St. Lucia explores a musical 'Utopia' in October

Led by husband-and-wife duo South Africa-born, Jean-Philip Grobler and Germany-born Patti Beranek, synth-pop band St. Lucia, arrives with their new single “Hey Now.” The track is accompanied by a visualizer shot in various locations throughout NYC. The band’s fourth studio album, Utopia, will be released on Oct. 7 via Nettwerk.

St. Lucia has partnered with Nifty Gateway and established Nifty artist, Tormius, to create four NFTs tied to songs from the Utopia album. The first drop is slated for August 16 with the group’s previous single, “Touch,” and “Hey Now” NFTs available for purchase.

“Phew, what a journey ‘Hey Now’ has been on,” says Jean-Philip Grobler. “To me, it is the emotional core of this whole new era of St. Lucia. It’s the song I always play first when I sit down at a piano now. I’m so thankful that these magical chords came to mind one night in the early stages of the pandemic: it feels like somebody patting you on the back or giving you a hug to tell you everything will be ok.”

WATCH + SHARE “HEY NOW” https://youtu.be/uLAM5kpxNsI

On the “Hey Now” visualizer, director Nicole Lipp shares this: “Running around Jean’s old stomping grounds with a Rhodes and a Hi8 camcorder was so much fun. I loved hearing Jean’s stories and memories from all the places we trekked through. ‘Hey Now’ is a really personal and emotional song so it felt right to create a simple, organic, personal visual with to go with it!”

In July, St. Lucia had shared their lead single “Touch” off their forthcoming Utopia. The track was complemented with a music video directed by Nicole Lipp and featuring LGBTQ+ dancer/actor Liv Mai along with Canyon Carballosa, an inspiring advocate for both the LGBTQ+ and autistic communities.

On the group’s forthcoming alnbum, Jean-Philip says, “We at St. Lucia HQ are beyond excited (giddy, in fact) to reveal the next stage of our new musical era: ‘Utopia,’ the full album. Yes, yes, it’s true that we have been stringing you along a little bit, but in our opinion there’s nothing wrong with a little tease, and it might in fact lead to a more satisfying conclusion. ‘Utopia I’ makes up the first half on the album, like a side A, and our upcoming new release, ‘Utopia II,’ makes up the second half of the album, like a side B (remember from the heady days of vinyl?). The journey continues our search for the meaning of ‘Utopia’ through all the joy, sadness, and irony of our modern existence. Is ‘Utopia’ in the extremes, or is it in the tug-of-war between the extremes? Join us over the next few months for more clarity.”

St. Lucia will embark on a six-week tour starting in October, which will mark their first full headline run in four years. The Dutch musician and YouTube star, Blanks, and synth-rocker Caroline Kingsbury, will support on select dates. See below for the full set of dates. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit stlucianewyork.com/live.

"Hey Now" is available on DSPs here: https://stlucia.ffm.to/heynow

Track List:

1. ()

2. Separate World 3. Another Lifetime 4. Rocket On My Feet 5. The Golden Age 6. Memory 7. Take Me Away 8. Touch 9. Gimme The Night 10. )( 11. Shame 12. … 13. Hey Now

Tour Dates:

10/6 - Charlottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theatre * 10/7 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club * 10/8 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts * 10/9 - New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall * 10/11 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird Café & Music Hall * 10/13 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club ^ 10/14 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall ^ 10/15 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew’s Hall ^ 10/16 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues ^ 10/18 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater ^ 10/19 - Kansas City, MO @ The Truman ^ 10/21 - Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre ^ 10/24 - Seattle, WA @ The Showbox ^ 10/25 - Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom ^ 10/26 - Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theatre ^ 10/28 - Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades ^ 10/29 - San Francisco, CA @ August Hall ^ 10/30 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre ^ 11/1 - Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory 11/2 - San Diego, CA @ Belly Up 11/4 - Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom 11/5 - Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf 11/7 - Austin, TX @ Emo’s 11/8 - Dallas, TX @ The Studio at The Factory 11/9 - Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live 11/11 - Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre 11/12 - Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl 11/13 - Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre 11/15 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel (SOLD OUT) 11/16 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel (JUST ADDED) * with Caroline Kingsbury ^ with Blanks