Watchhouse (Moved from The Neptune Theatre)

Watchhouse, the North Carolina based duo of Andrew Marlin & Emily Frantz, have announced a new studio album called Rituals, due out May 30, 2025 via Tiptoe Tiger Music / Thirty Tigers. The collection marks the pair’s first release of all new, original songs since their 2021 self-titled album, which earned praise from Rolling Stone (“pristine acoustic picking collides with hazy, dream-like psychedelia”) Mojo, NPR Music, American Songwriter and more.   Starting over a decade ago playing coffee shops and local restaurants around North Carolina, Watchhouse is a grassroots success story that’s been driven by Marlin’s poignant songwriting. With sold-out shows at legendary venues like Red Rocks and the Ryman Auditorium, and hundreds of millions of streams, they’ve earned a reputation for creating music that “redefines roots music for a younger generation” (Washington Post). The duo - now with a family of their own - are two singers and musicians with profound chemistry, performing earnest yet masterfully crafted songs that encompass the unknowable mysteries, existential heartbreak, and communal joys of modern life. The forthcoming album is no exception.

Deltron 3030

Deltron 3030 is an alternative hip hop supergroup composed of producer Dan the Automator, rapper Del the Funky Homosapien, and Kid Koala. They also collaborate with a variety of other musicians under many futuristic pseudonyms.

Cosmo Sheldrake

Bllind Pilot and John Craigie

Much like community, music nourishes us mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It also invites us to come together under the same roof and in a shared moment. In similar fashion, John Craigie rallies a closeness around music anchored by his expressive and stirring songcraft, emotionally charged vocals, lively soundscapes, and uncontainable spirit. The Portland, OR-based singer, songwriter, and producer invites everyone into this space on his 2024 full-length album, Pagan Church. Following tens of millions of streams, sold out shows everywhere, and praise from Rolling Stone and more, he continues to captivate. “The music is always evolving and devolving with each new record,” he observes. “With my last album Mermaid Salt, I really wanted to explore the sound of isolation and solitude as everyone was heading inside. With this record, I wanted to record the sound of everyone coming back out.” In order to capture that, he didn’t go about it alone… Instead, he joined forces with some local friends. At the time, TK & The Holy Know-Nothings booked a slew of outdoor gigs in Portland and they invited Craigie to sit in for a handful of shows. The musicians instinctively identified an unspoken, yet seamless chemistry with each other. Joined by three of the five members, Craigie cut “Laurie Rolled Me a J” and kickstarted the process. With the full band in tow, they hunkered down in an old schoolhouse TK & The Holy Know-Nothings had converted into a de facto headquarters and studio, and recorded the eleven tracks on Pagan Church.

Maoli

Maoli, referred to as Hawaii and Polynesia’s No. 1 independent commercial recording artist, has transcended borders with their extraordinary talent, capturing the hearts of music enthusiasts worldwide. The band,which is fronted by Glenn Awong, formed in 2007 and has since performed across the U.S., New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. In 2020 Maoli won group of the year and album of the year for their record Sense Of Purpose at iHeart’s Island Awards, followed by album of the year and song of the year in 2021. In 2023 the band embarked on the Maoli Music Overload (MMO) tour selling more than 45,000 tickets across four cities in Hawaii, in addition to selling 11,500 tickets on the MMO US tour plus several Festival appearances including Cali Roots and Holo Holo Fest Sacramento.

