Honey EP RELEASE
AGE RESTRICTION: Only Ages 21+ can purchase tickets for this show. NO REFUNDS/EXCHANGES for anyone underage who purchases or attempts to use these tickets. Doors: 7:00 PM Show: 7:30 PMHONEYIn 2021, South Philly Thrash Crossover quartet, Honey, pulverized their way into the underground heavy music spotlight with their crushing debut LP, Forever Fire. Now they are back with the School Days EP, consisting of nostalgic but elevated covers from their roots as heavy music fans. A very limited amount of School Days and Forever Fire vinyl will be available at this show, and most likely not much long after that.https://honey-philly.bandcamp.com/album/school-days-epWild Beyond“Wild Beyond born amidst pestilence and conspiracy anno 2020, in fucking Philadelphia, is a ripping black/thrash trio SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS…..the band has started to bloom in 2023 with their first handful of shows and is looking to riff and blast and blast and riff straight into the unknown. Do attend.”https://wildbeyond.bandcamp.com/album/wild-beyondNo GodsFirst show back from over a 2 year hiatus, No Gods is a Thrash-Death band from the Lehigh Valley with victim producing riffshttps://nogodspa.bandcamp.com/
Friko ~ gartenhead
AGE RESTRICTION: Only Ages 21+ can purchase tickets for this show. NO REFUNDS/EXCHANGES for anyone underage who purchases or attempts to use these tickets. Doors: 7:00 PM Show: 8:00 PM FRIKOFriko, a trio that’s cemented itself as a stalwart in the Chicago music scene, is frontman Niko Kapetan, and drummer Bailey Minzenberger. Their most recent release, “Crimson To Chrome,” is an anthemic offering, Kapetan’s vocals incendiary. It received glowing praise and attention from Pitchfork, Brooklyn Vegan, and Consequence, who wrote “Friko toggle between loud and quiet, thoughtful and self-deprecating, while never expressing anything less than the unbridled joy of noise.” FLOOD wrote the Chicago-based power-pop group is “ certain to stand out among the hundreds of acts gracing the various SXSW stages this year.” And that they did. The band took SXSW 2023 by storm, playing packed showcases over several days that made their Austin-debut a must-see occasion. Bolstered by the unwavering support from Chicago’s music scene, the buzz around new music, and the pure excitement witnessed at SXSW, the interest from labels is voracious and ever-increasing. Friko, a trio that’s cemented itself as a stalwart in the Chicago music scene, is frontman Niko Kapetan, and drummer Bailey Minzenberger. Their most recent release, “Crimson To Chrome,” is an anthemic offering, Kapetan’s vocals incendiary. It received glowing praise and attention from Pitchfork, Brooklyn Vegan, and Consequence, who wrote “Friko toggle between loud and quiet, thoughtful and self-deprecating, while never expressing anything less than the unbridled joy of noise.” FLOOD wrote the Chicago-based power-pop group is “ certain to stand out among the hundreds of acts gracing the various SXSW stages this year.” And that they did. The band took SXSW 2023 by storm, playing packed showcases over several days that made their Austin-debut a must-see occasion. Bolstered by the unwavering support from Chicago’s music scene, the buzz around new music, and the pure excitement witnessed at SXSW, the interest from labels is voracious and ever-increasing. Over the band’s time together, it has become clear they are comfortable embracing multiple musical extremes at once. Their debut self-released 2022 EP, Whenever, Forever, weaves “together heart-on-sleeve folk, tense, smoldering post punk, and soaring, melodramatic chamber pop rooted in 2000s indie” (Chicago Reader). Lyrically, Kapetan explores the possibility and risks of a life given over to music, interrogating what a life well-lived means to him. The duality rings out in the compositions, evoking rock and folk icons such as Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake. The EP found collective support amongst the local music community, championed by their peers Horsegirl, Lifeguard, Free Range, and more. Friko’s music is complex and dynamic, flickering between explosive rock, chamber pop, and serene sonics.GartenheadWhat began as a little seed in Albuquerque, was brought to Philadelphia by three childhood friends. As the project was planted and tended to by old buds, dynamic new members joined the effort to grow something potent, hearty and beloved. With Block’s devotion, Ehasz’s fervor, Lehman’s constancy, Montgomery’s mastery, and Bloome’s willful aestheticism, the sound is ever ripening into sweet, sweet fruit.https://linktr.ee/gartenhead
