Sun Room Surfs their Way To Shaky Knees

Alanna King

Some musicians swear by superstitious rituals, strict routines or tight schedules to ensure success. But the boys of Sun Room don’t take anything too seriously. The surf rock band came sailing all the way from San Diego’s languid shores to spread some much needed sunshine on Shaky Knees’ Piedmont stage. Their effortless performance and easy-going energy gave a positive start to Sunday’s lineup while providing enough spunk to get the crowd hyped for sets like Off! and FIDLAR. 

When lead vocalist and guitarist Luke Asgian was sent home from college at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, he filled his time during lockdown by writing the would-be band’s first EP, Sol Del Sur. Word spread as Luke searched for musicians to play with, chemistry quickly formed between the members and Sun Room was born.

“We all grew up playing house shows, so it’s been all fun and games,” says drummer Gibson Anderson. “We make it, play it and if it feels weird we change it around.”

The boys, who live and breathe the beach and music, can’t help but carry on SoCal’s mellow atmosphere through each chord and verse. Their bouncy melodies could easily be confused for a reincarnation of the Beach Boys, while their silly lyrics bring their music into the 21st century and command you to simply relax and enjoy the experience. The young band makes their fair share of mistakes while sorting out what feels right to them.

“The first [festival] we played was Austin City Limits in 2020,” says Luke. “It was such a small crowd and we had the noon slot and we just botched the performance because we had just started playing together. So it’s kind of full circle to come [to Shaky] and play to a bigger crowd at a better time slot and do a performance that we’re stoked on.” 

No matter what happens on stage, the boys of Sun Room can laugh it off and chalk it up to a learning experience. The band remains humble and open to any experience, whether that’s opening for Lizzo at Volapalooza or gaining perspective from the little trip ups here and there. 

“We played this small festival in Denver,” says bassist Max Pinamonti. “We literally just stopped this song halfway through and skipped it.” 

Austin Minnich’s acclaimed energy sandwich remains the band’s tried and true method to attain crowd stamina, mosh pits and matching dust clouds at sets, although the group admitted to constructing Shaky’s setlist during the car ride to the festival on Sunday morning. 

Sun Room’s highest priority this summer is getting in some much needed r&r after a heavy season of touring. While the group’s disorganized methodology can easily be confused for unproductivity, the boys crammed the production of their soon-to-be-released EP in four days between spring tour dates, proving there might be something to Sun Room’s laissez-faire approach to music. 

“This will be the biggest break we’ve had since we started touring and it’s about three months,” says Luke. “It’s hard to write new songs on the road so I’m excited to dig into writing and recording some cool stuff at home.” 

If you missed Sun Room’s performance at Shaky, you can catch these beach bums on their headlined tour this fall. Be sure to bring your shades, a cool drink and the expectation for anything to happen.