Jack Van Cleaf – No One’s Gonna Know if You Leave San Diego

Jack Van Cleaf was still an independent artist when “Rattlesnake” became a viral hit in 2023, earning praise from songwriters like Noah Kahan (who hand-picked Jack as the opening act on his sold-out Stick Season Tour) and Zach Bryan (who began covering the song online). For Jack, it felt like a pivotal moment in a career that had been building since his teenage years. “This album is all about the vertigo of growing up,” says Jack, who makes his Dualtone Records debut with the sophomore release JVC. “It’s about re-defining and re-understanding yourself.” JVC does more than plant its flag halfway between the worlds of indie rock and Gen Z folk. It also asks big questions about home and identity. Years after penning his first song as a high school freshman in San Diego, he headed east to Nashville, where he studied songwriting at Belmont University and released his debut album, Fruit from the Trees, after graduation. “I met many of my closest friends during my very first week at Belmont,” says Jack about his formative years in Music City. “All talented artists in their own right, they went on to help me make my first record everything that it is, and have remained my most trusted collaborators to this day.” “Rattlesnake,” with its introspective lyrics and atmospheric acoustics, earned him a spot on Spotify’s 2024 Best New Artist list with tastemaker playlist “juniper,” but nothing – not even the praise of his heroes – could calm the existential freakout he experienced as a 20something thrust into adulthood. “I was shell-shocked,” he remembers. “I’d spent my whole life being told what to do every single day, and I always dreamed about growing up to be my own boss. Then graduation came, and I got what I wanted… but I realized I had no idea how to function on a day-to-day basis.” JVC was born during that period of anxiety, self-examination, and newfound freedom. It’s a sharply-written record that measures the long, winding road from past to present. Sometimes that road is literal, with songs like “Shouldn’t Have Gone to L.A.” finding Jack in transit, caught between locations without a clear anchor, his heart in search of a place to land. Elsewhere, the album traffics in metaphor, whether Jack is singing about the road to ruin in “Thinkin’ About It” (a candid look at suicidal ideation, laced with resonator and acoustic guitars) or tracing the similarities between romantic obsession and substance abuse with the countryfied “Using You.” “This is me grappling with adulthood, trying to figure out who I am as an adult, and how that reckons with who I was as a kid,” he says, speaking with the same heart-on-sleeve honesty that informs his writing. Once known for his confessional and cathartic folk songs, Jack digs deeper with JVC, blurring the dividing lines between acoustic Americana and electrified indie music. The result is an expansive sound that resists categorization: sparse one minute and grungy the next, dreamt up by an artist who’s never been afraid to write songs that shine a light on his own challenges. To record JVC, Jack and producer Alberto Sewald (Katy Kirby, Sierra Hull) headed to far-flung locations like Joshua Tree and the Texas/Mexico border. Those choices were deliberate, their landscapes reflecting the barrenness evoked by many of the album’s lyrics. Spotify | Instagram | TikTok

