Wednesday (solo) + Cryogeyser (solo)
Pom Pom Squad
Pom Pom Squad is a Brooklyn-based indie rock band that has been making waves with their distinctive blend of punk, grunge, and pop influences. Led by vocalist and songwriter Mia Berrin, the band emerged in 2015 and quickly gained attention for their raw, emotive sound and poignant lyricism. Originally conceived as a solo project by Berrin, Pom Pom Squad evolved into a full-fledged band as she assembled a talented lineup to bring her musical vision to life. Their music delves deep into themes of identity, vulnerability, and personal growth, often drawing from Berrin’s own experiences with mental health challenges and societal pressures. In 2019, Pom Pom Squad released their debut EP titled “Hate It Here,” which garnered critical acclaim for its honesty and authenticity. Tracks like “Heavy Heavy” and “Cherry Blossom” showcase their ability to juxtapose gritty guitar riffs with Berrin’s powerful vocals, creating a sound that is both nostalgic and refreshingly modern. Known for their electrifying live performances, Pom Pom Squad has built a dedicated fan base captivated by their infectious energy and impassioned delivery. They continue to evolve their sound while maintaining a core commitment to crafting songs that resonate deeply with listeners. As they navigate the indie music landscape, Pom Pom Squad remains a dynamic force poised for further growth and impact. With new projects on the horizon and a steadfast dedication to their craft, they are set to solidify their place as one of the most compelling voices in contemporary alternative rock. Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube
Lauren Sanderson
Born & raised in Indiana, Lauren Sanderson stumbled into her career after failing to get into college & landing herself a Ted Talk at the age of 19, where she realized her love for inspiring others. She started making music in her bedroom & documented every step of the way, inspiring a fan base that led her to Los Angeles in 2018. Soon after, Lauren went on tour as direct support for FINNEAS & Chase Atlantic in 2019. Soon after in 2020, Lauren released her debut album “Midwest Kids Can Make It Big,” with support from Billboard, Complex, MTV, PAPER, Zane Lowe’s Beats 1, Spotify’s New Music Friday & more. Lauren went on to releasing singles after, and in 2022, released her viral TikTok banger, “THERAPY!” and a massively successful collaboration with queer icon GFLIP, “GAY 4 ME.” In 2023, Sanderson hit the road on her 37 city world tour taking her through North America, Europe & the UK. Sanderson will be releasing her 3rd album in 2024 and is very excited to continue inspiring the world around it. Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Soundcloud | TikTok
Fib, Nick Normal, Guitar, Saturnalias
Guitar and Nick Normal are lo-fi rock bands from Portland, OR. Guitar recently released the well acclaimed record “Casting Spells on Turtlehead” this year and Nick Normal is known for their “egg punk” sound. If you want to include bio’s for FIB and Saturnalias: Saturnalias is a genre-bending rock band from the Raleigh-Durham area with a dreamy but frantic sound. FIB is a post-punk favorite in their home city of Philadelphia.
Ace Monroe
American rock n’ roll band Ace Monroe is getting people up and dancing all across the country with their swingin’ gritty guitar riffs, soaring vocals, and an electrifying larger-than-life show. The quintet consists of Robbie Dylan (lead vocals), Josh Alfano (lead guitar), Jack Kaiser (rhythm guitar, vocals), Jonathan Tatooles (drums), and Erik McIntyre (bass). Expect no facades, no mysticism, no pretenses. Expect only one thing with Ace Monroe, sleek, unapologetic, hard-driving music that not only rocks, but rolls. Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube
Sankofa Reunion
Sankofa Instagram Lem Butler Matt Brandau Nick Baglio Brevan Hampden Hugh Swaso James Anthony Wallace Tay Noveljasme KellyMr RozziCelinskiTrinidad Rel O Period from Squeezetoy Courtney Scott Wright singing The Butterfly Collector Hosted by Josephus Thompson
Braless, Madisinn, Bella Peadon, Taylor Sharp
Madisinn is the solo project of Texas-born, NC native singer-songwriter Madison Grifaldo. Madisinn always dreamed of a world full of rich harmonies & whimsical instrumentation, so she created it. Her music has been described as “nurtured in a world closely occupied by beautiful voices” & “lavender and velvet lullaby voice.” She however describes it as a mixture of everything she loves and feels. Madisinn draws her vocal influences from her classical upbringing in music to her love for great American songwriting ( Judee Sill, Janis Ian, Leonard Cohen, Joan Baez, etc). Madisinn’s first studio EP “The Sun on My Skin” was recorded by artist Samuel Beasley at RFG Studio in Boone, NC. In the past year Madisinn released two singles “Bad Again” and “Go Away” which were both produced by Max Agee in Wilmington, NC at Suck Rock Records. Currently, Madisinn is working on all new material and plans to begin recording her second EP this summer. Based in the beach town of Wilmington, North Carolina, Bella Peadon began her music journey at the beginning of 2024 after releasing her debut single, ‘Red Wine’, produced by Jack Marcello of The Flotillas band. As a singer songwriter, Bella’s music is melodic and lyrically driven. Pulling inspiration from artists including Maggie Rogers, Gracie Abrams, and Kacey Musgraves, her acoustically centered songwriting includes hints of indie, pop, and americana styles. Bella has now taken the live music scene by