OUTPOST: Fruit Bats
– RAIN OR SHINE- STANDING ROOM ONLY – LIMITED NUMBER OF VIP TICKETS AVAILABLE FRUIT BATSEric D. Johnson rarely lingers at one location too long.“There’s always been motion in my life between one place and another,” says the Fruit Bats songwriter. As a kid growing up in the Midwest, Johnson’s family moved around a lot, but it wasn’t until he became a touring musician years later that motion became a central part of his identity. That transient lifestyle stoked an enduring reverence for the world he watched pass by through a van window.“It weighs heavily on me—the notion of place,” Johnson says. “The places I’ve been and the places I want to go.”A sense of place is a unifying theme he’s revisited with Fruit Bats throughout its many lives. From the project’s origins in the late ’90s as a vehicle for Johnson’s lo-fi tinkering to the more sonically ambitious work of recent years, Fruit Bats has often showcased love songs where people and locations meld into one. It’s a loose song structure that navigates what he calls “the geography of the heart.”“The songs exist in a world that you can sort of travel from one to another,” says Johnson. “There are roads and rivers between these songs.”Those pathways extend straight through the newest Fruit Bats album, aptly titled A River Running to Your Heart. Self-produced by Johnson—a first for Fruit Bats—with Jeremy Harris at Panoramic House just north of San Francisco, it’s Fruit Bats’ tenth full-length release. The album finds the project in the middle of a people-powered climb leading to the biggest shows, loudest accolades, and most enthusiastic new fans in Fruit Bats history! It’s hard to pinpoint a single reason for this mid-career resurgence. But after two decades of making music, hard-earned emotional maturity has clearly seeped into Johnson’s already inviting songs, resulting in a sound that’s connected with audiences like no other previous version of the band.A River Running to Your Heart represents the fullest realization of Johnson’s creative vision to date. It’s a sonically diverse effort that largely explores the importance of what it means to be home, both physically and spiritually. And while that might seem like a peculiar focus for an artist who’s constantly in motion, for Fruit Bats, home can take many forms—from the obvious to the obscure.Lead single “Rushin’ River Valley” is a self-propelled love song written about Johnson’s wife that clings to the borrowed imagery of the place where she grew up in northern California. Then, there’s the gentle and unfussy acoustic ballad “We Used to Live Here,” which looks back to a time of youthful promise and cheap rent. But the wistful “It All Comes Back” is perhaps the most stunning and surprising track on the album, Johnson’s production skills on full display. Built upon intricate layers of synths, keyboards, and guitars, it’s a pitch-perfect blend of tone and lyricism that taps into our shared apprehensions and hopes for a post-pandemic life.TORRESTORRES is the pseudonym of Mackenzie Scott. She was born January 23, 1991, and lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her wife Jenna, stepson Silas, and puppy Sylvia. She has been releasing albums and performing as TORRES since 2013. What an enormous room is TORRES’ sixth studio album (her third with Merge).
