Shinespark, Future Nest, Mary!Mary!, sulffffffur
shinespark is the musical project of Chicago based producer zoey eliza. Her tracks blend emotive melodies with textural beats and mellow to otherworldly electronic sounds. With influences ranging from minimal ambient, idm beats and breaks to pop punk riffs, y2k aesthetics and nature, shinespark aims to create saturated emotional spaces to dream of a better world to. ⋆˚✿˖°shinespark’s recently released album ‘zoey.eliza_dream_realm’ is a collection of uplifting and dreamy all-instrumental beats. Future Nest blends Industrial Goth and Digital Hardcore to create a a show that is both dynamic and immersive. The action of the songs is heightened by her improvised movement and vocal delivery, which connect the audience directly to the performance. Skin on metal on wire on blood – flirt with that sacred pull and let desire walk you on its leash. 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. Mary lives in Chicago with her friends. sulffffffur is serious contemporary music.
An Evening with La Rosa Noir + Friends
La Rosa Noir is a Chicago indie alternative band whose sound blends moody atmospheres with the sharp edges of surf, post-punk, and new wave. Their debut album, Arellano, dives into themes of love, loss, and self-discovery, weaving heartfelt, sentimental narratives through dynamic and emotionally charged arrangements. Formed in 2018, the band grew out of Chicago’s DIY scene and has since taken the stage at Millennium Park, Navy Pier, and Riot Fest, sharing bills with artists such as Jack White, Green Day, Citizen, Son Rompe Pera, and The Red Pears. For fans of: La Luz, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Hives, Mazzy Star, The Cramps, Muse.
Nude Franklin, Smooth Rogers, Oux
Nude Franklin is new Chicago-based alternative rock band led by songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Dylan Barnett. Drawing inspiration from eclectic, genre-bending artists like Talking Heads, Pink Floyd, Prince, St. Vincent, and King Krule, Nude Franklin blends new wave, funk, and psychedelic rock in their incendiary live performances. Expect raucous guitar solos, bewildering lyrics, 80’s inflected synth pop, and funky drums. The band plans to release their debut EP January 22nd, 2026. “oux “/ɒ/” is an alt-pop band from chicago. while you could call their music “experimental pop”, that hardly does justice to the profusion of genres and ideas they weave into their songs. oux’s debut full-length, “necronym” balances prickly idiosyncrasies with sleek earworms, and unraveling its layers is part of the fun. Smooth Rogers is the brainchild of Chicago-based musician, Zac Bron. Combining elements of psychedelic pop, dreamy alt-rock, and funk, Smooth Rogers takes you on a journey through lush soundscapes and danceable grooves.
Slow Slow Loris, Soundoferror, Heavy Pauses, Death Pyre, Animal Talking School
Slow Slow Loris is a duo whose industrial noise melodies merge with visceral avant-garde to create epic and delicate storms of sound that worship the unknown, a sonic sorcery through voice and electronics. Based in both Berlin and the US, they have released albums on Cloister Recordings, Zaetraom, & Staaltape and have toured Europe, Russia, and the USA. Daniel Burke (Illusion of safety) is Soundoferror focused on making music exclusively with synthesis of every kind. Hardware, software, modular, & keys. Any form is fair game, though the forms usually tend toward the abstract and experimental. Heavy Pauses is a St. Louis experimental ensemble featuring Chris Boron, Mike Broy, Chris Smentkowski, and Rick Wilson, described as “dense synth transportation rituals” that blend heavy drones and improvisation into sonically immersive trance states. Featuring members of The Conformists, Brain Transplant, and SkarekrauRadio, the group pushes sound into intense, exploratory territory. DEATH PYRE is the combination of the St. Louis, MO/Chicago, IL avant goth duo AMPYRE and the Chicago, IL post-industrial/noise unit DEATH FACTORY. They have a trilogy of albums that were recorded in one day at Chicago’s Experimental Sound Studio available on labels No Sides Records, Eh? Tapes and Bent Window Records. ANIMAL TALKING SCHOOL is the solo electronic music project of Richard Syska (SECRET MEANS OF ESCAPE, 312 Films). ATS’s music weaves a sonic tapestry of carefully curated sound sources, field recordings and manipulations which strive to challenge the listener both compositionally and sonically. The music immerses audiences in an evocative sonic landscape that can be at various times mysterious, foreboding, aggressive and alien, while at other moments comforting, familiar and relaxed.
