Whether you know them as Dr. Kai Bartley from Grey’s Anatomy or you’re a listener of their sports podcast Jockular, the multi-faceted talent E.R. FIGHTMASTER came to The Sinclair with their musical project known simply as FIGHTMASTER on May 26th.

FIGHTMASTER received an extra loud greeting when they approached the stage and strode right into a swaggering performance of “Violence.” The setlist featured primarily from their 2024 EP of the same name, but several songs from their recent debut full-length album Tolerance also got play. FIGHTMASTER, fresh off a short run of shows opening for Lucy Dacus, and preparing for an upcoming tour with Lord Huron, made a point to highlight the joy of having their own headlining shows. They expressed deep gratitude for the crowd’s voracious appetite for new music, as well as their carefree willingness to dance along. There were clearly fans from other aspects of their work among the audience, as well. One fan flashed a sign that read, “Give us one horny minute”, in reference to a segment from Jockular in which the podcast’s three hosts gush over a subject of their choosing. FIGHTMASTER acknowledged the request and retorted, “I hope to give you one horny hour.” The level of horniness was indeterminate, though there were a few catcalls of “gay for you!” from fans. That said, there’s no doubt FIGHTMASTER has the chops to captivate a room.

Austrailia’s Gordi opened the show with her atmospheric folktronica. Nestled within an array of microphones and glowing dials atop a keyboard, she read the room and asked, “Who likes gay music here?” adding “Perfect,” before an “I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be,” could be heard from the crowd.

Check out the rest of Greg’s photos below.

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Claire Rosinkranz returned to Boston for the first time in three years on May 15th at Allston’s Brighton Music Hall. Rosinkranz has spoken openly about her struggles with chronic illness over the last couple of years, taking a break for the sake of her health amidst her previous tour in 2023. She has gradually returned to performing over the last two years at festivals and events, including Governor’s Ball 2024 and SXSW 2025. Rosinkranz also recently opened for Alex Warren and Maroon 5, and is set to perform at Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits in the coming months.

Claire Rosinkranz’s sophomore album My Lover was released this past February and comes on the heels of her successful debut Just Because. She initially went viral on TikTok in 2020 for her single (which appeared on her debut EP 6 Of A Billion) “Backyard Boy,” and went on to achieve even more buzz and accolades in the subsequent years. My Lover differs greatly from her previous projects, sounding more like an older sister to Just Because due to its optimistic, honest, and bubbly tone.

Claire Rosinkranz opened her Boston set with My Lover’s lead single, “Lucy,” an upbeat, silly track to get the audience excited. She spun around the stage in a flowy, bohemian dress, decked out in bangles and a headscarf for added flair. She interacted with the audience constantly, tipping the microphone towards their eager faces and even passing out special cards to some lucky fans at the barricade. To the crowd’s delight, she played plenty of throwbacks (“Frankenstein,” “Sad in Hawaii,” “Scew Time,” “Don’t Miss Me”) as well as nearly every track from her latest project. Rosinkranz also shared how much it meant to her to be back after her health tribulations, taking a moment to connect with audience members who had experienced similar situations while performing “Chronic”. She also gushed over her boyfriend, who inspired much of the recent album.

The audience hyped her material both new and old, welcoming her back to Boston with great enthusiasm, and she closed the set with “Backyard Boy,” which got nearly all of Brighton Music Hall dancing around and singing aloud.

Check out the rest of Hannah’s photos below.

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Boston noise rock concern Pew Pew are “industrial”, though less in sound and more in practicality. Long screwdrivers run across strings, aluminum neck guitars, capos on bass, martial drum rolls: these are becoming the hallmarks for one of the city’s most hotly-tipped live acts. Fronter M and co. have built an ever-growing legend on just a double A-side single (which astute readers will recall we premiered last spring ahead of their set at our Zone 3 Concert Series) that offered a tantalizingly brief taste of their tightly-wound guitar mangling. Staffed by members of, like every other good band in town right now it comes as no surprise that their second act (a new EP entitled Purgatory) more than delivers on the promise of the first, revealing an inventive band that pools some well-worn influences into a vision that feels distinctly their own.

