In the past few years Cherry Poppin' Daddies have become the kind of band that you would want to book if you were throwing a soiree at the Gatsby mansion. Penning elegant, lush, pitch perfect arrangements of much of the great American songbook, from Cole Porter to Frank Sinatra, the Daddies have surprised many - likely familiar with them from the early 90's- whose limited exposure to the band undoubtedly consists of an image of spray painted vans careening across the US as an iconoclastic, misfit part of an already marginalized punk/ska scene.

In fact the Daddies have of late put together a number of excellent swing/ jazz sit down theatre type shows, each tailored to a different era of swing music: a “Jazz Age Lawn Party” consisting of roaring 20's and Cotton Club Era material, a swanky “Live at the Sands” type tribute to the Rat Pack, and a World War 2 “Christmas Canteen” show that is part Tiki, part Benny Goodman and comes across like a radio broadcast from Guadalcanal circa 1942. The sheer craftsmanship and professional attention to detail of these performances have shed new light on this criminally underestimated band.

On top of being a show band nonpareil, the Daddies have an “oh by the way” double platinum ability to pen original material that, while influenced by a history of American popular music, is wholly modern lyrically, and itself stands up as classic. The 1997 release of Zoot Suit Riot set the bar for the neo-swing movement of the era in terms of originality, lyrical depth, and flat out musical sales.