Imagine hearing Maroon 5 perform at Clematis by Night. Impossible but plausible. Last Thursday, August 27, rain threatened to wash out the crowd gathered with lawn chairs and blankets on the Green Lawn in Downtown West Palm Beach, but it thankfully dissipated hours before East Harbor took the stage. If you closed your eyes as lead singer Josh Dobson sang the first few songs, you’d think Adam Levine, the recognizable frontman of Maroon 5, was performing that night.
The truth is, East Harbor, the five-piece band featuring Dobson, Robby Savage, David Gonzales, Dezmond Rogers, and Curtis Wright, made a splash with their good-vibes alternative pop-rock and multi-decade covers as the city glittered at the water’s edge.
Vero Beach-based —East Harbor was formed in 2014, and its name says a lot about their city. This quiet coastal city on Florida's Treasure Coast is known for more than its uncrowded pristine beaches, low-rise sunrises, “not high-rises” atmosphere, and boat marinas along the Indian River Lagoon. It’s also known for its vibrant culture and music scene.
“Everybody knows everybody in our town, especially if you're a musician,” says guitar player Robby Savage. “We’ve been playing together for almost 12 years, doing tours throughout South Florida, in cities like Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Delray Beach, West Palm Beach, and all along the East Coast, from New York, the Carolinas, Kentucky, Indiana… and Orlando and The Bahamas.”
The band comes from various musical backgrounds. Gonzales, Rogers, and Wright all have an extensive jazz history. So their interests are a little different, but when all five band members come together, they create an alternative pop/rock sound. When told that they sound like Maroon 5, Savage is quick to say thank you and then adds, “But that’s funny, because Josh has been on The Voice and American Idol. His golden ticket got him to Hollywood, and he made it to the group rounds, which is amazing to make it that far.”
The Music
East Harbor’s highest-streaming singles and crowd-pleasing live staples include “Lucid,” a beautiful ballad with a tone and style very much like Maroon 5, and the band's most popular track, which has dominated their streaming platforms with over 112,000 plays on East Harbor's Spotify. Other fans’ favorites include:
- "R.W.I.B. (Right Where I Belong)" – Another massive fan favorite that has crossed the 101,000 streams milestone on Spotify.
- "The Cure" – A highly popular 2024 single that quickly became a core track for listeners.
- "NXT2U" – A standout rhythmic synth-pop track widely loved by their community.
- "Exosphere" – Known for its upbeat, signature energetic melodies.
- "GHOST" – Released as a seasonal fall track, it instantly resonated with fans due to its catchy electric guitar leads and haunting hooks.
- "Away From You" and "Miss the Old You" – Consistently ranked among their most recognizable and requested original songs.
Big Rise to the Top
East Harbor’s big moment came on May 5, 2023, when they opened for The Chainsmokers at West Palm Beach’s Sunfest. Though Sunfest is currently on hiatus following multi-year financial losses, it was held annually along Flagler Drive on the downtown West Palm Beach waterfront since 1982 and grew into Florida's largest waterfront music and art festival, featuring various music genres.
“West Palm has a special place in our hearts,” says Savage. “We have grown with the community down here. We’ve played at Clematis by Night a couple of times, and it's really just such a cool event.”
East Harbor is returning to the studio to work on new material. Listeners can find their latest music across every digital landscape—including Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, and iTunes—and on their official East Harbor website.
For Savage, Dobson, Gonzales, Rogers, and Wright, the journey has been about more than just covering every digital landscape. It has been about creating new sounds and carrying them across cities, reshaping them along the way, and figuring out the crowd's energy.
“Our town taught us how to be true to our sound,” Savage says. “It taught us how to listen to the community and give them what they want to hear.”