Turnover
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLYTURNOVERThe title track of the band’s new album, Myself in the Way, speaks to this mindset. “I can’t put myself in the way of love again,” sings Getz, “I promise I’m going to go all the way with you,” is specifically about Getz getting engaged to his longtime partner, but applies to the general outlook he had toward life in lockdown. “I was living in Sebastopol, California at the time and felt like I truly lived there for the first time since I wasn’t leaving for tour. I was able to go meditate at the Zen Buddhist dojo down the road, run and bike around the hills in Sonoma county, learn about plants and gardening, take some Spanish and arboriculture classes, and get involved with the volunteer fire department. Just do a bunch of new things to challenge and inspire me in a natural way.” Turnover’s other members also used the time to deepen interests they hadn’t been able to fully explore before covid. Bass player Dan Dempsey was in New York City and responded to lockdown by spending more time practicing his visual art in drawing and painting. He painted the album’s cover during this period and developed a style that has become a central theme for the band in its current iteration. Drummer Casey Getz found work at a Virginia Beach state park as touring continued to be postponed. He was in search of and inspired by having a work-life balance different than he’d experienced since he was younger. Through this, he was able to nurture current relationships more and find new ones, something touring made much more difficult. This led to Casey playing drums with a group of longtime friends in Virginia Beach and further developing his drumming style – adding a new prowess for fluidity and improvisation through lengthy jam sessions with the group. Guitarist Nick Rayfield was focused on sharpening his guitar and piano playing and was able to devote energy to skateboarding and his retail business more than he had been able to for the last few years. This was also the band’s first album with Rayfield making songwriting contributions after touring with them for years as a live member, adding a new creative element to the songs. MSPAINTIt’s exceedingly rare to hear something truly original. Something that’s actually breaking new ground, something that maybe we don’t even have words for just yet. Something like MSPAINT. In a time when so much musical territory feels well-trodden, MSPAINT are the exception. On their debut full-length Post-American, the Hattiesburg, Mississippi-based four-piece draw on everything from hardcore, to hip hop, to synth-punk, and beyond to make an unabashedly weird amalgam that sounds as fresh and compelling as it is instantly satisfying.DROOKDrook is a pop band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 2019, the group splices together elements of indie, rock, and electronica, focusing them all to a single point on their recordings. Drook’s live show puts this synthesis on full display, bringing energy and dynamism to the band’s musically diverse catalog.LAWN ENFORCEMENT
Flight Attendant w/ ¿WATCHES?
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLYFLIGHT ATTENDANT “Flight Attendant delivers an experience.” – RollingStone Magazine Frequently called a “sonic unicorn” in a city that is celebrated for its bustling – albeit crowded – music scene, Flight Attendant is the kind of band that has listeners getting out of their seats and into their full, upright positions. With their power-pop hooks and infectious energy, this Nashville-based foursome isn’t just ready for take-off; they’re already at cruising altitude, preparing to penetrate the bounds of the Earth’s stratosphere. Serendipitously coming together through similar interests – not the least of which is fine wine – Flight Attendant is comprised of Karalyne Winegarner (Lead Vocals, Keys); Vinny Maniscalco (Vocals, Guitar); Nikki Christie (Vocals, Viola); and Derek Sprague (Drums). A certified sommelier originally from Kansas City, Karalyne met Vinny – an award-winning bartender – while the two were working at a popular Nashville restaurant. Nikki soon joined the team, bringing a new sensibility from her hometown, Los Angeles. It didn’t take long before the three decided to form a band, discovering their shared love of playing music over late-night wine tastings. They soon recruited Derek – their Boston-born, lager-loving drinking buddy to play drums, and the lineup was complete. Often compared to bands like Haim or Florence and the Machine and influenced by many of their favorites from Christine and the Queens to Trent Reznor to Cage the Elephant – , Flight Attendant continues to reach new heights, particularly when they perform live. “Karalyne commands your attention like Freddie Mercury working the crowd in an arena,” proclaimed Glide Magazine. In 2022, Flight Attendant released their self-titled debut album, produced by Grammy Winning engineer and producer, Charles Yingling. As the band is quickly ascending on the global stage, they continue to release new music in 2024. “We just want to put out better and better stuff,” shares Karalyne. “The more we do it, the more elevated the whole process becomes. We are finally strong enough in our image, sound, and brand that we are ready to take it to the next level.” ¿WATCHES? WHO IS ¿WATCHES? -The musical equivalent of a razor blade haircut. -David Lynch and Mike Watt engaged in a palm-spit handshake. -Satan in a short dress and an Orioles hat. -A fast and animated weirdo punk duo out of Asheville, NC. FANTOMEX Fantømex is an indie punk, post-harcore band from Western North Carolina. Influenced by bands like mewithoutYou and At the Drive-In, Fantømex’s music is fast, loud and full of angsty femme empowerment. The band released February 2024, they are set to have their third release with their EP, “Chimera”, the sister EP to 2022’s “Terraformed”. Fantomex’s live shows are a hypnotic and high energy performance that borders on theatrical. They are a performance not to be missed.
