emotional vocals and occasional jazz-trumpet freakouts. The band released an EP in late 2009, Gravity Optional, recorded at Long Beach's Compound Studio with Anthony Arvizu (The Mars Volta, Cold War Kids) and kept pushing onward, playing countless local shows anyplace they could fit a microphone into. In 2011, following a successful West Coast tour, the band returned to the Compound to record One Last Time Around The Equator, an album that "explodes in a combination of energy and harmonized jazz fusion" (OnlineRock.com). The Vespertines had successful residencies at Orange County's Detroit Bar and Harvelle's Long Beach, where the band curated six months of weekly shows that featured Big Sir (f/ Juan Alderete of The Mars Volta), Jeremiah Red, C-GAK (of RX Bandits), and Long Beach artists MODE, Bella Novela and Squarefish. OrangeCounty.com: "Not every band has the musical aptitude to span more than one genre without turning it into a clumsy juggling act. Not only do The Vespertines successfully embody the styles of prog rock, funk, jazz, and more-- they make it look easy." OC Weekly: "Long Beach’s The Vespertines are that rare act capable of combining jazzy atmospherics with explosive rock power without wandering into wankery. Although their talents are sharp enough to construct complicated swirls of dub, prog rock and funk, their songs remain delectably coherent and digestible to the last note. " -Nate Jackson "Backed by the effect-laden thrash of guitarist Alex Kater and bassist Kyle Cavaness and the rumbling power of drummer Chris P. Walker, vocalist/trumpeter Vanessa Acosta will definitely wake up anyone who might be ready to call it a night … If there's one thing the Vespertines proved, it's that their dynamic whirlwind of prog, dub and jazz deserves a much bigger audience. " Sacramento News & Review: "The Vespertines seem to float effortlessly from jazz to rock to reggae to dub. Vocalist Vanessa Acosta’s voice is powerful and soulful, with a bit of Gwen Stefani thrown in. Not the crappy 2006 version, more like the Tragic Kingdom Stefani, but more pensive. Plus she also plays the trumpet … It’s hard to imagine how a group could feel raw and sound refined at the same time, but the Vespertines manage that duality. " music for people who love music.