Razzberry Affair
Do yourself a favor and catch these guys early, not on any streaming service yet but check them out on the instagrams. Smooth soulful listening.
Kudzu Country Club
KUDZU plays it about as advertised: cow punk with the hardcore turned up, out of Greenville. The self-titled record runs seven tracks deep, from "Nothin' Done" to "In the Sky," recorded loud and left that way.
Sweet Gravy
Sweet Gravy's out of Greenville, and they've already got their own way of describing it: Grateful Honky Tonk Outlaw Rock and Roll. Dead-inspired jams tangled up with country twang and a little bit of don't-give-a-damn. Exactly the kind of sound that sounds better live than it ever could on paper.
Mothspeaker
Mothspeaker calls themselves Moth Priests, Greer-raised, and that tells you most of what you need. Post-rock built slow, slowcore stretched thinner, electronic textures bleeding through the cracks. One single so far, PCP, plus a Chrysalis Mix.
Cash Machine
Cash Machine formed in March of 2020 and got quarantined immediately, which feels about right. Took a couple years but they came out the other side with a self titled record and roots planted deep in rock, jazz, jam and funk, the kind of band that meanders through a groovy pocket before it decides to bang your head for you. They've already played Fall for Greenville once, a live record from that 2023 set is still up if you want proof.
Falling Out
Falling Out's only been a band since 2024 but they've already found their own corner of alternative rock, punk and pop bleeding into each other at the edges. Tucker Lee sings and plays guitar, Paul Godfrey shreds lead, Monty Allender holds the bottom end down, Rocco Montgomery drives it from behind the kit. Cut their teeth at Downtown Alive, then put out three singles inside a year, Falling Slow, Right Back to Wrong, Craze. Still just getting started.
Andrew Crocker
Andrew Crocker grew up on country music and never really left it, even when he wanders off into Prince or James Taylor mid-set. Been doing this over a decade around the Upstate now, bars and weddings and the Greenville Country Music Fest twice over, once opening for Lonestar. Soulful voice, eclectic setlist, the kind of guy who can follow Alan Jackson with Queen and make it feel natural. Still writing his own stuff between the covers.
Middlehaze
Middlehaze started in someone's practice space back in 2015, four Greenville kids who all write and all sing. Latest EP "Down Low" got tracked right here in town with Will Wong and Britt Barker, though "High Five" before it got cut up in Asheville with a kid named Lawson Alderson. Indie rock built by committee, in the good way.
Dead Petals
Dead Petals is a Greenville psych rock outfit still finding its footing, one single deep. "First Light". Early days for this one. Worth keeping an eye on where it goes next.
YardSale
Formed in the summer of 2022, in drummer Abraham Hines's driveway of all places, YardSale's grown into the Upstate's own strain of prog psych, four pieces pulling from rock, jazz, funk, blues, whatever's lying around, then bending it toward something stranger. Songs like "Overture 751" and "Carolina Rain" don't sit still, they wander, shift time, come back different than they left. Latest release "I've Been Down So Long" keeps that ambition running. Not a band chasing a sound. A band building one.
ANTIFACT
Antifact plays hardcore the way it's supposed to sound, filthy, low tuned, no stage required. Clemson kids running on Gulch and Dystopia. Two records deep, "A Loss of Innocence" is the latest, and they've spent that time stomping basements and dive bar back rooms across the Upstate. No polish. If your hardcore's gotta be ugly to be honest, this is the band.
The Indoor Kids
Greenville based punk rock band
The Indoor Kids are a Greenville-based punk-influenced rock band, with a couple of releases on Bandcamp — the "First Day of Camp" EP and a singles collection. Loud, scrappy, and locally rooted.
Vilai Harrington and the Hamptones
Soulful country roots from the South Carolina sandhills, gut-wrenching lyrics, and melodies that sound like they've always existed.
Vilai Harrington & the Hamptones bring soul-country to the Upstate, fronted by Sandhills native Vilai Harrington and rounded out by a band pulled from across the state — Josh Riley on bass, Adam Bachman on dobro, Joe Tamburro on percussion, Jake Garrett on pedal steel and guitar. They take Appalachian roots and lean them toward modern Americana, with a swagger that plays better on a porch than a stage. Regulars on the regional porchfest and festival circuit, they've been a steady presence in Greenville's scene for years, not a new name to watch but a known one worth catching live.
The Schwa
High-energy, overdriven power pop with modern production and an old-school feel.
Formed in 2018, The Schwa write guitar-driven, hook-heavy alt-pop that pulls from garage rock, blues, britpop, funk, and a little modern psychedelia without settling into any one of them. A steady name in the Greenville scene for years now, not a band still finding its footing.
Sympl
An artist raised, groomed, and tested by the d.i.y. ethos.
sympL is a two-decade veteran of the Upstate hip-hop scene, not a new name to it. Ernesto Gutierrez has shared stages with Wu-Tang's Cappadonna and Ghostface Killah and opened for Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and continues to release new work with longtime collaborator DJ Scientist. Rapid-fire delivery over heavy, sample-driven production — this is someone who's been doing it a long time and still sounds hungry.
Solarist
Reminiscent of late 90’s grunge and rock
Solarist plays dark, driving rock in the lineage of Nirvana, Seether, and the Deftones — built around frontman Tom Carden's songwriting and a heavy, brooding low end. Singles like "Illustrate" and "Life I Chose" lean into thoughtful lyrics over hard-hitting production, and the band's kept a steady presence on Upstate stages for years.
Sidestep Dog
Emo/alt/post hardcore/whatever. Loud and fast
Sidestep Dog play emo and pop-punk with teeth — think Jimmy Eat World and Taking Back Sunday, but with horns and indie-leaning composition woven in rather than a straight throwback. A Radio Room regular with a steady release history, most recently 2025's "Best Behavior."