La Croix Mystique, Alpine Subs, Gatsbe
La Croix Mystique combines garage rock stylings à la Guided By Voices and Pavement with driving motorik beat and psych rock intuition of Can and Neu! Alpine Subs – Chicago rock ‘n’ roll for fans of garage, jangle and psychedelia. Gatsbe is a three-piece rock and roll band from Chicago. They blend the genres of rock, punk, and pop, all while bringing the energy of a house show. “These guys are awesome!” says lots of people.
Rotundos, Maldita Sea, When We Was Kids
ROTUNDOS is a alt-punk band from Chicago, IL. Formed in autumn 2022, the punk-ish quartet has set a fire beneath the underbelly of Chicago’s DIY music scene with their genre bending and mindful lyricism. Maldita Sea is a Chicago-based band representing the Latino community. When We Was Kids is a Chicago area band – Chris Lamb (vocals), Michael Roncone (guitar), Bryan Escareño (guitar), Norman Aguilar (bass) and Mark Serpico (drums).
Two Piece Fest: Copies, Kafiza, in shining armour, Calico Loco, Sun King Ba
Copies is a guitar-drums-voice duo from Chicago. They play loud and noisily and try to have a lot of fun doing so. “Then, under the raw glow of makeshift spotlights, two figures emerge on the “stage.” They bulldoze through 30-odd minutes of screaming guitar riffs and deafening drum fills. So, this is KAFIZA.” – these days magazine in shining armour – rock music from aidan and seth Calico Loco will melt your face off Sun King Ba is an instrumental sludge/stoner metal band from Chicago, IL. The duo of Anthony Santoro and Calvin Schaller employ pummeling riffs, intricate leads and thundering rhythms to narrate the legend of the reptile demigod Sun King Ba.
The Living Head, King Sans, When the Wall Breaks Down
Named after an infamous, clandestine doomsday cult from the 1960s, The Living Head is an apocalyptic post-punk band from Chicago, IL. Spontaneous, shapeshifting, ever-evolving improvised music from Chicago. Imagine two feral rats scurrying around you in the shadows of an alley. They’ll shriek and run, but then sing you a lullaby.
MINKA, 4×4 Animal Style, C.H.E.F., King Sans
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. King Sans – Chicago’s gothic noisepunk duo. Imagine two feral rats scurrying around you in the shadows of an alley. They’ll shriek and run, but then sing you a lullaby. 4×4 Animal Style is an Alternative Soul-Art Rock band from Chicago. Their sound ranges from an explosion of fast, loud, time bending tracks to soulful, gentle ballads. They got their start in the DIY Central Illinois College scene, playing living rooms, backyards and basements. It was here that they refined their bombastic stage presence and showmanship. They have since moved back home to Chicago, and have played a variety of the popular venues in the city. Their latest EP, Movement & Form, was released April 2025. C.H.E.F. brings a jam-centric groove to the table by mixing elements of psychedelia, funk, and indie-rock to hit all your sonic taste-buds. Come kick it late-night with a Cuppla Homies Emitting Frequencies
Model Cars, Kweelag, T. Maguire, Philadelphia Eagles
Model Cars Model Cars is an Indie Rock band from Chicago Illinois that expresses different shades of grief and angst from slow emotional melodies to upbeat garage rock riffs. T. Maguire is a five-piece post-hardcore band from Chicago. Kweelag is 3-piece fuzzed out Dark Souls rock.