Choosing layered, at times agonizing bouts of attack and release over the explosive spray of their earlier material, the band is at their best (to these ears at least) on moments like the simmering-to-a-boil title track and the instrumental “Song for Peter” which recalls the controlled chaos of 90’s noise rock imps Polvo. However, it’s the breakdown partway through closer “Blackmail” in which they pull everything away only to bring back the nasty riff a few decibels higher that feels most like a defining indie rock moment in 2026. In any case, they are are in exceptional form throughout, proving to be one of the leading lights of this era’s class.

Purgatory is out now, you can grab it on tape, cd, or digital below.

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People say that life often gets in the way of life, something that seems truer by the day as we navigate an increasingly confusing and hostile world. It Didn’t Hit Me Until Today, the new EP by Boston-based indie trio The Only Humans examines six instances of major, unexpected life changes ranging from unexpected passings to sudden losses of love. The trio, consisting of Tim Howd (vocals, guitar), Renée Gauthier (bass, backing vocals) and Neil Morrissey (violin), channel real incidents and fictional tales towards paths of acceptance. Didn’t Hit Me rides the wave of the band’s excellent 2024 full-length, It’s a Beautiful Night. I Think I’ll Disappear Forever. We’re excited to premiere the release here at Allston Pudding!

It’s only fitting that an EP about embracing the terror of unfamiliarity would see the band take a different approach to songwriting. Rather than scripting out every element of every song, the trio took the bones of these tunes into the studio and worked them out live alongside Elio DeLuca of The Soul Shop. The Only Humans are joined by Michelle Tucker and Mike Cashin here, adding some auxiliary percussion on certain songs. The end result is a collection of tunes that feel a little looser and more varied than those on their previous album. 

The biggest disparity in sound comes among the first two tracks on the EP, “Invisible Outposts” and “Waterfall Song.” The former is an atmospheric opener, centered mostly just on Howd’s vocals and guitar work. The latter is a dense, full-band song that sounds the closest to the sketched-out songs of Beautiful Night, and it’s by far the loudest and fullest song on the EP. “Narcissus” closes out the first half as one of the folksiest songs on the release. The back half of the release follows a similar format; “Upon Seeing A White Dove On A Balcony Rail” centers on Howd, with his best vocal work across the EP, while “Another Autumn Song” is another full-band affair, with excellent violin work from Morrissey. The closing tune “Running Out On The Check” is a solid, unassuming indie song. 

These songs of transition sound desperate at times, and defeated at others. “Some people are born broken, some break themselves just to feel alive,” Howd opines on “Waterfall.” It’s the mission statement of the EP: how some people react negatively to unexpected change. While the presence of violin separates The Only Humans from many other indie bands, there is a direct comparison to The Mountain Goats to be made. Howd resembles a Bostonian John Darnielle both vocally and lyrically, and he takes this poetic influence to heart. The songs here may range from fictional journeys (“Waterfall”) to the very literal (“White Dove”), but they all find their way to acceptance. Across these six songs we get a variety of ideas and characters, but the pleasant rhythms and low-key music constantly reassure that we will, in fact, be okay. 

It Didn’t Hit Me Until Today is available for purchase and streaming below: 

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On May 14^th, the veteran indie folk rockers of The Head and The Heart concluded the first leg of their 15-year anniversary tour at Boston’s Wang Theatre. The vivacious celebration of their debut album and continuation as a band had the audience up out of their seats for a real hootenanny of a show.

The Brudi Brothers opened the show with their jaunty Americana sound. The trio of brothers lightened the mood with charmingly awkward baseball banter, an arbitrary dedication to Wang Theatre benefactor Ernie Boch Jr. (“I’m not paid to say this, I just like the name”), and a string of catchy, old-school style country folk tunes that highlighted their effortless family harmony.

