Music Showcases | Mar 11, 2025
Formed in 2017, Terraplana is a four-piece band from Curitiba, Brazil, blending atmospheric shoegaze with indie rock. The band consists of Stephani Heuczuk (vocals/bass), Vinícius Felix (vocals/guitar), Cassiano Vidal (vocals/guitar), and Wendeu Emerick (drums). After releasing an EP and performing across Brazil in 2018 and 2019, they returned in 2023 with their debut album 'olhar pra trás', released via Balaclava Records. Praised as one of the best Brazilian albums of the year, it resonated with shoegaze lovers for its lush guitars, haunting melodies, and introspective lyrics.
(This performance is part of the showcase that starts on Monday, March 10 at Valhalla)
Honeyglaze’s second album, Real Deal, and first for Fat Possum, feels like their coming of age moment. The band have taken the foundations laid on their debut and focused it into a mammoth record filled with crashing riffs, devastating vocal performances, and nuanced breakdowns, resulting in a mature, complex record grappling with negative relationships, the mundanity of adult life, and identity.
Hailing from Canberra, Australia, Lucy Sugerman has a sixth-sense for storytelling. Coupled with a gift for crafting assured melodic hooks, it’s the perfect recipe for sweet folky alt-pop that still packs a punch. Possessing an impressive work ethic and dedication to staying true to herself, letting people into her world through tales of her struggles and triumphs in romance and growing up, Lucy’s quirky and genre-defying music is youthful yet poised.
Austin, TX’s Bee Blackwell creates 90s-vibe alternative rock with deeply personal themes and soaring, majestic vocals. She documents her self-exploration in a way that resonates with anyone who has experienced a coming-of-age journey or is going through one. After playing in rock bands through high school and college, Bee began posting her favorite emo and grunge covers on TikTok in 2023. Following several viral moments on the platform, she transitioned to releasing cathartic and heartfelt original songs, quickly captivating a growing audience.
Eric Heideman is a 25-year-old blues musician living in Austin, Texas from Salt Lake City, Utah. Heideman was personally requested to open shows for ZZ Top at Eccles Theatre and Walter Trout and Mike Zito at The State Room. He was a featured performer at the Utah Blues Fest in 2022, 2023, & 2024. He will be a performer on the 2025 Durango Blues Train. He recorded his latest album, “Third Degree Gravity” with Grammy Nominated Victor Wainwright and International Blues Challenge winner JW-Jones.
Go Cactus, the young Spanish band formed by Pau Gual (vocals and guitar), Joan Gual (drums and backing vocals) and Joan Amengual (bass and backing vocals), has not stopped sailing in the waters of rock n' roll since 2017. A sharp and elegant power trio, two brothers and a cousin, three hawks in the sky.
Led by celebrated Finnish jazz stars Timo Lassy and Jukka Eskola, Nordic Stew draws inspiration from the rich, inclusive spirit of New Orleans jazz. Much like the cultural melting pot that gave birth to jazz, the ensemble blends Nordic and American influences into a vibrant, joyful sound that speaks to audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. Nordic Stew aims to create a new chapter in the shared story of these traditions.
The Icelandic artist, songwriter and producer lúpína embarked on her solo journey by releasing her dreamy Icelandic synth pop single ‘alein’ in autumn 2022. Since then, she has captivated audiences with her singles and her debut album 'ringluð', in early 2023, followed by her sophomore album 'marglytta' or “jellyfish” in English. The album includes complex layers of synths, soundscapes and captivating lyrics. Marglytta is an ode to herself, allowing people to see through her and her emotions - just like a jellyfish. Lúpína's music is a fusion of Icelandic lyric-focused Scandi pop, where she explores the boundaries of pop music. She brings a fresh perspective to Icelandic music, infusing it with global appeal while staying true to her roots. As she continues to evolve as an artist, her music promises to leave an indelible mark on the local and international music scene.
simmcat is the project of Copenhagen based visual artist and songwriter Simona Catalani. Her world is a homage to the natural melancholy forged by memories, creating an ethereal imagery between sound and visual boundaries. After the release of the EP "Soy Milk" in 2020, characterized by and intimate bedroom pop and more slacker sounds akin of Frankie Cosmos, or the lo-fi vibes of Karen O.'s solo's debut, simmcat came out in 2023 with the full length "I Thought I Was Dreaming", expanding her inspiration to a suspended visionary state, typical of a dream-pop reminiscent of Mazzy Star. simmcat sophomore album, "I heard she lost you", is scheduled to be released in early 2025.
