post punk
girls
52
1979 Yellow
1980 Wild Planet
1983 Whammy!
1986 Bouncing off the satellites
1989 Cosmic Thing
1992 Good Stuff
2008 Fun Plex
Huh, get a job?
Love Shack
Mesopotamia
Rock Lobster
Deadbeat Club
Dance This Mess Around
Photo Credit: Sveinn Photography
hot lava
Dance Party
Everybody’s movin’, everybody’s groovin’…
Book the world’s greatest party band tribute!
Private Events
Need to turn your private event into a real party out of bounds?! We got you covered. Birthday Parties. Weddings. Hotel Parties. Family Reunions. Class Reunions. Corporate Events.
Clubs
We’ve been packing energetic crowds of party-crazed Northwesterners into Oregon/Washington area venues for over 10 years. Want us to rock your club?
Up next
mississippi studios!
3939 N Mississippi Ave
Portland, OR 97227
March 8, 2025
9pm - Doors Open 8:30pm
2025 surf guitar fest!
6285 E Pacific Coast Hwy
Long Beach, CA 90803
August 2, 2025
THE WANNA BE-52’S ARE PLAYING THE 2025 SURF GUITAR 101 FESTIVAL
August 1, 2 & 3
The Historic Crystal Ballroom & The Taboo Tiki Room
Golden Sails Hotel - Long Beach, CA
IT’S TRUE! The Wanna Be-52’s have been invited to perform at the 2025 Surf Guitar 101 Festival in Long Beach, California. “But why,” you ask? Fair question
The SG101 Festival is THE place where the top instrumental surf bands from around the world gather to perform for a lucky, reverb-drenched audience who just can’t get enough. So far, 25 different surf bands are planning to participate in the 3-day event. They’re coming from Croatia, Japan, Poland, Great Britian and of course, all across the USA.
The geniuses who organize this surf music extravaganza understand that sometimes our ears need a break from the drip. Therefore, The Taboo Tiki Room exists featuring “surf friendly” bands. Bands like The Wanna Be-52’s.
The WB52s are planning to perform three 30-minute sets the afternoon of Saturday, Aug 2nd. Songs will be almost exclusively from the first 2 albums.
Nerd Alert
Look closely at the headstock of the blue guitar Ricky used a lot. It’s a Mosrite of California Ventures model. VERY surfy stuff right there.
THE WANNA BE-52’S ARE PLAYING THE 2025 SURF GUITAR 101 FESTIVAL
August 1, 2 & 3
The Historic Crystal Ballroom & The Taboo Tiki Room
Golden Sails Hotel - Long Beach, CA
IT’S TRUE! The Wanna Be-52’s have been invited to perform at the 2025 Surf Guitar 101 Festival in Long Beach, California. “But why,” you ask? Fair question
The SG101 Festival is THE place where the top instrumental surf bands from around the world gather to perform for a lucky, reverb-drenched audience who just can’t get enough. So far, 25 different surf bands are planning to participate in the 3-day event. They’re coming from Croatia, Japan, Poland, Great Britian and of course, all across the USA.
The geniuses who organize this surf music extravaganza understand that sometimes our ears need a break from the drip. Therefore, The Taboo Tiki Room exists featuring “surf friendly” bands. Bands like The Wanna Be-52’s.
The WB52s are planning to perform three 30-minute sets the afternoon of Saturday, Aug 2nd. Songs will be almost exclusively from the first 2 albums.
Nerd Alert
Look closely at the headstock of the blue guitar Ricky used a lot. It’s a Mosrite of California Ventures model. VERY surfy stuff right there.
Dance this mess around
Rocking party venues since 2013.
The Spanish Ballroom
Rock Lobster
Tiki Kon
Quiche Lorraine
The Star Theater
Love Shack
About Us
The Wanna Be-52’s is Portland, Oregon’s tribute to the original post-punk, new wave pioneers, often hailed as being The World’s Greatest Party Band! From “Rock Lobster” to “Love Shack” and everything in between, this band has been polishing their authentic sounding, stripped down tribute for more than 10 years! They focus on the first two legendary albums (the “Red” and “Yellow” albums) and include later dance floor favorites from the band’s top charting hits. Attend any of their super energetic performances, and it’ll be a party out of bounds on your cosmic trip to Planet Claire and beyond.
Photo Credit: Sveinn Photography
The Wanna Be-52’s is made up of six experienced, fun-loving musicians, all of which are big fans of the band from Athens GA. They pride themselves in sounding as close to the original early recordings as possible, and love bringing that energy to the stage!
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Photo Credit: Sveinn Photography
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