Aaron Lee Tasjan
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYAARON LEE TASJANSinger, songwriter, guitarist, producer, band leader, activist, and Grammy nominee. Aaron Lee Tasjan has been and continues to be all of these things. Over his past decade plus of writing, recording, producing, Tasjan has released four excellent and critically acclaimed solo albums, toured the world over on his own and as the guitarist in the New York Dolls. He co-founded and co-wrote all of the material for the band Semi Precious Weapons. In 2021 he was nominated for a Grammy for his writing on Yola’s “Diamond Studded Shoes” and most recently, Tasjan produced Mya Byrne’s album Rhinestone Tomboy (Kill Rock Stars Nashville) which helped to establish her as one of the first openly trans artists in Americana Music. He’s cultivated a brilliant and outstanding career to date already. But his forthcoming album Stellar Evolution (Blue Élan Records) is just what the title says. Tasjan’s new album is truly the sum of all of the parts of his diverse accomplishments to date while clearly heading in a brand-new direction. You can’t put any labels on Stellar Evolution except for it being a career defining work and a major leap forward for someone who’s never been afraid to push the boundaries of any and all expectations. As he set out to work on Stellar Evolution, Tasjan knew better than ever what was important to him. He’s been working his way towards a record like this since he first started making solo albums, with 2015’s In the Blazes. He stuck to an alt-country paradigm early in his career, though he knew that all of his favorite artists were the ones who broke out of their own boxes. His approach to that changed when he began to be more open about his queer identity. “The record became a sort of rallying cry for being who you are in a time when people literally wanna try to make it illegal to do that.” There’s not a wasted word on Stellar Evolution, and that’s deliberate. After everything he’s been through and everything he’s learned, Aaron Lee Tasjan is a more intentional artist than ever before. “When you’re a touring artist, songs are like mantras; you have to say them every night. And so I really wanted those words to be affirming, and for the energy that’s gonna come out of them to create more of what I hope to foster,” he says. It’s another grasp towards the community and connection that matters most to Tasjan. “The role I feel like I can occupy is to say, okay, I’m gonna be in these rooms where people are gonna be paying attention, and somebody’s gonna get lifted up; who’s it gonna be?” That’s an attitude that harkens right back to the 11-year-old Aaron Lee in Orange County, a throughline that Tasjan never loses sight of for a minute across this album. With Stellar Evolution, he honors that kid and every other version of himself — past, present and future.MOLLY MARTIN
Slaughter Beach, Dog (solo)
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYSLAUGHER BEACH, DOG (SOLO) Hey, I just got off the phone with Jake Ewald. He says hello. I called him to tell him I’ve been digging the new Slaughter Beach Dog album he’d sent me. I’d been playing it around the house a lot, and had a question about it. He picked up on the first ring and told me that it’s called Crying Laughing Waving Smiling and that it’s going to come out on September 22nd on Lame-O Records. That wasn’t really my question, but I guess it’s good to know.I actually called to ask him if his van really got stolen. He mentions it in one of my favorite songs on the record, called “Engine”. I’ve been a fan of Slaughter Beach Dog for a little while now, and I know that Jake can tell a fantastic story, though I also know a great storyteller can stretch the truth. But Jake said his van really did get stolen in 2020, right at the top of the pandemic. It’s also true that just a little while later he moved from Philadelphia, where he’d been living for a decade, to a house in the Poconos. Once there, he found he had less distraction and a calmer mind. He started going for walks and listening to music. He found some new appreciation for the “old guys”, as he said on the phone- Neil Young, Randy Newman, Tom Waits, those types. Personally, I’d call them the “classic guys”, but I’m a bit older so I’m probably somewhat defensive about age. Anyways, to me it seems like some of this might have led to an old school approach to making a record. In July 2022, the whole Slaughter Beach, Dog band (Jake, Zach, Ian, Adam, Logan) gathered at their long time studio The Metal Shop back in Philly with a bunch of songs Jake had written over the past two years. Jake would show them a new song, singing and playing an acoustic guitar, and then the band would all play what they were hearing for the song. Classic, human, and not overthought. They’d talked before entering the studio about this approach: emphasising the instinctual, not being afraid, listening to each other. The band caught fire. They captured fifteen songs in the first five days. The priority throughout was serving the song. I’ve been listening for days now. I can tell you these songs got served. There’s beautiful space in everything. It’s patient and aware. A few months back I watched Slaughter Beach Dog play a sold out club in Brooklyn. The band was awesome, and the audience sang every damn one of the words to their songs back to them. It was impressive. But I know it’s not effortless, and Jake Ewald has been persistent. Starting with Modern Baseball, he’s led two different bands over countless tours of this country. He’s gathered fans around the world. He’s dedicated his life to rock and roll. He told me that sounds dramatic. Probably, but it’s also true. So as much as it speaks to our own modern age, my favorite part of this record is its timelessness. Before I got off the phone with Jake, I told him that this sounds like a record we’ll listen to in ten years, twenty years, beyond. It should get more and more people into Slaughter Beach Dog and the already deep catalog of music they’ve built. Next time I see the band, there will be even more people singing every word of every song. I’ll be in the back of the room, raising a toast to my pal Jake, congratulating him on the success of this fantastic record. I just hope he’ll still take my calls. – Craig FinnERIN RAE
