AFI is currently on a Fall tour of North America to promote their newest album, Silver Bleeds the Black Sun…, released on the same day of their concert at Chicago’s Salt Shed on October 3rd. The tour marks the first full-scale tour since their 2021 album Bodies. The ever-evolving band has made shifts in every […]
AFI is currently on a Fall tour of North America to promote their newest album, Silver Bleeds the Black Sun…, released on the same day of their concert at Chicago’s Salt Shed on October 3rd. The tour marks the first full-scale tour since their 2021 album Bodies.
The ever-evolving band has made shifts in every album, from hardcore, emo, post-punk and genres in between, always pushing the envelope and being their bold, unapologetic selves. With the release of Silver Bleeds the Black Sun…, AFI may have reached their final form and what they were always meant to be; a post-punk gothic rock powerhouse reminiscent of the likes of Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy and The Cure.
To help set the mood, the Canadian electronic project TR/ST opened for the evening, transforming The Salt Shed into a synthesizer-heavy dark wave night club.
One thing that remains steadfast during AFI’s transformations? The fans. Between powerful lyrics, dark romanticism, melodic riffs, and Davey Havok’s showmanship (not to mention his own fashionable image), seeing AFI live is nothing short of immersive and feels like home.
AFI played an expanded set list across their discography in addition to songs from Silver Bleeds the Black Sun…, including the album’s leading single “Behind the Clock” and a debut performance of “Ash Speck in a Green Eye“. Also notable was the performance of “File 13” from their 1996 album Very Proud of Ya.
Davey and AFI have not slowed down one bit over the years and their live shows are a testament to that. High energy, jumping from platforms, crowd participation and even being held up by fans while standing, you can tell AFI genuinely love what they do and their fans. Whatever the next era may hold for AFI, we the fans are here to stay.
Hands Off Our Fest is back! The music festival celebrating the women, femmes and thems of the Chicago punk scene features a mix of live music, stand-up comedy, drag performances, queer expression and joy, and feminine rage, all washed down with plenty of beer. This year the fest will take place on October 11th at the Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb, Illinois. […]
Hands Off Our Fest is back! The music festival celebrating the women, femmes and thems of the Chicago punk scene features a mix of live music, stand-up comedy, drag performances, queer expression and joy, and feminine rage, all washed down with plenty of beer.
This year the fest will take place on October 11th at the Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb, Illinois. We talked to some of the awesome bands about H.O.O.F., check it out!
First things first…introduce yourselves!
Hello !!!!! We are PINKSQUEEZE!! We are a GAY rock n roll band from Chicago and we are tryin to be gay have fun and that’s what we want to share with our community as well.
What made you want to participate in HOOF?
We were very excited to participate in HOOF this year bc we basically live for opportunities to rock with other queer, women, trans, and non-binary people. It feels so special and so important to have spaces like this for our community and we are grateful to join 💕
Why should people go to HOOF?
People should go to HOOF bc the bands ROCK and everyone is NICE and also HOT. But fr, times are feeling dystopian right now with all of the evil attacks by our government on our neighbors and trans people- getting together with community and imagining a better world wherever and whenever you can is really important.
Anything else you want people to know? New music/show announcements?
Why yes, there is new music and shows on the Pinksqueeze horizon… Go to www.pinksqueeze.com to sign up for our email list to keep up with all of our upcoming announcements 🙂
“Hi! We’re Faerie Dream. The band consists of Ana Hinojosa on vocals, Joy Rhodes on bass, Jose Bedoya on drums and me, Kurt Uy, on the guitar.
We wanted to participate in HOOF because want to support femmes in punk. We were approached by Sweetie and it seemed like a lot of fun!
People should go to HOOF to support local music , and most importantly, femmes in local music.
We currently recording a project, stay tuned with us!”
“Hi! We’re Girlrot, an alt-rock teen band from Chicago.
We wanted to participate in HOOF because we wanted to play with more musicians like us. We play a lot of shows with dudes, and this is a really nice change of pace.
Y’all should come to HOOF for the environment! It’s amazing to play and listen to and support music by Queer and femme people. Especially in such a male-dominated industry. In a time like this, having a safe space for Queer people like us is vital.
We are also releasing music soon! Any support to us will go back into the band to help us get studio time.”
“We are Won’t Stay Dead, Chicago’s premier grrrl-fronted, horror-themed punk band.
Birdy is a close friend of ours, and we were lucky enough to play the first HOOF. We had a blast, and we’re so excited to be playing again at a beautiful (and haunted??) new venue.
You’ll hear some killer bands, witness fabulous drag and comedy, and build community, all while uplifting femme, queer, and nonbinary voices that sometimes get drowned out in the scene.
We’re playing FEST in Gainesville, FL at the end of October, and hitting Nashville, TN & Louisville, KY on our way down. We’re heading up to Kenosha, WI in November, and we have an album coming out with some comrades in the near future.”
