Electric Guest

In 2007, Asa Taccone chased his dream to Los Angeles when an established mentor provided a check for $10,000 so the promising ingénue producer could quit his job and pursue music full-time. He incubated this miraculous nest egg until he could subsist and survive off his own songwriting, production, and artistry as one-half of the duo Electric Guest with drummer Matthew “Cornbread” Compton. Electric Guest embrace the same energy, hunger, and mindset that first brought Asa to this point on their aptly titled fourth full-length album, 10K. “10K is back to the basics,” he affirms. “Nobody was in the room or on the record but friends. In a way, it feels like this is actually my first album. This is a full circle moment.” Behind-the-scenes, Asa relentlessly pushed himself as a songwriter and producer, building up a robust catalog in the process. He co-wrote and co-produced Portugal. The Man’s 7x-Platinum “Feel It Still,” earning the band a Top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and a GRAMMY ® Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. His repertoire also expanded with Lily-Rose Depp’s “World Class Sinner / I’m A Freak” for The Weeknd’s The Idol, Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Feels Right,” and more. He’s the rare creative chameleon who can cook up “Cheat Code” for H.E.R. or hilarious viral tentpole tracks for The Lonely Island a la “Natalie’s Rap” with Academy® Award winner Natalie Portman, “Motherlover” with Justin Timberlake, “Here I Go” with Charli XCX, and “3-Way (The Golden Rule)” with Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga, among others. Simultaneously, Electric Guest racked up over half-a-billion streams across Mondo [2013], Plural [2017], and KIN [2019]. Throughout 2025, he hunkered down and poured his focus into Electric Guest. For as much as he concurrently collaborated with top-tier talent, he actually found the most inspiration much closer to home. Various friends trickled in and out of the Electric Guest sessions, and the music organically took shape primarily recorded at Asa’s home studio. “I’ve come back to the potency of the arts,” he leaves off. “It means so much to me to be able to put out my vibe and whatever insights I have about life and being a human on earth in 2025. Ultimately, it’s an act of hope even if some of the themes are difficult or dark. This is truly a reflection of my energy, personage, and being.” Website | Instagram | TikTok | Facetime | Spotify | YouTube

Saintsenenca

Saintseneca’s Zac Little has been thinking a lot about memory. Not necessarily his memories, though they creep in often, too. Rather, he mulls over the idea of memory itself: its resilience, its haziness, how it slips away as we try to hang on, the way it resurfaces despite our best efforts to forget. Memory is the common thread running throughout the Columbus folk-punk band’s fourth album, Pillar of Na, arriving in late summer via ANTI- Records. Following 2015’s critically lauded Such Things, the new album’s name is rooted in remembrance, referencing the Genesis story of Lot’s wife who looks back at a burning Sodom after God instructs her not to. She looks back, and God turns her into a pillar of salt. “Na,” meanwhile, is the chemical symbol for sodium. “Nah” is a passive refusal and the universal song word. It means nothing and stands for nothing. It is “as it is.” Like Lot’s wife, Little cannot help but revisit where—and how—he grew up. Raised in church in southeastern Appalachian Ohio, he took up preaching when he was still a teenager, sometimes in small country settings and other times to congregations of thousands. But these days he’s more interested in listening. And questioning. Musically, Pillar of Na is Saintseneca’s most ambitious album to date, with Little aiming to incorporate genre elements he’d rarely heard in folk. “I wanted to use the idiom of folk-rock, or whatever you want to call it, and to try to do something that had never been done before,” Little explains. “To reach way back, echoing ancient folk melodies, tie that into punk rock, and then push it into the future. I told Mike Mogis I wanted Violent Femmes meets the new Blade Runner soundtrack. I’m looking for the intersection between Kendrick Lamar and The Fairport Convention.” “You’re always going to be situated in the folk legacy,” Little continues, acknowledging his past recordings, which include three albums (the aforementioned Such Things, 2014’s Dark Arc, 2011’s Last) and three EPs (2016’s The Mallwalker, 2010’s Grey Flag, and 2009’s self-titled). “But let’s move forward. I’m not trying to make the lost Velvet Underground B-side. I want to find something that has never been heard before, or at least go down trying.” Website | Facebook | Instagram

Noeline Hofmann

Noeline Hofmann, a 21-year-old country artist hailing from the rugged Badlands of Southern Alberta, Canada, is making a name for herself in the world of independent country music. From bittersweet ballad to gritty barn burner, Hofmann brings the glowing expanse of the Plains to the stage, drawing deep inspiration from her experiences working in honky tonks and as a ranch hand across the prairies. Praised for her “mature and haunting voice, and an innate knack for storytelling” (Whiskey Riff), she has been named one of Holler Country’s “New Country & Americana Artists for 2024″ and released her debut EP, Purple Gas, on October 18. The EP includes recent singles “Rodeo Junkies,” “August,” “Lightning in July (Prairie Fire)” and “Purple Gas,” which originally gained notable attention after being featured on Zach Bryan’s Belting Bronco YouTube series and was recorded as a duet for his album, The Great American Bar Scene. “Purple Gas” has reached over 100M+ global streams and Noeline has reached over 1.1M monthly listeners on Spotify. As such, she was chosen as Spotify’s EQUAL artist of the month in Dec 2024 and was included on RADAR Canada’s Best of 2024 List. She was chosen as Amazon Music’s Artist To Watch 2025 and Apple’s Up Next Artist. Noeline made her Grand Ole Opry debut in September 2024 and has toured alongside artists such as Turnpike Troubadours, Charley Crockett, Colter Wall, Wyatt Flores, Zach Top and Shane Smith & The Saints. Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok

West 22nd

West 22nd is a rock band out of Austin, TX, made up of five friends who met at UT Austin and never looked back. Logan Madsen (lead vocals), Gabe Acevedo (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Jeremy Ancheta (lead guitar), Jet Beck (bass), and Tyler Kerch (drums) came together with one shared goal: to make music for the world and become the next great rock band. Their sound—self-described as carousel rock—spins through genre, emotion, and energy without ever losing its center. It’s a term they coined to capture the controlled chaos of their music: sometimes dizzying, sometimes grounding, always unforgettable. From a breakout EP to a debut album that pulled in over 1.5 million streams in its first month, West 22nd has made it clear they’re not here to blend in. Their lyrics are autobiographical, their shows are electric, and their ambition’s impossible to miss. They’ve already played ACL, sold out venues in cities they’d never even been to, and built a fanbase that screams every word right back at them. West 22nd isn’t a throwback or a trend—they’re what’s next. And if you’ve ever been in a crowd when the chorus hits just right, you already know. Website | Instagram | TikTok | Spotify

Carolina Waves Showcase & Open Mic

The award-winning Carolina Waves Open Mic returns to Cat’s Cradle. Hosted by Mir.I.am of K97.5 with music by DJ KidFromTheHill, this event is the premier platform for artists of all ages, talents, and genres to showcase their skills. Step into a welcoming, supportive crowd and connect with fellow creatives. Perform, network, gain traction, create content, and be seen on the Carolinas’ #1 indie stage. Arrive early to sign up. The list fills up quickly and spots are first come first serve. Email [email protected] with questions. YouTube | Facebook Event

Honeycutt Road, The Carolina Junebugs, Murphy Campbell

The Carolina Junebugs Instagram

Peter McPoland: Big Lucky Tour

At just 20 years old, Peter McPoland creates the kind of finespun folk-pop that feels both beautifully lived-in and undeniably original. McPoland picked up guitar at the age of 14 and taught himself to play, finding lessons to be too regimented. Within a year he’d started writing his own songs, mining inspiration from folk artists like John Prine and Gregory Alan Isakov. As shown on breakout hits like his self-released single “Romeo & Juliet,” the Texas-bred artist has an incredible gift for capturing the most nuanced emotional experiences, then bringing that expression to life in idiosyncratic detail. Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | TikTok | Soundcloud | Spotify

An Evening with Don Dixon and Robert Kirkland: Songs and Stories from Franklin Street in the Early Seventies

This is a seated show. Don Dixon and Robert Kirkland will sing songs from their solo careers along with favorites they sang in the early 70s at The New Establishment, Cat’s Cradle and Town Hall. They will talk about their experiences in Chapel Hill during that time and answer questions from the audience. The evening will be moderated by Joe Vanderford, NC music journalist and fan.

Beauty School Dropout

Beauty School Dropout is a Los Angeles-based rock band comprised of Colie Hutzler, Beepus, and Bardo. Spearheaded by A&R Mark Hoppus under the trailblazing label Verswire—alongside Pete Wentz and Sherry Saeedi—Beauty School Dropout has been disrupting the scene since their debut in 2022 with a riotous blend of rebellion, freedom, and unapologetic self-expression. Their music exists to challenge the status quo, celebrate individuality, and speak to the frustrations and desires of a generation. After earning global attention with co-signs from Travis Mills, Jack Saunders, Daniel P Carter, and playlisting on BBC Radio 1’s Tune of the Week, New Music Friday, New Noise, and MTV FRESH OUT, BSD has continued to solidify their place as one of the most exciting names in rock. Their press accolades include features in NME, Alternative Press, Kerrang!, Rock Sound, SPIN, Billboard, and beyond. Their first two albums—We Made Plans and God Laughed and READY TO EAT—have amassed over 60 million streams and 4.8 million YouTube views, featuring collaborations with Mark Hoppus (Almost Famous), JXDN (FREAK), and production from Andrew Goldstein, Alex Gaskarth, Inverness, Slush Puppy, and more. The band has proven themselves as road warriors, completing a 36-date U.S. tour, opening for blink-182 on their arena run (featuring Tom DeLonge’s return), touring Europe with Maggie Lindemann and Stand Atlantic, hitting major festivals across the U.S. and EU, and performing to 160,000 people as direct support for Matchbox Twenty. Rock For People Festival raved, “What an incredible show! These guys are going to go far!!” Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Soundcloud | YouTube

The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die

Genre: Concerts