The Buko Boys aren’t your typical band—they’re a vibe, a virtual hangout, a chaotic group chat come to life. What started as an idea thrown around on South Florida beach kick backs has turned into a genre-blurring music project that combines Brazilian bossa nova-inspired beats with indie-pop rock flair and thrives as much online as it does on stage.

At least that’s how they described it during the morning rush at Miami’s Libertino Café in Wynwood. Between sips of cold brew and impromptu singalongs to Tame Impala, they looked more like three friends geeking out over their latest gaming triumph (building a Sims empire) than a band with 137,000 Spotify streams and an online following. But don’t be fooled—this Miami-based group has built something real.

Inspired by the laid-back spirit of “buko” coconut vendors in vocalist Raquel Lily’s native Philippines, the band—Lily, Andy Gil, Martin Castor and Sebastian Crow—has embraced an approach as eclectic as their influences. Their biggest stage? Twitch, a livestreaming platform best known for gaming but increasingly home to musicians performing in real time for a global audience. Whether playing songs blindfolded, dropping anime-inspired videos or playfully trolling fans at their in-person shows, the Buko Boys aren’t just making music—they’re crafting a world. 

Fresh off filming the music video for their single “anime intro (NARCISSUS)” and gearing up for the release of their self-produced LP in June, we sat down with Lily, Castor and Crow to talk South Florida roots, online streaming and the cousins that made it all happen.

How has Florida been a backdrop for your creative process?

Martin Castor: It’s more so not the place itself, but the community. 

Sebastian Crow: Florida has a lot of talent everywhere. There’s a lot to draw inspiration from.

Raquel Lily: I’ll add that Florida is similarly tropical to the Philippines. We have such an indie, soft-boy, sun-kissed vibe to our music, so it helps with the literal creation process to be surrounded by beautiful beaches and the general friendly populace of Miami. I know a lot of people say (people from) Miami are mean and whatnot, but bro, I’m from New York, and that’s not the case.

What stage felt like the Buko Boys had made it?  

RL: Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale. It was at least 2,000 people and within our first year of being together. When you’re hanging out with your friends and just being dumb but then having to pull it together and be professional and cohesive on stage, there’s a moment when you’re looking at the crowd, and then you look (back) at your team, and you’re like, “Whoa, yeah, we’re doing this.”

What are your pre-show rituals?  

SC: I drink two whole Red Bulls. I’m joking.

RL: It’s a sugar-free Monster.  

MC: I do a safety meeting for myself and lock in mentally. 

RL: I have to be responsible and caffeinate myself into merch mode. Do we have cash? Do we have stickers? Do we have set lists? Also getting blood flowing, doing vocal warm-ups and just not going on cold.

MC: Y’all don’t go on cold? I don’t do much before. I wake up, get ready and make sure I have a sub for my day job. 

RL: You see why somebody has to be responsible? 

SC: He has that dog in him. 

How do you connect with your audience at shows?  

RL: I like to pay attention to what kind of clothes they wear and what colors they style with. I really like paying attention to details like that because if we can create something that complements (their style), I don’t feel like we’re trying to gather mass randos. I want (our shows) to feel like a community.

MC: What I personally like to do is troll the people who go to our merch booth. I’m kidding! I like to be playful with the people who engage with us and give out set lists, giving an authentic vibe that they usually don’t get on stage.

SC: I just like conversing with (them). 

You have over 70,000 followers on Twitch. How has streaming brought this project to life? 

SC: Recently, we started doing full-band live streams where we just jam and lollygag. I like to embarrass myself on the stream on purpose. We’ve been doing that to raise funds for our tour.

MC: And band funds in general! So, thank you, Twitch chat, for supplying us with our album that’s coming out.

RL: What keeps our content moving is that I find it so hard to not be genuine. We’ve used our Twitch to propel us to TwitchCon and build a following so that we actually sell tickets. That can’t happen unless you’re engaging with people and they genuinely want to come see you live. Everything we put out is how we want to represent ourselves, and it’s something we could do 20 times because it’s us, not just some quick cash grab.

MC: We’re making money? 

SC: No industry plants here.

There’s a story behind every song. How would you describe the vibe of this LP?

SC: (The LP) is going to be epic with a lot of variety. 

MC: What would (our band member) Andy say? If you can, put Andy says, “It’s going to be a movie.” We’ve got to represent him somehow.

RL: It’s funny because we call each other cousins, and our music is the same. (Our single) “mactan mood” has a cousin on this album, or (our song) “high tops” has a cousin that’s coming out. And so the genres, even though they intermeld, it’s the family of the Buko-verse. 

Buko Boy’s Top Five

1. “Broke,” Single, 2024
2. “Anime Intro (Narcissus),” Single, 2025
3. “Loud,” Single, 2023
4. “High Tops,” Single, 2024
5. “Not Your Sunshine,” Single, 2024

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