Spesimin ~ Denial of Life
AGE RESTRICTION: Only Ages 21+ can purchase tickets for this show. NO REFUNDS/EXCHANGES for anyone underage who purchases or attempts to use these tickets. Doors: 1:00 PM Show: 1:30 PM Spesiminhttps://spesimin.bandcamp.com/album/rotting-on-the-vine Denial of lifehttps://denialoflife.bandcamp.com/album/denial-of-life
Wax Jaw ~ Grace Vonderkuhn ~ Cow Pokes
AGE RESTRICTION: Only Ages 21+ can purchase tickets for this show. NO REFUNDS/EXCHANGES for anyone underage who purchases or attempts to use these tickets. Doors: 7:00 PM Show: 7:30 PM Wax JawWax Jaw was born out of the summer-time daydreams and blossoming friendship of Greg Blanc (bass) and Sean Vannata (guitar) in June 2022. They immediately shared a vision of writing lively, upbeat tunes that would make even the most reserved audience member come alive during their shows. Keeping this priority in mind, a five-person lineup was curated one member at a time until the band reached its final form in January 2023. Since then, Wax Jaw has wasted no time sinking their teeth into the bleeding hearts of Philly audiophiles through their animated stage presence, vintage visuals, and high-energy performances. They recently played back-to-back sold out shows at Silk City and PhilaMOCA – most notably sharing a stage with nationally acclaimed acts Wine Lips and Acid Dad. With a six-song EP set to release in September, Wax Jaw is the innovative, all-gas-no-breaks band to watch!https://www.instagram.com/wax_jaw/Grace VonderkuhnGrace Vonderkuhn is a 3-piece rock band from Wilmington, Delaware. Uniting in 2016, the outfit consists of Grace Koon, songwriter, singer, and guitarist, Brian Bartling—bassist, and Dave McGrory, who plays the drums and sings. They combine shoegaze, post-punk, and psych influences with sharp pop sensibilities. The band toured throughout the US, showcased at SXSW, recorded an Audiotree live session, and were featured on NPR following the release of their first full-length album, Reveries (2018 Egghunt Records). Grace Vonderkuhn went on to release their sophomore album, Pleasure Pain, on Philly-based record label Sheer Luck Records in 2021. They have shared the stage with countless bands including Camp Cope, Shame, Ought, Titus Andronicus, Lower Dens, No Age, and The Districts. The band is currently working on their third full-length album and playing shows.https://www.gracevonderkuhn.net/CowpokesCowpokes are a country rock band from Philadelphia. Comprised of Jia Binder, Cami Bachman, Dylan Michael, and Winnie Malcarney, they are among the enlightened few to understand that the Byrds are better than the Beatles. https://www.instagram.com/cowpokesband/
Chance Emerson + Theo Kandel ~ Grace Gardner
AGE RESTRICTION: Only Ages 21+ can purchase tickets for this show. NO REFUNDS/EXCHANGES for anyone underage who purchases or attempts to use these tickets. Doors: 7:00 PM Show: 7:30 PMChance EmersonChance Emerson is a 23-year-old, Taiwanese-American singer-songwriter originally from Hong Kong and now residing in Providence, RI. Whilst enrolled as a student at Brown University, Emerson steadily built up a loyal fanbase amongst both college and indie/folk rock audiences at large through an unrelenting release & touring schedule which saw him sell out countless headline shows as well as support more established artists including Johnnyswim, Eli Young Band, Lawrence, Ripe, Blues Traveler, Brett Dennen and even Nancy Wilson’s Heart! His recently released 10-track album, Ginkgo, exquisitely showcases the many reasons behind his swift ascent from dorm-room troubadour