storm, playing shows and festivals across North Carolina and filling up the roster with upcoming shows in Raleigh and Wilmington. With her first EP currently in production, Bella will continue to release new projects and play live across the east coast and beyond. Taylor Sharp is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer based in Raleigh, NC. He describes his music as retro jangle pop inspired by bands like The Smiths, Belle and Sebastian, and The Beach Boys. He has been releasing music since 2022, starting with the upbeat “Runaways”. His songwriting grew more sophisticated along with his production as he followed up with the synth-driven “I Will Wait” and melancholic “You’re Still Standing Near Me”, with its rich cornucopia of clean, jangly Telecasters. The next year, he continued to push his musical abilities with “When There’s No Music to Write”, the double-edged “Long Ride / Goodbye”, and, most recently, “No Help to Anyone”, which both proved he could work outside of the typical pop song structure. Outside of his bedroom studio, he has played local shows both solo and with his band, the Sharpies. Braless started as a student run band in Chapel Hill in late 2021. Comprised of 6 uniquely skilled musicians, Braless has been playing shows in and around the Triangle area for the past 3 years. From their start in basements and backyards, they made their mark on the local music scene by inspiring community at UNC through their passion for live music. Though Braless began as a cover band that rocked bars and frat houses, they now have an original single on Spotify as their second released recording. Braless is most notable for its high energy, improvised sets that fuse indie rock and jazz. They hope to inspire others to chase their love for truthful and soul-satisfying music in all aspects of life.
Lunar Vacation
Lunar Vacation, Everything Matters, Everything’s Fire As one would expect of any historic city, the houses in Decatur, GA are old, and while many have been renovated to suit the needs of the 21st century family, the one Lunar Vacation calls home has not. The porch is quaint and crumbly, the roof leaks, and there is a single bathroom shared by the band’s five members who insist that this is not, actually, a bad thing. “We go on tour and share a hotel room for a month and then all come back to the same house,” guitarist/vocalist Maggie Geeslin says cheerily, aware that to most, this scenario sounds maddening. “We’ve become homemakers together.” Just beyond the porch, the small vegetable garden produces enough to be proud of; in the cramped living room, there is always enough room for a house show, or a jam session. For ten months out of last year, engineer/bassist Ben Wulkan transformed the room into the ad-hoc studio wherein Lunar Vacation wrote and demoed their fearless sophomore album, Everything Matters, Everything’s Fire. “I used to be so protective of the songs when I gave them over to the band,” lyricist/vocalist/guitarist Gep Repasky says. “There’s so much trust involved, but this house helped us grow as best friends, as musicians, as a band.” That newfound sense of trust is apparent on Everything Matters, Everything’s Fire, whose title, taken from the concluding track “You Shouldn’t Be,” is a thesis statement. While Lunar Vacation’s last album, 2021’s Inside Every Fig is a Dead Wasp, happily bathed in the waters of indie pop, their latest effort is exploratory, a product of many hours shared experimenting in a living room together. Inspired by prolific shapeshifters like Yo La Tengo and Björk, Everything Matters, Everything’s Fire adopts an ethos that every idea has the potential to be a good one. “Our last album was super produced, manicured,” Maggie says. “This one’s organic. We embraced mistakes; it made the work even better.” In other words: everything matters, everything’s fire. Once billed as a band of high school friends, Lunar Vacation have transcended the cloying designation of “just kids” and have confronted the sink-or-swim mentality that overtakes you the minute you’re out of your parents’ basement. “Stop being so bitter,” Gep self-admonishes on the chorus of “Bitter” over a plodding, bony arrangement anchored by Connor Dowd’s drumming that summons Television. When they wrote the song, there was a lot to be bitter about; Gep had undergone a year of emotional tumult that led to a psychiatric hospitalization, which was both traumatic and transformative. Most of Everything Matters, Everything’s Fire documents that period, which the rest of the band witnessed as Gep’s closest friends. “When it happened, everyone was there. They brought me a note in the hospital, they brought me clothes, they brought me books.” Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube
Soccer Mommy
