Overview
Riley!
RILEY! is the kind of band that only could have come from somewhere far off the map – making music shaped by isolation, boredom, and dreaming about what lies beyond their blink-and-you’ll-miss-it hometown. Their details may belong to South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, but the feelings driving their hyper-modern spin on Midwest emo have carried them around the world, from DIY tours to bills with Hot Mulligan and Arm's Length.
Formed in 2018 by vocalist/guitarist Ryan Bluhm (they/them) and bassist Kris Gallardo (he/him) and rounded out by drummer Cesar “Izzy” Izaguirre (they/them), Riley! began as a bedroom project before evolving into one of the genre’s most compelling young bands, driven by twinkly high-capo guitars, raucous energy and deeply personal songwriting. Now, the band’s debut EP for Pure Noise Records, TO LIVE AND DIE IN THE AMERICAN SOUTH, refines that sound without losing their edge: From the off-kilter urgency of “Roll for Initiative” to the spiral of self-doubt punctuating “Another Round of Radical ‘Ritas, Please,” the set spotlights a tight-knit community with features from Tades Sanville (Hot Mulligan), Eric Egan (Heart Attack Man) and Gabe Wood (Saturdays at Your Place). It’s a reminder that the openly queer band from a deeply red state has built their own version of belonging, reflected in songs about the fight to feel seen. Says Izaguirre: “I feel like nobody really knows if they belong anywhere. That’s what these songs are – just trying to say it out loud.”
Kerosene Heights
Emo-punk band Kerosene Heights combines vintage hardcore energy with modern emo sensibilities to deliver sweet blasts of emotionally charged mayhem, as heard on assured efforts such as Southeast of Somewhere (2023) and Blame It on the Weather (2025).
Bugsy
bugsy wants to tell you that it’s okay to be alone. The Minneapolis quartet listens empathetically and reflects solitude into an emotional cacophony. Formed by vocalist/guitarist Emily Schoonover (they/them), lead guitarist Griffen Desai (he/him), bassist/vocalist Shannon Maroney (they/them), and drummer Al Norman (he/him), bugsy dove into the world with their debut EP teratoma in early 2020 and has yet to take a breath. Each new song illuminates their ferocious, personal take on fire-breathing DIY indie punk. bugsy has played shows around the country, supporting bands like Destroy Boys, Weatherday, and Skating Polly, filling venues like First Avenue (Minneapolis), the Metro, and Lincoln Hall (Chicago).
Now I Spend All of My Time Alone, bugsy’s second EP, illuminates the dark corners of our hearts and coaxes us out of the shadows. It reintroduces the band as a powerful vessel for transition — six songs that make equal space for confession and silence. Lead single “recluse” paints its melodies with blood, acceptance unaccompanied by forgiveness. Grief is meticulously carved into defiance, loneliness grows into ardor, and uncertainty awakens with clarity. bugsy recorded with Abe Anderson [Thank You, I’m Sorry] in a garage in Cannon Falls, MN.
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