Celebrating the release of their debut full-length, landmark, Minnesota indie popsters Hippo Campus are set to play The Basement East tonight, March 22 with Miami’s Magic City Hippies and local favorites ELEL. Though they’ve played Nashville twice the last two years in a row, more often as a supporting act, for great bands like The Mowgli’s, JR JR, and Saint Motel, this marks Hippo Campus’s biggest Music City headliner to date, and is a definite sign of their rising stock. You can still grab tickets right here while they last, and find out more about this great lineup below!
HIPPO CAMPUS
Hailing from St. Paul, Minnesota, the members of Hippo Campus met while attending high school at the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, where they took part in various other projects before focusing their energy on the poppy, upbeat, and melodically dense flavor of indie rock that has helped the group become a breakout band in just a few short years. Since 2014 debut EP Bashful Creatures, and especially with last year’s South, Hippo Campus have earned spots supporting the likes of Modest Mouse, My Morning Jacket, The Mowgli’s, and Walk the Moon, earning media praise, radio play, festival appearances, and even late night television spots. Fast becoming a need-to-know indie band, Hippo Campus recently released their debut full-length, landmark, and are enjoying another wave of buzz thanks to their strongest, most focused, and most pop primed effort to date.
MAGIC CITY HIPPIES
No, the name is not ironic. Hailing from Miami, a.k.a. Magic City, Magic City Hippies play a funky, hip hop-tinged, soulful indie sound, which makes them an incredibly interesting and eclectic rising act. Formerly called the Robby Hunter Band, the group began when frontman Hunter exhausted busking as a solo artist, and resolved to put a real band together, quickly becoming a fixture in the South Florida musical circuit. Fueled by a series of singles well-received throughout the blogosphere, Magic City Hippies released their debut EP in 2015, and should have a full-length on the way in the near future.
ELEL
You should know all about indie rockers ELEL by now, since we’ve literally been bringing you coverage on the group since their very first show. But, if you need the cliff notes, the Nashville collective, led by Ben Elkins, have been putting a synthy, afro-cuban inspired twist on pop and indie rock for a several years now, and, finally, after years of unforgettable singles, countless shows, and an EP, released their long-awaited debut full-length, Geode, last fall. With national buzz, an amazing live show, and a hometown pedigree, they’re not just a perfect compliment to this lineup, but also a huge reason to go to this show (and get there early).
Hippo Campus, Magic City Hippies, and ELEL will perform tonight, March 22 at The Basement East. The show is 18+, begins at 8 p.m. (doors at 7 p.m.), and tickets are available to purchase for $15.