Disco Risqué
Disco Risqué is a four piece thunderstorm of a funk rock band that has been endlessly burgeoning forth from Charlottesville, VA since its inception. A melting pot of genres and influences have resulted in a musical force that is difficult to pin down, but impossible to ignore and has yielded a trademark sound for the band, pitting the electric energy of amplified guitar and bass against the raw acoustic force of drums and horns. In October of 2018 the band released their sophomore album, a 9 song dance-funk record entitled “If You Don’t Like Hits You’re Gonna Hate This.” This second release showed a more focused and deliberate side of the band while still maintaining the “take no prisoners” mentality that they had established for themselves.
While honing their skills as a studio project, Disco Risqué continues to be a force on the live circuit as well, and have become a recognizable name in many markets on the East Coast. In 2018 they earned a coveted spot at the Lockn Festival in Arrington, VA performing on Saturday alongside legendary acts such as Dead and Company, Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Keller Williams as well as some of the biggest up and coming names in the scene, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Big Something, The Suffers, and People’s Blues of Richmond. The band is also a regular name on the lineup of other festivals on the East Coast such as Rooster Walk, Hoopla Festival, Peace of Mind Festival, and Threestival.
Formed in 2014 by guitarist Charlie Murchie and drummer Robert “Slim” Prescott, the band quickly added bassist John Bruner and vocalist/trumpet player Ryan “Swimsuit” Calonder and have been performing and worked together as this lineup until late 2018 when Andrew Hollifield took over as the bands bassist. The band relies heavily on everyone’s input and treats all songwriting as a group effort. In live shows the band works hard to make every night more than just people playing music. “It’s important to us that we put on a show” explains Prescott and that’s a sentiment that’s quickly obvious if you find yourself at a DR gig. From light shows, to head banging, to pick scrapes, to ridiculous stage antics and more, you can bet that Disco Risqué is not an act you’ll soon forget.