Yacht’s up?
Yächtley Crëw take a bow with soft rock salute in Lincoln City
By Gretchen Ammerman
Oregon Coast TODAY
Tickets are now on sail for Yächtley Crëw, a super group of guys riding the wave of popularity of music of the late ’70s and early ’80s known as “Yacht Rock.”
The group, which plays music from such artists as Criss Cross, Steely Dan and Toto, is floating on up from the Los Angeles area to Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City for the “Seas the Night” tour this Saturday, Feb. 22.
“The music from that time is just so good and we love those type of artists,” said vocalist Philly Ocean. “We are all roughly the same age and grew up hearing it so for us its part nostalgia and part just playing music we love.”
Since forming in 2017, the seven-member group has fully leaned into the theme of the genre, dressing in sailing outfits and, like Ocean, coming up with pseudonyms that are nautical, a nod to an artist, or both.
“We knew early on that we couldn’t be too serious doing something like this,” Ocean said. “We absolutely take the music seriously, but we have fun with everything else and we love for the audience to be in on the fun with us.”
As the group's popularity grows, so does the number of fans who come to the concerts similarly garbed in some form of sailor suit.
“It’s a trip to look out into the crowd and see people dressed up like us,” Ocean said. “Plus, of course, everyone knows the music so well that almost everyone sings along with us. We love it.”
The Crëw has made appearances on Andy Cohen’s “Watch What Happens Live,” helped ring in the New Year on KLAS and KTLA’s nationally aired “Las Vegas Countdown,” and performed on numerous morning TV and radio shows across the country. It has also been featured on Fox News and was the first-ever Yacht Rock band to perform live on SiriusXM’s Yacht Rock 311. Additionally, the band was featured in HBO’s “Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary,” and released a holiday EP called “Seas And Greetings” last December.
“We are busier than ever,” Ocean said. “It’s been incredible to see this thing grow year after year. When we first started, we thought we would just play a few shows and see how people responded. It turns out a lot of people love this music as much as we do.”
The band recently recorded a new song by Diane Warren that will be released this spring and continues to support charity events like the Mario Lopez Golf Classic Tournament. With sold-out shows across the country, they’re gearing up to announce a new album in 2025.
“This year is an exciting year for us because we are going international for the very first time,” Ocean said. “And we have our first full length album, “Seas the Night” coming out this year, too.”
The album is a follow up to their EP, “Seas the Day” that included such fan favorites as Boz Scaggs’ “Lido Shuffle,” Ace’s “How Long,” Robbie Dupree’s “Steal Away,” the Bee Gees’ “How Deep Is Your Love,” and “Ride Like the Wind” by all-time Yacht Rock pioneer Criss Cross.
The group’s love for performing is evident the moment they hit the stage.
“We bring a huge amount of energy and give a proper stage show that gets the audiences really going,” Ocean said. “We even surprise ourselves sometimes.”
And in case you are wondering how the band whose name they have punned feels about it?
“I saw a picture of Tommy Lee from Mötley Crüe wearing a shirt with our logo on it,” Ocean said. “That was almost an out-of-body experience for me.”
Saturday’s concert begins at 8 pm at Chinook Winds Casino Resort, located at 1777 NW 44th Street in Lincoln City. Tickets are $35 to $40. For more information, go to chinookwindscasino.com or call 888-244-6665.