Yam Haus @ Mercury Lounge
Yam Haus released their first single in 2019 and have taken off since. The band consists of four members: Lars Pruitt, lead singer; Zach Beinlich, guitar; Isaac Levy, bass; and Jake Felstow, drums.
The group’s musical talents weave together to create a mix of modern indie and buoyant pop, the kind of addicting music that sets the mood,or that creates a nostalgic feeling of a song playing from a cult-classic coming of age movie, the one song that keeps playing after the movie is over.
Playing at the Mercury Lounge at the end of September 2022, Yam Haus closed their spring 2023 tour in New York City at the same venue, coming back to play yet another high energy show that is so addicting the people just have to come back.
The show kicked off as Pruitt saluted the sound guy, and the band immediately started playing. Right away it was evident that Pruitt’s natural stage presence and high energy drew the crowd in and created a connection. His dancing was immediately reflected in the crowd, the people moving along with him, almost like dancing in the mirror when no one is watching. At one point in the show Pruitt even said, “All my insecurities go away when I shake my ass for you guys,” and the audience immediately erupted into supportive cheers.
During a break between songs someone in the crowd shouted, “is the guitar player single?” Pruitt responded with, “Someone just asked if the guitar player is single. Yes, HE IS! But he’s emotionally unavailable.” A mix of cheers and laughs circulated; the reigning joke about their single guitar player is a constant on social media and the audience loved that it was brought up.
It seemed that Pruitt was ecstatic to be back in New York. Throughout the entire gig he said “New York City” at some point in almost every song, and in the space between when he was talking to the crowd. It could have been a drinking game- take a shot every time he says New York City. He was that excited to be finishing off the tour.
In the middle of their show Pruitt went up to the mic and said, “I was just informed we sold out the Mercury Lounge!” Cheers swirled as the sold out room celebrated the night.
Throughout their set, Yam Haus played a mix of released and unreleased originals. Some included “The Thrill”, “Making Out In Cars”, “Phoning It In”, and “Rafters”. They also announced a new song, “Sand Castle,” that is set to be released May 12th. They played “Ready To Go”, the song which the band played in NBC’s American Song Contest, representing their home state of Minnesota. When introducing the song at the gig, Pruitt said, “we lost, but it was a fun time.”
During the last song of the set, and the last song of the nation-wide tour, Yam Haus invited the opening band, Landon Conrath, on stage. Both bands had wide smiles and the audience responded by mirroring their actions and happy energy. Yam Haus even split the crowd down the middle and invited people to peacefully join in on a mosh pit. The opening band jumped down into the crowd and everyone jumped together like a high school prom mosh pit, ending the night filled with memories of electric energy and songs still running through the mind.
Yam Haus announced they would be back in New York City in the fall. Follow them on Instagram, Spotify, and TikTok to keep up with their latest updates.