NOISE POP FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES PHASE 1 LINEUP: 24 Music Artists / Castro Theatre Debut

NOISE POP FESTIVAL 2027 UNVEILS FIRST WAVE OF MUSIC PERFORMERS

WITH CONCERT TICKETS ON SALE THIS FRIDAY AT NOON PT 

FEAT. LAMBCHOP WITH FREE KEY CHOIR AT GRACE CATHEDRAL, 

CAROLINE ROSE AT CASTRO THEATRE, GIBBY HAYNES’ BUTTHOLE SURFERS MANIA,

DEERHOOF, MODESELEKTOR, TWO LANES, JESS WILLIAMSON, 

& HERE WE GO MAGIC'S FIRST SHOW IN A DECADE

34th Annual Independent Music Festival Returns February 18-28, 2027

With Performances at Castro Theatre, Grace Cathedral, Independent, Kilowatt & More

Online Application Also Now Open for Bay Area Bands, Musicians & DJs to Perform

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: Hometown organizers behind one of America’s longest-running independent music festivals, Noise Pop Festival, today unveiled the first wave of artists set to descend on San Francisco from February 18-28, 2027, officially kicking off the road to the festival’s 34th edition.

Since its DIY beginnings in 1993, Noise Pop has made a habit of booking a unique and genre-blurring mix of indie rock originals, hometown heroes from around the Bay Area, award-winning musical innovators, and artists operating entirely on their own wavelength. 2027 is no exception.

What started as a one-night, five-band show has grown over the past thirty years into a distinctly one-of-a-kind festival experience: decentralized, independent, built around music discovery, and spanning a week-plus as Noise Pop takes over the city every February.

The 2027 festival continues that tradition over 11 days, with an expanded footprint across some of San Francisco's most beloved cultural landmarks, pairing nationally and internationally touring artists with some of the Bay Area’s most exciting voices across indie rock, electronic, punk, experimental, hip-hop, R&B, and beyond.

PHASE ONE MUSIC LINEUP

Leading the festival's first wave of performers is Lambchop accompanied by Free Key Choir (February 27), bringing a rare collaborative performance to San Francisco's historic Grace Cathedral. Led by indie pioneer Kurt Wagner, the acclaimed Nashville experimental outfit recently released its 17th studio album, Punching the Clown, a choir-driven collection inspired by centuries-old gospel lined-out singing traditions. The S.F. concert collaboration with Free Key Choir, a large-scale DIY ensemble of Bay Area musicians, builds on Lambchop's current run of special choral performances, including two sold-out nights at London's Union Chapel.

The special performance at Grace Cathedral continues Noise Pop's longstanding tradition of bringing contemporary musicians into the historic house of worship, transforming one of the city's most sacred spaces into an unlikely home for independent music each February.

That same evening, acclaimed singer-songwriter Caroline Rose (February 27) will make festival history with Noise Pop's first-ever performance at The Castro Theatre. Rose will take the stage at the newly revitalized landmark as it enters an exciting new chapter, marking a festival milestone and celebrating the resurgence of one of San Francisco's most beloved cultural institutions after a multi-million-dollar renovation.

Meanwhile, the legendary Great American Music Hall will host a stacked run of festival performances, including two nights with Gibby Haynes: Butthole Surfers Mania (February 27-28), a wild, psychedelic celebration of the iconic Texas noise-rock band, featuring its unmistakable frontman performing Butthole Surfers material with a new backing band; San Francisco experimental rock institution Deerhoof (February 24), who just released their latest album Divine Schism independently to rave reviews from longtime fans; psychedelic indie rockers Here We Go Magic (February 26), returning for their first live performance in a decade with a special 15th-anniversary celebration of their acclaimed album A Different Ship; and acclaimed Texas-born singer-songwriter Jess Williamson (February 18), fresh off the release of her sixth solo album, A Mile South of Heaven.

Across town, the acclaimed experimental performance venue Gray Area will keep the dance floors moving with two nights of special electronic performances: Berlin-based duo Modeselektor (LIVE) (February 19), known for their always-unique, explosive live sets; followed the next night by fellow Berlin-based electronic duo TWO LANES (February 20).

The festival will also expand its ongoing partnership with SFJAZZ, bringing Noise Pop programming to the organization's larger Robert N. Miner Auditorium for the first time. Electro-jazz innovators Sungazer and genre-bending electronic musician Button Masher will bring their boundary-pushing blend of jazz, electronic music, and improvisation to the auditorium on February 28 to help close out the festival in grand fashion.

Meanwhile, SFJAZZ's intimate Joe Henderson Lab will host a series of performances from The Ayo Brame Experience (February 20), LabRats (February 26); and Sparklmami (February 28), with each act performing an early and late show each night. Together, these performances mark an exciting new chapter in the festival partnership, creating more opportunities to connect Bay Area music lovers with the next generation of jazz and experimental musicians.

Collectively, the first wave of 24 announced music performers spans indie rock, electronic, experimental, jazz, punk, R&B, and just about everything in between, with additional acts, venues, and special events still to be announced.

