Social Cig, Scam Likely, Ur Mom
Born & brewed in Wisconsin, Social Cig is the ‘Indie-Skate-Rock’ music project of Parker Schultz. Consisting of contagious authenticity, cheery live shows, and cultivating an original story with an attitude of gratitude, Social Cig is creating full-circle moments. While leafing through US music scenes with an ambitious DIY approach and writing songs that capture a genuine outlook from a modern-day Midwest cowboy, Social Cig has become a well-rounded grassroots venture. Scam Likely is on the move! After the raucous “chameleon rock” foursome released their ambitious sophomore album Yolk in April 2024, the band grabbed the closest mic and shouted “We’re moving to Chicago!” Just as Yolk explores new sonic territories for the group, coloring their signature vocal arrangements with acoustic guitar, odd percussion and lead bass lines, Scam Likely are exploring their a new city with the same mischievous curiosity. A passionate rock quartet from the suburbs of Chicago. These soulful suburbanites are eager to bring back the importance of raw rock & roll. Ur Mom doesn’t have backing tracks- just pure talent.
Clickbait, STEEF, PAL, PROBLEMS
Clickbait pieces together shards of experience and lack thereof, rhythm and asymmetry, punk and dance, less and more. Contort yourself. STEEF is a solo project of New Orleans based artist, Stevie Spring. The STEEF sound is steeped in the playful, jittery side of 70s/80s New Wave and avant garde, drawing from the wonky grooves of groups like Oingo Boingo and XTC and fusing them with distorted samples and electronic beats with a Residents-like cursed energy. STEEFmusic is a freewheeling, eclectic aural experience complete with DX7 steel drums, sour guitarmonies, hypnotic basslines and manic vocal performances.Code Kilgo, Avery Legendre, and Cole Jones bring these fucked up tracks to life with their virtuosic musicianship and unhinged stage presence. The STEEF live band is known to dress up. They were originally chefs but have since then sold out. They now don suits to represent their evolution into scumbag salespeople. PAL is a hyper, woman-fronted punk band led by Maureen Joyce. She takes on the synth in this new minimalist, art punk project alongside Jake Schott (guitar), Adam Atkinson (bass), and Mario Slagle (drums). Based in Cleveland/Akron, PAL leans into its weirdo roots and takes inspiration from hometown heroes like DEVO and The Waitresses, writing songs with melodies that people are finding “dangerously addictive.” PROBLEMS Has toured Europe, New Zealand, and America. I have opened for Peaches, Dan Deacon, Lightning Bolt, and Many others. My new 12” LP “Enter The Annals” was released this year on The Record Machine. I make electronic music with live vocals that is sometimes very fun and is sometimes very beautiful and is always interesting.
Cathedral Ceilings, Robot Civil War, The Hypnic Jerks
Sometimes, you don’t want fancy. A black coffee, a domestic beer, a slice of pepperoni pizza—sometimes, these basic staples are all you want and need to be happy. Same goes for rock and roll music; sometimes you just want the basic guitar/bass/drums to make you happy. New Jersey power trio Cathedral Ceilings understands that need, for they specialize in your standard, no-frills rock music. It’s clear that they’ve had Pleased To Meet Me and Grave Dancers Union and On The Mouth in their cassette decks for ages. Robot Civil War are proletaribots raging against capitalist machines. loud, hard, fast, & hopeful.proletaribots raging against capitalist machines. loud, hard, fast, & hopeful. The Hypnic Jerks are a fuzzed out garage/psych band that delivers a loud and energetic live show
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.
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
TC Superstar, Ovef Ow, 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. 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. Agitations 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_) 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.
Daundry, Inkjet, Harvey Waters
Daundry is a three-piece grungagze band from Chicago IL. Inkjet is a new Chicago post-printer band that everyone is talking about and you should be very excited to see. The band is inspired by acts like Sleater-Kinney, Swirlies, and Vanessa Carlton. Harvey Waters describes themselves as an anxious, moody pop band