In 2018, around a hundred people showed up to the first New Friends Fest in Toronto. The organisers, including members of Respire and La Luna, had spent the years before that touring through European squats, sleeping on floors, and seeing what a DIY scene could look like when people actually shared the work. They came back wanting something like that at home.
Nobody was thinking about Portraits of Past, Saetia, Raein or pg.99 then. That would have sounded ridiculous. Seven years later, all four have been on the poster.
Kai Lumbang of the New Friends DIY collective, which we interviewed two years ago, was at the first edition and joined the team in 2023. He remembers it this way: “I’m sure if you’d told us in 2018 that this fest would eventually book the likes of Raein, Saetia and pg.99, we wouldn’t believe you. Like, Portraits of Past? In your dreams!” For year seven, the joke has become real.
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From July 31 to August 2 at the Lithuanian House, with pre-fest shows in Hamilton on July 29 and Toronto on July 30, New Friends Fest will bring 36 bands to two stages. The room has changed with it, from about 100 people at the first edition to more than 700 now.
The bill also carries four reunions: Portraits of Past, Carissa’s Wierd with Mat and Jenn, Reversal of Man, and Adobe Homes. Cienfuegos from Chile will play North America for the first time.
Demersal from Denmark, Poetry of Torch from Japan, In Loving Memory from South Dakota, Star 99 from California, Adobe Homes from New Mexico, …And Its Name Was Epyon from California, and It’s You! It’s Me! And There’s Dancing! from Portland all play Canada for the first time. Rainer Maria, Gros Enfant Mort (France), The Names of Our Friends, Clay Birds, and Coup d’Etat make their Toronto debut.
The full Hamilton pre-fest is hosted by Luther, who books much of the city’s screamo and hardcore.
There’s a part of this music that doesn’t show up in lineups or attendance counts. You only notice it after a few years in it.
Screamo was never built for money, and most of the bands involved never expected any. It runs on friendships that last for decades, basement floors slept on across countries, split releases between people who may never meet in person, and the kind of attachment that makes someone keep a 2018 fest poster as one of their most prized possessions. That was Toast from Boxcutter, at her first NFF.
It is the part that gets into people when they find this music young, and somehow stays there.
The reunions on this year’s bill aren’t comebacks in the industry sense. Reversal of Man wrote about a blood pact made over coffee. Portraits of Past will be debuting new songs three decades on. Carissa’s Wierd. Adobe Homes back after a near ten-year break. These aren’t bands trying to cash in on nostalgia.
They’re old friends reconvening, finding out the audience didn’t move on either. And down the bill, somewhere in their early twenties, are kids playing their first or second EPs in front of the people whose records they had on rotation in high school. Ultra Love wrote about hearing Reversal of Man for the first time as a teenager and never believing they’d see them live, let alone share a bill with them. Dear Evangeline said sharing a stage with Carissa’s Wierd and Lord Snow would have wrecked high school them. Multiply that across the 700+ people who’ll be inside the Lithuanian House over three days, and that’s what NFF actually is, more than a lineup or a fest. It’s where the long arc of this music gets visible.
Here’s everyone playing the main weekend. Portraits of Past (CA), Rainer Maria (WI), Carissa’s Wierd (WA), Reversal of Man (FL), In Loving Memory (SD), Lord Snow (CA), Tomb Mold (ON), Dikembe (FL), Ostraca (VA), The Caution Children (FL), Demersal (Denmark), Gros Enfant Mort (France), Adobe Homes (NM), Quiet Fear (CA), Common Sage (NY), Joliette (Mexico), The Names of Our Friends (OR), New Forms (MA), Star 99 (CA), Cienfuegos (Chile), Poetry of Torch (Japan), Commitment (PA), Nø Man (VA), Clay Birds (CA), Coup d’Etat (BC), Votive (TX), Oriska (ND), Eudaemon (MN), …And Its Name Was Epyon (CA), Boxcutter (ON), Ultra Love (ON), It’s You! It’s Me! And There’s Dancing! (OR), Underwater Basket Weaving (ON), Dear Evangeline (ON), Daydream Plus (ON), and Body Nest (ON). Plus a programme of social events, comedy, a merch swap, vendors, and record labels across the weekend.
We sent a roundtable to as many bands on the bill as we could reach, and 15 wrote back. The full interview can be found below this intro, and it’s long. Every band who answered got space for as much as they wanted to say. Before you scroll down, here’s the rough shape of what came back, and the moments that made the loudest noise as we read through.
Year seven of NFF lines up with a stretch of bands either deep into reunion years or sitting on records that haven’t yet dropped. Portraits of Past will be debuting fresh songs after their first wave of practising and shows in 2025.
Reversal of Man wrote about “aiming to have the ending we hoped for back in 2000.” In Loving Memory, Adobe Homes, Cienfuegos, Ostraca, Demersal, Poetry of Torch, Coup d’Etat, Votive, Boxcutter and Dear Evangeline all sent back updates on records, splits, lineup changes, tours, and what comes next. Some are dropping albums weeks before they land in Toronto. Some are still in mixing. A few are using NFF as a closer of one chapter and the opener of another.
The scene-report question pulled the densest writing in the doc. Reversal of Man going deep on Ybor City as a 19th-century punk corner of Tampa Bay. Cienfuegos placing their own work inside a Latin American DIY network across six countries. Poetry of Torch on Osaka and the loss of BEARS this year.
Both Toast and Kai from Boxcutter on Toronto, calling the city scrappy enough to “persist like roaches you can’t kill.” Dear Evangeline on Brampton’s near-total lack of physical spaces. Plus Ostraca on Richmond, Adobe Homes on Albuquerque, Coup d’Etat on Victoria, Votive on Austin, In Loving Memory on Des Moines, Ultra Love on Ottawa, and It’s You! It’s Me! And There’s Dancing! on Portland. Fifteen scene reports from fifteen different cities, all pointed at the same kind of work.
The cross-references between the answers are the most fun part. Six bands flagged Portraits of Past as the show they’ve been waiting decades for. Portraits of Past pointed straight back at other names on the bill.
Poetry of Torch and Portraits last shared a stage in Kobe in 2009. Ultra Love wrote about being a teenager in the late 90s thinking Reversal of Man was a band they’d never see live. Zegema Beach Festival came up over and over as the fest that shaped half the people now playing this one. The new-band recommendation thread alone spans Japan, Chile, Denmark, Argentina, Texas, Hamilton, Montréal and Australia, with picks from every band who answered.
The full roundtable, by band and by question, sits directly below this intro. Reversal of Man on Ybor City. Kai’s full Toronto essay. Cienfuegos on Latin America. Poetry of Torch on Osaka. Brian and Jen on Des Moines. All of it from the bands themselves, lightly edited. If you’re going to NFF ’26, or curious about who actually keeps an underground scene like this running, read it. Tickets and full lineup at newfriendsdiy.com.
