The Lobbyists are a band and music & theater collective that creates plays and concerts which explore the American mythos. They formed in 2012, and take their name from the lobby of The Flea Theater in New York City, where the group first started playing and writing music together. The New York Times calls their songs “marvelous” and their musicianship “impressive,” Entertainment Weekly praises their SeaWife score as “enchanting,” The New Yorker calls their music "terrific," and The Village Voice lauds them as “undeniably talented.”
Their music for SeaWife, a haunted tale of the American whaling trade, was nominated for a 2016 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in a Musical, and will be featured in the National Alliance of Musical Theater’s 2019 Festival in New York.
They have played some of New York's favorite concert venues, including Joe's Pub at the Public Theater, Rockwood Music Hall, 54 Below, Pete's Candy Store, Ars Nova, The Bowery Electric, The Bitter End, and more. Their music and plays have been developed with New York Stage & Film, The Cape Cod Theater Project, Rhinebeck Writers’ Retreat, Musical Theatre Factory, Ars Nova and several other groups. Their debut full-length album, Songs from SeaWife, was released January 9th 2017 and is available widely online. Tommy is bandleader, music director, and a founding member of the sextet. The group is currently at work on The Golden Spike, a new project about Chinese immigration and the Transcontinental Railroad with playwright Don Nguyen; Miss Mitchell, a musical about America’s first professional female astronomer, Maria Mitchell, with playwright Kristin Slaney; and other new projects.
For upcoming show dates and performances, albums, and ways to follow the group, please visit wearethelobbyists.com.
The Lobbyists at Joe's Pub, Sept. 2015
Songs from SeaWife (EP)
Tommy Crawford - lead vocals (2 & 4), background vocals, guitars, slide (1), accordion (3)
Eloïse Eonnet - lead vocals (5), background vocals, tambourine, shakers
Alex Grubbs - lead vocals (1), background vocals, mandolin, guitar (5), banjo (1)
Will Turner - lead vocals (3), background vocals, banjo (2, 3, 6)
Tony Vo - lead vocals (6), background vocals, drums, percussion, guitar (6)
Douglas Waterbury-Tieman - background vocals (1, 5, 6), fiddle
with Eric Allen - cello
All songs written by The Lobbyists and © 2014/2015 The Lobbyists
Johnnycake Hill: Music and lyrics by Alex Grubbs
Farewell to Southampton: Music and lyrics by Tommy Crawford
Scary Night: Music and lyrics by Will Turner
Sing Me Silence, SeaWife: Music by Tommy Crawford, Lyrics by Tommy Crawford and Seth Moore
Fireflower: Music and lyrics by Tommy Crawford and Will Turner with The Lobbyists
Glory: Music and lyrics by Tony Vo, arranged by Tommy Crawford
Recorded at Spin Studios in Long Island City, Queens, and Analogue Muse, New York City
Chief Recording and Mixing Engineer Geoff Strasser
Produced by Geoff Strasser and Tommy Crawford
Mastered by Jacob Blumberg at Mason Jar Music Studios, Brooklyn
SeaWife illustration by Seth Moore
Band portraits by Travis Schlaht
Album design by Darren Melchiorre.
Our Home - EP
Engineered and mixed by Lane Banning at Moonlab Studios in Brooklyn
Recorded October 17-19 and November 7, 2012
Mastered by Tim Boyce at Masterdisk in New York City
Produced by Tommy Crawford and Will Turner
Photography by Crystal Arnette
Art and design by Matt Culbreth
Tommy Crawford: lead vocals (5), backing vocals, guitar
Will Turner: lead vocals (4), backing vocals, banjo, nylon string guitar, mandolin (3)
Alex Grubbs: lead vocals (3), backing vocals, mandolin, guitar (3)
Tony Vo: lead vocals (2), backing vocals, percussion
Eloïse Eonnet: backing vocals, tambourine
All songs written by The Lobbyists and © 2013 The Lobbyists
Ramblin': Music and lyrics by Tommy Crawford, Alex Grubbs, and Will Turner
Sunshine: Music and lyrics by Tony Vo
Loneliest Corner: Music and lyrics by Alex Grubbs
Bonny Tim: Music and lyrics by Will Turner
Our Home: Music and lyrics by Tommy Crawford