Hex Wizard w/ The Beard Cult
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYHEX WIZARDComing out of Asheville, North Carolina, Hex Wizard brings the party with their high energy rock-n-roll, along with the entrancing psychedelic melodies that scream “rock is not dead!” Formed in the late summer of 2022, Hex Wizard is an original power trio comprised of front performer Michael Seng (guitar & vocals), Casey Willis (bass & visual effects), and Lee Rubenstein (percussion). Hex Wizard will always bring more music to your ears, and less dead space between songs in a live setting. “Heady shredders from Asheville with a melodic, funky yet decidedly heavy take on psych rock. Recommended if you like Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, All Them Witches.” – Compass/Blank Newspaper, Knoxville TNTHE BEARD CULTThe Beard Cult based out of Asheville NC deliver a unique blend of stoner rock that pulls the listener in. With Shawn McCoy on lead guitar and vocals, Brett Spivey on bass and backing vocals, Brad Justice on rhythm guitar and Papillon DeBoer (Poppy) on drums. Let them take you on a journey into altered states with their churning and chugging riffs and melodic vocals. Feel the massive thunder clap of sound these 4 emit from the stage. Let them help you find your inner heavy.
Bit Brigade performs “Ninja Gaiden” + “Double Dragon” LIVE
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLYBIT BRIGADE PERFORMS “NINJA GAIDEN” + “DOUBLE DRAGON” LIVE Bit Brigade performs rock covers of full NES game soundtracks as their gamer speed runs the game live on stage.”When was the last time you attended a live music performance with a genuine element of risk involved? And no, going to a Gwar show with a white t-shirt on doesn’t count. When Bit Brigade takes the stage your mind will frantically oscillate between “Oh! Agh!! Please don’t die!!” and “YES! He’s doing it!!” Combining the dread and daring of a live video game speed run with the spot-on technique of a live band covering the musical accompaniment to everything you’re seeing on-screen in real time, Bit Brigade will have you swinging between the two mediums. From thrashing about to live renditions of your favorite stage themes, fingers yearning to the sky in a rock ‘n roll parody of sea anemones seeming to silently plead, “Please, feed us more fretboard pyrotechnics!,” to being locked in stock-still rapture as the infallible maestro of the d-pad, Noah McCarthy, takes on the final boss and risks his video game life under the threat of intense peer scorn (or the reward of night-long glory and a credits score). No matter the outcome, Bit Brigade must play on until the deed is done – which it always is – on the first (and last) try. Once Noah’s NES buzzes on, there’s no turning back.” – Metalhead Mike of The Shizz, summer 2011
Eric Slick w/ Scott McMicken
ALL AGES – STANDING ROOM ONLY ERIC SLICK Eric Slick is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Nashville, TN. He’s performed and recorded with Dr. Dog, Taylor Swift, The War On Drugs, Waxahatchee, Kevin Morby, Ruston Kelly, Adrian Belew, Ween, and many more. Eric has several studio albums, including 2020’s acclaimed Wiseacre. SCOTT McMICKEN Scott McMicken has always thrived on switching things up. As a founding member of Philadelphia rock mainstays Dr. Dog, McMicken and his bandmates consistently explored new sounds and new ways of writing songs across 10 gleefully eclectic albums before their 2021 hiatus. While McMicken has quietly released solo projects via cassette and vinyl on his own label Press On Records, for his latest effort, he’s done something he’s only done once before: started a band. With Shabang, out March 31, 2023, via ANTI-, comes the debut album from Scott McMicken and THE EVER-EXPANDING, and he’s made some of his freest and most adventurous music yet: a wonderfully collaborative collection of songs that feel lived in and true. Part Basement Tapes and Paul Simon, and part a globetrotting foray into progressive sounds, Shabang is some of the most exploratory music of McMicken’s career. There are elements of jazz, dub reggae, country, and bossa nova throughout these 13 tracks, each exuding the excitement of being in a room with several other curious musicians. Opener “What About Now” originally started as a folk-rock dirge but when McMicken decided to add some bounce to the rhythm, the whole thing opened up. Even songs that dig deep into personal conflict like “Reconcile” radiate with a joy that’s tangible and rocking.“I’m constantly trying at all costs to avoid feeling like a singer-songwriter,” says McMicken. “I would like to create a welcoming place that we can share rather than trying to yank you into my inner world.”