Berlin-based Post-Pop artist TEll A ViSiON has been hailed as a “leading sonic innovator” by German pop culture critics and has garnered international acclaim from outlets like Higher Plain Music, God Is In The TV, and The Line of Best Fit. Recognized as one of the Top 20 producers by the Female* Producers Prize and Sony Music, she is celebrated for her genre-defying sound, released through renowned labels such as Feeding Tube Records (USA), Bureau B, and Duchess Box Records.
Synth-pop band tiger bae, formed in Tokyo by members of HOTEL MEXICO and vocalist Yuco, made their debut with the mini-album “Calm Like This Love” in 2022. The music video for the track “Deeply,” featuring actress Ami Tomite, has garnered over 80,000 views. Remixes by Bark Bark Disco and JOON, both from Jonny Jewel’s label “ITALIANS DO IT BETTER,” also gained attention. In 2023, they released the single “White Highlights.” Their 2024 release “Distant Calls” is a romantic indie dance track, maintaining their dreamy, melancholic atmosphere, with a refreshingly bittersweet melody and a captivating soundscape. The lyrics revolve around the theme of “a dream seen within a dream.”
Truck Violence (Montréal, QC) is a medley that wails its way through the bitters of modern Western Canadian hardcore and folk, an honesty and shamelessness in disappointment that is both a comfort and a stern regard. Starting in 2021 with a move from the prairies of Alberta to Montréal, guitarist-banjoist Paul Lecours and singer-poet Karsyn Henderson, from sticks to city, have had to adapt whilst maintaining roots and authenticity. Informed by punk, shoegaze and sludge, their unique sound is the product of a multiple-project span that saw an array of sonic changes.With the full-length release of Violence (July 5th, 2024 via Mothland), the route is set for Truck Violence’s crashing ode to their roots and violent betterment to continue at full speed. Aiming to embrace the catharsis of hardcore, while commemorating their roots in folk and country music, this debut long-player from the Montréal four-piece is concerned with the all-too-hushed addiction, abuse and dysfunction in isolated country families. Highly recommended for fans of earnest heavy music with an experimental edge à la Show Me The Body, Chat Pile or The Chariot.
Dilettante is the brain-child of multi-instrumentalist and longtime BC Camplight member Francesca Pidgeon. Live shows are a genre-phobic loop-fest, featuring everything from fuzzy guitar licks to 5-part saxophone harmonies.
Hien, a Budapest-born Vietnamese singer/producer/sound-designer based in Brooklyn, defies convention with her work. Growing up, Hien learned Hungarian folk songs in school, and also listened to her grandparents—who were cải lương musicians—perform traditional Vietnamese music in Hà Nội. Later, she honed her craft at Berklee College of Music on a full-tuition scholarship, broadening her musical horizons.
VITAL Powers goes from Grime to Rap, Drill to Dancehall, from the UK, based in California. A passed BBC Presenter, Music/Video Content Creator & Mentor. Affiliated with: BBC, DITTO Music, PRS, Multiple Charities + more. Releases like 2016’s “POWERS" hit the iTunes Hip Hop top 20 charts, VITAL Followed up with a SOLD OUT Headline show in his home city of Wolverhampton. Following after was 3 more sold out shows and a UK TOUR, which then saw VITAL Headline shows in Paris and Canada. Performing on over 200 stages like MADE Festival 2016 + BBC Radio 1's BIG WEEKEND Festival 2016 alongside artists such as: Stormzy, JayKae, Lethal B, Dappy, Stylo G, Big Narstie, Alkaline, Wiley, J Hus + many more In 2018 BBC West Midlands gave VITAL Powers his own Radio Show. ‘The Midlands Source’ Additionally VITAL has over 2 million+ Youtube views collectively including on his personal Channel. 5 music videos featured on Channel AKA & television appearances on #MADEinBrum + BBC 1's Midlands.
Ava Vegas is a German LA-based artist and producer known for her unique and eclectic blend of ethereal art-pop songs that span across genres such as cinematic folk, indie-pop, Americana, German chanson and psychedelic disco. Her work is characterized by a blend of acoustic and electronic elements, dreamy atmospheres, and sultry, fragile vocals.
Her Skin is an Italy-based caramelized singer-songwriter with an intimate freak folk and faded punk flavor filling. Her real name is Sara Ammendolia and she has a thing for very sad lyrics combined with delicate and light-hearted melodies. Four years after her debut album “find a place to sleep.” Her Skin is releasing via WWNBB her sophomore album “I started a garden,” containing nine new songs dealing with the mess of being in your 20s, feeling lonely and nostalgic and out of place and not really knowing where you belong. “While writing this album I was just waiting for myself to become myself again,” says Her Skin, “but I learned that everything you bury is a seed.”
