That 1 Guy
With an extensive and amazing track record of unique and imaginative performances featuring his curious instrument and copious amounts of originality, Mike Silverman, a/k/a That1Guy, has set himself apart as a true one-of-a-kind talent that rivals any other artist currently in the entertainment industry. Averaging 150-200 shows a year all over North America and Canada, he has been a consistent favorite at such festivals as: Wakarusa, Electric Forest, Big Day out, All Good Music Festival, Bella, High Sierra Music Festival, Summer Meltdown, Montreal Jazz Festival, and many more. He was also the ʻTap Water Award’ winner at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for best musical act. His legendary collaboration and multiple tours with Buckethead performing as The Frankenstein Brothers has further cemented his virtuoso story as a creative visionary. His innovation continues to soar with his latest tour, That1Guy & The Magic Pipe Present: An Evening of Musical Magical Wonder… The Likes of Which Ye Haven’t Yet Seen, which kicked off in 2014. Along with his pioneeringmain instrument, The Magic Pipe, a monstrosity of metal, strings, and electronics, he facilitates the dynamic live creation of music and magic in ways only That1Guy can conjure. You can also expect to see magic seamlessly integrated into the already clever performance. With the addition of magic in his live shows, he has legitimately achieved an all-inclusive audio/visual performance unlike anything experienced before. “So much of my music has miraculous qualities to it because it’s hard to tell what’s going on. There are lots of slights of hand and sonic misdirection. It feels like I was meant to do magic”. Silverman’s back-story is similar to many musicians that have come before him. He grew up a self-proclaimed music geek, soaked in the influence of his jazz musician father, and enrolled in San Francisco Conservatory of Music before joining the local jazz scene himself as a sought-after percussive bassist. This is where the similarities end though and where That1Guy truly began. “In my case, being a bass player, I just felt very restricted by the instrument itself,” he says. “I’ve always wanted to sound different and have my own sound. I was headed that way on the bass, but for me to fully realize what I was hearing in my head sonically I was going to have to do it my way”. His influential and innovative double bass style eventually evolved into what we see today as That1Guy and The Magic Pipe. As his story continues to develop, Billboard has famously noted, “In the case of Mike Silverman’s slamming, futuristic funk act… the normal rules of biology just don’t apply.” In addition, Silverman also has new music and videos in the works for 2015 that will further validate his status as an industry trailblazer. “I like being my own person”, he says. “I didn’t set out to be a weirdo, but I’m starting to embrace it”. Ultimately, his motivation can be encapsulated as this: “Human beings do our best work when we’re challenged and pushed up against the wall”. That1Guy goes on to further explain, “By nature, we’re hunters and gatherers, spending each day looking for their next meal. It’s easy to be lazy when you don’t have to come up with something creative right away.”
Amanda DeBoer Bartlett & Ben Eisenberger
Amanda DeBoer Bartlett Amanda DeBoer Bartlett is a Chicago-based soprano and singer-songwriter recognized for her virtuosic interpretations of contemporary classical repertoire and her adventurous approach to programming. Her debut album of original songs, The Bones Still Glow, was released in February of 2023, and her sophomore album, Braided Together, will be released in June 2025. Along with her solo work, DeBoer is a member of Ensemble Dal Niente, Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, and Hasco Duo. More info at www.amandadeboer.com Fiddle In The Middle Fiddle In The Middle formed in 2021 during a tour of the southwest and west coast states when the players instantly recognized their unique and infectious synergy as a group. The band members are based in the Chicagoland area and draw inspiration from deep roots and fresh interpretations of Irish, Celtic, and world music. Fiddle In The Middle brings you the energy and emotion of traditional Irish folk music, played with passion, heart, and irrepressible joy! www.fiddleinthemiddle.band Ben Eisenberger Ben Eisenberger is a guitarist and songwriter based out of Omaha, Nebraska. Most recently focused on writing and releasing original folk songs, Ben has also played in bands of various genres, and also plays guitar for several musical theater productions every year.
