Although my musical horizons have been expanding recently, I had honestly never heard of surf pop or cosmic indie surf before I heard Bikini Trill in support of 311 and Dirty Heads at Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. You know what, though? I like it! A lot! Bikini Trill’s sound is kind of hard to describe, but cosmic indie surf is actually pretty accurate. And I’m 100% sure that it’s related to the reason the gates for this show opened at 4:20 PM.
Bikini Trill’s lead singer Lauren Johnson (LJ) bounded onto the stage in a wild, neon tropical outfit that completely contrasted with her polished, silky vocals, while bassist Kourosh Poursalehi (Roach) and guitarist Tony Stern jammed in a manner that was somehow focused, yet dreamy and laid back at the same time. Touring percussionist Kenny Galbraith (Gken) smoothly alternated between the drum kit and toms, throwing in some shakers and even some cowbell for emphasis. With their positive vibes and fun stage presence, I know this SoCal band made a bunch of new Indiana fans Friday night, myself included!