MINKA, Ovef Ow, Glad Rags, Hot Honey
MINKA / Ovef Ow / Glad Rags / Hot Honey Join us for an evening of bangers. Funky, electronic, rock…dance..jazz..sexy..Japanese inspired…well, there’s really no way to fully capture the experiences and sounds of Philly-born band, MINKA. But if you want to let your imagination run wild…let’s pretend some scientists got in the lab and crossed Bowie with Prince, and then sprinkled in some Talking Heads. Chicago’s Ovef Ow have been making synth heavy art punk for the better part of the last ten years, pulling influences that seem to range from B-52s and Devo to The Raincoats and Sleater-Kinney. Agitation is met with upbeat party anthems, paired together to create a swarm of new wave jangle and rough but friendly post-punk. Synths peel, drip, and flail across guitars, bass, and drums, ringing out with surfy exuberance, the band’s entire mood shifting between sunburnt joy to a stumbling sense of bliss. (by Dan Goldin, @post_trash_) Glad Rags is a music collective from Chicago that blends chamber pop, psychedelic rock, new wave, electronica, and experimental jazz. Hot Honey makes alternative emo with a love for taco bell
Yon T, Mike DFG, Tiwa Bleu and His Chosen Few
Yon T has an underground rap sound similar to icytwat, bashfortheworld, lucki and $uicide boy$. It is high energy and engaging music for the crowd to enjoy and have a good time to. Hailing from the West$ide part of Chicago, Mike DFG is one of the most versatile and underrated artists in the bubbling Chicago underground scene bringing a fresh perspective to the hip-hop world. With his iconic voice, wide array of songs for all music tastes and a captivating stage presence, he’s been making waves as a true favorite in the underground scene for years.His style blends energetic beats in ways that can only be described as anthemic. Providing a raw and unfiltered glimpse into his world, a journey through the highs and lows of life in Chicago. He’s truly found his footing in perfecting his sound with his most ambitious projects to date with his self mixed & mastered EP “Line Of Fire” & his debut Mixtape “Love Letter To The West” in October setting the city ablaze proving that Mike DFG’s a force to be reckoned with & that he is here to stay. Having already amazed crowds at a plethora of venues, such as Reggie’s Rock Club, Ramova Theatre, Schubas, The Metro, Subterranean, Bookclub Chicago,Gman Tavern & even performing in Texas for SXSW weekend, he’s definitely an artist you don’t want to miss out on. Gustavo Flores(Tiwa Bleu), is a jazz artist, producer, and bandleader from Aurora. His sound stems from the spiritual era of jazz the 60’s and 70’s.
Big Chemical, Marvin Stumbles, Dogcatcher
Big Chemical is a twangy indie rock band formed in Ann Arbor and currently based in Chicago. They take inspiration from The Band, Dear Nora, and The Replacements to bring a complex and high energy performance. Marvin Stumbles is a Chicago based songwriter & musician who, along with his extraterrestrial band of misfits & gamblers, specializes in expanding the space between time, employing a catalog of carefully crafted caricatures woven into cosmic cadences that contain themes of longing, dismay, & epic peril… as well as adventure, intense hope, & irrational faith in humanity itself. He may stumble, he may trip… but he never falls. Since its inception as the songwriting project of Chicago-based Iowa expat Mitch McAndrew, Dogcatcher has grown into a dynamic, twangy, and agile starting 5 that isn’t afraid to crash the boards.
Great Ocean Waters, Sweet Bike, Binx, Supercorp
Great Ocean Waters is a female fronted four-piece powerhouse that pulls inspiration from ’90s alternative, hardcore, pop and punk music. Think Paramore meets Gin Blossoms meets Every Time I Die. They have been playing shows around Chicago for over 10 years and have gratefully taken the stage at places like House of Blues, Beat Kitchen, Elbo Room and many others.Chicago outfit Binx are a blend of punk and midwestern emoSupercorp is The Lou Bega of Punk RockSweet Bike that fucked up evil emo band
Evann McIntosh, Growing Boys, Sulkworm
Evann McIntosh mixes dark alt-pop and dreamy R&B with streaks of hip-hop, jazz, and funk, grappling with growth and evolution, gender identity and sexuality, freedom, and self-expression. Their writing is as insightful as it is unpredictable, alternating between earnest poeticism and playful acrobatics, and the production is similarly adventurous, wrapping their performances in lush, magnetic arrangements. Even at its most densely layered, the music remains a work of pure intimacy, unraveling the mysteries of their psyche one song at a time. Evann is currently at work on their debut album, due out in 2025. Growing Boys is a local Chicago duo-singer folk band. Sulkworm is an alternative singer/songwriter based in Chicago citing inspiration from artists such as Elliott Smith and Alex G.
Fruit LoOops, Stander, Trash Dot Com, Dusty Turrets
Fruit LoOops is the current flagship art-punk/no-wave/demented dance pop band of the Midwest. Combining manic live and digital percussion, frazzled keyboards, unhinged vocals, and theatrical performance art, they have made a name for themselves by creating a live show experience you must see to believe. Winding together compositions that are fluid, dynamic and new, the Chicago-based trio STANDER forges their eclectic inspirations with a deep emotional core. Collapsing, their 2nd LP on The Garrote, finds Stander pushing deep into vocal/lyrical territory this time, with lead vocals by Mike Boyd (guitar) and Stephen Waller (drums) as well as guest vocals by Erin Dawson (Genital Shame), Dylan Walker (Full of Hell) and John Kerr (Pyrithe). Additional instrumentation by Mathieu Ball (BIG|BRAVE) and Patrick Shiroishi. Trash Dot Com play wacky trashy noise rock from Chicago! Dusty Turrets hails from the depths of Chicago’s DIY scene. They have cultivated their own original sound and songs stemming from a mutual interest in metal. Emboldened and with much versatility, Dusty Turrets is tapped into their wild side, charged with grit and ferocity. Their music communicates moments of angst, desire, feminine rage, social withdrawal, self-preservation, and reflections of nature. Their recent work features collaborations with Marvin Tate.
