Bahamas: The Indie Dad you always wanted

By Andrew Johnson

On Thursday night I went to see indie rock artist Bahamas at the House of Blues Boston, alongside a crowd of mostly fellow twenty-somethings. This was not my first time seeing Bahamas, and it won't be the last.

Bahamas is the stage name of Afie Jurvanen, a middle-aged Canadian musician who simply embodies dad vibes, which are best be described as tell-tale behaviors of a father, such as grilling during summer, wearing lots of clothing made out of denim, making silly jokes out of nowhere: dad vibes make you feel a nostalgia that does not exist. Part of the appeal of seeing Bahamas is this behavior and Afie knows it.

More than just hearing the audience sing along to a great song, the experience was filled with the laughter of the crowd as Afie stopped in the middle of a chorus to joke about debt. One of the greatest factors of seeing him live is this audience interaction. Everyone in the crowd knew every beat to every song and would not just sing along, but would sing background choruses or imitate his pink strate.

In true, open-armed fatherly fashion, Bahamas are not only for people who know all the songs, Bahamas are for everyone. Anyone can connect to his improvised pentatonic riffs and the way he talks to the crowd; we all deserve to  hear the crowd sing the chorus to “Opening Act '' and the chill chorus of “I Got You Babe” . To quote Jurvanen: “there might be other artists cooler or more famous, but no one is chill like me”.