Hopkins Engaged Band Bios

Daytime

Lucky Strike

DJ Altitude Sickness

Dactyl Dactyl (website)

MacGregor Burns (website)

Clare Huxtable (website)

Claire Huxtable (who are Symbol & DLake when their powers combine) are bringing that new club sh!t direct from baltimore. One part MC one part DJ, and 1 Whole party in a box, Claire Huxtable are a non-stop tornado of club bangers. Pre-93 Classics, Electro, Baltimore, Hip Hop... and if it gets you movin' then their on it. They've rocked parties & shows in all 4 corners of the country (Seattle, Los Angeles, Miami, & NYC) expect more big things from these two in 2008.

Wale (website)

In an era when critics and rappers themselves jump to declare the death of hip hop, 23 year-old Wale Folarin has been breathing new life into the genre through dazzling wordplay, a fresh sound steeped in DC's legendary go-go scene, and boundless on-stage energy. 2006 saw Wale conquer DC, Maryland and Virginia with a slew of original radio hits and electrifying shows that solidified his buzz in the Mid-Atlantic. 2007 has been even brighter, with Wale garnering press in The Fader, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Entertainment Weekly, The Washington Post, The Source, Vibe, Complex, HipHopGame.com, AllHipHop.com, a news piece on MTV and even the cover of URB, all without a major label deal.

Verizon Wireless Tour

Boys Like Girls (website, website)

Unafraid to wear their heart on their collective sleeve, Boston-based pop/rock outfit Boys Like Girls feature singer/guitarist Martin Johnson, bassist Bryan Donahue, drummer John Keefe, and guitarist Paul DiGiovanni (the last two being cousins). After Boys Like Girls posted some early demos online, the band's catchy hooks and youthful enthusiasm had gathered them quite a following by 2005's end, while also catching the attention of industry players like booking agent Matt Galle (My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday) and producer Matt Squire (Panic! at the Disco, Northstar), who both contacted the band about working together. Following a national PureVolume-sponsored tour with Hit the Lights and A Thorn for Every Heart, Boys Like Girls entered the studio with Squire to record their debut album. The resulting self-titled effort appeared in August 2006 on Red Ink.*

Cute is What we Aim For (website, website)

Emo-pop outfit Cute Is What We Aim For emerged from Buffalo, NY, in January 2005. Although originally a quintet, the band ultimately stripped down to four members, with vocalist Shaant Hacikyan, guitarist/pianist Jeff Czum, drummer Tom Falcone, and bassist/guitarist Fred Cimato comprising the lineup. Wasting little time, the bandmates recorded a handful demos that landed them on the Fueled by Ramen roster before the year's end. Cute Is What We Aim For then hooked up with producer Matt Squire (Northstar, Panic at the Disco) for the group's debut full-length, The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch, which arrived in June 2006. The band hit the road in support of the album, sharing bills over the summer with such bands as Anberlin, Spitalfield, Forgive Durden, and June. That fall, bassist Cimato left the lineup to pursue academia, with Jack Marin (ex-October Fall) climbing aboard in his place. (Bass duties would eventually shift to Dave Melillo.) The band's second album, Rotation, was released in June 2008.*

Lights (website)

My name is Lights. I'm a small girl who dwells in Toronto and makes music. Most of what you hear comes out of my bedroom. When I write songs I think about how it makes people feel, and I hope that when it goes into your ears you feel happy too. Not sexy happy but apple pie happy. When I do shows I suppose I would do everything myself if I were a squid, but I only have two arms. So, there are two lovely musicans that join me on stage named Maurie and Adam (you can find them in my top 8).**

* Taken from allmusic.com
** Taken from http://www.myspace.com/lightsnoise