Ready to steal the spotlight on the folk music scene, The Ballroom Thieves have made their way to Quinnipiac to perform on campus tonight. Based out of Boston, Mass., the musical trio established themselves in January 2012, and since then, the group has been traveling the country, making everyone aware of “Thieves.”
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- Newly established Boston band, The Ballroom Thieves will be performing at Quinnipiac Jan. 23 at 6p.m.
“We’ve had a special experience where we’ve met the right people and played the right shows,” said Devin Mauch, 24, percussionist and vocalist. “Our song writing and style has really affected the people we’ve met.”
Mauch explained that the sound of The Ballroom Thieves is instrumentally similar to The Lumineers with the energy of Mumford and Sons. The band consists of Mauch, vocalist and guitarist Martin Earley, 25, and cellist/vocalist Rachel Gawell.
Mauch and Earley started playing together more than three years ago at their alma mater, Stonehill College, and then hired Gawell as a session cellist to enhance what they were recording.
“She was so cool and so damn good that we couldn’t let her go,” Mauch said, mentioning that the three have been together for a year and three months now.
With the addition of Gawell, the trio needed a name. The Ballroom Thieves came to Earley’s mind and stuck. Mauch describes the name as a reflection of the band’s attitude, somewhere “between classy and badass-ery, kind of edgy but still really listenable.”
Still fresh on the scene, the Thieves have begun to pave their way as a unique sound with deep lyrics, although it’s not something you would hear on the radio everyday, Mauch said. Their EP entitled “The Devil & The Deep” consists of five songs, and since its debut, has been performed at more than 30 colleges nationwide and performed with Joe Fletcher and The Apache Relay.
“The Devil & The Deep” CDs will be on sale for $5 at tonight’s show, along with other Ballroom Thieves’ merchandise. “We value our ability to make it so cheap, we just want people to have it,” Mauch said.
The band’s performances are very dynamic and interactive, alternating between high-energy songs and relaxing acoustic sets.
“It gets pretty rowdy, and then we’ll slow it down,” Mauch said. “If you come with an open mind, ready to listen and to just have a good time, then you’re all set.”
Mauch describes his bandmate Earley as “amazing with lyrics,” specifically in one of their favorite songs, “Coward’s Son,” in which the lyrics are emotional and thought-provoking. “I like people to analyze our lyrics and come up with their own thoughts but it’s just delving into one man looking in on himself in a really non-traditional way that people use a lot,” he said.
The Ballroom Thieves look to have a personal experience with an audience; whether they play to a sold-out Boston club or to a tight-knit college crowd, their ‘infectious passion and raw energy’ connects with all, according to the band’s website.
“That’s what we’re all about,” Mauch said. “We like to feel like we leave knowing the people that we just played for.”
The Ballroom Thieves performance is sponsored by the Student Programming Board at 6 p.m. in The Piazza.
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