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Venue: The Ritz City: Raleigh, North Carolina Tour: I Used to Go to This Bar Tour Date: June 12, 2026 Featuring: Joyce Manor, Saturdays at Your Place, Koyo Genres: Punk Rock, Emo, Melodic Hardcore, Alternative Rock, Midwest Emo Photos by: Arielle Johnson Some tour packages are built around a shared history. Others are built around a shared future. Friday night's stop of Joyce Manor's I Used to Go to This Bar Tour at The Ritz in Raleigh felt firmly rooted in the latter. Featur

By: Arielle Johnson Why classic albums from the emo, post-hardcore, and metalcore boom are drawing some of the biggest crowds in rock. For decades, anniversary tours were largely reserved for classic rock legends revisiting landmark records. Today, the format has become one of the most powerful forces in alternative music. Across the country, bands from the emo, post-hardcore, punk, and metalcore worlds are finding enormous success by celebrating beloved albums in their entir

By Arielle Johnson Festival bookings, viral exposure, and crossover appeal are reshaping one of underground music's most resilient communities. For decades, hardcore existed as one of music's most fiercely independent subcultures. Built on DIY ethics, intimate venues, and community-driven values, the genre rarely sought mainstream validation. Today, however, hardcore finds itself in an unfamiliar position: at the center of one of heavy music's most significant cultural shifts

By: Arielle Johnson Nostalgia remains one of the most powerful forces in live music, and few genres have embraced it more enthusiastically than metalcore. The latest example comes from Underoath, who recently announced a major anniversary tour celebrating one of the defining eras of their career. Joined by August Burns Red and Atreyu on select dates, the run promises to deliver a concentrated dose of early-2000s heavy music history. For fans who came of age during the height

Venue: The Pyrle City: Greensboro, North Carolina Tour: Never Take Friendship Personal Tour Date: May 29, 2026 Featuring: Anberlin, Emery, Watashi Wa Genres: Alternative Rock, Emo, Post-Hardcore, Indie Rock, Christian Rock Photos by: Arielle Johnson Anberlin brought their Never Take Friendship Personal 20th Anniversary Tour to The Pyrle in downtown Greensboro, NC, joined by Emery and Watashi Wa, for more than a celebration of a landmark 2005 alternative rock record—it became

By: Arielle Johnson From thriving independent venues to major festival draws, North Carolina's music ecosystem is attracting attention far beyond its borders. For years, North Carolina has occupied a unique space in American music culture. The state has long produced influential artists across folk, indie rock, bluegrass, punk, and hip-hop, yet it often existed just outside the national spotlight reserved for music hubs like Nashville, Austin, Los Angeles, and New York. That

Venue: Special Events Center (Greensboro Coliseum Complex) City: Greensboro, North Carolina Tour: Tekkno World Tour Date: May 20, 2026 Featuring: Electric Callboy, Polaris, Scene Queen Genres: Electronicore, Metalcore, Dance Metal, Alternative Metal, EDM Fusion Few modern bands have redefined expectations within heavy music quite like Electric Callboy. Bringing their explosive TANZNEID WORLD TOUR to the Special Events Center in Greensboro on May 20, 2026, joined by special gu

Venue: The Fillmore Charlotte City: Charlotte, North Carolina Tour: I Love You But I Chose The Maine Tour Date: April 23, 2026 Featuring: The Maine, Nightly, Grayscale, and Moody Joody Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop Rock, Indie Rock, Emo Pop Photos by: Arielle Johnson Some bands survive changing trends. Others build careers that transcend them entirely. Nearly two decades after first emerging as one of the defining voices of the alternative and pop-rock scene, The Maine return

Venue: The Fillmore Charlotte Location: Charlotte, North Carolina Tour: Spring Horizons Tour Date: April 21, 2026 Featuring: Boys Like Girls, idkhow, Arrows in Action Genre: Alternative Rock, Pop-Rock, Indie Pop, Pop-Punk Photos by: Arielle Johnson On a night that perfectly captured the evolution of alternative music across multiple generations, the Soundtrack of Your Life Tour brought Boys Like Girls, iDKHOW (I Don't Know How But They Found Me), and Arrows in Action to The F

If you are so stuck on your same emo playlist from 2008 that you can't shake out of it, here's some recommendations to bring new, and familiar, sounds to your ears. We're going by GENERAL GENRES here folks. There's so many words to describe the music that these artists make but around here, we're sticking to the basics (mostly because I can't keep up with all of the subgenres properly). If you are offended by how I categorized your favorite band, correction will be accepted i

