For Immediate Release

May 5, 2023

ANDY FRASCO & THE U.N. STAY POSITIVE WITH L’OPTIMIST


KALEIDOSCOPIC COMBO RETURN WITH MOST ENTHUSIASTIC LP TO DATE


BUOYANT FIRST SINGLE, “YOU DO YOU,” PREMIERES TODAY – LISTEN


OFFICIAL COMPANION VIDEO STREAMING NOW AT YOUTUBE – WATCH


NEWLY ANNOUNCED U.S. HEADLINE RUN

BEGINS SEPTEMBER 28 IN EAST LANSING, MI


L’OPTIMIST

ARRIVES VIA FUN MACHINE RECORDS/SOUNDLY MUSIC ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 11

Photo Credit: Stephanie Parsley / Download Hi-Res Image

Andy Frasco & The U.N. have announced the release of their eagerly awaited new album, L’Optimist, arriving via Fun Machine Records/Soundly Music on Friday, August 11. Pre-orders are available now. Frasco’s sixth studio album and most hopeful and enthusiastic collection thus far, L’Optimist is heralded by today’s premiere of the ebullient first single, “You Do You,” available now at all DSPs and streaming services. An official music video is streaming now at YouTube. 


“‘You Do You’ is basically a call to arms to myself,” Frasco says. “Like, what is success? We built success through being outlaws and being ourselves. I did it my own way and it worked out for the best, I think. Could we have been way more successful if I just conformed? Maybe, but that’s boring. It sounds like cheating in a race and I’m not trying to cheat. I want to do it my way. Hopefully I’ll look back when I’m 80 and realize that, like Frank Sinatra, I did it my way.”


LISTEN TO “YOU DO YOU”

WATCH OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

PRE-ORDER L’OPTIMIST


A much-beloved live outfit renowned for unbridled improvisation, audience interaction, surprising covers, special guests, and animated antics unlike any other, Andy Frasco & The U.N. will celebrate L’Optimist with a stacked live schedule including a just-announced headline run getting underway September 28 at East Lansing, MI’s Hall 224 and then continuing through mid-December. In the meantime, Frasco will spend the summer traveling America on a wide-ranging itinerary that features headline dates, top-billed festival appearances, and an eagerly awaited double bill supporting Slightly Stoopid set for August 13 at Morrison, CO’s famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Additional dates will be announced. For complete details and ticket information, please visit www.andyfrasco.com/tour


ANDY FRASCO & THE U.N.

TOUR 2023


MAY

19 – Beaufort, NC – Beaufort Music Festival *

20-21 – Garrettsville, OH – Tropidelic’s Sunny Days *

28 – Chillicothe, IL – Summer Camp Music Festival *


JUNE

1-3 – New River Gorge, WV – Mountain Music Festival *

16 – Swanzey, NH – Northlands Music & Arts Festival *

17 – Wellfleet, MA – Beachcomber

18 – Nantucket, MA – The Chicken Box

21 – Charlotte, NC – Visulite Theatre

22 – Isle of Palms, SC – The Windjammer

23 – Black Mountain, SC – Pisgah Brewing Company

24 – Kill Devil Hills, NC – Outer Banks Brewing Station

25 – Kill Devil Hills, NC – Outer Banks Brewing Station

27 – Roanoke, VA – 5 Points Music Sanctuary

28 – Dewey Beach, DE – Bottle & Cork

29 – Virginia Beach, VA – New Realm Brewing Co.

