The Kantors, Honeycrush, Oyeme
The Kantors are an indie folk-rock group based in Chicago. With comparisons to trailblazers like Angel Olsen and Joni Mitchell, the group doesn’t shy away from their unique genre blending sound. Their music is defined by Kristin’s powerful vocals and visual lyrics, Evan’s catchy guitar solos, Dan’s satisfying drum fills and Jamie’s tight harmonies. They find inspiration in nature and their personal experiences. Honeycrush is the solo project and 4-piece band from New York singer-songwriter-poet Alexandra Antonopoulos. Wedding energetic folk with experimental electronic textures and a resounding “get me the hell out the suburbs” sentiment, Oyeme and her band stretch the distance from Appalachia to downtown Chicago by folding the map in half and poking a hole through it with a pencil. On the upcoming EP “Dead End Neighborhood,” Oyeme embarks on her first non-solo outing exploring intimate five-piece midwestern folktronics and elemental road trip throw downs.
XYZXYZ, Malamiko, LoBi LoBianco
xyzxyz is Chicago supergroup formed in 2022. Their first LP dropped last year, with a killer vinyl release and two music videos. Local artist Karen Mooney (moongerm) plays bass, Kyle Langer plays drums, and scene veteran Sam Fadness leads the band. Shoegaze / emo trio Malamiko stretch the definition of their genres, shaking you awake with feedback and noise. Cynicism and hope fuel their debut all pleasant dreams in equal measure. A better future is possible even if it hurts to get there. LoBi LoBianco is a multi-instrumentalist Emotional Math Rock artist. Their live band consists of LoBi on Guitar and Vocals, Garrett Holm on Guitar, Harry Willow on Bass, Stan Brueske on drums, and Josiah Jackson on keys
Nüde, Allergen, King Sans
NÜDE is an experimental duo comprised of Chicago-bred musicians Ruby Lucinda and Luke Clohisy. Both multi-instrumentalists, Lucinda and Clohisy write music that pulls from indie rock, drone, no wave, and grunge. The duo seeks to write honest music, about what feels like to be home— comforts and complications alike. ALLERGEN is an alternative rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota fronted by Shannon Maroney. A project that has changed and expanded as Maroney has matured, their current lineup also features Mia Pariseau on bass. With choral & orchestral roots, Maroney and Pariseau find multiple outlets of melody, with moving vocal, guitar, and bass lines. Allergen’s debut EP, “Honesty Hour” was released in May 2020 after being produced with Claire Altendahl (boyish). These early foundations helped Maroney further curate what would become their current musical sound, something only found with age and experience. With vulnerable lyrics contrasting with distorted guitars, local music blog Ear Coffee describes Allergen’s released music “feels like a private conversation being broadcast to the world”. King Sans is a Chicago-based altrock/noisepunk band who only need two members to absolutely pummel you with sound. There’s a huge element of fun in their music as well, creating an addictive combination of energy
Soot, High, Waxed, super[MODEL]
Soot’s unique cross-genre dabblings in all directions heavy are what allow them to lend their sound to such a vast array of shows. Borrowing from traditions of manic post-hardcore and southern metal to gentler ambient and experimental sounds, Soot is carving their way into the contemporary American musical zeitgeist.Waxed (NASHVILLE TN DIRTY SOUTH CROSSOVER)super[MODEL] (members of Snuffed and Blackwater Sniper)
Disaster Kid, Light Blue Lines, Midamerican Elevator
Chicago Nostalgia rock trio Disaster Kid finds reflection at the core of their music. Packed together by vivid detail and passionate melodies, their cathartic indie rock sound is lined with lyrical storytelling which puts an emphasis to the mysticism in the mundane. Light Blue Lines is a rock band from Chicago, IL. Nostalgia-driven and introspective, their songs draw influence from indie folk, Midwest emo, and slacker rock. Indie-rock outfit Midamerican Elevator lifts vocal harmonies over busy rhythms with guitars that span between sparkly counterpoint and regenerative drive. They released their latest project, an EP titled “TELL IT TO ME NOW!”, in January.
