The War on Drugs (2026)

One Liner: Top notch indie rock band with a heavy touch of melancholy and classic rock flourishes

Wikipedia Genre: Indie rock, heartland rock, neo-psychadelia, Americana

Home: Philadelphia

Poster Position: 3
Both Weekends.  Sunday at 7:30.

SnapChat Stage.

Thoughts:  Last here in 2022.  I forget when they were here prior, but 90% sure they are a multiple-time artist.  

I like this band.  I've been listening to them for a while, and have always enjoyed.  I wonder if I saw them at the 2012 ACL and that is where I first heard their stuff?  I can't recall by now.  

The band started when frontman Adam Granduciel met Kurt Vile in Philly.  Both of them had recently moved to town, and they hooked up and started writing and playing together.  They started playing as War on Drugs in 2005, with the name coming from a friend "over a couple bottles of red wine and a few typewriters when we were living in Oakland."  Granduciel claims it was either that or The Rigatoni Danzas.  

Barrel of Batteries was their 2008 EP debut.  It is very DIY-sounding, raw and unpolished.  Claims to have six songs, but three of those are tiny little ditties that don't amount to squat.  Not an auspicious debut, I would not have kept up with them if that was my first exposure to the band.  Later that year, they released Wagonwheel Blues, which incorporated the three songs from the EP into an album.  Also not great.  After that album, Kurt Vile bailed on them to do his solo stuff (in fact most of the members bailed here).

2010 brought us Future Weather and then 2011 brought along Slave Ambient.  From their cover art, they look related.  Future Weather has a song or two where you can start to hear their angle to become Springsteen-esque, but then by the fourth song it goes back into more of that DIY type sound.  The final two songs are kind of weird stuff that I don't much like.  This isn't the stuff that made me like them later on down the road.  Funny thing is that their Wikipedia doesn't even list Future Weather as existing.  It just says that they put out Slave Ambient in this time.  Slave Ambient is better but still doesn't get to the level where they will get in a few more years.  The top track on there is called "Baby Missiles," and it was actually on both Future Weather and Slave Ambient.  11.7 million streams.

I don't know if Springsteen ever did anything quite so peppy.  Kind of sounds like Dire Straits' "Walk of Life."  Pretty good.  But I'm telling you, the good stuff is yet to come.  

2014's Lost in the Dream popped up in multiple year-end top album lists that year, and I said: "After one listen, it is really good - sounds like a Ryan Adams album with some Springsteen sax and Cure synth. Wow, no, seriously, after listening again, I'm 90% sure this is a Ryan Adams album. A really good one, but still."  A few days later, I said: "I agree it was good, although after about 10 listens now, I think this may be more David Gray than Ryan Adams.  Either way, it is a really nice album."  Isn't it fun to just rehash what you previously didn't read that I said on this blog?  Super fun.  I should just quote myself all the time.  Anyway, totally sticking by my David Gray comparison.  This is good music that sad, old KGSR is going to play to death to the few people out there who haven't yet figured out that KUTX is the actual sound of Austin.  "Under the Pressure" and "Red Eyes" are both really excellent songs.  Since that time, "Red Eyes" has become his top streamer overall, with 199.3 million streams.

You hear those Cure/Killers synths?  Really a good tune - the driving backbone makes it unstoppable.

A Deeper Understanding is the next album, in 2017.  By now, I start to realize that he not only reminds me of David Gray and Springsteen, but now I also get Bob Dylan vibes - with tunes that sound very much influenced by classic rock.  When I reviewed this album a few years ago, I actually said that I had "reviewed him a few years back when he came to ACL," BUT I CAN'T FIND THAT REVIEW!  WTF man.  This album is generally pretty relaxed, but still rock edged, and I can't shake the thought of Dylan anymore.  The second-most streamed song is an 11 minute long one, but we will go with "Holding On," with 55.2 million streams.

Kicks in like a Springsteen song, with the bells ringing and the music ready to be used on a road trip mixtape immediately.  My God I'm such a softie too, that damn video got me right up to the edge of tearing up over the superintendent from Coming to America losing his wife but having a good day reintroducing himself to his town.  Criminy.  But the tunes are good, a lot of them have that same driving feeling, and I repeatedly think that the organ/ synth is just about to start playing the lick from "Walk of Life."  "Pain" is also an excellent song.  Good album, I like it all.