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Tell us where the band sits right now. What you’ve been building toward, whether there’s a record or release on the way, where your head’s at creatively going into this year. Less the standard introduction, more the actual state of things and the work that’s currently in motion.
Portraits of Past: Portraits Of Past is back together, and a going concern focused on the future in 2026. After practicing together and playing a couple of shows last year, the music sounded good to us, and we were stoked to be doing music together again. The response we received to our limited touring in 2025 was mind-blowing and inspiring. We will be debuting a fresh song or two at New Friends Fest this August and look forward to sharing this new work with audiences.
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Reversal of Man: At this point, we’re aiming to have the ending we hoped for back in 2000.
Travelling together and truly enjoying each other’s company.
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Playing live some of the songs we’d written towards the band’s end (some of those are my absolute favorites to play).
Giving thanks to old and new friends who had – and thankfully, still do – a connection to this piece of art that a bunch of us kids made in the late 90’s.
Beyond that, we made a blood pact (with each other) that we’ll do it until it’s no longer fun – Joking about the blood, but we did make that pact over coffee.
In Loving Memory: The band has somehow been more active than we were when we first started back in high school! Last year we played more shows than we’ve ever played since reforming in 2023, hitting a bunch of places we’ve never been before, and this year we’re shaping up to match if not exceed that number.
We have also welcomed a new guitarist, Jeff Doll, to the band and our songwriting process has blossomed and matured significantly! We’ve been recording sporadically and working towards releasing a new full length in 2027.
We are so honored and proud to be creating new music, playing to amazing youthful and receptive crowds, and continuing to create music together as a group of friends who’ve known each other since our formative years. – Brian
Ostraca: we’ve got a lot going on right now! shortly before new friends, we’ll be doing a european tour for the first time in a couple years and going to a few places we’ve never been. we also have a new album coming out on june 26 and will be doing a release show for that here july 3 that we’re really looking forward to.
Demersal: We just released a new song called “Som Sendt Fra Himlen” and have more music coming up in the near future.
We’ve challenging our sound with more wind instruments and strings both live and in the studio, which has been quite fun. And also we’re playing at Roskilde Festival next month which is the biggest music festival in northern Europe, so kind of excited and nervous about that.
Adobe Homes: Well, first off, thank you for your time and ear, as it were. We took close to a 10 year break due to life situations. We came back together because we had a lot of unfinished work. We released a new record and have been so blessed to play several shows again. Currently we’re just feeling it all out. We don’t all live in the same states so it takes time to get things done, but we do have a few splits on the horizon and possibly another record. We’re really just enjoy being able to get back together and see all that’s going on and folks being excited to see us.
Cienfuegos: Creatively, we’re in a really strong place right now. We recently finished recording our new album, which consists of ten songs that we worked on for about a year and a half. We’re really happy with how the songwriting and composition turned out.
At the moment, we’re working on the mixing process, and after that we’ll move on to mastering before finally releasing the record. It’s been a long journey, and we’re excited for people to hear what we’ve been working on.
To help fund our upcoming tour, we’ve also been organizing a lot of benefit shows and DIY fundraising events. It’s been a lot of work, but it’s also brought us closer to our community and reminded us why we do this in the first place.
We’re incredibly excited about the bands we’ll get to meet and play with at New Friends, as well as during our trip to Mexico afterward. We’ll have the chance to share stages and spend time with great friends and amazing bands, which means a lot to us.
Overall, we’re putting a lot of heart into everything we’re doing right now. Between the new record, the upcoming tour, and all the work happening behind the scenes, we’re in a place where we feel genuinely excited and grateful as a band.
Poetry of Torch: This year, we’re planning to release several split albums.
Two of them are scheduled to be completed this month. We have a tour planned in Canada around the time of NFF, and a domestic tour in Japan with other visiting bands. Next year, we’re planning to release an album.
We also want to perform live in many more countries overseas.
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Coup d’Etat: We’re in our 3rd year as a band now and really hitting our stride creatively.
We have a new EP releasing through Zegema Beach Records, a tour in mid July across the west coast of canada and after NFF we’ll be hunkering down and really focusing on our next LP.
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Votive: We just released our second LP, ‘An Infinitive Capacity for Joy’ this spring on Persistent Vision and Dog Knights, which we have been finishing up a run of shows / tour supporting. The back half of 2026 will have some pretty big ‘life moves’ for the Votive camp, so we are being very intentional on what shows / commitments we sign on for. (Namely, NFF)
Boxcutter (Toast): We haven’t been playing as many shows recently and I think that’s for good reason—this year we’re focused on releasing splits with Our Wits & Tachyon, something that we’ve been working on for a couple years. We’ve also been in working on an LP… some of our most patient and thought-out work so far.
Our collaborator & occasional cellist Ryan moved to Ottawa to continue their work in anti-imperialist human rights work in the Philippines, but we’ve recently added our friend Jazz to the band as our second guitarist last year who has been really integral to the new songs we’ve been writing while we hone our sound. We’ve all started some side projects since our last release which I think has really informed the ways we write in this band. I think boxcutter couldn’t be the same without zuzu bailey, keening, GUTMACHINE, all of which are our sister bands whom we love dearly.
Boxcutter (Kai): We’ve all been really busy with the highs and lows of regular life (school, work, moving apartments, fighting evictions, booking shows, etc.) that have made it really hard for us to get in the same room, but we’re getting ready to hunker down and finish our debut LP that we’ve been poking away at since the end of 2024. It’s slow-moving but we’re hoping to be done with that by the end of the year and have it out in time for next year’s fest. It’s been a slog but that’s just the way it goes. Like Toast said, we’ve got some splits and other stuff that’s supposed to get out there very soon, as well as a tour up the East Coast to the Maritimes that we’re really excited about. We had a pretty quiet year last year, and hopefully that won’t be the case again before 2026 is over.
Ultra Love: Ultra Love has always been a passion project that seems to coalesce in the spaces between other major life events. With members starting families, living abroad, etc. After a few years of being relatively idle it’s nice that we are finally getting back into it. We have a new bass player that has allowed us to play more out of town shows which has been great. Excited to see what the future brings.
It’s You! It’s Me! And There’s Dancing!: Our next steps as a band are to keep touring, make new friends in new cities, and to put out some collaborative projects. Fortunately, these objectives all work really well together. It’s really just about meeting the right people who have the same goals and motivations as us to work with.
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Dear Evangeline: Our main focus and the logical next step for the band, after releasing our 2nd EP last year, is just writing and recording more songs for a quick promo tape and eventually an album, and getting to play outside of the Toronto area.