to nationwide touring phenom; a rise driven as much by his fellow Gen Z/TikTok-engaging peers, as by firmly established artists who have invited him to support them on tour. Ginkgo, which is 100% self-written and produced entirely by Emerson’s good friend Jack Riley, was written “to trace the cyclical nature of young love and was done experimentally in ‘real-time,’ meaning the love songs were written when I was in love, the heartbreak songs were written in times of immense pain, and the songs about rebuilding and falling again were written, well, just a few months ago” explains Emerson. “Ginkgo had to take that long because it took that long for me to get there. I put pen to paper in each phase of my growing up to chase the truest depiction of love and loss I could muster.” The album’s first track House We Share – a song about what happens when two people who are in love take the plunge and move in together – has already crossed over 1 Million streams and received support in many areas, including features in Spotify’s powerful ‘Dinner With Friends’ and ‘Next Gen Singer-Songwriter’ playlists. https://www.chanceemerson.com/Theo KandelWith bold, witty lyricism that brings you to that liminal space between laughter and tears, Theo Kandel has been described as “a modern-day James Taylor, albeit slightly scruffier and a good deal shorter. But maybe also sexier.” (Source pending.) Having amassed over 160k followers across social media and 8M+ worldwide streams, Theo continues to shout into the void, leaving his own fingerpicking-tinged musical fingerprint as he goes. Originally from New York City, he spent six years honing his chops in Nashville before moving to Los Angeles, where he is currently based.Grace GardnerRaised on the outskirts of a Texas city, now living in Philadelphia, Grace Gardner is pushing the boundaries of the singer/songwriter genre. While her music adopts many of the genre’s characteristics, she’s found inspiration in her parents’ taste in 70s and 80s rock, in the folk roots of her southern upbringing, and in the indie-storytelling she found herself returning to most. Taking it one step further: producing all of her own music allows Grace to maintain a personal, authentic touch in each of her pieces. Her lyricism is evocative and emotional, poignantly penning about the joys and tribulations in relationships, in recovery, and in her identity — typically backdropped by fingerpicked acoustic guitar and intricate production. Her inspirations are eclectic powerhouse writers from the 1970s — Carole King, Stevie Nicks, and Joni Mitchell are her “Big 3.”
Mike Dillon & Punkadelick featuring Nikki Glaspie and Brian Haas
AGE RESTRICTION: Only Ages 21+ can purchase tickets for this show. NO REFUNDS/EXCHANGES for anyone underage who purchases or attempts to use these tickets. Doors: 7:00 PM Show: 7:30 PM Mike Dillon & PunkadelickMike Dillon & Punkadelick makes its recorded debut with Inflorescence , an album of heady, in-strumental rock highlighting a band deep in the throes of creative freedom, road tested and wild. Consisting of 10 tracks in 42 – minutes, it’s an expansive, focused, and fearless collection, representing a world where Duke Ellington and Augustus Pablo rub shoulders with crate – digger exotica, the freak – funk of Parliament and the ‘anything fits’ outsider ethos of acid – fried punks like The Meat Puppets. A trio featuring Mike Dillon (Ricki Lee Jones, Ani DiFranco, Les Claypool) on vibraphone, ma-rimba, Prophet 6, congas, and bongos, Brian Haas (Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey) on Fender Rhodes, piano, bass Moog and melodica and Nikki Glaspie (Beyonce) on drums, cymbals and vocals, Punkadelick is the unified vision of six hands creating a world that often sounds like the work of an ensemble three times the size. During 2020 and 2021, while many music venues were still shuttered, the group began touring, sweating their way through cuts Dillon and Haas had composed during quarantine writing ses-sions. Locking in on stage, it quickly became clear the band was functioning at a level that made the hair on their