The last ever Music Fests Here. It sounds so final, doesn’t it? Though we only booked shows for two-and-a-half years, it feels like it has been forever.
Maybe, in the scheme of things, it has been forever. The memories we made will surely last forever, and if we are lucky, so will some of the friendships we forged.
When Music Dies Here started, it was nothing more than a thing to do. Grab a drink, listen to a record, and tell the world all about this record we fell in love with, from a small band from nowhere, that no one cares about. There were no big plans, there was just an abundance of alcohol. If we managed to convince only one person to listen to a band we wrote about, it was enough for us.
If I could do it all over again, I would.
Optimism doesn’t last long when money gets involved. It turns out that booking shows, even – or maybe especially – for small bands, is not a cheap endeavor. Promoting costs money, the venue wants money, and the bands want money. Every show is a new gamble. Will you get the twenty paying people needed to cover the venue costs? Will there be twenty more so you aren’t stuck paying the bands some gas money out of pocket? Will you get lucky enough to take twenty dollars home yourself at the end of the night, so that you can buy new printer ink for flyers? The answer was, more often than we liked, a resounding no.
If I could do it all over again, it’d be a resounding yes – even though my bank account is protesting that sentence.
If you never spent money on a hobby, have you even lived life? The excitement of finally getting a band we love to play locally, the unexpected connections and friendships, the shows that were so much fun, it was worth every penny you put into it. We come from a place of deep-rooted love for the scene. It’s a good place to be.
The issue is, if that place is New York City, it is also a very expensive place to be. As I am making my plans to leave the city, Music Dies Here as we know it dies with me. Jim will be around, booking his own shows for his band Something Bitter. Marcus will be around, shoving a camera in bands’ faces and uploading content to YouTube. I might even pick up some solo-reviews in the future, because as we all know, I don’t content with shutting up.
But to go out with a bang, I got my close friends in Goodbye Blue Monday to finally play some stateside shows, and I got some of our favourite people back for one last edition of Music Dies Here.
Goodbye Blue Monday / Tired Radio / Something Bitter
05/21: The Rusty Nail, Ardmore, PA (Tickets at the door)
05/22: Mother Pugs, Staten Island, NY (Tickets at the door)
05/23: Bridge and Tunnel Brewery, Ridgewood, NY (Tickets here or at the door)
Goodbye Blue Monday is the Tired Radio of the UK / Tired Radio is the Goodbye Blue Monday of the US. I cannot believe they have never played together, and if anything in life feels right, it would be making that happen for three(!) shows. Add Something Bitter to this mix, and we have a full-on party (just don’t listen too closely to the lyrics).
These three bands defined my life in both Glasgow (Goodbye Blue Monday) or New York (Tired Radio, Something Bitter). They’re why I got involved in the local scene, why I give a fuck about the small nobodies that should be closing down the festivals, and why I will always defend the venues, promoters, and big names that give a chance to new names.
Fans of Off With Their Heads, Samiam, Iron Chic, Red City Radio, and Banner Pilot rejoice. We still have some bands carrying the torch of orgcore / melodic punk / gruffpunk, bands that know how to write relatable songs about the personal, with catchy hooks, choruses you can’t help but to sing along to, and a live show that makes you remember why you’re in that basement.
Music Fests Here
One Fall
One Fall was one of the first bands we booked, back in March 2023. We had some bands fall through and were left with an empty hold on the venue. For some mysterious reason, just as I was about to ask them – with only a few weeks to go – if they were up to play it, Helen messaged me apologizing for the last minute, but if by any chance we had that date available. We roped Half Dizzy, Sean Nolan & the Heartmakers, and the Goddamn Wrecks into this, and it ended up being one of my favorite shows in Music Dies Here history.
Coming from Salem, MA, One Fall delivers strong hooks and heavy melodies, drawing their influences from metal, punk, and hardcore. They take their name after a wrestling reference, but I know next to nothing about wrestling, so you have to figure it out on your own.
Wes Hoffman & Friends
When we booked Wes on Music Fests Here last year, he was a bit of a wildcard to us. Sure, a bunch of our friends had toured with him, and everyone kept telling us how amazing he was, but that is what we all say about our friends. A few spins of the record, and I was convinced – we needed him on that line-up. Obviously, as people and as a live band, his band and him impressed us, because we cannot wait to have them back in New York!
