St. Lucia performs at August Hall in San Francisco on Oct. 28, 2022. Mike DeWald/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — Dance pop quintet St. Lucia, touring new album Utopia, brought a kaleidoscopic performance to August Hall Friday night. The group, led by guitarist Jean-Philip Grobler and keyboardist Patti Beranek, front-loaded the…

Patti Beranek and Jean-Philip Grobler of St. Lucia photographed in South Africa in February 2022. Courtesy Gabrielle Kannemeyer. All other photos courtesy of Jean-Philip Grobler. Editor’s note: Friend of RIFF Jean-Philip Grobler, of newly indie band St. Lucia, has been chronicling his and his wife and bandmate Patti Beranek’s…

Patti Beranek and Jean-Philip Grobler of St. Lucia photographed in South Africa in February 2022. Courtesy Gabrielle Kannemeyer. Jean-Philip Grobler and Patti Beranek, the primary songwriters in synth-pop band St. Lucia, have kept a low profile for the last few years. After concluding several tours for 2018’s Hyperion, the…

St. Lucia performs at August Hall in San Francisco on Oct. 15, 2018. Photos: Gary Chancer. SAN FRANCISCO — A show that began inauspiciously turned worse for St. Lucia frontman Jean-Philip Grobler Monday when he fell and injured his ankle on the second of two shows at August Hall.…

St. Lucia. Courtesy: Shervin Lainez. Jean-Philip Grobler still dreams of having the biggest band in the world. The St. Lucia frontman acknowledges that the time may not be right for his earnest, heart-on-sleeve pop music. Even when he was in the middle of writing his band’s third record, Hyperion, there…

Enigmatic dance pop has proven a strong suit of South African New Yorker Jean-Phillip Grobler. The St. Lucia frontman built up his classical chops singing in the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir. His training coincided with an ardent side-affinity for ‘80s legends like Phil Collins and Michael Jackson. Hyperion St. Lucia Sept. 21…