Sydney Rose – I Know What I Want Tour

Music will always be there for us—especially when we don’t have the words to express what we want to say. Georgia-born and Nashville-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Sydney Rose writes songs for those moments. As she sings, it almost sounds like she’s whispering in your ear, giving you a boost of confidence, offering a little clarity, or just reminding you everything will be okay. The intimacy of her songcraft has resonated in the hearts and minds of countless fans worldwide, leading to billions of views on TikTok, hundreds of millions of streams, and critical acclaim. It also underscores her I Know What I Want EP [Mercury Records]. “Even if I can’t say how I feel with my own words, I know my favorite songs can,” she states. “When I listen to records or go to concerts, a song that speaks to me will be able to communicate what I’m going through. My goal has always been to relate to other people.”It’s easy to relate to Sydney. Growing up in the suburbs of Atlanta, she cultivated a rich musical palette by listening to artists as diverse as Phoebe Bridgers, Bon Iver, Daughter, Conan Gray, and Cavetown. Along the way, she picked up ukulele, piano, and guitar. Building an audience organically on social media, she broke through with a viral take on “Turning Page” by Sleeping At Last. It gathered over 67 million Spotify streams, led to her first label deal at 18-years-old, and set the stage for 2022’s You Never Met Me EP. A year later, she unveiled her debut LP, One Sided, highlighted by “You’d Be Stars” [feat. Chloe Moriondo]. Along the way, she received co-signs courtesy of everyone from People to Olivia Rodrigo and Awho invited her on tour.By the fall of 2024, she found herself now settled in Nashville without a label, yet undeniably inspired. So, she dropped the fan favorite voice notes EP.“I wanted to return to my roots, which was recording a song as a voice memo on my phone and releasing it,” she says. “When I got dropped, I got back to who I am.”In this creative space, she continued to write and record. While sitting at the piano one day, she crafted “We Hug Now.” Sparse chords shudder as raw emotion echoes through the cracks in her stark delivery, resembling the fracture of a formative friendship. Holding back tears, she muses, “I have a feeling you got everything you wanted and you’re not wasting time stuck here like me. You’re just thinkin’ it’s a small thing that happened. The world ended when it happened to me.”“I was upset about this relationship I had with a friend,” she confesses. “I’d go to her Instagram and see her posts with other friends, and it seemed like she was having a great time. I know it’s not 100% true because of how people are perceived on the internet. I was feeling down though, and I know she wasn’t. I wrote about wanting to be friends again and go back to simpler times.” A post of the tune’s bridge surged on TikTok, snowballing and eventually exploding on the platform. It inspired over 400K “creates” on Tik Tok, yielding 1.3 billion total views and reaching the Top 15 of the TikTok Top Songs Chart. It catapulted to the Top 3 of the Spotify US and Global Viral 50 Charts. Website | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Facebook | Spotify

Cigarettes At Sunset, High June, Yesterday’s Clothes

Winyah

Hailing from a small South Carolina beach town, Winyah emerged onto the music scene in early 2023 and has swiftly made their mark. They’ve shared stages with acclaimed artists such as The Red Clay Strays, The Vegabonds and The Stews, while also shredding festivals like Bonnaroo. Winyah’s live performances are a testament to their distinctive blend of indie and southern rock, featuring electrifying guitar solos and soulful vocals reminiscent of icons like Led Zeppelin, The Backseat Lovers, and flipturn. The band draws its name from Winyah Bay, a cherished landmark in their hometown where all five members spent their formative years. Their music is a reflection of the five rivers that converge into Winyah Bay, capturing the eternal summer vibes of their coastal upbringing. On the surface, Winyah delivers youthful energy and raw power, but their music also delves into themes of nostalgia and the bittersweet longing for childhood memories and cherished places. Website | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify

Dissimilar South, Anne-Claire Cleaver

Dissimilar South is the indie project of Durham-based songwriter Maddie Fisher. Blending ear-catching melodies with a subtle twang, the band has always been a harmony driven outfit. The band’s 2022 debut album, Tricky Things, introduced a sound that’s intimate and nostalgic, but with Fisher now at the helm, it’s entering a punchier and more personal era. Anne-Claire is from Raleigh. She went to music school where her brain got smart but her head got dumb. In 2018, she released her first LP I Still Look For You, and in 2021 she partnered with local label Suah Sounds to release her single Jean Jacket. She’s collaborated with artists like Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Ari Picker (Lost in the Trees), Chris Stamey (The dB’s) and Charlotte Church.

