Melodic Canvas, Bled Tape, Brinstarr
Melodic Canvas emerged from the deep woods of Northern Michigan in the fall of 2016 as the creative undertaking of musician and visual artist Evan Alderton. An experimentalist at core, his music contains a fusion of alternative rock and shoegaze, with traces of americana . Melodic Canvas sonically echoes the angst ridden era of the 90’s and brings the fervidness and visceral intensity into the modern day. Heavy reverb, loud blaring guitars, and eerie, atmospheric soundscapes make his music distinctively haunting, evoking an “under the skin” feeling in listeners. After various lineup changes, Evan has finally gathered the best incarnation yet while retaining inspiration from the vast mysteriousness of nature and the dark, hidden corners of the mind. Endlessly thriving on idiosyncratic, eccentric, and melancholic ideas, exploring and encapsulating the unseen and unheard. Bled Tape is the solo recording project and occasional live band of Francis Shannon since 2015. Manic and unpredictable indie rock with noise elements and experimental flourishes in abundance. brinstarr is a three piece band from the city of Chicago. Formed in 2021.
Lowtown, Intoner, Cat Tag, Butthole
Lowtown is a collective of Atlanta music scene vets–what started as a two-piece country outfit has morphed into a four person art rock experiment that plays with various iterations of post punk, gothic sensibilities, and melodrama. Known for their cinematic flair, Lowtown puts on a live freak fest of feeling and creates a world that is uniquely their own. Intoner is noise Rock with something for everyone Cat Tag is a Chicago based emo band Butthole. They are the shit.
Drook, Seventh Cloud, Gerfety
Drook is a pop band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 2019, Liza Grishaeva, Matthew Shultz, and Tyler Smith splice together elements of pop, indie, rock, and electronica, focusing them into a single point. Drook’s live show puts this synthesis on full display, underscoring the energy and dynamism of the band’s catalog as it leaps from one stylistic corner to the next. The band has been hitting the road hard the last two years, including a month-long support tour with Turnover and MSPAINT this spring. Seventh Cloud from indiana plays alt rock/ shoegaze Gerfety describes themselves as Chicago 3-piece Shadow Rock
Wet Chain, Casserole, one foot is the same
Wet Chain is a heavy psychedelic two piece that is loud and fast. The head bangers can head bang, and the booty shakers can shake their booties to our music. Casserole is a riff train with pocket grooves and solid energy. Our music is very catchy, engaging, and unique. We taste good. We perform hard! one foot is the same is like Black Sabbath if Tony lost more of his fingers, Geezer played RuneScape, and Bill went to school for Jazz guitar. They are an all-star trio of Chicago squatting suckers who wish to serenade you with the soothing sound of surrealist noise sludge. If you love genreless music that your mom rolls her eyes at, foot will certainly get them rolling. What’s the difference between a duck?
Soot, King Sans, Nüde
Following the release of their full album “Talons of Empathy” (2022) and amidst releasing their Split album “Idlewild”, Soot toured and played heavily in 2023, supporting bands like Dead Rider, Cloakroom, Kal Marks, Spoon Benders, and Mizmor. 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. Jake Steven James and Izabella Rose deliver a powerful showcase of what Chicago’s tight noise punk can be. Amongst a sea of countless awe inspiring bands, King Sans paves a path of their own. Adopting a front of powerful altrock, they put a layer of sinister experimentation and melancholic lulls to deliver one delicious pie. NÜDE is an experimental duo composed 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.
Emily Jane Powers, Diagonal, Jessica Risker
Emily Jane Powers plays rock and roll music with her friends Alec, Ryan, and Dave. Over 20 years, her music has evolved from rough-edged bedroom pop, lushly orchestrated folk, searing guitar-forward rock, and back again. Diagonal is a psychedelic six-piece from Chicago. Their latest self-titled album, released via Little Cloud Records, is a mix of highly polished psych rock, contemplative moments, and angular krautrock jams. Jessica Risker makes dreamy autumnal, psychedelic folk music; a wistful, melancholic meditation on the importance of human connection.
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.
And the Animal, MINKA, NÆ
And The Animal is an up-and-coming, female fronted, Cinematic Electro-Pop trio from Chicago, USA. During the span of eight years, they have evolved their sound and collaborated with musicians from around the world. They have infused their music with a versatile range of genres, going from the sonic hues of house beats, to synth pop and the rawness of some rock guitars. Their sound has taken them places; from Chicago, New York and Mexico City, to the lengths of Milan, Italy, and Perth, Australia. They just came back from their second European tour playing shows in Norway, England, Scotland and Hungary. Enter the captivating and clever world of NÆ, Chicago-based synth pop and electronic artist. Known for her high-energy live performances with bold visual props and sci-fi narratives, NÆ ignites her audiences with themes of inclusivity, self-expression, and finding one’s inner child. Her sharp wit and humor are balanced with levity, imagination, and a cosmic effervescence. 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.
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