The 502s | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Maitland, Florida, United States |
Genres | Indie Folk, folk rock, folk-pop, Americana, indie rock |
Years active | 2015–present |
Members | Eddie Isola Matthew Tonner Sean Froehlich Joe Capati Nick Melashenko Graci Phillips |
Past members | Jonathan Ruiz Jake Isola Kaleigh LeBeau |
Website | www |
The 502s are an American indie folk band from Maitland, Florida formed by Eddie Isola. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Their sound has been described as a "folk orchestra", [8] and as a blend of roots, rock and bluegrass. [9] The 502s' sound is often compared to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, The Avett Brothers, and Old Crow Medicine Show, [10] and the band is noted for their eclectic instrumental arrangements involving banjo, piano, and horns. [11] Their live show received praise for “rambunctious energy, stomping sounds... and charismatic personalities” by Cowboys & Indians . [2]
Initially consisting of Eddie Isola and his cousins with a rotating cast of musicians, the band's longest standing consistent lineup includes Matthew Tonner (keyboards, guitars), Joe Capati (saxophone), Sean Froehlich (drums & percussion) and Nicholas Melashenko (bass guitar) with their newest member Graci Phillips joining the band in 2023. [12]
Influenced by bands such as The Head and the Heart and Bear's Den, [1] Ed Isola began writing songs in college with a $100 banjo and a guitar he borrowed from his roommate. After graduating and returning home, Ed recruited his cousins Jonathan Ruiz on guitar and vocals and Jacob Isola on bass. [11] The band's name was derived from the street number of Isola's childhood home address. [13]
Shortly after the band's inception in 2016, The 502s won a contest to perform at Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival, alongside Mumford and Sons, The Avett Brothers, and Kendrick Lamar, beating out over 800 contest entrants. Their performance at Okeechobee took place before the band had released any recorded material. [14] [1] The 502s released a self-titled EP in 2016. The release has been described as “a rousing debut that personifies the folk explosion from the past few years highlighted by booming stomps, upbeat tunes, and melodious gang vocals that ooze camaraderie.” [15]
The single “Olivia” was highlighted by local NPR radio station WMFE on their “Hold on to Summer” playlist [16] and the band performed headlining slots at Florida Music Festival and Winter Garden Music Festival. [17] [18] Also in 2016, The 502s were invited to perform at Communion Records' NYC showcase alongside up-and-coming artists Salt Cathedral, Overcoats, Ocean Park Standoff, Michael Daves, and Eric Slick. [19]
In 2017 the band recruited Matthew Tonner, a childhood friend of the Isola family and a former member of Laney Jones' band, to produce their debut album Because We Had To. [1] [11] [20] The album was recorded in thirty-six hours. [21] Tonner soon joined the band on piano and electric guitar, along with trumpeter Kaleigh LeBeau. [11] [22]
The lead single “What To Do” was released in March 2018 [20] [23] [10] and received a positive review from No Depression, stating “they've got enough energy to take on the world.” [24] The premiere was preceded by a live video featuring six members of the band and their instruments squeezed into Ed's grandfather's 6×10 laundry room. [25] The album has been described by WMNF as "a heartfelt invitation to good old-fashioned fun," [26] and by PopMatters as “sounds of celebration ... an ebullient blend of boisterous Americana, featuring cheery singalong vocals and bubbly trumpet lines that could get anyone off of their feet.” [3]
In 2018 The 502s embarked on a tour of the US and Europe [1] [26] and performed at festivals alongside Jason Isbell and Old Crow Medicine Show. [9] [27] [28] The band also headlined WMNF's Americana Fest in Tampa, FL. [26] [29] In 2019, The 502s touring included performs at Americanafest in Nashville, [30] [31] recording a live session with Jam in the Van, [32] and headlining Steppin Out Festival in Virginia. [33] Prior to Americanafest, The 502s solidified a new touring lineup featuring Joe Capati on horns, Sean Froehlich on Drums, and Nick Melashenko on Bass. The European tour culminated with a gig in Whelans bar in Dublin, during which time the band had their greatest European show.
