Coachella Valley’s backyard music scene is a place where artists can be as creative as possible. There’s no pressure to be perfect, or to make it huge—as both the bands and crowds are focused on the love of music.
Burgundy Blues cut their teeth and honed their sound in the backyard scene, and have gained local support with a captivating mix of chill, somber and slightly funky musical moods. As a local musician, I’ve played many shows with the band, but as a music fan, I’ve been entranced by their sound, which is unlike any other in the valley.
Andrew Russell is at the helm of Burgundy Blues; he writes, records and produces all the songs himself. He utilizes his beautifully haunting voice for lamenting tones on lyrics regarding love and emotional issues, and his music skills provide a nuanced sound on songs from indie ballads like “Lady (Find Me),” to the soulfully somber “Wait Away” and romantically funky “Do U.”
Burgundy Blues is set to perform at the Indio International Tamale Festival, happening Saturday, Dec. 2, and Sunday, Dec. 3, at Miles Avenue Park. For more information, visit indiotamalefestival.com.
“Since a young age, I’ve been into playing guitar, and even going back a little further, I grew up around a lot of that R&B sound,” Russell during a recent interview. “My mom and my dad exposed me to a lot of different types of music, like hip hop, the R&B sound and a lot other stuff like rock. I have a lot of influences that lead into Burgundy Blues a lot. It was a dream of mine to start a band and be in a band playing music. It’s a passion and an outlet, for sure.”
While each band in the backyard music scene is somewhat unique, Burgundy Blues is especially hard to label with one genre or scene.
“I want to stay true to my sound 100 percent,” Russell said. “… If fame was the goal for me, I’d definitely make different types of music. I want to stay true to my roots.”
Russell reflected on “good memories” of the backyard scene, including the beautiful mix of creatives coming together.
“Sometimes, when we would set up a show, we would try to kind of keep it within a certain genre … but even the shows that we played with a bunch of different types of artists and different genres were beautiful,” Russell said. “It’s all part of the experience, and I love hearing different people’s sounds. I’m very versatile with music, and I love playing different types of music. I felt very supported, and I like to support other artists, too.”
Burgundy Blues, being a constant force in this scene before the pandemic, garnered a sizable local following.
“That was a dream come true—just hearing people’s stories of, ‘I danced to your song,’ or, ‘I drive to your song,’ that’s my only goal in music,” Russell said. “I don’t want to do anything else. … I’m sure it’s the same for a lot of artists who play music. It’s very important. It gets you through times, and you resonate with music. It’s very universal.”
For a while, Burgundy Blues could only be heard at live shows, as Russell struggled to find the perfect way to articulate and track his tunes. Finally, in October 2022, he released Vol. 1.
“I’ve seen how my music affected people, and people actually were like, ‘Hey, man, release this,’” Russell said. “I’ve thought the same thing about (other artists), too. … More people started pushing me to do it. My bassist, Emanuel Cazares, is really into recording music, so being around him and a couple of members of my band who have side projects, and seeing them do it inspired me to be like, ‘Man, what am I doing?’ Obviously, like a lot of artists, I’m a very insecure person sometimes, especially about my art. … I kind of got over that, and I’m still recording and planning to release something hopefully this year.”
Since the pandemic, Burgundy Blues has resurfaced live only a handful of times, largely because some of the members—Russell included—have moved away from the valley. When the band does find time for a show, fun and friendship shine through in their performance—and that’s no coincidence.
“I always talk to my band members about, ‘It’s so cool that we’re actually friends,’” Russell said. “We’re homies, so we have a really good chemistry together. Though I make all the songs at home, and they’ll play with me, I love the flavor that they add. It’s different, and that’s always what I wanted. A lot of artists will release an album, and it will sound exactly the same way live, and it’s kind of weird. … I love that we have that chemistry together. We do find the time for shows, and that does push us to get together, but there are many times when we just hang out. It’s not like a co-worker thing.
“I did have those co-worker band members, and we didn’t really jibe personally, so we couldn’t musically communicate,” he said. “We do prioritize our intense friendship a lot more. It’s kind of like the chicken and the egg a little bit—it’s just a perfect balance of being in a band playing together, and just being friends, too.”
Burgundy Blues hasn’t played in the Coachella Valley for more than a year, and the members are excited to return.
“That’s where we started, so it’s always nice to come back,” Russell said. “We’ve got support there, too, even still to this day, which blows my mind sometimes.”
Burgundy Blues will perform at the Indio International Tamale Festival, which takes place Saturday, Dec. 2, and Sunday, Dec. 3, at Miles Avenue Park, 82524 Miles Ave., in Indio. The event is free. For more information, visit indiotamalefestival.com. For more on Burgundy Blues, visit instagram.com/burgundyblues.