Two unique acts will be taking the stage at Casa Nueva, blending genres from hip-hop to jazz.
Athens’ bands Bright at Night and Waivada will perform Thursday at Casa Nueva in a show that will incorporate aspects of multiple genres.
Blending genres ranging from jazz to hip-hop, both bands pull influences from a large spectrum of music.
Emerson Bartlett, the guitarist and lead singer of Bright at Night, said he partially attributes his unique sound to living and traveling across the country while being exposed to new music and people along the way.
“Really the influence came from being around so many different kinds of incredible musicians,” Bartlett said. “When I was in Philly I really tried to be at every type of venue; there was a soul-jam show here, there was a hip-hop show here, there was crazy electronica rave over here.”
After being introduced to hip-hop, Bartlett began to incorporate it into his own playing style.
“That whole side of it came into the acoustic guitar-playing, singer-songwriting teenager that I was at the time, and I kind of blended the two, rapping while playing guitar,” Bartlett said.
After returning for Athens for a summer job—and not expecting to stay for any long period of time—Emerson was reunited with his brother, Seeder Whaley, and began performing with him. This duo, later joined by another pair of brothers, created what is now Bright at Night.
“I got trapped in the music. I was feeling good about it, and I had no reason to venture back into the big city at any time, so I stuck it out,” Emerson said. “Even though Athens wasn’t really as fast-paced as what I was used to for the previous five years or so, it definitely seemed like the right place to be.”
Waivada, described on its Facebook page as “grunge boogie funk with a tinge of reggae and blues,” places an emphasis on maintaining a fresh set list for every show.
“We try to maintain a high energy level, but within that, we also try to incorporate our more contemplative, slower songs,” said Garrett Naiman, the guitarist and vocalist of Waivada. “Every time we put a set list together we kind of get an idea for the direction we’re going to go for the night, and then we try to just balance out the ebb and flow of the show.”
The band’s sound is rooted in blues, but Waivada incorporates elements of reggae, rock, and funk.
“I like to think of music in general as being pretty reciprocal; you feed off of other music that you’re playing and you feed off of the people that you’re playing with.” Namian said. “Feeling as though the energy we’re putting into it is being reciprocated back to us is huge.”
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