With summer right around the corner, the good weather is going to bring tons of shows by local bands and venues. A lot of these bands aren’t very popular, so who should you check out?
Anemic Royalty, formed in 2014 in Louisville, is a 3 member party punk band. Since their formation, they’ve released 2 albums and 8 singles. The release of their first single, Better Hands, stormed its way throughout the local scene and allowed them to play their first sold out shows, opening for another big Louisville band by the name of White Reaper. In 2019, their success carried them to a spot in the Louder than Life lineup. Their live performances are filled with energy and aura that can only be described as pleasantly rambunctious. Recently, they’ve released a new single titled Sucker Punch, which has garnered over 5,000 plays on Spotify.
Deep Above is another trio from Louisville formed in 2019, hailing from the grunge side of music. Their music is very reminiscent of early Nirvana in a surprising and friendly way. They are constantly playing local shows around Louisville, Lexington, and southern Indiana. It’s very common to see them on show tickets nearly every weekend. They are a very consistent and welcoming group who never fails to let their fans down. Their self-titled EP released just this past year, including new releases such as Horace and Just Passing By.
A pillar to Louisville’s hardcore scene, Surfaced was formed in Oldham County, Kentucky, in 2022. The lead singer, JP Kaine, is brother to Kevin Kaine, the drummer for mainstream hardcore band Knocked Loose, also from Oldham County. Surfaced has played in various shows around the east coast and southern United States, as well as performing at bigger events such as LDB fest. Their shows are extremely heavy and popular in the underground scene in Louisville. Last December, they released their latest single titled Right With God.
One of the originals from Louisville’s pop punk scene, Deady was formed in 2021 from members of bands from Bloomington and Louisville. Their first single, Knock, was recorded while the lead singer, Mandy Keathley, was living in Los Angeles. The track garnered a lot of success within the punk scene, and what made it even more perfect was that Keathley was scheduled to move back to Louisville a few months after the singles release. Deady has toured the midwest and south multiple times as well as playing frequent shows around Louisville and southern Indiana. R.I.P, their latest single, released this January and has already rounded up over 8,000 plays on Spotify.
Execution is a death metal band that was formed in southern Indiana with members hailing from Clarksville and Jeffersonville. They’re based in Louisville and were formed just earlier this year. Previously known as Ten Years Buried, the band had a big following until they stopped performing and eventually disbanded. Forming back up as Execution in February with new members, they released their first single titled In Da Alley the following month.
These bands are just some of the few that deserve your attention, but there’s a lot more bands and artists, popular or not, around here. It would be impossible to name them all. All of these bands have shows coming up over the summer, so if you’re interested in checking any of them out, be sure to follow showsintheville and 502shows on Instagram.
