By Kiefer Woods
Sidereal, a reggae-rock band hailing from Jacksonville, plays shows all over the Southeast, but they still cherish St. Petersburg as one of their favorite cities to perform.
Sidereal was founded in May 2009 by Niko Costas, Lukas Costas, and Colin Paterson. Since then, the trio has also picked up Kevin Beaugrand, a talented bass player, to complete the band.
In 2010, Sidereal released their first EP with their single “My Hydro” which received air time on Jacksonville’s 107.3 Planet Radio station. Later that year, in September, the band released their first full-length self-titled album. Everything involved with making the album was done by members of the band. They produced, recorded and mastered the songs.
The success of their album and growing popularity at local shows in 2010 helped the band start developing a fan base in other Florida cities. In 2011, the band started touring Florida with one of their stops being St. Petersburg. They played at the State Theater and the Local 662 during tours that year. Both places are popular Midtown venues found on Central Avenue near Seventh Street.
“Sidereal is definitely a crowd pleaser,” fan Jeff Burch said. “I’ve attended a lot of their shows here in St. Petersburg and I’ve enjoyed it every time. Their musical skills along with their stage presence and how they interact with the crowd really make for an enjoyable experience.”
Sidereal was named The Pier magazine’s 2011 “Artist On The Rise” and was invited to play alongside popular bands like Girl Talk, The Flaming Lips, STS9, and EOTO at the Blackwater Music Festival. Sidereal ended 2011 with a tour through the Southeast under their belt, playing with popular reggae-rock bands such as The Expendables, The Supervillians, Iration, Pepper, and more.
In 2012, Sidereal released the single “Before I Go” from their upcoming new album “On The Rocks”. Shortly after the release of the single, the band released their first music video. Sidereal continued to tour as they developed the album. The band circled the Southeast, playing in St. Petersburg many times through out the year. With the Sidereal fan base continuing to grow in St. Petersburg, the band played shows at the popular downtown venue Jannus Live as well as continuing to play the Midtown venues that gave Sidereal their start in St. Petersburg.
“We’re excited about the constant growth of our sound and fan base through out the country,” Niko Costas, band manager and drummer, said. “We love coming to St Pete because of the people and atmosphere. Stepping into venues such as Jannus Live and The State Theater you always know you will have a great time. The people of St. Petersburg have a great appreciation of reggae/rock and the beach culture that surrounds it.”
Sidereal kicked off 2013 with a big announcement that they are going to be playing on their first national tour that will take them from Florida to California and back with plenty of shows along the way. St. Petersburg is not one of their stops on this national tour, but the band has played in St. Petersburg twice so far this year.
Upon completion of their national tour, Sidereal will be back to play some Midtown shows.