502s Frontman Ed Isola Talks Authenticity, Spreading Positivity and Creating Community in Indie Music
On October 1 Boston got a taste of Floridian sunshine when The 502s took the stage at Boston’s Citizens House of Blues to perform their latest album Easy Street, which encapsulates the band’s authenticity and ethos with each track.
The 502s are a Maitland-based independent beach-folk band, comprised of lead singer Ed Isola, guitarist Graci Phillips, brass and woodwind player Joe Capati, percussionist Sean Froehlich and bassist Nicholas Dallas.
“I think people like The 502s’ music because [. . .] we are a family and we are all generally very positive and optimistic people,” Isola said in an interview with The Independent. The 502s are focused on creating art that reflects how they really feel. “I think that’s what connects people [to it],” Isola said.
The band markets themselves as “the happiest band on Earth,” and is dedicated to a mission beyond their musical craft: creating a community built on authentic positivity.
This mission is exemplified most in their live shows. By the end of their Boston concert, the Citizen’s House of Blues felt at its limit — both of people and energy — when the last note of “Feels Good To Be Me” was played and the band left the stage. Moments later, the audience raised the venue’s roof as The 502s entered the middle of the crowd to begin their encore with “End of the World.” As fans gathered around the band on the floor and packed the edge of the balcony, phone flashlights and hands waved through the air, singing to the lyrics about a bond that transcends the ordinary. The band — physically and vocally — became one with the crowd.
Lively strums kick off the album on the lead track “Sayonara,” setting an energetic pulse that is a throughline until the band’s routine heartfelt ballad “Quicksand.” Each of the 13 tracks’ instrumentation of varied guitars, traditional and non-traditional percussion, saxophone, trumpet, banjo and keyboard supplements the pulse with an auditorily-pleasing texture. Repetitive lyrics with simplistic structures encourage listeners to actively participate by singing to the catchy lyrics and dancing to the lively rhythm. The tracks “Summer Fling” and “Your Nonsense Makes Sense” became instant hits because of their memorable refrains that quickly stick in listeners’ minds. The Boston crowd screamed along to the line “You just make sense to me,” from “Your Nonsense Makes Sense.”
These energetic, catchy tracks are the product of a trusting and inclusive collaboration between the entire band. When Isola — who writes the majority of The 502s’ songs — enters the band’s collaboration sessions with melodies or chords of a potential song, he always opens himself up to feedback from the band. Because of the bandmates’ trust, they are able to give and receive feedback without ever feeling the need to protect their ego.
“It’s like, ‘Well, this is my friend. They just want the song to be as best it can be. So, like, let’s hear each other out,’ kind of energy,” Isola said.
Recognizing each band member’s individual talent, they share opinions, even without intricate knowledge of each instrument. The finished product of these collaboration sessions is a testament to the collective effort put into every part of the song.
Isola pointed out that “Your Nonsense Makes Sense” and “Sweet Tooth” go beyond individual instrumentation and lyricism to connect with listeners by using an additional technique called gang vocals. Gang vocals are the stacking of multiple vocal tracks to create a crowd-like effect.
“There’s so many different tracks of us screaming, and they sounded insane by themselves,” Isola said. “It’s not every day that you get to yell at the top of your lungs in that falsetto voice, and have it go on a recording that will live forever.”
The band’s lively, fun-loving spirit and close-knit connection transcends their music production. This connection resonates with fans, further establishing the band’s authenticity behind their call for positivity and community.
One notable tradition is the Rockettes’ kickline— where Phillips, Capati and Dallas playfully perform the famous kickline during a portion of “Like My Father” — which demonstrates true friendship and bonding that is apparent to fans. Additionally, the nightly tradition of individual solos throughout band performances places every band member on an equal pedestal. Their admiration for one another is prominently displayed on stage when they watch each other in the spotlight.
The 502s maximize opportunities for fan outreach by making their tracklists unique to every crowd. Extractions and additions are based on crowd energy or requests on social media — each concert is tailored to the specific crowd, which feeds the intimacy between the fans and the band.
“We try to tailor the actual order of the songs based off of how the crowd energy is ’cause we feel like you can’t force people to want to hear a certain song at the right moment,” Isola said. “You can kind of feel the energy of the room.”
This energy is built upon with every song, lacking any lulls. In Boston during their performance of “Quicksand” — Easy Street’s heartfelt ballad — fans lit up the packed venue with phone flashlights swaying in the air as a soft singalong took place. Energetic songs like “Something’s Gonna Go Our Way” and “Feels Good To Be Me” made fans from the barricade to the balcony jump to Froehlich’s lively pulse.
Isola said that social media benefits bands, “especially when it comes to getting more eyes on the project at the same time.” Fan outreach and chemistry on stage are imperative to The 502s’ belief that online virality, interactive fan culture and entertaining concerts “all kind of work together” to build the band’s long-term success. The band prioritizes acknowledging the support they receive for their music releases and concerts. In their earlier days they were able to respond to fans a lot quicker compared to their larger fan base now, but they still do it because “I think we all genuinely just enjoy it,” Isola said.
Onstage traditions also increase audience participation, adding to the already-profound levels of crowd energy. One crowd favorite is Capati’s call-and-response segment between songs, in which he induces the crowd’s vocals with his soprano clarinet. Capati instills a connection between himself and the audience in a manner that is often unheard of at concerts, starting a musical conversation with instrumental phrases.
Fans recognize the connection formed between the band and their audience with Capati’s and other traditions. “I’ve been listening to their music, but to see them perform live was a whole different deal,” Sarah Miles, 55, a fan from Fernandina Beach, Florida, said after the Boston concert. “It was so amazing, so much energy, so much good vibes. The spirit in the room was amazing.”
To end the night, The 502s ran back onto stage to perform their 2021 hit song, “Just A Little While,” which further ignited the crowd’s rampant energy. The venue shook as Isola began singing the chorus, and the band and fans jumped on Froehlich’s pulse as one unified being. Screaming the viral lyrics at the top of their lungs, the concert reached a peak in decibels and community for the night. Although the lyrics beg for a lover’s recognition with the repetitive “Tell me,” through the collective singalong, every person in the room was recognized..
It was a collective belonging. A collective happiness. A community.
“There’s just something about it when you hear it for the first time; it just makes you happy — they’re not the happiest band on Earth for no reason,” Emilee Peel, 22, a fan from Salt Lake City, Utah, said after the show.
The 502s continue their spread of happiness and community across the country, Canada and Europe as they complete the second leg of their Easy Street tour into 2026.
Easy Street and the rest of The 502s’ discography can be found on Spotify and Apple Music. The rest of their tour dates and the announcement of future tours can be found on their website.
“Boston and Orlando are two of the shows that we are always like, ‘Those crowds are going to show up,’” Isola said. Since Orlando is the band’s homeground, this puts Boston’s crowds high on the pedestal for matching the band’s energetic joy. “We love Boston for that. So, yes, we’ll definitely be back.”
Regions: Boston