They’re one of the most innovate bands around and, now, a Belgian audience will be treated to an all-too-rare appearance.

Postmodern Jukebox has amassed over 2.2 billion YouTube views and 6.4 million YouTube subscribers since its launch in 2011.

The band, also known as Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, is now embarking on a world tour that, happily, also includes a visit to Brussels this Spring.

The Belgian performance is, however, just for one night  (May 7) so, as tickets will be at a premium, the advice is to book quickly if you want to catch this highly entertaining American entourage.

For those unfamiliar with them, the band is a rotating musical collective founded by New York-based pianist Scott Bradlee in 2011. It’s best known for reworking popular modern music into different vintage genres, especially early 20th century forms such as swing and jazz.

They have toured North America, Europe, and Australia; often simultaneously due to the extensive discography and the numerous artists and performers involved in the project.

Each week, Postmodern Jukebox releases a new video on YouTube (it’s most popular song is said to be “Creep” with more than 50,000 page views).

Although originally most videos were filmed casually in Bradlee’s apartment living room, sets became more elaborate over time and the band has covered songs by artists ranging from Lady Gaga and the Strokes to Katy Perry and the White Stripes.

Since their beginnings as a small group of friends making music in a basement in Queens, New York, the band has gone on to feature 70 different performers, including singers, horn sections, and tap dancers, and toured across no less than six continents.

From a tiny YouTube project in a NYC apartment it’s grown to a global touring act with live shows focusing on a nostalgic, retro atmosphere, often encouraging audiences to get in on the act by dressing in vintage attire.

Bradlee explains the band’s origins: “I  had been toying with the idea of ‘classing up’ pop music for a while, but I finally decided to make the jump into putting together a full band for a recording of Lady Gaga’s hit song, ‘Paparazzi.’

“I reached out to some of my most talented friends from college: bassist Chris Anderson, saxophonist Ben Golder-Novick, Brandee Younger and vocalist Emma Walker.  I didn’t have any music prepared, just a general idea.”

He well remembers  the first Postmodern Jukebox video one he and his colleagues made. It was back in 2010, and he was living in a basement apartment in Astoria, New York “trying to figure out just what he was going to do with myself.”  

He says, “I was in my late twenties, had dropped out of school, and was stuck with a ton of student loan debt.  Making YouTube videos certainly did not seem a viable options at the time, but at least it was a creative escape.”

He and his chums set a date to record their debut track on February 20, 2010.

He adds, “After recording, I synced the audio to the video that I captured on a cheap Flip camcorder, and placed a music video-style title in the bottom right corner.”

He adds, “I called the series “Postmodern Jukebox” – a name that both appealed to my [failed] academic aspirations, and also because it just sounded like a self-explanatory name for this project. 

“I chose Postmodern” because it broke down some of the walls between genres by blending the old with the new, and “Jukebox” because it focused on pop songs that were familiar to a lot of people.”

He goes on, “I had no idea that this name would come to receive the recognition that it has today.”

So, what, exactly, is Postmodern Jukebox?

“To this day, it’s not an easy question to answer,” he admits, adding “because despite being seen as a “vintage” movement (and not the first one of its kind), it’s a brand new style of entertainment.”

“But it is something that I’m proud of. In the years that followed, we’ve stayed independent and found success our own path without major label support or corporate sponsors, allowing our fans to remain our single biggest influence.”

The band plays La Madeliene in rue Duquesnoy, Brussels on 7 May as part of the “Future is Vintage” tour which also takes in numerous appearances in other countries, including  Paris (28  April), the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the UK (see website for full details).

Further info: https://postmodernjukebox.com/