Sat, Oct 18
an Attempt at Romantic
Nicotine Dolls
9:00PM (Doors: 8:00PM )
Ages 21 and Up
This event is at Belly Up
143 S. Cedros Ave, Solana Beach, CA

SPOTIFY PRESALE 4/3/2025 @ 10:00AM PT
ARTIST PRESALE 4/3/2025 @ 10:00AM PT
PUBLIC ON SALE 4/4/2025 @ 10:00AM PT
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THERE IS A DELIVERY DELAY IN PLACE FOR THIS SHOW. Tickets will be delivered to your inbox 48 hours in advance of the show. 


General Admission Ticket Price: $25 adv / $30 day of
Reserved Loft Ticket Price: $44
Note: Loft & GA tickets available at box office. Convenience service charges apply for online & phone purchases. Loft Seating Chart Virtual Venue Tour

VIP Meet & Greet UPGRADE (available online only) - $50
-Early Entry 1 hour prior to doors
-Photo with the band
-Autograph
Does NOT include a ticket to the show. Must also purchase a ticket. 

Box Office: 858-481-8140 | Boxoffice@bellyup.com | FAQ

Not on the e-mail list for venue presales? Sign up to be a Belly Up VIP and you will never miss a chance to grab tickets before they go on sale to the general public again!

There are no refunds or exchanges on tickets once purchased.
All times and supporting acts are subject to change.


THERE IS A DELIVERY DELAY IN PLACE FOR THIS SHOW. Tickets will be delivered to your inbox 48 hours in advance of the show. 

Nicotine Dolls
Nicotine Dolls make the kind of music you can’t hide from. The storytelling is front-and-center, beckoning your attention like a dusty old novel you can’t put down until the last page. The vocals are gritty and honest, holding nothing back in fits of joy, regret, and sadness similar to a phone call from one of your best friends at 3am. The instrumentation is equally punchy and nuanced, grafting rafter-reaching hooks on top of rich soundscapes. The moment the New York alternative quartet—Sam Cieri [vocals], John Hays [guitar], John Merritt [bass], and Abel Tabares [drums]—plug in, it’s as if a rush of collective emotion floods through the speakers. 

Nicotine Dolls officially emerged in 2019 at the crossroads between its members’ respective paths. As the story goes, Sam met John Hays in 2015 during a Broadway tour. “I ended up there because I was getting evicted from my apartment, and my friend told me to try musical theater since you get a consistent paycheck,” he recalls. They instantly became best friends. 

By this time, Sam’s journey had already twisted and turned from “leaving high school to be a musician, living in motels, playing Las Vegas, going to South Florida, and amassing all of these crazy ass stories.” Nevertheless, his newfound musical bond with Hays eventually attracted Merritt and Abel to the fold. The guys gained traction with the likes of “What Makes You Sad” which has received more than 13 million Spotify streams. The band’s cover of Tina Turner’s iconic “The Best” has surpassed 12 million streams. Collectively, music released to date, is nearing 50 million streams on Spotify alone.

Impressively, they attracted north of 1.7 million followers on TikTok, and nearly 900k on Instagram as well. 

Nicotine Dolls have released a series of self-penned and produced singles and EPs, including the 2024 live EP Nicotine Dolls on Audiotree Live. After signing with Nettwerk Music Group, the band have been hailed by SPIN for their “vulnerability and determination,” calling Cieri a “charismatic, gravelly-throated powerhouse with the rasp of Bruce Springsteen and the emotion of Lewis Capaldi.”

Nicotine Dolls debut full length album (set for early 2025) is already gaining serious attention. 

“This album has been my own internal attempt to be OK with wanting to love, and be loved in return,” he explains. “I wanted to be dumb and nervous and brave and scared and everything that you drown in when someone looks at you in that way that derails the whole plan you had for your life. I live alone with my dog and I’m not saying I don’t adore that life, because I do (my dog is my sweet big boy Indiana). But I miss laughing with someone in the kitchen or falling asleep watching trashy TV. I pride myself on my independence, but I think I made this record as a way to admit to myself that having someone there…would be nice.”

SPOTIFY PRESALE 4/3/2025 @ 10:00AM PT
ARTIST PRESALE 4/3/2025 @ 10:00AM PT
PUBLIC ON SALE 4/4/2025 @ 10:00AM PT
-----------------------
THERE IS A DELIVERY DELAY IN PLACE FOR THIS SHOW. Tickets will be delivered to your inbox 48 hours in advance of the show. 


General Admission Ticket Price: $25 adv / $30 day of
Reserved Loft Ticket Price: $44
Note: Loft & GA tickets available at box office. Convenience service charges apply for online & phone purchases. Loft Seating Chart Virtual Venue Tour

VIP Meet & Greet UPGRADE (available online only) - $50
-Early Entry 1 hour prior to doors
-Photo with the band
-Autograph
Does NOT include a ticket to the show. Must also purchase a ticket. 

Box Office: 858-481-8140 | Boxoffice@bellyup.com | FAQ

Not on the e-mail list for venue presales? Sign up to be a Belly Up VIP and you will never miss a chance to grab tickets before they go on sale to the general public again!

There are no refunds or exchanges on tickets once purchased.
All times and supporting acts are subject to change.


THERE IS A DELIVERY DELAY IN PLACE FOR THIS SHOW. Tickets will be delivered to your inbox 48 hours in advance of the show.