In terms of new material, we’re trying to get weirder, scarier, and deranged building off those initial 2 releases while sticking to what we’ve got going for us.
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Shit sucks for touring right now and we can’t cross the border into the states, so we’re really looking for any opportunity to play any place any time across Canada or in other continents (feeling ambitious). Our first experience leaving Ontario or Quebec was playing at Lawnya Vawnya fest in St. John’s Newfoundland, it really opened up our eyes to how amazing and fulfilling small town diy scenes can be even if we can’t reach any of the bigger markets in the US for the time being. We’re planning a pretty extensive diy tour across Canada and are super excited to play as much as possible and potentially get out of the continent for a couple shows in the future.
New Friends has gone from a hundred people to seven hundred plus over seven years and built itself into a destination in the process. Curious what you think a festival like this actually does for a band and for a community that touring or one off shows can’t. Does playing it shift anything about how you approach a set, or what you want it to mean?
Portraits of Past: I don’t really attend music festivals, and Portraits has only played two, as far as I can recall: More Than Music in Columbus in 1995 and King Of The Monsters in Mesa, AZ in 2026. On a personal level, I will say that it gives me a chance to hear and meet bands that I might have missed otherwise. And of course, Portraits always likes bringing our songs to new towns and listeners in the hopes they dig our sound.
Reversal of Man: Fests are a cultural immersion.
You put a weekend aside to get amongst it.
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I think spending multiple days in conversation threads, as bands serve as the segue and the ties that bind, expands, much further, the experience of a single show.
We converse, we break bread together, we connect…
As far as the idea of shifting our approach to a set; we’re a punk band, we play with the same energy to a filled room as we would to a garage filled with no one.
In Loving Memory: A lot of the shows we play tend to be festivals or in cities close to the locations of the festivals we’re playing. The first show we did after our original reunion shows in 2023 was in Philly at the first Dilly Dally Fest, and the experience completely changed our perspective on the band and the way it’s being received by the next generation of audiences! We discovered that we weren’t just a little local band from Des Moines anymore, but a band that was resonating with people from all over the US and the world. We were thrilled to be invited to NFF – playing Canada for the first time, and share our music with many new listeners as well as fans who’ve been with us all along. – Brian
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Demersal: It’s our first time at New Friends and also our first time in Canada! Lots of bands and people coming that we’ve only previously been in contact with online. We’ve sometimes felt a bit isolated coming from Europe and knowing about all the cool stuff happening in Canada and US, so it’s really special for us to be a part of the festival.
Adobe Homes: Pretty much everything for us is currently a one off show. Ha. But events like this are an amazing time for so many people to get together and enjoy themselves. I don’t know exactly how it affects bands, but for us… I mean if it was anything like ZBR Fest in Chicago last year, it will definitely rip us apart, emotionally, in the best way. As far as how we do our set, well, for something like this we aren’t doing the 17 minute sets we used to on tour, but going full force. You’re going to give us such an amazing opportunity, well, we’re going to give it our all.
Common Sage: Touring/one off’s never guarantee anything, which could of course sometimes be a bummer, or sometimes it can be a great surprise. I think festivals like NFF sort of bring a pretty good level of certainty to both the bands and the audience of what to expect. Playing NFF just makes us excited, which usually means we’ll bring more energy because we’ll have more energy, or want to express more. This Fest is iconic, the bands and the crowd are always the best they can be, so we’re obviously so excited to be a part of it and leave some sort of mark. whatever that is.
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Cienfuegos: Without a doubt, playing a festival where so many important bands in the genre come together, and where so many people with a shared passion for this music gather, is both a challenge and a huge motivation for us.
We’re really excited to be part of it, and we’re working hard to make sure we deliver a performance that lives up to the bands we’ll be sharing the stage with, like Portraits of Past, Ostraca, Joliette, and the rest of the lineup.
What makes a festival like New Friends special is that it’s more than just a show. It brings together bands, friends, and communities from different places around a shared love for this music. That’s something you don’t experience every day, and it’s a big part of what makes this opportunity so meaningful to us.
Poetry of Torch: First of all, we feel incredibly honored to be able to participate in New Friends.
I have always admired this festival, which is rooted in the spirit of DIY and continues to lead and maintain the scene by going even further.
At this festival, where the best bands from all over the world gather, we are very much looking forward to the new ways of thinking and cultures that will emerge through interaction between bands, with the festival organizers, and with everyone participating.
Furthermore, if the encounters at NFF can spark an interest in Japan, we believe it would have great significance for the Japanese community that loves this music and these activities.
Regarding the setlist, since we write lyrics in Japanese, we are conscious of creating a song structure that makes the lyrics easier to understand.
Coup d’Etat: Festivals like NFF are incredible opportunities for smaller bands like ourselves. I know we’ve all been working towards this festival in particular for our entire existence as a band. Touring is great and allows us to see so many new places and friends but festivals hold this mystique and the gathering of so many insanely talented bands just can’t be matched on tour. (Seriously I am so excited to see PoP).
Votive: New Friends definitely holds a special place for us, as it is Rohan’s opportunity to carry the weight on booking and step out of his role as passenger princess here in the states ;]
All kidding aside – Our first NFF was incredibly special and, outside of one of our favorite shows as a project, something we have looked forward to doing again for years. This NFF will be our last, scheduled, North America show with Rohan before he makes his big move to Germany – suffice to say our set will be particularly special regardless of what the future holds for the project.
Boxcutter (Toast): I still have my OG New Friends poster from 2018, it’s one of my most prized possessions. New Friends is always screamo summer camp to me; it’s where I’ve made a lot of my closest friends in this scene and boxcutter would probably have not been a band if it wasn’t for this festival.
It also feels like a snapshot of what screamo is like at this point each year; everyone comes from all over to show what they’ve been working on. It really showcases a lot of up and coming bands along with some bucket list billings. Some of my favourite bands I’ve discovered through this festival, and it’s always really interesting to see what the zeitgeist of screamo is every year.
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Boxcutter (Kai): I’m very sentimental about this—I’ve been an attendee since the start and played the very first set at the very first edition of the fest, long before I joined the team in 2023—but speaking as a part of New Friends, it’s been so cool to watch this tiny little “fest” that felt so small & tight-knit sprawl out to encompass so many people, bands & attendees alike.
I’ve met wonderful people from all over the world, many of whom tell me that it’s the best thing of its kind, and I wear that as a point of pride in what our scene is capable of. Toronto (and Canada as a whole) gets overlooked on a global scale so often when talking about this kind of music, and it’s been a dream to see us become a must-play destination for those who really care about this scene. I’m sure if you’d told us in 2018 that this fest would eventually book the likes of Raein, Saetia & pg.99, we wouldn’t believe you. Like, Portraits of Past? In your dreams!
