If MACROCK was a person, they’d be legal to love on. In it’s 19th year, the annual DIY festival held in venues in and around Harrisonburg, VA, continues to be one of the Commonwealth’s best and most unique music festivals.
If MACROCK was a person, they’d be legal to love on. In it’s 19th year, the annual DIY festival held in venues in and around Harrisonburg, VA, continues to be one of the Commonwealth’s best and most unique music festivals.
Started in 1996 in connection with JMU’s student run radio station, the festival aims to bring indie, metal, rock and more acts to the foot hills of the Appalachian trail. While its notoriety has faded some, it continues to be a labor of love for those involved.
This year, as with year’s before, a big fat handful of RVA bands will makes stops at MACROCK, and while we’ve got an intrepid reporter of our own heading out to give us a post-show run down, here’s a heads up on the bands you should keep an eye out for.
These self-proclaimed “sleezeball punks” put on a great live show. Their music is a sweet mix of good ol’ garage rock with fast, catchy riffs. Definitely a group worth spilling most of your beer in the pit over.
Listening to the gravelly voice of singer Julie Story in person will give you chills. Not to mention that this band is one of the best alt-rock outfits coming out of RVA right now. Doll Baby will break your heart and get stuck in your head.
Truman live is an experience like no other, you may will feel like you are also watching a performance piece. The way their music easily glides from a quiet guitar lick to a full heavy hitting explosion of emo violence will blow your mind. Last time I saw them they played Circle Thrift and they played so loud people had to to leave the room every once and awhile to give their ears a rest.
The delicate, raw psychedelia of Basmati is incredibly charming. This three piece does a great job at performing their rolling, introspective music and entrancing the crowd. Their sound is the musical version of getting lost in a deep thought.
Music to shamelessly head bang to. Book of Wyrms does a great service to the genre of stoner metal by actually being good at it. They will make you smile, their sincere intensity will make you dance. Don’t miss this band,
This band is getting big, come see them while you can still afford to and get to be a hipster about it later. It’s sweet, pure math rock with Death Cab for Cutie-esque vocals. Clair Morgan’s undiluted feelings are conveyed by extremely talented musicians.
They just released an EP and are hot off an East Coast tour. Atta Girl is on a roll and you’re going to want to catch them. I think they might have made up the genre “twee punk” and it’s the best way to describe them. Atta Girl sonically is like an argument you really enjoyed having.
There’s also a number of national acts rolling through that are very much worth your time. Check out these bad boys if/when you get the chance.
Hemlines – DC
This band is super fucking good. Hemlines is a great example of modern alternative and are probably the band I am most excited to see. It’s gonna be lit.
Gym Shorts – Providence, RI
They just played Gallery Five last friday and I have to catch them again. If you missed them, don’t beat yourself up and just get yr ass over to their set this weekend. Gym Shorts sound like a panic attack at the beach and I’m bringing xanax and swim trunks.
AbduAli Baltimore MD
He also played in Richmond just last week. I missed him and will not make that mistake twice. He is described by noisey as http://noisey.vice.com/blog/abdu-ali-baltimore-interview-profile-2014 “an artist who’s more Blowfly than Bobby Shmurda, channeling Grace Jones and owing as much to Death as he does to DMX.”
Wolf Eyes Detroit
Widely proclaimed to be the kings of US noise. This band is super important so go see them.
The Heads are Zeros Baltimore MD
You will see this band, they will scare the shit out of you, and you will stay for their whole set. I wonder how the singer still can speak after pushing their vocal chords to limits that they do. The Heads are Zeros’ music is an intensity you won’t want to miss.
