Sweetie is a Chicago-based lipstick punk band with a femme fatale ferocity and a French attitude, thanks to frontwoman Birdy Vee, who blends her francophone background with her fervor for punk and drag. Voted a Top 5 Punk Band in the Chicago Reader two years in a row, Sweetie commands the stage at punk and drag shows alike, including venues such as The Green Mill, The Egyptian Theatre, Reggie’s, Beat Kitchen, The Forge, Cobra Lounge, Last Rites, Liar’s Club, and Metro. Their debut album, Bad Thing, Sweet Thing, was released in 2020, and is soon to be followed by their second album La Vie En Rouge, set for release in June 2025. Festival appearances include Motoblot, War On Xmas, Elgin Pride and Hands Off Our Fest, organized by frontwoman Birdy Vee to showcase fellow femme-fronted bands.  The three-piece has shared the stage with touring acts such as The Lawrence Arms, Suzi Moon, The Soapgirls, Koffin Kats, The Dollyrots, Sorry Mom, Hayley and the Crushers, and Soraia. In the past, Sweetie held a residency as the house band for T-Time at the Comedy Shrine, a queer comedy and drag variety show. They currently hold a residency as the house band for The Rocky Horror Picture Show at The Egyptian Theater in DeKalb, IL. They have also collaborated extensively within the drag community, playing at Dragzilla, Nightcaps, and Witchorama.

Personal growth, rebirth, even revolution – these transformative concepts are the heart of what Soraia is. Redeeming themes like these inform the songs on 'Dig Your Roots', the band’s March 2020 album released through Steven Van Zandt's Wicked Cool Records. While touring the west coast in support of their newest album in March 2020, Covid-19 was declared a pandemic by the CDC, ending the typical promotion and touring behind their newest release and forcing the group to reconsider how to approach the future. They embraced it. Staying connected via personal releases of cover songs released on limited run lathe-cut vinyl, they continued to build and reinforce their solid fan relationships with unique handmade merch, livestreams, Q and A events, and weekly connections with their fans through Facebook Lives, Instagram, and personal back-and-forths on social media. They stayed strong and positive, all the while continuing to write music. Soraia released a Christmas single (2021) that ended up on Little Steven's personal Spotify holiday playlist, and participated in gigs to assist in raising money for NIVA and TeachRock.org. Directly on the heels of their holiday release, they released another single, "Tight-Lipped" in January 2021 which garnered them their first Top 25 Billboard Rock Charting (#23) and justifiably crossed Soraia over from satellite radio rotation into major market commercial rotation, including rotation on their hometown station, WMMR-FM, WDHA-FM, and Detroit's WRIF-FM. Their video for the song, filmed at the height of the pandemic in Los Angeles with a small team of artists and new director Sam Shapson (Halestorm, All Time Low, Machine Gun Kelly), is a thriller-style mini-movie which debuted on both Billboard's and Loudwire's sites in February/March 2021. The band is beyond excited to begin playing live shows again, including their first one in New York City which sold out in less than 24 hours. They continue to write for their next album, and are ready to get back to what they love to do in 2021: unleashing live with their fans and filled with a renewed gratitude, vigor, and fire.

While punk rock often wears black, Hayley and the Crushers paint the scene in hot pink – and make no apologies for it. The Detroit band is a turbo-charged, glitter-bombed tsunami of bold, bad girl power. Born in the sunny surf town of San Luis Obispo, California, their sound exists in a retro-futuristic sweet spot where 80s daydreams collide with underground ferocity, always delivered with a wink and a nod to the classics. Led by guitarist Hayley Cain and bassist Dr. Cain Esq., they caught the ear of New Wave icon Josie Cotton in 2021, who signed the group to LA's Kitten Robot Records, and proclaimed the band "the naked embodiment of power pop punk." The Crushers' subsequent album Modern Adult Kicks (2022) was produced by Paul Roessler of The Screamers, whose producer credits include Richie Ramone and labelmates TSOL. Kicks solidified the band's ability to dance between grit and glitz, matching raw power with radio-ready hooks. A 2022 move to Detroit energized new audiences and has infused the band's poolside antics with Motor City muscle. Unsubscribe from the Underground (2024) doubles down on sticky, shimmering melodies and ever-present quirkiness: Bright blasts of sugary punk collide with 60s girl group romance and fist-pumping adrenaline—all par for the course in the Crusherverse.

occult rockers from another galaxy elaborating on the sacred sciences of punk & rock 'n' roll