Spread Joy, Choncy, Body Shop
Spread Joy would be asked to leave an art museum for trying to touch a sculpture. If Spread Joy was an animal, it would’t be a turtle that’s for sure. Since Spread Joy’s been a band there have been 115 billion-dollar disaster events (per NCEI & NOAA: CPI-adjusted) There is no direct correlation, this is merely a fact. Choncy is a post punk band based out of Cincinnati, Ohio. Known for their unique “kitchen sink” style of post punk, their live performance is sharp and snarky put forth with the gusto of hardcore influences. Choncy released their sophomore album “20X Multipier” on Feel It Records in early 2024 and is gearing up for their upcoming third album. The quartet sees a sharp increase in angularity and structure in their new music, which they will be showcasing on the road. When you hear trembling guitar, charged bass lines, siren-like synths, and throbbing drum machines, you’re listening to Body Shop. The Chicago outfit, composed of songwriters Kit Dee, Sam Crow, and Lou Larsen, is on a mission to radicalize through inoculation. To the uninitiated, they’re just a band. To those in the know, Body Shop is a manifesto. They honor their disco-punk predecessors by offering up tracks that fuse and transcend. Body Shop redefines the very meaning of its name. In a world dominated by fiscal greed and sexual repression, Body Shop fights back with biting wit and precise sonic warfare. For Body Shop, making music isn’t about building a bomb shelter, it’s about creating an immune system, one that heals the body and soul. Total liberation is the goal.
With Jetpacks, WILEM, Swooper Creek
Chicago Street Medicine is a non-profit that serves those affected by houselessness in Chicago. The organization is composed of volunteers who deliver healthcare, food, clothing and resources to folks on the street year-round. The mission of the organization is to provide patient-centered care, meeting patients physically where they are. The ticket sales from this show will be donated to the University of Chicago chapter of Chicago Street Medicine, serving patients on the south side of Chicago. With Jetpacks- We are a dreamsical feeling indie six person band inspired by shoegaze, Motown and a whole collection of synthesizers! We’re here to play on people’s expectations, providing soft moments with contrasting effective loudness. We want you to feel the live experience, visually and audibly. We take the small details seriously. WILEM is a 5 piece Alt-country band from Chicago, IL. What began as an improvised busking act has evolved into a rich, folk & country inspired rock outfit with heavy inspo from groups like Wilco, Son Volt, Tom Waits, and MJ Lenderman. We’re here to rock out and borrow a few cans from the beer fridge if you can spare ’em. Swooper Creek makes music that swoops! We love to create an atmosphere where you can meditate on the beauty of everyday life. At our shows, you’ll hear an electric banjo, bass, and a rotating cast of other instruments. Come swoop with us.
Tiberius, Astrachan, No Lonesome
Originally a solo project for Brendan Wright (they/them), Tiberius has evolved into a catchy and cacophonous four-piece, producing what Wright calls “Farm Emo.” This expanded lineup of Wright, bassist Kelven “KP” Polite (he/him), drummer Sam Blumenstiel (he/him), and pedal steel player Pat King (they/them) blends Indie Punk, Alt Country and Psychedelia with confessional, yet conversational and relatable songwriting. No Lonesome is a Chicago DIY project. Their folk pop leanings are both raw and polished. Astrachan is the solo project and surname of curly-haired indie rock beefcake Ben Astrachan, a self-taught analog tapehead who conjures up his special blend of starry-eyed lofi folk rock in the candlelit haze of Puccini’s Studio (Astrachan’s basement bedroom/workspace) on Chicago’s northwest side. Astrachan is also the co-founder of Berta Bigtoe (with Austin Koenigstein) and Astro Heart (with Ryan Gebhardt), and a tireless accomplice to fellow travelers Smushie , No Lonesome (etc), brightening stages across Chicago with his golden voice, polytechnic abilities, and good-natured boyish charm. His sophomore LP “Cleaner than Clean”, self-produced and recorded directly to tape in Puccini’s Studio, is a noisy upbeat rock-and-roll affair released via Happen Twice.
damsel. , Apres Pompeii, Ben Pavlik, Nick Wilkinson & the Featured Players
A Chicago based singer-songwriter armed with unwaveringly intimate lyrics & acoustically driven melodies, damsel. is a breath of fresh air on the indie folk scene. Taking inspiration from the likes of Phoebe Bridgers, Laura Marling, and Adrianne Lenker, damsel. sings with unflinching honesty about her life and the world that she sees around her. Her debut album “soft animal” comes out August 22nd. Do you yearn? Are you in awe of the world around you? Do you feel sexy and a little haunted? Ask your doctors about Apres Pompeii. Apres Pompeii is a singer-songwriter known to treat these symptoms, and more. Side-effects of listening to Apres Pompeii include existentialism, falling in love with everyone you meet, and feeling like The Main Character in your life. Some listeners of Apres Pompeii may find themselves moved by the soaring vocals and poetic lyrics, genre experimentation may cause dizziness–if necessary, swoon into the arms of the person next to you. You can find Apres Pompeii on all streaming services and social media and at The Music Box Lounge in Chicago for their monthly open mic. Ben Pavlik is super ticklish so please don’t do that shit. He combines elements of jazz, pop, and folk to make music a modern elevator would have on its summer playlist if elevators could curate playlists. Nick Wilkinson & The Featured Players embody the heart of Chicago’s thriving rock music scene. Their energetic presence is punctuated by screeching guitar solos, whimsical lyricism, and thumping rhythm section. Nick Wilkinson & The Featured Players will have you on your feet and singing along by the first song.
