SWRM / Z.W.A. (zombies with attitudes) / DJ Schlager Gala

SWRM is a Providence, RI-based psych/synthrock duo formed in 2023 by Alec K. Redfearn (synths/vocals) and Matt McLaren (drums). Drawing from their lengthy musical collaboration and various projects, including Alec K. Redfearn & The Eyesores and Barnacled, SWRM creates a genre-bending, analog-driven sound that blends psych, prog, space rock, minimal wave, and post-punk. The duo's debut album, Lights Out, explores themes of paranoia and desperation, featuring hands-on electronic instrumentation and experimental textures. In the year 2065, friends Mac, TD (Big Digits), and Karen (UV Protection) find themselves woken up from their eternal graveyard slumber by nuclear bombs dropped by all the world's most powerful nations. In their undead forms, they find each other, start making beats and rhymes, and decide to form a rap group called Z.W.A. Staggering around their newfound hellscape, they stumble into a newly invented time portal, and decide to go back in time to warn the citizens of yesteryear about the upcoming apocalypse. Their sound—a fusion of hip-hop horror, dance floor grit, and theatrical flair—is inspired by the likes of Gravediggaz, Blondie's "Rapture," and Michael Jackson's Thriller video. They’re the zombie prophets the world never asked for. Z.W.A.: You can’t kill what’s already dead. Cannibal Ramblers play a raw, ragged mix of punk and country blues they call “Death Delta”—music that sounds like it’s being dragged behind a runaway train. Led by Mark Milloff’s whiskey-wild vocals and gritty electric guitar, the band delivers visceral songs with shifting tempos, dark imagery, and plenty of rough-edged energy.