The Most Anticipated Music of 2015

I got the idea for this post from Alternative Press magazine. Some of the anticipated music I'll be listing is also included in Alt Press's article, but I'm adding my own expectations. 2015 already sounds like it is going to be an incredible year for music and I doubt we barely know even half of the expected music to be released this year.

FALL OUT BOY
American Beauty / American Psycho 
January 20

Little by little, Fall Out Boy have been releasing songs from their album. "Centuries" has been by far the most popular since the song is played everywhere from ESPN to pop radio stations. They have also released "American Beauty / American Psycho," "The Kids Aren't Alright," "Immortals" (featured in Disney's Big Hero 6), "Irresistible" and "Uma Thurman." The songs are extremely promising and set some high expectations for the rest of the album. I've been looking forward to how the band would follow their last album, Save Rock and Roll, since it was such a large success. They've taken a few aspects from that album such as the story-telling technique. Based on their newest music video and comments from the band, the album focuses on an unhealthy love between the "American Beauty," Nancy, and the "American Psycho," Sid. Only a little over a week left until we find out the rest of Sid and Nancy's story.

SLEEPING WITH SIRENS
February

Three months ago, Sleeping With Sirens released their single, "Kick Me." This was the first sound of new music since the release of their last album, Feel (June 2013). The single was followed by another single called "We Like It Loud," which has some more rock vibes than their previous songs. The band decided to end their ties to their previous label, Rise Records, and instead sign with Epitaph in order to work more independently as a band. John Feldmann has also been helping in producing the album. The band is currently on their world tour alongside Pierce the Veil.

IMAGINE DRAGONS
Smoke and Mirrors 
February 17

Imagine Dragons were deemed by Billboard as "2012's Brightest New Stars" and "The Breakout Band of 2013." They also added three more Billboard awards to that list in 2014. Their last studio album was released in September of 2012 which was followed by a live album in April 2013. The band mentioned to Rolling Stone that the new album is mainly rock-driven with more hip-hop influences than their previous work.

THE MAINE
American Candy
Spring

This is one of the most anticipated albums of the year for me personally. I've grown to love this band more and more over the last couple of years and I even joined my first street team to help promote the band. Earlier this week, the band came out of hiding from the recording studio they were living at in Joshua Tree, California. They shut themselves off from the internet and dedicated themselves to the music. There hasn't been any released singles as of now, but they did release information about their new tour (which I have tickets to!). They've mentioned how they brought back some of their early pop sounds and tried to make the album not as serious as Forever Halloween was. The band sounds like they are about to jump out of their skin, they are so excited to release something new.

ALL TIME LOW
Future Hearts
Spring

I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for this album and the new single that premieres TONIGHT. The last time we heard new music was in September of 2013 when the band re-released their October 2012 album as Don't Panic: It's Longer Now! which included some bonus songs. Just two days ago, All Time Low announced on BBC radio the album title and artwork. They were featured on the cover of Alt Press magazine as the most anticipated album of the year and the article by Evan Lucy is absolutely amazing and I recommend everyone to read it. They produced the album with John Feldmann. The band collaborated with Mark Hoppus of Blink-182, Kool Kojak and Benji and Joel Madden of Good Charlotte. I can't think of a better way to describe the band's goals for the album other than how Lucy says it.
"If anything [All Time Low's] goal was simple: harness the parts of their sound that make the band great, amplify them and expand the sonic palette without losing sight of their roots." -Evan Lucy, AltPress

PIERCE THE VEIL 
Spring

Pierce the Veil have been working hard and long on their upcoming album and the only thing coming in the way of them putting on the final details and releasing it is the fact that they are constantly busy on tour. For months now they have been touring next to Sleeping with Sirens and they won't finish until early this summer. The band claims that touring and recording has actually been really helpful because they find a lot of their inspiration for new music while they are on stage and on the road. They plan to design their album based on their performance on stage, including some loud and exciting songs, but not forgetting about the softer places.

TWENTY ONE PILOTS 
Summer

There hasn't been much talk about a new 21P album, but the duo admits that it is definitely in the works and they are very worried about it. It's been quite awhile - two years -  since the guys last released new material. Tyler Joseph mentioned in AltPress that he was scouting in LA for someone to help produce an album. He described that the trouble was finding someone who didn't want to "polish" their sound. I love that the duo are staying close to their roots and not letting anyone change who they are. In the AltPress issue that they were on the cover of, they sounded like they had huge plans for 21P. Despite their confessions of being nervous, I'm looking forward to what they decide to release.

PANIC! AT THE DISCO
Summer

I hadn't heard anything about new P!ATD music until I read the AltPress article. There was an interview in September of last year where Brendon Urie stated that he wasn't sure if the fifth studio album would be a P!ATD album or a solo album, but according to his comment in the latest issue of AltPress, he is calling it a P!ATD album. The band is currently cut down to only two people - vocalist/guitarist Urie and bassist Dallon Weekes - so Urie kind of steals the show whether the music is released as a band or solo. Either way, I'm psyched (despite having to see some really talented guys enter and leave the band). I was impressed with the last album, Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!, which was released about a year and a half ago, so I'm looking forward to see what else P!ATD has for fans.