Mike V & The Rats
The Rats are making their triumphant return! Skateboarding icon Mike Vallely has revived his original punk band, Mike V And The Rats, and they’re set to hit the stage this summer alongside The Aquabats! and Koffin Kats for the exciting Bats! Kats & Rats Tour. Formed in 2002, The Rats took the punk scene by storm, capturing the hearts of a new generation of fans with their DIY skate spirit. Their unforgettable tracks like “The Days,” “Never Give Up,” and “Vendetta” have secured their place in skate-punk history, featuring in classic games like Tony Hawk Underground and American Wasteland. Vallely shares, “Nothing has changed, the mission remains the same: share and promote the music and skateboarding with the same passion, positivity, and optimism as ever. These are still The Days!” Get ready for an unforgettable summer filled with incredible music and uplifting energy! Cordial Spew – hardcore / punk rock from Omaha, NE established in the early 1980’s Million Dollar Veins – Supercharged Rock ‘n’ Roll from Lincoln/Omaha Nebraska. Criminal Neglect – Lincoln, NE punk rock
MAYFLOWERS – Night Two
with TjunioR, M4K3Sh1ft, Psydeffect and ELR4F! DJ Surreal The MC on the 1s and 1s We come out of winter every year with MAYFLOWERS… and 2025 is no different! Presented By: Obscure DiamondNice Enough EntHybrid PromotionsSelf-Made The Label and as always, in honor of our friend Desolit and all of the people who never got a chance to realize their creative dreams.
MAYFLOWERS – Night One
with OGI Kidd, Allahdamniit, ELTV, Brodie1 DJ Surreal The MC on the 1s and 1s We come out of winter every year with MAYFLOWERS… and 2025 is no different! Year 5 of this crucial series kicks off on May 8th at Reverb Lounge! presented by Obscure DiamondNice Enough EntHybrid PromotionsSelf-Made The Label and as always, in honor of our friend Desolit and all of the people who never got a chance to realize their creative dreams.
Conan
Conan’s doom is singular. Carved of granite. Yes, of course there’ve been changes since guitarist/vocalist Jon Davis founded the group in 2006, but the intention at the time toward superlative heavy – tonal extremity wrought with impressionist lyrics stripping ideas to the core where sometimes the whole line is just one word; they’ve always called it “Caveman Battle Doom” – remains at the root of everything they’ve done since. And across five studio records in the decade from 2012-2022, Conan have set the standard by which much of “heavy” anything is judged. And in comparison, most is found wanting. But for every time you’ve heard about Conan’s music being like galloping steeds or frost-covered sharp-peaked mountains, etc., imagery of largesse and violence, the truth is Conan are an exercise in frequency. It’s the low resonance that shakes your chest, the depth of the bass – now handled by David Ryley (ex-Fudge Tunnel) – the push of air from Johnny King’s kick drum, or the way the dark-fuzz distortion of Davis’ guitar is offset by shouting vocals cutting through that sometimes punishing onslaught, rarely to offer comfort so much as add viciousness to the crash, plod and pillage. In 2024, Conan sign to Heavy Psych Sounds as a recognized name and one of the foremost acts of their generation, wildly influential in their home country of the UK and well beyond; headliners in practice and theory alike. Their fifth LP, 2022’s ‘Evidence of Immortality,’ brought a dark ambience to coincide with its outright attack. With experiments in darkwave and synth adding breadth to the stated root purpose of aural force, it’s never been harder to guess where the next few years might take their sound, but whatever’s coming, Conan will make it kill. The better part of two decades later, their reliability remains unshakable. Which you want when your band is so heavy that the floor and your ribcage both start to vibrate. __ Canadian mixed-race mixed-gender duo Mares of Thrace deal in a brand of heaviness that draws as much from noise rock and hardcore as it does from the doom metal they’re commonly grouped with. The band came roaring back to life in 2022 after a considerable hiatus; while 2012’s The Pilgrimage (released on Canada’s Sonic UnyonRecords) catapulted them onto the world stage, garnering a premier on Pitchfork and praise in Decibel, Terrorizer, Metal Hammer, and countless other outlets, their currentera is fast eclipsing it. Their relentless schedule in support of 2022’s The Exile saw them tour the USA, Canada, and Europe (including a full tour with UK doom legends Conan,and stints with Bell Witch, Dopethrone, and KEN mode) and headline a showcase at new “North American Roadburn” festival Prepare the Ground.The band’s new incarnation sees vocalist and guitarist Trez (hailed as “absolutelyriveting, an unrivalled monster of a frontperson” by Exclaim! Magazine; a professional illustrator, she also creates the album, merch, and poster art) joined by Casey ondrums,a multi-instrumentalist and audio engineer whose bona fides include being tapped to replace Gene Hoglan in Zimmer’s Hole.2025 looks to be their most ambitious year yet, as they prepare to release their fourth full-length album–The Loss– on illustrious joint Toronto-Reykjavik label ArtoffactRecords (home of Kaelan Mikla and Gggolddd).
