Michael Slyne, Paper Jays, and
Animal, Surrender!
Three Sheets New Haven
March 8, 2026
Who doesn’t love a downtown matinee show? Yesterday there was an additional reason to love the one at Three Sheets: It was happening on the day we all finally turned the clocks ahead. Daylight Savings Time may make everyone “lose” an hour, but it also means that if you attend a matinee, you will be heading home while the sun is still out. Even better, on this day the three acts at Sheets – Michael Slyne, Paper Jays, and Animal, Surrender! – brought their own kind of light to the stage and set the tone both literally and figuratively for the Spring ahead.
Another bonus: music promoter/DJ/musician Rick Omonte aka Shaki Presents was the one who brought these acts together to Sheets on this afternoon. If you are a local music fan you know one thing is for certain: if Omonte is involved, the music will never miss.
New London’s Michael Slyne opened the proceedings onstage with two guitars and one mighty pedal board that he used to present a short opening set that built up from soft and soothing like the rolling of the tide in and out coaxed gently from his strings to a more oceanic and expansive layered sound. It was all finesse and felt as fresh as the bursting forth of buds from the trees.
Every part of the guitar was used, front to back, to create this instrumental piece. He even held the guitar vertically towards the end of the set and made more percussive type motions to create yet another type of sound from it. Everyone who was already in the room was mesmerized, and everyone who came into the room became held by his spell. This is the type of music the demands your attention yet entrances you into a dreamlike state. When he finished Slyne smiled and thanked everyone for listening. We all smiled back.
The next two bands – Paper Jays from Rhode Island and Animal, Surrender! From New York – also played all instrumentals except for the latter bands set ending three covers. Paper Jays layered their sound – all permutations of guitars, percussion, and fiddle – in a way that kept offering surprises. Each piece came together, then apart, built up rhythmically, retreated to a corner and snuck back out again for more, at times feeling almost holy in its reverence for each instrument. Guitarist Jesse Cohen held a bell in his left hand as it slid it along the strings while the bells wrapped around his ankles joined in as he tapped his heels. At the same time Justin Hubbard held his guitar to his speaker and coaxed feedback into the mix. Elements of folk, psychedelic rock, experimental jazz, and Americana all found their way into that mix, and all were welcomed. The crowd responded with joy and their own reverence.
The duo of Peter Kerlin on bass and vocals and Rob Smith on drums and vocals formed Animal, Surrender!, earning that exclamation point in their name as they offered a searing final set with the sun lit sky still shining in through the window behind them. Their first song “Misswanderer “ was also the first song from their latest release, “A Boot for Every Bane.” The title song from that record was their second which you can see and hear for yourself in the video below. They joked about forgetting to bring copies of that record and their first record to this show to sell, but also reminded people that they could get those records on Bandcamp. This reporter is also going to remind everyone to explore these bands (any band we write about really) via Bandcamp or any other service you choose. We can only offer you a taste of what they can all do, but it’s nice to take a few bites of your own.
This act, like the other two, deserves to be heard in much larger bites. The duo created a sound that felt much bigger and beefier than two instruments: thick and rich, yet melodious and playful. Even their covers, which Kerlin also called “interpretations” added another dimension to their sound, especially their cover of Nick Drake’s “One of These Things First” which took the more folky and lighter original into much deeper darker territory. It was a deliciously haunting way to end this memorable set.
Kerlin looked out the window as he left the stage and yelled “It’s still light out.” Indeed, it was. Exclamation point.
