By John Ostapowicz / The Jambar
With a mixture of progressive, punk and indie rock, the Northeast Ohio band Bury The Pines is one of six artists performing at The Federal indoor stage April 26 at Federal Frenzy.
Formed in 2023, the five-piece band consists of lead vocalist Marcus Smith, lead guitarist Joe Skowronski, rhythm guitarist Evan Hendrix, bassist Nick Fischer and drummer Mat Markuz.
Bury The Pines’ performance at the two-day music festival marks its first appearance in Youngstown. Skowronski said the event feels fitting for the band’s Mahoning Valley debut.
“This is [Bury The Pines’] first real festival thing we’ve ever done, and we couldn’t have asked for a better one to do it for,” Skowronski said. “We’ve never really made our way into Youngstown, we’ve mostly been in the Cleveland area, so we’re excited to be in a brand new area of the state for us.”
The band’s most popular songs “All Quiet (On the Midwestern Front)” and “Destiny” boast a combined 2,000 listens on streaming platforms. Skowronski said the band’s versatile genre gives the group its personal sound.
“That’s the sound we’ve fallen into and we enjoy doing it because we like that no two songs are exactly the same, but it still sounds like us and that’s basically what we are going for,” Skowronski said.
When the band’s frontman is not performing with the quintet, Smith records songs for his solo career, which combines rhythm and blues and hip-hop into his own, unique sound.
One of Bury The Pines upcoming tracks will feature a rap verse from Smith, which Skowronski said is a different approach to the band’s genre.
“It’s kind of different for our style of music, but it’s nice to have those kinds of things we can draw on. Not everyone has a talented rapper in their band,” Skowronski said.
Bury The Pines kicks off its festival debut with a 30-minute set starting at 3:15. The band’s music is also available on Spotify and Apple Music.