Crazy Chester: A Very Carrboro Tribute To The Band & The Last Waltz

Formed in early 2020 for a series of one-off events, Crazy Chester is a homegrown tribute act to The Band, consisting of Carrboro musicians Jones Bell (Mellow Swells, Ravary), Charles Cleaver (Big Star’s Third, Tripp), Rob DiMauro (Heat Preacher, Mixtape Grab Bag), Justin Ellis (Slow Teeth, Ravary), and Rafael Green (Little Raven, Ravary), respectively recreating and playing the parts of Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, and Robbie Robertson. For this special concert, Crazy Chester will be performing most of The Band’s legendary farewell performance from Thanksgiving Day 1976, immortalized in the 1978 Martin Scorsese film “The Last Waltz” – complete with additional musicians and special local guests to play the songs originally performed in the film by Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and many more. Join for an unforgettable live performance of a Thanksgiving tradition, live at the Cat’s Cradle. Jones Bell as Richard Manuel + Dr. John Charles Cleaver as Garth Hudson + Bobby Charles Rob DiMauro as Levon Helm Justin Ellis as Rick Danko Rafael Green as Robbie Robertson With Guest Appearances From: Boykin Dunlap Bell as Michael McClure Greg Bell as Lawrence Ferlinghetti + Organist Asher De La Torre as Saxophonist Matthew Greenslade as Trumpeter Danny Grewen as Trombonist Jeremy Haire as Eric Clapton Charles Latham as Bob Dylan Ace McAteer as Ronnie Wood Glenn Jones as Van Morrison Jodi Jones as Emmylou Harris Georgia Moon as Joni Mitchell + Saxophonist Brad Porter as Ringo Starr Luis Rodriguez as Trumpetist/ Tubist Owen FitzGerald as Neil Young Jacob Seyle as Paul Butterfield Alex Thompson as Ronnie Hawkins

Pinkshift – The Earthkeeper Tour

During a pit stop while travelling between shows in 2023, Pinkshift found a huge fallen redwood tree. The three of them (Vocalist Ashrita Kumar (they/them), guitarist Paul Vallejo (he/him) and drummer Myron Houngbedji (he/him) lay down on the trunk, staring up at the canopy of leaves from the trees around them. What followed is an experience Kumar describes as almost psychedelic. They felt as if the trees were inviting them to stay there forever. “I heard these voices telling me that I’m welcome here,” they recall, “and everything I could ever want is in this space.” That beautiful, perspective-altering moment of stillness and peace that grounded them in the present was a reminder of how much nature can teach us, if only we slow down, connect to it and open ourselves up to its wisdom. “I think nature is really inspiring,” they explain. “It’s the biggest and most incredible creative force that we witness as people. Nature is always moving forward. It’s always creating, it’s always changing, it’s always evolving. We have a lot to learn from that. I feel like there’s sacrifices that nature makes for the for the world – animals die, plants die, then something takes its place.” Shortly after, they wrote the words ‘earth keeper’ in their journal. They felt, in that moment, that they had rediscovered their life’s meaning. I know why I am here. But they were angry too, Ashrita says ‘about the wildfires, feeling helpless in my body, living under the threat of capitalism, rising global conservatism, and the existential dread climate change had instilled in me permanently. And after October 7th, I couldn’t help but feel immense grief and anger over the rapid genocide in Gaza, and the rise of fascist, white supremacist rhetoric. I felt a kind of desperation, and I felt it everywhere around me. I and those around me were affected deeply and personally. So many people around me were fighting and shutting down, lost, angry, and confused. I wanted the Earth to heal me, but it felt like all I could hear was the Earth screaming. It was at this point the band began gathering ideas for their second album, Earthkeeper with the nu metal-tinged ‘Blood’ emerging first and becoming the “seed song” from which the rest of the music would germinate. Earthkeeper is a record that bursts at the seams with big riffs, big feelings and big ideas. At its core is a spiritual being whose name gives the record its title, “a reflection of universal consciousness and a protector of existence”. It’s a patchwork of anxiety, angst, grief and hope, juggling experiences both personal and existential across themes such as loss, one’s individual purpose, and what it means to watch the notion of a stable life collapse before your eyes. Crucially, Ashrita, Paul and Myron are not the same people that they were when they made their 2022 debut Love Me Forever. They’ve grown, matured and been altered by experience. They crafted their debut at a time where they didn’t have as much experience playing live as they do now. “The first album was influenced a lot by stuff we grew up listening to because we’d never really toured,” offers Myron. Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | TikTok | Soundcloud | Spotify

