Vine Street Alternative began playing in Kalamazoo in 2005, where they carved out a surprising niche as a high-energy acoustic jazz trio capable of sharing stages with much louder rock bands, and stunning audiences with reinvented pop covers and oddball-yet-memorable original anthems. After relocating to Brooklyn together, the band continued playing shows until 2011 when they took a hiatus before ever formally releasing a recording.

After eight years without playing a note together, the band reunited to record their long-awaited first album Boffo: a tight-knit, punchy record that combines campy humor with tender interplay and delicious skronk. The album became possible as drummer Jon Wert and saxophonist Karel vanBeekom spent just one week of 2019 with Chicago bassist John Sutton writing, recording, and performing new music. Boffo was released digitally in December 2020. The album was finished with the feverish energy that defined the band’s inception, but now with the focus and clarity of veteran experience.