Mei Semones
“No second-guessing, no overthinking. The way I want to live my life is by doing the things that are important to me, and I think everyone should live that way,” says Mei Semones of her strengthened self-assurance. Through continuously honing in on her signature fusion of indie rock, bossa nova, jazz and chamber pop in a way that highlights her technical prowess on guitar, the 24-year-old Brooklyn-based songwriter and guitarist is quickly establishing herself as an innovative musical force. Since the release of her acclaimed 2024 Kabutomushi EP, a series of lushly orchestrated reflections on love in its many stages, Mei has gone on to tour extensively across the US, cultivate a dedicated following, and write and record her highly anticipated debut album, Animaru. Inspired by the Japanese pronunciation of the word “animal” in Japanese, Animaru is the embodiment of Mei’s deeper trust in her instincts – a collection of musically impressive tracks that see Mei sounding more adventurous, more vulnerable and more confident than ever before. Mei’s newfound assertiveness comes in part from her experiences in the past year, as 2024 was a transformative year for the Mei Semones band. They shared bills with the likes of Liana Flores, Elephant Gym and Kara Jackson, among others, and Mei transitioned to doing music full-time. Amidst the frequent touring, Mei and her five-piece band recorded the album in the summer of 2024 at Ashlawn Recording Company, a farm studio in Connecticut operated by their friend Charles Dahlke. To these sessions, she brought a batch of tracks that, not unlike Kabutomushi, are sophisticated declarations of non-romantic love: love of life (“Dumb Feeling”), love of family (“Zarigani”), love of music and her guitar (“Tora Moyo”). Animaru exemplifies Mei’s enchantingly wide range as a songwriter and musician, including some of the most challenging and most straightforward songs Mei has ever written. Though her music might inherently evoke feelings of romance and softness, the crux of the album lies in Mei and her band’s skillful balance of tension and release. Often within individual tracks, there will be moments of pared-back acoustic guitar adorned by Mei’s infectious vocalizations that, in a moment’s notice, transform into orchestral swells of sweeping strings and complex guitar rhythms. Album opener “Dumb Feeling” is a prime example, a bossa/samba blend complete with indie rock sensibilities in the choruses as Mei details her contentment with her life in New York City. Mei actively seeks out musical challenges throughout Animaru, like on “I can do what I want,” the album’s most technically ambitious track. But she still manages to make the quickly cascading guitar harmonics and odd meters sound like a breeze to play, her breathy, lilting voice cutting through the track’s energetic dynamics. It epitomizes the album as a whole – she sings of doing things her own way, on her own terms, in hopes of inspiring others to make the same active switch in their own lives. Animaru, the debut album by Mei Semones, is out on May 2, 2025, on Bayonet Records.
Magnolia Park – Nights After VAMP Tour
MAGNOLIA PARK – vocalist Joshua Roberts, guitarists Tristan Torres and Freddie Criales, drummer Joe Horsham and bassist Vincent Ernst – have never been ones to settle for subtlety. Since forming in 2018, the Orlando, Florida-based quintet have repeatedly proven themselves to be one of the most exciting and forward-thinking groups in the underground, spinning a chameleonic, genre-spanning sound that incorporates punk, hard rock, hip-hop and metalcore into a dizzying, multisensory experience. Blazing onto the scene with an insatiable social media work ethic and prolific musical output, their popular Halloween mixtapes, multi-part Eater EP series and full-length debut, Baku’s Revenge, cemented them not only as a playlist and For You Page favorite for millions of listeners around the world, but a must-see live act on tour with A Day To Remember, From Ashes To New and the inaugural Summer School tour (where they served as a headliner). They’ve also graced the stages of major festivals like Reading and Leeds, When We Were Young, Sonic Temple, Louder Than Life, Welcome To Rockville and Riot Fest, plus the revived Warped Tour stops in D.C., Long Beach and Orlando. Making their way back overseas, in 2026 the band have European performances slated at Download Fest, Rock Am Ring, Rock Im Park, and more. The fivesome have unleashed their most ambitious effort yet: VAMP (Epitaph Records), a neo-gothic concept album rich in world-building and gripping storytelling. Culling influence from the band’s favorite anime including the long-running Vampire Hunter D, along with inspiration from iconic works like Star Wars, Dracula and Joseph Cambell’s legendary monomyth, Vamp unravels an ominous journey through Nocturne Nexus, where rulers and rebels battle with the future hanging in the balance. “The most exciting thing about this band is how everyone elevates everyone else,” Roberts says. “I’m just so glad that we’re all able to do that and come out with great music and great vibes and feel like we’ve accomplished something special. That’s the whole mission: to make sure that at the end of the journey, we’re better than we were in the beginning.”