And finally, the most recent disc from 2021, I Don't Live Here Anymore.  As I listened to one of the songs on here - "I Don't Wanna Wait" - a great comp dawned on me.  For some people, this will sound like the kiss of death, but as a lover of Bryan Adams from back in the day, I think saying that this sounds like classic Bryan Adams is actually a fine compliment.  That dude could write a great turn of phrase, play the guitar, and craft up a pop rock nugget or three that still sound great today.  And then the rest of the songs sound like Dylan got a backing band who only want to do songs that would be good to drive to.  Which also might sound like an insult, but I don't mean it as one.  I love driving songs.  "Harmonia's Dream" makes me think of Springsteen and the Killers and some never-created 80's band who were never featured on a soundtrack for E.T.  Lots of synth riffage.  I'd really like to see this band live - between this album and that last one I find them to be a great version of rock.  The top track is the title song, and it features nice background vocals from Lucius.  "I Don't Live Here Anymore" has 45.3 million streams.

Between that guitar solo at the start and the synths, you get that immediate 80's feel.  And seeing the singer, it makes me realize that I sometimes mix up this band with Strand of Oaks, and yet they are definitely different bands.  A lot of these songs are sad, or at least feature sadness as part of the lyrics.  That one up above, and even more so, "Victim," makes me sad.  Maybe my mind is trained to remember that 80's sound and think of the things I'm missing from that era, or maybe these songs just really do have some melancholy.  Not sure which, but I'm enjoying the sound.

Since that 2021 album, they released a live disc, but no real new music.  The live disc sounds great though.

I'd absolutely go see them play if I have the space.  I am relatively close to finishing up the reviews, and then I can start to be sad about what I will miss.

Sofi Tucker (2026)

One Liner: Electronic dance music for the dumbing down of America

Wikipedia Genre: House, EDM
Home: NYC

Poster Position: 6
Both Weekends.  Sunday at 6:30.

AmEx Stage.

Thoughts: Last here in 2022, and before that in 2018, and I freaking hated everything about it.  Glad we apparently have a pact with them for an appearance every four years.  Like bad locusts from hell.  Here is what I said back then, with a few adjustments, and then we can talk about their new music too.

"I've got my rude britches on today or something.  Listen to this tune, "Batshit," with their third-most streams (11.5 million, now up to 49.9 million in 2026, and no longer #3 in their catalog), and let me know the words that involuntarily came out of your mouth at 0:45:

Because if you said "Oh Dear God, that sucks," then you and I are special spirit animals and you should Venmo me your money.  I get it, this isn't being made to challenge Bob Dylan for lyrical superiority, but it feels more like two kids were raised on nothing but Right Said Fred b-sides (not even the good shit) and grew up to make this song as their dance music anthem.  And don't get me wrong, I'm well aware that this stage will likely be packed with loads of Adderall-addled kiddies yelling the delicious curse word, but it doesn't mean I have to sign up for this shit.

She was born in Germany and went to college in Italy.  He was born in Massachusetts and went to Brown University to play basketball.  They met at Brown at an art show, where Tucker was DJing the show, and after that the mashed up group here was born.  During the COVID-19 outbreak, they plowed through hundreds of DJ performances from home, streaming on Twitch, Facebook, Dischord, and Instagram

A 2016 EP (Soft Animals), then a 2018 album Treehouse, with a million remixes and singles in the middle.  The band name comes from the two members' first names, Sophie and Tucker.  I'm gonna give you two more songs, because these each have something about them that is slightly interesting.  First, "Drinkee," was somehow nominated for a 2017 Grammy for Best Dance Recording.  Which is terrifying.  53.2 million streams.  158.6 million streams, somehow, in 2026.

Hard to imagine how I would like "Batshit" better than something else in their catalog, but its true.  Also, Wikipedia claims that this was "adapted from a poem written by the Brazilian poet, Chacal," and "sung sensually."  The video may be a little sensuous, with her handling of that guitar and dancing, but the singing is more like a jibberish rap by someone who is choking on a marble.  

Final track is called "Best Friend," and it was featured in an Apple commercial for the iPhone X.  47.9 million streams - now up to 154.4 million in 2026.

Yeah, OK, that sounds sorta familiar.  It was also featured in the 2018 version of the FIFA video game.  The best ever use of a song in a FIFA game was the one they had in like 1998 or so, where the intro to the game was Blur's "Song #2" and it made me want to chew through a steel girder with excitement.

Dance party?  Yes.  I can definitely see this show being a fun ass dance party.  Lyrically interesting?  Negative.  Nothing on here appears to be serious at all, just built for a good time.  Is that so wrong?"  Not at all, now let's see what they have done in the years since 2018.  2019 EP called DANCING ON THE PEOPLE, with "Purple Hat" as the hit from that one at 113 million streams [now up to 270.6 million in 2026, their top streamer overall].

