Inside the Joy of Ripe with Frontman Robbie Wulfsohn

From toy drives to the wild unknown — a new tour, a new record, and toys to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Our fellow Bostonian’s, and Berklee alumni, Ripe, kick off their U.S. headline tour at The Pour House in Charleston, SC today. The series of dates will run through the spring, making stops in major cities such as New York City, Atlanta, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles and more, providing fans with a chance to dance and collectively revel in the magic of Ripe’s live show. The band has just announced that they will be holding a toy drive at each stop on the tour, collecting donations from their fans at all venues and delivering them to local Boys & Girls Clubs of America in each tour market.

It’s simple — bring a toy, receive exclusive Ripe music (One of the album’s bonus tracks. Email addresses from people dropping off toys will be collected and then a password will be sent out that night. The link will live on Ripe’s website).

Additionally, Ripe will release their independent full-length debut, Joy In The Wild Unknown, on April 6th.

Ripe has established themselves as spirited live band, who on stage truly live up to their mission of exemplifying and spreading the joy of music. We recently caught up with Ripe frontman, Robbie Wulfsohn, just prior to the band heading out on the road. Here, Wulfsohn takes us inside the Ripe’s concept for pairing their tour with a toy drive, the new music and more.

Robbie Wulfsohn

Why a Toy Drive:

I don’t know if I will ever stop being completely blown away by the idea of playtime. The idea that, as we develop from children into adults, we take joy in the creation of fictional events for ourselves that we then get to live through, in the investing of sometimes random and unrelated objects with (momentarily) enormous meaning.

Without sounding like a Picasso quote, I think a lot of the way I keep my head above water when life gets especially crazy hearkens back to things I learned through playtime. While I may be a lot less reliant on my Dragon Flyz flying action figures, I don’t know if I would be able to make music from a centered place without them in my past. I think the opportunity to give that feeling to someone else, especially someone who otherwise may not have it, is what drew us to the toy drive.

Ripe’s New Record:

This feeling, of being out of your depth, of figuring it out as you go, and of finding a deeper happiness as a result, this is the feeling of Joy in the WiId Unknown. This album is the culmination of our slow progression from house-party band to touring outfit, from kids with some ideas to kids with cohesive and thou-out vision. It is the seven of us exploring Joy from as many different sides as possible, always with the intention of elevating that feeling of joy until it is felt as deeply as any sorrow.

The Vibe of Ripe Live:

It is us trying to capture the moments of ecstatic release at our concerts — where the crowd is feeding the band while the band in turn feeds the crowd and all of a sudden as a result you’re experiencing the feeling of belonging, of mattering, of being understood, and you’re doing the whole thing with a thousand like-minded souls who all showed up because they wanted to feel the same way you feel — in a format that then exists forever. No choreography necessary, all dance moves are encouraged. We can’t wait to see you there!

~Robbie

RIPE 2018 TOUR DATES:
March 21 Charleston, SC @ The Pour House
March 22 Asheville, NC @ Isis Restaurant & Music
March 23 Charlotte, NC @ Visulite Theatre
March 24 Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre
March 25 Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern Café and Music Hall
March 28 Birmingham, AL @ WorkPlay Theatre
March 29 Atlanta, GA @ The Loft
March 30 Tampa, FL @ Orpheum
March 31 Fort Pierce, FL @ Hooked On Music Festival 2018
April 4 Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall
April 5 Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry
April 6 New York, NY @ The Bowery Ballroom
April 7 Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground
April 11 Nashville, TN @ The Basement East
April 12 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
April 13 Milwaukee, WI @ The Back Room
April 14 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
April 15 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
April 18 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
April 19 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
April 20 Missoula, MT @ Top Hat
April 21 Seattle, WA @ Barboza
April 22 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
April 24 Chico, CA @ Lost On Main
April 26 San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
April 27 Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy Theatre
April 28 San Diego, CA @ Voodoo Room
April 29 Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
May 2 Houston, TX @ House of Blues
May 3 Dallas, TX @ Cambridge Room
May 4 Austin, TX @ Mohawk
May 5 New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
May 27 Cleveland, OH @ Catch Meaning Music Fest
July 7–8 Marshfield, MA @ Levitate Music & Arts Festival