Sometimes, Forever, the immersive and compulsively replayable new Soccer Mommy full-length, cements Sophie Allison’s status as one of the most gifted songwriters making rock music right now. Packed with clever nods to synth-filled subgenres like new wave and goth, the album finds Sophie broadening the borders of her aesthetic without abandoning the unsparing lyricism and addictive melodies that make Soccer Mommy songs so easy to obsess over. Sometimes, Forever is the 24-year-old’s boldest and most aesthetically adventurous work, a mesmerizing collection that feels both informed by the past and explicitly of the moment. It’s a fresh peek into the mind of an artist who synthesizes everything — retro sounds, personal tumult, the relatable disorder of modern life — into original music that feels built to last a long time. Maybe even forever. Sophie was only 20 when she put out Clean, her arresting studio debut, which became one of the most beloved coming-of-age albums of the 2010s. Its bigger-sounding followup, color theory, brought more acclaim and continued to win her fans far outside of the lo-fi bedroom pop scene she cut her teeth playing in. But with all the highs came inevitable lows. Navigating young adulthood is often spiritually draining, to say nothing of the artless administrative chaos associated with being a popular full-time musician. And yet she never stops writing, consistently transforming bouts of instability into emotionally generous music. The latest culmination of that process is Sometimes, Forever, which sees Sophie once again tapping into the turn-of-the-millenium sensibilities she’s known for. This time, though, she advances her self-made sonic world beyond the present and into the future with experimental-minded production, an expanded moodboard of vintage touchstones, and some of her most sophisticated songwriting to date.To support her vision, Sophie enlisted producer Daniel Lopatin, a.k.a Oneohtrix Point Never, whose recent behind-the-boards credits include the Uncut Gems movie score and The Weeknd’s chart-topping Dawn FM. While the pairing might seem unexpected, active listening reveals a kindred creativity; both artists are interested in utilizing memory-triggering sounds and melodies to make invigorating music that transcends its influences. On Sometimes, Forever, Lopatin employs his boundless synth vocabulary and knack for meticulous arrangements to complement Sophie’s well-crafted compositions. The result is an epic-feeling mix of raw-edged live takes and studio wizardry.Nowhere is Sophie’s exploration more spellbinding than “Unholy Affliction,” a first-half highlight with a paranoid post-rock rhythm and cursed-sounding synths. “I don’t want the money / That fake kind of happy,” she sings with dead-eyed disaffection. In addition to showcasing Sophie’s appreciation for textures that are at once pretty and unsettling, “Unholy Affliction” foregrounds one of Sometimes, Forever’s more compelling narrative tensions: the push and pull between Sophie’s desire to make meaningful art and her skepticism about the mechanics of careerism. “I hate so many parts of the music industry, but I also want success,” Sophie says. “And not just success — perfection. I want to make things that are flawless, that perfectly encapsulate what I’m thinking and feeling. It’s an unachievable goal that keeps you constantly chasing it.” Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Cassandra Jenkins
Like the night sky itself, the world of My Light, My Destroyer is always expanding. Cassandra Jenkins’ third full-length cracks open the promise of reaching the edge of the new, with a wider sonic palette than ever before — encompassing guitar-driven indie rock, new age, sophistipop, and jazz. At the center of it all is Jenkins’ curiosity towards the quarks and quasars that make up her universe, as she blends field recordings with poetic lyricism that is at turns allusive, humorous, devastating and confessional — an alchemical gesture that further deepens the richness of My Light, My Destroyer’s 13 songs. Jenkins suffuses My Light, My Destroyer with an easy confidence, which betrays the simple truth that the road here was not without difficulty. Referring to the 2021 breakout An Overview on Phenomenal Nature as her “intended swan song,” she explains that she was prepared to hang it up when it came to touring and releasing her own music. “I was channeling what I knew in that moment — feeling lost,” Jenkins recalls. “When that record came out, and people started to respond to what I had written, my plans to quit were foiled in the most unexpected, heartening, and generous way. Ready or not, it reinvigorated me.” Immediately upon finishing two years of touring An Overview, Jenkins approached recording a follow-up, only to find that capturing the creative spark while “running on fumes” was tough. “I was coming from a place of burn out and depletion, and in the months following the session, I struggled to accept that I didn’t like the record I had just made. It felt uninspired,” she confesses, “so I started over.” With her closest musical co-conspirators reassembled, and producer, engineer, and mixer Andrew Lappin (L’Rain, Slauson Malone 1) behind the board, Jenkins set the prior sessions aside and began constructing My Light, My Destroyer from its ashes: “When we listened back in the control room that first day, I could see a space on my record shelf start to open up, because the songs were finding their home in real time. That spark informed the blueprint for the rest of the album, and its completion was propelled by a newfound momentum.” Even as My Light, My Destroyer was developed over the course of a year, some of these 13 songs have been incubating in Jenkins’ notebooks for years; seeds of the cavernous New Age pop of “Delphinium Blue,” for instance, date back to 2018. There were sonic reference points in her mind during the album’s creation: Tom Petty’s deceptively breezy folk-rock classicism, the work of songwriters like Annie Lennox and Neil Young, her “high school CD wallet” (Radiohead’s the Bends, the Breeders, PJ Harvey, and Pavement), and David Bowie’s final gesture Blackstar; along with lyrical influences from writers like Anne Carson, Maggie Nelson, Rebecca Solnit, and the ever present work of the late David Berman. Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Soundcloud
