Pinkshift

Pinkshift

All Ages
Saturday, April 01, 2023
Doors: | 6pm // Show: | 7pm
$16

$16 ADV | $20 DOS
All Ages Admitted // 21 to drink with ID
Tickets on sale to the General Public – 2/22 @ 10AM
General Admission Standing – there isn’t a bad spot in the house!

Pinkshift aren’t an apologetic band. In fact, they’re a heavy, vehemently unapologetic punk band whose songs rail against prejudice and oppression while also examining in great depth the human condition.  And yet Love Me Forever, the Baltimore, MD trio’s debut album, begins with an apology. ‘I’m so sorry that you’re seeing me this way’ spits Ashrita Kumar (they/them) at the start of opener “i’m not crying you’re crying”, the first five syllables unaccompanied by music until the rush of guitars and drums – played by Paul Vallejo (he/him) and Myron Houngbedji (he/him) respectively – kicks in and the song accelerates into a frenzy of raw, ragged emotion (and denial thereof). From there, it’s a breakneck journey into the heart, soul and mind of a band that, clearly, have a lot to get off their chest, and who do so just as viscerally as they do emotionally. It makes it even more remarkable, then, that it all began with a Britney Spears song. Back in 2018, Vallejo happened to catch Kumar – who he’d never met before – singing a cappella with a group at Johns Hopkins University. On the strength of that, he asked if they wanted to sing on a cover of “…Baby One More Time”, “There was a group at our school,” adds Kumar, “that would put on music stuff, because our school didn’t have music things unless you played classical music. I love pop music so much so when Paul suggested the cover, I was like ‘Fuck yeah!’

Pinkshift is an American rock band formed in Baltimore, Maryland in 2019. The group consists of lead vocalist Ashrita Kumar, guitarist Paul Vallejo, and drummer Myron Houngbedji. They have cited those like Nirvana, Arctic Monkeys, and No Doubt as musical influences. The band has garnered attention for its ethnically diverse members
protesting, protecting & defending through music
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