By MATT KITE for Weekly Volcano – April 2025
For the last two decades, Champagne Sunday has been carving out a unique niche for itself among indie music artists. Described by loyal fans as “Pearl Jam meets Bette Midler,” wife-and-husband team Jessi and Jared Fredeen moved from Southern California to Tacoma in 2012. The glam-folk duo will be celebrating 20 years of making music with the release of their tenth album, the self-titled Champagne Sunday, which will be streaming May 14 and available on vinyl May 31.
Both Jessi and Jared view the record as the culmination of a long creative arc. Previous albums, they say, have shown the combination of influences that their various bandmates and producers at the time brought to the console during the recording process. But this time around, Jessi and Jared knew exactly what they wanted before they started, and they felt satisfied afterward that they’d turned their vision into reality.
“This is the first time we’ve felt like this is us,” Jared explains. “This is truly who we are.”
Adds Jessi, “It feels like who we have fought to be.”
A listening party for the new album is slated for April 16 at the Grand Cinema in Tacoma’s historic St. Helens District, with tickets going for $10, doors opening at 6:00 p.m., and the fun starting at 7:00 p.m. The new album features ten tracks, including the single “The Elephant,” a dramatic ballad that features Jessi on lead vocals and acoustic guitar and Jared on piano. At the listening party, each track will be accompanied by lyrics and visuals playing on the big screen. Afterward, guests can offer their feedback on the record in the form of on-camera reviews, and the band will be giving away a suitcase record player to one lucky winner as part of a raffle.
Few local acts approach promotion with the enthusiasm, creativity, or cleverness of Champagne Sunday, which means fans will be able to celebrate the new album’s release in multiple ways. A month and a half after hosting the listening party, Champagne Sunday will be performing a full-band show at the Airport Tavern on Saturday, May 31. Three tiers of tickets will be available: VIP Plus for $100, VIP for $70, and general admission for $40. Just like at the listening party, a suitcase record player will be raffled off to the lucky person who buys the winning ticket.
And for those who enjoy a good mystery, a free copy of the new album will be hidden at Hi-Voltage Records in the 6th Avenue District. Fans can follow Champagne Sunday on social media to find out clues about the record’s whereabouts. And anyone can buy the record there after its official release.
The producer behind the album is JP Hesser of Castaway Seven Studios in Ventura, California. JP and Jared were bandmates in Pennsylvania more than two decades ago before moving together to Ventura, where Jared helped JP build his fledgling studio. Jared eventually moved on to focus on writing and performing his own music, and not long afterward, Jared and Jessi met and began collaborating together.
JP produced Champagne Sunday’s first album. Back then, both band and producer were finding their way.
“It’s a full-circle moment,” Jessi says. “He made our first album with us, and neither one of us truly knew what we were doing. You can feel the greenness in the CD and the production of it. So it was so cool to come back twenty years later. He’s worked with amazing artists down there and is an amazing engineer now. He really knows who he is as an engineer and producer.”
The same can be said of Champagne Sunday as a band. This time around, Jessi and Jared had the music so well developed during the pre-production process that JP didn’t have much to do other than augment what had already been created.
“It was a relaxing and organic experience,” Jessi says of the recording sessions at Castaway.
Both Jessi and Jared can sing and play multiple instruments. With her punk-styled coif that’s always changing colors, Jessi commands center stage as the frontwoman and lead vocalist, while Jared anchors the sound with his nimble acoustic guitar playing. They keep a busy live schedule and play year-round in greater Puget Sound and elsewhere. Anyone curious to learn more about the duo can check out their website at champagnesunday.com or follow them on social media. Their music can be streamed on Spotify and elsewhere.
