All Night Boogie Band’s new album Shut Your Eyes and See arrives today, July 3, 2026, delivering a stripped-down, high-energy dose of blues, soul, and roots rock built for both headphones and live rooms.
Running 36 minutes and 33 seconds, the record captures a band that has spent the last several years grinding it out on stage after stage, shaping their identity through performance rather than polish. Formed in 2021 in Vermont’s Green Mountains and now split between Vermont and New York City, All Night Boogie Band have become known for a sound that feels lived-in, loud, and deeply rooted in American musical tradition.
Their influences are clear but not imitated—The Rolling Stones, The Allman Brothers Band, Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Lake Street Dive echo through the DNA of the record—but the execution is all grit and personality. This is a band leaning fully into their own voice.
Recorded at VT Music Lab in Essex, Vermont, the album was co-produced by Ezra Oklan (Norah Jones, Nicole Atkins, Wu-Tang Clan) and mastered by Lane Gibson (Grace Potter, Trey Anastasio, Twiddle). The production keeps things warm and immediate, prioritizing feel over gloss and capturing the looseness of a band that thrives in real time.
Tracks like “Keep on Rolling,” “Stuck In the City (You’re Not Alone),” and “If You’re Blue and Lonesome” move between drive and reflection, while “Spirits High (feat. Ali McGuirk)” adds a collaborative lift to the record’s emotional arc. The set closes with “Shake Your Hips,” recorded live at Nectar’s in Burlington on May 22, 2025, a reminder of where this band’s energy truly lives.
Shut Your Eyes and See also reflects a group already deeply embedded in the live circuit. All Night Boogie Band have shared stages with Gary Clark Jr., Grace Potter, Eddie 9V, Jackie Venson, Dwight + Nicole, and Blues Hall of Famer Lurrie Bell—experience that bleeds directly into their recorded work.
Along the way, the band has picked up regional recognition including a 2025 New England Music Award nomination for Best Blues Act, a Seven Daysies win for Best Blues Group, and a Rising Star nod from the 2023 New England Music Awards, plus a Semi-Finalist finish in the International Blues Challenge.
With this release, All Night Boogie Band double down on what they do best: tight musicianship, road-earned chemistry, and a sound that feels like it was built in front of an audience.
Shut Your Eyes and See feels like a very intentional statement as a title. What does that phrase mean to you, and how does it thread through the album?
Brendan: Around the time we were getting into the studio, I was (and still am) deep into Irish literature and was reading Ulysses by James Joyce. I had also gotten into the great habit of daily meditation (highly recommend) after dealing with some mental health stuff. In the book, the full line is, “If you can put your five fingers through it it is a gate, if not a door. Shut your eyes and see.” I interpreted this as looking deep within yourself and connecting with your intuition to truly understand yourself and the world around you. I just love that, and think it’s a skill we can forget and lose touch with in today’s day and age, so the name felt right to me.
Jess: “Shut Your Eyes and See” is a quote from James Joyce’s novel Ulysses, which Brendan probably mentioned the meaning of in his answer, but to me it means to wake up to the world around you and notice the little things. Talk to your neighbors, smell the flowers, shake someone’s hand. We’re constantly being sucked into and distracted by the dystopian world of media, and we’re not experiencing the life that’s happening directly around us. Shut your eyes and see. Shut off the noise and see what’s really going on. Put the phone down and go outside. Your community needs you, and you need your community. I think that’s a big theme of this album: community and human connection. That’s what we try to cultivate at our live shows, especially now when it feels like that’s exactly what the world is trying to tear away from us.
You’ve described this record as your most complete and honest work yet. What changed in your approach in the studio this time around compared to your earlier LPs?
Brendan: This was really the first time we’d recorded in a professional studio with a professional crew. The tunes had a long time to breathe and were very ready. I’m a believer in playing new songs live for a while to feel them out and let them live, breathe, and interact with our audience. We were hot at the time, playing the final residency at Nectar’s, and the band and studio crew were super thorough and intentional with everything in the studio, from different amps for different tones to getting the room sound right and mic placement. The previous two LPs, we were learning as we went and it felt much more like we were just recording songs. This felt much more legit.
Jess: We’ve grown a lot over the past five years as a band and as people. We were 19 to 22 years old when we started this band and, to be honest, we had no idea what we were doing. Our earlier songs aren’t bad, but we were working with what we had at the time, recording in basements and mixing ourselves. This time around we worked in a real studio and had a better understanding of the recording process. Something about these songs hit a little different too. They’re more raw and personal in a way.
The album blends blues, soul, rock & roll, and roots rock in a very lived-in way. How do you keep those influences from becoming pastiche and instead make them feel like your own language?
Brendan: I think as a songwriter, you undeniably have your own voice. There’s definitely a sweet spot in working within well-loved genres such as the ones we play, where you can still have your own voice come through. There’s a balance to be had for sure, but I think I’m getting it down. Blues, soul, rock & roll, and roots rock are all genres I grew up listening to and am just totally obsessed with. I love the music so much and hope that enthusiasm comes through in the tunes on the album.
