Listening to Bearquarium is like swimming through a colorful aquarium full of bears and dancing your pants off while doing so (nothing’s impossible). Though the name originated from an epic elevator shaft connecting two Burlington, VT apartments to one another, the music has very little to do with this. The connection lies in the uniqueness of name and sound. Bearquarium. Is it whiskey-soaked rock, modern day afro-beat, old school soul? All of the above and more...

Bearquarium has often been compared to classic groups such as Tower of Power, Van Morrison and The Meters, yet their influences range from Fela Kuti to Talking Heads, Red Hot Chili Peppers to Derek Trucks, Mr. Bungle to Bonobo, Thievery Corporation to Led Zeppelin, and everything in between.

Since the success of their self-titled debut album in July 2009, the band has been touring New England, the greater Northeast and the Midwest, bringing their soul-infused rock to many clubs, festivals and colleges. Panigutti’s charismatic front man skills warm the crowd the way whiskey warms the belly. Complimented by slick horn lines, raging guitar, screaming organ, double percussion and fat bass tones, Bearquarium strikes chords of curiosity amongst crowds of all ages.

During the summer of 2010 Panigutti took a brief hiatus, which allowed the group to develop an even tighter instrumental core. Having since returned, the once-again eight piece unit has hit the scene fully charged and jam-packed with energy. In the last few months the group has written more music than ever before, with plans to record their second full length album at home in Vermont this February. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.