She’s A Spy to kick off Saturday’s Strawberry Festival

This year’s Strawberry Festival entertainment on Saturday, June 17, kicks off with the southern tier band, She’s A Spy, who will play at the event for the first time.

She’s A Spy will perform at the Courthouse stage immediately following the 90-minute festival parade. Slated to play from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., She’s A Spy promises fest-goers an energized performance featuring their funky, synthetic-pop sound.

The band encourages fest-goers to wear their coolest sunglasses to the show and be ready for band giveaways.

Formed in the spring of 2016 and all hailing from Endicott, She’s A Spy brings a fresh pop sound to the Indie scene and is comprised of Brenna Swanger (vocals, guitar and synthesizer), Andy Weaver (guitar), Jake McKinney (drums) and Nate Roszel (guitar).

“Come and experience it,” an excited Swanger commented, and added, “Come hang out for some new tunes. We’ll play music everyone will enjoy.”

Swanger describes the She’s A Spy catalog of tunes as danceable and high-energy, and which includes some of their own original pieces as well as covers of smash hits from the 1980’s to today’s sounds.  

From Michael Jackson to Stevie Nicks’ classics to more recent music by the English rock band, The 1975, and the American rock band, Walk The Moon, the selections will appeal to all ages.

And if the name “She’s A Spy” conjures up memories of familiar lyrics from the 1980’s, your memory serves you right. The song “Bette Davis Eyes,” written and composed in 1974 by Jackie DeShannon and Donna Weiss, was recorded by Kim Carnes and hit the top ten in 1981. 

A line in the lyrics, “All the boys think she’s a spy, she’s got Bette Davis eyes” is where the band grabbed its catchy name. Interestingly, Swanger was in a restaurant with her father, brainstorming band name ideas, when he turned to her and said, “she’s a spy,” as they overheard the song playing in the background.  From then on, the memorable name stuck.

Swanger doesn’t mind when she’s frequently asked, “Are you a spy?” Her answer is a little different each time, yet she welcomes the question from fans and sees it as a fun connection to have with a famous song.       

Swanger’s history prior to the band is notable. She received multiple honors in songwriting competitions, recorded solo EP’s, and also recorded a music video, “Forged From Fire,” in Nashville, which she views as a stepping-stone and learning experience. On a music tour in Ireland, another significant line item on her music resume’, Swanger found inspiration for her penned song, “Under the Street Lights.”

Today, Swanger is the primary songwriter for the band and looks forward to composing, “The songs yet to surface.”

A self-produced band, Weaver has produced the band’s EP’s, including last year’s debut, and is currently working on two new EP’s this year. One of the new EP’s may be available by Strawberry Fest time.

Fans of She’s A Spy can stream and download their music from soundcloud.com. For information, find She’s A Spy on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.