On today's special year-end edition of the cast, we take a look back at the year that was 2024 and look back at all of my picks for the top albums of the year handcrafted by yours truly and what album stood out among the rest and really encapsulated the year as a whole. I also give some selections from my top songs over the past year and which ones stood out as anthems and received the most airplay throughout that contributed to some of the best moments from beginning to end. I also recap some of my favorite concerts that I attended over the past year including Joshua Bassett, Incubus, Vampire Weekend, and the epic pop-punk leaning When We Were Young festival out in Vegas featuring The Starting Line, Taking Back Sunday, and a whole host of others that wrapped up the year on a fine note. I also play some sections from my year-end songs list, including Henry Merit, Donna Drive, and Pretoria.

On today's podcast, we welcome aboard Nico Daglio and Ian Niblack of the Boston based indie outfit Statue. The fellas come on to talk about their musical beginnings, how the band formed, how their individual musical influences set them on the path they're currently on right now, their individual creative processes and how they conjure up music when practicing together, they discuss their stage presence and how it manifests themselves well on stage and how it elicits an audience response. Nico also chats briefly about his foray into solo music outside of the band and how that gives him an added creative edge and outlet, while Ian also chats about his interests outside of the band including fashion that he designs himself and displays and adorns proudly when performing on stage.

On today's flashback edition of the cast, we throw it back to 2018 and my interview with The Starting Line frontman Kenny Vasoli. We touched base to talk about the beginnings of his side projects Person L and Vacationer and how that filled the times in between playing shows with TSL. One of my favorite interviews I've ever done in the history of my podcast, Kenny was also the subject of the very first written post I ever did for MusicBoxPete when it launched in 2009: my review of Person L's full length debut "The Positives". I had interviewed Kenny multiple times in chat transcripts over the years with Person L and Vacationer, but this was my first time chatting with him over the phone and in length about music. I've met him multiple times over the years during his jaunts in Boston and he has been nothing short of an amazing musician and a great friend, and that means a lot especially having been of a fan his since my high school years and was a big part of my formative years and was solely responsible for establishing my love for pop-punk music.

On today's special edition of the cast, I give you a sneak peek of the When We Were Young music festival that I'll be attending next weekend out in Las Vegas, highlighting some of the many acts who will be performing their albums in its entirety including Underoath, Saves The Day, New Found Glory, Taking Back Sunday, and a whole host of others. I also talk about how this emo-leaning lineup seeks to reinvigorate the musical memories it's bound to conjure up for all the attendees who will be flocking in droves from the world over to check out. his once in a lifetime event. I also talk about the bands that I'm most excited to see out there, some of the fun activities that I'll be partaking out there including lounging by the pool and the plethora of restaurants that are abound out there in Sin City. I also play a selection of songs from some of the acts that I grew up listening to including Armor For Sleep, Jimmy Eat World, and The Starting Line.

On today's podcast, we welcome aboard Worcester based emo-rockers Moveset. Drew, Warren, and Alex take some time to talk about the band's origins, how all the members came together and what some of the challenges were getting the band started seeing as they formed just this year. The guys talked about their musical influences and how they helped shaped the sound of the band, the band's experiences recording and writing together and how they learned to practice and hone their skills when it comes to precision, timing, and all remaining on the same page musically. The guys also talked about the recording of their debut single "Intrusive" and what it was like to put it all together, plus the fellas let us in on some of their passions outside of making music, including working on cars.

On today's all new cast, we welcome aboard Greg and Will from the Boston based alt/synth-rock outfit Western Education. The boys come on to reconnect and take a trip down memory lane and find out what they've been up to since we last chatted with them back in 2015. We discuss the journey that has gotten them to this point, how the band formed, when they realized that they had stumbled across something special, the secret to what makes their music so unique, their experiences recording their latest singles "New Dawn" and "Catherine What Have You Done", plus they talk about the influence that The Killers has had on them and what their favorite album of theirs is, plus the guys talk about how they like to decompress from playing and making music also.

On today's special edition of the cast, I bring to you my Fall 2024 New Music Preview Special, highlighting some of the albums that will be coming out this Fall, along with some ones that have already been released. Among some of the albums I highlight include Troy Cartwright's latest effort "Bygones" and why that cements his status as one of the fastest rising country artists out there today. I also highlight Boston Manor's recently released 5th album "Sundiver" and how that effort represents where the U.K. emo rockers are at this stage of their personal and professional careers. I also talk about 90's alt rockers Nada Surf and their brand new album "Moon Mirror" and how that album keeps the band in the public consciousness after all this time, and how it matches in musical intensity and potentness to their classic 2002 LP "Let Go". I also make mention of Hippo Campus recently released album "Flood" and how it's a serious contender for Album of The Year with their fanatical following sure to hold this album near, dear, and close to their hearts. To close out, I also preview some forthcoming albums from Sneaky Miles and Shawn Mendes.

On today's all new cast, we sit down with guitarist/vocalist Evan Ringle of the NH based indie rock outfit Watson Park. Evan chats about the early beginnings of the group, how he met all the other members, what influences characterize his sound including sharing in our mutual love of Elliott Smith, he also lets us in on the creative process behind his music and how all the magic unfolds in the studio right before your very ears. He lets us in on the creation of the band's debut LP "Laurel" and what it was like to put it all together, the song that most resonates with him during those sessions, and what he likes to do for fun to unwind from music, including cooking and being a cinephile.

On today's all new episode, we spend some time with producer Christian DeKnatel aka DKNTL and Boston's own Aaron Bear to talk about their collaborative EP that they worked on together, "Grateful Good Times". The fellas take some time to talk about their musical beginnings, their influences that made them want to get into music in the first place, how they joined forces and created something truly special and wholly unique that takes influences from a wide variety of genres, but is unclassificable as a whole. Christian talks about his time with Orson and The Rosebuds and how that prepared him for his project, and how he met up with Aaron to create this EP, what the two learned about themselves after completing the project, what the whole process was like putting it all together, and how gratifying it is to have it out into the open for everyone to hear. 

On today's brand new cast to kick off the new season, we touch base with Boston based on the rise indie trio Hush Club. Alasdair, Chris, and Liz come on to talk about their upcoming show at The Sinclair in Cambridge with Photo Negative on Sept. 8 and also to talk about the band's origins, how all the members met up, the band's musical influences and how it evokes some similarities to Alasdair's previous group New Dakotas, the band's musical influences and how it all coalesces into something truly special and unique, the creative process and how sometimes those differences manifest themselves well when the songs reach their finished state, they also let us in on the recording process behind their latest single "Movie" and what it was like to out it all together, plus they talk about their special and unique bond they have with their fans including making pizza for them due to TikTok and their plans for taking the fans out for ice cream after The Sinclair show.