New Colossus: Tuesday
Landing at Pianos on March 4, 2025
Early birds get the Abby Jeanne and the Shadowband at Pianos on Tuesday, March 4 2025.
Get your badges, get your bearings, get your beers on the opening night of New Colossus.
They call this music festival The New Colossus. That’s no joke. Hump Day News counted one hundred and ninety-six bands, playing on twelve stages, spread over six days in this sixth edition of the festival. That’s the kind of critical mass you can reach when you’ve timed your event as a landing pad for international acts on their way to an even bigger festival, SXSW. But New Colossus does just fine on its own merits, thanks. Local, national, and international talent converge on the Lower East Side to play music, make memories, and trade notes on chopped cheese. “Hey, I’m walking over here!”
Outer Shapes at Pianos
Outer Shapes
If there’s such a thing as a local band in a city full of transplants, and a fest full of out-of-town acts just passing through on their way to SXSW, Outer Shapes are locals. The alt pop two-piece knows its way around New Colossus, having performed the previous year.
In 2025, they were slotted for two sets, one on the first day and the other on the last of the festival. Traditionally, the start and the finish are tough times to draw a crowd. Everyone’s coming or going, and maybe not ready to hit da clurb. But the organizers handled the natural wax and wane of the event with aplomb, winnowing the schedule down to a short menu of options on either end, maximizing the attendance numbers in select locations.
On the first night, Tuesday night, it was all Pianos. Outer Shapes performed in front of a healthy crowd, trotting out songs from their latest EP Toothache. Extra points for the shoulder-surfing acrobatics in the closer.
Lille Venn at Pianos
Lille Venn
Lille Venn pulled through from Oslo, Norway. I know what you’re thinking: that the ‘v’ in Norwegian is pronounced with a soft ‘w’ sound, making the band name “Lille Venn” a discreet allusion to esteemed American rapper Li’l Wayne. But it’s not so. The ‘v’ in Norwegian is pronounced exactly as we say it in English, more or less.
It’s just as well because their grunge pop stylings have as much to do with hip hop as DOGE has with fiscal responsibility. One of their songs was a dead ringer for Wheatus’ “Teenage Dirtbag,” which is a song that all the world can’t quit.
TWST at Pianos
TWST
The first of a few mom (& dad) sightings at New Colossus. New York City is a big town. We should all be so lucky to have our mom at our side when we tour through on our way to SXSW. TWST is a very portable act; a solo electropopper with a lean rig, ready to set up shop in any corner of any club. She recently toured with rocker Orla Gartland, which might seem like a mismatch, but Europe draws less boundary lines between discoteque soundscapes and whatever it is that rock n roll is. Her laptop-assisted set cranked out club fare, Grimesy stuff, with at least a gesture or two in the direction of Bjorkian operatic acrobatics. A danceable riff on one of the themes from Tetris brought down the house.
Suichu Spica at Pianos
Suichu Spica
The three- or four-piece Suichu Spica is on a world tour. The world mainly consists of their native Japan and stops in China, sandwiching a week in the United States on their way to and from SXSW. Be forewarned. Their Fuzhou and Beijing shows are sold out. There is a low ticket alert for the Chengdu and Shanghai dates. And you haven’t truly lived until you’ve seen the band’s alt pop shenanigans on a moonless night in Shenzhen.
Abby Jeanne at Pianos
Abby Jeanne and the Shadowband
Speaking of local bands, Abby Jeanne was representing Queens. She and her Shadowband ply a self-aware, retro pop brand of psych rock. All the pieces are in place: the licks, the solos, the hair, the clothes, the groovy vibes. But the songwriting and Abby Jeanne’s brassy voice elevate the project above the level of mere kitsch. The singer pimped her latest song “Sentimental Kids,” a Wall of Sound bopper.
WATCH ABBY JEANNE LIVE ↓
That’s it. You survived. Or is there another day of music at The New Colossus Fest? The massive indie music festival on NYC’s Lower East Side is already booked for 2026. Hump Day News, in all likelihood, will see you there.
Photo Gallery
Early birds get the Abby Jeanne and the Shadowband at Pianos.