Weakened Friends / Mom Rock / Lady Pills

Founded by songwriter Sonia Sturino and bassist Annie Hoffman, Weakened Friends offer a low-pressure outlet for emotionally volatile music. Engineered and produced by Hoffman, the Portland, Maine, band’s debut record Common Blah broadcasts heavy feelings with little more than a fuzz pedal to clog up the signal chain. The songs are filled with the feeling of being young, stuck, and settling for less. On Common Blah, Weakened Friends use volume—instrumental and emotional—to reassert a sense of control at a time when daily life has slid out of tune. The album also features J Mascis on the song “Hate Mail.”

Mom Rock, a hard-hitting, upbeat rock band based in Boston, Massachusetts, was formed by students in their first year at Berklee College of Music. With a sound inspired by Weezer, Talking Heads, and Catfish and the Bottlemen, Mom Rock is known for delivering fun and energetic live sets of eclectic original songs and monochrome get-ups. Since early 2019, the band has made waves with the release of its debut singles, reaching more than 390,000 streams and 85,000 listeners in just nine months.

Formed in October 2015 while attending Berklee College of Music, Lady Pills perform in a singular, yet multifaceted, voice. Informed by their time in the Boston DIY community, the band members’ unique perspective on the scene, social responsibility, and life in the 21st century is felt in their music and live shows.