In a local news interview, Isola and Tonner stated that the band's second album would be released in 2021 [1] and would be called Could It Get Better Than This. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the 502s created an online experience called Camp Feels Good, to allow their fans to listen to the album and access exclusive behind the scenes content ahead of its release. [34] [35]
In November 2020, a video of The 502s performing a new song "Magdalene" was posted to the band's TikTok account and received over 1 Million views in two days. [36] The "Magdalene" video also featured the return of Jake Isola to the band as acoustic guitarist.
In February 2021, Glide Magazine premiered the first single from the album, along with a music video directed by Tonner, for the song "I Keep Rolling". [34] The album's second single “Leading Lady” premiered in March 2021 on The Bluegrass Situation. [37]
Could It Get Better Than This was released on October 15, 2021 and promoted with a US release tour. The album received critical acclaim and over one million streams in its first week of release. [37] [38] [35] [39]
In late 2021, The 502s' song "Just A Little While" became a viral TikTok trend, resulting in over 10 Million streams from December 2021 to January 2022. [40] Also in January 2022, The 502s charted on the Irish Singles Chart Top 50 for the first time with "Just A Little While" debuting at #29. [41] The song ultimately charted on Billboard's Hot Rock and Alternative Charts, as well as the #3 spot on Spotify's Top Viral 50. [42]
In the wake of their viral songs, The 502s embarked on successful tours of the United States and Europe in 2022, including their first ever set at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, a headlining set at the Florida Music Conference in their hometown of Orlando, [7] and the grand opening of Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts' Steinmetz Hall. [43] In 2023, The 502s were added to the lineup of the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival, returning to festival whose 2016 edition featured the band's first ever live gig. [44]
The band released their single, "Hey Julia" in June 2022 [45] as the lead-off to Just Another EP. [46] In 2023 The 502s embarked on the "Fresh Squeezed Happiness" tour across the United States, [47] coinciding with the release of new songs "Backstage in Glasgow", "Inside Joke" and more from a second EP titled Stories to Tell. [48]
That summer The 502s released their third EP in one year, titled Pure Serotonin, [49] coinciding with their performance at Lollapalooza. The 502s also announced a forthcoming new full album and tour in 2024. [50]
Graci Phillips joined the band as acoustic guitarist after The 502s' performance at Theatre of Living Arts in Philadelphia. [12] The 502s closed out 2023 with performances at BottleRock Napa Valley, Moon River Festival, Borderlands Festival, and a headlining tour of UK and the EU. [51] [52] [53]
On April 12, 2024 the band released their self-titled third full-length album, [54] [55] and embarked on a North American tour across 26 cities, produced by Live Nation. [56] [57] Coinciding with the announcement of the Great American Road Trip Tour, Westword hailed The 502s as "one of the best live bands of their generation." [58]
All Time Low is an American rock band from Towson, Maryland, formed in 2003. Consisting of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Alex Gaskarth, lead guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist/backing vocalist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson, the band took its name from lyrics in the song "Head on Collision" by New Found Glory. The band has consistently done year-long tours, headlined numerous tours, and has appeared at music festivals including Warped Tour, Reading and Leeds, and Soundwave.
The Beauvilles were an American indie rock band based in Ybor City, Florida, United States. Their music includes overtones of Americana, British Invasion, and Vintage R&B along with more experimental musical elements and time signatures. Prominent members include principal songwriter Shawn Kyle "Beauville", Max Norton, and Jason Dudney As of 2012 the band has stated that it is on indefinite hiatus.
Sales is an American guitar-based indie pop band from Orlando, Florida. The band's members are musicians Lauren Morgan and Jordan Shih. They are joined on tour by Malcolm Martin, who serves as the live drummer and percussionist.
LANY is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles. Formed in Nashville in 2014, the band consists of guitarist and lead vocalist Paul Jason Klein and drummer Jake Clifford Goss.
Surf Curse is an American indie surf rock band formed in 2012 in Reno, Nevada, and now based out of Los Angeles. The band was originally formed by Nick Rattigan and Jacob Rubeck (guitars), and now also includes Henry Dillon and Noah Kholl. The band achieved mainstream success after their song "Freaks", written in 2011 and first released in 2013, became popular on the short-form video platform TikTok in 2020.
Cayley Marie Spivey is an American indie rock, pop punk, and indie pop guitarist and singer-songwriter from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She began her career performing as a solo project known as Small Talks, recording and touring as a three-piece band. Under the Small Talks name, Spivey released the EP Until It Turns to Petals in 2017. The project's first full-length studio album A Conversation Between Us was released on February 1, 2019, via Common Ground Records.
