Review: BOY BAND BRUNCH Sells Out City Winery Debut

Do you know what people love?  People love a Boy Band.  Nothing could have been made more apparent than when Travis Nesbitt (The Boy Next Door) asked the SOLD OUT house at City Winery on Saturday, June 17th, who was at their first Boy Band Project show.  More than half the house raised their hands and cheered.  Then they spent the next eighty minutes continuing to cheer, to sing along, to film with their phones, and to have, just, a rockin’ good time with THE BOY BAND PROJECT.  

The Boy Band Project is a phenomenon, and they have been being a phenomenon for about five years (this was discussed during their performance), and it’s pretty amazing that this interesting idea that Nesbitt had, designed to create work for him and his other buddies from Broadway, between shows, should have become such a phenomenon.  It isn’t every day of the week that a cover band takes off to this level, and, at its purest jumping-off place, the Boy Band Project is a cover band.  But the truth is that they’re something more.  The gentlemen have created a kind of a play, a skit, if you will, in which they are making a joke - they are making a joke about the genre, about the fans, about themselves, and about the boys they are spoofing.  But they make the joke.  And the audience is in on the joke.  There is tongue-in-cheek teasing in the form of dance moves, nicknames (The Sporty One, The Bad Boy, The Sensitive One), and playful banter with audience members.  The laughs abound and they are all around, and everyone at the Boy Band Brunch is there for the laughs.  

They are also there for the music.

Broadway World Cabaret has been covering The Boy Band Project since August of 2019 when this writer took over as editor of the page.  Our team has been a staunch supporter of the BBP organization, believing that what they have created is marketable, palatable, and downright genius because it is based, at its core, on two very important foundations:  the public’s love of boy bands, and the unquestionable talent of THIS boy band.  The men of The Boy Band Project are unfathomably talented.  They all dance, they all sing (their faces off), they all charm with their looks and their ability at crowd work, they all work well together professionally, and they are all good enough actors to know that the joke only works if it is played sincerely, without coy disguise.  Each show that they do (with a rotating cast of men) is built around the vocal production, which is never anything less than perfect.  Once those perfect vocals are in place, the rest is easy.  Dance and dance well, love your audience til they are screaming with laughter in between bouts of singing along, and be a good team member, and, that, they do.  That is probably why The Boy Band Project has become such a strong entity within the industry that Nesbitt created The Girl Band Project, a new group that will play City Winery next month, featuring the boys’ female counterparts in their tribute to the Girls of music.  It’s an impressive dynasty that Nesbitt is building, and, clearly, one that the people love.  Do you know how hard it is to fill City Winery?  It’s a big room but this is a big act, and these gents have what it takes, obviously, given the two rousing standing ovations that Travis, Jesse Corbin (The Bad Boy), Jesse JP Johnson (The Sensitive One), and Chris Messina (The Sporty One) received at the end of their performance, each one definitely well-earned.

The Boy Band Project will be back at City Winery in August and the Girl Band Project will play the venue in July.  Get information and reservations by visiting the City Winery website HERE.

The Boy Band Project has Instagram HERE and Linktree HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher; visit the Stephen Mosher website HERE.

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