Posted by A Vermont band, a powerful voice, and one hell of a discovery
Every once in a while, a band finds you. That’s exactly what happened with All Night Boogie Band.
The band reached out to Long Island Sounds & Beyond, asking if I’d take a listen to what they’re doing. I didn’t know much about them at the time, so I did what I always do when an artist reaches out: I listened. And then I listened some more. I liked what I heard right away. There’s a little blues in there. Some rock & roll. Plenty of soul. And, as their name would suggest, there’s definitely some boogie. But the first thing that really grabbed me wasn’t the guitar, the organ or the rhythm section.
It was the voice.
Jessica Leone Can Sing Her Ass Off
Let’s just get that out of the way. Jessica Leone can sing her ass off!!
There are singers who are technically impressive, singers who have great range and singers who can hit every note they’re supposed to hit. And then there are singers who make you stop what you’re doing and listen. Jessica did that to me. There’s power in her voice, but it’s not simply about volume. There’s grit, soul, control and emotion. More importantly, there’s a feeling behind it that comes through whether she’s delivering a blues number, a soulful ballad or something with a little more rock & roll bite. And after spending more time listening to All Night Boogie Band’s earlier albums, I realized something else: This isn’t a one-song thing. Jessica shines throughout the band’s catalog. And now I understand why.
Jessica began singing at 11, performing in her middle school’s rock and jazz ensembles before joining her local School of Rock at 15. She later attended the University of Vermont, studying music education with a focus on jazz voice. Rock and jazz were her early musical foundations. It was after meeting Brendan Casey that she began diving deeper into blues and soul. In 2018, she started attending blues jams in Burlington. As Jessica put it, she finally felt like she had found the right sound for her voice. I’d say she did.
Her list of influences is an impressive collection of powerhouse female vocalists, including Dinah Washington, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Susan Tedeschi, Bessie Smith, Loleatta Holloway, Dorothy Love Coates and Tina Turner. And while listening to her, I occasionally heard another vocalist come to mind: Imelda May.
There are moments when Jessica’s delivery carries that same combination of power, grit and old-school soul that I’ve always enjoyed in May’s voice. It’s not that Jessica sounds like she’s trying to emulate her—far from it. It’s simply one of those comparisons that popped into my head while listening, and once I heard it, I couldn’t unhear it.
Which is probably a pretty damn good compliment.
.
Then I Heard Shut Your Eyes and See
After listening to several of their songs, I went looking for more.
That led me to Shut Your Eyes and See, the band’s latest album, released in July 2026. Seven songs. About 36 minutes. And by the time I finished it, I knew I wanted to write about this band. The album moves comfortably through blues, rock, soul and boogie, but what struck me most was that it never felt like a band trying to recreate a particular era. There’s a respect for the music that came before them, but there’s also something distinctly their own happening here. The album includes “Keep on Rolling,” “Always on My Mind,” “I Think They Called It Peace,” “If You’re Blue and Lonesome,” “Stuck in the City (You’re Not Alone),” “Spirits High,” and a live version of “Shake Your Hips.” And then there’s the song that really sealed the deal for me.
“I Think They Called It Peace”
Some songs are fun. Some songs are technically impressive. And some songs make you feel something. “I Think They Called It Peace” did that to me.
The song immediately stood out because of its emotional weight. There’s a soulful quality to it that pulls you in, and Jessica’s vocal performance takes it somewhere deeper. I heard something in it that reminded me—not musically, but emotionally—of what I’ve always enjoyed about Grace Potter & the Nocturnals’ “Big White Gate.” That same ability to create a feeling that makes you stop listening casually and actually listen. But the more I listened to “I Think They Called It Peace,” the more I wanted to know what was behind it.
So I asked Brendan Casey.
His answer made me appreciate the song even more. Brendan explained that the song was his reaction to the many world events of the past several years. He described writing as a way of coping with the overwhelming realities that dominate our headlines and our thoughts, taking feelings of disgust and rage and channeling them into a desire for hope and peace. Musically, he calls it a soul tune “through and through.” The title comes from the opening lyric:
“You know I heard this word today, I think they called it peace?”
The line is intentionally sarcastic, Brendan explained, reflecting the frustration of a world in which the concept of peace can sometimes feel distant and almost foreign. That explanation made the song hit a little differently for me. Because suddenly I wasn’t just hearing a great vocal performance. I was hearing what the song was trying to say.