Loving w/ Fog Lake
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYLOVINGLoving is the musical collaboration of David Parry, Lucas Henderson and Jesse Henderson. The band formed by way of a long-distance recording project (Victoria – Toronto) that resulted in the creation of their debut self-titled EP. After the unexpected embrace of this work, the band reconvened in Victoria, BC to begin playing live shows and work on new material.Following in the path of their debut EP, If l am only my thoughts was home recorded and represents a deeper exploration of the band’s creative process – a process marked by an appreciation for the generative limitations of recording to tape. The resulting album constructs a warm and dreamy sonic landscape kept adrift by existentially oriented lyrics and an unspecified all-encompassing sense of nostalgia.At present, their live performances showcase the talents of Evan Cheadle (guitar), Justin Devries (drums), and Patrick Rendell (bass+backup vocals). Previous touring members include Bren Davidson of Subject (RIP), and Keenan Mittag-Degala of Elan Noon. LOVING is currently working on a new LP to follow up their 2020 release, If I Am Only My Thoughts. FOG LAKE Fog Lake is the solo project of Newfoundland, Canada artist Aaron Powell. Over the last ten years, his lo-fi recordings, described as “harrowing nostalgia,” have explored the dark valleys where everything has settled and must be understood. On his new album, Tragedy Reel, he reflects on small-town alienation and loss spanning his years living in rural Newfoundland. Lost friends, lost love, addiction and vignettes of high school disillusionment are interwoven in Powell’s somber yet hopeful melodies, which combine the soaring highs of nostalgia with the sinking feelings of disappointment and regret. The album was recorded in the summer of 2020 during a 3-month stint in his hometown (population: about 2,000.) Powell combines downtrodden acoustic guitars with muffled pianos, and enveloping synth work by Warren Hildebrand of Foxes in Fiction, who also mixed the record. Across these songs, Powell uses music as a vehicle for healing, repentance and forgiveness in order to craft something deeply personal and therapeutic for himself, and hopefully in turn for others.
SUB-RADIO: “Past Selves” Tour
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYLIMITED NUMBER OF “PAST SELVES” VIP PACKAGES AVAILABLE, INCLUDING: ⁃ 3 song acoustic set before doors (including never before played parody) ⁃ Meet & Greet and photo with Sub-Radio ⁃ Signed Limited Edition Poster ⁃ Official Tour Laminate- Early entry and first access to merch SUB RADIO Few independent bands have had a career as varied and unpredictable as the indie pop sextet Sub-Radio. Founded in Washington DC by a group of childhood friends, the band released a series of EPs between 2018 and 2020, blending the pop-punk they grew up on with the indie-pop stylings of WALK THE MOON and The 1975. Forced online by the COVID-19 pandemic, they found enormous viral success on Reddit and TikTok in 2021, streaming their high-energy live performances to more than 20 million viewers and driving a huge new audience to their single “Flashback”. The band signed with indie label Th3rd Brain in early 2022 and released their latest EP, Past Selves in February of 2023. In support of the new release, Sub-Radio announced The Past Selves Tour which kicks off in August of 2023.MOONTOWER
