Music

by Erik Batkiewicz The preteen version of myself had no real idea of rock or metal. I was just listening to the Top 40 tracks on the radio back in 2014, but my world would soon be turned upside. My brother, Kyle, who’s 15 years older than me, grew up ...

by Jesse Hudgins Festival season is upon us! Coachella just went down, Lollapalooza, Summerfest, and Sonic Temple have had lineup announcements, and Riot Fest typically announces their lineup in May with the single day lineups revealed in mid-June. Still, it’s never too early though to start the predictions for the ...

by Olivia Rosenberg   On April 12, Maggie Rogers dropped her latest album, Don’t Forget Me. The 36-minute record is her shortest yet and was written in its entirety in only five days. The album is a balanced blend of indie pop, rock, and folk, with tight production and story-infused ...

by Karla Damian Twenty One Pilots released two new singles, “Overcompensate” and “Next Semester,” which will be featured on their next full-length album, Clancy, set to come out on May 17. The two songs are different from each other, however, they still sound like “Twenty One Pilots.” But how did ...

by Chloe Kallberg After four months across the pond and on the road, Neck Deep’s second American tour came to a close in Chicago on February 25. Tucked into a tiny and expensive parking spot, my friends and I emptied our pockets, flashed our tickets, and permeated the Salt Shed ...

Our Featured Local Artist this month is Cheerleader Roadkill, a pop-punk band from the western Chicago suburbs, founded in 2022. Classmates Noel Kovac (guitar, vocals) and Jack Metz (bass), inspired by the sound of 90s pop punk bands like blink-182, Simple Plan, and Sum 41, they began writing songs in ...

Our Featured Local Artist for February is Sex Dream, a 3-piece from the Chicago suburbs, playing Ramonescore punk with a hint of twee pop. Currently featuring Maria Surfinbird (bass, vocals), Drew (guitar, backing vocals), and Andrew (drums), the band started in fall of 2018 when Maria moved to the US ...

by Jesse Hudgins and Chloe Kallberg Alternage is approaching its third birthday, which means we’ve been closely following release schedules of our favorite punk, pop punk, emo, and alternative genres since we began college. Meshed with our own personal wish lists, here are three predictions we have for what’s in ...

Our Featured Local Artist for January is Oscar Bait, a four-piece Chicago band that mixes elements of hardcore, pop-punk, and emo into their sound. The band primarily focuses on volleying melancholic melodies toward the listener at the speed of light, with vocalist Jim Coleman Howes delivering seriocomic musings in his ...

By: Andy Jachim Despite playing a few of his tracks over The Crossroads’ history, Cody Johnson has never been a featured artist. That changes this week as we take a look into his newest album, Leather, which was released on November 3. This is Johnson’s 11th set of tracks and ...