Burned or Buried, Burndy, Mark Solotroff
Burned or Buried melds styles of Detroit garage rock and angular Chicago Rock. Heavy noise rock. Members of Chapstik, The Meatmen, Quatre Tête, Landos 45 and Tight Night. BURNDY is an all-female Chicago-based trio that fuses industrial, noise, and post-punk into their own indescribable genre. MARK SOLOTROFF‘s artwork and music focus on the development of cities, the human body’s navigation through urban environments, and interpersonal interactions, particularly in an age of digital fragmentation. As the vocalist of the doom band Anatomy Of Habit and the heavy electronic band BLOODYMINDED, and the founder of the early post-industrial band Intrinsic Action, SOLOTROFF has a longstanding presence in the underground music world. With over forty years of experience playing analog synthesizer, his synth work has been central to BLOODYMINDED and Intrinsic Action. Under the name Super Eight Loop, he recorded and released one-hundred hours of lo-fi analog synth music. His synth is also an element of the dark-ambient group Nightmares and the Milan-based post-industrial trio Ensemble Sacrés Garçons. In 2024, SOLOTROFF cofounded the synth-driven duo The Mercury Impulse with JR Robinson of Wrekmeister Harmonies, releasing their debut album, Records Of Human Behavior, that August.SOLOTROFF has collaborated with numerous bands, contributing synth and/or vocals. His relationships range from a four-year role in Wrekmeister Harmonies to live appearances and studio recordings with artists and bands including The Atlas Moth, Azar Swan, Brutal Truth, Consumer Electronics, Indian, Locrian, Plague Bringer, Sigillum S, The Sodality, Sshe Retina Stimulants, and Wilt. His synth work is also featured in remixes for The Body, Statiqbloom, and Snow Burial.As a solo artist, SOLOTROFF continues to focus on tenebrous analog synth music. His bass-heavy soundscapes have been described as unsettling to some and calming to others, serving as soundtracks for navigating metropolitan terrains. Starting in 2017, he released a series of recordings as limited-edition cassettes, later compiled into three 2xCD sets titled Strategic Planning. SOLOTROFF has since released the solo album You May Be Holding Back (2020), followed by Not Everybody Makes It (2021). These albums reflect on themes of isolation and loss, accompanied by self-published books featuring urban and architectural photographs that expand upon the albums’ imagery. In late 2022, he released a 2xCD set, Return To Oneself, compiling a series of digital singles and a previously unreleased long-form synth piece. SOLOTROFF released Today The Infinite, Tomorrow Zero in 2023, which he considered his most developed recording to date. His new album, In Search of Total Placelessness, will be released in April 2025.
Strength By Conviction, Barren Heir, Wrath Hammer, Through N Through
SBC is a hardcore band that was active in the early 2000’s. This will be our first show back in 14 years. Barren Heir are 3-piece atmosludge. Recommend being under the influence for maximum satisfaction. Wrath Hammer is a Cross Over Thrash Metal band from Portage, IN. They carry their own flag under the Cross Over banner while bringing inspirations from Heavy Metal, Hardcore, Thrash & Death Metal into their sound. Through N Through is a metal and hardcore band hailing from Chicago’s South Side neighborhood of Little Village. Formed in 2014, their music reflects the culture, social unrest, and street politics of their community. Through N Through’s sound is a fusion of hardcore punk and heavy metal, characterized by thick guitar tones, crushing palm-muted riffs, and intense drumming. While they identify primarily as a hardcore band, they acknowledge significant metal influences in their style. This blend of genres reflects their diverse musical backgrounds and the cultural richness of their Little Village neighborhood.
Woes (pop-up set)
send off Woes to SXSW with a pop-up performance FREE
Cocojoey, Insula Iscariot, Embrasa, Bliss Cemetery
Cocojoey is a Chicago-based producer and performer who operates within a unique blend of digital hardcore and digital fusion genres. Their 2022 album “COCOJOEY’S WORLD” features kaleidoscopic harmony, virtuosic keyboard shredding, and densely orchestrated electronic layers wielded in the pursuit of finding joy and self-acceptance.Known for highly energetic performances, Cocojoey has quickly become a local mainstay. In addition to 50 shows across the US in 2024, they have recently performed alongside artists such as HEALTH, Author&Punisher, Bubblegum Octopus, Lauren Bousfield, Bejalvin, and Fraxiom. Insula Iscariot is an audiovisual artist and producer based in Madison, WI who draws inspiration from the worlds of industrial, dance, and noise. Their work consists of dissonant synths and infested basslines, broken up by demolishing drums. All of this being a catalyst for their anxious whispers and screams to deliver a stark feeling of dread and desperation.Insula’s ever-mutating performances have included painting, destruction, and audience collaboration. They have previously only played in Madison and the west coast, but are now on tour in parts of the Midwest in the wake of their debut album. Embrasa is an art project situated in the space between Industrial, Noise, Pop, Metal, Contemporary Classical Music, and Dance. It’s ever-evolving group of core collaborators help bring to life large multi-disciplinary projects – ranging from simple and confrontational live solo performances and albums, to experimental theatre, books, sculptures, candles, perfumes, and whatever else might be called for. Bliss Cemetery lies somewhere between the sounds of teen suicide and machine girl. Heavily inspired by incorporating electronic music with instruments and cassette warping. The bliss cemetery concept is that, its a state of mind or a place in which the human experience is looked back on for all its serenity and lack there of.