At a time when music is often streamed through earbuds and filtered through algorithms, the band Aquarius is trying to bring audiences back to something more tactile — and a little more psychedelic.
This week, the group brings its immersive celebration of 1960s music to The Colony in Woodstock, promising not just a concert, but what band member Dunja describes as a full sensory trip back to the Summer of Love.
“On paper it’s a ’60s cover band,” Dunja said during a recent radio interview. “So, we’re playing all of the hits that so many people love. But the experience though, I want it to be immersive.”
Aquarius performs songs by artists including The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors and Steppenwolf, pairing the music with vintage instruments, retro fashion and swirling psychedelic projections meant to recreate the atmosphere of the era.
“We really are authentic with our vintage styling and our instrumentation and down to our amps and the vintage clothing and our psychedelic projections,” Dunja said. “People really have given us feedback that they feel completely immersed in the ’60s again.”
But for Dunja, the appeal of the music goes beyond nostalgia.
“I think that it’s so pertinent today,” she said. “Something happened with the digital era that really took away a human feeling and an analog feeling. There’s a messiness that’s lacking. Everything is flattened and perfected with digital media.”
That rawness, she said, is part of what audiences are craving.
“The human experience is still so necessary,” Dunja said. “And I think that people are craving that.”
Dunja, who plays keyboards in the band, said she’s gained a new appreciation for the complexity of many 1960s recordings.
“I actually wasn’t aware that there is so much organ playing,” she joked.
Aquarius has also found an enthusiastic audience among younger listeners. Dunja said the band recently performed at Whisky a Go Go in California alongside the psychedelic rock group Strawberry Alarm Clock and was surprised by how many fans in their 20s and 30s already knew the songs.
“It was astounding,” she said. “They were singing along.”
For Dunja, that connection is personal. Born in 1971, she grew up hearing her parents play records by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Monkees and The Byrds.
“This music is real to me,” she said. “It’s not just interesting historically.”
At Aquarius shows, the audience is encouraged to dance, dress up and participate. For Thursday’s performance in Woodstock, the band plans to host a vintage clothing pop-up featuring three local vintage shops, along with a contest for the best 1960s-inspired outfit.
“We want to bring back that feeling of individuality and freedom and connection with other people,” Dunja said. “Just having a joined human experience together.”
Image: Aquarius performs Thursday, May 14 at The Colony in Woodstock. More information is available at Aquarius Band and The Colony Woodstock. (Aquarius)