The 2026 installment of Slide Away Fest just ended after a successful run through the month of May. It started in New York, traveled to Chicago, and finished off in Los Angeles to a sold-out crowd. For those new to Slide Away, this is the third year of the creatively ambitious shoegaze festival, which began in 2024. To give you an idea of the amazing success this festival has seen since its start, the first Slide Away Fest in Los Angeles took place at The Belasco with a capacity of roughly 1,500. This year, Slide Away Fest in Los Angeles took place at the Hollywood Palladium for two sold-out nights with a capacity of 4,000. It’s hard to argue over the facts; people want and crave shoegaze.
This year’s lineup shared the same headliner across New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, Hum, with direct support from Nothing and Chapterhouse. Each installment had its own exclusive openers, such as Swirlies playing night two in New York, or She’s Green playing night one in Chicago. Los Angeles had its own unique mix with different opening acts on both nights, except for the band Ovlov, who played to an energetic and eager crowd on nights one and two.
Starting night one was the local band Seko hailing from none other than South Pasadena in Los Angeles County. Night two also had a Los Angeles local band, Cryogeyser, who have just come back from a run with Nothing earlier this year and will be going on tour with Citizen in the fall. However, Slide Away Los Angeles didn’t just keep to the local shoegaze scene. They brought in international acts Mint Field from Mexico City and Terraplana from Paraná, Brazil. Ovlov was the consistent opener for Los Angeles, who almost stole the show. The excitement from the crowd for them was palpable, with an endless number of crowd surfers rising to the top of a bubbling swarm of push moshers in the center of The Palladium’s pit.
Chapterhouse, billed on every Slide Away flyer with the preface “The Return of…” was the first mainstay of the three-city, three-weekend event. A band hailing from Berkshire, they released only two albums in the 90s and did a brief stint of reunion shows in the late 2000s. It was indeed a return, as Chapterhouse had not played since 2010. The reception was clear; the return was mighty and demanded.
The next band were direct supporters and architects of Slide Away, Nothing. Celebrating the 10-year anniversary of their second album, Tired of Tomorrow, Nothing started their set with the titular track, spotlighting Domenic “Nicky” Palermo on guitar and Nick Bassett on piano. It was a special engagement for the band, with Bassett returning to play with them along with Kyle Kimball on drums.
The headliner, and overall breathtaking attraction of the whole festival was the band Hum. A staple of the alt-rock scene in the ’90s, and having released four albums, Hum had been sporadically doing reunion tours throughout the 2010s. They even surprised fans in 2020 with their fifth studio release, Inlet, after not releasing any music in over two decades. A fan told this reviewer at Slide Away Los Angeles, “(Inlet) got me through COVID. I would just put it on and go on walks every day.”
Hum received a passionate response from the crowd. It should be reiterated that they played two sold-out nights at the Hollywood Palladium. And, though a band from the ’90s, what was not overlooked was the age range of the crowd. So many young people came to see Hum play, extending from their early to mid 20s. It was surprisingly rare to see a Gen X in the audience. Every minute of every song was met with crowd surfer after crowd surfer popping up like a perpetual machine, with audience members roaring repeatedly with every note strummed. Hum even played two different set lists for each night, which was a special gift for those who bought two-day passes. Even the merch line for them was outstanding, extending and lasting almost the entirety of night one and almost selling out of all their merch with little to spare on night two. It was evident that Hum’s reunion was wanted after having not played Los Angeles since 2015.
Slide Away Fest 2026 was a massive success. After three years, Slide Away has become a staple of the concert world. Here’s hoping for Slide Away 4 in 2027!
Night 1
Night 2
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