Bumpin Uglies is an American

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

band from

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

. The band's music features a "melody-driven, free-spirited blend of ska, reggae, and punk with a strong focus on lyrics and crowd-pleasing grooves." The band's influences are a mix of ska-punk and reggae drawn from pioneering bands Sublime,

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...

Reel Big Fish Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Orange County, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold-certified album ''Turn the Radio Off''. Soon af ...

, and Goldfinger.

History

Formation and ''Free Candy'' (2008–2011)

The group was founded in 2008 by guitarist and vocalist Brandon Hardesty, and percussionist Zach Pfefferkorn. The band name came from Zach, who threw out the idea of Bumpin' Uglies as they were trying to think of the funniest and most memorable band name possible. Later, Ben McNulty joined as a bass player and Keenan Leader joined as the drummer. Since then the band has refined its sound with complimentary musicians, ending with the current band consisting of Brandon Hardesty, Dave Wolf, T.J. Haslett, and Ethan Lichtenberger. The band's first full-length album ''Free Candy'' was released on June 11, 2011, and was a strong debut. The release party was thrown at "The Whiskey", a former music venue in Annapolis, Maryland. It featured the singles "Addictive Personality" and "Hallucinations".

''Go Folk Yourself'' and ''Ninjah: Reggae Assassins'' (2012–2014)

A year later on June 17, 2012, ''Go Folk Yourself'', their second album, was released. Then another rapid release, their third LP, titled ''Ninjah: Reggae Assassins'', premiered on May 28, 2013 with their first single, "Morning After". The next year, they followed up with a live album titled ''Load In/Load Out: Live at 8x10'', released on April 8, 2014. Since these albums, Bumpin Uglies went from regional favorites on the East Coast, first starting out in clubs and smaller venues, to a more national draw, with heavily touring all over the United States, then onto bigger festivals.

Touring and EPs (2015–2016)

While continuously touring, their first EP, ''Freakout Hell Bus'', was released on June 2, 2015. A followup EP, ''Sublime With No One'', was released on October 16, 2015 and garnered as much attention from its title as the new songs it contained. Their third EP, ''Better. Faster. Stronger'', was released on June 4, 2016.

''Keep It Together'' and ''Beast From The East'' (2016)

The band's fourth album, ''Keep It Together'', was released on September 9, 2016 on Right Coast Records. In December 2016, the trio became a quartet when they added a fourth member, Chad Wright, on keyboard and some vocals. His first album with the band was their fifth LP, ''Beast from the East'', their most acclaimed album, which released on April 6, 2018. The band had four ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Top Reggae Album of the Week placements, including a #1 spot with ''Beast From The East'' on April 21, 2018. They are currently signed to

Ineffable Records Ineffability is the quality of something that surpasses the capacity of language to express it, often being in the form of a taboo or incomprehensible term. This property is commonly associated with philosophy, aspects of existence, and similar ...

. The band recorded their first acoustic album,''Songs From the Basement'' on September 26, 2017, which featured acoustic versions of their popular singles from their past albums.

''Buzz EP'' and live acoustic album (2019)

On March 22, 2019, the band released their fourth EP, titled ''Buzz'', a six-song complication, including their single "Buzz", featuring friends, Tropidelic. They released ''Live @ Sugarshack Sessions'', their second acoustic album, on October 4, 2019.

''Keep Your Suitcase Packed'' (2020)

Their sixth album, ''Keep Your Suitcase Packed'', was released on Ineffable Records on June 12, 2020. The album featured singles "Florida Showers" (feat. Leilani Wolfgramm), "I Just Am", and "Suburbia". Shortly after the release, Chad Wright left the band to concentrate on other projects. He was replaced on keyboard by Ethan Lichtenberger, who also plays the trumpet and trombone.

'The Never Ending Drop' project (2020–2021)

In 2020 and 2021, the band worked on their own project called "The Never Ending Drop". In a year when they had to stop touring due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

pandemic, Hardesty explained, "we decided to double down on the music making portion of our job description", and then released a single every month; whether if it was a

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, acoustic set or a studio track released to stream. Bumpin Uglies was featured as one of many reggae bands on

Collie Buddz Colin Patrick Harper (born August 21, 1981), better known by his stage name Collie Buddz, is a Bermudian reggae artist best known for his single "Come Around". Career Although Harper was born in New Dadyal Hospital, AJK. He studied audio enginee ...

riddim album, ''Cali Roots Riddim 2020'' with their single, "Mid-Atlantic Dub", which was produced by Buddz and mixed by

Stick Figure A stick figure, also known as a stickman, is a very simple drawing of a person or an animal, composed of a few lines, curves, and dots. On a stick figure, the head is most often represented by a circle, which can be either a solid color or som ...

's touring guitarist, producer Johnny Cosmic. On January 15, 2021, Bumpin Uglies was one of several reggae and punk bands on ''The House That Bradley Built'', a charity compilation honoring Sublime's lead singer

Bradley Nowell Bradley James Nowell (February 22, 1968 – May 25, 1996) was an American musician and the lead singer and guitarist of the ska punk band Sublime. Born and raised in Belmont Shore, Long Beach, California, Nowell developed an interest in mu ...

, helping musicians with substance abuse. They covered Sublime's song "Same In The End".

''Mid-Atlantic Dub'' (2022)

Bumpin Uglies

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

recorded their seventh studio album titled, ''Mid-Atlantic Dub'', released on September 16, 2022. The 13-track album features special guests; Ballyhoo!,

The Elovaters The Elovaters are a Boston-based American reggae rock band that formed in 2014. History Formation and ''The Cornerstone'' (2014–2017) Formed in 2014 in their hometown of Marshfield, Massachusetts, The Elovaters were formally The Cornerstone, ...

, Little Stranger,

Jacob Hemphill Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ja ...

of SOJA,

Trevor Young Trevor James Young (28 August 1925 – 13 May 2012) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. Biography Early life Young was born in 1925 in Turua on the Hauraki Plains. The son of Leslie Robert Young, he grew up in Cambridge and Ble ...

, Wax and Tropidelic. ''Mid-Atlantic Dub'' is also being "considered" for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nomination "Best Reggae Album" at the 65th Grammy Awards in 2023.

Other projects

Bumpin Uglies created a custom beer with Maryland's RAR Brewing to celebrate the release of the band's latest album, ''Mid-Atlantic Dub''. The limited edition 16 ounce can was only available exclusively at OktoberWest (West Virginia's "largest beer festival") in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

on September 24, 2022.https://steamboatoktoberwest.com

Lineup

Current members

*Brandon Hardesty – lead vocals, guitar, songwriter (2008–present) *Dave "Wolfie" Wolf – bass, vocals (2010–present) *T.J. Haslett – drums (2015–present) *Ethan Lee Lichtenberger – keyboard, trombone (2021–present) *Will Lopez - tenor saxophone, guitar (2022-present)

Former members

*Zach Pfefferkorn – percussion (2008–2009) *Ben McNulty – bass (2008–2010) *Keenan Leader – drums (2008–2013) *Mike Breach (2009-2010) *Chad Wright – keyboard, vocals (2017–2020)