Fruit Bats

Eric D. Johnson rarely lingers at one location too long.   “There’s always been motion in my life between one place and another,” says the Fruit Bats songwriter.   As a kid growing up in the Midwest, Johnson’s family moved around a lot, but it wasn’t until he became a touring musician years later that motion became a central part of his identity. That transient lifestyle stoked an enduring reverence for the world he watched pass by through a van window   A sense of place is a unifying theme he’s revisited with Fruit Bats throughout its many lives. From the project’s origins in the late ’90s as a vehicle for Johnson’s lo-fi tinkering to the more sonically ambitious work of recent years, Fruit Bats has often showcased love songs where people and locations meld into one. It’s a loose song structure that navigates what he calls “the geography of the heart.”   Those pathways extend straight through the newest Fruit Bats album, aptly titled A River Running to Your Heart. Self-produced by Johnson—a first for Fruit Bats—with Jeremy Harris at Panoramic House just north of San Francisco, it’s Fruit Bats’ tenth full-length release. The album finds the project in the middle of a people-powered climb leading to the biggest shows, loudest accolades, and most enthusiastic new fans in Fruit Bats history! It’s hard to pinpoint a single reason for this mid-career resurgence. But after two decades of making music, hard-earned emotional maturity has clearly seeped into Johnson’s already inviting songs, resulting in a sound that’s connected with audiences like no other previous version of the band.   A River Running to Your Heart represents the fullest realization of Johnson’s creative vision to date. It’s a sonically diverse effort that largely explores the importance of what it means to be home, both physically and spiritually. And while that might seem like a peculiar focus for an artist who’s constantly in motion, for Fruit Bats, home can take many forms—from the obvious to the obscure.   Lead single “Rushin’ River Valley” is a self-propelled love song written about Johnson’s wife that clings to the borrowed imagery of the place where she grew up in northern California. Then, there’s the gentle and unfussy acoustic ballad “We Used to Live Here,” which looks back to a time of youthful promise and cheap rent. But the wistful “It All Comes Back” is perhaps the most stunning and surprising track on the album, Johnson’s production skills on full display. Built upon intricate layers of synths, keyboards, and guitars, it’s a pitch-perfect blend of tone and lyricism that taps into our shared apprehensions and hopes for a post-pandemic life.   “We lost some time / But we can make it back / Let’s take it easy on ourselves, okay?” sings a world-weary but ultimately reassuring Johnson in the song’s opening lines. It’s the kind of performance that makes you hope Fruit Bats stays in this one place, at least for a little while longer.  

Greensky Bluegrass

For two decades now, Greensky Bluegrass have been building an empire, brick by brick.  They are widely known for their dazzling live performances and relentless touring schedule, but that is only the tip of the complex tale of the five musicians that make up Greensky Bluegrass: Anders Beck [dobro], Michael Arlen Bont [banjo], Dave Bruzza [guitar], Mike Devol [upright bass], and Paul Hoffman [Mandolin].  The five are connected through a deep bond, just as they are seasoned road warriors, they’re a band of brothers who have seen each other through decades of ups and downs, personal and collective highlights, and the moments when life turns it all upside down. These are real people having real experiences. As with traditional bluegrass, they write about their own contemporary day-to-day happenings, emotions, and experiences in the modern world. The band’s underground die-hard fans pack out venues across the country. They travel in droves and sell out multiple-night show runs at iconic venues like Red Rocks and The Ryman.   “As songwriters and musicians, we have a need for people to be on board,  we’re not just regurgitating the same shit,” explains Bruzza.   Hoffman adds, “we aren’t a band all for money. We did it for romantic reasons such as love, catharsis, and because it mattered to us and the listeners. It would be easy to make decisions based on our needs to eat or the desires of others, but that’s not doing it for love. We love what we do, and we’re grateful for the love we receive in return from the people listening.” Bruzza continues, “I hope they know we’re doing this for us and them.”        

Otoboke Beaver

Otoboke Beaver are a punk-rock-garage quartet from Kyoto, Japan. Formed at Kyoto University’s music club, the band consists of Accorinrin (Lead Vocal & Guitar), Yoyoyoshie (Guitar & Vocals), Hirochan (Bass & Vocals) and Kahokiss (Drums & Vocals).     Acco's off-kilter self-taught compositional and confrontational performance skills, together with the band's incredible musicianship make for a thrilling and unmissable live act.     Receiving attention from the likes of Pitchfork, NPR, i-D, The Fader, Stereogum, NYLON, BrooklynVegan and many more, and acclaimed debuts at SXSW, FujiRock Festival, Coachella Music Festival and Lowlands Festival. Recent converts include Tadanobu Asano, Aidan Moffat, The Cribs (describing them as "PUNK AS F*CK"), and Dave Grohl (“It’ll blow your mind, dude”).     In 2020 the band quit their day jobs and were about to embark on a world tour. They completed a two-week tour in Europe and were getting ready to start their first US tour when the world locked down due to the pandemic. With touring no longer possible during that time, the band worked on new music. Now, in preparation for the release of their new album, the band are looking forward picking up where they left off and will finally be on their way to world domination!      

Bingo Loco (21+ Event)

EXP Music Festival