The Front Bottoms' Brian Sella on 10 Years of Champagne Jam, New Music and Lessons Learned: 'I Feel So Lucky' (Exclusive)

• The Front Bottoms' annual Champagne Jam festival is coming to Atlantic City, N.J. on Dec. 14

• Lead singer Brian Sella tells PEOPLE this year's iteration "is the biggest one we have ever done"

• He also says the band will release new music in 2025: "I'm just excited to keep the art going"
  

The Front Bottoms are just happy to be here.

The rock band, made up of lead singer Brian Sella and drummer Mat Uychich, is approaching the 10th year of their annual Champagne Jam festival and reflecting on their journey to this moment.

The small-scale music festival — which first took place in December 2014 — sees the New Jersey natives perform alongside their friends and favorite bands to commemorate the end of the year.

Ahead of their Dec. 14 jam in Atlantic City, N.J., Sella, 36, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview this year's festival is their "biggest one" yet.

"It always sneaks up on you," he says of the milestone. "It is all important. This particular Champagne Jam is the biggest one we have ever done. I feel so lucky and it feels like such an accomplishment."

This year marks the festival's return to their home state and the first time they are putting on bicoastal shows, as they have already performed two in Anaheim, Calif. on Nov. 22 and Nov. 23.

The east coast show will be at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino with guests Sweet Pill; Hey, Nothing; Glitterer; Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band; Matt Pryor; Well Wisher; Chris Gethard; Benny Feldman; and Palamino.

But what is Champagne Jam really? Sella tells us that the self-organized music festival has been "a big Front Bottoms thing for a long time."

"We invest a lot into the shows, personally and emotionally," he says. "So each one is exciting. Even if it was a really small show, as long as everybody there was having a good time, it was a special event. We try to maintain that energy of always doing it for the people in the room."

Sella continues, "We are there to entertain people and keep it positive. It is such a weird world right now that to be able to have a moment with a group of people where you're all just singing the same song together is very special."

He notes that as the band members have gotten older, they "really appreciate it so much more."

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As for the name, "We call it the Champagne Jam because when we were younger, the whole thing was you had to finish a bottle of champagne on stage," Sella explains. "So, the sets would sometimes be really long because it would take us a long time to finish it. Or sometimes they'd be really quick because we'd be drinking them really fast. Because of that, I don’t have too many memories of the shows, but they're all very special to me, and I feel lucky to get to do it."

The band has taken the festival all over the world, as they're sometimes on tour when the holiday season rolls around — like last year, when they did a sold-out jam in London during their Road to the Jam U.K. tour.

"I would love to have it keep growing in the way that it has been — just in a natural way," Sella says. "Maybe next year, there will be an opportunity to do it somewhere bigger or more unique."

While The Front Bottoms are deep in the Champagne Jam groove, they are also actively on their Finding Your Way Home tour in support of their 2023 album, You Are Who You Hang Out With.

"It is a little hectic," the singer says. "Me and Mat [Uychich] basically do everything. He is very good with administrative work, and I'm the emotional one. It is intense, but again, I always go back to how lucky I am to do this. Everything comes together. That's something you realize in this industry. The show is gonna happen and as long as you're there with a good vibe, it'll be okay."

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The Front Bottoms formed in 2006 while Sella was a student at N.J.'s Ramapo College. Two years in, they self-released their debut album I Hate My Friends. They have now dropped a total of eight studio albums featuring their signature boyish, angsty charm — two of which are from the independent label Bar/None while the most recent four are from Warner Music's Fueled By Ramen.

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Candidly, Sella says the biggest challenge he has faced over the years in the music industry was having confidence while putting out new songs. "Years and years ago, it was just a very natural thing," he recalls. "I was just in my room playing my guitar, reading my poems, and then putting it out for the world to hear. I didn't really think of any other steps involved."

He adds, "Now that I have gotten older, and I am a little more aware that there are people listening to this stuff, it is just about staying true to myself and remembering that all ideas are good. And also realizing that people who like our music are waiting for us to tell them what's cool."

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Amid the evolving music scene and experimenting with new sounds, Sella looks back fondly on the band’s self-titled 2011 LP. "A lot of those songs came together very naturally," he says. "That is one that I can go back and listen to, and be like, 'Wow, this is very unique, good-feeling music.' "

When asked if he plans on releasing new music next year, he says, "Absolutely."

"2023 and 2024 were a little rough," he shares. "We had a couple practice spaces where I would go to write music that flooded. I basically just spent the past six months at my own house, building a little sort of demo studio room so that I could just get back into making music and putting out stuff when I feel like it. That's going to be big for me in the new year. I'm just excited to keep the art going and feel more comfortable in the space."

Tickets for Champagne Jam are now on sale.

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