In recent years we have seen the rise of many small bands. Having attended local performances, I spoke to some of the outstanding young artists, all hoping to make their mark on the music industry.

Chainsaw Fight

Rising folk band and recent winners of The Lounge Bar’s best folk-pop act, Chainsaw Fight formed in January 2023.

At their recent performance, the band created an electric atmosphere with their music and great band chemistry, clearly enjoying playing together, exciting the audience, leading to a great performance.

Their goal for the future is to “keep on keeping on”, most of the songs they play are covers with a couple of originals from various projects which they hope to continue. When interviewing them I found out that they “try to not take [themselves] too seriously” and like to “try everything until [they] find what works”. “We enjoy everything about creating music, there is a great satisfaction from playing with others and it sounding good.”

Benchy and the Gazers 

A shoegaze band, formed in college. With a great passion and connection to their music their stage presence stands out as unique as they showcase this distinctive style.

The band started because of their shared love for shoegaze music, and they are inspired by bands like Slowdive. Their hopes for the future are “just to be able to keep playing and release some more music”.

The band enjoys creating and preforming music because of “the look on people’s faces, creating that certain energy in the room is just incredible, it’s all wild playing covers, but playing your own music, sharing that, is such an experience.”

Scarlet Tsunami

Originally formed in late 2023, the music they preform is a mix between alt-rock and indie style music which distinctively evokes emotion. The band sings with confidence and a connection to their music and really good band chemistry which leads to a very impressive performance.

The band formed as they wanted to be more flexible in the music industry, deviating from what they typically preform “I felt there was a lax of drummers”.  “We’d like to see the band going far, being hired by more venues and getting more publicity. We like our music and think others will.”

The band enjoys the creativity of creating and preforming music: “we like to tell a story and portray certain emotions that you don’t get from other pieces of media, we see it as a doorway into the band member's lives and a way to portray bigger messages that aren’t widely talked about.” They believe the easiest way to have some fun is to be loud and entertain.

With fun performances and connections with their audiences, these versatile groups send a message, and we can hope to see some great things from them in the future, be sure to give them a follow on social media!