Baseball caps and horsetails, porch swings and ‘all else that fails’—these are the lyrical stomping grounds of Case Oats, the group led by Casey Walker and Spencer Tweedy. Transplanted from Missouri to Chicago, Walker has a knack for getting to the ‘gooey heart’ of relationships and experience, of bringing a city-dwelling life back down to earth. With an unadorned delivery and an unflinching eye, Walker relates songs about moving on, about growing up in the Midwest, and about loyalty to desperately flawed people and gratitude for pain, for the way things end up.

Case Oats’ yet-to-be-announced debut album is a well-defined, inviting labour of love. Light on pastiche and heavy on intention, their arrangements, backed by a group of longtime collaborators, put Case Oats on a continuum of porch-sitting, familiar songwriters.

Local support comes from Wyatt. Manchester-based alt-country rock quartet Wyatt have quickly become a staple in the city’s blossoming music scene. Forming in September 2024 by brothers Harvey and Evan O’Toole, and later joined by drummer Joe and trumpeter Emily, their raw, driving rhythms and honest heartfelt lyrics have earned the band a reputation as being one of the UK’s most authentic and exciting hidden gems. Wyatt are carving out their own path with a distinctive and timeless sound that is turning heads north once more.

‘Jeff Tweedy and Conor Oberst passing their respective sad white man torches on to these guys. Amazing use of the trumpet as well’ – Westside Cowboy via Alternative Press