Gold Dust, Clementine Was Right, Em Grace & the Undercuts
Childhoods on Iowa farms: feeding the cows, baling alfalfa, family secrets, and riverside fishing. These make up the songs and stories from Chicago-based Gold Dust. The collective’s debut album, Andalusia, features a coalescence of rural ballads and fervent tracks realized through a specific country haze. Clementine Was Right is the songwriting project of poets Mike Young and Gion Davis. Chronicling years of uprooting—from Northern California to New England, Alaska to New Mexico—the music gallops and sways through hook-smeared bootgaze and western emo, queering the lineage of “country music” with yokel fuzz. Em Grace & the Undercuts are a rebellious queer force from Chicago, IL blending punk rock with the electric baritone ukulele. Those who listen to our music have said our sound is a lot like X Ray Spex, Hop Along, Brittany Howard, Garbage, and Screaming Females. Their songs touch on things like attachment styles, addiction, queerness, self love, grief, body neutrality, consent and sexuality.Em Grace’s powerhouse vocals bring emotions to the surface you thought were buried and brings a burlesque flair to each performance. Em Grace & The Undercuts (Rachael, Sage, and Jess) bring on the entertainment and will have the crowd dancing, laughing and crying.
Rock & Rye
Hailing from Chicago, Rock & Rye began playing their high energy blend of Grateful Dead tunes in 2014. The band draws inspiration from the Grateful Dead’s extensive catalogue, blending originals and covers from legends like Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash and The Beatles. Song transitions, unique set lists, and full show recreations are a feature at Rock & Rye concerts.
GATES OF DAWN – LAST VIRGIN ON THE MOON – TERRAN WRETCH
Gates of Dawn – Psychedelic Black Metal from MN Last Virgin on the Moon – Yacht rock for sunken ships Terran Wretch – Cosmic Synth Doom
Grocery Bag, Caitlin Edwards, Marital Bed
Grocery Bag are the latest in a new breed of face-melting rock & roll straight out of Austin, Texas. The garage rock-psych-punk 4 piece, led by diminutive singer Bella Martinez, have been tearing up stages around Texas since 2023, being handpicked by the likes of Osees, Frankie & The Witch Fingers & Farmer’s Wife to support on multiple shows as well as a critically-acclaimed set at Levitation Festival 2024. Following this breakthrough performance, the band were added as main support on Psychedelic Porn Crumpets tour in April/May 2025, playing 22 shows & solidifying their reputation as one of the best live bands in the country. Their debut album ‘Break You’ (released in Nov 2023) is a great raw snapshot of young talented musicians creating something exciting, to-the-point, that leaves you replaying time & time again. New single LIES is out now(7/17) and available on all streaming platforms! Caitlin Edwards solo project is a trio band from Chicago, IL playing pop rock and punk bops throughout the land. Get ready to hear songs that will never leave your head. Marital Bed is an experimental rock band.
No Antics, Sleeps While Walking, Charity Work
No Antics is a premium rock experience; melting alternative, grunge, and punk genres into a contemporary array of fresh sounds. From the fray of Midwestern skateparks and basements, their DIY methodology welcomes the audience into the world of Modern Femme Grime. A new space, built on the bones of the fallen patriarchy, Modern Femme Grime is a higher realm of consciousness where the complexities of life and love in the 21st Century can be focused into a continuous beam of raw power. Come for the guitar solos and scream-along anthems, stay for community. Sleeps While Walking- Chicago based grungegaze band Charity Work- Chicago based Indie Grunge with some rap & RnB thrown in.
Los Mocos, King Sans, The Metalliques
Los Mocos- We’re a snot punk band from Albuquerque Nuevo Mexico. Snot punk is our very own combination of furious riffs, punching rhythms and bitingly humorous leftist political commentary. We’re proud Burqueños and want to bring apart of our community nationwide. We’re brown power radicals, who love our people, music, punk rock and making a terribly furious noise. King Sans- jake and iz: chicago’s gothic noisepunk duo Local cosmic act The Metalliques have a cinematic, sultry and surfy sound with lounge and spaghetti western elements that would be equally at home in a David Lynch film or 70s soft core escapade.