30 – Baltimore, MD – Union Craft Brewing


JULY

1 – Scranton, PA – Peach Music Festival *

2 – Amagansett, NY – The Stephen Talkhouse

14 – Buffalo, NY – Cobblestone Live! *

26 – Victor, ID – Knotty Pine

27 – Salmon, ID – Sweet Water Hollow

28 – Livingston, MT – Pine Creek Lodge

29 – Ketchum, ID – Argyros Performing Arts Center


AUGUST

1 – Durango, CO – Animas City Theatre

2 – Grand Junction, CO – Mesa Theater

4 – Steamboat Springs, CO – Snow Bowl Steamboat

5 – Telluride, CO – Sheridan Opera House

6 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up Aspen

10–12 – Yuba, WI – People Fest *

13 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre +


SEPTEMBER

9 – Indianapolis, IN – All In Music & Arts Festival *

10 – St. Louis, MO – Music At The Intersection *

28 – E. Lansing, MI – Hall 224 ^


OCTOBER

1 – Washington, DC – Atlantis ^

4 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground Ballroom ^

8 – Portland, ME – Bayside Bowl ^

11 – Richmond, VA – The Broadberry ^


NOVEMBER

2 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl †

4 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse †

5 – Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre †


DECEMBER

5 - Little Rock, AR - Revolution Music Hall -

6 – Tulsa, OK – The Vanguard -

7 – Austin, TX – Mohawk - 

8 – Dallas, TX – Deep Ellum Art Co. -

9 – Houston, TX – Last Concert Cafe - 

10 - Baton Rouge, LA - Chelsea’s Live - 

16 – Fayetteville, AR – George’s Majestic Lounge #


* Festival Appearance

+ w/ Slightly Stoopid

^ w/ Special Guest Cool Cool Cool

† w/ Special Guest Doom Flamingo

- with Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers 

# with Maggie Rose 


# # #

A testament to Frasco’s wide-ranging influences and boundless energy, L’Optimist sees the magnetic frontman continuing to chart his path of self-exploration and personal discovery through increasingly introspective lyricism and musical adventure. Recorded in Nashville, Los Angeles, and other cities, the album sees Frasco and the core U.N. roster – comprising guitarist Shawn Eckels, saxophonist Ernie Chang, drummer Andee Avila, and bassist/multi-instrumentalist Floyd Kellogg – joined by production and writing contributions from friends and studio collaborators including Kellogg, Kenny Carkeet (AWOLNATION, Anti-Flag), Chris Gelbuda (Robert Randolph Feat. Darius Rucker, Meghan Trainor), Cason Cooley (Needtobreathe, Ingrid Michaelson), Paul McDonald (Grand Magnolias, Vince Herman), and Harlem-based singer-songwriter Caleb Hawley, along with guest appearances by alternative hip-hop duo Little Stranger and the Southern Florida-based reggae collective Artikal Sound System. 


Restless though it may be, L’Optimist sees Frasco fully in command of his craft, more comfortable and confident than ever before, his notorious party-animal persona giving way to a wiser, but no less enthusiastic, artist and band leader. Frasco once again challenged himself to explore difficult lyrical terrain, spanning relationships and chronic depression, empathy and alienation, inspired in part by his first real girlfriend. Songs like the deeply moving “Iowa Moon” touch on matters of the heart and mental health, emotional struggle and the sheer vulnerability of the human experience, all relayed through a wildly eclectic approach navigating funk, jazz, surf rock, blues, swing, gospel, reggae, exotica, and more with horn-blasted positivity and soulful power.


Truly a creative force to be reckoned with, Andy Frasco & The U.N. have long spent seemingly all their time on the road, performing more than 200 shows each year, as Atwood Magazine wrote, “spreading their bohemian philosophy of finding joy from existing in the moment.” Frasco also somehow finds time to host Andy Frasco’s World Saving Podcast and cater to his nearly 1M monthly dance party views on Twitch. L’Optimist now sees Frasco continuing to develop as a songwriter, band leader, and human being, his exploratory spirit giving way to something more firmly grounded yet no less adventurous. Having built a still-expanding career on forward motion, Andy Frasco remains positive in his determination to keep on keeping on, pushing himself and his music to grow and improve with every passing day.


With so much bad news in the world, why not try to figure out a way to get out of the darkness,” Frasco says. “We’re not going to be able to change the world, but at least we can change the mind state we have moving forward. We can at least help the process along by being optimistic that the future will turn itself around. And if everyone changes their mind state about the future, then maybe we can change the world.


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ANDY FRASCO & THE U.N. 

L’OPTIMIST

(Fun Machine Records/Soundly Music)

Release Date: August 11, 2023

Download Hi-Res Image

Tracklist:

Oh What A Life (Feat. Little Stranger)

You Do You

Love All of Me

Iowa Moon

Birthday Song

Lost and Found

Busted Nose

Nothing That I Wouldn’t Do

Everything Bagel (Feat. Artikal Sound System)

Miss Getting High

CONNECT WITH ANDY FRASCO & THE U.N.

OFFICIAL | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER | YOUTUBE


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Press Contacts:

Ken Weinstein

weinstein@bighassle.com 


Emily Ginsberg

ginsberg@bighassle.com