Lake Street Dive plays the type of music that makes you want to dance, sing, clap, and cry, all because it sounds so damned good. I spoke with keyboardist and vocalist Akie Bermiss about the band’s intention to create joy even when it feels like the world is falling apart. We also talk about Star Trek.
the Source: Things are crazy right now. Can you explain the “joyful rebellion” concept of Lake Street Dive?
Akie Bermiss: We came up with this before things went totally crazy. It’s important to speak truth to power; it’s important to rebel against tyranny. But it’s also important to cultivate a joyful disposition while that’s happening; to observe making room for happiness, friends, and family. We were trying to make a record where we acknowledge that things are difficult, that there’s a lot of division, but perhaps there’s a way to create a space where joy is being spread and maybe that will help heal the wounds of the present moment. We were also thinking that feelings of anger and animosity burn really hot, but they burn very brief, whereas joy is something that stays with you for years. The half-life of being enraged is shorter than the half-life of happiness. If you’ve ever encountered true joy, it comes back to you. We try to use the immediate fire of being upset to create something that can last.
tS: How long do you think the joy from a Lake Street Dive shows lingers, and any advice on keeping that feeling alive forever?
AB: I have two answers to that. One is emotional. If you have a great time, if you’re with good people, if you meet nice people at the show, I think you can come back to that well over and over again. I do feel compelled as a working musician to say it lasts a significant amount of time, but it doesn’t hurt to go back and get a booster.
tS: Are there past examples of bands doing what Lake Street Dive is doing: holding up a light in a world full of darkness? Are any of them inspirations to the band?
AB: There are a ton of bands we were influenced by: the Staples Singers, the Beatles, Aretha Franklin. A lot of these bands were living in tumultuous times when you look at the backdrop of when they were making their most famous work, and they were putting out songs that deal with that, but also songs that last as joyful beacons.
tS: You joined Lake Street Dive in 2017 after playing with them at Rockwood Music Hall in New York City. Can you talk about how you were introduced to the band?
AB: It was kind of a blind thing. The people who were booking were very thoughtful of putting together cool nights. Lake Street Dive was booked, and [the booking team] was looking for an opener. I was somebody who was playing at the club regularly and they thought it would be a cool pairing. I didn’t really know [Lake Street Dive] at all when we did the first show and we kind of just hit it off. That was in like 2014 or 2015.
tS: You played one night and then years later they asked you to join the band?
AB: We did two or three shows that weekend. After that I would go to their shows, and if they were in town, I would see them at my shows. Sometimes I would play with touring bands that were opening for them, so we would see each other out on the road. I think when they were looking for a keyboard to add to the texture of the band, they were like, what about that guy we keep running into who plays keyboards?
tS: [Lead singer] Rachel Price said, “Akie’s addition to the band was something that helped us create a lot more space in the music, which was something we were looking for.” What did she mean by that?
AB: I’ll answer that from my perspective: They were a four-piece band, and sometimes the trumpet player was also playing guitar. He would play a few notes and hold it and then play a chord. Now people are freed up to do other things. In terms of writing, it’s like if you’re a painter and you have another color or another paintbrush you can use. Just having that in the arsenal, it allows you to consider things. For singing, I can jump on harmonies.
tS: How did the first shows go with you in the band?
AB: It felt like a trial by fire because I was jumping into this band that didn’t have a keyboard before. I approached it by playing what I had figured out for each tune, and if I tried something new, I would look around at everybody in the band to see if they were smiling. When you play something hip, the other band members look at you and they smile and nod and you’re like, “Ok, cool.”
tS: Why did the band decide to base itself in Brooklyn?
AB: New York has a vibe, especially if you’re an artist. It’s a good place to meet other artists, see what other people are doing, creating, and collaborating. It feeds a lot of your inspiration, your artistic soul, to be in a place like that.
tS: You went to Bard College and call yourself a music nerd. The entire band also considers themselves music nerds, but you did a weekly podcast about Star Trek. Have you become less “Star Trek nerd” and just “music nerd” now that you play with such a cool band, or are you still the same “Star Trek Akie?”
AB: (Laughs) I’m still the same “Star Trek Akie.” I’ve got “Star Trek” stuff hidden all over the stage. I do feel like Lake Street Dive has made me seem cooler to other people, but I’m still very much a nerd.
This article appears in Source Weekly June 26, 2025.
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I LOVE Lake Street Dive. However, they are not allowing permanent seats at this concert, as well as others that I would have bought tickets for. I do not subscribe to sitting on the lawn or renting their chairs. I always buy tickets in the seated area. When they take that away, they lose my support. I am older and I must sit in a proper chair. and I KNOW I am not the only one who feels this way. My neighbors are huge LSD fans and they won’t attend either because of “no seating.” Very bad decision by either LSD or HH.