“I’m Birdy Vee, frontwoman of Chicago lipstick-punk band, Sweetie, and organizer and founder of Hands Off Our Fest (HOOF). My bandmates are Joe Soldati (bass) and Ryan Gowdy (drums). Sweetie has been around since 2019 and HOOF is going into its third year!
I wanted to participate in HOOF because I created it! HOOF is my baby! I started the festival back in 2023 after finally becoming fed up with the misogyny in the punk scene and deciding I wanted to do something about it. HOOF was created to help the women, femmes, thems and queer folks of the Chicago punk scene to collaborate, socialize, and build community.
HOOF is an event that is both joyous and healing! It’s got SO many great bands, EXCELLENT drag performers, and one of the funniest stand up comedians I’ve ever seen. It’s going to be an event that’s full of positive energy and an excellent place to connect and make new friends! Also, this year it will be at the historic Egyptian Theatre in downtown Dekalb, IL, and is apparently haunted. So, the vibes of a slumber party with your besties AND there might be ghosts? I mean c’mon, you GOTTA go.
We released our new album back in June! It’s called La Vie en Rouge and it’s FABULOUS. Also, Sweetie will be back at the Egyptian Theatre on Halloween to open up for the Rocky Horror Picture Show!”
Check out all the fun from last year’s HOOF and catch it again October 11th!
Didn’t have enough from the day one gallery of Riot Fest 2025? Well here’s our day two with more album plays and a stacked lineup! The Bouncing Souls played through their 2001 hit album How I Spent My Summer Vacation with fans singing along to every song (of course). Day two of Riot Fest had […]
Didn’t have enough from the day one gallery of Riot Fest 2025? Well here’s our day two with more album plays and a stacked lineup!
Day two of Riot Fest had a good variety of post-hardcore/emo bands with Citizen being one of them. Citizen is no stranger to Chicago or Dying Scene, last playing here with Movements and Scowl at the Aragon Ballroom.
Staying on the emo theme, Nashville’s Free Throw performed an energetic and melodic set.
Chicago’s annual punk rock music festival celebrated its 20th anniversary from September 19th-21st with three jam-packed days of legendary music acts, full album play sets, and some notable local Chicago punk bands to celebrate Riot Fest’s Chicago roots. Opening day included headliners Blink-182, “Weird Al” Yankovic and Alkaline Trio. No matter your musical preference, there’s […]
Chicago’s annual punk rock music festival celebrated its 20th anniversary from September 19th-21st with three jam-packed days of legendary music acts, full album play sets, and some notable local Chicago punk bands to celebrate Riot Fest’s Chicago roots. Opening day included headliners Blink-182, “Weird Al” Yankovic and Alkaline Trio. No matter your musical preference, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Let’s get on with day one!
Alkaline Trio performed an album play-through of their second studio album, Maybe I’ll Catch Fire. We took a look back at this album released 25 years ago, check out that review here!
Celtic punk legends The Pogues featured an expanded line up to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their album Rum Sodomy & the Lash.
Touché Amoré ran the stage with their energetic and powerful vocals and equally enthusiastic fans.
One of the newest bands on my radar is The Barbarians of California, a metallic hardcore band from…California! With the tag line “They’re your new favorite band,” the act is collaboration from Aaron Bruno of AWOLNATION and producer/engineer Eric Stenman.
Chicago’s own metalcore group Harm’s Way joined the lineup of an already impressive amount of hardcore bands playing at Riot Fest. They are currently touring with the blackgaze powerhouse Deafheaven.
The New York hardcore punks Agnostic Front need no introduction. They performed their 1984 debut album Victim in Pain in its entirety.
A band I never had the chance to see live I was looking forward to on this day was The Didjits, a punk band formed in 1981 in Mattoon, Illinois (that’s just under 200 miles south of Chicago). They released five full-length albums through Chicago’s Touch and Go Records, an independent label that has a roster including the likes of The Jesus Lizard, Die Kreuzen, The Effigies and many more.
Honey Revenge is pop punk from California and slay on stage. Consisting of Devin Papadol on vocals and Donovan Lloyd on guitar, Honey Revenge bring an immense amount of fun energy on stage that you cannot help but dance and sing along to. On top of that the overall aesthetics is pretty fabulous if you ask me.
Harrison Gordon is “emo guitar music” from Normal, Illinois and they have made a name for themselves in the Midwest indie scene. Their latest EP Spring Break! was released in March of this year.
Last in our day one gallery (but certainly not the least) is another Chicago-local band La Rosa Noir. Part post-punk, part Midwest surf, La Rosa Noir has been conquering the Chicago music scene with their eclectic sound and dark hypnotic vibes.
