The Bright Light Social Hour delivers classic bare-assed rock and roll tempered with indie, experimental, and deep-funk influences. Good friends and great communicators, they never forget that they are musicians first, but entertainers even more first.
Biography
The Bright Light Social Hour is an American indie rock band from Austin, Texas. Born out of a university art-rock collective, The Bright Light Social Hour has evolved into an unabashedly wide-screen rock group, melding classic rock energy and dynamics with funk, soul, and experimental influences.
The band formed at a small liberal arts college outside of Austin. Band founders Curtis Roush and Jack O’Brien set out to create bold, funky rock and roll drawn equally from studied classics and contemporary experimentation. The young scholars soon kidnapped Jo Mirasole from a nearby high school drumline and tempted prolific Austin singer-songwriter A.J. Vincent with Curtis’ homemade organic cookies. The completed lineup recorded their new EP, “Back and Forth,” at an analog studio in south Austin. Anchored by fiery ensemble performances and rich harmonies, the record features their first single, “Back and Forth (Part 2)” – a foot-stomping lover’s plea, steeped in dark funk.
In October 2009, The Bright Light Social Hour won the Dell Lounge ‘Sound and the Jury’ contest to play the Austin City Limits Music Festival. The band competed with over 1500 bands from around the world in multiple rounds of public and industry voting, culminating in a final battle of the bands at Antone’s Nightclub two nights before the kickoff of ACL. Supported by hundreds of their local fans, the band lit up the stage to a decisive victory, garnering a unanimous vote from industry judges. Coming off an epic performance on the Dell Stage at ACL, the band will be touring throughout the fall and winter in support of "Back and Forth,” with plans to record a full-length record next year.
Press
"The Bright Light Social Hour lay waste to every stage they set foot on."
Aaron Miller, AUSTIN CHRONICLE
"Their Dell Stage performance [at ACL] didn't disappoint. They are a blast to watch, and I can't get their songs out of my head."
-Tim Basham, PASTE MAGAZINE
"Sound and the Jury winners The Bright Light Social Hour no doubt won a few thousand converts Friday morning, with a hard-rocking set that left shirtless bassist Jack O'Brien grinning ear-to-ear. These guys earned it."
-Patrick Caldwell, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN - Top ACL Moments
"The vocals of bassist Jack O’Brien and guitarist Curtis Roush are huge and cinematic, and their presence, with drummer Jo Mirasole and keyboardist A.J. Vincent, commanded the attention of every passerby in Zilker Park... I couldn’t sit still while they melted my face with Back and Forth. The Austin-based quartet have been awarded the “Unexpected Awesome of the Day” award for Friday of ACL ‘09."
-NEW INDIE BANDS
"When it's time for some booty shakin', look no further than The Bright Light Social Hour. The local indie group combines raw, jazzy vocals with poppy musicality enough to make any crowd dance... "Back and Forth" is a sure fire hit."
-Candace Birkelback, AUSTINIST
"The BLSH melds Spanglish lyrics with psychedelic-experimental, hard rock n’ roll, and rhythmic deep-funk music to create a profoundly unique sound... The band does take turns cross-dressing and carefully covering up with well placed instruments, but their sound resonates more with the true soul of rock n’ roll."
-Gerald Rish, DAILY TEXAN
"Herky-jerky, Steely Dan-on-fast-forward."
-THE ONION A.V. CLUB
"The Bright Light Social Hour blend glam-dance with a classic-rock, blues vibe. It's quite an interesting and potent combination."
-Michael D. Ayers, SPINNER
I was sort of like stalking the waterloo inventory waiting for love like montopolis...just got my hands on a copy. loving track#3. Now need the EP for 07 to complete my collection.
An old friend of mine has a radio station in Corpus Christi and is playing your CD I recorded. You can check it out at www.hosstheboss.com You can also vote for it to be on next months show. Hope you all are rocking and rolling! Cheers! Tim
Hey guys Us again! We just keep updating and want all of you to know! We just recorded a neww demo of 'Stick and Stones may Break my Bones but Bitch, You Broke my Heart" we would love if you checked it out!!!! It would mean the world to us! Let us know what you think! LOVE YOU GUYS! Alex & Dan
yo guys, kill it at antones next week, you are in great company! i may be in town for ACL, i will definitely get in touch with you if that works out. peace brothers.