The Koffin Kats
Koffin Kats are a psychobilly trio from Detroit, Michigan. Fusing the swing of classic rockabilly with the hot-wired energy and ghoulish imagery of Misfits, this band proves that high-octane psychobilly is still alive and kicking in the American midwest. Koffin Kats were formed in 2003 by lead singer and upright bassist Vic Victor and guitarist/vocalist Tommy Koffin, who had been part of the Motor City punk scene for some time before trying their hands at the doom-struck twang of their punk-rockabilly fusion. The trio released their first album, simply titled “Koffin Kats”, in 2004, and hit the road in support of the record. Since then, the Koffin Kats have maintained a busy tour schedule, frequently gigging on the West Coast as well as closer to home, and have released 10 full length albums and 2 EP’s, the latest of which was 2024’s “Higher Lows”.
The Faint – SOLD OUT
Bad Nerves
The bastard child of a Ramones/Strokes one night stand, Bad Nerves play ferociously fast distorted pop songs and drew acclaim with their previous releases ‘Dreaming’, ‘Baby Drummer’, & ‘Can’t Be Mine’. It would appear to be in the DNA of rock music, particularly punk music, that the music itself happens by some kind of happy accident. Nothing truer could be said of the Essex five piece speed punk band. For frontman Bobby, the formation of the band itself was an unintentional happenstance that just wound up taking off in unexpected but very exciting directions. Did band life choose Bad Nerves or did Bad Nerves choose band life? It’s hard to say. The boys are still reeling from their surprise success. Their self-made, self-funded debut put them in the hearts and minds of the cream of the alternative crop in 2020; from tastemakers such as Dan P Carter to Alyx Holcombe, and from peers like Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong to Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard, Bad Nerves were instantaneously heralded with the poisoned chalice of saviours of a type of punk that promises to never die. They’ve toured with Royal Blood and The Darkness, and have drawn comparisons to Supergrass, the Ramones and Jay Reatard. And despite all that, their pop rock is a unique – and very fast – whack over the head that reminds us all of the future life left in hell-raising loud and fast music. Bad Nerves have been blazing at two hundred miles an hour across the live circuit for a few years now, and are showing no signs of slowing down. Despite the speed and chaotic nature of their music, they have taken great pride in challenging the traditional punk method, by playing tight and trying to replicate the sound of their record in the live setting. “We wanna deliver the songs well,” says bassist Jon. And that’s why people have taken notice. Bad Nerves set the bar much higher. One of the band’s most iconic gigs to date was a headliner at Sebright Arms in London in 2022, which was so electric they decided to release a live recording of it. “I’m surprised no one died that night,” says Jon. “That ceiling is so low! I’ve never seen so many people sweat. It was crazy. We were all sick afterwards.” The magic of rock music is in the chaos of the live performance. Bad Nerves understand that. They chase it. They crave it. They know how to create it. “My favourite Ramones record is the live one,” says Bobby. “The stakes are high. That’s what makes it.” The future is loud for Bad Nerves. They proactively seek to make the type of in-your-face, opposite-of-sterile, rock music that the genre was built on. They want to play as much as they can for as long as possible, in the hope of inspiring the next generation, before it’s too late. It feels as though they have arrived just in time.
M?STIC & Swampz
Husbands
Husbands knows the galvanizing power of an anthemic, hair-raising song. As the co-founding songwriter behind the Oklahoma City indie rock outfit Husbands, Danny Davis has been meticulously crafting emotionally potent tunes about finding your place in the world. His writing always strives to break free from monotony and routine, aiming for meaning and clarity through massive choruses and colorful arrangements. CUATRO, Husbands’ adventurous and triumphant fourth album out Oct. 13 via Cowboy 2.0 and Thirty Tigers, marks a turning point for the band. It’s the first LP written after the departure of longtime bandmate and collaborator, Wil Norton. It’s also an album that Davis made during a time of relative personal stability after quitting his nine-to-five and moving with his wife to Costa Rica. Across 11 arena-filling and richly-produced tracks, the full-length is a document of his growth as a human being and a testament to finding peace in relationships evolving.
