New Colossus 2025
Credit: New Colossus

PREVIEW: New York’s New Colossus festival

New York’s New Colossus festival is rapidly approaching. Promising a celebration of independent music from around the world it’s 6th edition takes place from 4 – 9 March in venues around the Lower East Side of the city. With over 180 artists participating it can be overwhelming to decide who to see. But what’s in a name? And does it reflect their music? Here are just some of the intriguing names of US artists that caught our eye and a brief description to help that most enjoyable of chores – deciding who to see at a festival.

12090 A.D. (Brooklyn, NY)

From the visionary drummer, composer Tim Kuhl “captivating, harrowing, and gorgeous bodies of work” (Pop Matters) 12090 A.D. blends evocative instrumentals, vulnerable, plaintive, controlled vocals by Anna Copa Cabanna, nostalgic-pop sounds from the 1980s, and all the epic drama of the big screen.

Big Fat Head (Columbus, OH)

Singer and guitarist Nate Wilder started Big Fat Head in part because “there weren’t a lot of freaky punk bands in town. Everything was either too loud or too goddamn serious. I feel like there aren’t many people just chugging along, saying something really weird, rolling around on the ground, playing for free, giving things out. There’s this growing attitude among bands where everyone is like, ‘Well, it’s tough to make it on tour!’ and ‘It’s tough to be in a band.’ And I’m like, I know. I never did it because I thought I was going to make any fucking money.”
They released their second album Bobo Rising in May 2024.

Factual Brains (Cleveland, OH)

Self proclaimed space rock band, Cleveland musicians Alec Schumann and Will Hooper, began as Schumann’s solo project Actual Trains later switching to Factual Brains. His live performances involved playing synthesizers and drums simultaneously. Schumann released the debut Factual Brains album Mind Allotropes in 2019 as a solo project, before deciding to loop in another musician. He asked Hooper, who performs with Schumann in the local rock band Royal Beasts, to join for a tour, and he later became a full member of Factual Brains. The rest, as they say, is history.


first president of japan (Brooklyn, NY)

first president of japan are the result when a clown starts a punk band. The Brooklyn based outfit are by all accounts a chaotic DIY explosion that you need to see live. Does anymore need to be said? I’m in.

Flowers for the Dead (Washington DC)

Flowers For The Dead is guitarist and lead vocalist Jessie Szegö, bassist Ella Buskirk, and drummer Ricky ‘Ten Bears’ Martinez. On the DC scene since 2021, FFTD’s soundscape is suggestive of ‘90s era alternative rock, albeit with a unique, modern twist, and often calls to mind the best of PJ Harvey. The band honed its sonic style playing shows all over the US East Coast, earning a loyal fan following in the process.  


Genre is Death (Queens, NY)

With the band Genre is Death, Ty Varesi and Tayler Lee, brings an experimental, no-wave aesthetic to their music. As concert promoter Show Brain said about the band: “Using loopers, synths, and distortion, you can expect a loud, angry, and at times melodic sound that continues the no wave tradition.

“Ty and I were playing music in Atlanta in a dead-end sludge band. We played music in that project for four years and played maybe two or three shows? It was awful — a true creative death. When we moved to New York, we started making whatever came to us. Things started feeling right after that.”


Hotspit (Richmond, VA)

Richmond indie rockers Hotspit will make our make our ears deaf and our eyes tearful.  The poignant powerhouse released 6 track EP Memory Of A Mirror Image in 2023 and their emotive soundscapes and gorgeous vocals will provide a comfort blanket of sound for your ears.

Listener 555 (Miami, FL)

Listener 555 is a four-piece band of mystical whimsical trolls singing about searching for love in all places good and bad. Music For People Who Aren’t Sure They Can Sing But Try Anyway is the interesting title of their 2023 album, which was hilariously followed by their 2024 album More Music For People That Try To Sing!


screenager (Towaco, New Jersey)

screenager is the musical project of New Jersey-based multi-instrumentalist Adri Maiella, a fixture in the New Jersey DIY scene who has also played shows and festivals around the country as a touring member of Daffo (Concord Records). Reminiscent of indie rock fan favorites like Slow Pulp, Blondshell, and Soccer Mommy, Maiella combines cutting lyrics with disarming vulnerability to capture the painful, beautiful complexities of coming of age.


Touchdown Jesus (Cincinnati, Ohio)

Touchdown Jesus released their debut EP You Must Not Know Who You Are To Them, in March 2024 via Kaleidoscopic Records. With regards to their music the band invite you to “listen and figure it out for yourself” Apparently difficult to categorise is an intriguing prospect if the track ‘Four Grand’ is anything to go by.


Wax Jaw (Philadelphia, PA)

Wax Jaw has rapidly climbed the rungs of an expansive Philly music scene following the release of their debut EP Between the Teeth in 2023. A formidable opening statement from the band, the EP is a collection of catchy punk tunes sun-kissed with surfy guitar tones and permeated with new wave danceability. The release was immediately picked up by Abandon Everything Records and followed up with multiple sold out shows at home and on the road while touring in the U.S. and Canada. Buzz surrounding the band is fueled by their high-octane live shows, where it’s not unusual for members to dive into the crowd after taking command of the stage with a fierce and unbridled tenacity. Led by charismatic frontman Shane Morgan, the band has cut their teeth alongside psych-rock titans , brit-punk royalty , and indie angels .


For more information on New Colossus please check the website and follow on facebook and instagram.

God is in the TV is an online music and culture fanzine founded in Cardiff by the editor Bill Cummings in 2003. GIITTV Bill has developed the site with the aid of a team of sub-editors and writers from across Britain, covering a wide range of music from unsigned and independent artists to major releases.