BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — KarmaQueen will be releasing its first full-length album, “Projector,” on June 16, with a release party slated for June 28. The first single from the album, “Make You Dance,” releases this Friday.

The band is composed of singer and guitarist Kaley Lynch, her sister Andrea Lynch, drummer and sax player Evan Kaminski, and bassist Michael Militello.

“We’re super stoked to finally let this album out into the wild,” Kaminski said.

Kaley Lynch said the the name of the album comes from people’s tendencies to project ideas onto others.

“Each of the songs on the album deals with issues of projection,” she said. “They deal with people’s fantasies of you, their mischaracterizations, people putting what they want to see onto you. I think that that’s something that a lot of people can relate to, so we’re hoping that people can find something in this album to connect with.”

The band will be playing its album release show on June 28 at Buffalo’s Mohawk Place, with Jupiter Trolley, Dead Orchids, and Skyway opening.

KarmaQueen will also be playing Elmwood Village Porchfest on Saturday at Iron Tail Tavern, starting at 3 p.m., as well as Kenmore Porchfest on June 25.

Militello said the band will be playing this weekend rain or shine.

“If you happen to be in the neighborhood of Auburn and Elmwood, we’ll be there making noise,” he said.

How the band got its name: “Queen” relates to the Lynch sisters being the stars of the band, according to Kaminski, and “Karma” comes from the idea that good things happen to good people.

What artists inspire KarmaQueen: EK Charles Mingus, Them Crooked Vultures, KL Rilo Kiley, Beach Bunny, Vampire Weekend, MM Frank Desiree, Folkfaces, Joe Donohue, Grosh, Queen City Knights, AL Taylor York, Tosin Abasi

Their favorite venues to play: Buffalo’s Mohawk Place, Mister Goodbar, Nietzsche’s

Their favorite songs to play live: EK Still (Mac DeMarco cover), KL Make You Dance, MM Nothing at All, No Scrubs (TLC cover), AL Make You Dance, Summer Vibes

Their dream concert lineups:

Mike Militello

  1. Super Killer Robots
  2. Paramore
  3. KarmaQueen

Kaley Lynch

  1. Paramore
  2. Beach Bunny
  3. MisterWives
  4. KarmaQueen

Evan Kaminski

  1. July Talk
  2. Tokyo Police Club
  3. Them Crooked Vultures
  4. KarmaQueen

Andrea Lynch

  1. Icarus the Owl
  2. Paramore
  3. KarmaQueen

Prior to their Music Monday interview, KarmaQueen played three songs in the News 4 studio. Watch the band perform “Make You Dance,” “Summer Vibes,” and “Nothing at All” below:

For more information about KarmaQueen and their music, visit the following links:

Thumbnail image courtesy of KarmaQueen.

Music Monday was a weekly digital series created and produced by Adam Duke to showcase artists from Western New York and their work. A total of 39 artists were featured on the segment between September 2022 and June 2023.

Adam Duke is a digital producer who has been part of the News 4 team since 2021. See more of his work here.