On July 18th Chicago’s Metro hosted a phenomenal line up of punk rock bands that was not one to miss. Check it out! The night began already with high energy; no slow build up is necessary as Chicago natives Flatfoot 56 took the stage, crushing through “Live or Die Trying”. Flatfoot 56 will be back […]
On July 18th Chicago’s Metro hosted a phenomenal line up of punk rock bands that was not one to miss. Check it out!
The night began already with high energy; no slow build up is necessary as Chicago natives Flatfoot 56 took the stage, crushing through “Live or Die Trying”.
Flatfoot 56 will be back to bring their brand of Celtic punk rock at Chicago’s Cobra Lounge on August 30th to support The MethadonesLove on Layaway record release show. Grab your tickets here before it sells out!
Street punk legends The Casualties stormed the stage next with fans erupting into a frenzy of moshing and singing along throughout their performance.
The Casualties have a slew of tour dates coming up, starting with Charleston, South Carolina on August 27th and ending with Punk in the Park in San Pedro, California on October 5th.
With an explosion of confetti and beer flying through the air, The Adicts finally made it to the stage for this highly anticipated show. Complete with the Clockwork Orange droog image and joker cards thrown about, The Adicts played fan favorites “Joker in the Pack” and “Viva la Revolution”. Whether you are an old fan or new, they put on an impressive performance that is impossible not to have fun at.
The Adicts are back at it with The Casualties on October 3rd in New York City if you are lucky enough to be there!
Canadian badass and fierce punk rockers NOBRO and Bad Waitress teamed up for The Go For Broke Tour, kicking off at Punk Rock Bowling in May before traveling across the United States. Chicago’s own Carnivore Mommy started off the night with a performance nothing short of theatrical. We first featured the in-your-face band last fall […]
Canadian badass and fierce punk rockers NOBRO and Bad Waitress teamed up for The Go For Broke Tour, kicking off at Punk Rock Bowling in May before traveling across the United States.
Chicago’s own Carnivore Mommy started off the night with a performance nothing short of theatrical. We first featured the in-your-face band last fall for H.O.O.F. (Hands Off Our Fest), a Chicago music festival celebrating the women, femmes and thems in punk rock.
On May 25th they released their newest single “Dissonance”, check it out here! Carnivore Mommy is very quickly becoming one of my favorite local bands; see them live and they will be yours, too.
Next up is Canadian punk rock band Bad Waitress, whom I have been dying to see come through Chicago. Aggressive and lively, the band blasted through fan favorites, including “What Do I Want?”, “That Sedative” and “Manners”, plus their newest single “Plan B”.
Guitarist Katelyn Molgard ricocheted through the crowd and on stage while Kali-Ann Butala sang with unique course-textured vocals, keeping the night of unapologetic rowdy energy alive and well.
Fellow Canadian punk band NOBRO closed the night with their own brand of ferocious femme force. They released their debut full-length album Set Your Pussy Freeon October 27th, 2023 via Dine Alone Records to much appraise, winning the 2025 JUNO award for Rock Album of the Year.
History was made for Pierce the Veil in Chicago as they played their largest headlining show ever – a sold-out amphitheater of 26,000 people. The post-hardcore band from San Diego, California was joined with Sleeping With Sirens and Beach Weather at the Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre on June 7th as part of their I Can’t […]
History was made for Pierce the Veil in Chicago as they played their largest headlining show ever – a sold-out amphitheater of 26,000 people.
The post-hardcore band from San Diego, California was joined with Sleeping With Sirens and Beach Weather at the Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre on June 7th as part of their I Can’t Hear You World Tour. Baby and elder emos alike flocked to the Tinley Park venue, keeping the resurgence of emo music alive and well.
Indie rockers Beach Weather opened the evening, best known for their hit song “Sex, Drugs, Etc.” Sleeping With Sirens hit the stage next to a now packed amphitheater with more fans still trickling in.
Sleeping With Sirens has long cemented their place as a gold standard in the world of screamo and metalcore, making them the perfect fit to tour with Pierce the Veil (and it wouldn’t be their first time). Frontman Kellin Quinn’s vocals are unmatched, reaching high pitches that are powerfully emotional.
Pierce the Veil truly has had a phenomenally dedicated fan base since the release of their breakthrough album, Collide with the Sky, in 2012. If you’ve ever been to Warped Tour, there’s a good chance you have seen Pierce the Veil play. Only this time they aren’t playing in the parking lot; they’re selling out the entire amphitheater.
After a long hiatus the band released their fifth studio album The Jaws of Life on February 10th, 2023. The I Can’t Hear You World Tour supports all of their studio albums, featuring songs from each one.
Whether you are an old fan from their Warped Tour days, or a new one just discovering their music, this tour is not one to miss; they are back and better than ever.
