The Bends
You’ll encounter all kinds of relatable, yet colorful characters in the music of The Bends. There’s the over- bored hipster chick in ripped jeans and a tight t-shirt, the friend who’s only there for the party, the dude who’d rather smoke in his room than pay attention to his girl, and so on and so forth. These personalities come to life between the group’s hypnotic hooks and garage-born production. The Baton Rouge-bred and Nashville-based quartet—Hayden Field [vocals, guitar], Ian Marmande [guitar], Jacob Rhodes [drums], and Chase Perkins [bass]—craft the kind of undeniable alternative rock that could just as easily soundtrack a scene in your favorite Reality Bites-style nineties flick or a TikTok trend. It’s as quotable as it is quixotic, lacing fuzz-ed out power chords with unapologetically candid lyrics. It’s also resonated with fans worldwide, leading to millions of streams and even the applause of megastars like Zach Bryan. Meeting at LSU, the band seized any opportunity to perform in front of an audience, gigging marathon cover sets at college bars and frat parties. By the time senior year rolled around, the four- piece cut their first original “Makeup.” It organically exploded online once Zach Bryan shared it on his Instagram story, calling it “the song of the year.” It eventually amassed over 6.2 million Spotify streams and paved the way for “Fair Weather” and 2025’s Leeward Drive EP. Along the way, they notably captured the ear of Better Than Ezra frontman Kevin Griffin who jumped at the chance to produce and co-write “Virginia” and introduced them to Warner Records. Now, The Bends’ raw and real sound that powers a series of 2026 singles and their forthcoming debut for Warner Records. Website · Instagram · YouTube · Spotify · TikTok
The Tallest Man On Earth
“Matsson has made some of the best and most-compelling folk songs of the 21st century.” — Paste “The Tallest Man on Earth has released some of the best modern folk music of this century. He writes elegant, homespun ballads that draw you in toward the proverbial campfire.” — GQ Swedish singer-songwriter The Tallest Man On Earth aka Kristian Matsson is announcing a 2026 US fall tour today and the song “Colors”, his first new music in nearly three years. Recorded by Matsson in his home studio, the song whirls and swirls with his violin, guitar playing and signature croon. Yearning for the verdant inspiration of summer, head below to listen and watch the song’s new video featuring handheld camera footage from Kristian and his crew on a recent run of European shows. Watch/Listen to “Colors”: https://thetallestmanonearth.ffm.to/colors The Tallest Man On Earth has captivated audiences using “every inch of his long guitar cord to roam the stage: darting around, crouching, stretching, hip-twitching, perching briefly and jittering away…” (The New York Times). His tour this fall begins October 15 in North Carolina and snakes through the East and West coasts, ending in Phoenix on November 15. Head below to check out all upcoming tour dates. Critics often draw comparisons between The Tallest Man on Earth and Bob Dylan, citing similarities in both songwriting and vocal style. Matsson himself has acknowledged Dylan’s influence, revealing that he started listening to him at the age of fifteen. Fascinated by Dylan’s covers, he delved into their origins, which gradually introduced him to early American folk artists like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie. However, Matsson is quick to distance himself from being part of any specific tradition, stating, “I don’t want to be part of a tradition. I just want to do what feels natural to me. This is how I play, and this is how I write songs.” His 2023 album ‘Henry St.’ marks the first time Matsson recorded an album in a band setting. As described by Matsson, it’s the “most me album yet, because it covers so many of the different noises in my head. Having been away from it taught me that making music and performing is what I’m doing for the rest of my life, and I’m so grateful for it. It has given me new confidence and playfulness. This is what I do. It’s unconditional.” Website · Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · Spotify
Renee Christine
Referencing landmark literature, modern headlines, and their own coming of age, Renée Christine crafts powerful, stirring protest music without apology. Raised outside of Philadelphia, PA and now based near Phoenix, AZ, Renée forged relationships with people across the political spectrum as a backpacker, both informing and enforcing their desire to write about what they believe in – from climate justice to calling out abuses of power. Across their discography, Renée Christine speaks to the crises of a young generation that has been dealt a losing hand by its predecessors, but maintains hope for a better future. “I want to be bold in ways that my younger self could never imagine.” Their debut album is set to release fall 2026. Website · Instagram · YouTube · TikTok · Spotify
Luna
