Album Review: Wig Party - 99th Birthday

Written by Abigail Amor

New Jersey jam band with a big sound, Wig Party, just released their newest three song EP, 99th Birthday, in October 2018. The EP is only three tracks, but it’s just enough to get their awesome feeling for fun and playfulness across. With the assistance of a few big-hitters and friends, their newest creation was recorded at Mix-O-Lydian Studios in Water Gap, PA. The band had superstar producer assistance from Tim Carbone of Railroad Earth and Gene Paul (a nine-time Grammy Award winner) as the studio engineer.

Wig Party took a hiatus for a while when some tragedy struck, but they have since been reunited and revitalized with a new mixture of musicians and sounds. Coming from the South, I had not heard of them, but they definitely have a lot of friends in the Northeast, evidenced by special guest Andy Goessling of Railroad Earth who appears on the album to play the sax on “Rubber Bullet.” They have played at some “hell-a” good afterparties and pre-parties, playing after Trey Anastasio while in New Jersey and Bob Weir and Phil Lesh Duo in New York City which allows me to assume their live shows must be amazing. Just from listening to the EP I can tell they love improv, jamming, and having a good time. I am irresistibly attracted to their upbeat, fun, soulful and bubbly sound. I can hear a definite Phish influence in the lead singer’s voice: Vincent Ventriglia – lead guitar and vocals. His voice is smooth and positive with a way of telling a story while he sings. It will draw you in to listen to the lyrics and the story he is playing.

You can listen to their new EP on Spotify or buy it on Amazon, iTunes, or contact the band on Facebook if you want to have a tangible copy – the artwork is pretty cool. I recommend it. It is already added to my playlist on Spotify. Check out the band’s upcoming tour dates below and head out for some fun times!