The Story Behind the Name
Here’s where the name All Night Boogie Band gets considerably more interesting.
I have to admit, when I first saw the name, I had a little chuckle. But Brendan’s explanation completely changed that. He’s a huge Rolling Stones fan and liked the idea of taking a band’s name from a classic blues song, much like the Stones took their name from Muddy Waters’ “Rollin’ Stone.” While the band was throwing around possible names, original drummer Mike Scott suggested looking at classic Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters tracks. Then Brendan came across Howlin’ Wolf’s “All Night Boogie.” He knew Jessica would love it because, as he put it, she loves anything involving “boogie, groovy, dancing, etc.” And that’s how All Night Boogie Band got its name. As Brendan pointed out, it turned out to be pretty damn reflective of their music and their live shows. So there actually is a method behind the madness. And a pretty good one at that.
Before There Was a Band
The story of All Night Boogie Band gets even better when you look at how Brendan and Jessica came together. They actually met in high school through a mutual friend. They even went to Senior Prom together. Music was the connection. They bonded over the Grateful Dead—particularly the Pigpen material—as well as classic rock, blues, folk and jazz. Jessica was already singing and performing. Brendan describes himself at the time as more of a “jock type” who was secretly obsessed with music history and played guitar in his bedroom. In other words, the guy was apparently a closet music nerd!! That’s not a bad thing by the way!
They began dating in college, and by the time All Night Boogie Band was formed in the summer of 2021, the two already had years of musical history together. They had been performing as an acoustic duo, playing traditional folk and blues, and Brendan had even filled in on guitar for Jessica’s high school band when they were home from college. So when the band eventually came together, it wasn’t the beginning of their musical relationship. It was the next chapter.
The Band
Today, All Night Boogie Band is built around Jessica Leone on lead vocals, Brendan Casey on guitar, Van Garrison on organ, Evan Barker on bass and Zach Santos on drums. And that combination gives the band plenty of room to move. Jessica brings the voice. Brendan brings the guitar and songwriting. The organ, bass and drums provide the foundation that allows the band to move between blues, soul, rock and boogie without losing its identity. On recordings, the band deliberately tries to capture the feeling of a live performance. Brendan told me that one of their goals in the studio is to create something as close as possible to the sound and energy of a touring band playing together in a room. He feels they’ve come closest to achieving that with Shut Your Eyes and See. But even he admits that there’s something recordings can’t completely reproduce. A live audience. That shared experience of musicians and listeners occupying the same room. That sense of community. And that’s ultimately what Brendan says he loves most about performing.
Shut Your Eyes and See
There’s also a message behind the album’s title. Brendan wants Shut Your Eyes and See to encourage listeners to become a little more introspective. To stop worrying about things they can’t control. To appreciate what they have. To listen to their own breathing.
To allow themselves to actually feel something. And perhaps most importantly, to check in with themselves and ask a simple question:
How are you really doing?
In a world where we’re constantly surrounded by stimulation, noise, negativity and information, that’s a pretty powerful message. And perhaps that’s why the album resonated with me as much as it did. Because beneath the blues, the rock, the soul and the boogie, there’s something human happening here.
Why I’m Writing About Them
I’ve been trying to find more original artists to feature through Long Island Sounds & Beyond. That’s important to me. I’ve covered plenty of tribute bands over the years, and I enjoy what they bring to the music scene. But there’s something particularly satisfying about discovering musicians who are writing, recording and performing their own music.
When Brendan reached out, I told him I’d listened to several of their songs and that I really dug what they were putting out there. I meant it. I didn’t know what I was going to find when I pressed play. What I found was a band with a genuine appreciation for the music that influenced them, musicianship that speaks for itself, songs with something to say, and a vocalist who grabbed my attention almost immediately. And the more I listened, the more I found to like. That’s really what this series is about.
Discovery.
Finding artists who deserve to be heard and putting them in front of people who might not have found them otherwise. All Night Boogie Band may have come into my world because they reached out to Long Island Sounds & Beyond. But they’re staying there because the music earned it. And Jessica Leone?
Well…
She can sing her ass off!!!
That’s probably the simplest way I can put it. Give All Night Boogie Band a listen. Start anywhere. But if you really want to understand what grabbed me, find “I Think They Called It Peace.” Then sit back, shut your eyes, and listen. You might just see what I heard.