Broadway fans know that theater actors have some of the most incredible voices around, so it should come as no shock that many stage stars put their musical talents to work outside the theater in a variety of rock bands. Below, BroadwayBox highlights eight New York theater stars whose bands you should check out right now. From Spider-Man’s Justin Matthew Sargent to Into the Woods’ Billy Magnussen, enjoy this eclectic sampling of music created by Broadway’s brightest.
Get your headphones out and get ready to rock
1. Reserved For Rondee features Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Tony Award nominee and future Into the Woods film star Billy Magnussen on guitar. Below is a live acoustic version of their catchy ode “To Brooklyn,” and yes, Magnussen is shirtless.2. After winning a Tony Award for playing the guitar-wielding Guy in Once, Steve Kazee formed The Shiny Liars and debuted some of his original music at 54 Below, including the painful and awesome break-up anthem “Another Me.”
3. Current Spider-Man headliner and former Rock of Ages star Justin Matthew Sargent brings his insane rock sound to the band Covered In Rock; check out their self-titled, first-ever original song below.
4. On Broadway, Lena Hall plays Charlie Price’s materialistic fiancé Nicola in the Tony-winning musical Kinky Boots, but offstage she is the kickass singer of the gritty rock band The Deafening. Check out Hall wail in the official video of the band’s romance-gone-wrong song “Sexy Like A Suicide” off their album Central Booking.
5. The Broadway musical Soul Doctor may have been short-lived, but that means its leading man, Eric Anderson, now has time to reunite his unique band The Freakers Ball, a Shell Silverstein tribute band. Don’t miss these guys taking on the classic Silverstein poem “Someone Ate the Baby.”
6. Tony winner Michael Cerveris, currently starring in Fun Home, and his band Loose Cattle just released their live album North of Houston. In the video below, Cerveris and Loose Cattle perform a mash-up of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” and CeeLo Green’s “F*#k You” at New York's 54 Below.
7. P.J. Griffith, who appeared in Broadway’s American Idiot and in the off-Broadway hit Giant, moonlights as the lead singer of the grungy, rock band Blue Movie. Give the band a listen as they perform their song “Lessons Learned.”
8. Ari Brand, who made quite a splash off-Broadway as the title character in My Name Is Asher Lev, is part of the indie-surf, Brooklyn-based trio The New Facility. While they don’t have any YouTube videos up yet, you can get an idea of The New Facility's mellow sound in this audio clip of “Lights Out.”