Venue: The Fillmore Charlotte Location: Charlotte, North Carolina Tour: Spring Horizons Tour Date: April 14, 2026 Featuring: August Burns Red, The Amity Affliction, Boundaries, Heavensgate Genre: Metalcore, Post-Hardcore, Heavy Music The Spring Horizons Tour arrived at The Fillmore Charlotte with one of the strongest metalcore lineups currently touring North America, featuring Pennsylvania metalcore veterans August Burns Red, Australian post-hardcore powerhouse The Amity Affl

Picture this: you're tying up your converse, loading your arms with bracelets, packing your backpack... don't forget sunscreen. Your youthful body is gearing up for several days of wear and tear. You show up, and it's all worth it. Consecutive days of sweat, tears, yelling at the top of your lungs, spending way too much money on merch, trying to catch sets that overlap. In the end you saw bands you've never heard of, those you have been listening to since the beginning, and

New releases just dropped and we can't wait for you to hear them! Here's a recap of what's new in the alternative music scene through April 11, 2026. Check out our playlist below and then tell us which one you've had on repeat!

The Mars Volta have announced select shows that will see them playing material from throughout their 25 year career. Are they coming to your city? Grab your tickets here: https://www.themarsvoltaofficial.com/live Sept 8 @ Ventura Theater Ventura, CA Sept 9 @ La Rosa Tucson, AZ Sept 10 @ Abraham Chavez Theatre El Paso, TX Sept 12 @ Alamodome San Antonio, TX (special guest at My Chemical Romance) Sept 15 @ Neighborhood Theatre Charlotte, NC Sept 16 @ Charleston Music Hall Charl

Burned CDs, cryptic AIM away messages, and the emotional damage of a perfectly screamed chorus. Somehow, songs, bands, and albums that taught us how to feel everything all at once—are turning 25. Here's a look back into the beautifully chaotic, eyeliner-smudged world where alternative music wasn’t just something you listened to—it was who you were. So lace up your worn-out Vans, queue up that angst, and let’s revisit the top 25 moments in music from 2001. Newly Formed Bands S

Weezer's new song "Shine Again," from yet-untitled 16th studio album releases April 1, 2026. This is their 16th album but their first with Reprise/Warner Records. The Gathering tour will surely feature tracks from this new album. See all their upcoming fall 2026 tour dates below. Which city will you be seeing them in? Sept. 8 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center Sept. 9 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center Sept. 11 – Portland, OR – Moda Center Sept. 12 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Ar

New York royalty, Sammy Rae and Melt are heading out this fall to cities across the US. Secure your tickets before cities keep selling out: https://www.sammyrae.com/gigs-hangs For those who haven't... listen to them at: Sammy Rae & The Friends Melt (highly recommend Sour Candy, it's what got me hooked) Oct 1, 2026 @ The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing Co. Santa Fe, NM Oct 2, 2026 @ The Van Buren Phoenix, AZ Oct 3, 2026 @ The Sound at Del Mar Del Mar, CA Oct 4, 2026 @ The Wiltern

Bleachers is hitting the road along with special guests Momo Boyd (=), Hovvdy (^), Wednesday (~), The Linda Lindas (*), American Football (#). Catch them this summer and fall for the Bleachers Forever Tour supporting their new album, everyone for ten minutes. Don't miss out and grab your tickets: https://bleacherstour2026.com/#dates Momo Boyd (=), Hovvdy (^), Wednesday (~), The Linda Lindas (*), American Football (#) Friday, June 5, 2026 Chicago, IL - Salt Shed Fairgrounds =

Hawthorne Heights is embarking on a massive 2026 tour, through the US and international stops celebrating the 20th anniversary of If Only You Were Lonely . Joining Hawthorne Heights on leg 2 of the tour late this fall are special guests letlive. and Creeper . Grab your tickets now at: https://hawthorneheights.com/tour/ 3/20 – Bakersfield, CA @ Legend’s 3/21 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues 3/22 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco 3/23 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues 3/24 – Tempe,

Death Cab for Cutie announces their eleventh studio album 'I Built You A Tower' out June 5 on Anti Records . Described as "an album about loss and the ways by which we attempt, ultimately unsuccessfully, to compartmentalize grief. Eventually, the grief spills over and we are forced to face it. And sometimes it is more than we can bear." They will be promoting the album on tour this summer. Be sure to grab your tickets at: https://www.deathcabforcutie.com/ July 10 – Minneapol