verygently and Brother Elsey
verygently is the collective force of three established Nashville singer-songwriters—Drew Erwin, Joey Hendricks, and Tristan Bushman—who came together in early 2024. With tours alongside Augustana, The Band Camino, and The Fray, combined with their debut EP, the band quickly turned heads thanks to their high-energy live shows and songs that blend wit and vulnerability, weaving heartache with the undeniable charm of three best friends sharing the stage. Their recently released EP, ‘FAME!’, produced by Noah Gundersen, marks a confident evolution for the band. Combining Bushman’s moody storytelling, Erwin’s soaring melodies, and Hendricks’ ‘70s-infused songwriting, the record feels both fresh and nostalgic. Recorded to analog tape at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, ‘FAME!’ solidifies verygently as a band whose collaborative collective artistry is greater than the sum of its parts—setting the stage for an exciting future. verygently has been steadily building momentum, gaining a growing base of monthly listeners and buzz across streaming platforms. Ahead of the EP’s April 25th release, the band secured placements on Apple Music’s New in Alternative and INDIY, Tidal’s Rising, and SoundCloud’s New Rock Now: The Dive—proving they’re not just a side project, but a creative force all their own. Website | Instagram | TikTok | Spotify Brother Elsey Website | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | YouTube
The Criticals
The Criticals are a Nashville based rock band formed by Parker Forbes and Cole Shugart. The Criticals have proven themselves a powerful and fierce duo — one with both a diverse musical appetite in songwriting and a whiplash live show that’s drawn sellout crowds in major US markets including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The band recently released their highly regarded EP Front Door Confrontations and continued a steady diet of raucous live shows across the country. The band are now set to release a handful of singles leading up to their debut album release on Fantasy Records in 2025. Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Spotify
Dex Fest 2025
Reigning Sound Reigning Sound formed 25 yrs ago in Memphis, TN. When vocalist/songwriter Greg Cartwright moved to Asheville, NC in 2004, he reformed the band with the rhythm section of Dave Gay and Lance Wille. This line-up recorded one record “Live at Goner” and subsequently released a studio album “love and curses” with the addition of long time Reigning Sound keyboardist Dave Amels. The trio of Greg, Lance and Dave will perform for one last time, celebrating the life of friend and hero Dexter Romweber, June 12th in Chapel Hill. Instagram | Facebook Henri Cash & Seth Carolina (of Starcrawler) in Tribute to Dex Henri Cash and Seth Carolina are the guitarist and drummer for the Los Angeles band Starcrawler. The band formed in LA in 2017 and have released three full length albums and numerous 7″ records on both Rough Trade Records and Big Machine. Starcrawler have toured all over the world several times in the past eight years, both as a headlining act and also with other artists like Jack White, MC5, The Distillers and Boris. They are currently in the recording studio and will be touring the United States this fall in support of Garbage. Henri and Seth both have great love and respect for Dex Romweber, drawing inspiration from his frantic and aggressive on stage persona. They performed together at Dex’s Memorial at Haw River Ballroom in April 2024, and are once again traveling across the country from LA solely to pay tribute to the memory of Dex Romweber, one of North Carolina’s finest musicians. They will be playing a combination of Dex/Flat Duo Jet songs and other songs that Dex loved and performed. Website | Instagram | Facebook Boogie Reverie Boogie Reverie is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and singer-songwriter from Carrboro, NC. His solo act integrates elements of blues, classical, country, and psychedelic rock. Instagram | Facebook
Stacey Ryan
Stacey Ryan has a rare gift for turning heartache into bubbly, soul-infused pop. She first went viral with “Don’t Text Me When You’re Drunk” (25M+ streams), followed by her breakout hit “Fall In Love Alone” (#1 Billboard charting song in Indonesia & Top 5 in most of Southeast Asia), which earned over 500M global streams. A classically trained jazz pianist and multi-instrumentalist, Stacey has performed on The Late Late Show with James Corden, played major festivals like Montreux, MAD Cool, and BST Hyde Park (invited by Duran Duran), and headlined sold-out shows across the US, Europe, and Asia. Her 2023 debut EP I Don’t Know What Love Is was praised by V Magazine for its refreshing, soulful songwriting. Stacey recently released “Everything Everything,” the first single from her upcoming debut album. Her next single, “Homewrecker,” drops May 9, with the full album out in August. Originally from Montreal and now based in LA, Stacey continues to embrace her French-Canadian roots, going viral for her bilingual sound that blends Amy Winehouse charm with Laufey’s jazz-pop elegance. Instagram | Spotify | YouTube | TikTok
The Shoaldiggers
Cat’s Cradle, in conjunction with North Carolina veteran music documentary filmmakers Magic Umbrella, Inc, present a special night of eclectic performances that define the region, all to be filmed live. The initial salvo of a new project to document the best musical artists of the community will be capturing an evening with the Shoaldiggers, Charles Latham and the Borrowed Band, and Teeth of England in the Cradle’s Main Room on Friday, June 13. Under the moniker “Live at Cat’s Cradle” the evening brings you: The Shoaldiggers, propelling their hybrid mix of deep roots rock, swamp grass, Americana, black & blues, freak folk, and good times party music through their 9-piece configuration that they are so known for. From Durham, NC, wry lyricist and charismatic frontman Charles Latham leads the dynamic, high-octane Borrowed Band (which includes former members of Ben Folds Five, Shooter Jennings, Six-String Drag and more) on a wild ride from ballads to barnstormers.Hailing from Wilmington, NC, and no stranger to the Triangle area’s audiences, (remembered fondly in this area for his involvement with crunching maniacs Rural Swine 20 years ago) Dave Sinclair’s proto-rock Teeth of England plies its trade, jammed through the detour of the Memphis underground scene. This rollicking night should have something to offer to everyone, and a wonderful crossover of styles to energize each act. With a concept to memorialize these bands’ sets by filming them on the legendary stage at the big room at Cat’s Cradle. Don’t miss this! Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify
Beach Fossils
Throughout the last fifteen years, Beach Fossils have steadily earned their stature as one of the most definitive and enduring bands of the 2010s New York underground, consistently reaching new listeners as their sound has grown from the DIY solo project of Dustin Payseur to an influential four-piece dream pop band, self-produced and self-released. Bunny (2023) continues the stunning evolution of Beach Fossils’ sound, pulling elements from the jangly melancholy of the self-titled debut Beach Fossils (2010) and What a Pleasure (2011), the gritty, post-punk inspired tracks from Clash the Truth (2013), and the lush arrangements of Somersault (2017). Throughout, Payseur is joined by core band members Tommy Davidson (guitar), Jack Doyle Smith (bass), and Anton Hochheim (drums). Through tone and mood, Beach Fossils communicate a coming-of-age narrative of self-discovery. Payseur’s slice-of-life lyrics reflect on depression, love, adventure, loss, mistakes, New York City, friendships coming and going — a mélange of granular pieces in the process of continuing to find yourself. Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Soundcloud | TikTok
Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol
“Our catalog has never been short on big dumb riffs, but the idea on this record was to really turn the screw,” says RBBP bassist Aaron Metzdorf. On Big Dumb Riffs, that screw is cranked incredibly tight. “We just wanted ‘the part’: The opening of Pantera’s ‘Primal Concrete Sledge’, the breakdown in Primus’ ‘Pudding Time’ — the shit that makes you move and lose your mind. Just that part the whole time.” Across 11 concise, taut songs — most clocking in around 2 minutes or less — Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol demonstrates their skillful ability to blend the merciless low end of Leo Lydon’s 8-string guitar, Aaron Metzdorf’s masterful chordwork on the bass, and Sean St.Germain’s driving drumming. Hot on the heels of their breakout 5th studio release Doom Wop (2023), Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol returns with Big Dumb Riffs: A whole new variant of the fuzzed out, overdriven, melodic, groovy music they have been making since 2016. While Big Dumb Riffs is decidedly more aggressive and rhythmic, it still retains the overtly melodic feel of Doom Wop. But Leo Lydon’s vocals are considerably more angry and negative (song titles like “1-800-EAT-SHIT” and “Body Bag” should be a clue.) “The whole writing process was, ‘what if we just played two notes the whole song’,” Metzdorf says. “‘What if we tuned down to almost unusable string tension?’, ‘what if we write a record that will make everyone say ‘wow that is dumb’? Leo and I really move around on stage a lot. Being a dingus is crucial to the groove. All these riffs were designed to allow us to act bigger and dumber on stage.” Big Dumb Riffs will be available for streaming and download on March 22, 2024. LP to follow in late Spring. Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | YouTube
Nation of Language
Four years on from the release of their unexpectedly self-assured debut album, NYC based Nation of Language have attracted a rapidly growing international audience via their danceable and impassioned take on new wave, post-punk & shoegaze genres. Following the critical acclaim of their their first LP Introduction, Presence, its 2021 follow-up A Way Forward pushed them to a wider audience—landing them their late-night TV debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and a string of sold out tours—and their 2023 record Strange Disciple has continued this momentum, landing Rough Trade’s coveted #1 album of the year spot. Now a mainstay atop lists of the best live acts of recent years, the band continue to charge synth-first into their latest chapter as a major festival draw at recent iterations of Austin City Limits Festival, Desert Daze, Pitchfork Festival, Primavera Sound, Corona Capital, Outside Lands, Bonnaroo and many others. Website | YouTube | Instagram | Spotify | Facebook
School of Rock AllStars
The School of Rock AllStars Tour takes the very best students from around the world and sends them on a country-wide summer tour, playing classic and modern rock and roll hits across the United States. Less than 1% of School of Rock students are selected each year to represent School of Rock as an AllStar. Becoming an AllStar is the highest level of achievement for a School of Rock student. These students often go on to have accomplished careers in the music industry. Former AllStars have gone on to become touring artists, star in Broadway musicals, get signed to record deals, become finalists on talent competitions like The Voice and American Idol, or have other notable roles in the music industry. Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
Motherfolk
Serious songs from goofy people. That’s what you can expect from diverse, Midwest indie-rockers, Motherfolk. What started out as a writing project among two college friends turned into a fully realized band untethered to genres, with an endlessly bright future. Composed of Bobby Paver and Nathan Dickerson on vocals and guitar, bassist Clayton Allender, drummer Ethan Wescott, and Karlie Dickerson on keys Motherfolk are not only bandmates, but best friends. The band’s close-knit relationship allows each member to be their most authentic self, leaving every ounce of their souls to be poured into each song and high-energy performance. Despite their light-hearted, groovy-rock sound Motherfolk is dedicated to creating a much deeper connection with their fans. They don’t shy away from the taboo, taking on heavy topics with a light heart. The results provide us with music you can dance to, whose impact is felt long after the song has ended. The band’s quirky friendship and social media posts originally drew fans in, but their connection to the music kept those fans around. Since their formation Motherfolk has been on a steady upward trajectory, amassing well over 5 million Spotify streams on their three studio albums and selling out shows while touring heavily across the United States. While COVID-19 halted the band’s year of touring plans, Motherfolk spent the year hard at work, creating and self-producing new music and they came out anew. Late summer 2021 will invigorate fans with new singles adorning the most refreshing and versatile Motherfolk sound to date, leading up to a fall EP release. This next chapter is slated to be the most exciting one yet, don’t miss it! Website | Instagram | Facebook | Youtube | Spotify | Bandcamp