MaryMary!, Cherryburn, Medical Miracle
MaryMary! makes dreamy and kinetic electronic pop music. Her most recent release is an EP by the name of MY STUPID HEART LIKE A SNOWGLOBE FULL OF BLOOD, available on all streaming platforms. She’s remarkably kind and puts on a fantastic show. Cherryburn is an indie rock band from Chicago, playing music to listen to with the windows rolled down. Medical Miracle is a two piece melancholy bedroom/pop rock band from Chicago powered by twinkly guitars and sad hearts.
whoTF, Winnie Wanders, Proxoxie, V1R1S
whoTF are a duo consisting of Folie and AAAYYYAAA. Winnie Wanders began learning Ableton in 2019 through YouTube videos and trial and error, and went on to release three albums which were independently recorded, mixed and mastered. Being heavily involved in the underground music scene in San Francisco at the time, she frequently played raves and DIY shows around The Bay. In hopes to broaden her audience, she moved out to New York in 2022. Since then, she’s performed for Subculture Festival, the Culture Shock Festival in Purchase NY, and is a resident performer at the Bubblegum Ba$$ party in Brooklyn which has had multiple great shows at Knitting Factory, Schimanski and TV Eye. Year 0001 (Yung Lean’s label) features her track “All Summer” on their Spotify playlist. With some exciting releases planned for 2024, she’s hoping to get her in-your-face pop songs stuck in everybody’s head. Before finding God in Chicago, Proxoxie hit the Detroit scene with 2021 EP “Dream Sequence,” in which a serial killer archetype yearns for deliverance in pop melodies over alternative trap styled beats. Drawn to the sonic genre-blending of scenecore, yet repelled by its subculture, Proxoxie eclipsed her identity with uncanny personas inspired by the true crime, internet horror, and fanfiction she blogs about, finding not just escape from a toxic community, but agency in the vengeful victim to cold-case criminal narrative. After Proxoxie’s second concept, “Fanfiction EP,” her first brush with burnout left her longing to push the boundaries of alternative music further than individualized reactions to disturbing grotesquerie. “Live, Laugh, Lobotomy,” in a series of singles, charted the path for Proxoxie to depart from angst and dig deeper beside trusted collaborators. Her debut, “Darling, It Wouldn’t Be A Party Without You,” packs Proxoxie’s authentic voice into a hardstyle EDM punch. That record gave us realism—forthcoming “Hotel Proxoxie” stages surreal journeys to self-acceptance in seven sinful acts, over twinkling elevator muzak. (By Olivia J. Loftis) Birthed online in the digital realm, V1R1S is a high-tech musician, visual artist, and experience.Programmed around early internet culture and life online, V1R1S augments and morphs together mutual chaos of anxiety inducing atmospheres, nightcore bubblegum melodies, and computerized vocals, to create her own new world of ‘cyberpop’.
The Knee-Hi’s, The Jett Girls, Greg Wheeler and the Poly Mall Cops
The Knee Hi’s look to romance the world with their love letter to rock & roll and to knock your socks off with their raw energy. The Jett Girls are a rag tag group here to wreak havoc, cause chaos, and marry their love for the absurd with high powered rock music. Straight out of Des Moines, IA, aka the ninth best place to live in the entire world, Greg Wheeler and the Poly Mall Cops deliver manic garage punk slime at its finest — whatever that means.
Black Sandwich, Half-Scratches, Camp Collar
Black Sandwich are an ovo-vegetarian prog grunge pop gloomcore group from maywood, forest park, iowa, and chicago Half-Scratches are postnatal people playing low-power educational/contrapuntal rock music which spans the entire emotional gamut (and then some). People should be excited to see us because we are accident prone, and mistakes are the spice of life! Also our songs are damn good (objectively speaking). Camp Collar is a Chicago based indie pop project inspired by the likes of Dayglow, Monsune, Beabadoobea, and Phum Viphurit.
Sleepy Gaucho, Kneafsey, No Lonesome
Sleepy Gaucho follows in the great American artistic tradition that is the rambler’s drawl. His Panamerican influenced music offers up a cocktail of wry existentialism and mellow introspection that floats somewhat aimlessly in a realm of its own. Born in Wisconsin while also growing up some time in Argentina, the young multi-instrumentalist’s music can at times be melancholic, at others ethereal, but always agreeable. Kneafsey (pronounced “neef-see”) is the solo project of Jimmy Drenovsky. Jimmy has been writing music for most of his life, with his output up until now coming exclusively from the band he co-founded in 2016, Motel Breakfast. While his work in Motel Breakfast focuses on full band compositions, Kneafsey songs draw more influence from the softer, lyric-forward singer-songwriter world, inspired by artists such as John Moreland, Sufjan Stevens, and Adrianne Lenker. Kneafsey’s debut album, due out sometime in 2024, compiles a group of songs about love, loss, and friendships written over the past 7 years. No Lonesome is a Chicago DIY project. Their folk pop leanings are both raw and polished.