Blue Light Bandits at Off the Rails
Jenny Pacillo

The Blue Light Bandits are an all-star lineup of musicians, founded by Dan DeCristofaro (vocals, keys, guitar) and Ethan Bates (bass, vocals) in 2014. Joined by Simon Adamsson on drums and Jay Faires on harmonies and guitar, this funky mix of jazz, pop, and neo-soul from Worcester has been taking the New England music scene by storm. I had the chance to speak to Bates and DeCristofaro before their one year anniversary show for “Honestly Glad it Happened “at Off the Rails on 90 Commercial Street in Worcester on Friday June 24th.

“We’re super excited about the show,” DeCristofaro begins, “Chloe Belsito, formerly of American Idol, is opening up for us. We’re thrilled to finally be playing a concert to celebrate this album that we were able to record and produce from our home during the pandemic when we didn’t have anywhere that we could play live. So it’s overdue, but it’s very very exciting and there’s lots of great reasons that it took this long. There’s so much that we get to play for our friends and fans beyond just these songs. It’s a thrill even though it’s taken almost two years.”

“Honestly Glad it Happened”, the Blue Light Bandits sophomore LP was released in June 2021 to rave reviews. This album is the perfect soundtrack for a backyard party or day at the beach with its upbeat and groovy vibes. With Sutton’s own Chloe Belsito, the show at Off the Rails is guaranteed to be a fun night with great music in one of Worcester’s coolest new venues.

“We’ve been able to pick back up on close to home, local performances here and there over the last few months. This is the first big weekend for us to present ourselves and present our music to people who are there to hear us,” Bates tells me, “We’re really going to really hit the new original new music hard. It’s very exciting and long overdue for us.”

“Our biggest and most exciting thing that we’re doing right now is creating our first, kind of biggest music video project that we’ve ever been a part of,” DeCristofar explains, “We’re finishing that right now, we have the song ready to go. We’re doing one more day of filming, actually at the Off the Rails show, that’s going to be part of a scene in the music video.” The Blue Light Bandits do have a few select shows lined up for the summer, but their main focus is to “finish up new music” and release new singles.

Keep up to date on summer shows, new music, and more at www.bluelightbandits.com

Tickets: offtherailsworcester.com/ticketweb-event-detail-1/12155795/Blue+Light+Bandits/