On with the show!
Concerts and fans are back – and Guster is ready
Guster’s Ryan Miller wrote a song on Christmas day. Then another the day after. Then then a few more.
Miller didn’t finish the songs then. They didn’t have the Boston-born band’s signature polish that falls between lonely Americana and bright indie pop (or lonely indie pop and bright Americana). But he was writing again, and writing good stuff.
“I’ve been having a really hard time writing music and on Christmas I said, ‘(expletive) it,’ and just gave it a try,” Miller told the Herald from his home in Vermont. “I’ve written a song a day and feel more creative and productive than I have been in a while, and I haven’t told the band yet, but I’m curious to see where these are going to land.”
Most often Guster gets together in a room and figures it all out. It’s a system that’s worked since Miller, guitarist/singer Adam Gardner and drummer Brian Rosenworcel started playing together at Tufts University in 1991 (multiinstrumentalist Luke Reynolds joined in 2010). But COVID crushed Guster and the entire music infrastructure for months.
Thankfully, Guster was able to celebrate its 30th anniversary with a sold-out concert backed by the Colorado Symphony last summer. Now the band hopes to keep the party going with two Boston House of Blues shows in late May (and half a dozen headlining, support and festival dates around New England this summer).
“We had this little window (last summer), I call it a magic month, and it was absolutely crucial (for the band),” Miller said. “Red Rocks was our biggest show ever. It was with a symphony. People flew in from all over, cousins and friends and people in the music industry. We completely pulled it off and livestreamed it. Having it coincide with 30 years after we all met. It was amazing.”
“It kind of saved the band,” he added.
It’s hard to know after months of forced hiatus who will come back, will fans still love you the way they did a couple of years ago? Turns out favorite bands (and Guster is a lot of people’s favorite band) are a big draw as we move into the heart of the 2022 concert season.
“A lot of my friends are promoters, and it’s been interesting to hear that across the board what people are interested in are their favorite bands, those are the shows that are selling great,” Miller said. “It’s the baby bands that have suffered. More established artists have benefited from this time because their fans are like, ‘I need this show! I never go out!’”
Miller isn’t just speaking as an artist. He’s speaking as a fan.
Over the past few months, getting away from his own music, band and life for a few hours and standing in a crowd at a club has sustained him.
“These shows are feeding our souls,” he said. “We hope to honor that. … Being able to go see something gives you the energy you need.”
For tickets and details, go to guster.com.