Joey Valence & Brae are a hip-hop duo from State College, Pennsylvania, comprised of writer/producer/vocalist Joseph Bertolino and writer/vocalist Braedan Lugue. They went viral in 2022 for their hit single “PUNK TACTICS,” and have since grown an adoring fanbase for their high-energy, 90s pop culture-infused beats. Our PR director, Fabi, sat down with the pair to discuss their stage presence, influences and journey to public acclaim.
Fabi: “What is it like to be here at ACL for the first time?”
Joey: “It’s exciting. We’ve never done ACL before, and we’re ready to party, baby.”
Fabi: “What’s the weirdest or most unknown sound sample that you guys have used in a song?”
Joey: “You know what? It’s the SpongeBob one. We sampled this song from a SpongeBob episode in our song ‘CAN’T STOP NOW,’ and that was just a ‘if you know, you know’ type of thing.”
Fabi: “What is your process when you’re producing a song?”
Joey: "It's what samples stick out to us. For me, I just go with what feels right, and then Brae and I just spit some words over, so it’s pretty fast.”
Fabi: “Throughout your shows, you guys always have so much high energy. How do you keep that, and how do you keep the crowd entertained to make sure they’re having as much of a good time as you are?”
Brae: “We interact with the crowd a ton, but I think people feed off of our energy because we’re dancing the entire time. I think people just kind of mirror what Joey and I are doing up on stage, so we’re having a good time, and you guys should too.”
Joey: “We force them to dance.”
Brae: “Yeah, we tell you to dance, and we force you to dance.”
And dance they did. The duo engaged a crowd of all ages, interacting with the audience frequently throughout the show and even prompting a mosh pit to break out. They opened their set with “THE BADDEST,” a song from their 2024 album No Hands.
Fabi: “Is the comparison to the Beastie Boys flattering to you guys, or is it getting old already?”
Brae: “No, it’s very flattering to get compared to legends like that, but I think our new music, especially our newest album HYPERYOUTH, pushes a lot of sounds and stuff that we’re into now. There are a lot of different influences that Joey and I have, so it’s definitely a good comparison, but we’re always sampling and doing new stuff these days to push a new sound forward.”
Fabi: “Recently, you’ve worked with Peggy (JPEGMAFIA) and Brown (Danny Brown) on “WASSUP” and “PACKAPUNCH.” What was it like working with them?”
Brae: “Danny’s just a crazy rapper. He spit that in one take, and it was just so impressive. I admire both of them, but Peggy is a creative and a producer I’ve liked so much who’s a big inspiration for the music, so to be able to make music with two of our biggest inspirations was a really big deal for us, and we’re really glad that they accepted us into a community and wanted to create music with us. It’s really cool.”
Fabi: “Do you guys listen to any different types of music, like Latin music, or different things that influence your production? Where do you get your ideas from?”
Brae: “I mean, it’s a lot of stuff. Production-wise, I listen to so many different things. It’s anything from hip hop to modern hip hop and old school, as well as electronic music. It was a very club-centered album, so it was very 2010s club music at the time, but also pushing these sounds from this indie sort of pop era that happened at the same time, like MGMT, M83 and Porter Robinson. Both of us are just bringing our styles of music that we really like to listen to into our lyrics and things like that.”
Fabi: “If you could be a surprise guest on any of the shows today at ACL, or all weekend, who would you choose? And if you could work with them outside of ACL, what would you make?”
Brae: “Dude, I wanna go dance on stage with Sabrina. That would be awesome. I also think making a song with Doechii would be fire.”
Joey: “I love the Strokes, I can’t wait to see them today. Empire of the Sun as well. There’s so many good acts here.”
Joey Valence & Brae were certainly one of those good acts. Delivering on their promise of a fun-filled set, the pair made it clear that they’re an artist to keep an eye out for. Amongst household names and headlining acts, Joey Valence & Brae left their mark on ACL as an ambitious duo eager to push the boundaries of hip hop and redefine what the genre will look like in the future.