2025 may be the Year of the Snake, but don’t miss Rubblebucket’s upcoming D.C. stop on their Year of the Banana Tour. The New York City-based band will play 9:30 Club on Feb. 5, accompanied by opening act Hannah Mohan.
Kalmia Traver and Alex Toth met when they were both jazz students at the University of Vermont, where they quickly struck up both a deep connection and a musical partnership. They released their first album in 2009. Even after leaving UVM, they never forgot their jazz roots; brass plays prominently into their sound on tracks like “Donna” and “Came Out of a Lady.” Though Rubblebucket creatively blend a myriad of genres, the best way to describe their unique, funky brand is a mix of art-pop, psychedelic dance and indie rock.
The duo’s latest work, “Year of the Banana,” released on Oct. 18, 2024. The album is based partly on a collection of Traver’s poetry (also titled “Year of the Banana”), as well as a real year in the duo’s personal lives. Traver and Toth had been dating since 2005, but in 2015, their relationship began to fall apart. Could they separate their romantic partnership from their artistic one? They tried everything to stay together, from couple’s therapy to drugs to short-lived engagement, but in the end, it was recording and making art together that saved their years-long friendship. 2015 was the “Year of the Banana,” and Rubblebucket’s 2025 album is an homage to this tumultuous time, to art as expression, and, above all, to love of any form.
Tickets for Rubblebucket at 9:30 Club are still available here: https://www.930.com/e/rubblebucket/. Traver and Toth are known for their extravagant and whimsical live performances—don’t skip your chance to get in on the groove!