On Wednesday night of July 25th, Chicago indie act Varsity will be playing at the Cactus Club alongside Toronto indie band Tallies and Milwaukee rock band Northern Haunts. Varsity just released their new album ‘Parallel Person’ this year, but their 2016 hit ‘So Sad, So Sad’ is still number one on their Spotify page. Like most shows at the Cactus Club, this one will be 21+ only.
Who is Varsity? Varsity is Stef Smith, the founding member and lead vocalist, Dylan Weschler on guitar and vocals, Pat Stanton on guitar, Paul Stolz on bass and Jake Stolz on drums. Guitarist Pat Stanton says that Varsity gets a lot of its influence from artists like Spoon, Frankie Cosmos, Fleetwood Mac and The Beach Boys.
The indie and surf influence bleeds heavily into Varsity’s music. Stef’s soothing vocalization over a melancholy surf guitar gives a relaxing melody which is rare to find. Varsity’s new album isn’t aggressive and high-energy, but is more mellow and friendly.
“Before we made Parallel Person we compiled a playlist of songs that we were really into at the time and songs where we liked how certain things sounded,” Stanton says, “It’s pretty much the ultimate Varsity influence compilation playlist.”
Parallel Person was released this year under Babe City Records, and it was the first time Varsity worked with a large record label. Pat said, “It’s not really like how big record labels can sometimes have creative control over their artists, this is more of a partnership.” These words are true seeing how Parallel Person still has Varsity’s indie pop identity.
“The internet is the best way to get our music out there. Ever since we started as a band we’ve put all our music online for free. We also try to get it on every possible media platform available,” Stanton says. “Touring is probably the second best way we build up our following, plus it makes us better musicians and lets us build relationships with listeners face-to-face.”
Let’s talk about the opening bands. Tallies is a Canadian band that plays indie-surf riffs too, sounding a lot like Varsity. The term ‘dream pop’ matches Tallies’ upbeat jams to a tee.
Next to Tallies is Northern Haunts, a local Milwaukee band that puts a little more rock in their step. They just released a new single, ‘Common Places’, on Spotify. Northern Haunts jams with a folk and blues rhyme, which is very refreshing. Northern Haunts playing alongside Tallies and Varsity makes for a promising show.
The doors to the venue will open at eight p.m. and the music will start at nine. Tickets are on Cactus Club’s website for 10 dollars, or you can pay the same amount at the door.