Guide to San Jose DIY artists and their music
Find great new music and support the hard work of artists who play in our scene!
Last updated April 29st, 2026.
San Jose hosts a variety of local artists from a wide range of genres (though it can safely be said hardcore is most ampily represented). I wanted to highlight some of those artists
The intention for this is to be a living document. If you are an artist or music enjoyer from San Jose (or South Bay) and want me to listen to your stuff or another band’s stuff, shoot me an email at timshelbandsj@gmail.com (or dm, but emails are far more fun). Additionally, if I find it gets too long, I may take some old ones out (and possibly put them in a smaller section at the bottom).
Note: images taken from sources online, either Spotify or Instagram, then converted to be smaller, and dithered, using imagemagick. Both for style, and to keep the page downloads small (it makes the photos <10kb!) Command used: “magick [INPUT PHOTO] +dither -colors 8 PNG8:[OUTPUT PHOTO]” I also changed the size and cropping of photos to be 250x250
Elijah Stoll
A very good word to describe Elijah is "prolific": he constantly creates, is very committed to the artistic process, and comes up with many new ideas. You may have already been exposed to his work on Instagram, where he has now made 100 songs, each of which is accompanied by a slightly esoteric, green-screenful video of him playing with his band. I talked to him briefly after a show at the Tamper Room, and he said his videos were about clearly establishing what the project is between him and his bandmates. The music itself has lyrics that are shockingly honest, raw, and genuine. I particularly liked his songs "Die in a Car Crash," and "Nicotine," He sings with a happy pessimism, backed by guitars that feel rooted in surf and math rock sensibilities, with drums that embrace an authentic minimalism: they sound like they were recorded with 1-2 mics with a very solid drummer tuned into the rest of the band. The chord progressions used are also quite satisfying. They shift between sections in a very pleasing way. The work is a bit of a contradiction: in some senses, the sincerity of his work feels abject within the social media landscape in which his music is embedded, and yet his unique visual aesthetics, coupled with the brevity of his music, make it digestible and well-suited to short-form content. In the end though, it feels cohesive, interesting, and easy to listen to/watch. I enjoyed the most recently released Volume 6, which is quite good, and I look forward to volume 7, and 8, and 9, and so on! For forever!
Star 99
Star 99 feels like a distilled version of San Jose indie alternative. They have accurately self-described themselves as "hard twee." It would also be accurate to see them as a beautiful blend of many alternative genres (indie, emo, skramz, pop punk), particularly influenced by their local contemporaries. Their most recent release is "Gamen," (我慢, meaning "patience" in Japanese, though I get a laugh from the Chinese characters meaning, that being "I'm slow"). Most of the album has wide rock guitars with very present vocals, the type of music to nod your head to, or play at a nice picnic with blue skies, as the album feels very much like Spring. I also feel compelled to do a gentle two-step while listening. The main female vocalist's voice is very sinuous and soft, which sits nicely atop the rest of the band in songs where she is prominent. The male vocalist has a classic, yet gentle, emo accent that complements the instruments equally. The electric guitars usually sport a very solid distorted tone, and they have a ton of great solos. It reminds me of artists like Shinobu whom I've heard the members talk about a good bit. The bass parts are incredibly solid, and I like how the drums are produced as well. I am quite a fan of "Emails," and "Kill," which are very fun to listen to. The album artfully concludes with the namesake song "Gamen," which is a beautiful, bittersweet acoustic song that juxtaposes itself with the rest of the faster-paced tunes. And it would be impossible to leave out that this is currently the most active project of Mr. John Lemon himself, Christopher. And given the previous description, this makes sense, as the band is very unapologetic about its San Jose roots. They are touring soon as of writing, and I wish them the best and hope to hear more from them soon!
PS, if anyone has a ticket to their show with Jeff Rosenstock at Bottom of the Hill in June they'd be willing to part with, please hit me up. I'd happily pay a pretty penny, and/or an ugly one too!
Friendship games
They're calling it the most twee band to ever twee in the tweestory of San Jose! Even self described as "tweemo." The lead vocalist has a soft and direct voice, accompanied by clean math rock adjacent guitars. Seeing them live is a wonderful experience, all the instruments bring out the best in one another, and the result is a very loud, tight, and emotional experience. They softly ride on "MLP" aesthetics, using one pony as part of their iconography, and their name alludes to "Friendship is magic." I have now seen them on multiple occasions at the Tamper Room and talked to some of their members, and I can safely say, they are all fine people. Additionally, I'd like to compliment their stage presence and talking. I don't always love stage talk, however, they (mainly the singer) manage to be very funny and humble while tuning with a hot mic. I am also a fan of their social media presence, which has some quite funny reels and memes. My favorite song of theirs out is "Die in California," which is a total math-rock-influenced bop. My only complaint is they don't have more music, with just 3 songs on streaming platforms, I hope we may we see an album from them soon!
