Indie Music

Article & Photos contributed by Rebecca McDevitt If you have never seen The Maine live, Friday night at Franklin Music Hall would have been the perfect introduction. The five-piece rock band out of Tempe, Arizona have been at this since 2007, eighteen years and ten studio albums deep, and they perform like a band that genuinely cannot believe they still get to do this. Their latest record, Joy Next Door, dropped just last week and they brought it straight to the road with the

Going to a Lewis Capaldi show comes with one explicit warning: Expect to cry. Expect to laugh. And expect to try not to pee yourself, because apparently he was attempting the same after drinking enough fluid to keep a fading voice alive through a full arena set. Lewis Capaldi performing at Liacouras Center at Temple University in Philadelphia PA. Photo by Rebecca McDevitt (IG: @ rebeccajeanlimitedphotography ) Philadelphia got Lewis Capaldi in full comeback mode. After stepp

Article Contributed by Rebecca McDevitt & Ilana Bornstein Some bands come together through industry connections. Others start because a group of friends simply never stopped playing music together. For Chicago-based alternative pop band Flwers, it’s the second story. SoundCheck first discovered Flwers the same way a lot of fans did lately… scrolling through TikTok. Between honest lyrics, hook-heavy melodies, and videos that felt more like friends sharing music than a careful

Released today, High & Sad is the kind of song that doesn't announce itself; it just finds you. Franklin Jonas and The Byzantines have crafted something that exists in the in-between: not quite a ballad, not quite a confessional, but somewhere more honest than either.

Article Contributed By Monica Soriano Photos Provided by UMG / Nick Walker Recently, SoundCheck had the opportunity to attend Iris Copperman’s showcase in which sang a few of her songs live. We were pleasantly surprised by her ability to convey strong emotion while telling a story. With the release of “Struggle Bus” earlier this year and at just 14 years old, Iris became one of our artists to watch. Today, we are so happy to follow her as she embarks on this journey. We had t

Philadelphia hosted the first sold-out show of Landon Conrath’s current tour Friday night at MilkBoy, and the city absolutely showed up for it. The second you walked into the room, you could tell it was going to be one of those nights. MilkBoy was packed. No photo pit, photographers wedged into the crowd with everyone else, and within minutes the whole place felt warm and shoulder-to-shoulder.

Article Contributed by Rebecca McDevitt Photo Provided by Spotify Die To Fall is The Maine’s first release off their upcoming record Joy Next Door, and it already feels like a song made to be shared. It has that indie alternative glow to it, but with a beat you can still move to. The kind of song that turns into a group scream at a summer show, arms thrown over each other’s shoulders, yelling “I feel alive” like you mean it. There’s something really freeing about it. It feels

There is always something in the air when we find ourselves at El Club. Maybe it is the intimacy of the space. Maybe it is the way Detroit weather insists on being theatrical. On Saturday, February 28, 2026, winter decided to put on a show of its own, whipping up a full blizzard with icy rain slicing through the city. It did not matter. Bryce Vine brought his Let’s Do Something Stupid Tour to town, and Detroit showed up hungry.

The Wishbone Tour transformed Prudential Center into a haven for Sad Internet Teens and the stories that shaped them. Article & Photography Contributed by Miranda Wyman On February 27, Conan Gray brought the Wishbone Tour to the Prudential Center in Newark and from the moment the doors opened, it was clear this would not be just another pop concert. Before the show even started, the “Conehead” community inside the arena was impossible to ignore. Fans gathered in front of the

On the first warm night in months, Philadelphia showed up loud for a lineup that proved the local scene is thriving. Article Contributed by Rebecca McDevitt & Devin McDevitt Moonroof performing at Underground Arts in Philadelphia, PA. Photo by Rebecca McDevitt. IG: @ rebeccajeanlimitedphotography There is something about the first warm night in Philadelphia that feels like permission to breathe again. The snow was melting into the sidewalks. People lingered outside instead of