Layto

On Layto’s anticipated debut LP, alternative psycho dropped with many personalities of the musician come out to play. Throughout the seven tracks, listeners are introduced to the passionate alt rock song bard and sly pop charmer, who combine to make beautiful music together. Now, Layto has followed up the release with the deluxe version of the project that features three new songs, highlighted by the new focus single “better off”. “Bending genres is what I’ve always been drawn to. I’m conscious of actively combining different elements of rock, alt and hip-hop, into an amalgamation of music that I want to be tenable for people,” says the songwriter. Layto draws on influential acts like Twenty One Pilots, Post Malone and Imagine Dragons in the art of musical multiplicity while honing in on a sound that’s uniquely his. While Layto is naturally gifted at creating his unique stylistic tapestry, it was also nurtured in his earliest years – the Boston native grew up the youngest of five in a lively, if not sometimes dysfunctional, household where many vied for attention and music became its own kind of escape. While his father had a love of crooners like Sinatra and Dean Martin (giving Layto an appreciation of vocal tone), his mother – a drummer herself – gravitated towards Motown and R&B stars like Stevie Wonder and Brian McKnight imparting Layto with an ear for a good beat. It was in high school where Layto really had his musical epiphany after discovering hip-hop. “Eminem was a game changer,” he says. “I love his angst, I related to the honesty and rawness. Before then, I didn’t know you could make music that was so intense and still connected with people.” The direct testimonial style is one that Layto successfully brings to his own music, with a constant emphasis on lyrics. It’s evident in the unbarred new tracks “in bed with a psycho” and “save urself (runaway)” the first talking to the Jekyll and Hyde nature of bad relationships and the second a cautionary tale to find an exit. He admits he taps into his alter ego when writing music to find that darker side. “I try to draw on what I’m going through or what I have been through in the past; an ingrained memory or something that really stuck with me,” he says. “I draw from whatever I’m feeling in the moment and push myself to be as honest as possible.” The artist also has a strong desire to make music that gives a voice to the millions who suffer from anxiety and depression – and let them know they are not alone. “It’s something I’ve dealt with from a very young age, and though I’ve learned techniques on how to manage it, I would say mental health is my most drawn upon motif,” Layto shares. “I want people to hear it and feel connected. It brings me a lot of joy when my music can bring someone a bit of happiness and it’s clear it has done so over the course of the past five years. Since releasing his debut EP Low Boy in 2018, featuring the hit “Little Poor Me,” Layto has amassed 250+ million global streams and counting as well as 1+ million monthly listeners that cling to his relatable, anthemic music with stories powered by his gravely, booming vocals. Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok

Madilyn Mei – The One Man Circus Tour

All Ages With vivid storytelling, poetic wordplay, genre-defying productions, and a beautifully unique voice, Madilyn Mei has quickly become known for her innovative indie-folk twist on the alternative pop genre. Having released her debut album, 3 EPs, and countless singles in just over two years – all of which written and recorded from her bedroom in Arizona – the 22-year-old singer-songwriter is building a fun, comforting, and magically whimsical world, relatable enough for anyone to immerse themselves within. Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify

briZB, Grace Lucia, Liam Martin

briZB Solo indie-rock artist briZB captures fans and tears with her electrifying songwriting and heartbreaking guitar. She pulls from alt-rock, bedroom-pop, and pop-punk influences to write of love and loss and the repercussions of growing. Based out of Charlotte, NC, she finds ways to shock the scene alongside her growing online fanbase. LinkTree Grace Lucia Grace Lucia is a genre-blending rock and roll artist based in Wake Forest, NC, known for high-energy and heartfelt performances that light up bars, restaurants, and stages across the Research Triangle. Her original music fuses elements of dreampop, goth, pop punk, and classic rock, balancing grit and vulnerability in songs about resilience, love, and loss. With a voice that cuts through and a stage presence that pulls you in, Grace and her backup band create an atmosphere where every show feels personal. She doesn’t just play for a crowd—she plays with them. Grace Lucia delivers whether you’re ready to dance, laugh, cry, or connect. LinkTree Liam Martin Based in the North Carolina triangle, Liam Martin is dreamy folk-pop personified. With introspective songwriting and heartfelt nostalgia, Liam’s artistry is all about the melodic expression of the observed world. Taking themes of biological and technological design, his forthcoming EP positions itself in a conversation between attention and engagement. When he is not working on new music with his fellow artists at SOON records, Liam finds utmost fulfillment in his live performances. Sharing his art directly with listeners to capture raw, emotional reactions in real-time. Website

Genre: Concerts