Luna was a New York band formed in 1991 by singer/guitarist Dean Wareham after the breakup of Galaxie 500. The band made seven studio albums before disbanding in 2005. After a ten-year break, they reunited and toured in 2015, and in 2017 released a new LP — A Sentimental Education and an EP of instrumentals — A Place of Greater Safety. Other recent reissues include a deluxe 2xLP version of their classic Penthouse album (on Rhino) and another 2xLP set Lunafied that collects all the covers the band record-ed in the 1990s. Now scattered around the country (Los Angeles, New York and Austin) the band re-tains the same lineup that operated from 1999 to 2005: Dean Wareham on vo-cals/guitar, his wife Britta Phillips on bass, Sean Eden on guitar, and Lee Wall on drums. A Luna Timeline: 1992. Dean Wareham recruits Justin Harwood (ex-Chills) on bass and Stanley Demeski (ex-Feelies) on drums to record Lunapark for Elektra Records. After completing the al-bum, the band places an ad in the Village Voice and thus adds Sean Eden on guitar. Eden, who is Canadian by birth and a trained actor, plays lead guitar on the excellent Indian Summer EP (aka the Slide EP). 1993. The band records their second album, Bewitched, featuring “California,” “Tiger Lily” and “Friendly Advice.” 1995 Luna’s classic third album, Penthouse (1995) is recorded in New York City, fea-turing guests Tom Verlaine (Television) and Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab). The band signs to Beggar’s Banquet in Europe. Rolling Stone calls it “one of the essential recordings of the ‘90s” 1997 Lee Wall replaces the travel-weary Stanley Demeski on drums, and the band rec-ords Pup Tent, their fourth album for Elektra. 1998 Luna recorded their fifth album The Days of Our Nights. 1999 Justin Harwood moves back to his home country (New Zealand), and is replaced on bass by Britta Phillips. 2000 finding themselves between contracts, the band quickly records a live album — Luna Live! for the Arena Rock label. 2002 the band sign to Jetset Records, record Romantica, co-produced by Gene Holder (DB’s) and Dave Fridmann (Mercury Rev). Romantica was followed by the mini-LP Close Cover Before Striking. 2004 Luna record their Rendezvous album in Brooklyn, NY. Produced by Bryce Gog-gin with minimal overdubs, it captures the band more-or-less live. 2005 After a farewell tour, on February 28 the band play their last show at New York’s Bowery Ballroom. 2015 After ten years away, the band announces a commemorative world tour. The lineup is the exact ’99-’05 group: Dean Wareham and Sean Eden on guitar, Lee Wall on drums, and Britta Phillips (now married to Mr Wareham) on bass. 2016 Captured Tracks label release a vinyl box set comprising Luna’s five albums rec-orded for Elektra and a bonus LP of rarities. 2017 Double Feature Records release the band’s first new material since 2004, the co-vers LP A Sentimental Education and instrumental EP A Place of Greater Safety. 2018 Run-Out-Groove releases the double LP Lunafied — containing all the covers the band recorded during the 1990s. Website · Facebook · Instagram · Spotify · YouTube
Ax and the Hatchetmen: The Late Checkout Tour 2026
Check out was hours ago, but Ax and the Hatchetmen aren’t leaving. The indie rock six piece, fronted by Axel Ellis, hit the road this fall for the “Late Check Out Tour” — a coast to coast run bringing their sunburnt guitars and jangly tunes to the masses. What started in high school hallways outside Chicago has grown into a band with millions of listeners, diehard fans, and nearly a decade of life on the road. Website · Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · Spotify · Bandcamp · TikTok
Grace Enger – The Satisfied Girl Tour
“The story of my life has been telling myself I can’t do it, but then still doing it, and ‘it’ working out way better than I thought,” says singer-songwriter Grace Enger. The 23-year-old has built a career on that paradox, and on songs that make others feel less lost in their own contradictions. Blending pop, folk, soul, and rock, she crafts songs that approach what she calls “stereotypically shameful emotions” — resentment, insecurity, the taboo of a forbidden crush — with the no-filter intimacy and levity of a heart-to-heart between besties. “I feel like I’m writing songs that I needed to hear when I was younger,” she says, “and maybe that I still need to hear now.” Enger’s Your Favorite Record EP is full of songs you might need to hear, too. Early single “Give A Little” is a bright, piano-driven bop with forceful guitar strums and horn flourishes. It’s also the kiss-off you wish you’d given an emotionally deadbeat ex, while the wistful “Running Back To You” explains why you can’t stop texting that dud back. Later, the floating “Track 7” trades tough love for self-acceptance: “Well maybe I’m a deep cut / But aren’t those the best ones? / Ones that stick with you forever ever?” By the end, “Falling For You Anyways” sees her opening up again to new experiences. “This project represents a metamorphosis,” Enger says, “my journey of growing up and realizing I don’t have to stick around in situations that don’t serve me.” It’s an arc that mirrors its creative process. Written in the months after her first headline tour in 2025 (she was back in the studio that Monday), the EP captures a “liminal” headspace, caught between the afterglow of achieving a