The Paper Box | Brooklyn, NYC

The Nightmare River Band is coming to your town whether you like it or not. Somebody should probably let the band know that people like it. A lot. Indeed, the group’s signature sound of raucous alt-country is best appreciated at their live shows. They have spent the past three years touring relentlessly, with their intense energy fueling their audiences as well as feeding off them. Making music about “love, loss, pain, drinking and healing,” although not necessarily in that order, The Nightmare River Band was named one of the Top 5 up and coming Alt-Folk bands in NYC by Deli Magazine in 2010. Crowds of revelers have been quick to join the party, clamoring to shout along the lyrics with drinks clutched in their hands. In between playing shows, downing pints and winning over critics, core members Matt Krahula (vocals, guitar, ukulele) and Seth Faulk (drums, vocals) managed to find time to write and record a follow up to their 2009 debut Call The Cops! The new album, Last Goodbye, offers up standouts such as “Mary.” A demo of that song was nominated for an Independent Music Award for best Alt-Country song of 2010. The full version combines all of the ingredients of The Nightmare River Band’s potent blend: foot-stomping rhythms, full arrangements, and a harmonious chorus that everyone can sing along to – even after consuming more than a few beers. The Nightmare River Band has drawn comparisons to alt/folk/country contemporaries such as Mumford and Sons and The Avett Brothers. While this sound is rapidly gaining popularity and bandwagon jumpers, The Nightmare River Band is continuing to do just what they’ve done since their formation, taking their music on the road to bring the Nightmare to your town.

Watermelon is a Funk Rock band stationed in New York City. The band's unique sound is formed from the dynamic interplay of two singers, guitar, keys, and a driving rhythm section, producing a sound that has been called raucous rock 'n' roll with a punch of funk and undertones of hip hop. While the band's spirit can be traced to the revelry and comradery of Sly and the Family Stone, the band does not shy away from such diverse influences as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Funkadelic, and Talking Heads. Seeking to break down all barriers with the audience, Watermelon lives for the live experience.

A DC collective unconscious output. Fluid instrumentals, striking vocals, it keeps hitting, it feels good...

Picture this: dreamy, folk-inspired tunes ignited by an aspiring musician's simple stroll in the city or while immersed in his own thoughts on a meaningless train ride. The concept seems almost too organic of an approach to songwriting to exist in the modern rock scene. Enter NYC's Stone Cold Fox - a group that echoes that exact raw musicianship and towers above anything you've ever heard because of it.

Summer jams, alt electro-rock, weird pop, normal pop, emo funk, post-len, unconscious reggae.

Aotearoa's Jake Lerman and Ilan Gitter cut their teeth on the back roads and highways of New Zealand's primeval terrain. Rooted in the urban tangle of Chicago, the raw island elements ignited the passions of these two vagabonding minstrels, forging a duo of funk-rock nomads. Abandoning the alluvial plains and saw-toothed mountains of the south pacific, the pair of multi-instrumentalists now perpetually tour the four-lane veins of the United States. With a sound and show steeped in The Talking Heads, James Brown, Fela Kuti and Parliament Funkadelic, Aotearoa uses live looping to thicken a set already heavy with jungle-funk percussion. A steady rotation of instruments between the four hands and feet of the band keep a never wilting flower of funk in full bloom.