Upset Boy and the Queens are kicking down the doors of Nashville’s post-Covid indie rock revolution. Formed in late 2023, the alternative rock power trio is on a mission to prove Music City has more to offer than the pop country machine of Music Row and the self-seriousness of the bloated Americana scene. The self-proclaimed “Party Band for the Dystopia” features singer, songwriter, and guitarist Chris Watts (musically known as Dirt Reynolds), bassist Lulu Jones (formerly of Thelma and the Sleaze), and drummer Dan Dolive.
Evoking the pioneers of early college radio, MTV’s 120 Minutes, and the Garage Rock resurgence of the early ’00s, Upset Boy and the Queens have developed their own blend of grungy power pop and guitar-driven riff rock.
The debut double A-side single “Trying To Get To You”/”Think Too Much” will be available for streaming on Sweet Cheetah Records August 16, 2024. These songs were produced by Joseph Lekkas (of Palm Ghosts) and Chris Watts at Greenland Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, and engineered and mastered by Lekkas. Drums on the singles were provided by Walter Epting of Palm Ghosts.
Of “Think Too Much” Watts says, “On October 10, 2022, I had my first panic attic. On stage at The Basement here in Nashville. I was playing with my former project Dirt Reynolds when I sort of blacked out on stage. I couldn’t sing or play my guitar, I just stood there frozen. I wanted to disappear. I hit my mental rock bottom.
“I started seeing a therapist, better late than never, and learning things about myself. I realized I wasn’t happy in my current life situation or with what I was doing musically, which eventually lead to forming Upset Boy and the Queens with Lulu.
“‘Think Too Much’ is the first song I wrote with Lulu at the first Upset Boy jam session. We clicked almost immediately and wrote the song pretty quick right there in Lulu’s basement. This is the sound of a band’s very first attempt at defining who they are, as I’m redefining who I want to be as a person. I know we all do it, but overthinking has really stunted my creativity in the past, so I love that we wrote a song called ‘Think Too Much’ in like 20 minutes. It’s my own personal anthem for letting go of control.”
Catch the band live here:
Saturday, August 17 at The Underdog in Nashville, Tennessee
Sunday, August 18 at the MidWest Friends Fest Preview at Southgate House Revival in Newport, Kentucky
Follow the band at Bandcamp or TikTok or Instagram.
Photo by Chad Crawford.