Save Ferris
Formed in 1995, Save Ferris remains one of the seminal and most beloved bands from the third wave of ska. The group’s Orange County home was fertile ground for a thriving music scene, with punk, rock, and ska emerging from the region. Save Ferris blended the best elements of these sounds to help bring the region’s sound to the world. The group’s humble beginnings saw them play house parties and local venues, powered by Monique Powell’s high-octane vocals. Save Ferris’ live show instantly became a hit. As the word spread, the band got a much-needed boost. Legendary KROQ DJ Rodney Bingenheimer got a hold of the band’s self-released album. He played their cover of Dexys Midnight Runners “Come on Eileen” on his Rodney on the ROQ show and the response was overwhelming. Soon thereafter, Kevin Weatherly picked up the song and it was added to the legendary taste-making rock station’s rotation. All of this happened independently without a record label and with Powell serving as the singer and band manager. Major labels started noticing the buzz that was emanating from Orange County. In 1996, the band won a Grammy showcase award for best unsigned band, and with Epic Records’ David Massey as one of the judges, Save Ferris would sign with the label. Epic re-released the Introducing Save Ferris EP and, in 1997, Save Ferris unleashed their debut album, It Means Everything. Save Ferris toured the world for the better part of the next six years, with 1999’s Modified released during that time. In 2003, the band went on a hiatus. Starting in 2004, Powell switched gears and used her vocal talents to become a go-to studio musician. She appeared on albums for The Used, Goldfinger, Foxy Shazam, Lost Prophets, Mest, and Hilary Duff, among many others. Slowly, however, Powell started having health issues. In 2015, after years of painful back issues, she underwent a risky procedure to fix her broken neck that could have damaged her greatest musical weapon: her vocal cords. Ahead of the procedure, Powell made a promise to her father, who had been begging her to return to the stage: if the surgery was successful, she’d bring back Save Ferris. And it was a success. That year, Powell, with a new cast of characters, reformed Save Ferris. The hype surrounding the band was massive. After months of rehabilitation, Powell brought Save Ferris home to Orange County where it played a sold-out show at the Pacific Amphitheater in Costa Mesa. Another giant show at the Santa Monica Pier, with over 20,000 people in attendance, was put out on vinyl. These raucous shows proved that the band wasn’t just back, but ready to roar. Through a crowdfunded campaign in 2016, Powell and her bandmates went into the studio to record a new EP. Titled Checkered Past, the collection was released the following year, and produced by John Avila of Oingo Boingo. The EP featured an appearance by Neville Staple of The Specials, one of Powell’s favorite artists. Following Checkered Past’s release, Save Ferris played the entire 2017 Warped Tour on the main stage, headlined shows, and played festivals across the world. The future is as bright as it has been for Save Ferris in a long time. Powell scrapped a record she wrote prior to the pandemic and is currently at work on the first new Save Ferris album in nearly two decades. The band recently packed the House of Blues in Anaheim, playing in front of fans of all ages. Powell is the centerpiece of the action. Her dazzling on- stage presence continues to wow audiences and the band’s energy is infectious. Save Ferris are out to prove that they’re no nostalgia act, with their best days still ahead of them.