Julie Nolen cuts through the bullshit in a world full of it. Born in West Texas, Nolen has forged her own path without forgetting where she's from. An Americana-roots rock-country troubadour, she is known for her energetic and passionate performances.
The K’s, a rousing, real-world-documenting UK indie phenomenon, whose adored, masterpiece debut album “I Wonder If The World Knows’ reached the Top 3 of the UK Official Album Chart in April of last year. It's a success made of belief, catalysed by the achievements of sell-out UK-wide tours, cresting with a 3,700-capacity ‘homecoming’ at Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse, being awarded ‘Best Breakthrough Act’ at the 2024 Nordoff Robbins NMA’s (aka The Northern Brit Awards) and reaching major UK festival stages, including their rammed Glastonbury 2024 debut and Main Stage appearances at the likes of Reading & Leeds, Isle of Wight, Camp Bestival and more. The K’s 2nd studio album ‘Pretty On The Internet’ will be released in the early summer of 2025.
La Sécurité (Montréal/Tiohtià:ke) is a collective whose art punk is equal parts: jumpy beats, off-kilter arrangements, and minimalistic melodic hooks. After years of writing earworms for the pleasure of beautiful weirdos, all the while strutting their style on tour with their many different projects (Choses Sauvages, Laurence-Anne, Silver Dapple, etc.), the motley bunch now meanders the fringes of punk, new wave and krautrock. Since coming together, the five-piece has been invited to perform at Reeperbahn, SXSW, Sled Island and FME, also sharing the stage with the likes of Automatic, Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp and Annie-Claude Deschênes (Duchess Says). The band recently offered Stay Safe! (June 16th, 2023 via Mothland), a first full-length that is manic, yet surprisingly laid-back, and should no doubt strike a chord with fans of Le Tigre, Automatic, Wet Leg, Devo, E.S.G. or The B-52’s.
Maryze is a queer Canadian and French artist based between Montreal and LA. Their stormy-sweet alt pop conjures a haunting universe, blending electronic beats with fiery and introspective bilingual lyrics. Viral single ‘Langue’ led Maryze to tour Australia and New Zealand with Alex Cameron, as well as festival bookings across Canada and the US. New music coming soon.
MORDÁI is a folk rock band that draws from the repertoire of the experimental Hungarian folk music of the 60s and 70s (Muzsikás Zenekar, Sebő együttes, etc.). Its sound evokes the dark spirit of the highwaymen. With their first single, MORDÁI quickly became a prominent feature of the Budapest concert scene.
From the vibrant musical landscape of Austin, Texas, emerges Nemegata, a fearless band reshaping the boundaries of sound and rebelling against musical norms. Rooted in Latin American traditions, particularly influenced by Abya Yala, Nemegata rejects Eurocentric labels, transcending the confines of outdated terms like "world music." Instead, they carve a unique space for authentic expressions, resignifying ancestral elements into their high-energy, mesmerizing, and mystic sound.
Of Sunna Margrét’s debut album ‘Finger on Tongue’, The Quietus said “Oddball Icelandic pop packs a dense punch, heavy with ideas” as well as featuring it as one of their ‘Albums of the Year So Far’ back in the summer. Drawing from influences such as CAN, Suzanne Ciani & PJ Harvey, Sunna’s music has received enthusiastic support from the likes of Paper Magazine, American Songwriter, The Line of Best Fit, KEXP, KCRW, Under The Radar, BBC 6 Music, Radio X & Soho Radio.
This is what surf music would sound like if it was made in the dark near the frozen shores of the Baltic sea. Because it was. Benadetta, Victoria and Teresa are a trio of Lithuanian mermaids who create “zero-waste trash music” under the name “shishi”. They sing about how it feels to be living in times when nothing makes sense anymore. Their music is perfect for people who care about what’s going on, but don’t really know what’s happening.
Gloin “make driving, dark post-punk” (BrooklynVegan), adding noise rock and industrial elements to their music as they tackle themes of bewilderment, dread and anger. Using bombastic rhythmic constructs, savvy arrangements and fervid melodies, the Toronto outfit put forth solemn tracks about perseverance and self-determination that are cleverly subverted through sarcastic commentary, courtesy of their sense of humor. Gloin self-released their introductory EP Soft Monster on April 18th, 2019. For their first full-length, We Found This (October 21st, 2022 via Mothland), they elected to print alongside up-and-coming studio wizard Dylan Frankland of Tallies, later turning to music visionary Graham Walsh (Holy Fuck, METZ, Alvvays, etc.) for the mix. Over the years, Gloin embarked on a handful of North American tours, performing at SXSW, Freakout Fest, New Colossus, Sled Island, and Treefort Music Fest, while also sharing the stage with Snapped Ankles, Osees, Amyl & the Sniffers, and A Place to Bury Strangers.
