Próxima Parada
Próxima Parada means ‘next stop’ in Spanish and Portuguese. As college students in San Luis Obispo, California taking the bus to school, at every stop they’d hear, “Now approaching, próxima parada…” 100 times a day. The name is an invitation to the present moment, a reminder to not be too focused on the destination and to appreciate every stop along the way.
After ten years of next stops, their songs have become more and more focused on personal growth and groove, where each player adds just what’s needed and makes up a piece of a whole. Some songs are sunny and light-hearted indie soul, others have a late-Mac-Miller mellow vibe, all the while speaking to who they are working to be.
What began as a group of college friends wanting to spread joy to their local community has led
to national tours where people let loose and feel whatever they need to feel. It’s already been an
incredible journey with their songs reaching a global audience online, and they’re just getting
started. 2023 brings Próxima Parada’s strongest album to date and much touring.
Oliver Hazard
The story of Waterville, OH indie-folk trio Oliver Hazard – Michael Belazis (vocals, guitar) and Devin East (vocals, guitar), joined by Nate Miner (keys, vocals) – is the digital age’s version of classic band mythmaking. One member of the band came home to Ohio after leading camping trips in California and decided to make an album with two childhood friends. They won a Facebook raffle to record one song at a studio. Instead, they played their whole album straight through once, resulting in their debut LP 34 N River (2018). The Fader called the album a “folk-pop masterpiece” and the band was booked at Bonnaroo and Mountain Jam shortly thereafter. In 2019, the band released their 6 track EP, The Flood, which Billboard called a “souvenir.” This brings the band to their sophomore, self-titled album (July 2023), featuring music from the band’s recent Northern Lights EP, plus five additional songs.