Sarah Kinsley
New York’s Sarah Kinsley is fascinated by creating imaginary worlds and alternate realities. She tries to conjure these with her music, but it requires the unlocking of one’s imagination to really go there. Sarah encourages you to try it though. We all need an escape. Born in California, and raised in Connecticut and Singapore before returning to New York to attend Columbia University, this perfectly unusual leftfield pop singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (Sarah plays the piano, synth, guitar, ondes Martenot, glass bowls, and some violin on her recent debut album Escaper) studied music and was creating much positive noise and conversation online long before she had signed a record deal. Everything she was putting out was home-spun; selfproduced, self-written and self-performed. Sarah made a habit of documenting her process, and it was one such video, uploaded in response to the misconception that “Women don’t produce music” that documented Sarah recording the sounds of tapping on a desk, opening a door, switching on a light, thumping on a mattress and flicking a wine glass, splicing them all together and forming the introduction to a prior EP track, Over + Under, that captured the imagination of a young audience who have been feverishly following her every move since. Sarah grew up in the world of classical music, studying the likes of Chopin, Debussy, and Ravel. She started out behind the piano before playing violin in the perfectionas-necessity world of orchestra. Meanwhile, this disciplined student of music was a teenager falling in love with the exciting, “unsubstantial” pop music that dominated Top 200 radio. Debut LP Escaper in some ways marries many of those unlikely contexts—substantial pop that flowers with lush string arrangements. “I’m just such a sucker for massive, grand songs,” she says. “I think it’s the classical musician in me who loves symphonies and the magnum opus effect.” Named one of Vevo’s Artists to Watch in 2024, Sarah has met sold out audiences singing her songs in unison right across the US and Europe. There’s something very communal about the experiences that Sarah and her band manage to evoke. The young crowd is feverish, greeting each song like an old hit, and forgetting themselves for some time in her company, allowing Sarah to massage their imaginations. Support tours, headline tours, and early festival appearances – it’s as exciting to her fans in the UK and Europe as it is to those in the US. They’re turning up in their droves and traveling miles and miles (and miles) to see her.
Buckethead
BabyJake
Florida-born Jake Herring, known professionally as BabyJake, may have appeared to be an overnight success, but his journey to the spotlight was anything but instantaneous. His hit single Cigarettes on Patios took off in 2019, garnering 200M+ streams and earning him a certified gold record and a major label deal. He would release two albums from the same vine, until the upheaval of the pandemic saw him splitting with his label and at a pivotal turning point. But giving up was never an option for Jake, and his resilience set him on a new path: an ascetic journey to rediscover himself, shedding his shag haircut in favor of a buzzcut, naked skin marked by the tattoos he collected along his journey. He found the answer on his latest album Beautiful Blue Collar Boy, a bouquet of songs rooted in the beauties and hardships of day to day life. Drawing influence from the likes of Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Jeff Tweedy, BabyJake stays true to his north star of confident storytelling and songwriting. On Beautiful Blue Collar Boy, Jake trades in the late night parties for the simplicity of authenticity, hard work, and a meaningful life to come home to. This chapter of BabyJake reveals a man stripped down to his American roots, with each song painting a small vignette of BabyJake’s blue collar dreams. Now planted in Nashville, TN, Jake returns to us as a Beautiful Blue Collar Boy.
Kashus Culpepper
Alabama-born country crooner Kashus Culpepper encompasses the sound of the South. A student and reverent purveyor of Southern music – country, soul, blues, folk, and rock – Culpepper’s husky, sandpaper growl bellows like a freight train over self-penned stories that are as raw and real as they are haunting. Finding his voice in church as young as five years old, it wasn’t until 2020’s global pandemic that Culpepper went from listener to performer, picking up a guitar and learning cover songs to play at barrack bonfires in Rota, Spain during his deployment with the Navy. Covers soon became originals, and once he landed home on U.S. shores, Kash played dive bars up and down the Mississippi Gulf Coast, making a name for himself with the fresh-yet-reminiscent sound that oozes from his very being. Crashing into prominence now, Culpepper has already sold-out headline club shows throughout the South despite never formally releasing a single song, also opening shows nationwide for sound pioneers like Charles Wesley Godwin, Charley Crockett, and NEEDTOBREATHE. With Nashville taking notice, Culpepper found a musical home at Big Loud Records, and just dropped his first three career singles “After Me?,” “Who Hurt You,” and “Out Of My Mind.” MusicRow hails Culpepper as “thoroughly gripping,” and with the promise of more music on the way in 2024, The Tennessean predicts how one of their 10 Nashville artists you need to know for 2024’s “forthcoming material could offer…significant acclaim.”