Live Session | Jacksonville Indie-Folk Band Bobby Kid Plays Songs from their Beloved New Record, ‘Babyface’

A few weeks back, the Jacksonville Music Experience conducted an in-no-way-scientific poll of our Instagram followers (a small-but-mighty bunch nearing 2K; follow here) based on the following prompt: Fave Local Release of 2023. Of the four-dozen or so respondents, nearly half said they either liked Bobby Kid‘s Babyface or a song from the band’s new full-length album.

In some ways it was a rather predictable outcome. The Jacksonville indie-folk band has been beloved on the local indie scene since 2017, when the group first began performing live versions of the tracks that would make up their 2018 EP Peach.

After nearly a half-decade in which Bobby Kid teased a smattering of new singles and a vinyl seven-inch, the April release of the Babyface proved the band had plenty left in the tank. The album’s 10 songs are a showcase of singer and guitarist Anna Lester’s honest songwriting. And the quintet — Lester (vocals, guitar), Brian Lester (drums), Phillip Less (guitar), Daniel Hubert Jr. (bass) and Caleb Hollan (piano) — finds comfort as bricklayers of the foundation for Lester’s pensive lyrics and newfound dynamism as custom-home builders, experimenting with both jagged and decorative edges of the record’s soundscapes.

• Listen to Anna Lester talk about her creative process on Songwriting School

Days before the release of the record, Bobby Kid joined us on the JME Soundstage inside WJCT Public Media. The group played two tracks from Babyface and talked about the making of the album. Watch above.

And head to our NPR Live Sessions page to watch Bobby Kid and more local, regional, national and international artists performing in and around Jacksonville.