Ripe’s newest album Bright Blues is a collection of 12 songs full of sleek grooves and bold melodies that the Boston quintet put together to help ride out tough times, an anthem for better days ahead.
“The wildest thing for me is that the record simultaneously sounds like it has the scars of everything we’ve been through and also that it doesn’t — it’s joyful music, which is very exciting given that it was made in the middle of getting hit in the stomach,” says singer Robbie Wulfsohn, who came together with guitarist Jon Becker, drummer Sampson Hellerman, and trombonist Calvin Barthel while they were all studying at Berklee College of Music.
The band drew acclaim from the likes of the Boston Globe, Huffington Post and WXPN with their first full-length, Joy in the Wild Unknown. Their streams on Spotify surged past 56 million as they conquered stages at festivals including Bonnaroo, Firefly, SweetWater and Bottlerock, and sold tens of thousands of tickets across the US, including selling out the iconic House of Blues Boston and Brooklyn Steel. Bright Blues is their first release after signing to indie powerhouse Glassnote Records and their first release working with outside co-writers. Teaming up on production with Noah Conrad (BTS, Niall Horan) and Ryan Linvill (Olivia Rodrigo, Dermot Kennedy) helped bring the high-energy, freewheeling stage show to the recording studio, with the result being an album that shows the full scope of the band’s abilities as writers and performers. The live show has always been at the core of who Ripe is, and now the recorded music can stand alongside it as an all-encompassing representation of who the band is and where they are going.
Originally from Kansas City, the now Los Angeles based outfit doesn't stray away from drawing influence from both homes. It's a pairing that helps Hembree create their own eclectic version of rock and roll. Their unique sound is nostalgic and modern all at once and it has landed them on festival stages all over the country and bills with indie rock legends, Phoenix to rock n' roll icon, Elvis Costello. The band is currently touring and releasing new music. Their new single "Monday Morning" is out now, and lead singer Isaac Flynn has promised a new record in early 2024