Uplifting Queer Voices Pride Kick-Off ft. Raavi, Grumpy, & Eph See at The Iron Horse on Thursday, May 1 2025

Raavi-The Boston-born and New-York-City-based pop-rock unit Raavi has made constant reinvention a common thread through their five-plus years of making music together. Led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Raavi Sita, the quartet prides themselves on pivoting stylistically between each subsequent release and remaining in dialogue with the music communities surrounding them. The emo-adjacent catharsis that runs through the band’s previous discography—from the 2018 debut EP i miss you already to their 2019 debut album Don’t Hit Me Up to their EPs and singles of the 2020s—points back to their DIY roots. However, Sita’s sharp melodicism and disciplined songforms have always also betrayed the influence of vintage singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake. The band’s new release, the EP The Upside, overlaps with the latter tradition. With fewer plugged-in sounds, it marks a left turn from the massive rock edifices that Raavi fans are used to. Its five richly poetic songs were written over the course of a few years, capturing different mini-eras in Sita’s life. They examine formative romantic encounters (“Take Me”), gender awakening (“Henry”), and disillusionment (“Shadows”). The experiences Sita describes on The Upside are sometimes upsetting, but the songs represent a triumph over adversity, serving as moves toward solidifying a fuller identity. Its candid and restrained songwriting makes it an essential listen for both devotees and newcomers.Eph See Bio:When it comes to making music independently, Boston born artist, Eph See, truly shines. Unsigned and unmanaged, Eph See has built their musical career from the ground up by releasing singles and long-form projects through self led campaigns and the help of their creative community of friends. Their debut EP, g*rlhood, released in October of 2021, landed them features in WBUR, Lyrical Lemonade, and The Fader all without the budget or marketing of a label which is a true test to the quality of their work dedication to their craft.Their broad love for music of all genres – influenced heavily by their family members who would burn CDs for them – is reflected in their songwriting when working on their personal projects. They are known to float from genre to genre, oftentimes mixing multiple together to create something entirely new. For Eph See, it’s about being of service to the song and the message rather than staying loyal to a category; so don’t bother trying to box them in. Luckily for them, this ability to be fluid in their songwriting and composition has an outlet when writing for other artists at retreats such as Anti Social Camp taking place across New York’s boroughs each June. The only rule they have when songwriting? Be potently honest.Eph See’s latest project, a mixtape titled “xoxo, eph”, was an exercise in ditching perfectionism and allowing themselves to exist outside of the boxes they and others have tried to put them into. At some point, you just have to burn the box yourself. An 8 track tape of found songs and collaborations of different moods, textures, and time periods was the result. Eph See had affirmed to themselves that music with feeling deserved to be heard – polished or not. And their vulnerability was rewarded, received with love and recognized by WBUR and dreamworld girl zine for its honesty, storytelling, and composition. This seems to be their new way forward: making art for art’s sake and building connection through community and their enrapturing live performances. Everything else? A neat bonus.Grumpy-Heaven Schmitt, the front person of Grumpy, keeps their friends close and their exes closer. The keyboardist and bassist are Heaven’s ex girlfriends, the drummer is their ex-husband (the guitar player and Heaven never dated but when they first moved to New York Heaven had a crush on Diego and there was one night when they thought they might kiss but they didn’t).The deep intimacy shared between the band’s members might explain the tantalizing sense of desire that echoes from song to song on Grumpy’s forthcoming EP Wolfed, the first release from the New York via Nashville singer on their new label home Bayonet. Heaven’s live band of exes also speaks to the way the Grumpy project is built on balancing beauty and ugliness, pleasure and pain, and recognizing that you can find truth and healing even in life’s most brutal moments. Their willingness to share the stage with people they have loved is coupled with a willingness to share moments that others might try to hide, and their sense of ease and humor provides the reassurance that you can find joy and inspiration in the painful side of love.