Feature / Music / Year End 2019
Pass The Mic: Artists and labels on 2019

December 17, 2019

Pass The Mic: Artists and labels on 2019
Pass The Mic: Artists and labels on 2019

The Lawrence Arms/The Wandering Birds/Red Scare Industries/The Falcon (Brendan Kelly)

1. What are your top five albums that were released in 2019? (In order 1-5)

  1. The Menzingers - Hello Exile
  2. Bad Religion - Age of Unreason

I don’t know what else exists. 

2. What band did you discover in 2019 (can be a brand new band or an older band) that had an impact on your life? What made them significant?

I got into Dave Van Ronk.  Highly recommended.

3. How will you remember 2019? (In terms of music)

We toured with Bad Religion. That is the culmination of 30 years of fandom for us. Real dream come true. 

4. What can we look forward to from you in 2020?

We (The Lawrence Arms) will have a new album out at some point on Epitaph and I think I can speak for everyone in the band when I say you’re gonna love it and remember why we’re known as the “world’s greatest band."

5. What records are you looking forward to most in 2020?

Sam Russo has a new one coming out and it’s awesome, and the Bombpops do too. I’ve heard both, but I’m excited to see everyone get their minds blown by both of these amazing and underrated acts. 

6. What is your favorite way to pass time while on tour? Any apps, podcasts, etc you're into?

We actually do a lot of talking to each other on tour. We play lots of dumb word games and brain teaser type stuff. When everyone is finally sick of me and starts ignoring me, I do a lot of twitter bullshit. I also really like the podcasts Talkin Simpsons, Chapo, and Cum Town, and I’m looking forward to the next season of Cocaine and Rhinestones. 

photo by Charlie Wrzesniewski

Skip to page View as a single page

— words by the SPB team • December 17, 2019

Main photo (The Fourthsin @ Traffic) by Flavia

Pass The Mic: Artists and labels on 2019
Pass The Mic: Artists and labels on 2019

Pages in this feature

  1. Opening page
  2. Aaron Rice
  3. Body Stuff (Curran Reynolds)
  4. Cloud Rat (Brandon Hill - drums/electronics)
  5. Dirt Cult Records / Low Culture / Macho Boys (Chris Mason)
  6. Dwarves (Blag Dahlia)
  7. Fathers (Eddie Maestas - guitar)
  8. Forever Unclean (Leo Wallin)
  9. Frank Turner
  10. Iron Lung Records (Jensen)
  11. Lamniformes (Ian Cory)
  12. Locrian (André Foisy)
  13. Nato Coles and The Blue Diamond Band (Nato Coles)
  14. Qui / Cunts (Matt Cronk)
  15. Red Scare Industries (Tobias Jeg - founder)
  16. Salinas Records (Marco Reosti)
  17. Sam Russo
  18. Seizures (Cameron Miller)
  19. Signals Midwest (Max Stern)
  20. The Holy Circle (Rob Savillo)
  21. The Holy Circle / Axebreaker / Locrian (Terence Hannum)
  22. The Lawrence Arms/The Wandering Birds/Red Scare Industries/The Falcon (Brendan Kelly)
  23. The Locust / INUS / Holy Mokar (Bobby Bray)
  24. Theologian / Annihilvs Power Electronix (Lee M. Bartow)
  25. Tiltwheel (i am davey i do lots of dumb stuff.)
  26. To Live A Lie Records / Tired Of Everything (Will Butler)

Series: Year End 2019

Our wrap-up of the best music and more from 2019

More from this series

Related features

2019: A Year In Review

Music / Year End 2019 • January 7, 2020

It's the end of a decade, and what a final year it's been. In this last piece of our 2019 feature series, we look back on the previous twelve months to explore the best TV shows we streamed, the coolest album artwork, weirdest records, best non-punk/metal and a couple of … Read more

Scene Point Blank's Favorites: Year End (2019)

Music / Year End 2019 • January 1, 2020

The end of a year and the end of a decade – 2019 is done and it's over to SPB to tell you about the best albums you heard (or didn't) over the past twelve months. Read on to discover the 25 records our staff collectively voted on as the … Read more

More from this section

FEST LIBS 23 & Fest Moments

Music / Fest 23 • October 18, 2025

Are you ready for The Fest!? While we’re pretty sure you’re already counting down days until your trek to Gainesville, FL, we’ve got some Fest games for you to play, including a few samples from this year’s performers. Click here to play FEST LIBS -- like a fill-in-the-blanks word game … Read more

Guest List: ADD Records Picks 5 Favorite Leatherface Songs

Music / The Set List • October 18, 2025

This summer Little Rocket Records announced Leatherface: The Peel Sessions, a collection of live studio recordings with Leatherface from the 1990s with the late John Peel. While Little Rocket handled the release, ADD Records took on US distribution for a limited release. Available from ADD records here As Leatherface means … Read more

Bo Diddley Plaza: Behind the Scenes at Fest

Music / Fest 23 • October 6, 2025

For close to a quarter-century punk fans have flocked to Florida for The Fest. Boasting a lineup of 300+ bands and roughly a dozen venues these days, the festival has grown, shifted and evolved. For several years the main stage has been in a large downtown park called Bo Diddley … Read more