Ballyhoo!Courtesy Taylor Foiles

As I sit here and type this, the No. 1 song in the country, according to Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, is “Rude” by a Canadian reggae-pop band called Magic!

The exclamation point is theirs, not mine. I’m not that excited to present this information to you.

But I do so because “Rude” is a breezy, buoyant pop song about a guy who asks his girlfriend’s dad if he can marry his daughter and is rebuffed. It features an insidiously catchy melody and runs on reggae’s familiar off-beat rhythm.

Now, stick with me here: Ballyhoo! is a quartet out of the Baltimore area with a sound that’s as irresistible as the one made by Magic! Ballyhoo! also incorporates reggae rhythms and vibes into its pop-rock, and it also has a knack for sunny melodies that would sound at home blaring out of any radio tuned to a Top 40 station. The singer for Ballyhoo! has a stronger voice than the guy from Magic!, too.

Anyway, there’s a song on the Ballyhoo! website called “Halo (Beautiful Day).” It’s from the band’s “Pineapple Grenade” album and it has every bit as much potential to be a huge hit as “Rude.” More, actually. It is a perfect summer song all about feeling sunshine on your face and wasting time. Delicious.

The band started in 1995 and has performed with well-known bands like 311, Slightly Stoopid, Matisyahu and SOJA. Wait, back up. 1995? Ballyhoo! is nearly 20 years old? Man, they do deserve a big-time breakthrough.

They also have an exclamation point at the end of their band name, for the record.

Ballyhoo!, with Bumpin’ Uglies and Necktie Killer; 9 p.m. Thursday, doors open 8 p.m.; $10 plus fees in advance at www.bendticket.com and Riverside Market (541-389-0646) in Bend; Volcanic Theatre Pub, 70 SW Century Drive, Bend; www.volcanictheatrepub.com or 541-323-1881.