MAYDAY PARADE 
Fall

Mayday Parade have announced that they are planning to experiment with their fifth full-length album. Their goal is to try to bring the raw human element that is seen on stage into the recording studio and onto the album. Their last album was released in the fall of 2013 and featured the pop-rock sounds that they are normally associated with. The band was traveling on their The Honeymoon Tour during the last few months of 2014 and have some international shows set for this year's spring and summer. I'm crossing my fingers to see them again at Warped Tour this year.

BLINK-182
Late Fall

A new Blink-182 album sounds like a myth nowadays. Their sixth
studio album was released in September 2011 and was followed by the Dogs Eating Dogs EP in December 2012. It's not like they've been sitting around doing nothing. Tom Delonge released an album with his band Angels and Airwaves in December 2014. Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker have been busy with their families and their own side projects. Even though whatever they release won't sound like the Blink most of us fell in love with in the late 90s/early 2000s, a new album is still a new album and it will show the band's growth and how they've changed. Delonge commented that the recording process for the new album will begin early this year and will have a lot of similarities with their self-titled album which was released in 2003. Delonge also mentioned in the AltPress issue that they are currently trying to find the perfect producer for the album. (I want to know why they don't produce it themselves since they all have experience in producing. Maybe they can't agree or something. Or hire John Feldmann because I've become a fan of his but his ideas may not reflect Blink's new sound...) I saw a rumor that they could be touring with Fall Out Boy and Cobra Starship this year, but it's unconfirmed (just think of how amazing that would be though).


**GREEN DAY

"I'm in a hardware store in queens. and this
is on my mind. #greenday15 #thefutureisnow
#greendayforever" -Billie Joe Armstrong on instagram

I have no information on a new Green Day album other than Billie Joe Armstrong saying on instagram that the band has big plans for this year. They released ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré!  in September, November and December of 2012 and that was the last time they released anything new. A lot of events have been happening in their personal lives such as Mike Dirnt's wife developing (and beating!) cancer and the band's guitarist Jason White being diagnosed with tonsil cancer (which is said to be treatable). I hope after everyone is healthy again that they will be back in the recording studio soon and maybe even start touring again.



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As you can see, there is so much great music coming out this year. Think about all of the bands who haven't released information about new music or the artists that we may not even know yet. This year is going to be huge. Along with the music, I'm going to be graduating this year!? Actually, it's just four short months away. Then I move into a dorm at ASU and start my journalism major. Last week I interviewed a local band for the first time and while I noticed I have a lot to improve on in my interview skills, I had a lot of fun with the whole thing. On Monday I begin working at my first job at a local community college bookstore. It may not sound like much, but I am so excited to start. The closest I've come to a job is babysitting and tutoring.

I know it's been awhile since I last blogged but I promise to be more dedicated to this site. I've grown to like it a lot. I'm regretting not committing to this earlier. I love getting all my thoughts down on artists, albums, concerts and whatever else.

Anyways, I'm going to list the upcoming concerts I have coming up:

-Run 2 Cover (along with Jonny Craig, Kyle Lucas, Captain Midnite, Down with Webster, and So Loud) (January 17)
-Pot of Gold festival (March 13, 14, 15, 17)
-The Maine (April 3)
-Warped Tour (June 23, not sure if I'm going yet)
-APMAs (hopefully!!!!!!!!!!!) (July 22)

That's all of them for now. Well, I hope everyone's new year is starting off great and I will blog soooon.


Until next time,

Nikole xx

Looking Back on Warped Tour

     Quick side note: I really am going to try to blog about the recent concerts I've been to as well as the concerts that will be coming up. I don't really have any order, I'm probably just going to go with whatever concert that comes to mind first. I'm going to start with Warped Tour because that was one of my favorite days this summer.

     On June 18 I went to Quail Park in Mesa to go to Warped Tour for the very first time. I honestly don't know what stopped me from going before this summer but at least I went this year. I got there as soon as the doors opened. It was a pretty cool day for being summer in Arizona. I can't even explain my excitement for the day's lineup. The schedule isn't known until you get there so it's super important to find the giant blown up schedule that is by one of the main stages.

     The first show of the day began at 11:30am and it just happened to be one of the top bands that I was most looking forward to: Mayday Parade. Since it was morning and not as hot, everyone was super pumped and were dancing and singing. The lead singer, Derek Sanders, ran around stage barefoot and sang with a lot of energy to get the day started. They performed songs from their newest album, "Monsters in My Closet," along with older songs from their 2011 self-titled album and "Valdosta" EP.

