The California Honeydrops

The California Honeydrops don’t just play music—they throw parties. Led by dynamic vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Lech Wierzynski, and drawing on diverse musical influences from R&B, funk, Southern soul, Delta blues, and New Orleans second-line, the Honeydrops bring vibrant energy and infectious dance-party vibes to their shows. The California Honeydrops will be bringing the party to Australia on their first ever headline tour in November 2015. “…There’s a band out of the Bay Area where I live called the California Honeydrops… they’re getting a lot of play on my turntable lately.” – BONNIE RAITT They’ve taken the party all over the world: on 9 European tours, featured slots at such premiere festivals as Monterey Jazz, High Sierra, and Outside Lands, and recent performances supporting B.B. King, Dr. John, Buddy Guy, and Allen Toussaint. Whether in those high-profile performances or in more intimate venues where the band itself can leave the stage and get down on the dance floor, the California Honeydrops’ shared vision and purpose remain: to make the audience dance and sing. “Though from Oakland, their Southern-fried jazz is so authentic that [audiences] may wonder whether they’ve been transported to the Big Easy.” – LA TIMES The Honeydrops have come a long way since guitarist and trumpeter Lech Wierzynkski and drummer Ben Malament started busking in an Oakland BART station, but the band has stayed true to that organic, street-level feel. With the additions of Johnny Bones on tenor sax and clarinet, Lorenzo Loera on keyboards, and Beau Bradbury on bass, they’ve built a powerful full-band sound to support Wierzynski’s vocals. “…The California Honeydrops, from Oakland, are the most refreshing act to roll down the blues highway in some time. Few groups before them have melded so many strains of African American music into such a seamless whole…” – LIVING BLUES MAGAZINE Listening to Lech sing, it can be a surprise that he was born in Warsaw, Poland, and raised by Polish political refugees. He learned his vocal stylings from contraband American recordings of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and Louis Armstrong, and later at Oberlin College and on the club circuit in Oakland, California. Bringing all those influences together with the rest of the band’s diverse experiences into a unified musical vision, the California