The last time we caught up with Washington DC-based indie pop trio SHAED – comprised of multi-instrumentalist twin brothers Spencer and Max Ernst, along with lead vocalist Chelsea Lee, Spencer’s wife – was in February of 2019, when the family band was about to embark on their first-ever headlining tour, which featured a March stop at Boot & Saddle (R.I.P.) And the three have been up to quite a bit since then, including releasing two full-lengths; a gig opening for Coldplay on their local stop of the Music of the Spheres World Tour in 2022 at FedEx Field in Landover, MD; and the birth of Chelsea and Spencer’s first child. They even made a few high-profile appearances in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, with an October 2019 headlining date at The Foundry and a performance at ALT 104.5’s Winter Jawn just this February.
“It’s one of our favorite cities to play, because the crowd is super accepting. And we’re DC sports fans, so there’s this worry with Philly, because they’ve got a bit of a reputation that they go too hard, but they’ve been super kind. We’ve always loved playing in Philly,” they tell me during a recent Zoom chat. SHAED will be returning to the 215 this coming Friday, July 12th, when they play Johnny Brenda’s for the final date of their Spinning Out Album Release Shows. Spinning Out is the band’s sophomore LP, which dropped last month courtesy of BMG. The five-date jaunt kicked off last month in Ann Arbor, before playing The Atlantis, the recently (May of 2023) opened recreation of the original 9:30 Club, sat right next to the current 9:30 Club (which boasts more than double the capacity).
“We actually did two shows there and that room is frickin’ awesome… They remade the original 9:30 Club, and they had Foo Fighters, Third Eye Blind, Maggie Rogers, and some other incredible artists all perform at that venue last year,” says Spencer, who tells me that the band have been thrilled to not only play two sold-out shows at the venue (which apparently featured the group’s longest headlining sets yet), but just to have the venue added to DC’s repertoire of rooms: “Max and I’s favorite album of all-time is the original Third Eye Blind album, and we got to see them at The Atlantis, which is like a 500-cap room, which is so frickin’ awesome!”
The 11 tracks of Spinning Out offer a commentary on SHAED’s growth of recent years. “In 2019 we had just gotten off of touring for two years straight, having been all around the world and all over the US, playing a ton. So, it was kind of a shock when everything shut down. But it was sort of a much-needed break for us, where we could just recenter ourselves,” they tell me of the writing and recording process. The three have also apparently moved on from the shared living quarters where they were the last time we spoke: “We were finally able to move out of a tiny little apartment that we’d been sharing together for the last three years, and settle where we wanted to and start a real adult life, after roughing it in our twenties.”
“Chelsea and I had a child, so I think the themes of the record are a little bigger, as that’s a monumental change. I think a lot of the songs were inspired by that,” Spencer tells me, before going on to explain, “Sonically, we definitely went more stripped-back and more intimate, back to our roots. There’re less giant strings sections, and more piano and acoustic guitar and harmony. I think, sonically, we definitely went back to our roots a little bit.”
Curious if the band has had any especially noteworthy reactions to their latest material, they tell me that there was one particularly amusing encounter. While playing a pop-up show in the NYC subway for about 30 people, Machine Gun Kelly and Trippie Redd showed up, causing the performance to go viral and earn SHAED a plethora of new followers. “We were playing some new music, and they were definitely hanging out and watching us and getting into it, which is pretty funny,” Chelsea explains. However, she tells me that the responses from longtime fans have certainly been the most meaningful.
“This album has been received really, really beautifully from our fans. We’re just getting these really nice messages on social media and people coming out to the shows and talking to us. So, that’s been really nice, after being — I don’t want to say, ‘trapped’ — but [laughs] trapped in our houses, writing and getting all this stuff together. It’s really nice to release all this new music and have a really nice response to it, so that’s been really great.”
SHAED tell me that fans who come out to Johnny Brenda’s on Friday can expect a pretty extensive and inclusive set, featuring songs from their entire catalogue, including lots of stuff from Spinning Out, longtime fan favorites of various different eras, and even a medley of super old tracks that the band hasn’t played in years. And, of course, their 3x platinum, two billion streamed 2018 smash single, “Trampoline,” which Billboard ranked as #11 on their “Greatest of All Time Alternative Songs.” Chelsea makes sure to add, “I’m also going to be 35 weeks pregnant when we play these shows, so my belly will be out, so that can definitely be expected [laughs]. Hopefully I don’t go into labor onstage [laughs].”
As much as Chelsea, Spencer, and Max tell me SHAED have enjoyed playing for Philly audiences over the years, they say that they haven’t really gotten a chance to see much of the city yet. “I feel like we never get to go out when we’re in Philly, for whatever reason. We never get to explore,” Chelsea tells me, while Max adds, “I did like an anniversary weekend like 10 years ago in Fishtown, and I know it’s probably changed a ton, but I had a blast then!” However, they tell me they’re turning the final stop of their trek into a weekend excursion. “Our Philly show is the last show on our little release tour, and I’m gonna spend the rest of the weekend there with my partner, and we’re gonna explore the city… We’re just gonna bounce around for the rest of the weekend and try out some places,” says Max, before Spencer quickly chimes in: “Yeah, we’re all crashing there! Chelsea and I are also getting a hotel, so we’re all gonna be hanging!”
While there are no immediate plans for SHAED following these dates (They’re playing Mercury Lounge in NYC on Wednesday.), for obvious reasons, Chelsea tells me that it won’t be long until fans get a chance to see them again: “First thing’s first, we’re gonna play these shows, we’re gonna have another baby, and we’re gonna just keep writing and keep doing our thing. I think we’re gonna get out and do some touring, hopefully, at the end of 2024 and into 2025… I think we’re just gonna keep working hard and doing our thing and figuring out what this next chapter looks like with another kid and new music. We’re really excited!”
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