The Head and The Heart walked on stage to an excited welcome from the waiting crowd, and they matched the energy quickly. Diving headfirst into a front-to-back performance of their debut self-titled album, The Head and The Heart started on a high and stayed there. Vocalist Matty Gervais was climbing amplifiers and running through the aisles of the theatre within minutes of stepping into the spotlight. The surprisingly rambunctious crowd was not only singing along but also speaking directly to the band during their talk breaks between songs. A catcall of “nice blazer!” led to some slight confusion when Charity Rose Thielen misheard it as a request to “play Major Lazer!”

While the main draw of the night was certainly the complete performance of The Head And The Heart, fans were treated to more than just the classics. The headline set was broken up into two halves, with the latter half being a grab bag of eleven selections from the rest of The Head and The Heart catalog, including last year’s release, Aperture. The crowd was just as energized for the new as the old, and enthusiasm never waned. The evening was an excellent way to end the first segment of the 15-year anniversary tour on a high note.

Check out all of Greg’s photos from the show below:

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Despite one of the hottest weeks in May on record, John Darnielle brought his band of Mountain Goats to Boston’s House of Blues to turn the dial up even further. Longtime members Jon Wurster and Matt Douglas joined Darnielle on stage along with newcomer Cameron Ralston on bass, a recent addition to after Peter Hughes’ departure in 2024. 

The songs from their 2025 album Through this Fire Across From Peter Balkan added some additional quirk and depth to a setlist that consisted otherwise of the band’s well-worn classics. “Armies of the Lord” fed nicely into “Harlem Roulette”, and new single “Charlie Sheen Reaches Out to the Feds” felt right at home alongside “The Diaz Brothers”. A musical concept album about a shipwreck, one could call Through this Fire an attempt to push the literary allusions for which Mountain Goats have become known to its limit, but the heart of the project lies in its ability to create emotional safety for fans. Darnielle’s darkly humorous and viscerally earnest lyrics remain the star.

Check out Wendy’s photos from the show below

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With a glossy blend of Alternative Pop, UK Garage, and R&B, PinkPantheress’ sound can be characterized by a nostalgic, Y2K-inspired mix. Pink recently came through Boston for her “An Evening With…” Tour with a stop at MGM Music Hall, selling out the show and leaving fans ready for more. Fancy That, as her most recent album is titled, and possibly Fancy Some More? as the subsequent release with remixes of “Fancy That” proved.

Pinkpantheress fans flocked to the venue “in uniform”, as themed outfits that resemble the album’s plaid-styled branding and match PinkPantheress’ on-stage clothing turned MGM into a sea of plaid. Every bending corner and twist of the line that turned twice was met with the sight of someone dressed for the occasion with accessories to match the accompanying crowd, to boot. Like any good pop show, doors opened and were immediately met with fans shifting and shuffling along, flooding into the venue with no time to waste.

Cece Natalie started off the night. She walked out to flickering lights room-shaking bass, leaving fans excited and screaming from the very first song. Across her opening set Natalie divided and conquered different sounds and vibes, some songs gearing for solid lights and slow movement while others went for flickering lights and more movement, blending in between both. The energy began to rise more and more as every song progressed and concluded, preparing for the main act to arrive.

Music filled the room on the speakers while fans waited for PinkPantheress to arrive on stage and deliver her set. After a momentary pause, the lights went out and the crowd was into it. Screams accompanied by jumping and shaking friends and family prepared as lights rose up. Screens flickered and depicted PinkPantheress in many different scenes, with each one glitching out and switching places. More lights began to flicker as band members came out to prepare for their first song, “Stateside”, one of Pink’s most recent hits that got a jolt of popularity off a Zara Larsson remix and later synced to a skating routine by skater Alyssa Liu.

