Yachtley Crew don sailor caps to bring coastal California sound to Syracuse
Yachtley Crew fans are nicknamed “crewpies.” Band members compare their fandom to Jimmy Buffett’s because of the social nature of their loyal crowds. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
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As the stage lights of the Mulroy Civic Center Theater faded to black, Starland Vocal Band’s 1976 hit “Afternoon Delight” met the soft glow of two flamingo-shaped neon lights. Yachtley Crew emerged from the stage’s wings and took their places behind instruments and microphones.
Shuffling footsteps migrated to the front rows and cheers reverberated. Then, lights flooded the stage and the first notes of Christopher Cross’ “Ride Like the Wind” electrified the venue.
“We’re going to have lights. We’re going to wear costumes. We’re going to do choreography. We want everybody to leave with a smile on their face and think, ‘Wow, I didn’t know what was going to happen next,’” said Tommy Gardner or “Tommy Buoy,” Yachtley Crew’s lead guitarist.
On Tuesday, Yachtley Crew brought the glistening blue waters of Southern California to Syracuse for a one-night stop on their 2025 “Seas the Night” tour. Dubbed “the world’s #1 yacht rock band” on their Instagram, the group performs soft-rock hits from the 1970s and ‘80s, from Kenny Loggins to Michael McDonald.
At its core, yacht rock is marked by soulful, sweeping harmonies and rich vocals. Yachtley Crew’s definition of the genre, however, is slightly less traditional, Gardner said. Sometimes listeners will argue that certain songs the band performs aren’t typical yacht rock.
But Gardner said if a song captures the essence of being out at sea, on the beach or drinking a piña colada, then Yachtley Crew will still sing it live.
“We have songs in our set that are yacht rock-adjacent,” Gardner said. “We want to play them anyway, just because there’s probably some people that say Hall & Oates isn’t yacht rock. But every time we play ‘You Make My Dreams,’ the audience goes off and screams the lyrics.”
Band members don a uniform of boat shoes, sailor caps and blue suit jackets. Fans mirror the band’s aesthetic with nautical-themed clothes. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
Still, a majority of the band’s setlist was filled with classic yacht rock tunes, like Robbie Dupree’s “Steal Away,” and George Benson’s “Turn Your Love Around.” Even with the live additions of the booming bass of a drum or an infectious saxophone, Gardner said he’s adamant about staying loyal to each song’s original composition.
“We’re playing a song that these people have known all of their lives,” Gardner said. “They’ve heard this song a thousand times and they don’t want to hear my interpretation of the solo. They want to hear me play it like the records, so that’s what we’re going to give them.”
Bandmates galavanted in their uniforms, donning sailor caps with Yachtley Crew’s logo, white pants, tailored blue suit jackets and boat shoes. Toussled mullets emerge from beneath some band members’ hats.
Concertgoer Anne Abbott has been in the front row for all four Yachtley Crew shows she’s attended. She said she enjoys experiencing the thrill of live vocals and has even collected a guitar pick at each performance.
“I just love the energy from this group,” Abbott said.
Fans like Abbott, nicknamed “crewpies,” arrived early to meet up with friends, enjoy nostalgic yacht rock tunes and chat before the night began. At past shows, attendees have shown up in mermaid, pirate or lobster costumes, Gardner said. On Tuesday, however, many were simply outfitted in sailor hats and the associated garb.
Yachtley Crew released their album “Seas the Night” on Sept. 19, featuring 11 songs, 10 of which are covers. They played the work’s Billboard-ranked original single “Pain of Losing You,” written by Diane Warren, during the show.
Gardner said when deciding which songs to put on the album, the band considered which were their biggest hits when performed live. Some of these included Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love,” Ambrosia’s “Biggest Part of Me” and Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing.”
“We stay really faithful to the original recordings, but we also want to give it a modern twist a little bit,” Gardner said. “Maybe I have a little bit more distortion and rocking a little harder than they did back in the ‘70s and ‘80s because we have the technology now to do that.”
Hailing from Auburn, New York, Yachtley Crew fan Paul Gera was back for his second show after seeing the group last year at Point of the Bluff Vineyards on Keuka Lake. He said his favorite cover song from the night was Looking Glass’ “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl).”
“We love this era of music. (Yachtley Crew) just bring such high energy and so much fun,” Gera said.
Since joining the band in 2016 and performing with the group in their first show, Gardner said there’d been lines down the streets. Their venues, like the theater in Syracuse, have always been filled with people singing the lyrics to yacht rock songs at the tops of their lungs.
“I’ve been in a lot of bands throughout my life, but nothing has taken off like this band from show one,” Gardner said.
