More than any other band, Philadelphia's Nothing probably laid the foundation for the recent explosion of interest in shoegaze, especially its heavier variants. Back in 2023, Nothing announced their bicoastal shoegaze fest Slide Away, with incarnations happening in both Philly and Los Angeles. The festival went down last March, and by all accounts, it was something special. This year, Nothing will run it back, holding Slide Away fests in both New York and Los Angeles.
Slide Away NYC comes to the Brooklyn Paramount 4/26, while the fest's LA incarnation is coming to the Hollywood Palladium 5/24. The two festivals have different lineups, but Nothing will play both of them, and they'll keep last year's multi-generational feeling intact. Both festivals will also feature British shoegaze OGs Swervedriver and the live return of Whirr, the controversial Nothing-connected cult heroes who surprise-released the new album Raw Blue on Christmas. As far as I can tell, these will be Whirr's first live shows since the band's transphobic online crash-out in 2015.
In New York, the Slide Away bill features reunited hometown heroes the Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, who are playing their self-titled debut in full, as well as Hong Kong's Lucid Express, Philadelphia's Her New Knife, and a DJ set from former Texas Is The Reason leader and current Thursday member Norman Brannon. The Los Angeles lineup includes '90s greats Swirlies, Kentucky auteur Vyva Melinkolya, LA locals Luster, and "sounds by claire rousay."
