As our Lollapalooza weekend in Chicago wound down, we found ourselves in the sleek, intimate Omakase Room at Sushi-san, preparing for our second-to-last session, a performance with the ever-talented UK band Bôa. Normally used for a ten-seat dining experience led by a Master Sushi Chef, the room features white marbling, warm lighting, and an elegant, modern atmosphere. But instead of serving an 18-course meal, Bôa perched on the chef’s platform and served something entirely different: a beautifully stripped-back set of music from across their catalog.
[embedded content]
The trio, Jasmine Rodgers (vocals, guitar), Carlos Garcia (guitar), and Robin Diaz (percussion), created a full and immersive sound between the three of them. I walked into the room as they were rehearsing and knew right away we were in for something special. Their music felt like stepping back into the soundtrack of a late ’90s or early 2000s film. The music was slightly gothic, but not dark, emotionally rich without ever being too heavy-handed.
They started off their set with “Whiplash,” the title track from their 2024 album, representing the band’s welcome return to releasing new music. Rich guitar chords mixed with Jasmine’s soothing vocals as Robin rounded out the arrangement with his percussion. They seemed very happy to be playing the song, and it’s always a gift to watch artists who seem to get just as much out of playing the song as the audience does.They pivoted into “Duvet,” the iconic single from their 1998 album The Race of a Thousand Camels, reissued as Twilight in 2001. In 2021, the song experienced a massive resurgence on TikTok, with hundreds of thousands of uses for the song, bringing Bôa back to the global spotlight. I remember vividly in my personal life hearing most of my friends listening to the song frequently, as if it were a hit that had just been released. Hearing it live in such an intimate room was proof to me that Bôa possessed real, authentic talent, as they managed to sound just as good playing the song in a minimalist arrangement all these years later as they did in the studio. I particularly enjoyed the guitar solo section of this song, as Jasmine and Carlos played complex, interwoven guitar parts that gave a brief ethereal and orchestral feel.
They finished with “Twilight,” also from the 2001 album, written in London during a period when Jasmine was immersed in vampire novels, a detail she shared with charisma and laughter before the song. The song’s cinematic, gothic-leaning sound made perfect sense after hearing its origin.
Bôa were some of the kindest people we met all weekend. Cracking jokes and sharing sushi with such a talented group is something I will remember fondly. Thanks to their generosity, I even caught them again in Brooklyn a week later, where their full-band set only highlighted to me how special our cozy session truly was, and how fortunate we were to capture it for release.
Huge thanks to Lettuce Entertain You, Shure Microphones, and the team at Sushi-san River North for helping make this great session happen, and to Bôa for providing us with the wonderful tunes. Keep an eye out for more Paste Studio “On the Road” sessions!
