BPMI Presents 2025 Festival Artists at 23rd Annual Showcase

The Berklee Popular Music Institute (BPMI) is featuring eight emerging artists at its 23rd annual showcase on Friday, April 25, at 6:30 p.m. The 2025 student cohort has meticulously chosen these artists to take the stage at Brighton Music Hall in Allston before sending them to this summer’s biggest music festivals around the globe. This year’s BPMI artist roster spans multiple genres and features Jesse Detor (Lollapalooza), Glasshouse (the Governors Ball), Archon Theory (Inkcarceration), Park National (the Great Escape), Ringpop! (Warped Tour, DC and Long Beach), Axel and Lolo (Bourbon & Beyond), Dipsea Flower (festival TBA), and Ryan Mead (Country Jam Colorado).

The Berklee Popular Music Institute's BPMI Live program is an innovative, three-semester-long program that provides hands-on experience deep within the live music industry, specifically the festival business. As part of BPMI, students learn how to immerse themselves in the music industry as they develop their skills in artist discovery and development, communication, marketing, promotion, and live music. Curriculum activities are designed to reflect contemporary trends and practices in the music business, including opportunities for students to participate on-site at prestigious festivals and industry conferences. Students travel to festivals such as Lollapalooza, the Governors Ball, and Bourbon & Beyond, where they act as artist managers, production and tour managers, and artist media representatives.

BPMI Live serves as a springboard for careers in the music industry. Alumni of the program have gone on to work in the global music industry at companies such as Interscope, Capitol Records, DreamWorks, BMG, Universal, Live Nation, AEG Live, Danny Wimmer Presents, YouTube, Google, CAA, Wasserman, Red Bull, Spotify, Songkick, Sony, and more. Notable BPMI Live artists include Jackie Foster BM ’18 (The Voice), Jobi Riccio BM ’20 (Yep Roc Records), and Lizzy McAlpine ’20.

The showcase is sponsored by Citizens Live, 92.5 the River, and Ben & Jerry’s and is presented in partnership with Crossroads Presents and Live Nation New England. Tickets are available for $10. Ben & Jerry’s will be on-site at the concert, serving their famous scoops, while 92.5 the River will be onsite for giveaways and meet-and-greets. Every attendee will also receive a free raffle ticket to be entered into major giveaways at the end of the night. The showcase, presented by Citizens Live, will be held at Brighton Music Hall, located at 158 Brighton Avenue, in Allston.

To purchase tickets, visit tinyurl.com/bpmishowcase(Opens in a new window).

About the Artists

Archon Theory(Opens in a new window)

Metalcore band Archon Theory takes listeners on a journey through chaos, balancing emotional melodies with raw aggression. This mayhem-inducing trio—frontman Costa Maitoglou, guitarist Ian Braesch, and bassist Owen Chewpow—channels their diverse musical backgrounds to forge a dominant force in Boston’s heavy metal scene. With a growing reputation and commanding stage presence, Archon Theory is a leading name in New England metal, consistently headlining local and regional shows.

Axel and Lolo(Opens in a new window)

Axel and Lolo, a Boston-based folk-pop duo, blend theatrical energy with literary precision to create a musical fantasyland rooted in deep personal connection. Their partnership was forged in a college dorm room, where their voices first intertwined in effortless harmony. That instant chemistry sparked a creative collaboration, one that fuses Axel’s Puerto Rican–influenced spontaneity with Lolo’s carefully crafted storytelling. As Pleaser Magazine puts it, “When you listen, it’s like being gently transported to a place of memories, whether real or imagined. The soundscape these two create with their vocals alone is pure magic.” The result? A singular musical space where vulnerability and playfulness coexist, inviting listeners into a world as intimate as it is enchanting.

Jesse Detor(Opens in a new window)

Jesse Detor turns teenage heartbreak into anthems, amassing over two million streams with her unapologetic, spill-your-guts girl rock. Blending ’90s grit with pop vulnerability, she found her voice at 16 after hearing Phoebe Bridgers’s “Motion Sickness,“ launching her journey into brutally honest, heart-wrenching storytelling. Inspired by PJ Harvey, Hole, and even rap icons like Bad Bunny and Doja Cat, Detor’s confessional sound speaks to anyone searching for their place in the world. Now based in Boston, she recently toured 17 cities with Shauna Dean Cokeland, packing rooms with fans screaming the lyrics to her breakout hit “Sofia I’m Sorry.” Detor’s band—featuring fellow Berklee students Daisy Soper, Sam Anderson, and social media guitar sensation Emma Harner—brings her raw, emotional sound to life on stage.

Glasshouse(Opens in a new window) 

Glasshouse is an alt-rap trio blending the rhythms of Aventura, the poetic lyricism of Lauryn Hill and Kendrick Lamar, the experimentalism of Björk, and the nostalgia of Millsberry, the General Mills cult-classic video game. Born from a desire to push artistic boundaries, they adopted the name Glasshouse, a symbol of transparency and authenticity. Through immersive visuals and sonic exploration, the trio aims to elevate independent artistry. In a genre dominated by DJs, Glasshouse has carved out a distinct niche with high-energy, full-band performances, selling out shows and inspiring their community in Lawrence, Massachusetts, to rethink hip-hop’s relationship with live instrumentation.

Dipsea Flower(Opens in a new window)

Dipsea Flower proves that folk-rock can be both timeless and cutting-edge. Rooted in Northern California, their sound blends nostalgic West Coast harmonies with a fresh, modern folk energy—music that feels both familiar and brand-new. Formed in 2023, the band takes its name from the legendary Dipsea Trail, a symbol of winding paths, breathtaking views, and the beauty of the road less traveled, much like their musical journey. Lead singer Ari Rosenberg embodies that spirit, with an unconventional path spanning California, New England, Europe, the Pacific Northwest, and back again, ultimately finding his home in Dipsea Flower.

Park National(Opens in a new window)

Park National is the project of Chicago-born songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Liam Fagan, blending indie rock, Midwest emo, and punk with raw, relatable lyricism. His music has resonated deeply, amassing over three million streams on Spotify and cultivating a dedicated fan base across the US, the UK, Australia, and beyond.

Ringpop!(Opens in a new window)

Ringpop! is pure sugar rush energy. This five-piece band of best friends delivers high-energy, feel-good pop-punk with a playful twist. Formed in 2020, they set out to bring fun back to the genre, coining their own sweet-and-chaotic sound: bubble-punk. Their songs are refreshing, relatable, and, as they put it, a “break from the melodrama” that often defines pop-punk and emo. With every track, Ringpop! proves that music can be both cathartic and ridiculously fun.

Ryan Mead (Opens in a new window)

While most kids in Sydney dream of surfboards and city lights, Ryan Mead set his sights on cowboy boots and honky-tonk bars, even if he had to cross the world to find them. The 19-year-old Australian brings a sound as raw and real as a barroom two-step. He started writing songs in a notebook he still carries, capturing stories that fuel his boot-stompin’ live shows. Along the way, he's shared the stage with country greats, including Golden Guitar winner Tracie Collins and 10-time platinum Canadian artist Dan Davidson. In 2023, Mead made waves at A Night in Nashville, playing alongside some of the genre’s biggest names. His debut single, “Tangled Up in Wranglers,” put him on the map, earning nationwide radio play and media buzz. Now based in Boston, he's breaking into the American music scene while staying true to his country roots, proving honky-tonk is alive and thriving. Whether he’s playing to a rowdy bar crowd or alone with his guitar, for Mead, it’s all about the music. Or as he puts it, “It’s just good, country fun.”