In this interview, we talk with Jairo Campo and James Robertson from Simmerr, a New York–based band blending funk, soul, pop, and Latin influences into a lively, collaborative sound. They share how their friendship goes back to middle school, how the band came together through the New York music scene, and how their playful stage presence shapes the way they write and rehearse songs. They also reflect on the community moments that make events like Make Music Day special, the artists who inspire their sound, and what’s ahead for the band, including their upcoming EP and their much-anticipated “Simmerr Summer” shows.
I saw that your shows have a really fun vibe. When you’re writing or rehearsing songs, do you think about how they’ll translate to a live audience?
James: That’s the thing we have the most fun with. We’re a seven-piece band when we’re at full size, and we try to interact as much as possible, joke around, and do fun bits of theater. When we’re rehearsing and writing, we’re thinking, “You know what would be fun here?” So if somebody in rehearsal comes up with something in the moment, that’s something we wind up using in future shows.
That’s awesome. Does anyone in the band have an improv background?
Jairo: Well, James and I have done theater in the past. I’d like to one day be brave enough to try some stand-up myself. I haven’t gotten the courage just yet, but I think we’re just a band that really appreciates laughing, fun, and joy, and you can see that translated onstage. I will say, just as a note that we get from our friends or people who come out to the show, is that they often think that we’re all— which we are at this point—but even since the beginning, they’ve said, “Man, it really feels like you guys are actual friends up there.” It’s not just a band that plays together from time to time. You can feel the joy radiating because we’re having fun together.
That brings me to my next question. How did you guys first come together? Did you meet in college or through the New York music scene?
James: Jairo and I go way back to middle school. We went separate ways for high school and college and then reconnected as adults, as musicians. We did a couple of jam sessions together and started writing music, which prompted us to take this more seriously. When it comes to the rest of the band members, those are people we know from college, people from the New York scene—kind of all rolled in together to form our extended family.
And what are the artists or bands that have shaped your sound?
Jairo: To begin, some of the classics that James and I both grew up with—think Earth, Wind & Fire, that heavy horn, funky sound. I’d also say The Doobie Brothers, especially with Michael McDonald on “What a Fool Believes.” That’s a big influence on our vibe.
James: The Beatles and Billy Joel are big influences for us, that classic American and British rock sound. There are also bands in New York that inspire us, like Lawrence, for example. It’s a big soul band that puts a modern spin on a lot of the sounds that we wind up using as well. As Jairo mentioned, we love Latin music. Salsa definitely comes to mind—Willie Colón was the first person I was thinking of.
Jairo: Ray Barretto is huge. I’m currently deep diving into the discography and finding hidden gems from 1979. Nineteen seventy-nine seems like a particularly good year. We love Héctor Lavoe. We love Bad Bunny, to bring a modern artist into the mix. We’re huge fans of Latin music, so we try to incorporate that into our sound as well to make a kind of hybrid—funky, Latin, jazz—a mix of all of those together.
How did you first hear about Make Music Day? Was last year your first year?
James: Yeah! We were invited by our friend Jacob Khalil. He’s the kind of guy who’s always got a smile on his face, and he’s always sharing music with people. So if he’s suggesting something to us, we know it’s good. And you guys have a great mission. We were excited to perform.
That’s awesome. And how was that experience? How do you think it was different from a normal gig?
James: It was really fun. The community was so awesome. All around you, people are stopping, listening, chatting, and singing along. In particular, there was this gentleman, Leon, and when we started playing the song “Easy” by The Commodores, I heard him around the corner like, “Oh, that’s my song!” And he comes up and starts singing along. He was like, “Can I get on the mic?” So I handed it to him, and he sang the rest of the song.
Jairo: It’s one of those things you can’t manufacture; it was like something out of a movie. You could see how much joy was on his face and how much passion he was singing with. We made a new friend that day. This is why we do this—to create community just like that.
What’s next for Simmerr? Any upcoming music or shows you’re excited about?
Jairo: Yeah, our next show is actually at Baby’s All Right on March 29. We’re opening for an awesome DC band called Strutman Lane, which is very much in a similar lane to our genre: soulful, pop, funky music. We’re also going to be releasing an EP in late April or early May, with one more single coming out soon. The biggest thing for Simmerr—which is now a running gag, but it’s actually very much a real occurrence—we like to call it Simmerr Summer. Simmerr Summer is a great time where we get to play all over the place; it’s kind of our touring season. We’re playing down the shore in Jersey, and we might get opportunities to hit up upstate New York, Long Island, and Boston as well.
James: I think that captures it perfectly. We’ve been working hard on this EP—it’s called Soup, which is what we’ve been simmering this whole time. One thing that’s fun about it is that I think it’s really like a soup: it brings together all these different ingredients to make a great meal. We’re featuring a lot of different styles of music, such as indie rock and indie pop elements that we were talking about before, but we’re also releasing a salsa song in Spanish, and we’re including some kind of throwback sixties, Frank Sinatra–type songs. So we’re really showing a whole sample of the music that has inspired us. In the future, we might not get to do that again, because when you start a band, there is a lot of pressure to focus on a very specific sound. But we thought that for our first EP it would be really important to show all of our influences.
Last question. What advice would you give to someone who dreams of becoming a musician or artist, or starting a band?
Jairo: It is possible, and you should absolutely do it. You can do it. It is one of the most fulfilling things you’ll ever do. Do it with friends—collaborations will always make the best results. It’s going to be a lot of hard work, but it’s absolutely worth it.