arms stand at attention — even for three live music veterans accustomed to life on the road. “It became obvious to let this become a collaboration,” Dillon says. “ This is really something all three of us are doing because we have so much love for one another and a love for the music that we started creating.” “There’s only three of us, but we move together like a big, nasty school of fish,” Haas adds, laughing. During the tail end of a 2021 tour, the band booked time to record with engineer — and func-tioning fourth band member — Chad Meise, and Inflorescence sprouted . Opener “Desert Mon-soon,” sets the stage with a spiritual – jazz intro of organ, vibraphone, percussion, and wordless vocal coos before crackling to life as a swaggering funk strut. The title track, and “Pandas,” dig into thick dub textures built around Glaspie’s drumming and Haas’s subwoofer – straining bass synths. “Apocalypse Daydream,” which appeared as an exotic head – nodder on 2020’s Shoot the Moon (titled “Apocalyptic Daydreams”) is reborn as a meatier jazz – rock slab where Dillon and Haas cir-cle each other like Television performing as a lounge act on a cruise ship sailing seas of psilocy-bin. Bending ears and surprising audiences has long been part of Dillon’s MO and Glaspie and Haas act as perfect foils for forays into the weird. While Dillon bristles at the “punk jazz” tag, punk rock and jazz remain core influences to the band, in sound and spirit. “We’re students of the titans of music. We grew up listening to punk and rock ’n’ roll but we also love instrumental music — particularly the forefathers of Black American Music. In our minds, Led Zeppelin and Milt Jackson, Parliament – Funkadelic and The Minutemen, The Bad Brains and Frank Zappa are interconnected influences,” explains Dillon. “All that comes to- gether in how we approach instrumental creative music. Both punk rock and jazz are not prefab things, they’re about t he freedom. We have no genre restriction in this band, and people who get it really respect that.”
Razor Braids ~ Heatloaf ~ Bren
AGE RESTRICTION: Only Ages 21+ can purchase tickets for this show. NO REFUNDS/EXCHANGES for anyone underage who purchases or attempts to use these tickets. Doors: 7:00 PM Show: 7:30 PMRAZOR BRAIDShttps://razorbraids.bandcamp.com/ Heatloaf “no-boy band philadelphia, pa”https://linktr.ee/heatloafBrenBren is a Lehigh Valley, PA based singer/songwriter writing cathartic pop tunes from a punk heart. Having moved over 10 times in her life, dropped out of college, ended and started new relationships, Bren knows a thing or two about unexpected change. Breaking through self-doubt is a common theme throughout her writing. Distilling influences ranging from Elliott Smith to Mitski to the Pixies, Bren’s music shares familiar sentiments of vulnerability and introspection, serving as your companion for feelings you may not have even realized you had.https://linktr.ee/whatthebren
Maxo ~ Sideshow ~ lojii
AGE RESTRICTION: Only Ages 21+ can purchase tickets for this show. NO REFUNDS/EXCHANGES for anyone underage who purchases or attempts to use these tickets. Doors: 7:00 PM Show: 7:30 PMMaxoWebsite | Instagram | Spotify | Apple Music | YouTubeSideshowhttps://ghettosoundz.bandcamp.com/lojiihttps://open.spotify.com/artist/2N2l2BR0KlnQrFnOn7ntEN
String Machine ~ Raavi ~ Grocer
AGE RESTRICTION: Only Ages 21+ can purchase tickets for this show. NO REFUNDS/EXCHANGES for anyone underage who purchases or attempts to use these tickets. Doors: 7:00 PM Show: 7:30 PM STRING MACHINE The music of String Machine is rapturous and inviting. You’ll find an undeniable magic within each note, a palpable energy owed in part to its creative process. Hallelujah Hell Yeah is an album of joy, vulnerability, and forgiveness. Through this inventive indie rock, seven friends manage to transport you to the bedrooms, basements, and home studios in which this was all created, conceptualized, and recorded. This recording is the band’s representation of what it means to be grateful that one is alive, regardless of whether that carpe diem spirit is sourced in optimism (“Hallelujah!”) or nihilism (“Hell Yeah!”). It’s a powerful statement that rings especially poignant in such uncertain times. The former solo project of vocalist and guitarist David Beck, String Machine was created when Beck enlisted a number of friends to help create his musical vision. The group, now seven members — Beck (he/him), Laurel Wain (she/her), Nic Temple (he/him), Katie Morrow (she/her), Ian Compton (he/him), Dylan Kersten (he/him), and Mike Law (he/him) — collaborated on two previous records — Youth Fossil and Death of the Neon. String Machine isn’t shy about sharing their heart with you, and that confessional spirit continues on Hallelujah Hell Yeah. “The album was inspired by moments of dealing with anxiety surrounding a lot of personal stuff. Usually, my instinct when anxious is to keep myself busy. Writing songs was the middle ground where I could solve inner-turmoils while feeling productive,” Beck said. Reconnecting with journaling enabled Beck to let down his guard, and for that, Hallelujah Hell Yeah has an uniquely spirited driving force. “This writing experience felt a lot more honest & confessional. Instead of writing blurbs of nonsense & attaching meaning in a subconscious archetypal way, I tried to be more deliberate about having purpose in what I sing/write,” he said. “Every song has a place. I’d write the music and hum melodies until they were catchy enough to be stuck in my head. Putting the words to the music this way was a lot different than what I’d done before.” Each single stands as a snapshot. Opener “Places to Hide,” which finds liftoff in its twanging strings and unexpected use of trumpet was written beachside in Ocean City, Maryland. “Touring In January; was written during a solo tour in the Poconos and uses keys, horns, and a bittersweet view of touring to create a moment of emotive triumph. When it's all pieced together, you’ll feel as if you’re an eighth member of String Machine, paying witness as a band reaches their fullest, glorious potential. Since the release of Death of the Neon, String Machine has garnered praise from publications including Pitchfork and GoldFlakePaint. They’ve played with acts including Ratboys, Wild Pink, Slaughter Beach Dog, Another Michael, and Mandancing.Raavihttps://raavioli.bandcamp.com/https://www.instagram.com/raaviband/Grocerhttps://itsgrocer.bandcamp.com/album/scatter-plot
Christina Ward ~ Slow Motion Sadface ~ This Bliss
AGE RESTRICTION: Only Ages 21+ can purchase tickets for this show. NO REFUNDS/EXCHANGES for anyone underage who purchases or attempts to use these tickets. Doors: 7:00 PM Show: 7:30 PM Christina WardPhilly burbs-based ethereal indie rock songstress, Christina Ward, is similar in spirit to artists like Julia Holter and Cate Le Bon. Ward’s music is dreamlike yet emotive on her recent Mint 400 Records release, Calendar.https://open.spotify.com/artist/5vFO7oC2ill5MX4qGyOgVX?si=BfAPnmSATJaW_U2hs9WCKwSlow Motion Sad Face Slow Motion Sadface is Philly’s premier Wine Punk, brought to you by local music veteran JT Melvin. With drummer Dave Master, bassist Phil Gardyasz and a revolving door of philly punks on guitar, they’re bringing you a tall glass of wine-soaked, guitar-driven punk rock. Bold beats and refreshing slurred vocals pair well with any stained-floor, punk rock show. New EP “Metro, Boulot, Dodo” out September 8th.https://open.spotify.com/artist/4xmdSIxFCDVe5Gz4yCSwDoThis BlissWe are This Bliss, a husband and wife team (Nick Zampiello and Jess Baggia) alongside our friend and longtime collaborator, Tom Maroon. Our take on electronic music is evocative and content-driven, with modern and throwback elements, featuring our love for analog synthesizers and drum machines with an inherent pop sensibility. In partnership with Mint 400 Records, we’ve released four records to date, with new singles on the way. In addition, we own an art gallery and recording studio in Somerville, MA. The New Alliance Gallery is a community of visual and music artists representing the enduring presence of local art despite ongoing city development displacement.https://www.thisbliss.net/