For many, summer in the River City conjures images of barbecue, ice cream, baseball, and swimming. But for local indie music fans, the season was made for the capacious pop melodies of St. Louis rock outfit Summer Magic.
The band recently resurfaced in June to drop its first recording in nearly four years. Summer Magic’s shimmery new single, “Tidy Up,” is a sun-drenched taster of the band’s fine-tuned pop and an appetizer for a new full-length album set to release in spring 2026.
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Summer Magic’s origins can be traced back to 2013, when Kevin Bachmann (formerly of Lapush and Troubadour Dali) and Benjamin Marsh (also of Troubadour Dali) began writing songs together.
“The two of us made a record, Sharks and Other Dangers, with David Beeman at Native Sound, but we didn’t put the band together until the album was recorded,” says Bachmann, who serves as a primary songwriter and multi-instrumentalist for the group. “Then, I decided to ask my best friends to play with me. Everyone in this band is near and dear to me. Making music with each other is one of the best things in the world. We’ve all been together for years in various projects, and everyone knows their way around the block, has killer instincts and taste.”
Joining Bachmann in Summer Magic is a talented group of accomplices including Benjamin Marsh (bass), Danny Mayo (guitar), and Natalie Huggins (keyboard). Percussionists Kevin Bowers and Mike Schurk round out the collective alongside another Troubadour Dali alum, Andy Kahn (bass, organ). While each member has their own project, the troupe comes together as Summer Magic to create strong, melodic sounds built around finely sculpted songs.
Summer Magic could be considered Bachmann’s baby, but he is quick to acknowledge that the band could not exist without his family of collaborators who are driven by their own individual tastes and passions.
“We all listen to a lot of different stuff, and as a result, we like trying different stuff out. We like jangly guitars and tight harmonies, but we also like beats, synths and drum machines. I like being able to stretch our sound in different directions and still have it feel like Summer Magic,” he says.
With the new single out in the wild and more live dates on the calendar, Summer Magic will continue to focus on their next album, which is slated for release in spring 2026.
“With the new album, there is a deep vault of songs to work on. Also, after the pandemic, we started working more collaboratively where it’s not just me writing the songs. So we’ve got a lot of things going on with it,” Bachmann says. “Working on a record takes a lot of time and money. Sometimes it is hard to get everybody on the same page. As a result, I got the idea of releasing a single first.”
Bachmann also noted that the industry-wide delay in vinyl-record production is a major hindrance to getting new music in the hands of the masses in physical form.
“I love records and I love albums, but it’s also really hard to get them pressed right now. The lead times on vinyl are super long,” says Bachmann, who welcomes the ease of use that digital platforms such as Bandcamp can provide to artists and listeners alike. “It’s easier now to release music than it’s ever been. But it takes time if you want to do a physical format. So it’s nice to be able to sort of have something digital to put out,” he says.
To date, Summer Magic has released one full-length album, 2018’s Sharks and Other Dangers, and 2021 single, “Trauma,” a densely layered COVID-era project that was tracked at Native Sound in South City.
Bachmann says he has switched up the process of recording since starting things off with the band. “In the past, I would write and then record after thoroughly demoing the songs. But sometimes I would go into the studio and record them completely and then bring them to the band,” he says. These days, he says things are more open-ended. “I’ve found that it’s been a lot more rewarding and satisfying to see what happens when other people add their stamp to it and bring in their ideas,” Bachmann says.
On “Tidy Up,” Bachmann wrote the music and sent it to Marsh, who then wrote the melodies and sent them back, at which point Bachmann added the lyrics.
“I feel like lately, especially after the past few years, the reason that I write music is to share my encounters with people while also leaving room for them to project their own experiences. But I also write music so I can hang out with my friends,” he says.
Like many other bands from the area, Bachmann and his Summer Magic cohorts are proud to fly the flag for the River City.
“I think that it’s easy for us to think we’re just a small city, but I think we have a cool music community here. St. Louis is a killer place with a great art and music community,” Bachmann says.
To stay updated on the band’s new recordings and upcoming concerts, follow @summer_magic_official on Instagram.