PinkPantheress’ performance can be characterized by high-energy movements and lights that match vocals and beats, raising their brightness momentarily and flickering around. Elevating the feeling and vibe of the songs, the live drummer would begin to break it down and leave space for performers to dance and interact with the audience, quickly prompting the crowd to jump and put their phones up. Across the setlist, fans of all eras heard songs from both new releases and old releases alike. Older releases “Ophelia”, “The aisle”, “Pain”, and “Another life” showed off her more bedroom-pop and UK rave-style sound while newer ones like “Stateside”, “Tonight”, “Illegal”, and “Angel” brought a more club-oriented sound into focus. The set flowed flawlessly between these poles seamlessly, allowing fans of all levels to have the night of their lives, an experience they will take and remember for a long time to come.

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Boston rockers Gollylagging are in many ways the Allston Pudding band of this current era. Debuting around the turn of the decade (much like many of the AP staff steering the ship now), the band has slowly drifted from the adenoidal burst of their compellingly youthful early material towards a more robust, and dare we say classicist indie rock slant. You’ll hear Gollylagging talk up the slacker-y end of bands like Teenage Fanclub, Dinosaur Jr. and their ilk outside shows these days, and while there’s definitely plenty of that big guitar feeling moving around, the now-quartet are closing in on their own thing. Something that feels both emotionally resonant and terrifically fuzzbombed.

All of this is to say their latest single “Jackknife” is yet another leap forward. All lurching stop and starts and red-hot distortion squeals that almost recall the gnarly tracks of a Green Line station stop (or maybe its just some carefully layered synths?), the band drapes themselves around Jake Regulbuto’s enigmatic and cyclical prose about a friendship that ended explosively.

“Jackknife” is out now, and there’s a music video too, watch that below.

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Somerville rockers Otis Shanty are no strangers to the hallowed halls of Allston Pudding, as their ragged yet shiningly tuneful sound speaks to pretty much everyone’s taste around here. As the band closes in on a decade together, their patient and entirely present music speaks to the strength of their bonds. That their ranks also include community organizers, journalists, and members of other beloved Boston area bands also speaks to the strength of their character, but let’s stay on the ball here.

Otis Shanty is readying their second LP, and we are pleased to be premiering their third single “For Once” today at AP. A twinkling dream-pop number about seeing yourself in a new light via the lens of someone who truly sees you shine, the tracks shows a (slightly) softer side of the band musically without muddying up some of their most visceral lyrical themes to date.

Otis Shanty fronter Sadye Bobbette had this to say:

“This song is a guttural reference to body image issues I’ve been dealing with my whole life. I’ve been told so much through my life to use my inner dialogue to change my beliefs about myself. But I have always struggled because words aren’t true until the actions behind them are. So I’m trying to strike a balance between faking it until I make it and actually experiencing authentic transformation — especially as it relates to my self-esteem.”

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You might think you’re DIY, but did you build your own synthesizer out of locally sourced Massachusetts wood? Did you build your own off-grid log cabin to write and self-produce your new solo album? Stevie Jick did, and that album, Between It, is out today. 

Jick’s long been a player in the folk space, first with New York bands Via Intercom and the punk group Tetchy (listen for his delicate fingerpicking, it’s there). It was after leaving the big city that he sought the quiet and solitude of rural life, moved to a forested plot in Western Mass, and began construction on the Lincoln Log cabin of his dreams. 

Jick building his cabin. Photo courtest of Stevie Jick.

Jick standing in front of his completed cabin. Photo courtesy of Stevie Jick.

Now rooted in Somerville, Jick returned to the cabin to record Between It with only a few microphones for company. “In certain ways I was writing based on ideas and song snippets I’d thought of over the last many years, but at the same time the whole thing came together really fast, and I just kinda cranked it out, so it’s kind of a splash of just one singular time and place,” he said. “Much of the music is still rooted, musically or lyrically, in things that were being felt out there.” 

The instrumentation, too, has its roots in the environs of Western Mass. Jick designed and built a custom synthesizer he calls Black Cherry out of wood from the area around his cabin, and it’s responsible for the ghostly sound on Between It that’s part slide guitar and part theremin. 

Black Cherry. Photo courtesy of Stevie Jick.

You can hear Between It everywhere now.

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