Jess: Brendan is an incredibly studious and observant songwriter. He’s constantly listening and learning, but he also has so much originality at the same time. He’s able to take inspiration from other artists, songs, and genres while still making them his own. I help out with lyrics and melodies where I can, but I’m still getting into my rhythm as a songwriter. I also think Van, Evan, and Zach bring an original flair to the songs with their individual inspirations and styles of playing.
You recorded at VT Music Lab with Ezra Oklan and had mastering by Lane Gibson. How did those collaborations shape the final sound, and what did they bring out in the band that otherwise might not have surfaced?
Brendan: This was the first time we’d ever worked with a producer. I told Ezra I can be a control freak with the sound of my music, and he totally got it. Throughout the recording sessions, he absolutely crushed it with production. We aligned on wanting to achieve a live sound and record with a lot of bleed. If he had an idea, he’d say, “Let’s try it. If we hate it, we’ll do it the other way, but let’s just try it.” Every time, we loved what he brought to the table and went with it. Also, just having a producer who’s a professional musician and has been in our shoes before was super comforting. We put a lot of trust in him and his vision, and he respected my vision. I think we really nailed it. Lane Gibson mastering the album was a no-brainer given his history in Vermont and his friendship with the guys at VT Music Lab.
Jess: Working with Ezra and Calvin (the engineer) in the studio was a blast. We instantly created a close friendship with them, and our recording days were full of lots of laughter. Fun aside, these guys know what they’re doing, and this album is as good as it is because of them. Every decision made, whether it was which mic, amp, or tambourine to use, was made with so much knowledge and intention. I couldn’t be more grateful to have worked with them. We didn’t get to meet Lane, but we’re so happy with how the masters came out!
Your live reputation is a big part of your identity, having played hundreds of shows across the East Coast. How do you translate that live energy into a studio recording without losing the spark?
Brendan: You just have to bring the same heat! I think playing guitar is such an exciting and personal thing to begin with that it’s not hard for me to light a fire under my ass. I believe each of us in the band feels differently about the studio versus live and getting that level of hype up, but that’s where I’m at.
Jess: To be honest, it’s really hard. We’ll never really be able to capture the electrically alive feeling of a live show in the studio, but I think we got pretty close with this record. A big part of it was that we recorded the album live, meaning guitar, bass, and drums were all in the same room while keys and vocals were in separate booths, but we recorded everything at the same time with minimal overdubs. We’ve also played enough shows together to channel that live energy into the studio.
Songs like “Stuck In The City (You’re Not Alone)” and “Spirits High” (feat. Ali McGuirk) feel emotionally expansive. What stories or moments were you drawing from when writing this batch of songs?
Brendan: With “Stuck In The City (You’re Not Alone),” I was in sort of a creative drought and had just gone on a walk with a friend who told me about a painter he knew. He said whenever the painter felt a little stuck, he’d go for a walk and really take in the world around him, whether it was how a tree looked or how the sun hit the buildings along the road. It simplified things for me. That song was very much inspired by time in Burlington and New York City while tying it together with a strong message about mental health, which I am very passionate about.
“Spirits High,” I wrote the night of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. You can figure that one out by just reading the lyrics.
Jess: “Stuck In The City” was inspired by the mental health, substance use, and homelessness crisis in Burlington, Vermont. We wrote it feeling helpless and useless for the people struggling in the city while trying to remember that there’s strength in community and that we truly are never alone.
Brendan wrote “Spirits High.” It means a lot of different things to me, but I’ll let the listener interpret it.
You’ve shared stages with artists like Gary Clark Jr., Grace Potter, and Jackie Venson. How have those experiences shaped your growth as a band, musically or professionally?
Brendan: Those experiences are super special. Anytime we get an opportunity like that, it’s time to buckle up. We tighten up loose ends and really work to bring things up a notch. Also, I’m a total sponge in those situations. Sharing the stage with such heavy hitters is not only a great honor but literally the best education you can get as a musician. It’s the best learning experience.
Jess: I’m beyond humbled and grateful when we get to play with bigger artists. Those shows make it feel that much more possible to be full-time musicians. Getting our music into the ears of new audiences is one of the best ways we can make that happen.
At this point in your journey, what does “success” look like for All Night Boogie Band beyond awards and recognition?
Brendan: I think we’re very successful at what we’re doing already. The hard part in this day and age is getting people to hear us. If we can just figure that part out… also wouldn’t mind a little bit more cash to help pay my bills, haha!
Jess: Beyond the success I already feel from the family and art we’ve created with this band, success looks like being full-time musicians and not having to struggle to pay our bills. Also, not having to do admin work like booking, managing, and social media, and getting to focus solely on our music and the creative side of the band.
