Suds & songs: Sneaky Creatures play Reno Craft Beer Week

Sneaky
The Sneaky Creatures and great hops will fill The Saint on Saturday.

Mmm … Beer.

The oldest and most popular alcoholic drink on the planet is celebrated at the June 2-10 Reno Craft Beer Week, including at a celebration last Saturday at The Saint in Reno. The midtown music hall is the Brasserie Saint James barrel house. The hosts have collaborated with Pigeon Head Brewery and will tap a new flavor, Apricot Boysenberry Sour.

The show opened with the Ramblin’ Rounders and was headlined by the eclectic Lake Tahoe band Sneaky Creatures, which includes saxophonist Kevin Drake, the co-founder of Alibi Ale Works.

Like his beers, Drake’s band is seasonal.

“You know how Tahoe goes,” he said. “We might play four shows one month and then nothing for a couple of months. We have 10 shows booked already this summer.”

Comprised of veteran musicians and working professionals, Sneaky Creatures was formed more than four years ago by singer-songwriter and electric guitarist Josh Roelle and stand-up bassist Kerry Andras. Todd Holway plays keyboards, Lena Meyer the trombone and trumpet, Jesse Steele is on trumpet, and the drummer is Steve Saturno.

“We’re not trying to tour,” Drake said. “We’re pretty content staying close to home and having fun doing it.

“We definitely have a good time playing together,” he said. “The band is cohesive. We’re all really close friends and, because we don’t play too often, we never really get on each other’s case. There’s no band politics.”

With its musicianship and instrumentation – rhythm section, vocal harmonies, horn section, keyboard and guitar — Sneaky Creatures can and will play almost any musical style. It’s debut album is titled “Dirt Circus.”

“Like my brewing philosophy, we play a wide variety of music,” Drake said. “It’s really hard to put us into one genre. It’s pretty much impossible. We like to keep it fresh and draw upon a lot of influences.

“We draw on jazz, rock, rockabilly, country, swing, gypsy-jazz, electronic, funk, gospel and even a little hip-hop feel in a few songs.”

Editor’s note: Visit Tahoe Onstage next week for a story about a new craft beer and music venue that will soon open in Truckee.

  • Festival website: Renocraftbeerweek.com

ABOUT Tim Parsons

Tim Parsons
Tim Parsons is the editor of Tahoe Onstage who first moved to Lake Tahoe in 1992. Before starting Tahoe Onstage in 2013, he worked for 29 years at newspapers, including the Tahoe Daily Tribune, Eureka Times-Standard and Contra Costa Times. He was the recipient of the 2011 Keeping the Blues Alive award for Journalism.

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