Photo by Sasha Camacho Article Contributed by Fernando Flores Lexa Gates’s “I Am” unfolds like a conversation you don’t rush through. It’s an album that takes its time not because it’s unsure of itself but because it understands that self-definition isn’t something you arrive at all at once. This project moves with patience and purpose; tracing the quiet evolution of someone learning how to live inside their own truth. It doesn’t posture or over-explain. It simply exists con

On asking the hard questions, embracing chaos, and writing in real time. Article Contributed by Vaneza Gutiérrez Wyckoff Asha Banks shot by Louise Browne For Asha Banks, reflection isn’t something that happens neatly after the fact — it’s an active, ongoing state. That instinct sits at the heart of How Real Was It?, her debut EP released last November via Island Records, shaping both the emotional arc of the project and the way she speaks about her creative life overall. Rath

Article & Photos Contributed by Rebecca McDevitt On February 21st at MilkBoy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, about fifty people gathered to watch Modern Culture, Sleep Cycles, and June Divided share a stage. Fifty people. Not sold out. Not empty. Just enough to feel real. Sleep Cycles performing at Milkboy in Philadelphia, PA. Photo Provided by Rebecca McDevitt IG: (@ rebeccajealimitedphotography ) The room was warm, loud, relaxed, and there was not a single phone in sight. Y

Article & Photos by Rachel Catherine SZN4 performing at El Club in Detroit. Photos by Rachel Catherine (@ rachsgalleryy on IG) A Valentine’s Day Evening to Remember February 14th, I spent my Valentine’s Day evening on a Saturday night with SZN4 and it was quite the spirit lifter. On a “holiday” that’s particularly not my favorite, you could feel the love emulating off of the group from the love they have for each other as well as the people supporting them in the crowd. A Ho

A reflection on impermanence, cinematic pop, and the new chapter ahead. Article Contributed by Vaneza Gutiérrez Wyckoff Sarah Kinsley shot by Florence Sullivan Sarah Kinsley has built a career around capturing fleeting moments — and with nearly one million monthly Spotify listeners, she’s clearly not the only one listening closely. During our recent chat, she spoke about time the way some people speak about weather: ever-present, uncontrollable, and quietly shaping everything

The Riviera Theatre was electric long before the night’s headliners took the stage, it was the kind of restless buzz that signals a crowd ready to fully commit to the night. Photos and Article Contributed by Ernesto Raul Aguilar Fans waiting in anticipation for the Runarounds and The Back Alley at The Riviera Theatre in Chicago, IL. Photo by Ernesto Raul Aguilar ( @blacksheepimagery ) By the end of the evening, both The Back Alley and The Runarounds had justified that anticip

Recently, we had the opportunity to hear Meels talk about her upbringing, inspirations and new sound. She spoke with such genuine care for her craft that it became clear why she’s continuously growing as an artist. She has built this wonderful folk-country world, as she invites us into it, we can see just how much meaning there is behind her music.

A first look into Sylvaner’s musical capabilities after making the transition from studio engineer to artist. Sylvaner recently released his first single, “Pentimento,” which is notably a creative output of talent. In this ambitious 4-minute and 33-second track, Sylvaner dives into his feelings about heartbreak with a soulful and enchanting sound. Not many artists release such a lengthy track to kickstart their career, but Sylvaner did…. and it works!

Charlotte Sands expresses her personal feelings through her latest single, “one eye open.” The single “one eye open,” by Charlotte Sands, is a gloomy escape to freedom in which she paints a clear picture of her feelings through her lyricism. The song sounds almost dreamlike with somber undertones and a release of emotions through Charlotte's vocals. It is a direct focus on the anxiety experienced in an unhealthy relationship, being told directly from Charlotte’s perspectiv

More and more people are tuning into streaming apps like Spotify or Apple Music, rather than turning on the radio. It has become the norm to pair up the streaming apps to cars, TVs, and every device you can listen to music from. It’s easier to pay a monthly fee to avoid commercials, know exactly what you will be listening to, skip a track, or add it to your personal playlist.