Jinjer @ Diamond Ballroom - Oklahoma City, OK
June 28th 2026: Jinjer, Crystal Lake, Entheos @ Diamond Ballroom - Oklahoma City, OK
Jinjer - Photos Courtesy of: Ally Arens
Ukrainian metal act Jinjer is currently in the midst of their Duel tour across North America, in support of their 2025 album of the same name, bringing their punchy riffs and stunningly brutal vocals to audiences across the country. Joined by Entheos and Crystal Lake, the three bands together have put together a show that is not to be missed by any self-respecting metal fan, with many a mosh pit and crowd surfer to be seen.
First to take the stage was Entheos, hailing from Santa Cruz, California. Though I was not super familiar with their discography before the evening, it was difficult not to become entranced by the deep growls emitted from vocalist Chaney Crabb as the quartet performed tracks such as “Hell is a Part of Me” and “Empty on the Inside.” The band also teased the release of their next album on October 23 of this year, so fans can excitedly be on the lookout for that in a few months.
Next up was Japanese metalcore act Crystal Lake, who were in a bit of a unique position as their most recent vocalist, John Centorrino, departed from the band in March, not too long after this tour was announced. In his place for much of the current run of shows was Myke Terry, known for his work with Fire From the Gods and Volumes, and I must say that Myke absolutely crushed it. His screams blended wonderfully with the rest of the band, and together they had the crowd amped up.
Finally, just after 9 p.m., Jinjer took the stage, and all in attendance were instantly enthralled as the band emerged, led by vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk. Leading their set with the tour’s title track, followed by “Green Serpent” and “Fast Draw,” Shmayluk’s live vocals are an enigma to behold as she switches seemingly effortlessly between gorgeous belts and devious growls. Meanwhile, a sea of crowd-surfers began to approach the stage before the first three songs had ended, and did not cease for the rest of the evening. Though the setlist understandably leaned heavily on tracks from their latest release, fans of earlier albums were not left out with the inclusion of tracks such as “Perennial” and “Pisces,” and a wonderful night of metal greatness was had by all.
Jinjer’s Duel tour continues through July, concluding with an appearance at Vans Warped Tour in Long Beach, CA on July 25, before the band makes their way through the UK and Europe later this fall. All upcoming shows can be found on their website.
Crystal Lake
Entheos
Holly Humberstone @ Theater of Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA
June 9th 2026: Holly Humberstone, Diva Smith @ Theater of Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA
Holly Humberstone | Photos Courtesy of: Carolyn Lederach
Holly Humberstone brought her Cruel World tour to Philly on June 9th 2026. The room filled with anxious fans looking forward to seeing Holly live, after it being a bit of time since she last toured in Philly. The front row crowd was a precious collection of die hard fans, including some who donned some Holly tattoos. Holly took the stage with a huge smile on her face the whole night. As someone who has listened to Holly since the her first EP came out in 2020, and got to see her for the first time tonight the setlist did not disappoint.
Setlist
So It Starts...
Make It All Better
To Love Somebody
The Walls Are Way Too Thin
Cruel World
Blue Dream
Kissing in Swimming Pools
Die Happy
Paint My Bedroom Black
Down Swinging
Deep End
Beauty Pageant
White Noise
Falling Asleep at the Wheel
Red Chevy
Drunk Dialling
Dive
Lucy
Scarlett
Diva Smith
The Cab @ House of Blues - Chicago, IL
June 12th 2026: The Cab, CARR, and Paradise Fears @ House of Blues Chicago - Chicago, IL
The Cab - Photos Courtesy of: Emily Nava
On Friday, June 12th 2026, The Cab brought their 'Back From The Dead' Tour to a packed House of Blues Chicago with Paradise Fears and CARR. This tour follows the April release of their latest full-length album in over 10 years—Chasing Crowns.
CARR opened the show with a fierce and energetic set that got the crowd moving. Paradise Fears kept the show's momentum going with a performance full of singalong moments for their fans. The band also mentioned this was their first tour in over 10 years.
The Cab walked on stage and began their set with "Locked and Loaded," the first track from their latest album, after absorbing the crowd's palpable energy and excitement to see a band that hasn't toured in over a decade. The night was full of nostalgic moments, ranging from lead singer Alex DeLeon sharing stories of his teenage self writing "Vegas Skies" from the first The Cab album, Whisper War, to the band covering a few early 2000s pop hits. Although the show was very high-energy and featured songs across the band's discography, The Cab still welcomed intimate moments. They played stripped-down snippets of songs from their first album, and even created a mash-up of their song "One of THOSE Nights" with a cover of Justin Bieber's "YUKON". While asking for a show of hands from those who had seen them live before, DeLeon mentioned that regardless of how attendees discovered them or how long they had listened to The Cab, the band was grateful they had come to the show. The Cab will continue their tour across the United States through the rest of the month.
CARR
Paradise Fears
Alejando Aranda @ The Sultan Room - New York, NY
June 10th 2026: Alejando Aranda, Jake Swamp and The Pine, Amelie Lucille @ The Sultan Room - New York, NY
Alejando Aranda - Photos Courtesy of: Lesley Keller
Out of the gazillion seasons that have aired of the hit music competition show American Idol, there are a plethora of names that spring to mind when you’re talking about memorable auditions. Among those names near the top for me sits Pomona, CA-based Alejandro Aranda. Singing two of his original songs, “Cholo Love” and “Out Loud,” I can squarely remember looking up from my doom scrolling and wondering “Who the heck is this absolutely killing it on the guitar & piano?!?” Naturally, when I saw the chance to finally catch Alejandro live, I knew I had to be at The Sultan Room on a muggy Wednesday evening to witness the talent firsthand.
