Chris DeLine

It’s been a little over a year since Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles dropped the band’s independently released debut album, Orange Peels and Rattlesnakes—and, oh, what a year it has been. A month and a half after the CD-release show, the band, led by the ukulele-strumming songstress Michelle, edged out Gospel Gossip by a mere two votes in City Pages‘ Picked to Click 2008 poll. The group continued to develop a wider fan base as it left the state multiple times during the following year, including trips to SXSW and a recent East Coast tour. With such a successful year you’d think that the band would be interested in either kicking back and reminiscing or throwing a mad party and inviting everyone to join them in welcoming the next stage of their career. With the title of the group’s forthcoming album, Special Party Time for Everybody, it appears as though Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles are putting off the resting and sticking with the latter. The CD-release show will also feature local acts Northern Howl and the Chris Tomson Quartet. All ages.

[This critics’ pick was originally published by City Pages.]