Colonel Macabre
I met one of their members at a show who pointed me to their stuff. I checked out their new album, Club Rodeo, and was simply impressed. After giving the album a listen, I felt an instant connection with the song Sarah Winchester, and Bernadette. Each song on it is very well made, however. If you told me these guys were from Pennsylvania, I would believe you, as their niche seems to occupy a similar space as the emergent shoegaze scene there. Feeble Little Horse came to mind, as well as They Are Gutting a Body of Water (though it isn't a perfect comparison). It might even be appropriate to call them "post-shoegaze," as it feels rooted in that type of music, but taken in a more folk, art rock direction. The singer's voice is mellow, and very much fits well within the lo-fi aesthetics of the album. The album is clearly thoughtfully made, with good sound quality, a good mix and professional grade guitars. The recorded drums also felt like they had an added layer of authenticity that sounded very pleasing. I wish these success with their new album, and hope to catch them live soon! (P.S. as of April 1st 2026, they have my favorite website of the bands I've covered)
Natasha Sandworms
A couple weeks ago I saw them live at Jade Cathay, and they played a very nice live show! One of the more prolific on this list so far, sporting two full length albums and an EP last year. Self described on Spotify as "dream jangle rock and roll." The music feels rooted in indie rock and punk. Hearing the guitar, one of my first thoughts was Beach Bunny, but the composition and vibe has many has post punk sensiblities, namely from the guitar riffs, and her voice has some of the conversationality of artists like Dry Cleaning. It is all mixed in with blunt lyricism and raspiness of bands like PUP. It reminds me a bit of a long drive home, reminiscing, or sitting with your thoughts. I have been listening a good bit to "God's Vlog," since discovering them, and looking forward to seeing them play live again soon!
The Albert Square
I saw him and his band live at Chromatic Coffee, and he has a particularly captivating Aura about him. He sports an incredibly distinct style with grey curly hair and larger glasses. During their live set, they had great stage presence, played very tightly, and I loved their keyboardist who I had a great convo with after. The whole band had a great energy that brought a very classic 90s-2000s rock vibe to the coffee shop. If you're like me, when listening you may feel the influence from bands like Weezer, The Smashing Pumpkins, and their descendants. Vocally, he reminds me a bit of Delta Sleep and Mom Jeans. The music is very fun, genuine, and easy to listen to. A long time San Jose artist, he released an EP last year, but his oldest release goes back almost 2 decades. I hope to see more from this project in the future!
Brahm
Brahm is prototypical scramz/screamo done incredibly well both technically and emotionally. I had the privilege of seeing them recently at Vago Super, and it was one of the best live shows I’ve experienced in San Jose. They were incredibly locked in with one another. Tonally the guitar and bass were spot on (thanks in part to help from the live mixing from Heavy Lemon). I was taken aback by how emotionally charged the vocals were; the singer's voice is heartwrenching. It was clear they were well rehearsed, they played incredibly tightly the whole way through. Technically, I was most impressed by their drummer, who made the instrument look trivial to play. He was consistently on time, playing fancy beats and fills the whole way through, which elevated the experience of the whole band. They have 2 singles and an EP out, all of which are fantastic. I am a fan of “Life will still be beautiful” and “I will find you.” Check them out!
Void Participant
In the vast world of music, Void Participant exists in the same archipelago of artists like Chalk Talk and Indigo de Souza. The core of the music is the vocalist’s very soft, pretty voice, which sings over clean electric guitars, enveloped in a tastful amount of reverb in a bittersweet soundscape. I am impressed by production quality of her songs, which in addition to being well mixed with a nice sound selection, are full of flourishes, love, and tiny details. I am quite the fan of her song “Could Be Cool.” A friend of Heavy Lemon and the San Jose scene, she plays frequently around the city at places like The Tamper Room and SOFA pocket park. She has released a series of singles and EPs under this name over the past year or so. I am excited to see what she does next!
Mayday Mae
Fun, queer, indie rock. Her aesthetics now could currently be best described as campy, and “red,” with possibly a touch of goth. Her music exists around indie rock and surf rock, using a lot of clean rhythm guitars, loud acoustic drums, and many harmonizing vocals. Her lyrics are unapologetic and pop-esque, and there is a streak of activism in her music, and she has publicly stated (and wrote a song about) supporting women into local music, and wanting to create more spaces for queer artists in south bay. She is incredibly active in the Bay Area for her music. I like her song "new moon" quite a bit. You can support her work on all platforms!
Much love and support to these initial entries! Please reach out with more recommendations from our scene, and I will check them out. Once again, email is timshelbandsj@gmail.com