T.J. Armand Releases HAPPY HOUR BLUES: LYRICS, NOTES, AND REFLECTIONS

Writer, composer, and producer T.J. Armand has released Happy Hour Blues: Lyrics, Notes & Reflections, the companion book to his three-volume recording project — and the foundation for a new musical following Adam, a queer immigrant navigating life, love, and identity inside a country-themed gay bar in Hell’s Kitchen.

Developed during the isolation and cultural upheaval of the pandemic, Happy Hour Blues introduces Adam as he encounters a vibrant constellation of characters shaped by longing, survival, and the search for belonging. Among them is the bar’s sharp-witted female bartender, a role Armand is developing with Tony Award nominee Mary Bridget Davies in mind, known for her electrifying portrayal of Janis Joplin.

Together, Adam and the bar’s ensemble of misfits, dreamers, outsiders, and regulars explore queer desire, heartbreak, chosen family, and the immigrant experience against the backdrop of a rapidly shifting America.

A QUEER + IMMIGRANT AMERICANA STORY BORN IN ASTORIA

Conceived in Astoria, where Armand wrote during the height of the pandemic, the project began as private notes and sketches. Fascinated with blending queer life and country-esque storytelling, Armand discovered that the material naturally gravitated toward the emotional grit of Blues Rock, Roots, and Americana.

The book contains more than fifty lyrics, notes, and reflections that outline the world of Adam and the bar’s community. Core themes include: queer life and nightlife culture, immigration and self-reinvention, exile and finding home, chosen family, New York as refuge and pressure cooker

To ground the narrative in place, the book features street photography from Astoria and Manhattan, capturing the mood and texture of the New York that shaped the work.

THE ALBUMS: A THREE-VOLUME SOUNDTRACK TO THE STORY

The recording project expands the world in sound:

Volume 1, available now on streaming platforms, features early demos created with the assistance of AI.

Volumes 2 and 3 will follow in Spring 2026, further defining the project’s Blues Rock / Roots direction.

Together, the book and albums form the first complete expression of the Happy Hour Blues universe — a world that will continue to take shape as the musical develops around Adam’s journey.

ABOUT T.J. ARMAND

T.J. Armand is a Turkish-American writer, composer, and producer based in New York City. A Berklee College of Music scholarship recipient and protégé of Arif Mardin, Armand’s two-decade career spans songwriting, global beats, concert production, and theatrical storytelling.

He has produced concerts for Chaka Khan and The Manhattan Transfer, and produced albums for The Queen’s Six and Tony Award nominee Mary Bridget Davies. With his partner Carl H. Paiva, Armand was an investing producer in Broadway productions including Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 starring Josh Groban and Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along.

His original work often explores queer identity, immigration, and the cultural pulse of New York City — themes that anchor Happy Hour Blues.