At last April's "The Great Centurions Regatta — A Naughty Yachty Affair" fundraiser at Kino Sports complex, Yächtley Crëw lead guitarist Tommy Bouy coulda sworn he saw a guy dressed as a boat.
That was taking the soft-rock cover band's nautical theme to its 'nth degree, if you asked Bouy, aka Tommy Gardner.
"Our fans show up and wear their own sailor outfits and captains hats. We've had mermaids, pirates," he said, which kind of reminds him of Jimmy Buffett's Parrotheads.
But that fan dressed up as a literal boat? That was crazy.
He doesn't expect anyone will go that far when Yächtley Crëw returns for a pair of back-to-back concerts at the Pima County Fair on Monday and Tuesday, April 20-21. But you never know.
The L.A. band that plays so-called "yacht rock" — a label coined in 2005 for the 1970s and ’80s soft rock of Bobbie Dupree, Hall & Oates, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Steve Perry, Kenny Loggins, Steely Dan, Boston and Christopher Cross to name just a few — adopted a nautical theme from the start in 2017.
They also took nautical nicknames, including Pauly Shores (Paul Pete) on sax, drummer Sailor Hawkins (Rob Jones), and the newest member, lead singer Captain Ian (Ian Ward).
"You want to be memorable. Anybody can go up and play the songs, but we want to go entertain people," Gardner explained during a phone call from home last week. "It's like what would Kiss be without the makeup? Still be a good band and that, but that's part of their thing."
Bass player and band co-founder Baba Buoy (Chaz Ruiz) suggested the band don sailor outfits and captain hats; they would be the Kiss of soft rock, he told his six other bandmates.
Yächtley Crëw is bringing its high-energy yacht rock — think stepped-up 1970s-80s soft rock — to Pima County Fair for two shows next week.
With stage lighting and throwback 1970s boy band choreography, the band created a vibe reminiscent of a Buffett show, Gardner said.
"It's like we're coming for the party, the concert's just part of it," he said. "It's the pregame as well. It's the party before and after the show. And the show is kind of just the pinnacle of it."
But it's a show that has fans coming back to see them over and over again, including Tucsonans Sarah and Jason Brown.
"We just had a blast so every time we come back, we have our captains hats and sailor outfits," said Sarah Brown, who bought tickets to a Rialto show years ago on a whim and has seen them nearly every time they've come back to Tucson. "We've seen them two or three times at the Rialto and at the AVA with Ambrosia opening. It's like those old yacht rock songs that you know. They do these cheesy choreographed dance moves together. It's just fun."
Yächtley Crëw's setlist is filled with hit after hit — "Ride Like the Wind," "Steal Away," "Come and Get Your Love," "Sailing," "Rich Girl," "Eye of the Tiger," "Africa," "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)," "Don't Bring Me Down" and Garland's favorite, "Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)."
"I sing lead on that," he said. "I just love that chord progression, and it's such a cool vibe."
But Yächtley Crëw takes a more energetic rock approach to the music, even the slow songs.
"We're gonna hit the drums a little harder and the guitars are going to be a little more distorted," he said. "It's going to be more of an upbeat, on-your-feet rock and roll show. When people come to our show and they're sitting down, I'm like, well, they're not going to be sitting down for long because as soon as the show starts, everyone stands up and then it's a dance party and sing along."
The band also slips in a couple of originals, including "Sex On the Beach" from their 2023 EP "Seas the Day" and "Pain of Losing You" that Diane Warren wrote for their 2025 album "Sees the Night."
Yächtley Crëw takes the Michelob Ultra Stage at the Pima County Fairgrounds, 11300 S. Houghton Road, at 7:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday. Admission is free with paid fair admission: $13, $8 for military, seniors and children 6-10; 5 and under get in free. It's $8 to park.
Tickets are available at pimacountyfair.com/tickets.
