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.
The Daisy Heaves vs Talking Heads, What To Do, Sgt. Starling
The Daisy Heaves (nu-psych from Chicago) and friends, host a Halloween mashup show of their own songs vs. The Talking Heads. Sgt. Starling is a musical project that effectively blends a unique sound that incorporates psychedelia, shoegaze, spaghetti western vibes, and bluegrass instrumentation, resulting in an engaging and innovative experience that feels both familiar and new
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, gs70, 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. 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
Cool Heat, Public Circuit, Heels
COOL HEAT is a lo-fi artist hailing from Chicago. Started in 2019 it is the solo project of musician and photographer Eden Sierotnik, formerly a member of the now defunct dream pop outfit Color Card. The music is a blend of post-rock and dream pop with an emphasis on hazy soundscapes and shimmering guitars. Bouncing between the fringes of darkwave, punk-tinged EBM, and romantic synth-pop, NYC band, Public Circuit, is a seething exhibition of dark synthesizer magic, and raw-edged delivery. Marrying the late 70’s minimal synth-punk ethos of Nervous Gender and The Sound with the new wave romanticism of New Order and Iron Curtain, Public Circuit is determined to lead an inquisition upon electronic music as they carve their niche in the bedrock foundation that minimal synth was built upon. Heels is an indie dreampop/postpunk duo with sounds ranging from lush and gazey to dark and melancholic. Our songwriting tells stories of relationships that never seemed to work out and insecurities that still linger in the mind. Take a listen and I’m sure you’ll find a song that will leave you swaying.
Bodywash, Ghost Days, Courtesy
Bodywash formed in 2016 as a vehicle for the sonic bond between Chris Steward and Rosie Long Decter. The Montreal duo conjure a dreamscape with airy vocals, intricate guitars and pulsating synths over a heavy rhythmic foundation. In 2019, they released their debut LP, Comforter, which received praise from Bandcamp Daily, NPR Music, Clash Mag and elsewhere. Last year, they returned with their anticipated follow-up, the dark and enveloping I Held the Shape While I Could via Light Organ Records. Ghost Days is the solo project of Chicago based musician, Alessia Kato. Blending elements of dream pop, post-punk, goth and shoegaze, Ghost Days is a sonic exploration through the dreamscape, leaving behind fragments of nostalgia, bittersweet memories, and the unknown. Courtesy began back in 2010 in Memphis, TN when Drew Ryan and Kirk Rawlings met and started trading self-indulgent 4-track scrapsand private recordings not meant for others’ ears. Drums and guitars were recorded, chopped, and screwed as the two figured out how to combine their ideas into songs. In 2011, the duo released Idmatic—a collection of collage-based songs constructed via email, crammed with blown out boom-bap drumming and stretched out cassette wonk. By 2012, the duo relocated to Chicago, where they released Slow Bruise in 2015—a darker, colder, and more aggressive effort. They released HEY in 2018, “an unclassifiable electronic blend of off-kilter atmospheric synths, otherworldly vocal harmonies, deep-house grooves, and weirdo-funk bass lines all sewn together via a persistent Oberheim DX drum machine.” (Steve Rosborough, Moon Glyph Records). With the 2021 release of CHECK THE MILK, the band finds itself with a new, more focused direction, ready-made for basement DJs and glossy pop fans. Courtesy is in the studio now working on the new material.