Ultimately, the point of booking or playing this thing is that it extends your small corner of the scene out into the world at large, and reminds us that what we participate in is actually bigger than we sometimes realize. By building these connections with other people, you get a better sense of how much is possible through the hard work of DIY, and you leave with a broadened imagination. This started from nothing and has become something greater than all of us here in Toronto could have imagined, and that’s something worth nurturing.
With all that being said, we’re just trying to play our asses off and not screw up in front of a bunch of bands we admire.
Ultra Love: We feel honoured to have been asked to play NFF, as a patron of the fest from past years, I know first hand how great and supportive this community is and what a great time it is. I think the plan is just to play as well as we can.
It’s You! It’s Me! And There’s Dancing!: Getting in the van and hitting as many cities as we can is great. But for us, New Friends Fest is an opportunity to be seen by more people specifically in our little niche on a larger platform than we’ve ever had from any individual show. It’s a special gathering of people who really might resonate with what we do.
It’s exciting to think about being a part of a festival that we’ve seen friends go to, enjoy, and speak so highly of. And now the push comes to shove and we’ve been invited to play and get to be a part of something so exciting.
We aren’t really changing our approach to the performance at New Friends Fest, to be honest. We just want to bring the best, and most genuine, version of our band to the stage.
Dear Evangeline: New Friends fest specifically as a festival has become such a special and powerful force in not only Toronto but the entire country that I don’t think any sort of diy festival within the region can compare to
It’s a really unique experience at festivals to know that there will be people coming from crazy distances away that they’d never travel for if it were a smaller individual show like we’re used to playing.
When we approach a festival set versus a local/touring set it does feel like we’re actively making a first impression on the majority of an audience.
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Tell us about the place you come from. Not the tourist version of the scene, more what’s actually holding it up right now. Who’s doing the work, where the shows happen, what’s quietly disappearing, what’s growing. The texture of it.
Portraits of Past: In my adopted home of Los Angeles, I can say that it’s the most vibrant music town that I’ve lived in. There are a ton of sounds and bands of all sizes and genres, and in the last two years, after restarting Portraits, I’ve been checking out a ton of bands and venues. I like seeing music at Zebulon, Oblivion and Non Plus Ultra; and those last two venues seem to always have new and interesting music going on: hats off to the promoters there.
On the unfortunate flip side, where I used to live – and a few of my friends and bandmates are still hanging on – San Francisco does not seem to have such a vibrant environment for artists and music. It’s sad seeing our home zone shift in this way, but you’ve probably already read a few articles on the industry and cost-of-living problems in the Bay Area. There are still quite a number of good sounds coming out of the Bay, but it isn’t what it once was.
Reversal of Man: The band comes from many places; Orlando (Jeff and Jasen), DC (Jason), Seminole (Shaun and Dan), and Tampa (Myself).
Considering the band practices in Tampa Bay and has a shared history here, let’s call that home.
We’re all tied to Ybor City in some capacity. A sub-city within Tampa.
Ybor’s roots start in 1885. It was an immigrant epicenter. It was a cultural melting pot. It monetarily supported the anti-fascist brigades during the Spanish Civil War. And it was the first integrated city in the US that celebrated gender and labor equality.
It was punk 7 decades before the term punk was coined.
Coming full circle, it ended up becoming the punk epicenter of Tampa Bay.
It’s where the record stores, multiple venues, and vegetarian food existed.
We, as friends, and as a band, spent a lot of time there growing up.
It most definitely shaped us.
Now, Ybor still hosts shows at the Crowbar. A couple miles east is the Skatepark of Tampa who has also hosted punk shows since their inception in 1993. But over the past couple years, SPoT has definitely become the new epicenter of the DiY hardcore scene.
Elliot from Locust Parade, Keith and Susy Ulrey from New Granada and Microgroove, Tom Stevens, and Armageddon Records are holding things together at a variety of venues.
Tampa Bay is a good place to be.
In Loving Memory: While Des Moines, IA was a little oasis for all genres of underground music when we were growing up in the late 90’s/early 00’s. It has sadly turned back into a bit of a forgotten stop along the way in the midwest.
While the hardcore scene still seems to book shows, the kids are sadly not coming out to the emo/screamo bands that occasionally pass through, which is few and far between. We have also seen a lot of our prominent classic smaller music venues close their doors over the past years. I don’t give up hope though, music always finds a way and music tastes and interests are always changing. Hopefully one day I will be able to tag along with my daughter and see a room once again filled with kids figuring out a way to gather and appreciate some new genre of stuff I’ve never even heard of yet! – Jen
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Ostraca: Richmond, like lots of places, has been a pretty active hub for screamo in the past couple years, which has been great! it does seem like there are kind of two scenes that are a little divided between the older and younger people in the scene – not that there’s zero crossover, and in fact i’d say we feel fortunate to be a band that plays on both sides, so to speak.
Unfortunately, also like many places, our handful of local venues has been kind of shaky over the past few years with a couple really important places either shutting down entirely or backing away from regular shows, which is also disheartening. but other spots have stepped up and i see shows happening at places i haven’t even heard of, which is always a pleasant surprise. so yeah, there’s plenty of interest and a handful of people working hard to make things happen, but really the pinch right now is decent all ages venues that don’t take half the door.
Adobe Homes: Albuquerque is an interesting city. It’s huge and small at the same time. You can always run into a friend or someone you’re not so found of, but we all get on to the next day. It’s dry and hot at times and like any other place, can bring ya down. But it is what it is. I know that’s just a bunch of nonsense, but I feel like that’s Albuquerque. It’s good enough if you’re willing to look around.
As far as the scene goes, it’s been really going off again. There’s a venue called Ren’s Den that has been so good for the scene. So many shows happen and so many younger humans go any night of the week. Seriously, it’s wild to see high schoolers at grindcore shows again and be stoked. It makes me stoked and reminds be of being there, in their shows, 20+ years ago.
Cienfuegos: We’re really happy with what’s happening in our scene right now. One of the most beautiful things about it is how it constantly feeds itself. The older or more established bands draw energy from the newer bands that keep emerging, while those newer bands grow out of a scene that has been built over many years.
At one point, all of us were just kids in the crowd going to shows and looking up to the bands we loved. Now we’re the ones on stage, and hopefully we’re passing that same energy on to a new generation. Seeing younger people get excited, start bands, and create their own projects is probably the most important part of all of this.
At the same time, we don’t see the scene as something limited to our city or even our country. Across Latin America—from Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Chile—there’s a really strong DIY network connecting bands, promoters, and communities. People are organizing tours, putting on shows, and helping each other, and it’s been working incredibly well.
What excites us the most is that this sense of community goes beyond one local scene. We’re constantly learning from and contributing to what’s happening across hardcore punk, screamo, and emo throughout the region. That exchange of energy and ideas is a big part of what keeps everything alive.
