Axel Brooks, Tommy Bravos, Abigail Arkley
Ethereal pop, meets trip-hop, meets soft alternative rock would be the best description of Axel Brooks’ music. It’s sort of dark, moody and sexy at times but alternatively can be very upbeat bright and vivid. Axel makes music that takes you in a journey – starting somewhere slow and rather melancholic but ending in a place where everyone’s dancing! Tommy Bravos is like no other. His music exists at the intersection of fantasy, nature, philosophy and reality, bringing audiences to deeper emotional experiences. Contemplative music taps into all the sources of energy that speak to him, including his Greek heritage, exploring what can be made through the factors from which humans form identity. His latest EP, Everything is Growing, Am I? which discusses the changing nature of human identity, was released on June 14th, its reflective lyrics woven together through lush chords and the allure of pop melodies. Abigail Arkley is a 24-year-old artist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter from Minneapolis. Abigail started making music when she was just 6 years old, being classically trained as a pianist before branching out into jazz, songwriting, production, and learning other instruments. Drawing from her background in instrumental music, Abigail and her band combine soaring jazz pop melodies with bittersweet and complex alt R&B and indie folk soundscapes. Her next release is an EP set for Fall 2024.
Kacie Brown (video premiere), Bread on Fork, Rani
Kacie Brown & The Vision is a neo-soul/pop collaborative band based in chicago. The band’s early remnants started at Columbia College, where each member was a student in the music department, eventually forming the band for a competition. Not too soon after, the band evolved into this six-piece ensemble which includes bandleader and vocalist Kacie Brown, pianist Miles Pretel, guitarists Chris Ihrig and Stephen Ryan, bassist Sam Nesin, and drummer William Penne. This band is collaborative meaning, all members either help with the writing, arrangement, or production of the tunes. Influenced by the ever-expanding soul genre, Kacie Brown & The Vision blend these elements into an engaging musical experience. Bread on Fork is a 7-piece soul-fusion band from Chicago that draws on the individual inspirations of their members, ranging from jazz and neo-soul to psych rock and folk. They seek to remain lighthearted and recognize the joy of music while writing about the experiences of being young adults in the contemporary age and the range of emotions and challenges that follow. They are currently working on recording and releasing more originals and playing shows in the Chicago area following their past shows at prominent venues such as Martyr’s and Cole’s Bar. With smooth vocals and meaningful lyrics, Rani gives homage to the R&B 90’s-2000’s era. Rani is a fierce and sassy artist that keeps listeners tuned in with her nostalgic melodies, unique lyrics, and contemporary rhythms. Based in Chicago, this Afro-Latina provides the world with music that exudes the confidence and customs of her combined cultures. Her vibrant delivery allows her audience to be enamored by her raw emotion and connect to her and others. Her music is something people can relate to, that can uplift them when they’re down, and even add a spicy sense of flair to their lives when they need a little kick. She released her first single in December 2023 called “Survibing”, her second “keep it lowkey” in May 2024 and will drop an EP in October 2024. After the EP release, she plans to tour and continue to compose for a full-length album. Rani is an authentic and true-to-self artist that strives to add the spark back in a dim world. She is talented, beautiful, and passionate to expose the world to her life-altering music!
The Sonnets, The Rebel Set, The Lost Year
The Sonnets: Alcohol, Nicotine, and The Who Hailing from the dusty streets of Phoenix, Arizona, The Rebel Set offer a raw and energetic blend of garage rock, surf and punk. Their sound is characterized by catchy guitar riffs, crunchy melodies and a solid rhythm section that captivates the listener Emerging from Chicago’s vibrant musical landscape, The Lost Year is a compelling force in the indie rock genre. With their distinct blend of introspective lyricism, dreamy melodies, and subdued (but at times explosive) energy, this four-piece band captivates audiences with their authentic sound and impassioned performances.
The Daisy Heaves vs Talking Heads, What To Do, Sgt. Starling
The Daisy Heaves (nu-psych from Chicago) and friends, host a Halloween mashup show of their own songs vs. The Talking Heads. Sgt. Starling is a musical project that effectively blends a unique sound that incorporates psychedelia, shoegaze, spaghetti western vibes, and bluegrass instrumentation, resulting in an engaging and innovative experience that feels both familiar and new
Andrew Paul Davis, Janet Blackwell, Gutter Punk
Influenced by an array of artists from The Beatles to MGMT, Andrew Paul Davis’ genre-bending blend of apocalyptic art pop and psychedelic rock has earned him a diverse and loyal fanbase that’s continued to grow since opening for Omar Apollo and Kevin Krauter in 2017. Channeling his decades of experience as a filmmaker, Andrew has also gained a reputation within Chicago’s film community for the avant-garde tendencies, surrealism, and maximalism of his large-scale music videos — which add an extra sensory punch to his already captivating signature sonic experience. Janet Blackwell & band aim to bring equal parts nostalgia and celebration to the stage. Heavily influenced by 70s psychedelic story telling and mid 90s rhythms, performances are best combined with bell bottoms and rolling papers. Gutter Punk: ANTIPOP, ONE MAN ONE COMPUTER, MUSIC YOU’VE NEVER HEARD BEFORE <3
Evolution Orange featuring La Gitana, Veri Peri, Vanity Vixen, and DJ Paneer
Evolution Orange is a collective intended to bring a wide variety of sounds to each event. So each performer has there own unique style. We intend on bringing anywhere from Chicago House Classics, Juke, 90’s Trance to Hard-groove Techno.