Not many Australian bands have had the type of ascent as The VANNS have. Cutting their teeth on the live circuit since 2015, The VANNS have proven themselves early as leaders of the pack in modern Australia rock music. The release of The VANNS’ debut album Through The Walls in 2019 marked an arrival of something fresh and new in Australian music with Jimmy Vann (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Cameron Little (lead guitar, vocals, keys), Tom Switlek (bass) and Andrew Banovich’s (drums) partnership. The album struck a chord with fans and industry alike, scoring The VANNS a lucrative triple j Feature Album placement, as well as the delivery of an impactful Like A Version cover of Bon Iver’s ‘Hey Ma’, which now has over 7 million streams, and went on to land at #32 on the Hottest 100 Like A Version countdown. Sold out shows at home and overseas followed, tours with the likes of The Kooks, The Wombats, and Inhaler and more, and their second album, ‘Last Of Your Kind’, which debuted at #8 on the Australian charts and would again see the band claim another Feature Album spot and play to an overflowing Splendour In The Grass tent. The VANNS are due to release their third album in 2025.
Aiko, a Czechia-raised, Brighton-based artist with a unique cultural blend, is known for her exploration of self-confidence and empowerment through her music. Representing Czechia at Eurovision 2024, Aiko also made history as the first Czech female artist featured in Spotify's global EQUAL campaign, with her face on Times Square. She has graced stages at major festivals like ESNS, Rock for People, The Great Escape and opened for artists like Alice Merton and Tamino.
Multidisciplinarity is an integral part of Annie-Claude Deschênes’ creative process, who continues her perpetual personal quest of uniting music and performance art by bending the pre-established conventions of stage presence. A key figure on the Montreal independent music scene for almost twenty years, she made her mark as a singer, musician, songwriter, performer and visual artist with Duchess Says and PyPy, two bands that are renowned as much for their electrifying performances as for their artistic sensibility. Her exploratory approach to staging and sound design takes a new direction with the genesis of this solo project: the urgency that characterizes her work remains, but frustration and aggression give way to introspection and vulnerability. Annie-Claude Deschênes explores and reinvents herself under her own name, driven by a constant need to create outside her comfort zone. Inspired by minimal pop and the pioneers of electronic music, Les manières de table, her first solo album due out in spring 2024, is as danceable and melodic as it is disquieting and dystopian, proposing to set the table differently by deconstructing the social codes of politeness imposed on us.
Elín Hall is a critically acclaimed artist and songwriter whose first two LPs established her career as a hitmaker in her homeland, Iceland. Her storytelling is what sets her apart; the way she weaves fantasy and reality in melancholic lyrics paired with her signature dreamy soundscapes has started to attract audiences the world over. Following this international intrigue, she’s begun crafting a new album with global collaborators set to release in 2025, making it clear that Elín’s presence is rapidly expanding. Her latest album heyrist í mér? (can you hear me?) received three nominations for the Icelandic music awards and won album of the year at The Reykjavík Grapevine Music Awards 2024.
Francesca Bono is an Italian performer, musician and singer-songwriter, based in Bologna. Founder of the band Ofeliadorme, whose last album has been appreciated by Peter Gabriel, and the experimental duo Bono / Burattini, whose 2023 debut received interest from BBC6, The Wire, Internazionale, Radio Rai 3, Brooklyn Vegan, TAZ and Il Manifesto, she played in Europe, UK, USA and China, and in international festivals such as WOMAD, SXSW and Homemade. A member of the feminist collective DonnaCirco, over the years she has collaborated with Mick Harvey, Howie B, Massimo Volume, Jonathan Clancy, Stefano Pilia, actor Oscar Da Summa, and shared the stage with Beak, Jon Hopkins, The Bug, Rival Consoles. Her first album under her name, “Crumpled Canvas”, is part of her ongoing exploration on sound and a variety of musical genres and influences with a focus on the use of voice and its healing power.
JOSEON is a four piece psychedelic rock band and artistic collective revitalizing the Los Angeles music scene. Their genre blurring, progressive approach synthesizes elements of 90s rock, neo-psychedelia, and 60s inspired melody into something unmistakably their own. Since releasing their debut EP YOUTHiNASiA in March and returning from a tour circuit including their South by Southwest and NYC debuts, the band has been selling out shows in the LA underground scene at venues like Genghis Cohen, Slipper Clutch, and the Smell.