Poetry of Torch: We are based in Osaka, Japan’s second-largest city.
Live music venues like Hokage, STOMP, 0g, and Para-dise support our beloved music and activities.
BEARS, in particular, is a highly influential venue, but its closure this year is greatly regretted.
*There are also talks of relocation.
Within the scene, the number of young bands, led by house of the blood choir, as well as bands that are newly resuming activities, has increased. It seems to be gradually becoming more active.
Coup d’Etat: Victoria is a scene that is constantly in flux, small and dedicated. The city is home to so many legendary bands but most of our venues keep getting shut down (that also extends to Vancouver). I’ve seen this scene kept alive by grind, crust and death metal while screamo and hardcore hit a decline. Right now in 2026 there’s this wonderful surge of new bands that are in full bloom, any genre you could think of, mixed bills galore, it’s a beautiful thing to witness.
There’s so much fresh blood keeping this scene alive from Troy (The Action Index) a legend in the local scene who still after 15+ years keeps putting on great all ages shows to Josh (burner.phone.booking) breathing new life into our storied screamo scene. The future of the Victoria scene looks bright and we are so happy to be a part of where it is in this moment.
Votive: Iv lived in Austin around 15 years after moving from San Antonio, Texas – and like many other cities it has gone through multiple peaks and valleys particularly for the ‘screamo’ scene. Austin has a deep tradition for ‘heavy’ music of different stripes, and we have really tried to be intentional on playing with bands from across different ‘scenes’ (Metal, hardcore, industrial, doom, etc.) Austin does trend towards being segmented across different genres – and it’s not uncommon for specific venues/spaces/houses to cater for a particular brand of metal, etc.
I will shout out our vocalist, Kyle, who has been consistent in booking DIY shows in Austin since moving here many years back. The primary ‘goal’ for shows that we’ve organized has been keeping all ages whenever and however possible.
Boxcutter (Toast): Toronto’s not the centre of the universe, but it sure feels like it to me. It feels crazy to feel the kinds of through-lines this scene has, from the mathy post-hardcore of animal faces to the stoner-y screamo of Terry Green to the metallic emoviolence of Body Nest. It feels like we’re all in conversation with each other and that it’s beyond individual bands; it’s a really diverse scene of sounds.
Growing up, we played with all these people in different bands, and now we’re all in new things ourselves. It feels perennial. All flowers fade, all blooms rot, but there’s always a new spring.
Boxcutter (Kai): Toronto is a really tricky city for punk & hardcore music—on one hand, we have a very rich tradition of amazing bands that have sustained our scenes through the lean years (and there’s definitely more attendance now than there maybe ever has been), but on the other hand, it’s often very difficult to make ends meet enough to participate.
Greg of Not Dead Yet is always the first to shut down any talk of “running out of venues”, and it’s true that it’s often a little overstated, but there is some substance to the fact that there’s just about nowhere to put on an all ages show for cheap. There’s a new crop of kids that have been getting their hands dirty trying to find places that’ll do it, and I commend them greatly for their effort & dedication.
The fact of the matter is that Toronto is fucking expensive, and the rising rents continue to choke out the arts in all forms, whether that’s in the form of increasingly fewer places to play & practice for a reasonable rate, or would-be musicians dedicating more & more of their time to paying the bills. You can’t really just live in a punk house and work part-time here anymore, and it hasn’t been that way for years. Places like Soybomb, Double Double Land & D-Beatstro were basically the last of their kind, and that was nearly a decade ago. The momentum has swung back over to dive bars & legit venues for now, but a part of me hopes we can buck that trend again soon. However, we’re a very scrappy city, and we persist like roaches you can’t kill. Big shout out to the venues that treat us right, places like Saint Stephen’s, The Baby G, The Arcade, The Dock Ellis & Handlebar.
Scene-wise: it finally feels like the capital H bubble has started to burst, which is such a relief—the last thing this place needs is more mosh metal or yet another self-aware democore band. I sorely miss the hardcore punk that this city was best at for so long, but fingers crossed we’re on our way back with bands like Kleener & Zero Bars carrying the torch (jury’s still out on whether kids will actually care or if they just wanna mosh). The noise & grind scenes are especially vibrant right now thanks to the continuing efforts of More Noise Please & Coward Patrol. Emo/screamo/post-hardcore has been so insular for so long but it’s starting to spread out more to new faces as the old pillars dissolve (R.I.P. Terry Green) & start new projects—special mention goes to Underwater Basket Weaving, We Could Go on Tour, Insomniak, Foxgloves & Siamese Connection. My biggest observation has been that we’re seeing an entirely separate scene form parallel to the ones I’m used to frequenting, and it’s being driven entirely by kids looking for something to do & finding DIY in the process; my sincere hope is that the dedicated ones stick around once the novelty wears off.
Ultra Love: I feel like I’ve been seeing a lot more shows happening with new promoters and venues popping up around Ottawa and Gatineau. Including an All Ages venue which is refreshing to see. I remember how important all ages spaces were to me when I grew up in Northern Ontario.
It’s You! It’s Me! And There’s Dancing!: We really admire the work done by groups like Friends of Noise, Mallbrawlreds, and Sad Times. They’re always pushing to create persistent environments for events, even when Portland doesn’t make it easy. Whether that’s organizing shows at multiple small venues, putting together a block party style event, or buying your own venue so no one can tell you what shows you can and can’t do.
There’s a lot of enthusiastic young people getting into this kind of music in Portland. Lots of young bands, too. It’s really cool.
Dear Evangeline: Growing up in a suburb like Brampton made it hard to find our people initially. We currently don’t have physical spaces to be together. Any venue that pops up gets shut down, community centres stop allowing us to host, all we really have is V’s (of Scab) garage and Bramalea Lions hall. But it’s the people that really make FCHC what it is. Making things happen in Brampton, considering we have to put even more effort into organizing, makes shows feel even more meaningful. Shoutout Jake and Kevin for making things happen.
Related to that, any bands you’ve discovered in 2024 or 2025 that genuinely stuck with you. Names that deserve attention even if the algorithm hasn’t caught up. Local, international, doesn’t matter. The ones you keep going back to.
Portraits of Past: After years, even decades, of only listening to old bands, some of my favorite newer music that I’ve seen lately in California includes Agriculture, Nuvolascura, Cheree, Kathryn Mohr, February, Habak and many others. Portraits Of Past has been lucky to share the stage with many of these groups, plus reunited Reversal Of Man, Saetia, In Loving Memory, and others you’ve heard of. On a broader level, other records that have caught my ear lately are Big Brave, Pink Breath of Heaven, The Cure, Faetooth, Guck, Se Vende, and Neurosis.
