Chicago post-emo band Frontega formed in 2022 by core members featuring: vocalist and bassist Ryan Sobie, drummer Jeremy Adams, guitarist Zach Swearingen, and guitarist Brannon Duffin. Frontega has planted itself as a name-stay across Chicago and surrounding regions over the last few years. Fundamentally inspired by modern emo acts such as Hail the Sun and Balance and Composure, they also root themselves in many eclectic styles of music such as: post-rock, shoegaze, folk, and alt-country. Frontega has embarked on a multi-week national tour with Empty Parking Lot and breathingtechniques. In September 2025 Frontega put out their follow-up to their 2023 self-titled album, “All Goodbyes”, and has garnered 20,000 streams on the EP’s lead single “No Leaves”.

Mud Whale is an alt-rock band formed in 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. The band’s current lineup comprises vocalist and guitarist Michael Morris, bassist TJ May, guitarist Justin Cheuvront and drummer Avery Sylvaine. Mud Whale’s powerful sound has made them one of the fastest-growing rock bands in the Midwest, propelled by strong songwriting, razor-sharp musicianship, a singular vision and a collaborative, cooperative spirit. Their music combines many of the striking qualities of the artists that inspired them: the grungy melodicism of Basement and Superheaven, the hardcore intensity of Turnstile and Touché Amoré, the skyscraping atmospheres of Circa Survive, and even the drawling indie-rock of Modest Mouse.  Rising from a Cleveland underground scene that has exploded in recent years, Mud Whale has shared the stage with groups including Glare, Modern Color, Slomosa, Static Dress, Harrison Gordon, Heart to Gold, Many Eyes and The Velveteers. The road-tested band has embarked on multiple regional tours and played at Fauxchella, an annual DIY festival in Bowling Green, Ohio. Mud Whale released their debut album Everything in Moderation in 2021, which was called “a beautifully polished and inventive record that’s packed with an impressive variety of sounds” by Swim Into the Sound. Their second album, Humans Pretending to Be Human, was released in late 2024.

Tall Grass is an Indie Rock/Emo band from Cleveland, Ohio. Ben Principe (vocals/guitar) and Jonah Rigby (drums) formed the band in the summer of 2019, with Mario Benjamin (vocals/guitar) and Paul Perrotti (bass) joining in 2021. The group takes influence from indie bands such as The Strokes, Interpol, The Replacements, Bloc Party, Peach Pit and Guided By Voices, with a hint of pop-punk edge like acts Green Day and Fontaines DC. They currently have two albums released, their self-titled album Tall Grass from 2022 and and their follow up, Monarch Butterfly from 2023. Tall Grass has been in the Cleveland music scene for over 5 years, playing with touring acts: Ben Quad, Dogpark, Super American, Teen Mortgage, Radiator Hospital, and Snarls.

With zero exceptions or quarters given Cleveland rock & rollers, Lowspot, are one thing: LOUD. The disparate children of Northeast Ohio's punk and metal scenes, the members of Lowspot take all the classic ingredients of maximum volume, maximum distortion, and maximum hooks to weave songs that simultaneously feel both familiar and new.