The Tacoma music scene is ever-growing, and much of that is shown in the recent creations of some local teenage bands. These bands hold some of the most creative people I have ever had the pleasure to see live, and some of the best people that I know. If you’re looking for bands to keep an eye on, keep your eyes on these, because I guarantee that they will be selling out stadiums in ten years. I highly recommend you check out these bands, follow them, and go to the shows. I’ve made some of my best memories doing just that. Some honorable mentions for other smaller bands I’d recommend are Sue The Fish, Blind Heresy, TV Static, Hot Stepmom, and L-S-K-B. If you are looking for a way to find shows, follow accounts of venues and of these artists, they post shows semi-regularly.
Capala
Capala, formerly High Voltage, is a band I’ve also been following since the beginning of their formation. The band consists of Aine on vocals; Jackson on guitar; Mia who plays the bass; and Cole who plays drums. I’ve seen them live many times, and they’re able to give their little twist to the classic nu-metal sound. I was able to snag an interview with Aine pre-show on November 13th and she had this to say about the band: “My goal for Capala is to just get out, play shows, I mean in an ideal world I’d be bringing nu-metal back. Main influences, gotta go with Kittie, big influence, Limp Bizkit, I have a Bizkit shirt on right now, Slipknot, a huge influence. For any advice to young artists, I’d say just go for it, I know that’s so cliche, but it’s not gonna happen unless you try and go for it, even if you’re embarrassed. I didn’t think I could do this, but I tried and I’m here now. You just gotta believe in yourself (bEliEvE iN yOuRsElF) and you have to not quit because you sound like booty, you gotta work to not sound like booty.” You can follow Capala at @the.band.capala on Instagram.
Mourning Glory
A fuzz psychedelic rock band, Mourning Glory is small but already making a name for themselves. They were formed in June of 2023, and they consist of four members. Jackie, who does vocals and plays the guitar; Wyatt, who also plays the guitar; Raven, who plays the bass; and Carlos, who plays the drums. I’ve seen this band live many, many times, from their second show onward, and they’ve only evolved as a band. They’re still very small, but the music they play is full of passion, from covers of Violent Femmes to Ween, and everything in between. They’re a great band, and if they don’t go anywhere together, they each individually have enough talent to shape whatever genre they choose by themselves. You can follow Mourning Glory at @mouring_glory.band on Instagram.
T.R.U.E (The Rat Utopia Experiment)
The Rat Utopia Experiment (T.R.U.E) is an anarchist rock band in Tacoma, Washington. They were formed in June of 2022, and they consist of five members. Sophia, who’s on the main vocals; Aine, from Capala on the bass and does backup vocals; Maddox, who plays guitar; Jackson, from Capala who also plays guitar; and Evan, who plays drums and does backup vocals. The band works hard to make a sound that’s a beautiful mix of metal, emo, a little bit of nu-metal, (and we can’t forget the anti-establishment themes). At the time of writing, they have released 3 singles, one music video, and are developing much more music and lore. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them live, and they do not disappoint, they can almost perfectly maintain their signature sound from the studio to the stage. You can follow them at @theratutopiaexperiment on Instagram.
Mahogany Rose
A little indie rock outfit evolved from a now inactive band called Sometimes Y, Mahogany Rose has been teasing some music for a while now. The new main edition to the former Sometimes Y lineup is vocalist Layla. From the Sometimes Y group returning, Wyatt from Mourning Glory returns to guitar and does some backup vocals, Dino returns to bass and backup vocals, Christopher returns to drums, and Hudson returns to keys. I was able to get some quotes from Wyatt about this new project, something that he and many other people are very excited about; “After the program, we wanted to just be a band, we got the same members as Sometimes Y, and we don’t have Adrian, Falco, or Ditto anymore, but we have a new vocalist Layla. This is our first show as Mahogany Rose, so without spoiling too much, we got some math rock lined up, some funk, some metal, and just really kinda anything, each member is appreciative of lots of music. Yeah man, f*** yeah I’m excited, about to play some music”. They’re releasing their first EP sometime in December of 2023. You can follow them at @mahogany.rose_band on Instagram.
Shanked
Guitar? Who needs a guitar when you have two bassists and your drummer is your vocalist? Not Shanked, that’s who. I couldn’t find any record of when they were formed or the full list of band members, but Slimon is the drummer and vocalist, Raven from Mourning Glory is one of the bassists, and from what I can tell they’ve played with one or two different second bassists. I saw this band live once at a backyard show, and they played an amazing set. The energy they’re able to carry is remarkable, with tapped bass, heavy bass, and blast beats intermingling to make some amazing music to mosh to, resulting in something they call “Swagapino Trans Hardcore” and it slams. It’s an excellent project, and I’m excited to see where they go from here. You can follow Shanked at @shankedhc on Instagram.
