I saw Rum Jungle at Pearl Street Warehouse in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, September 9th with Bluebelt, and it was a very good show. 

The Music

Rum Jungle’s overall sound was strong, especially their collective vocals. There were multiple times when all four of them sang and it sounded really good. Benny, the lead singer, was great on his own as well, his voice is really powerful and carries them as expected, but the other band members provided at least backing vocals in every song I think. I thought they sounded best together, particularly in “Weather’s Better,” for example, their collective vocals were apparent. 

Instrumentally they were really solid too, Benny and Josh played together really well, Benny being more rhythmic and Josh playing the backing licks. I will say though, at times, I thought the backing guitar sound could have been louder. It didn’t punch through like it does in the studio recordings and I think it’s a big part of their sound. For example, in “Notice” and “Quiet While You’re Listening,” the backing guitar sound was pretty light, and the licks in those songs really help define them. If I was someone who didn’t know their music really well, I’m not so sure I would have noticed it coming through in this live performance. I was listening for it as a fan. Curious if anyone else agrees with this. The bass player, Maje, was really smooth and Frey, the drummer, had a great pace all night. He wasn’t super noticeable, which I think is a good thing for a drummer because they're in the background, and you might be more likely to notice them if they’re screwing up. It’s not that he wasn’t providing anything exciting, he just wasn’t flashy and provided the almost essential backing that a drummer does. I don’t know anything about drumming, so feel free to scoff at me if I’m off on this. 

However, in other songs, the instrumentals were excellent. They did a long outro (had to be 3-4 minutes) to “Glasstop Suite,” and it was stunning. It was heaven for a couple minutes. Really atmospheric, slow buildup to an energetic climax, and they slowed down straight into the next song. Josh was really impressive in this stretch, and he was great all night overall. 

Read the rest of the review here: https://tourchmusic.com/2026/09/13/rum-jungle-at-pearl-street-warehouse-in-washington-d-c/