Coming from St Louis, MO, Wes Hoffman and Friends recently signed to SBAM Records, joining an impressive roster with bands such as Mad Caddies, Useless ID, Frenzal Rhomb, No Fun At All, The Iron Roses, and many more. Expect heartfelt songs set to strong punk-rock melodies, with a recurring theme of optimism through moments of defeat, almost comparable to a poppier Face to Face.
Playing Dead
If it wasn’t for the continued support of Sam Hoyos from Playing Dead, I am not sure if we would have lasted as long as we did. He’s a beacon of joy and positivity in a scene that often runs on who-you-know over what you do. He’d probably say he’s too old to care. He also has surrounded himself with the best kind of people in his band, making it a pleasure to have them on any show. Can we just get Playing Dead to play every show they want to play?
We’re branching into more power-pop and indie here, and I have no idea if Long Island – next to pop-punk and hardcore – is also known for these genres. It should, if only based on Playing Dead. Influences range from the Drive by Truckers to Superdrag, from Samiam to the Lemonheads, and the Get Up Kids to Face to Face. When I complain about keyboards in bands, Playing Dead is exempt.
Something Bitter
I’ve known Russ for a while through his band Shrug Dealer. When, back in 2022, he told me he had a new band, I showed up at that first show. A few days later, at a No Trigger show, I told (threatened) bassist Jim that if he stuck around me long enough, he would know the entire scene within the year.
I kept my promise, and if it wasn’t for Jim, we definitely wouldn’t have booked anything more than those first few shows in 2023. He still wonders how he got roped into being part of this. In response, I make sure to every so often offer his band a show he cannot refuse, it distracts him enough to put up with me for a bit longer. Almost all of those amazing flyers, much of the outreach, and pretty much all of my understanding of how to run a show? That’s on him!
Something Bitter is the one and only New York City local on this line-up. With Andrew on the drums – he might be the only born-and-raised New Yorker on this line-up – they’re in the best shape I have seen them. Heavy punk-rock, leaning into metal-influenced skate-punk, taking as much influence from Samiam as from Propagandhi, but often naming their friends’ bands as the real influences if you ask.
Danvers
I don’t remember how we started the friendship with Danvers, I am just glad we did. These Pennsylvania boys are absolute sweethearts with too much talent. They first played with Something Bitter in late 2022, and we have booked them twice since, including Music Fests Here last year. We’re just stoked that they’re making the long drive over once again.
For the longest, they described themselves as “too punk for the emo’s, too emo for the punks.” I’d like to rephrase that as “emo for punks, punk for emo’s” – loud songs with technical influences, with an obvious draw from the emo sound of Mineral, Fugazi, American Football, and Texas is the Reason.
Worthington’s Law
We made a few friends by being too online. Nick, from Worthington’s Law, is one of those people. Though we never met in person, we would follow what the other did and swear over and over that one day, we would find a time that works to get the band to New York. Earlier, I said we invited everyone we already booked to return – and this is still true! Worthington’s Law also has Scotty, who used to play in Wolves&Wolves&Wolves&Wolves – who we also initially befriended and got over to play by being too online.
Hailing from Durham, North Carolina, Worthington’s Law does not take themselves too seriously. Whether it is their internet moniker funnypunkband, or song titles such as “Kraft Food > Craft Beer”, “Just Some Men in the Frozen Aisle”, and “Bigfoot Trolling League”, expect to have some laughs while singing along. If you like the Vandals and NOFX, this band is right up your alley!
Jared Knapik
Jared is the most understated songwriter on the East Coast, and one of the people I am proud to call my friend. He’s a natural born storyteller, one of the most positive people around, and the kind of person you meet once and feel like you have known for years. Though I absolutely love all the bands we booked for this full day, Jared would be the one I would recommend you don’t miss.
Driving down from Connecticut, Jared Knapik comes armed with two acoustic guitars, because “some songs need to be louder”, a telephone as a microphone, and songs so heartfelt, they will make the entire crowd silent – or whisper when ordering a drink. You can feel the influences from the Gaslight Anthem, Dashboard Confessional, and Jimmy Eat World, but more than a “singer who went solo”, Jared embraces the vulnerability of being alone on the stage.
With that, I want to thank you all for having been part of this. Please come hang out at these last parties we are putting on before I leave New York for good. Have a drink, have a laugh, create some memories that will last forever. I know that for me, the eight years I spent mostly in New York, the seven years I lived here, and the three years of Music Dies Here, will always be part of me.
-Maaike
