Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness

If anyone understands renewal, it’s Andrew McMahon. Over the last two decades, the veteran indie-pop singer-songwriter has experienced musical rebirth many times, ever since he started entertaining audiences in the ‘00s alt-pop outfit Something Corporate, and he’s consistently arrived on the other side stronger than ever. After leading Something Corporate to major chart success in the early 2000s, McMahon soon resurfaced with the more personal solo project Jack’s Mannequin, then moved on to release numerous hook-packed albums under his own name using the moniker Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. In 2006, following his own battle with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL), he launched the Dear Jack Foundation, which provides programming to benefit adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer. Through it all, the East Coast-born, SoCal-based singer and musical collaborator has created a stunning catalog of introspective, impossibly catchy piano pop. His new single, “Stars,” is just the latest example of his immeasurable staying power.

Arlie is a band created by singer-songwriter, composer & multi-instrumentalist Nathaniel Banks. It began in summer 2015 as a solo bedroom project and grew to incorporate a full-band live show by fall 2016. Since Arlie started playing live, Adam Lochemes and Carson Lystad have been part of the performing ensemble on drums and guitar, respectively. Ryan Savage joined on bass in 2018.

During the pandemic and the year prior, everyone involved in the group wound up going through some of the hardest times of their lives, in one way or another. But despite some major setbacks and challenges, they managed to come together and finish a debut full-length album as a team, with Ryan and Adam as co-producers alongside Nathaniel, Carson as a trusted go-to perspective, all together bringing a new batch of Banks’ songs and demos to full fruition. After finishing the record, the group added Noah Luna to the performing ensemble as a backing vocalist and multi-instrumentalist to complete the live show.