Forged in the waters of groovy friendship, Saltwater Tap is the creative baby of Garen Hudson, Taylor Vos, Cait Arq, and more recently, New Jersey based bassist Benji Daniels. These 4 share inspiration from the funky, story-driven, lyrically dense music of the 1970s.  Hudson's father is a prolific playwright and lyricist, and he grew up listening to his dad's work. You may hear some musical theatre influences in the band’s music…just a little. After writing many songs in high school, Hudson and Vos booked studio time to create the Bittersweet EP. They also brought in singer-songwriter Cait Arq to lay down background vocals, and her work speaks for itself.  With each of these players having strong budding solo careers, their collaborative outputs are magnificent, funky, sometimes funny, and downright strange. From funk-oriented pop, to their more recent sample-driven tunes (such as their most recent single, “Green Tea”) this band covers a lot of ground in a single set. That said, this range is not due to a lack of direction, but rather an interesting and eclectic collection of sounds. You might taste notes of Herbie Hancock, Paul Simon, David Bowie, Prince, and maybe even some Snarky Puppy (though the band fully admits they are not heavy jazz cats….except Benji. Benji can hang). The band is cooking up all sorts of new music in 2022. Expect more sample-driven music, strange vocal effects, out-there folklore, and heady concept albums. 

Madame Reaper is the brainchild of singer Kira Leadholm. She owns a strip club—Madame Reaper's Gentlemen's Club—where the employees are permitted to murder lewd customers. This fictional backstory encompasses the absurdity, camp, and social considerations of the Madame Reaper project, which critiques gender power imbalances in the music industry and society at large. Backed by the Gentlemen's Club—Kevvy Sheppard on guitar, Garen Hudson on keys, and Austin Myers on bass—Madame Reaper delivers a raucous live set inspired by '80s synthpop.