Thursday marks Swamp Records’ fifth annual showcase with performances from both local and out-of-state talent.
Swamp Records, the UF student-run record label, will present a lineup of 10 local artists headlined by Sam Stan of Fort Lauderdale and Netherfriends of Chicago. Local performing artists are flipturn, Retrolux, The Hails, Just Neighbors, The Forum, Hugo $anchez, Rollin Cobson, DJ Robzilla, Nick Natural and Side Trakd.
“Our headliners are really fun and relatable artists and are more genre-bending,” Swamp Records President Mika Sheerin said.
Local acts will represent a variety of genres including indie, rap, punk, rock and house music.
The Swamp Records Showcase will be held at Heartwood Soundstage from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Tickets for the show are available at Eventbrite.com or from Swamp Records staff for $8 in advance. Tickets will also be available at the door for $10.
“We just want to showcase underground music to the Gainesville population,” Sheerin said, “having one night to kind of show the community what Gainesville has to offer, especially to those who have never been to a local show.”
In addition to music, the Swamp Records Showcase will have Dank Cakes and Off The Griddle selling food, as well as merchandise vendors from Always True Collective, Zen Crystals and The Terp Market.
Sheerin said the Swamp Records Showcase event directors are working to bring their graphics and art to life with a 90’s theme and various photo opportunities.
Netherfriends is the stage name for the Chicago one-man-band created by Shawn Rosenblatt. Netherfriends is an artist known for homemade beats, relatable lyrics and a penchant for releasing new music as often as possible.
Because of his constant musical experimentation and evolution, Netherfriends’ style can be difficult to label. He often jumps from genre to genre or creates a new genre altogether, like “Blues Trap,” he said.
After college, Netherfriends quit his day job, gave up his lease and broke all personal ties to tour the 50 states and record music in each state. For the next six years, Netherfriends toured constantly without a home base to return to.
Netherfriends has performed in Gainesville on numerous occasions, but to those who haven’t seen him before, Netherfriends said, “I don’t use backing tracks. I play everything live. I’m not going to stand still. I’m going to be dancing with everybody and just have a good time.”
Flipturn signed on as a Swamp Records flagship artist in fall 2017. In the past 6 months alone, the five-piece alternative indie rock group has performed regularly in the area, won a spot at Okeechobee Music and Arts Festival and released a single and their sophomore EP “Citrona.”
Before flipturn signed on to Swamp Records, bassist Madeline Jarman worked with the label.
“If I wasn’t going to be in the music scene with my band, I wanted to be in it any way I could,” Jarman said.
When one Swamp Records artist, The Delta Troubadours, left the label to move to Nashville, Jarman quit her job at the label to vie for the open spot. Flipturn won their place.
Now flipturn is preparing for their first tour extending into the Northeast. The first leg of their Citrona Tour includes performances in Fernandina Beach; Awendaw, South Carolina; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Easton, Massachusetts; and Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The group will release the second leg of tour dates in the coming week.
While the label’s current focus is centered on this year’s showcase, Sheerin said Swamp Records may be looking to bring a new artist onto the label in the near future.