Abi Carter
With her unparalleled vocal abilities and virtuosic piano skills, Abi Carter is a standout among the next generation of artists. Abi cut her teeth as a young teen busking on the streets of California’s Coachella Valley, breaking into the public eye in 2024 with her soulful, emotion-dripping performances on American Idol. Earning praise from superstars such as Billie Eilish and Katy Perry, Carter won American Idol in what was rumored to be a landslide vote. She’s since headlined Acrisure Arena, where she played to a packed room of thousands of fans. Also inspired by Billie Eilish as well as artists like Lizzy McAlpine, Phoebe Bridgers, Renee Rapp and Manchester Orchestra, both Abi’s story and her songwriting express a battle between light and dark, having battled a life replete with tumult while never allowing her inner light to dim. Her music can be succinctly defined as a gorgeous blend of powerful, dynamic, dramatic vocals and ethereal, cinematic pop.
ZAO
Leafblower
Leafblower’s the band and Tim’s the mascot. A master leaf blower, blowing fog all over your good times, with leafblower the band as the soundtrack: four dudes in jumpsuit uniforms. Think Kraftwerk meets yard work, plus Busch Light, with noise guitars instead of synths. It’s dissonant stuff, reverb fed through tin cans and amplified. Take the roughest looking dudes in your neighborhood (shovel man from home alone but drunker, with unlimited gasoline). And there’s four of them. Those poor kids inadvertently seeing leafblower descend into their practice space are going to need major psychiatric work to undo their deep-seated fears of all things lawn associated. And that’s without even hearing the music. Leafblower is loud. It is an experience. Listening to them is like holding an industrial leaf blower, 64cc and gas powered. The ones that strap to your back. Pulling that starting rope, jumpsuit on. Unleashing fury. Fuck you, leaf-litter. You got that beast cranking and everyone walking by crosses to the other side of the street. That is leafblower. – Paul Hansen
nightlife
Dubbed “one of the most exciting bands in the alternative scene right now” by MTV, nightlife tests rock music’s boundaries by weaponizing retrofuturism, golden-era soul, and modern rock sensibilities to make a soulpunk sound that drips with groove, catharsis, and swagger. the band burst onto the alt underground in 2021 with a thesis statement in “new low,” a rose-colored, disco-tinged take on the thick, bottom-heavy post-hardcore popularized by bands like Issues, Sleep Token, and Bad Omens in the late 2010s. every song they’ve released since has sent a shockwave through the rock & r&b communities, seamlessly blending different forms of current r&b and soul into their ever-evolving sound & leading Kerrang! Magazine to call them “one of the artists shaping rock music right now.” The band has quickly built a reputation as a show-stopping live act, bringing their unique approach to tours with the likes of Rain City Drive, Outline in Color, FOXCULT, and more. powered by guitarists Julian Lofton (he/him) & Dan Macon’s (he/him) fluid basslines and drummer Isaiah Walker’s (he/him) pocket-based beats, nightlife’s rhythmic backbone meets vocalist Hansel Romero’s (they/them) dynamic style and experimental production to create music that feels alive – that scratches an itch only nightlife can.
