Chokecherry

Emerging as a fuzz-laden indie pop trio immersed in the hazier, more abrasive edges of peak-'90s alternative rock, Chokecherry achieved immediate cult status upon releasing the 2023 single "Glass Jaw." The track rapidly surpassed two million streams, enabling the Bay Area-based group to translate its digital audience into live support through slots at festivals including Noise Pop and South by Southwest. Their third single, "Afterglow," kept that trajectory alive when it arrived in June 2024.

At the center stand guitarist Izzie A. Clark and bassist E. Scarlett Levinson. Each had previously performed in other projects—Clark in Thank You Come Again and Levinson as singer of Fauxes—before the two connected via a dating app in 2022. Rather than pursue romance, they opted to start a band, convening their initial rehearsals toward the end of that year. After discarding the name Amber Machine, the pair adopted Chokecherry and put out "Glass Jaw" in early 2023. Drummer Abri Crocitto came aboard soon after and contributed to "Around Around Around."

Entering 2024, Chokecherry broadened their reach beyond the Bay Area with further appearances at Noise Pop and SXSW. The band moved from San Francisco to New York in April 2024, issuing "Afterglow" two months afterward.