Yeah, no.  Sounds like they have not advanced in any way since their prior stuff.  Still an inane chanted chorus and goofy shit made to get people dancing.  Makes me annoyed to see how big that crowd is. This is the kind of band where their laptop is going to break when they are playing and then they won't be able to play their set - wait, did that happen the last time they were here?  Or was that another bad group with a guy and a gal who don't really make music.  What is that one called?  Oh right, Sylvan Esso.  After that 2019 EP, they released loads of singles and remixes until 2022's WET TENNIS, which doesn't yet have any huge hits, but still has three tracks with over 50 million.  Here is "Sun Came Up" with 55.2 million streams.

It is still an EDM track, but I like it better than those other dumb tracks.  That James Bond-ish guitar lick and the buildup is kind of fun.  Still super don't want to waste my team watching this, but I get the attraction for those who want to snort mushrooms and then dance all over each other.

After that though, they came up with, if I am being entirely honest, a pretty funny tune.  A few months ago, I could tell that my 15 year old was trying to steal my Spotify connection to play music by the pool, and this was the song she was trying to jam - "Throw Some Ass" from the 2024 album BREAD, with 38.1 million streams.

She doesn't quite open her mouth enough when she sings.  Maybe that is just because she is lip synching in that video, but it looks odd.  Anyway, the lyrics of that one, while still very very stupid, at least made me grin.  I would not go watch this show.

Aaron Rowe

One Liner:  I'm a sucker for an Irish singer/songwriter type...

Wikipedia Genre:  Irish folk, indie rock

Home: Dublin

Poster Position: Last Quarter - Line 20
Sunday at 2

BMI Stage

Thoughts: The first stanza of his first song made me grin, as he is singing about not being able to understand how to work a washing machine.  But I am also a sucker for an Irish accent, especially later when he has a song that sounds like he is recounting the history of his family.  SIGN ME UP for hearing a lilting Irish brogue sing about leaving the mines to sign up for the Royal Dublin Fusiliers (an infantry division of the British Army, unpopular in Ireland because some saw it as fighting for the wrong side, as Ireland was fighting for independence).  "John's Song."  "Does my sister still resent me, now that I must wear the rose? ... With all my love, your fond son John."  Gave me goosebumps hearing it again and then I wanted to tear up at the end for the epilogue.  Hell yeah Aaron.

When you look up this name in Wikipedia, you get an English professional soccer player who most recently played for Gillingham.  Which is not helpful, but there is a very tiny Wikipedia article about the correct Rowe - here is the entire entry: "Aaron Rowe is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician from Dublin.  He is best known for his debut single, "Hey Ma", as well as his second and third singles, "Talking with You" and "Lose Lose". His debut EP, Exodus, was released in September 2025.  In 2026, he released three songs: "Please Don't Hate Me", "John's Song" and "Hollywood Sign".  He actually has two whole more songs than are in that list - "Drawing the Line" and "The Lane" are also on that 2025 EP, but apparently are uncool for whoever wrote that Wikipedia entry.

He sort of makes me think of a guy who did well on The Voice or American Idol.  Very strong voice, and sometimes he will do some vocal freakouts to prove how controlled he can be with hitting notes with power.  But overall, I find his tunes to be relaxing and enjoyable.  In two weeks, he is apparently opening for Ed Sheeran (and Macklemore?  Is Macklemore still a thing?) in Philly.  So he is getting some notoriety anyway...

The biggest streamer is "Hey Ma," which is a great Bon Iver song.  3.6 million streams for the Irishman's tune.

I wanna go to Ireland and see those horsies!  Some friends just went to Dublin last weekend to watch TCU suck mondo butt against UNC for the first game of the season, and I was pretty jealous of them taking that trip.  Ireland is dope and I haven't been in like 21 years.  Lovely little song.  I hope he had a nice trip to the States.  And even though the stream count isn't up there yet, I want you to hear "Hollywood Sign" because it is the new single.  390k.

I am guessing that is autobiographical about him moving to LA to give the music a shot.  Poignant and sad.  I'd hang out with you in L.A., buddy!  You don't have to just drink a coke on the railing of a crappy C-Store!

I'd go watch this.

Lykke Li

One Liner:  An under-the-radar-feeling pop artist with some downbeat tunes

Wikipedia Genre:  indie pop, dream pop, art pop, electropop, dance-pop

Home: Ystad, Sweden

Poster Position: First Quarter - Line 4
Both Weekends. 
Saturday at 7:30

SnapChat Stage

Thoughts:  I figured that this one might have been here before, but the only thing I found that I have written about her was this blurb, taken from my listen to the Grantland Top Ten Albums of 2014 article written by Stephen Hyden:

8.   Lykke Li - I Never Learn "When Swedish pop singers cry, even the tears come out looking perfectly crafted."  Yeah, this is a really pretty album - she's got a great voice.  But I doubt I would ever listen to it again after the three chances I just gave it.