Dark Holiday 2025
Ariel Pink
The Real Zebos
Ratboys
Ratboys present a momentous new single, “Light Night Mountains All That,” and announce a North American tour. This is the band’s first new music, and their first with New West Records, since The Window, one of the most-praised albums of 2023. The Window catapulted the band from being beloved to “feverishly fixated upon” (Stereogum), and “Light Night Mountains All That” seizes that attention and doesn’t let it look away. The Window received a wealth of critical praise from the likes of The New York Times, NPR Music, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Stereogum, and Uproxx, while Pitchfork called it “a level-up record” for the band. “Light Night Mountains All That” is singer/guitarist Julia Steiner’s most thrilling vocal take yet, bolstered by a powerhouse performance by guitarist Dave Sagan, drummer Marcus Nuccio, bassist Sean Neumann, and piano by track co-producer Chris Walla. The track, deemed their “wormhole jam” by Steiner, is driven by an unorthodox time structure, exhilarating instrumentation, and the flare of extraterrestrial guitar bloops. In early 2026, Ratboys will perform across North America. As Paste praises, Ratboys have “a live chemistry that remains unparalleled and irreplaceable.”
Ben Kweller – Cover The Mirrors Tour
BK is back and he’s not the same. Who could be after the heartbreak he’s endured since thesudden passing of his 16-year old son. Instead of hiding away, the beloved indie-rocker iswalking through the fire of grief with intention and purpose. This unimaginable journey has ledhim to his seventh album, Cover The Mirrors, and the accompanying tour which begins on April15th.“Music has been my savior throughout my life but never before has it saved me as much as ithas this past year. My upcoming album, Cover The Mirrors, is a deep dive into my new reality.It’s a collage of my good days and my bad days, my highest highs and my lowest of lows. It’s themost personal, emotionally raw project I’ve ever worked on.”Kweller has been an open book throughout his illustrious career. His songs hold a nostalgicquality that takes you to a time and a place, happy or sad. He’s also one of the rare few who cantranslate his recordings into captivating concerts that keep his fans coming back again andagain. If you’ve never seen BK live before, the Cover The Mirrors Tour is sure to be his mostheartfelt and joyous live show yet. This is a chance for old and new fans to come together andwitness one of the great songwriters at his creative peak.
Cursive – You’re In My Web Now: An Evening in Three Parts Performing ‘Domestica’ and ‘The Ugly Organ’
FIRST NIGHT SOLD OUT! SECOND NIGHT ADDED! In preparation for their double duty performance at Best Friends Forever Festival in Las Vegas, Cursive thought we would do something special at home, in Omaha! On October 7th and 8th they will play both Domestica and The Ugly Organ in full as unique events. The evenings (which they are dubbing ‘Your In My Web Now’) will comprise of three acts. Act 1 – Cursive Performing Domestica Intermission Act 2 – The Appleseed Cast performing a career spanning set Intermission Act 3 – Cursive Performing The Ugly Organ (and more)
Cursive – You’re In My Web Now: An Evening in Three Parts Performing ‘Domestica’ and ‘The Ugly Organ’
In preparation for their double duty performance at Best Friends Forever Festival in Las Vegas, Cursive thought we would do something special at home, in Omaha! On October 8th they will play both Domestica and The Ugly Organ in full as a unique event. The evening (which they are dubbing ‘Your In My Web Now’ will comprise of three acts. Act 1 – Cursive Performing Domestica Intermission Act 2 – The Appleseed Cast performing a career spanning set Intermission Act 3 – Cursive Performing The Ugly Organ (and more) This is a truly special event and tickets will go on sale at 10am Friday.
Nilüfer Yanya
Nilüfer Yanya is a singer-songwriter from London whose third studio album My Method Actor was released in September 2024 to overwhelming praise from The New York Times, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Pitchfork (with a ‘Best New Music’ stamp) The FADER and so many more. As a whole, Nilüfer Yanya’s third album asks questions with no easy answers. It is a supple, expansive body of work that peers into the crevices of life, exploring them with comforting strings, skittering beats, soul-tinged melodies and swooning harmonies. It asks, who are we? Why do we follow the paths we follow? What is at the heart of it all? My Method Actor follows Nilüfer’s previous albums PAINLESS and Miss Universe, which were also met with high praise, ranking among the year’s best by The New York Times, NPR, Pitchfork, Vulture and more. Nilüfer performed celebrated singles on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Stephen Colbert, Later with Jools Holland and NPR’s legendary Tiny Desk concert series. She’s supported Adele, the XX and Mitski on tour, headlined London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire and sold out shows across Europe, Australia, Japan and the USA. Yanya has also been remixed by Sampha, King Krule and Little Dragon and has collaborated with Bombay Bicycle Club and Liss. Nilüfer is also a founding member of the community project Artists In Transit which takes creative workshops and other support to displaced communities and people in times of hardship.