The complete Phase 1 lineup, presented in billing order and available online at NoisePop.com, includes:

• Lambchop with Free Key Choir (Nashville, TN + Oakland, CA) - Saturday, February 27
• Caroline Rose (Long Island, NY) - Saturday, February 27
• Gibby Haynes: Butthole Surfers Mania (San Antonio, TX) - Saturday, February 27 & Sunday, February 28
• Deerhoof (San Francisco, CA) - Wednesday, February 24
• Modeselektor (LIVE) (Berlin, Germany) - Friday, February 19
• Here We Go Magic (Brooklyn, NY) - Friday, February 26
• TWO LANES (Berlin, Germany) - Saturday, February 20
• Jess Williamson (Dallas, TX) - Thursday, February 18
• Sungazer (Brooklyn, NY) - Sunday, February 28
• Lady Radiator (Union City, NJ) - Monday, February 22
• Girl Ultra (Mexico City, Mexico) - Sunday, February 28
• Radio Free Alice (Melbourne, Australia) - Wednesday, February 24
• Cut Worms (Solo) (Brooklyn, NY) - Monday, February 22
• The Stone Foxes (San Francisco, CA) - Friday, February 26
• Powerplant (London, UK) - Saturday, February 20
• Devvy Dub (San Francisco, CA) - Friday, February 19
• BIG SIS (Liverpool, England) - Saturday, February 20
• The Ayo Brame Experience (Oakland, CA) - Saturday, February 20
• Sparklmami (Chicago, IL) - Sunday, February 28
• LabRats (Sacramento, CA) - Friday, February 26
• Earthball (Nanaimo, BC, Canada) - Wednesday, February 24
• Button Masher (Los Angeles, CA) - Sunday, February 28
• Faze (Montréal, QC, Canada) - Saturday, February 20
• Gumby's Junk (Oakland, CA) - Wednesday, February 24
• And more coming soon!

Through these special performances, Noise Pop Festival 2027 will once again take over some of San Francisco's most beloved independent music venues, with participating locations announced so far including Grace Cathedral, The Castro Theatre, Great American Music Hall, Gray Area, The Independent, Rickshaw Stop, Swedish American Hall, Café du Nord, Brick & Mortar Music Hall, Kilowatt, and SFJAZZ.

Additional performers, individual show lineups, venues, and special events will be announced in the coming months, with the festival's Phase 2 lineup expected to debut next month.

OPEN CALL FOR BAY AREA ARTISTS

As an incubator for local music talent, Noise Pop Festival is opening the door again this winter to support the next crop of S.F. music acts. Beginning today, local artists can submit to perform at Noise Pop Festival 2027 through an open call, available online [CLICK HERE], hosted in partnership with KEXP. 

The submission process gives independent and emerging musicians across the Bay Area a chance to be considered for the 2027 lineup and share stages with acclaimed artists from around the world. All artists booked for the official festival program are paid for their performances. 

For fans interested in attending the 2027 festival, individual concert tickets are on sale this Friday at Noon PT at NoisePopFest.com, while full-festival badges are also available for purchase online now.

Each badge includes access to every general admission concert (subject to capacity) throughout the 11-day festival, plus complimentary entry to official happy hours, art shows, and select community events, all at the lowest price of the season while supplies last.

Stay tuned for more updates by visiting the official event website at www.noisepopfest.com and following along on social media at @NoisePop. 

Gene First North American Tour In 24 Years Begins November 12th

GENE FIRST NORTH AMERICAN TOUR IN 24 YEARS 

BEGINS NOVEMBER 12TH

TICKETS 

 

DATES INCLUDE DARKER WAVES FESTIVAL NOVEMBER 14TH

 

LIVE ALBUM, ‘APOLLO’, OUT NOW

 

Photo: Jim Mitcham

 

Beloved Britpop veterans Gene return to the US next month for their first shows here in 24 years. After reuniting last year to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band’s iconic and much-loved debut album, Olympian, original members Martin Rossiter (vocals), Matt James (drums), Steve Mason (guitars) and Kevin Miles (bass) decided the time was right to share the stage together again, the first time they had done so since their farewell show in London in 2004. 

 

After a run of sold-out UK shows earlier this year, and the release of the celebratory live album, ‘Apollo’, recorded at the band’s triumphant return in October 2025, the band played two additional sold-out shows earlier this month at London's iconic Roundhouse. North American dates begin November 12th, and include the Darker Waves festival on November 14th. Ensuring what will be a very welcome return to these shores after an absence of over two decades, Martin Rossiter says, “In this increasingly bleak world, come and throw your arms in the air, and your legs if you must, for an evening of vim and vigour.”

 

 After being approached at the end of 2024 about the possibility of playing again as Gene by Creation Records founder Alan McGee and Toura Toura’s Kevin Fitzgerald, the four band members met for the first time in many years, and the speed at which things have progressed since is testament to the group’s enduring passion and immediate reconnection.