That was a true statement.  Definitely never listened to that again.  I used to do a really good job of listening to a handful of top ten lists from each year and giving my own opinion of them, but I found that the writers felt (to me) as though they were reaching farther and deeper into the well of music to find something they could champion that was edgy or unknown and so I'd end up listening to some really crappy stuff so that they could justify their label as a music critic.  "No one else put The DeepSharts on their year-end list, I am truly above my peers."

And so, we are left with yet another pop artist up here at the top of the poster.  Le sigh.  Li Lykke Tomotej Zachrisson is the daughter of Zilverzurfam, a member of the Swedish punk-reggae band Dag Vag.  I bet that band's music freaking suuuuuucks.  Their top song is "Popitop" with 5.8 million streams, and indeed, it is freaking terrible.  I guess it came out in 1983, and so what do you expect, but it sounds like the Swedish Chef trying to sing a Madness B-Side.  I find it delicious, but it wort of sucks that someone included that into her Wikipedia as though it should matter at all.  Her family moved to Stockholm when she was a toddler, and later lived in Portugal, Lisbon, Morocco, Nepal, India, and Brooklyn.  She returned back to Brooklyn when she was 21 to record her first album.

In addition to six albums, she has acted in two movies and appeared as a model in multiple ad campaigns.  Funny enough, at least to me, her Wikipedia's awards section shows ten nominations and two wins for the "Grammis" which are apparently the Swedish version of the Grammy Awards.  No actual Grammy nominations or awards.  She has contributed songs to lots of other projects too - FIFA 09, The Twilight Saga: New Moon soundtrack, Pretty Little Liars, The Vampire Diaries, the Teen Wolf tv show, The Fault in Our Stars soundtrack, the U2 album Songs of Innocence, and Divergent Series: Insurgent soundtrack.

2008's Youth Novels is actually an interesting disc.  This doesn't sound like a Swedish Pop Star pushing for dance floor dominance.  Instead, it sounds more like someone who has lived all over the world and now come to Brooklyn to work with one of the Peter Bjorn and John guys to make a really good album of indie music.  "My Love" just made me look up from the work I was doing to make sure this was still the pop that I thought I was supposed to be listening to.  There are real instruments supporting her solid voice here, and I dig those tunes.  There are also ones with synths and drum machines ("Complaint Department," looking at you) but this is unexpectedly solid.

2011's Wounded Rhymes is sort of the same, but also has some girl group type songs, not sure what you call that, but like the doo-wop stuff from the 60's, mixed into indie pop?  A little weird, but another album that I sort of enjoyed today.  It also happens to have her most popular song, which is sort of a weird one, because it really doesn't strike me as a hit.  "I Follow Rivers" has 230.3 million streams.

Definitely rushes in poppier than some of the other stuff on the disc, which maybe re-ordered her whole sound for the future?  Who knows.  But the lyrics are kinda whack with the following and the strained metaphor with the river and the deep sea baby?  Huh.  Oh well.  That 2014 album I mentioned above, when I tried it again, sounds a lot like something that Lana Del Rey would have put out more recently.  Sort of cinematic and sad.

Then 2018's so sad so sexy is the next album, and this feels like where she leaves behind the beauty and embraces the machine.  This was apparently released after the difficult time of her son being born and then three weeks later her mother dying.  I am sorry for her loss, but "sex money feelings die" is a bad song.  Of course, it is her most streamed song with 267.8 million spins.

The vocals are annoying.  The beat is generic.  The chorus is like something that Gwen Stefani left on the cutting room floor because it was too dumb for even her.  I am guessing it was used on TikTok a billion times by people trying to be deep or something. 2022's EYEYE wasn't very popular in the streaming department - feels like she tried to back away from the pure pop thing to delve into more sadness and strange effects (like one of these songs like The Cure being played backwards maybe) and was not rewarded for it.  Or, like, she tried just writing a soundtrack album for a Bladerunner sequel that never materialized?  It is an odd, outlier album.

The 2026 disc really isn't much to get excited about either.  24 minutes long, several of the songs are, again, pretty quiet and downbeat.  "Lucky Again" has a little more funk to it, but not enough to really get me excited.  Sort of sounds like the kind of song that Madonna would have made recently.  Which reminds me that I need to go hear her new album.  Supposed to be good.  Hopefully it is better than this.

She's not bad for a pop star.  I don't know why the lack of any Grammy nominations is sticking in my head, but it just seems indicative of a lack of real star power here.  This feels like a niche that most people aren't even missing.