New York, NY (Top40 Charts) ATO Records' buzzing Chicago five-piece Brigitte Calls Me Baby released their debut album The Future Is Our Way Out, last Friday, August 2nd followed by a weekend of their biggest shows to date at Lollapalooza Chicago making fans of Rolling Stone, Forbes, SPIN and more along the way.
In a recent profile at the Chicago Sun-Times, they write that the band undeniably has "...taken the local scene by storm…," adding that they are, "...leading the pack of a new era of homegrown rock bands that are steadily gaining national attention…" - so it's only right that the band rang in their album release weekend on home turf.
Praise for The Future Is Our Way Out has poured in from NPR, FLOOD, WXPN, and NME, who in their four-star review said the band has "carved out a triumph of their own." In a recent feature for DIY Magazine lead singer Wes Leavins speaks to the band's desire to create a moment in time that lasts forever. The magazine adds, "'The Future Is Our Way Out', then, is his way of preserving particular feelings as immutable sonic vignettes, bottling transient moments in a way that recalls the best of coming-of-age media: The Perks Of Being A Wallflower's tunnel scene; The Breakfast Club's end credits; his teenage favorite lyricist Alex Turner's evocative turn of phrase."
Brigitte Calls Me Baby is gaining momentum on the national TV front too following their national TV debut on CBS Saturday with their late-night TV debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live last week performing album track "We Were Never Alive."
Soon, on September 7th, the band will kick off a string of headlining tour dates with stops in Austin, TX, and Washington, D.C. before a series of shows with the Airborne Toxic Event continuing into the fall. Stay tuned for more to come from Brigitte Calls Me Baby.
With their name nodding to frontman Wes Leavins' teenage pen-pal correspondence with iconic French actress Brigitte Bardot, the Chicago-based five-piece emerged in early 2023 and soon scored a breakout hit with "Impressively Average" - a sublimely shimmering anthem that shot to the Top 10 at Triple A radio, setting the band on a swift rise that's recently included embarking on a headline tour with sold-out dates across the country. Now, with their debut LP, The Future Is Our Way Out, Brigitte Calls Me Baby share a body of work that ingeniously spans genres and eras, merging the lavish romanticism of mid-century pop with the frenetic energy and spiky intensity of early-millennium indie-rock. Centered on Leavins' hypnotically crooning vocal work, the result is a rare convergence of sophistication, style, and unabashed sincerity.
The band's unusual path began when frontman and songwriter Wes Leavins moved from Texas to Chicago after high school. After arriving in Chicago, he joined forces with bassist Devin Wessels, drummer Jeremy Benshish, and guitarists Trevor Lynch and Jack Fluegel; and the group began gigging locally when Graceland came calling. Leavins was recruited to record music for Baz Luhrmann's 2022 film Elvis. While on set, he met the Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb (Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile) and the two hit it off.
BRIGITTE CALLS ME BABY 2024 TOUR DATES:
8/7/24 - Reckless Records, Chicago, IL
9/7/24 - Fine Line - Minneapolis, MN
9/8/24 - High Noon Saloon - Madison, WI
9/10/24 - Resonant Head - Oklahoma City, OK
9/12/24 - Empire Control Room - Austin, TX
9/13/24 - White Oak Music Hall - Upstairs - Houston, TX
9/14/24 - Three Links - Dallas, TX
9/16/24 - Vinyl at Center Stage - Atlanta, GA'
9/17/24 - The End - Nashville, TN
9/18/24 - Upstairs at Avondale - Birmingham, AL
9/20/24 - Cat's Cradle Back Room - Carrboro, NC
9/21/24 - XPoNential Music Festival - Camden, NJ
9/22/24 - The Atlantis - Washington, DC
9/23/24 - Rough Trade in-store - New York, NY
9/25/24 - The Drake Underground - Toronto, ON
9/26/24 - The Stache at The Intersection - Grand Rapids, MI
9/27/24 - HI-FI Indianapolis - Indianapolis, IN
9/28/24 - Rose Bowl Tavern - Urbana, IL
10/1/24 - The Coast - Fort Collins, CO
10/2/24 - Fox Theatre - Boulder, CO
10/4/24 - Reverb Lounge - Omaha, NE
10/5/24 - The Raccoon Motel - Davenport, IA
10/7/24 - Paramount Theatre - Denver, CO *
10/8/24 - The Black Sheep - Colorado Springs, CO *
10/10/24 - Knitting Factory Concert House - Boise, ID *
10/11/24 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA *
10/12/24 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA *
10/13/24 - McMenamins Crystal Ballroom - Portland, OR *
10/15/24 - Ace of Spades - Sacramento, CA *
10/17/24 - The Warfield - San Francisco, CA *
10/19/24 - The Wiltern - Los Angeles, CA *
10/21/24 - Humphreys Concerts By The Bay - San Diego, CA *
11/15/24 - Corona Capital 2024 - México, MX
*opening for Airborne Toxic Event.