 

“All four of us met up, probably for the first time since our last gig (in 2004), and it immediately felt just like it had always been,” explains Matt James. “We were always very self-depreciating as a group and the banter quickly kicked back in. After a few quips barked across the pub table we relaxed and we all laughed a lot. Straightaway it felt like we were a band again.”

 

“We all put our energy into making this musically spectacular,” explains Martin. “Within five minutes, the conversations between the four of us had reached the point of, 'how do we make this brilliant?' So that drive is still there, the dynamic was still there and so I started daydreaming about what it would be like to waggle my – slightly larger – ass on the stage one more time.”

 

Gene formed in 1993 and made their debut with the single For The Dead the following year on the indie label Costermonger, which was founded especially for the release by the journalists and authors Keith Cameron and Roy Wilkinson. Limited to 1,994 copies, the seven-inch sold out in two days.

 

The band’s debut album, Olympian, followed on March 20th, 1995, and quickly became one of the era’s best and most appreciated records – including singles Sleep Well Tonight, Haunted By You, and the stately title track – as it reached the UK Top 10.

 

Olympian’s enduring and superior status was recognised when NME took the rare step of revising its opinion of the record, overriding its initial on release review to praise the record in 2011, as they declared the album possessed “a strong and commanding soul.” Further confirmation of this beloved status was demonstrated by the outpouring Gene received when Martin Rossiter and Matt James revisited the album for one of Tim Burgess’ Twitter Listening Parties during the 2020 lockdown. Olympian was then included in Burgess’ hardback book which celebrated the best of those global communal listening sessions.

 

Demonstrating the depth of Gene’s artistic vision, Olympian was followed in 1996 by rarities and b-side collection To See The Lights, which became an immediate fan favorite, before their second full album, Drawn To The Deep End, also went straight into the UK Top 10 in 1997, boasting the hits Fighting Fit, We Could Be Kings, Where Are They Now? and Speak To Me Someone.

 

With 1999’s more muscular Revelations ably capturing the fin de siècle uncertainty and hope in the air at the time, Gene initially ended on the creative high of 2002 album, Libertine, which Q Magazine praised for its “grace and guile” as the album gained widespread critical acclaim.

 

Reflecting the enduring live reputation the band enjoyed throughout their career – both for their shows and as festival favorites – Gene’s then final gig took place at the London Astoria on December 16th, 2004, and saw the band go out at the peak of their powers.

 

In their absence, Gene’s influence has still been keenly felt, not only earning continued plays on UK radio stations including BBC 6 Music and Absolute, while enjoying growing streaming numbers, but following public demand and eye-watering second-hand prices for the originals, the group’s entire back catalogue was re-pressed on vinyl in 2020, alongside the release of new best of collection, Yours For The Taking. Appraising Gene’s entire catalogue, MOJO concluded, “the urbane, eloquent outsiders… oozed class.”    

 

While Olympian’s 30th birthday year added a great sense of occasion for the band and fans alike, the four-piece was keen to ensure the London show (and all future shows) was a celebration of everything Gene stood for. “Olympian’s anniversary was a good reason for doing it, but we looked forward to playing songs from all of our career,” says Matt. “It’s a lot of fun playing as Gene again.” 

 

In celebration of the band’s triumphant return, a live album, ‘Apollo’, was released earlier this year. More than 5,000 fans packed the sold-out Hammersmith Apollo in London in October of 2025, with their impassioned singing amplifying the electric atmosphere and helping to shape an unforgettable night.

The LP showcases some of the band’s best-known songs — including Olympian, We Could Be Kings, Speak to Me Someone, Fighting Fit, and For the Dead — alongside deeper cuts, B-sides, and rarities specially rehearsed for the show. Recorded and mixed by Gene’s long-time sound engineer, Snake Newton, the release captures a pivotal and long-awaited moment in the band’s career.

 

 

North American dates:

Nov 12 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore

Nov 13 - Los Angeles, CA - Regent Theater

Nov 14 - Huntingdon Beach, CA - Darker Waves Festival

Nov 16 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge

Nov 17 - Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall

Nov 19 - Washington, D.C - Howard Theatre

Nov  20 - New York, NY - Sony Hall

 

Tickets available from all venues and www.geneofficial.com
 

Apollo photo: Phil Ball

 

Apollo tracklisting:

1. London, Can You Wait?

2. Be My Light, Be My Guide 

3. We Could Be Kings 

4. Where Are They Now? 

5. Truth Rest Your Head

6. Your Love It Lies 

7. Longsleeves For The Summer

8. Sleep Well Tonight

9. Save Me I’m Yours

10. O Lover

11.  Speak To Me Someone 

12.  A Car That Sped 

13.  Walking In The Shallows

14.  Haunted By You

15.  Olympian 

16.  For The Dead

17.  Sick, Sober & Sorry

18.  Fighting Fit 

19. I Can’t Help Myself 

20.  Who Said This Was The End?  

 

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