The Paper Hats
Audio By Carbonatix
When Paula Tesoriero decided to book The Paper Hats for a one-night-only reunion after a seven-year hiatus, she knew she wanted the performance to be more than just a show.
“I want the things I do musically to mean something, to me and hopefully to others,” she said. “Not just another gig on the calendar.”
Talking to her, Tesoriero’s enthusiasm for creating something fun and memorable is palpable. Looking to create a sense of community and togetherness, she said she hopes the Paper Hats’ December 15 show at the Rebel Lounge will be a unique experience, from the hand-curated lineup to a welcoming committee at the door to other surprises for the audience.
“I really want the people who come to the show to feel like they are a part of it,” she said. “A show like this is enhanced by every single person who walks in, and I really want people to feel as if they are just as much a part of any magic that gets created that night as the people on the stage.”
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The Paper Hats
This has always been her mindset while playing with The Paper Hats, a Phoenix six-piece rooted in Tesoriero’s thoughtful songwriting, whose sound evokes the jazzier side of Belle and Sebastian or the horn-tinged baroque pop of Andy Shauf. Though the band’s lineup has fluctuated over the years, this show will feature Tesoriero on keys, Dominique Holley on bass clarinet, Briggs Kennedy on flute, Nikhita Sheller on saxophone, Jake Leyba on upright bass and Angelita Ponce on drums.
“Regardless of people’s interest in the music, it’s going to be a unique experience with all those different instruments on stage,” says Tesoriero. “That’s always been the point, to spark some joy and creativity.”
Tesoriero said that the story of the Paper Hats is a meandering one, beginning in 2014 with a fun, if slightly chaotic, debut at The Trunk Space. “We were still figuring it out,” she laughs. “I told the other people in the band, ‘Here are the chords, see you at the show.’”
The Paper Hats quickly carved out a niche in the Phoenix scene, frequently playing at the beloved, now-defunct Lost Leaf, as well as other spots around downtown Phoenix.
By 2016, the band was hitting its stride, culminating in a show at Rebel Lounge where they felt like the big headliners, even though they were technically the opener.
“That felt like our show, it was so packed,” they recall. “After that, we were getting asked to play farewell tours and other gigs. That seemed like the moment we could have kept going, and the band could have gotten pretty big.”
But life took Tesoriero in a different direction, as she left Phoenix that summer for an extended trip to Canada. After that, The Paper Hats remained dormant until they returned in 2018 for a show back at the Rebel Lounge, which ended up being a one-off reunion.
“It’s funny,” she says, reflecting on that 2018 show. “We were opening for a band that had just played a free in-store earlier that day, so it was really dead. When we went on, there were like eight people in the room. I remember thinking, ‘I don’t know if I want to do this anymore.’ It wasn’t anyone’s fault — I just didn’t have the energy to keep it going.”
After some years away from music, Tesoriero returned with her guitar-based group Paula T and Company and then collaborated on organizing a one-night performance of Philip Glass compositions at Crescent Ballroom in 2024. That experience got her thinking of bringing back the Paper Hats once again for a purposeful reunion.
“We worked for months on that Philip Glass show, and getting to curate that kind of musical experience for the community is a bit more where my strength lies, rather than just lining up a bunch of shows,” she said. “I decide that if we (The Paper Hats) were to continue in some capacity, I really want to make sure I have the time and space to make the shows mean something special.”
Tesoriero thinks it’s perfect that the Paper Hats will take the stage at Rebel Lounge once more on Dec.15, closing the loop on a story that began over a decade ago.
The Paper Hats play with Huemongrel and Tengo Suerte on Monday, December 15, at The Rebel Lounge. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show begins at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 plus fees.
