Rising Indie rock band from Austin to headline District Bar show

For bands that form in college, accustomed to performing in sticky-floor fraternity basements, it can be jarring to make the jump to selling out headline shows.

“It’s weird because like you’re playing for crowds that aren’t really there for you, they’re there for the party,” West 22nd’s frontman Logan Madsen said.

But on Thursday evening, March 26, West 22nd will be the party as fans line up to see the band head the District Bar for the first time in Spokane.

The indie rock band from Austin has been making waves in the city’s indie music scene since their inception in 2022. West 22nd is the namesake of West 22nd Street in Austin’s West Campus. The band is comprised of Jeremy Acheta (lead guitarist), Liam Mackle (drums), Logan Madsen (lead vocalist), Jet Beck (bass) and Gabe Acevedo (rhythm guitarist).

Madsen and Acevedo always dreamed of starting a band, but it wasn’t until the pair met at the University of Texas when the pieces started falling into place.

“I think all of us kind of came into this band in our own ways … I didn’t go to school for music, but I wanted to pursue it on the side, and I think Logan’s energy really matched mine,” Acevedo said.

West 22nd began with playing cover songs of bands from which they took inspiration, such as the Strokes. After the band got their footing, they started sprinkling original songs into their sets.

The band’s talent and infectious energy spread across campus by word of mouth and eventually seeped into the chatter of bands to look out for in Austin’s vast music scene. The band played various venues throughout Austin and surrounding cities, like Dallas and Houston, garnering audiences with its catchy tunes and desire to push the genre forward.

“We have obviously like the base indie rock genre, but we dabble into different genres,” Madsen said. “We have a quartet song, a purely acoustic song, high tempo and upbeat rock ones and then slower, more mellow songs.”

“You kind of get a little of everything out of out of this band so far,” Acevedo added.

This reputation – along with their earnest songwriting and palpable energy – brought them to performing at Austin City Limited Music Festival in 2024, making history as the first band composed of University of Texas students to perform at the prestigious festival.

The band released several singles and an EP since their formation, leading them to their debut album, “Nowhere To Be” released last April.

Given their beginnings come from juggling practice sessions between classes, the band sees their debut album as a testament to how far they’ve come.

“Our chemistry has just gotten a lot better as we’ve kind of grown,” Acevedo said. “And as the album has settled in, it just really feels like people have really taken it and are enjoying it and are just like connecting with it … It’s been very beautiful.”

The band also recognizes the ongoing hardships up-and-coming bands face when trying to make a name for themselves.

“I feel like it’s very easy nowadays in the industry to try and chase trends and try to sound like somebody else or be somebody else,” Madsen said. “It’s just like you got to be authentic to yourself. And obviously you can take inspirations from other people … You got to really love the music you’re putting out in order for other people to really connect with it. You can’t be writing for others.”

Local audiences will get a taste of this authenticity Thursday in the District’s intimate atmosphere. Audiences may have the chance to see Madsen’s frontman’s star power up close and personal as it’s not uncommon for him hop down from stage and join the audience in singing and dancing along to hit songs like “Virginia Highlands.”

“You can expect to have a lot of fun, probably sweat a little bit. Maybe get a little bit sad. And then get really happy after,” Madsen said.

The band is in the first leg of their North America tour, but already sold out shows in Sacramento, California, and Portland. Even though the crowds they draw are significantly larger than earlier performances, their feeling about each other and the music they create is unchanged.

“We’re just five friends that like to hang out on stage, and so we like to make that clear to the audience that we’re not anybody insanely important,” Acevedo said. “We’re just like everybody else and just hanging out.”