The Growlers’ Beach Goth Halloween Scares Up A Pair of Sellouts, Adds Third Date at Palladium

Taylor Bonin – Beach Goths
The Growlers’ Beach Goth Festival consistently sells out.

The Growlers’ Beach Goth Festival, now in its eighth year after launching in 2012, has something in common with Coachella: both events sell out before their lineups are announced. In fact, this year’s iteration, which started on Halloween and runs through Nov. 2, sold out two nights at the fabled 5,000-seat Hollywood Palladium, where it is being held for the first time, and added a third evening, all without publicizing the scheduled acts until a half-hour before the show’s start.

Starting in the Growlers’ home turf of Orange County, Calif., Beach Goth has migrated through the years to the L.A. Waterfront, the Observatory in Santa Ana (which sued them for trade infringement for the use of the name) and, last year, the Los Angeles State Historic Park. Beach Goth’s eclectic booking has featured Julian Casablancas (who produced the Growlers’ 2016 album City Club), Gucci Mane, Die Antwoord, Grimes, Jonathan Richman, GWAR, Dan Auerbach, Modest Mouse and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, along with costume contests, amusement park rides, drag queens and even live performances of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” in 2015, when the event was hosted by Pauly Shore. And while Live Nation has been involved in the past, with this year’s Beach Goth, The Growlers are back on their own.

On Halloween night, Beach Goth led off with an impressively diverse lineup, including 83-year-old reggae legend Lee “Scratch” Perry, Aussie surf-rock trio Skegss, Atlanta garage-rockers Black Lips and Miami bass hip-hop group 69 Boyz. The Growlers’ set followed, marking the Oct. 25 release of their self-produced sixth studio album, Natural Affair, on their own Beach Goth Records & Tapes label.

Lead singer Brooks Nielsen, who founded the band with guitarist Matt Taylor when the two were still attending high school in Dana Point, Calif., has developed The Growlers from the local club scene – they were signed by L.A. indie Everloving Records, which put out their 2009 debut Are You In Or Out? – into a marketable live attraction capable of selling nearly 15,000 tickets for these three Palladium shows in L.A. And that’s without any of the usual tools – radio play, media attention or tour support.

“We’ve kept up a work ethic, while knowing what we have to offer,” Nielsen says when describing the band’s steady upward climb. “Our albums were all homemade, and they were not mainstream or for everybody. But people continued sharing them. The crowd keeps getting younger, and the shows keep being more fun. We know we’re a touring band; that’s what keeps us alive. We’re performers, road dogs… very old school.”

Nielsen and the rest of the group’s taste informs how the annual Beach Goth Festival takes shape. “We know what we like, and we know what our fans will like, too,” he says. “This is our world, one we’re very familiar with. We don’t even have a team doing this. It’s just the band, and a few people, like our longtime manager Jared Flamm [of Danny Rose]. It goes back to the very beginning of The Growlers, when we put on our own warehouse shows. It has almost an illegal feel.

“Organizing Beach Goth is the most difficult, stressful part of the year for us, but at the same time, it is worth it. These shows don’t feel like any other festivals we play. I think the festival experience has a bad ring to it these days. This is a Growlers-curated party. And the fans trust us enough to buy tickets in advance without us announcing who’ll be playing. It’s more exciting this way. Come early and see what we have in store.”

The Growlers recently signed with WME for touring, repped by veteran Nashville-based Adam Voith, who joined the agency from The Billions Corporation 18 months ago and brought along a roster that includes Vampire Weekend, Mumford & Sons, Bon Iver, the Mountain Goats and Hiss Golden Messenger. Before this, manager Flamm handled the band’s tour booking.

“I’ve been a fan of the Growlers since their first record,” says Voith. “Their foundation is so sturdy, we’re just here to help them elevate that to a larger platform, to do some heavy lifting to take them to the next step. I’ve just been waiting patiently for the band and its management to come to the same conclusion.” 

Nielsen explained the band keeps everything in-house for Beach Goth, even with the addition of WME’s Voith. “It’s always good to get the input of smart people,” he notes. “We keep it tight, which means we’ve been able to build this little machine ourselves, but we thought maybe it’s time to try something new. Hopefully, it will help us get more attention.”

New album Natural Affair finds the band extending its musical palette into ‘80s synth pop-funk amidst its patented melodies and jangly riffs, with a sound that could augur a “Feel It Still”-style Top 40 breakthrough – but that’s not Brooks concern.

“It’s basically me and [guitarist] Matt [Taylor], who created most of the music on our records… the same process it’s been from the start,” he explains. “We’ve always been put in that lo-fi garage band box, but we still want to grow and change. We’re slow growers and late bloomers, but I don’t mind our trajectory. I worry about us getting a little bit better, a little bit smarter, a little bit stronger, and continue to force ourselves to be creative. It just feels right to me.”

The Growlers’ two-week, 11-city spring tour in support of Natural Affair begins at San Diego’s Soma on March 6 and wraps at San Francisco’s Warfield on March 20, with dates in Phoenix, El Paso, Santa Fe, Boulder, Salt Lake City, Reno, San Luis Obispo, Ventura and Santa Cruz.

“As far as opportunities, The Growlers have been undervalued,” concludes Voith. “The Growlers are a fundamental L.A. rock band that everyone should know about, but don’t.” 

In Beach Goth they trust to keep spreading the word on The Growlers, who have been hiding in plain sight, but may be ready to step into the spotlight on their own.