MEST has had a busy year so far touring across Europe before stopping back home to Chicago…and they are not done yet!
115 Bourbon Street is a New Orleans-themed venue packed with multiple stages and on Friday, June 28th hosted MEST and a slew of other bands, including Rematch, NightCap and Highwire.
MEST released the new album ‘Youth‘ via SBÄM Records on June 21st. It features guest appearances by Jaret Reddick of Bowling For Soup and Spencer Charnas of Ice Nine Kills.
Of the new LP, founding member and front man Tony Lovato says, “The drives to the studio were about an hour and 20 minutes long. A lot of my inspiration for this record was found on those drives. I would just listen to all the records that I grew up listening to. Which brought back a ton of memories. It would just put me in another state of mind. The majority of “Youth” was written up in the hills of Los Angeles where I recorded a bunch of our early records. I would get random flashbacks seeing spots I hadn’t seen in years. But as much as I love all the memories and stories of the past, I’m not one to think that the best days are over. I’m creating new core memories and living my life now, so that in 20 years I’ll look back fondly. The same as I do now. These songs are a cheers to the past with a here’s to the future.”
MEST released their seventh album, ‘Masquerade,’ in January 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic. They toured extensively in 2019 with Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake, and Millencolin. Looking ahead, MEST plans to release three new LPs, starting with ‘Youth,’ and has secured deals with Avex Records in Japan and SBAM Records in Europe.
When asked to sum up 28 years of MEST, Tony replied, “I don’t know, I mean honestly it feels like we’re just getting started…”
Maintaining their blue-collar work ethic, MEST continues to earn fans through their grassroots approach and looks forward to performing their energetic live shows worldwide. The future looks promising as they prepare to release new music and hit the road again.
MEST will continue to keep the ball rolling with shows in Mexico this month, followed by some West Coast stops in September.
Check out more photos from the 115 Bourbon Street concert below in case you missed it!
