by Andrew Sellers || Writer

Neighbor isn’t a jam band, a longtime fan says. They’re a band that jams. 

That distinction may seem small, but Dan Kelly, Neighbor’s bass player, can explain. He says that the term jam band just doesn’t suit Neighbor’s style. The Boston-based band composes original songs for fans to enjoy, not to jam to them. Now, that’s not to say Neighbor doesn’t jam — they certainly do. But they’re a jam band with structure. Every set is different, but every song is a song — with lyrics, distinct instrumentation and form. 

“A big part of Neighbor (is) not necessarily knowing where we’re going but having a lot of faith that we’re going to get there as a group.” says Richard James, Neighbor’s vocalist and keyboardist.

James said Neighbor strives to put on a show everyone will enjoy. That means bringing in multiple genres and styles. Playing everything from soft ballads to energetic rock n’ roll tunes and hovering funk jams, the band keeps shows dynamic.  

Neighbor plays a lot of shows. In 2024, they performed 59 times, according to the stats on an officially unofficial website covering all things Neighbor. That’s more than one show a week, on average. 

To keep things interesting Neighbor is ready to play about 140 different tunes at a moment’s notice, Kelly said. He guesses about 80 percent of these are originals.

Keeping so many songs fresh must require a lot of rehearsing, right? Not quite. Neighbor doesn’t rehearse. Ever. Instead, the members practice the set on their own time. 

Songwriting works the same way. When Kelly writes a song, for instance, he usually plays and records all the instruments himself in his home studio. He then sends the demo to the band, the guys learn it, and next thing you know, it’s ready to go. To ensure everything goes smoothly, Neighbor runs their new songs during sound checks before shows. If it works, they play it that night; if it doesn’t, they give it a bit more time. 

“It’s a nice way of doing things, though,” Kelly says. “I mean, it kind of lights a bit of a fire under your ass and gets you to do the work.”

From Neighbors to Neighbor 

Neighbor’s serendipitous origins began decades ago. As a child, James lived right beside a boy named Lyle Brewer. Both boys grew up to play in separate bands. However, in 2019, they began playing music together — James on keys, Brewer on guitar. They toyed with “The Taste Buds” for a while, but decided it didn’t fit. Being childhood neighbors, they eventually named their band Neighbor, and they picked up a couple new members — Kelly, the bass player, and Dean Johnston on drums.

The band had snagged a residency at Thunder Road, a venue in Somerville, Massachusetts, where they performed every Tuesday night. Over the years, Neighbor built a vast repertoire of music, a reputation for good sound and an invested fan base of “neighbors.”

You’ll find those fans sharing experiences on the Facebook group “Neighbors,” discussing the latest show on Reddit’s r/jambands or even building a whole website to display Neighbor’s musical statistics. That’s neighbortunes.net.   

In February, Brewer, a busy professor and father, left the group. This left Neighbor needing a new guitarist. Luckily, a great guitarist had just opened up. Rob Compa from Dopapod, a jam band that had a successful run from 2007 to 2025.

“Honestly, any time you change a band member, it’s terrifying,” James says. “You don’t really know what to expect, you know?”

But Compa made the transition easy. For one, he already knew Neighbor — he went to Berklee while James was studying there, and he filled in for Brewer during a Neighbor tour in 2022.

Compa brings a new style of guitar playing to the band, which both James and Kelly are excited about. He also brought with him a lot of original music — material that’s never been performed before. Neighbor is hoping to debut some of these new tracks on their “Neighbor Goes South” tour, which consists of three shows on three consecutive nights. 

Neighbor will perform on the Sunrise Theater’s First Bank Stage on June 6, anchoring the 2025 First Friday series’ second installment. Southern Pines is the band’s second stop on their tour, and it’s the group’s first time here.

The Dads of Neighbor

Neighbor is a family affair, James says. All four members of Neighbor are fathers. Kids run around the green room before shows and ride on adults’ shoulders during them. They all know what it’s like to be a dad, so they have each other’s backs, especially when on tour, James says. The band tries to keep it to two tours a year.

Before Kelly started a family, he always wanted to be on the road. He says he would’ve played 200 shows a year if he could. “I didn’t have a lot to go back to,” he says.

Now, things have changed. 

“I’m a family guy,” says Kelly. He and his wife recently bought a new house in Cape Cod, where they’re raising their 2-year-old son. “Things are just so positive and fun around the house, you know?” he says.

When out on tour, he gets homesick. He also feels indebted to his wife for doing all the work at home when he’s gone.

James feels similarly. He says the worst part of touring is missing things back home. However, both musicians find it worth it in the end.

Even with the grueling, hours-long drives, the crappy road diet and the lack of good sleep, Kelly keeps touring. 

“You know, you get on stage, and you get to perform your original music that you poured your heart into,” he says. “That’s what I definitely look forward to most.”

James says his favorite part of touring is performing for people. He especially loves seeing unknown faces singing along to his songs and meeting new fans. Experiences like that make him feel that all the work he’s done has been worth it.

Neighbor has grown from a band of two childhood neighbors to a community of devoted fans.

“It’s not really about the band,” says James. “It’s about the fans and the community that we’ve all built together.”