Reversal of Man: We were just sonically overwhelmed (in a good way) at the King of the Monster’s 31st.
Although these three bands are by no means new, they are (IMO) so important to our DiY scene:
Firstly, Portraits of Past.
Loving them for over 3 decades and then FINALLY getting to see them live was an emotional experience. We’re so incredibly happy to see them again at NFF.
Dropdead, Policy of Three, and Prevail. Still SO relevant in 2026.
As far as new to me (not speaking for the band):
If anyone caught the KOTM list, I’d have to list every band on it.
Febuary, Heavenbound, Dry Socket, My friend – my urn, Spritiste, Common Wounds, Body Farm, etc…
We had the honor of playing with Coherence, ACxDC and Othiel out west.
All of them delivered incredible energy.
And Knumears – Hoping to see them this year.
Locally in Florida; Thrull, Novely, and Meatwound get me real stoked.
In Loving Memory: I have to say getting back into the screamo scene has been so refreshing! We have had the honor to play with so many amazing bands that have turned into my everyday music playlists, for real.
Off the top of my head some current “new band” favorites have been: Holder, Guilt, Theyhungusfrompowerlines, Arranged in April, Concealer, Circa 40, The Test Dream, I promised the World, Rosasharin, Febuary, Told Not to Worry, Silk, Pyre, Love Letter, Dreamwell, Bulletsbetweentongues, Blouse, Catalyst, godfuck, Widowdusk, Dead Butterflies, Clay Birds, My Point of You, Your Arms are My Cocoon….
I could go on and on, there’s so many!!! There is so so so much good music constantly coming out, it is one bright light in an otherwise dark world right now. – Jen
Ostraca: Recentish screamo sets/records i’ve been impressed by are nuvolascura, othiel, votive, olth, and fingerswoventogether. outside screamo, prisoner and silver wings are two cool bands in richmond right now.
Demersal: Danish bands worth checking out: Omsorg, Kollapse, Vægtløs, Eyes, Syl, Hiraki, Meejah, Hudsult, Salver
Adobe Homes: Well, locally, in my mind the best band is Crime Lab. They are so amazing, and two of them helped play on our last album. There are a lot of amazing local bands. Goodness, let’s see: Spectral Decay, WeedRat, Self-Neglect, and Night Child. Outside of Albuquerque, oh goodness, I’m not ever ready to open that up… I mean, I’m so excited that our dear friends in Lord Snow will be going off this summer. Oh, and I’m super excited to finally hear some new Flesh Born!
Common Sage: always want to show love to our locals: Stay Inside, Ultra Deluxe, Modern Day Machines, Semaphor, Bummer Camp (new album absolutely rules), Fake Pollocks.
Cienfuegos: There are a lot of bands we’ve been listening to lately. From Chile, we’d definitely recommend Niño Symbol ohhh!, who recently released their first full-length record after being inactive for more than fifteen years. From Argentina, Mis Sueños Son de Tu Adiós and Warren have been on heavy rotation for us. We’ve also been listening to De Carne e Flor from Brazil, and Cassus and Tenue from europe. There are honestly so many great bands coming out of the screamo, emo, and hardcore punk scenes right now. Those are just a few that we’ve been going back to a lot recently.
Poetry of Torch: In Japanese bands, there are Ixtab, inverted clap, 不夜城 (Fuyajou), bear knuckle, Fridays Dinner, ulm, and still i regret. I want you to listen to their recordings, and if there’s a chance, I also want you to see their live performances.
When it comes to overseas acts,
GIL CERRONE, KERATIN, blind equation, crowning, black nail, and PUNXSUTAWEY really left a strong impression on me.
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Coup d’Etat: There’s so many incredible bands everywhere right now locally we have to shout out A Recorded Dawn who is going on tour cross Canada in June and is probably our favourite band in Victoria. Treewell is incredible and their demo is awesome especially for how young they are, Emma Goldman, Jisei, Taking Tiger Mountain, Hillsboro, Often Wrong, somethingtoremember, Terrifying Girls High School & Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the dead all in Vancouver, Lakeside Amusement Park in Kelowna, fingerswoventogether, Serrate, Boxcutter, …anditsnamewasepyon, Meike, Rhododendron and like all of our fellow performers at NFF.
Votive: We have had the opportunity to tour with some really incredible bands over the last few years who, I’m very happy to say, will be joining this year at NFF. (Namely, Ostraca, New Forms, and Quiet Fear.)
In Texas, as has ever been the case, there’s a few projects I’d easily recommend: Flesh Born (Denton) Shoganai (Austin) Skratz (Austin) Porcelain (Austin) Rose Ceremony (Austin) Deep Cross (Austin) Assorted Potions (Austin). I’ll continue to hold out hope for my personal all time favorite ’emoviolence’ band reuniting Tentacles (San Antonio).
Boxcutter (Kai): Superworld has been my #1 obsession over the last year or so and my #1 band that I’m DYING to see live; please go out of your way to dig their record that came out a few months back. One Thousand Times Goodnight (the best emo band in the country) are calling it quits and breaking my heart, but they made sure to give us an instant classic EP before they go (“Let’s Get Meaningless!” is the best track, a perfect earworm). Computer Science & One Trillion Bees are 2 Montréal bands that put out dope records last year (I had the pleasure of booking Computer Science at a mini-fest I booked here in the spring).
Limbs May Fall from Australia put out an insane 7″ through Hobbledehoy that I went through the trouble of ordering cause it’s just that good. I stumbled upon a 2-song release from a band called 生活 (which seems to translate to “Life”) from Japan on Bandcamp that’s fucking unreal—incredibly passionate emo/screamo that I desperately need more of. Serotonin Mist (also from Japan) released an awesome LP in the winter that blew me away.
Cootie Catcher was briefly Toronto’s best kept secret and I’m very, very happy to see them breaking out. Public Health from Hamilton had one of the best records of the 2025 (worldwide, mind you), an album that I still can’t believe was made by a bunch of 20-year-olds. Unbelievable fucking record. Go seek that one out right now if you’re into angular, sprawling noise rock & post-punk; I helped them press the vinyl, that’s how much I like it. Finally, I’d be remiss not to shout out Sundowner’s “Work Dream” LP from last year that kicked everybody’s ass and now serves as a bittersweet finale in the life of both an incredible band and an incredible human being—we all miss Nick very much.
Ultra Love: Very much because I just caught them both at Prepare the Ground in Toronto last weekend but I’ve been listening to a lot of Portrayal of Guilt and Oathbreaker lately.
It’s You! It’s Me! And There’s Dancing!: There’s bands everywhere doing things we really admire with approaches we really respect. Bands like Ultra Deluxe, Just Let Me Go, Gonzales!, Belted Sweater, Floral Tattoo, theyhungusfrompowerlines, PRETENDING, Coma Regalia, and of course our fellow NFF performers from Portland, The Names of Our Friends.