dream and the anxiety of what comes next. Her support system gone, Enger faced a choice: wait for someone else to make things happen, or do it herself. She chose the latter, stepping into production work she’d always left to others and making demos of new songs — not voice memos, but expansive arrangements with harmonies and strings. “I was telling myself I couldn’t do things alone. You give yourself all the reasons why you shouldn’t: ‘girls don’t produce,’ ‘you should leave it to a guy,’ ‘you need a creative director,’” she says. “But by the end of it, I took the reins on my own project and therefore my own life.” Enger also wanted Your Favorite Record to feel like the soundtrack of her childhood, listening to John Mayer, Sara Bareilles, Norah Jones, Stevie Wonder — everything her parents would put on in the morning car ride to school in Hoboken, New Jersey. She fell in love with songwriting at age 10 thanks to Taylor Swift’s Red. She was soon penning her own tunes, eventually attending Berklee College of Music’s teen summer program, where she was selected from a thousand applicants to play the institute’s esteemed annual student singer-songwriter showcase. Website · Facebook · Instagram · Spotify · TikTok · YouTube
Bebe Stockwell
Bebe Stockwell, the Boston-born singer, songwriter, and performer crafts folk anthems punctuated by an unapologetically and unfiltered Gen-Z perspective. Her life began in the neighborhood of Beacon Hill where she took piano, drum, and guitar lessons, and penning songs of her own served as an outlet as a kid. While attending the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University, she continued to write and record. She eventually caught the attention of GRAMMY® Award-winning producer M-Phazes and together they collaborated on her 2022 breakout “Love Me Back,” which to date has amassed north of 7 million Spotify streams. “Love Me Back” paved the way for more music, including “Robbie,” “Frosty,” and “Helium,” as well as while along the way, she shared stages with the likes of Claire Rosinkranz, Stephen Sanchez, Rachel Chinouriri, and M. Ward in addition to gracing the bills of Newport Folk Festival and Boston Calling. In 2024, the songstress inked a deal with Columbia Records and she released her debut EP, Driving Backwards, to much acclaim in May 2025. Website
West 22nd: Places To Be
West 22nd is an Austin-based rock band formed by friends at the University of Texas, united by one goal: to become the next great rock band. They define their sound as “carousel rock”—a genre-bending style that spins through emotion and energy while staying grounded in controlled chaos. Following a breakout EP and debut album that together have amassed over 75 million streams worldwide, West 22nd has made it clear they are here to stand out. Their lyrics are autobiographical, their live shows electric, and their ambition unmistakable. They’ve performed at ACL, sold out numerous dates on their debut headlining tour, and cultivated a devoted fanbase that sings every word back to them. Not chasing nostalgia or trends, West 22nd focuses on creating what comes next. Their music hits at exactly the right moment, leaving listeners both dizzy and grounded—a signature experience of carousel rock. Official updates, tour info, and more are available at west-22nd.com. TikTok · Instagram · Spotify · YouTube · Facebook
Son Little
Son Little’s live show brings his music into a different kind of clarity – raw, expressive, and always evolving. Whether solo or with a full band, he moves fluidly between deep grooves, stripped-down intimacy, and moments that feel completely improvised yet emotionally precise. It’s a performance style shaped by instinct and connection, grounded in the richness of his voice and the depth of his songwriting. Over the past decade, he’s cultivated a sound that draws from soul, blues, folk, hip-hop, and R&B – without ever settling fully into any one space. That spirit carries into the room when he performs, offering something that feels both familiar and entirely his own. Audiences are pulled into songs built on texture and vulnerability, delivered with equal parts grit and grace. It’s not just a setlist – it’s an experience. Following a run through the UK and Europe supporting Larkin Poe, Son Little is back with a new wave of music and a fresh stretch of tour dates for winter and spring. His new album CITYFOLK, released in March 2026, features recent singles “in orbit” and “be better,” offering a first look at what’s taking shape – onstage and beyond – in the months ahead.
Theo Katzman
A man walks barefoot through the snow, takes a long bath in an icy river, then searches Craigslist for new-in-box cassette tapes from the early 90’s. He lights a candle, loads the tape, and waits. He’s listening for something unknown, yet familiar: the edge. This is a man staring down midlife with a renewed sense of vision, a recently unearthed Tascam Portastudio, and a call to embody masculine vulnerability through rock and roll song. In other words…Theo Katzman is returning to his singer-songwriter roots, with a series of intimate solo performances across the globe. He aims to pierce your heart. His aim is true.
