Night Beats are an American psychedelic/garage rock band, formed in 2009 in Seattle, Washington. Named after the Sam Cooke album 'Night Beat',[1] the band consists of lead singer and guitarist Danny "Lee Blackwell" Rajan Billingsley[2] as the only permanent member. Blackwell self-released the Street (Atomic) EP in 2009.
After beginning a musical career at 15, Danny Lee Rajan "Blackwell" Billingsley began recording as Night Beats when he moved to Seattle from his hometown of Dallas, TX.
Night Beats toured extensively early on, completing multiple North American tours during 2010 and were signed within weeks of self-releasing the H-Bomb EP. Picked up by Chicago's Trouble in Mind Records (Ty Segall, Fresh and Only's, Hex Dispensers, etc.).[3] The re-release of the EP topped several college radio charts competing with other Artists' full-length efforts. (September 6, 2010)[4]
Original band lineup
On June 28, 2011 the band released their self-titled debut album via Trouble In Mind.[5] They also released a split EP with The UFO Club on the Austin label The Reverberation Appreciation Society. A split single with TRMRS was released in June 2012 via Volcom Vinyl Club.[6]
On September 24, 2013, the band released their second album "Sonic Bloom" via The Reverberation Appreciation Society.[7] They toured North America, Europe, Israel, South Africa and Australia in support of the album.
In 2015, the band signed to London-based label Heavenly Recordings and released their third album "Who Sold My Generation" in January 2016. The album featured Black Rebel Motorcycle Club member Robert Levon Been on bass, who also co-produced the album.[8]
On January 28, 2019, the band released their fourth album Myth Of A Man. The album was recorded by Billingsley with producer and Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach. For the sessions, Billingsley was backed by a cast of old time session musicians who had worked with the likes of Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin.
Later that year, on June 21, 2019, studio album: Night Beats Perform The Sonics 'Boom' was released.
Then in late 2020, Blackwell signed Night Beats to Fuzz Club Records. Outlaw R&B, the next Night Beats studio album was released on June 4, 2021.[9] A live album, Levitation Sessions, was released via The Reverberation Appreciation Society in August 2021.[10]
In 2022, Danny teamed up with Carolina Faruolo (ex-Los Bitchos) to release the Tropicalia influenced album Monte Carlo on the Seattle based Suicide Squeeze Records.[11] He also has a collaborative project called UFO Club, with Christian Bland from the band the Black Angels. Notably, the song "Right/Wrong," was the official song of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival in 2022.
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