Easing us into things was NY-based Amelie Lucille. Accompanied by a cellist and violinist, my eyebrows shot up in surprise when I heard her begin to sing. To put it lightly, her voice rang through with more gravitas than I expected, and the crowd was pin-drop silent as she moved through each selection. I would later learn that evening that Amelie is 17 years old, and that fact struck me because at that age I remember sitting at home playing video games. If I was a betting woman, I’d bet that Amelie’s talent will carry her through a long career ahead.
Next up was Jake Swamp and The Pine - hailing from Boston, Massachusetts. Normally a full band, we were greeted by singer, songwriter & guitarist Drew Zieff, who launched into his set after a bit of lighthearted tuning and warm-up. From the first moment he opened his mouth and gave way to a voice that made everyone lower their drink, Drew alternated between captivating stories and immersive songs that touched on themes of triumph, pain and all the things in between.
Finally, everyone came a little bit closer to the stage when Alejandro walked on. Grabbing everyone’s attention, he dove straight into a song that honestly felt like it lasted at least 20 minutes, and I mean that in the best of ways. Everyone else in the room and I were captivated by how effortlessly the music poured out of him. As his hands moved over his guitar, I was in disbelief at how good this performance was, and it was just the first song of the night! A stunningly bold choice to rip 5 blistering guitar solos that morphed with relative ease, coupled with minimal lyrics and tender vocals, but it absolutely worked. Suddenly, I realized this is exactly how those American Idol judges must have felt upon first hearing Alejandro unleash his talent.
Defying standard genre definitions, the musical choices he makes are boundlessly interesting. There seems to be no telling where a song will transition to from one chord to the next, and I have to say, coupled with a gentle voice like his, the juxtaposition works beautifully. After a hilarious story of how he met, recorded music, and eventually toured with Twin Shadow, which then led him to that fateful audition, “Out Loud” settled into his set at the perfect time, and once again everyone in the room was captivated, punctuating the close of a stellar evening of music in Brooklyn.
Jake Swamp and The Pine
Amelie Lucille
James Blake @ Franklin Music Hall - Philadelphia, PA
June 4th 2026: James Blake @ Franklin Music Hall - Philadelphia, PA
James Blake | Photos Courtesy of: Carolyn Lederach
Chet Faker @ Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA
May 29th 2026: Chet Faker, Beacons, alex vs alex @ Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA
Chet Faker | Photos Courtesy of: Carolyn Lederach
alex vs alex
BEACON
The Great Escape 2026 @ Brighton, England
May 15th-16th 2026: The Great Escape @ Brighton, England
Photos Courtesy of: Carolyn Lederach
The Photo Ladies made it down to Brighton for this year’s Great Escape Festival. This year’s fest was especially significant, was it’s TGE’s 20th Anniversay! A feat for any festival to maintain itself that long, let alone stick to it’s roots, of being THE festival for new music discovery, which we certain can account for. This year proved to be a bit rainy and cold, but that didn’t stop industry folk, new fans, local supporters, and musicians from flooding the Brighton streets for 4 days.
We made sure to try and have a stop at every venue for a slew of our new favourite artists of 2026. Below you can catch the gallery of what we caught and a playlist to go along with. Happy listening and look forward to sharing more great artists in 2027!
Isak Benjamin
ugly ozo
The Hu @ Diamond Ballroom - Oklahoma City, OK
May 27th 2026: The Hu, Apocalyptica, The Rasmus @ Diamond Ballroom- Oklahoma City, OK
The Hu - Photos Courtesy of: Ally Arens
Of the hundreds of artists that I have had the pleasure of seeing live over the course of my lifetime, few have been quite as uniquely captivating as The Hu. Hailing from Mongolia, the band blends techniques and sounds of traditional Mongolian folk music with modern heavy metal instrumentation to form their own unique genre of music that they have dubbed “Hunnu Rock,” which is truly unlike anything I’ve ever heard before and is best experienced in a live setting without a doubt. As The Hu prepares to release their next album HUN in July, they have embarked on a brief tour of the United States accompanied by Finnish rock artists Apocalyptica and The Rasmus for a string of shows full of amazing music.
Starting off the night was The Rasmus, performing in Oklahoma for the very first time in their 30+ year career and kicking things off with a phenomenally fun amount of energy. Performing songs such as “Break These Chains” and the catchy, anthemic “Creatures of Chaos” from their latest album Weirdo, as well as throwbacks like “Guilty” and “Living in a World Without You,” they absolutely blew me away with their stage presence, and I sincerely hope that it is not another 30 years before they return.
Next up was Apocalyptica, who are veterans of the orchestral rock scene known for their original compositions such as the mid-2000s smash hits “I Don’t Care” featuring Adam Gontier and “I’m Not Jesus” featuring Corey Taylor as well as their reimaginings of several Metallica tracks. Their setlist leaned very heavily on these Metallica tributes, and though I would have loved to see at least one or two of their original tracks sprinkled in, their set was still breathtakingly amazing. The pure spectacle of seeing and hearing the famous solos of tracks such as “Enter Sandman” and “Master of Puppets” played on cellos instead of traditional guitars is absolutely incredible. Coming from someone who is not a huge Metallica fan, though I acknowledge and appreciate their role in the rock music scene at large, I must say that I prefer Apocalyptica’s show-stopping arrangements.
Finally, just after 9 p.m., The Hu emerged and immediately captured all eyes and ears in the Diamond Ballroom as they launched into their newest single “Lost Soul.” Though there was less “singing along” in the traditional sense than I am accustomed to, the crowd was fist-pumping and head-banging along the entire night, especially during tracks such as “Warrior Chant” and other recent single “The Man.” Their music may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but their live show is entrancing nonetheless, and is a must-see for any fan of heavy music, especially anyone looking for something truly unique in the scene.
Apocalyptica
The Rasmus
