Embodying the mantra of wearing one’s heart on their sleeve, the members of Bumpin Uglies have been setting poetry to an upbeat melody for close to two decades. As unfiltered and revealing in their personal lives as they are through their lyrics, they pull no punches in telling their life story of growing from a group in the Mid-Atlantic to becoming a nationally touring phenomenon with a devout fan base in every city they play. Even after years on the road together, their rapport with each other appears stronger than ever, never missing an opportunity for friendly banter when they get together.

Grateful Web got to sit down with Frontman Brandon Hardesty and drummer T.J. Haslett at this year’s Cali Roots festival in Monterey to speak with them about their year in the music industry, the collaborative nature of their corner of the music industry, and how they balance a life on the road with their lives at home.

Grateful Web: You started your set today by saying, “That was like a nightmare except I wasn’t naked,” when your set started almost a half hour late. What set you back today?

Brandon Hardesty: Do you want the real answer?

GW: I do.

BH: Buju Banton used up all of our sound check time for band practice, and we were happy to watch it, because that’s just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

T.J. Haslett: But they ruled.

BH: Yeah, they did. We were supposed to get on the stage at 10:45, and they were still playing at 12:10, and then our set was supposed to start five minutes after, but the stage manager was awesome and they were like “Yeah, just play your whole set. We’re going to start you as soon as we can, and we’re going to make it work.”

TJ: I was setting up the drums and I got it to where I’m good and I got some time, and then all the sudden I feel something moving, and I look up, and people are pushing me out, because the drum set is on a little platform with wheels,  and then I saw everybody, and I was like “Ah, fuck.”

BH: How much weed have you smoked today, TJ?

TJ: I’m telling a story, motherfucker. But I’ve smoked a lot.

BH: A lot?

TJ: Yeah. We had time.

BH: How many joints?

TJ: Just like one or two.

BH: Ok. These are the hard-hitting answers people want to hear.

GW: So you’ve toured in venues of all sizes for many years. What’s the most memorable way you’ve ever had a show derailed?

BH: Oh dude, I don’t know, man. There was a run of shows we did a few years ago in the Carolinas. There were three shows in a row where the venue lost power while we were onstage for various reasons.

TJ: We’ve had a lot of bad shows.

BH: Ok, let’s unpack that. We’ve had some bad shows. We’ve had bad shows, every band has bad shows, most of our bad shows are because of life as opposed to us being fucked up or fucking up, which, there are some of those as well, but the majority of the bad shows are because of things like power outages. We’ve actually had a surprising number of power outages at shows.

GW: Your new single Orange Crush just dropped, and it's your first single with Logan Rex since 2021. Can you speak to your relationship with Artikal Sound System and why you felt now was a good time for another collaboration?

BH: So, Logan has just been one of my favorite people. Not just in this scene, but in life. We’ve gotten really close over the last five years. We just have a very similar relationship with music and a very similar philosophy on all this stuff. And we have a similar sense of humor, too, which a lot of our songwriting stems from humor in some situations. It’s good to just be on the same page with someone when you’re collaborating. For me, sometimes I’ll get an idea for a song, and in my head I’ll just hear I just hear a chick on it, and when I think that, I’ll just go to Logan. She’s my girl. We work well together, I like the way our voices sound together, and it’s just fun working with her.

GW: On that note, reggae really has become the genre with the most features on singles and collaborations between artists in their music. What is it about this community that invites artists to come together in the studio?

TJ: Snoop Dogg.

BH. It all comes back to Snoop Dogg.

TJ: What was his name? Mad Lion?

BH: Snoop Lion?

TJ: Snoop Lion!

BH: It all comes back to the collaboration that started with hip hop. And it’s cool, fans love seeing it, and that’s why fans come to these festivals more than anything, I think, is to see the collaborations happen live. That’s the pure side of it, and you’ve seen a lot more of it because of the business side of it, and a lot of people just do it because they just want to hit a lot of other artists’ Spotifys. It’s like marketing, but that’s just a part of the business. I think it’s ok to be aware of that, but not to do it just because of that, because it takes away from the art in my opinion.

GW: Was Locust Avenue a real place?

BH: 100 percent. It was just a house in Annapolis, just the first house my boys had when we were out of high school. It lasted for like four or five months.

TJ: Was that the one that got raided?

BH: It was the first one that got raided, yes. So, Locust Avenue got raided, and then they got evicted, and the dude who got Locust Avenue raided, I moved in with him a few months later, and then that house got raided too. He got away from the Locust avenue shit, he did not get away from the next one.

TJ: He was bad at selling drugs.

BH: He was really bad at selling drugs. But the song has that everyman quality, and I think everyone’s kind of lived through a story like that.

GW: Your band has had some lineup changes in the last year or so. Are you still on good terms with Dave Wolf? How did his leaving the band happen?

BH: Not really. I don’t talk to him.

TJ: I mean, he doesn’t really hit us up or anything. It just wasn’t working. I think he’s in a much calmer place, but I don’t think he really wanted to tour like this anymore.

GW: So with touring as much as you do and with families back home, how do you balance time spent on the road with making sure your loved ones back home get the love and attention they deserve?

BH: When I’m home, I try to be all in on being home. I try to turn it up to 11 and give my kids as much attention as I can. Really try to make the time I spend with them quality time, do cool things, and make sure they feel supported and loved.

GW: Is there anything you’re working on that you’re excited about?

BH: Yeah, we've got a new record coming out this year, we just released Orange Crush, which is a new single. Yeah, baby, we’re just in album mode. It’s the best stuff we’ve ever done, and it’s going to be coming out soon.

GW: You’ve been talking with the press your whole career. What’s one question you’ve never gotten in an interview before?

TJ: How big is your dick?

GW: Well, you don’t have to answer that.

TJ: I won’t. This is family-friendly.

BH: I’ve seen it, it’s average. Hit him up on Instagram, ladies!