TC Superstar, gs70, MaryMary!
TC Superstar is a collaborative performance group, blending dance, music, and visual art. The project is fronted and produced by Connor McCampbell. TC Superstar features dance and choreography by LB Flett, Emily DiFranco, Francis Rodriguez, Yuriko Roby, Andie Duong, Emily Tolson, Kathleen Tiernan, Katie Lowen, Kendel Jones, Taylor Dominique, and Bradi Nelson. Performing and collaborating musicians include Julio Correa, Mitchell Webb, Aaron Chavez, and Ateen Savadkoohi. TC Superstar’s recordings feature collaborations across the indie scene in Austin, TX.The band formed in September of 2017 with the release of Masc, an album about notions of masculinity. In April of 2018, TC Superstar released Heat Death, a conceptual EP about the environment, consumerism and grieving for the eventual death of humankind. TC Superstar released their second full length album, R&D, in May of 2019. This Album explores notions of love, romance, and relationships through the lens of two characters, Ricky and Dana. TC Superstar’s 2021 release, As Seen on TV, examines entertainment and our consumption of it, written during a time when the group was unable to perform live. In 2023 TC Superstar released another full record, Static Dynamic, which explores the dissolution of a romance, an occupation, a home, humanity.The project is currently working on a small collection of songs to release in 2024. MaryMary! is a noisepop musician who sings about love and fear and self respect. She loves analog synths and digital samplers, both of which can be heard on her EP, entitled MY STUPID HEART LIKE A SNOWGLOBE FULL OF BLOOD. Her music and other endeavors can be found at linktr.ee/marymarychic.
Remuda, Glass Beagle, Corin Dakota
Remuda is a singer/songwriter project helmed by Andrew Walker. Hailing from Nebraska, Walker crafts jangly Americana music in the spirit of Townes Van Zandt, Kurt Vile, and John Prine. Glass-Beagle, the Chicago-based alt-country outfit, bring a finely judged precision to their juxtapositions. Their debut EP, Spring Sword Chatter, released May 2024, showcases their uniquely mangled mix of country, folk, power pop, and rock ‘n’ roll. With a blend of fuzzed out guitars, singing pedal steel guitar and Nathan Zurawski’s abstract yet personal lyrics, the band roots their sound in something both nostalgic and innovative. Corin Dakota is a Chicago based singer songwriter whose winding melodies and rhythmic playing blends elements of folk, jazz and psychedelic rock.
Hedge Wizard, THE HUMAN VEIL, Lone Sentinel, DJ Dustin Drase
Hedge Wizard is a Fantasy Dungeon Synth artist hailing from Ohio. THE HUMAN VEIL is the dark brainchild of Helena Ford that combines the dank atmospheres of dungeon synth, the eerie and dark air of dark ambient, and the caustic environments of harsh noise Lone Sentinel is pagan ritual, ambient/folk metal DJ Dustin Drase will be spinning dark fantasy and epic ambient LPs throughout.
MORTWIGHT, REDHORN GATE, ELYVILON, TERRAN WRETCH
Mortwight is a solo dungeon synth/dark ambient act from Denton, Texas. He composes and performs funereal and cyclopean synth music inspired by Old Tower, Wallachian Cobwebs, Magic Find, Desiderii Marginis, and Raison d’être among others. In his live performances, Mortwight strives to envelop the audience in bleak walls of sorrowful and dismal noise, carried forth over dirgelike, yet martial percussion. From the lowest dungeon under the highest peak, Gundrim the Smith and Dalom the Delver unearth subterranean chasmic compositions celebrating the rich histories of the dwarves. Meanwhile, the Elder Olgrin conducts ancient rituals from ages past under the mountains; accompanied by stunning visual spells cast by their resident sorcerer Eladrim. Together as Redhorn Gate they welcome you to take part in this ancient ceremony and join the ranks of the dwarves! Elyvilon is high energy dungeon synth music with a folky medieval sound and live instrumentation. Terran Wretch is Anthony A Dunn (ex-Sun Splitter). Chicago’s Terran Wretch is known for taking the audience on an uninterrupted journey of evolving sound through warm, spacey dark ambient, clattering industrial-adjacent drum machine attacks and filthy hypnotic techno. Terran Wretch resides in the in-between states of liminal discomfort and body-on-the-floor bliss.