     I had some time between Mayday Parade and the next act I wanted to see so this gave me some time to scope out my surroundings and check out all of the tents. One that stood out was the AltPress Magazine tent which was where a few signings would be held throughout the day. I picked up a pass from that table to come back later to meet one of my favorite bands (which I will get to soon). Some tables were really interactive where they had photo booths or paint so you can paint your friends (I'm not sure how to describe that because I didn't actually go to that table). Alright, I'll get back to the music.

     The second show was an Arizona native band called The Summer Set. What really stands out about them is their female drummer, Jess Bowen. It's awesome seeing that one girl in a band because I think it really shows that the guitars and drums aren't just meant for guys. They played some of my favorite songs of theirs like "Lightening in a Bottle" and "Chelsea." They were super pumped and kept mentioning how excited they were to be in their hometown.

Raising his middle finger, John O'Callaghan
from The Maine sings every word with
emotion.

     The next act was probably the act I was looking forward to the most. I got to the stage over an hour early and watched a group called The Protomen. After they finished their set, I made my way to the front of the crowd and right up again the barricade. The next band to perform was another Arizonian band, The Maine. It's really hard to describe how much I love this band and if you haven't heard of their music then I highly suggest you look them up. John O'Callaghan, the lead singer, reminded me of Kurt Cobain the way he acted on stage. It's more just the similarity of physical appearance rather than anything else. O'Callaghan has said the secret to his long and messy hair is to never cut it and never wash it. While that may sound gross, the look suits him somehow. The other members of the band include Pat Kirch (drummer), Kennedy Brock (guitarist), Garrett Nickelsen (bassist), and Jared Monaco (guitarist). The emotion that O'Callaghan performs with is truly inspiring and hard to forget. The band played a couple of hits from their first album "Can't Stop Won't Stop" and mixed in some of their newer stuff from their most current album "Forever Halloween." It's a great feeling to watch a band and be able to sing along to every word. I hope everyone gets to experience that sometime in their life. At the end of their set, Brock threw his guitar pick into the crowd and the guy behind me caught it. Luckily, he said he didn't want it because it didn't have the band's symbol or anything on it so he gave it to me (and it is currently taped on my wall right next to my Maine poster. I don't need something to show that it belonged to Brock, I know where it came from). It wasn't over. While they were packing up, Kirch through his drumsticks into the crowd and one of them landed right in front of me so it was as simple as asking the security guy to pick it up and the stick was mine. Amazing.

     After that incredible performance, I stayed at the same stage to watch the next act play which would be We Are The In Crowd. It's a really great pop punk band featuring lead singer Tay Jardine and singer/guitarist Jordan Eckes. My favorite song of their set was called Kiss Me Again which features Alex Gaskarth from All Time Low.

     Things simmered down and I headed over to the acoustic stage. I had no idea this stage even existed until I happened to walk by it. It's designed to hold amazing acoustic shows and it's under a giant tent which was very nice as the day started to become warmer. The only artist I saw on that stage was Nick Santino. I hadn't heard of him before this. This is an example of why I love Warped so much, you can find artists or bands you never knew you liked.

     The reason I was passing the acoustic stage was to make my way back to the AltPress tent. Now was the time I was going to officially meet The Maine. The five guys all sat in a row at a long table, signing posters and whatever else. Sadly, no pictures or hugs were allowed but I'm still thankful that I got to talk to them and thank them for their music. I was so tongue tied when I actually came up to the table, I'm not even sure if I actually said anything or just imagined it. Even though we were limited to one item for them to sign, I still got Kirch to sign the drumstick I caught along with a poster.

As the sun set, Shaant Hacikyan from
Cute Is What We Aim For got up close and
personal with his fans.

     Up next was Jordan Witzigreuter, known better by his stage name, The Ready Set. I was a minor fan before seeing his show at Warped. I knew the words to his hit songs but there was one song I heard him play that really caught my attention. The song was called "Fangz" and it is seriously one of the best songs to listen to to get in a good mood and make you feel invincible. I downloaded all of his albums when I got home and I listened to them nonstop for quite awhile. His latest album is a real "feel good" album so it always makes me smile (so cheesy). I get to see him again this year on Nov. 19.

     The last and final band I saw was Cute Is What We Aim For. My friend recommended this band to me a few weeks before Warped and I'm so glad I was able to get to know their songs before I saw them live. The lead singer, Shaant Hacikyan, was really involved in the crowd and he would stand over the barricade and sing right in our faces. It was a beautiful show because of the Arizona sunset in the background (which are truly underrated). At the end of their performance, I managed to grab their set list. I also got to see them randomly walking behind their stage after the show and complimented them on having such a fun set.
   
     That was my first Warped Tour experience. I love how involved the bands are with their fans and how personal it became, like being able to meet your favorite artists and have conversations with them. I am most definitely planning on going to many more Warped Tours in the future.


✖ Nikole ✖


I didn't listen to any songs while writing most of this because I was watching The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon with special guest 5 Seconds of Summer instead.