(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – Rubblebucket brings its psychedelic dance pop grooves to Courtyard C at MASS MoCA on Saturday, August 27, at 8pm. The group’s music features electronica flourishes slithering around organic grooves, blasts of horns, and complex arrangements that turn on a dime.
Rubblebucket frontwoman Kalmia Traver and bandleader Alex Toth met at the University of Vermont and cut their teeth in the stalwart reggae group, John Brown’s Body. They formed Rubblebucket in 2007 when Traver and Toth started improvising with percussionist Craig Myers. Their informal jam sessions led to Rubblebucket’s first songs as a group. The spontaneous, celebratory atmosphere of the encounter became a defining aspect of the band’s music. Under the name Rubblebucket Orchestra, the group self-released its dance-groove debut album Rose’s Dream in March 2008. Named the “Must-hear artist from the 2009 CMJs” by SPIN Magazine, Rubblebucket started performing regularly on the festival circuit, gaining a following and dazzling audiences with its immersive, fun-filled, and eclectic sound. The band released its eponymous sophomore album in 2009; another studio album in 2011, Omega La La; and a small stack of EPs: Triangular Daisies (2010), Oversaturated (2012), and Save Charlie (2013).
Rubblebucket is unclassifiable — reggae polyrhythms fuse with indie pop beats, psychedelic rock riffs combine with dance band grooves, and brass players blast out melodies alongside saturated synths. The band’s most recent release, 2014’s Survival Sounds, addresses a more somber topic: chronicling lead singer Kalmia Traver’s battle with ovarian cancer while on tour and turning her battle into a celebration of survival. Traver’s voice, “a joyous lightning rod that immediately charms anyone in its path,” (Paste Magazine) rises in defiant optimism, turning the band into a “dance party in a jar” (The Wild Honey Pie).
Infectious, moving, and raucously joyful, Rubblebucket starts the dance party in MASS MoCA’s Courtyard C on Saturday, August 27, at 8pm. Dinner and snacks to settle your munchies are available from Lickety Split before and during the show. A full bar serves Bright Ideas Brewing beers and Berkshire Mountain Distillery spirits. Concert tickets are $25 in advance and for students, $32 day of, and $40 preferred. Tickets for all events are available through the MASS MoCA box office, open 10am to 6pm every day through September 5, with extended evening hours to 7pm on Thursdays through Saturdays. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 x1 during box office hours or purchased online at MASS MoCA. All events are held rain or shine.
MASS MoCA is one of the world’s liveliest (and largest) centers for making and enjoying today’s most important art, music, dance, theater, film, and video. Hundreds of works of visual and performing art have been created on its 19th-century factory campus during fabrication and rehearsal residencies, making MASS MoCA among the most productive sites in the country for the creation and presentation of new art. More platform than box, MASS MoCA strives to bring to its audiences art experiences that are fresh, engaging, and transformative.