Raccoon Tour is the musical brainchild of Boise, Idaho native Nate Burr.

Combining elements of nostalgia, fantasy, and mischief, Raccoon Tour is setting out to create a unique world for listeners to explore. Burr mixes and matches influences ranging from indie, punk, emo, electronic, skramz, and pop while writing music exclusively on a 4 string ukulele and iPad to jot down ideas. Raccoon Tour’s music is full of warm callbacks to childhood and explorations of religion, with upbeat and catchy melodies to catch one’s attention while unexpectedly slipping dark and introspective lyrics into the picture.

Their debut album, The Dentonweaver, was released through I Surrender Records and is a whirlwind adventure through the tribulations of childhood, class consciousness, responsibility, and ultimately death. Being engineered and produced by Brett Romnes (Lincoln, I Am The Avalanche, and The Front Bottoms) and conceptualized throughout Burr’s high school years, The Dentonweaver was released to a fairly warm reception, garnered a small cult following, and even got some nice user reviews on some cute little music websites. Nate Burr says, and I quote, “Those were very nice to read.”

Raccoon Tour consists of Nate Burr, Trey Wells, Jeremy Abbott, Randy McCurdy, and Angus McBangus.

Friko, a trio that’s cemented itself as a stalwart in the Chicago music scene, is frontman Niko Kapetan, and drummer Bailey Minzenberger. Their most recent release, “Crimson To Chrome,” is an anthemic offering, Kapetan’s vocals incendiary. It received glowing praise and attention from Pitchfork, Brooklyn Vegan, and Consequence, who wrote “Friko toggle between loud and quiet, thoughtful and self-deprecating, while never expressing anything less than the unbridled joy of noise.” FLOOD wrote the Chicago-based power-pop group is “ certain to stand out among the hundreds of acts gracing the various SXSW stages this year.” And that they did. The band took SXSW 2023 by storm, playing packed showcases over several days that made their Austin-debut a must-see occasion. Bolstered by the unwavering support from Chicago’s music scene, the buzz around new music, and the pure excitement witnessed at SXSW, the interest from labels is voracious and ever-increasing.

Over the band’s time together, it has become clear they are comfortable embracing multiple musical extremes at once. Their debut self-released 2022 EP, Whenever, Forever, weaves “together heart-on-sleeve folk, tense, smoldering post punk, and soaring, melodramatic chamber pop rooted in 2000s indie” (Chicago Reader). Lyrically, Kapetan explores the possibility and risks of a life given over to music, interrogating what a life well-lived means to him. The duality rings out in the compositions, evoking rock and folk icons such as Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake. The EP found collective support amongst the local music community, championed by their peers Horsegirl, Lifeguard, Free Range, and more.

Friko’s music is complex and dynamic, flickering between explosive rock, chamber pop, and serene sonics. It becomes even more pronounced in their live performances, where a crowd frenzied by wailing guitars finds itself minutes later collectively holding its breath, enamored by hypnotic strings and Kapetan’s emotive vocals. As the band plays out sweeping melodies, held up by thrashing guitar and punchy beats, it feels as if Kapetan sings to you. Crooning about stories you know, memories you had but have somehow forgotten.

St. Terrible is a musician and performance artist based out of Boise, Idaho. Ranging from the beautiful to the bizarre, his work is eclectic and ever changing in it’s sound, form and presentation.

The Gospel of Nothingness was created by St. Terrible in 2015. Working in collaboration with a large cast of artists specializing in everything from music to dance to set design, The Gospel of Nothingness is an immersive experience that incorporates elements from a wide range of arts and music to create a unique and expansive world that is always changing and endless in it’s stories.

“St. Terrible, a Boise, Idaho-based self-dubbed “freak folk” artist, has been, knowingly or not, spreading his own Gospel of Nothingness that not only taps into these Buddhist themes, but celebrates them with a jubilance. Mixing the joyfulness of a sermon, religious iconography, and a transgressive approach to performance itself which seeks too subvert the performer vs. audience dynamic, St. Terrible and the Gospel of Nothingness have created an expansive and embracing experience that is vital and vibrant.” – Lex Voight, LA Music Blog