Messed!Up Spotlight

Few bands have embraced evolution as fearlessly as Citizen. Since emerging from Toledo, Ohio, in the early 2010s, the group has refused to be confined by the emo revival they were initially associated with, instead building a career on constant reinvention. What began as a raw, emotionally charged post-hardcore outfit has steadily transformed into one of alternative rock’s most compelling …

The group formed in Austin, Texas after Will Sheff and Jonathan Meiburg had known each other for just a week, with the idea that the duo wanted to make an album called The Dissolving Room. The pair exchanged songwriting ideas through e-mail and were so pleased with the results that they decided to make their project into a permanent touring …

Formed in Tallahassee, Florida, in 2005, Mayday Parade emerged from the local punk and hardcore scene with a sound that blended pop-punk energy, emo vulnerability, and alternative rock ambition. Their debut EP Tales Told by Dead Friends quickly generated buzz, but it was 2007’s full-length debut A Lesson in Romantics that established the band as one of the brightest new …

Born Adrian Nicholas Matthews Thaws, he was raised in the Knowle West area of Bristol. Enduring a tough childhood, he set aside gang life in order to focus on music, penning lyrics and rapping in the mid-’80s. At first, he was a member of the Wild Bunch, a local rap crew that eventually metamorphosed into Massive Attack before the end …