Venue: The RitzCity: Raleigh, North CarolinaTour: Born to KillDate: Sept. 3, 2026Featuring: Social Distortion, Descendents, The ChatsGenres: Punk Rock, Hardcore Punk, Skate Punk, CowpunkPhotos by: Arielle Johnson For more than four decades, Social Distortion has served as a bridge between punk rock's rebellious roots and the generations of fans who discovered the genre through their influence. On Thursday night, Sept. 3, a sold-out crowd packed The Ritz in Raleigh for a stop

Venue: Red Hat Amphitheater City: Raleigh, North Carolina Tour: Bigger Than You Think Tour, The Sequel Date: August 15, 2026F eaturing: Simple Plan, Bowling for Soup, 3OH!3 Genres: Pop Punk, Alternative Rock, Pop Rock, Electronic Pop Photos by: Arielle Johnson On a warm (no like literally hellishly warm) August evening in downtown Raleigh, Simple Plan's Bigger Than You Think Tour: The Sequel transformed Red Hat Amphitheater into a celebration of the songs, memories, and unapo

Venue: The Ritz City: Raleigh, North Carolina Tour: The Pretty Penny Tour Date: July 31, 2026 Featuring: Passion Pit, Arden Jones Genres: Indie Pop, Electropop, Alternative Pop Photos by: Arielle Johnson More than fifteen years after Manners first soundtracked late-night drives, college parties, and countless playlists, Passion Pit proved at The Ritz in Raleigh that their music still resonates just as strongly today. Stopping through North Carolina on The Pretty Penny Tour, t

"Up to Fate (The Tarot Card Song)" came to fruition by channeling some soul-searching energy with friends through tarot card readings and allowing life to take its course. Sydney's new single pours the energy of hope, passion, and a future of love and fulfillment through big production, folky vocals, a catchy pop chorus, and lush guitars. Sydney Stevenson's "Up to the Fate (Tarot Card Song)" is an intimate indie-pop reflection on modern romance, vulnerability, and the tension

Venue: Carter-Finley Stadium City: Raleigh, North Carolina Tour: The Great Divide Tour Date: July 25, 2026 Featuring: Noah Kahan, Gigi Perez, Annabelle Dinda Genres: Folk Rock, Indie Folk, Alternative Folk, Americana, Singer-Songwriter Photos by: Arielle Johnson By the time Noah Kahan took the stage at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday night, it was clear that this wasn't just another stop on a sold-out tour. It was a city-wide event. For many fans, the experience started lon

Australian Emo Band Bad Neighbour releases new album Burns from the X Rays Going through heartbreak is hell – but without it, so many of our favourite emo songs simply wouldn’t exist. And it was heart break and healing that inspired the story behind Australian self-proclaimed sad rockers Bad Neighbour’s debut album, Burns From The X Rays released this month. Guitarist, vocalist and lyricist Cooper Riley explains the album at its core is really “one big love song”, the song wr

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

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 entirety. What began as a

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