Dear Evangeline: Invisible hand, Tunnel vision.
Coolest music friend/discovery we made through New Friends Fest in 2025 were Damián Antón Ojeda project (letterstoyou, life, sadness)
Slash neeeeeeed, Truck violence, Piss, Latter.
Beyond New Friends, which festivals still feel like they mean something to you. The ones doing it right, the small ones that fly under the radar, the ones that shaped you early on. Not asking for a list, more curious about why those specific ones land.
Portraits of Past: I don’t really go to festivals unless we are playing them, as my brain and old back can’t really handle seeing more than a few bands at a time, but I see the importance of getting a ton of good bands together in one place for a weekend. A well-curated and run fest is a killer vibe for the younger folks. We greatly enjoyed playing King Of The Monsters this May in Mesa, AZ.
Reversal of Man: Historically, I think More than Music fest in Columbus, Ohio laid the groundwork for everything after it. The name says it all…
We’ve had the opportunity to play three fests this past year, and all of them have been incredibly worthy of mention. And, I think, very much carry the MTMF’s ethos.
Key themes would most definitely be vibe, venue(s), food options, and spaces for gathering/conversation between sets for cultural immersion.
The KOTM 31st Soiree:
We just got back from Mesa, AZ., where Mike from King of the Monsters and Brendan from Protagonist Music put together the KOTM 31st anniversary Sioree.
Putting the event’s “vibe” into words is going to be really difficult for me; it was perfect.
The line up was a freight train. Every band brought so much energy.
Mike curated a truly perfect (and diverse) collection of bands.
Beyond that, the layout of the Rosetta Room (the event’s host/space) was perfectly conducive for a celebration of DiY music; one room for bands, and one separate room (muted enough) where everyone could converse.
And the Rosetta Room’s staff, quite literally, took care of everyone. There were two instances where a staff member checked on me to make sure I wasn’t overheated (AZ in summer is, well, AZ in summer).
I saw hundreds of punks smiling, consistently, from ear to ear, for the 48 hours we were there.
It’s been a week since we got back, I’m still feeling the positive vibes, and can’t get over our invite to have been a part of such a meaningful weekend.
Dark Days, Bright Nights (Richmond, Va.):
Mike Taylor.
There’s few people that put so much sweat equity in DiY Punk.
Beyond running his own label (Persistent Vision) and being an active member of Pg. 99, his hosting of DDBN goes above and beyond.
Again, another perfectly curated and diverse event within a beautiful and historic artist space in Richmond.
They say your olfactory sense is one of the main physiological contributors to memories; I can still remember the smell of this venue and it brings nothing but overwhelmingly good vibes.
Thanks Mike; a truly incredible human giving so much back to this punk ethos we adore.
Gainesville Fest (Gainesville, Florida): I’m not sure if there’s another town in the US that, quite literally, shuts down and turns into a continuous punk show for three days.
I found myself, on multiple occasions, jogging from one venue to another so I wouldn’t miss bands. And in doing so, I think I got to sample each venue. 10 total, maybe more?
Beyond the bands, the food offerings in Gainesville were/are top notch, and the cultural experiences were more than I can hope for.
To watch Jim Saah present a history of his photography (of the DC punk scene) at an amazing Indy Book store, then walk down the road to see Swing Kids play, was something I’d never thought I’d witness in a million years.
Gainesville Fest is truly a cultural immersion.
In Loving Memory: As mentioned earlier, Dilly Dally in Philly was an absolute eye opener for us and is curated by Dove and Aloe who are some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Your Renaissance in LA was mind blowing for us, seeing such a huge crowd going wild for our old homies Spirit of Versailles, and new friends Portraits of Past, along with a very well curated lineup of amazing new and classic bands.
No Sleep Fest in Houston was also incredible and kind of showed us that we can play alongside some of the tougher, more hardcore bands playing out there these days, and was a super fun experience! Clam Jam in Rhode Island is another one that we’ve had the pleasure to play with an extremely well curated bill of bands from New England and beyond.
Lastly, In Good Hands in South Florida was an incredibly fun experience playing a fantastic DIY space with some of the best bands Florida has going these days! Long story short, Fests are some of our favorite shows to play. We love seeing all the new generation of bands playing as well as meeting and playing with some of the bands we grew up listening to, and we are deeply honored to be invited to play canada for the first time at NFF!! – Brian
Ostraca: cry me a river in germany was always a festival i dreamt about going to when i was first getting into screamo since i always idolized so many german/european bands from afar – getting to play a few years ago was great. some friends in richmond have put together a noise/adjacent festival here in the fall called CSX that i’m really looking forward to.
Adobe Homes: Well… We haven’t had the privilege of getting to do too many festivals other than last year and doing ZBR fest was an absolutely mind blowing time. I, personally, have been going to those several years in a row, and to finally play one… it was amazing! Also, last summer we got to play California Kicks fest and that was also an honor and an amazing time. I hope to do that one again. Ha
Cienfuegos: This is a question we really connect with because, besides being a band, we’re also part of a collective called Todos Nuestros Mañanas Terminan Hoy. Through that collective, we’ve been organizing a DIY festival of the same name for over six years.
In the beginning, we were inspired by festivals ZBR, CMAR and Miss the Stars, and in recent years we’ve looked closely at what New Friends has been building. Even though our festival is much smaller, we share a similar vision of creating meaningful spaces for people to connect through music.
Over the years we’ve been able to bring bands from different countries, strengthen connections within the scene, and help create new opportunities. That’s why festivals like New Friends mean so much to us—they show how powerful a community can be when people build something together.
Poetry of Torch: This is definitely Zegema Beach Festival. ZBR also released my split with my best friend, agak.
I’m truly grateful to Dave for giving me the opportunity to pursue my dream of working outside of Japan. I often feel lonely in Japan, but that place was overflowing with love for the scene.
I’m also keeping an eye on A World Of Our Own Fes, which a friend is organizing in Berlin this year.
Coup d’Etat: Zegema Beach Festival is maybe not a small festival but to us it is absolutely an important one. We can’t thank the Daves over at ZBR enough for everything they’ve done. Loud Qathet was the first festival we played and they rule, definitely go check them out.
Votive: Iv had the opportunity to play a few fests, both in the US and abroad, across a few projects over the years. ZBR (CA), Miss the Stars (DE), and Oblivion Access (TX) have been/were very well done. Austin’s SXSW was, historically, one that held a special place in my heart as it’s where a lot of my energy/effort into booking DIY went over my years living here. SXSW has definitely soured as of late, but holding out hope that something fills in a similar place in the coming years.