Ashton Nicole Casey, known professionally as Ashnikko, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Her 2019 single "Stupid" featuring Yung Baby Tate gained viral popularity on the video-sharing platform TikTok and was certified platinum in the United States and Canada. Ashnikko's debut mixtape, Demidevil, was released in January 2021, and spawned the singles "Daisy" and "Slumber Party". Her studio album, Weedkiller, came in 2023.
Molchat Doma is a Belarusian post-punk band from Minsk, formed in 2017. Their current lineup consists of Egor Shkutko (vocals), Roman Komogortsev, and Pavel Kozlov. Their style has been described as post-punk, new wave, synth-pop, and cold wave.
Bears in Trees are an English indie rock band from Croydon, South London, England.
The Longest Johns are an English folk musical group from Bristol, England, consisting of Andy Yates, Jonathan "JD" Darley, and Robbie Sattin. They are known for performing folk music and sea shanties in the English tradition, and they also compose and record their own music. They gained popularity from their rendition of the folk song "Wellerman", which went viral on TikTok in early 2021.
Victoria Beverley Walker, known professionally as PinkPantheress, is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her songs, which are frequently short in length and include samples of music from the 1990s and 2000s, span a number of genres, including bedroom pop, drum and bass, alt-pop, and 2-step garage.
Magdalena Bay is an American synth-pop and electronic duo from Miami, Florida, based in Los Angeles, California. The duo consists of singer-songwriter Mica Tenenbaum and producer Matthew Lewin. The duo has released one studio album, three EPs, and three mixtapes called Mini Mixes, which are composed of one- to two-minute songs with accompanying homemade green screen music videos.
Blu DeTiger is an American singer and bass guitarist based in New York City. She has released one EP, How Did We Get Here? (2021) and one studio album, All I Ever Want Is Everything (2024).
Matthew Tonner is an American musician and music producer. Tonner is known as a member of Florida-based indie folk band The 502s, producing and performing multiple instruments on their debut album Because We Had To and follow up album Could It Get Better Than This. He is a former member of the electronic pop duo Destima and of Laney Jones and the Spirits. He is also known for his solo music under the mononym Tonner.
Rachel Chinouriri is an English singer-songwriter. After posting numerous songs on SoundCloud, she began releasing music on major streaming platforms in 2018. She released her debut extended play (EP), Mama's Boy, in 2019 to critical acclaim. One of the songs from the EP, "So My Darling", received attention on TikTok when it became a popular audio to use. Chinouriri was signed to Parlophone, with whom she released her debut mini-album, Four° In Winter, in 2021. Her work Give Me A Reason was nominated for the Best Contemporary Song Ivor Novello Award. She then released her second EP, Better Off Without, in 2022. She released her debut album, What a Devastating Turn of Events, in May 2024.
Leah Kate Kalmenson is an American singer. Kate released her debut extended play, Impulse, in June 2019 followed up by What Just Happened? in 2021. In 2022, she released the single "10 Things I Hate About You", which charted in Australia and the UK. She was then chosen as the support act for the European leg of Madison Beer's Life Support Tour, taking place in March and April 2022. She released her debut album, Super Over, in September 2023.
Addison Grace is an American singer-songwriter and online personality. Having developed a following on social media sites like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, he has released two EPs, Immaturing and Things That Are Bad for Me, and toured with artists including Cavetown, Tessa Violet, Penelope Scott, and Chloe Moriondo.
Leith Ross is a Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They recorded their debut EP, Motherwell (2020), while studying at Humber College, and subsequently found success on TikTok, most prominently with the song "We'll Never Have Sex" in August 2021. In 2022, they were signed to Interscope and Republic Records. They have toured both nationally and internationally with Lord Huron, Andy Shauf, and Helena Deland, and received the inaugural John Prine Songwriter Fellowship at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival. Their debut album, To Learn, was released on May 19, 2023.
Loveless is an American rock band consisting of Julian Comeau (vocalist/producer) and Dylan Tirapelli-Jamail (multi-instrumentalist). The duo performs with drummer Stephen Haaker during their tours and in multiple music videos. The band formed in 2020 and signed with BMG and Rise Records on February 22, 2023.