Alysse Gafkjen/Guster
Hailing from Somerville, Massachusetts, indie/alt-rock band Guster is coming to central Ohio for Picnic with the Pops’ 43rd season.
The band formed in 1991 whilst its three founding members, Ryan Miller, Adam Gardener and Brian Rosenworcel, attended Tufts University. Guster later added multi-instrumentalist Luke Reynolds in 2010.
The band has recorded nine studio albums, the most recent being Ooh La La in 2024. Guster won Album of the Year at the 2006 Boston Music Awards for its fifth album, Ganging Up on the Sun, and earned a gold record for the album’s single “Satellite.”
The band has also appeared on late night shows, including David Letterman, Conan O’Brien and Seth Meyers.
With its Picnic with the Pops performance set for July 11, Guster is looking to bring an elevated musical experience to the Columbus Commons.
Creating a symphonic experience
The outdoor concert with the Columbus Symphony is far from the band’s first foray into orchestral collaborations.
Guster first collaborated with the Boston Pops Symphony Orchestra in 2005. In more recent years, the band has done dozens of performances with orchestras around the country and even recorded a live album with the Omaha Symphony in 2019. It also played with the National Symphony Orchestra last year at the Kennedy Center.
Although performing alongside 50 to 100 other musicians requires finesse to ensure the orchestra stays with the band, Miller, the lead singer, says such collaboration allows the band to highlight nuances in songs, making the experience unique for fans.
“I think everything's a little bit more elevated... Everything can soar in a way that sometimes is not even possible with just four or five people on stage,” Miller says.
He says songs such as “Come Downstairs and Say Hello” off Guster’s fourth album, Keep It Together, and other deep cuts can come to the forefront when played with an orchestra, though he finds the band’s newer songs fun to play as well, such as “This Heart Is Occupied” from Guster’s most recent album.
The band is also looking forward to performing some of its top songs, such as “Satellite,” and “Amsterdam,” from Keep It Together and “Do You Love Me,” from its 2010 album Easy Wonderful.
While Miller says the band wants to put on a good show for Columbus, he says the main goal is to bring people together.
“It can get very divisive to be sitting behind our phones and our computers. And I think our concerts, especially now, can serve a purpose of like, ‘Oh, wait, not everything is the worst,’” says Miller. “And we can all kind of be in one place and one time.”
A musical journey
Having performed and toured for nearly 35 years, Miller says he’s thankful for the opportunities the band has had.
“I don't know that when we were in college and playing in dorm rooms and stuff that we had expectations that we'd be raising families while having our band. I never thought this was going to be my job at all,” Miller says. “It's pretty crazy to be able to make a life and a living and build a universe around being in a band that you started in a dorm room.”
Miller attributes the band’s longevity in part to its fanbase and says many of Guster’s decisions are centered on supporting the people who’ve supported the band. Overall, he says the band members share an appreciation for how far they’ve come.
“When we graduated and we were able to do this full time, I don't know that we even then thought that we would be doing it this long,” Miller says. “I never would have thought that this could have been a way to live an entire life. There's (a) tremendous amount of gratitude around that.”
Amanda Stevens is a contributing writer at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
