The 1st place Pete Dougherty ever played a rock concert was Toquet Hall. It was a Battle of the Bands, back in 2001-ish.
He went on to Princeton. These days he’s a keyboard player/synethsizist with the indie band Hey Champ! Spin called them “the best discovery of Lollapalooza.”
Their 1st single, “Cold Dust Girl,” was played on the new “90210” series. Their music was also heard this year during New York Fashion Week shows.
The band — whose influences range from Cheap Trick to Giorgio Morodor — is in Buffalo and Syracuse this week. Next week they head to Albany and Amherst.
In between, they play Toquet Hall.
Dougherty returns to his roots this Friday (Oct. 8), for an 8 p.m. show.
It’s not quite the Beatles back in Liverpool — but for local fans, it’s close.
(For information on Hey Champ!’s Westport appearance, click here.)
Here's Hey Champ! Pete Dougherty is on the left.