Die Spitz is taking the world by storm one city at a time already selling out Chicago’s Schubas Tavern, and they only just started. Chicago’s own Edging opened the show with an equal amount of fun and fury. Just like Die Spitz, you can count on Edging to become a legendary punk band to bless […]
Die Spitz is taking the world by storm one city at a time already selling out Chicago’s Schubas Tavern, and they only just started.
Chicago’s own Edging opened the show with an equal amount of fun and fury. Just like Die Spitz, you can count on Edging to become a legendary punk band to bless your city by playing there.
Already having opened for Amyl and the Sniffers, this fall they will be touring with one of my all time favorite bands, Lambrini Girls (so excited!).
I love it when I see female bands conquer the scene.
Die Spitz was first formed in 2022 in Austin, TX and released their first EP, The Revenge of Evangeline, in the same year. Their follow up EP, Teeth, was released in 2023 and won Austin Music Awards’ Album of the Year. They also recently signed with Third Man Records with plans to release their debut LP with them later this year.
Die Spitz live is a totally rowdy and wild experience, complete with band members crowd surfing and audience participation. At one point they called for all girls to the front and on stage; you can tell they thoroughly enjoy what they are doing and put their all into every moment.
For a band that has not been in the scene for very long they are very quickly, and well deservedly, making a name for themselves.
Check out the full galleries below and support the bands!
Chicago lipstick-punk band Sweetie returns with a new music video just in time for Pride Month, and Dying Scene is giving you the exclusive premiere! Oh Sweetie, didn’t you know? Nice girls DON’T wear cha cha heels. Chicago’s favorite lipstick-punk band, Sweetie, is back with another banger, and this time it’s loaded up with hairspray, […]
Chicago lipstick-punk band Sweetie returns with a new music video just in time for Pride Month, and Dying Scene is giving you the exclusive premiere!
Oh Sweetie, didn’t you know? Nice girls DON’T wear cha cha heels. Chicago’s favorite lipstick-punk band, Sweetie, is back with another banger, and this time it’s loaded up with hairspray, attitude, and a pencil-thin moustache.
Inspired by the iconic line from John Waters cinematic masterpiece, Female Trouble (1974), “Nice Girls Don’t Wear Cha Cha Heels” is an energetic song that grabs you and shakes you as hard as she can, filling the listener with queer energy and blind feminine range.
For the video, Sweetie brought in a variety of scenes referencing John Waters films. “I really wanted to make this a love letter to John Waters. I’ve been obsessed with him and Divine for so long and I really wanted an homage to his films. The moment I wrote “Cha Cha Heels”, the ideas for music videos started pouring into my mind. Luckily, I have a badass group of pals who love to get dressed up in drag and be silly and make art, so I had LOTS of help. I also wanted to open it to the community, so I had people send in lip syncing clips for the video!”
This music video premier leads up to the release of Sweetie’s sophomore album, La Vie en Rouge. Sweetie will be having their record release show on Friday, June 27th at the Egyptian Theatre in Dekalb, IL, with their musical performance being directly followed by a showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, accompanied by the Irrational Masters shadow-casting the film. Presale tickets can be purchased here.
Before their record release show, you can catch Sweetie on June 14th in Chicago for the Queer Takeover at the Color Club!
Check out the Dying Scene exclusive premiere of Sweetie’s “Nice Girls Don’t Wear Cha Cha Heels”!
Teen Mortgage just debuted their first Roadrunner Records album Devil Ultrasonic Dream on April 11th and are wrapping up their headlining tour with support from Babe Haven, Spoon Benders and Upchuck. Check out what you might have missed from their stop in Chicago! Opening act Upchuck set the tone with their own brand of punk rock. […]
Teen Mortgage just debuted their first Roadrunner Records album Devil Ultrasonic Dream on April 11th and are wrapping up their headlining tour with support from Babe Haven, Spoon Benders and Upchuck. Check out what you might have missed from their stop in Chicago!
Opening act Upchuck set the tone with their own brand of punk rock. Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, the band leads with a commanding presence as vocalist KT scowls relentlessly on stage.
Upchuck released their second LP in 2023, Bite The Hand That Feeds, which was produced by Ty Segall. The album goes hard and has all the high energy you would expect from a punk band.
Chicago got a taste of what happens when you light up a garage punk Molotov cocktail in an intimate sold out music venue as Teen Mortgage took the stage; chaotic, loud, and filled with defiant energy.
The duo boasted their signature sound at Cobra Lounge, blending abrasive guitar riffs with implacable thunderous percussion. The mosh pits were non-stop as well with zero signs of slowing down. Seeing Teen Mortgage live is a sharp reminder of exactly what punk should feel like.
Their newest album Devil Ultrasonic Dream is filled withfuzz-drenched grinding tracks that you would definitely hear on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. Highly recommend listening to this album!