Boxcutter (Toast): ZBR has always been really formative for Kai and Jazz, which has had a huge effect on the band. Back when ZBR was in town, the city was starting to really swell with local activity and they’ve been putting out incredibly formative records for all of us through the years.
Our buddy Willa Coward who runs Public Seating DIY in Kitchener-Waterloo put on Wrecker Fest last year which was crazy. Lots of favourite bands from all different genres, like A Horse Named Friday, Neurotypes, Piper Maru. KW has been popping off in the last couple of years; we played our first show there when we started and had lovely times going back there ever since.
We were in Hamilton last year for Yourin Fested the same weekend that we were recording some material, which set the tone for more hardcore stuff that we’ve been listening to these days. Luther is a great booker and advocate for Hamilton; he’s putting on a NFF pre-show there a couple days before the fest that’ll be sick.
It’s You! It’s Me! And There’s Dancing!: Coming at this as a band that doesn’t have a bunch of frequent festival goers in it, we get really excited seeing what’s going on with California Kicks, ZBR fest, and very much so New Friends Fest. Without trying to gas it up too much specifically.
I remember a couple years back, our friends in Pillbug telling us how great the festival was. And how we should really go with them some time. It sounded exciting. And being invited before we could make that happen is just about the coolest thing in the world to us.
Dear Evangeline: LAWNYA VAWNYA
Anyone on the NFF ’26 bill you’re especially excited about. Bands you’ve crossed paths with before, ones you’ve been waiting to see in a room, or names you’ve only heard about secondhand. Specific picks welcome.
Portraits of Past: Personally, I’m excited to finally share a stage with our friends Rainer Maria, whom I’ve been lucky enough to catch a couple of times in the last few years. They always put on a solid & heartfelt show. Rainer is perhaps the most sincere band of all time! Further down the bill, I love seeing Quiet Fear, Clay Birds, and The Names Of Our Friends, all of whom I’ve seen or played with in the last couple years. Many of the other names are new to me, so I look forward to being turned on to some sonics I’m not familiar with yet.
Reversal of Man: Ostraca.
Richmond, Va. delivers, always.
Othiel and New Forms.
To meet up with and to see the NoMan crew after so many years (RoM played a lot of shows with majority Rule), is extremely exciting.
Portraits of Past. Although I just saw them live, I could watch them again and again.
NFF, like the KOTM fest back in May, has a lineup most of which I’ve not heard (personally, again, not speaking for the band).
But like KOTM, I will be leaving with a roster of new favorites – happens at every fest for me.
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In Loving Memory: I listened to Rainer Maria’s “Past Worn Searching” vinyl so much in high school, almost every night before bed so it will be a dream to see them in real life! We shared a green room with Portraits of Past at YR Ren and it was a blast, so excited to see those guys again. Clay Birds is so amazing and inspiring, love them so much. Its such a fun bill, I am looking forward to discovering some new stuff while we are there. – Jen
Ostraca: haven’t had a chance to see portraits of past yet, very much looking forward to their set. poetry of torch was awesome in osaka last summer, excited to see them again. adobe homes are going to have a hard time outdoing the last time i saw them in a living room in albuquerque like ten years ago, but i’ll be happy to see them try.
Demersal: Excited about many bands. Espesially excited to finally get to see Ostraca and Portraits Of Past live though. Huge inspirations for us as a band!
Adobe Homes: I don’t care to narrow it down on all the amazing bands.. I’m excited for it all. I’m really excited for all the humans there to be a part of the fest! For anyone maybe reading this, I hope you’re super excited too. I hope to catch you in the crowd singing along, or better yet, I hope to pass the mic to you during our set, so you can be a part of us. Can’t wait!
Common Sage: we’re touring with our friends in Dikembe the week before NFF, but very excited to see them in Canada, No Man is amazing, Carissa’s Weird are literal Legends, Ostraca are amazing.
Cienfuegos: We’re really excited to share a stage again with our friends in Joliette and Quiet Fear. At the same time, we’re looking forward to seeing some truly iconic bands for the first time, like Portraits of Past, Ostraca, and Reversal of Man.
Honestly, the whole lineup is incredible. There are so many bands we love and respect, and we’re excited not only to play, but also to spend the weekend watching great sets and connecting with people.
Poetry of Torch: Ostraca, The Names of Our Friends, Votive, Demersal, Clay Birds, Adobe Homes, the caution children
All the bands I performed with at ZBRFes and in Osaka last year were amazing. I’m really looking forward to seeing them live again.
And I was lucky enough to share the stage with Portraits of Past in Kobe back in 2009. More than ten years have passed, and I’m really looking forward to seeing them perform live again.
Coup d’Etat: It’s a bit of a cop out answer but we’re genuinely so stoked to play with all of these awesome bands. If we had to narrow it down, Portraits of Past (i mean come on) Reversal of Man, Ostraca, Boxcutter, …anditsnamewasepyon, Clay Birds
Votive: We have a ton of pals playing so the friendship convergence may reach dangerously elevated levels. Poetry of Torch absolutely blew everyone away at ZBR so them for sure. Despised Icon closing out the fest will be insane.
Boxcutter (Toast): …and its name was epyon was one of our primary influences when we started the band, so it feels like a huge full circle moment for us.
Boxcutter (Kai): I got to see Portraits of Past’s first show back at Yr Renaissance in L.A. and it was everything I’d always dreamed it’d be since I found them in high school; unbelievable band, they’ve still got it. The Caution Children are one of my all-time favourites and it’s always so transcendent to experience them live. Star 99 put out one of the best records of the year last year and I’m very much looking forward to seeing & meeting them for the first time. Cienfuegos (all the way from Chile) & Poetry of Torch (one of my favourite sets from last year’s ZBR Fest) are gonna rule—definitely make sure you don’t miss them.
Ultra Love: There’s a ton to be excited about this year! When I first heard Reversal of Man as a teenager in the late nineties/ early 2000’s I was floored, I hadn’t heard anything like it. Being able to see them live wasn’t something I thought would ever happen, let alone being able to play the same festival. No Man is a personal favourite of mine and I can’t wait to see their newest tracks live. It’ll be nice to see our friends in underwater basket weaving again as well. I know I’m gonna be blown away by so many of the other acts, I’m really looking forward to it!
It’s You! It’s Me! And There’s Dancing!: Lord Snow is a pretty big deal for us. And it’s also really cool to be a part of the same festival as Tomb Mold. In what universe other than this one would we be playing the same event as Tomb Mold? Lol.
Dear Evangeline: Carissa’s wierd and Lord Snow were some of the last bands I’d expect us to share a bill with, and I know high school me would go crazy if I told her that were happening.
Ostraca: Though we can see Body Nest whenever we want, every time we get to play with them we are totally blown away.
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