Curious what notable personalities in the scene think was great this year? So is TGEFM! So we reached out to some of our favorite luminaries ranging from musicians, label personnel, and more for their “Best of 2025” lists. Now, listen: TGEFM is not a taskmistress. Contributors can write these out however they want. So if it doesn’t actually look or read like a list… and sometimes it really is just a list with no other observations! Who cares?
Jess Grossman has spent the last few years doing the kind of behind the scenes work that keeps scenes alive and 2025 was no exception. As the creative force behind SKAgazine’s multimedia website, the host and show runner of Ska Talk with SKAgazine and a lead booker with Be The Scene Booking in the Philly area, Jess lives squarely at the intersection of ska fandom and ska advocacy. This best of isn’t just a list of favorites, it’s a snapshot of a year spent listening deeply, showing up in rooms, amplifying new voices and helping connect bands and fans in real tangible ways. If you want a clear picture of where ska lived and breathed in 2025, this is it.
The SKAgazine recaps 2025
Trying to think of a word that fits 2025 is literally impossible. There were ups, there were downs, and there was some pure fucking magic. Especially in my world, the ska world.
This was my 2nd year of running SKAgazine, which is less of a traditional zine and more of a digital space to share all things ska, a place to bring fans and bands together, if you will. Our podcast, Ska Talk with SKAgazine focuses on getting to know the bands and artists putting out music. We tend to focus on up and coming bands to help them gain some attention outside of their local scenes, but we have also been fortunate enough to bring on some well known ska musicians. In addition to the podcast, we are now booking DIY shows, being active in our local scenes, and supporting festivals. In doing all of this, we listen to a lot of ska and, naturally, have some favorite things from this year we would love to share!
There were a ton of really great full length ska albums released this year. These are just a few of the ones I found myself keep going back to:
The Boy Detective released Disco Lunch on Punkerton Records in November. We had the chance to have an early listen and spent a lot of time with this album. It’s no doubt my personal album of the year and pretty much contains all the things I love – relatable lyrics, heavy on the punk, horns, and god damn do I love those breakdowns!
A handful of others made it into my steady rotation – New Dead Ends (The Best of the Worst), On The Dancefloor (The Planet Smashers), It’s A Mad, Bad, Sad, Rad World (Brunt of It), The Hand You’ve Been Dealt (Joker’s Republic), Stockholm Syndrome (Fishbone), Eat This (Bite Me Bambi), and Not Yet Dead (The World’s Afterparty).
This was a great year for EP’s, also! I absolutely love and highly recommend Doom Garden (Catbite), Friends Kiss (Friends with Salad), All That You Love is All That You Own (The Chemical Imbalance), Money is King (The Slackers), Agitpop (The Iron Roses).
Single of the year for me was “Next Week” by The Doomstompers, who are also my pick for best new ska band to form in 2025. Their 2026 debut album is my most anticipated release next year!
Now let’s get to my favorite thing – live music. Every year, I tell myself there is no way the prior year will be beat but I’m always proven wrong on that.
Live Highlights of 2025 include:
The Catch 22 sets with Jeff Davidson, both at Pioneer Valley Ska Festival and Supernova International Ska Festival. I found myself listening to Alone in a Crowd probably as much as I did in my early twenties. To see the full album set was insane and seeing a repeat of that at This is Not Croydon Fest 7 is something I most look forward to!
December 19th’s show at Union Transfer in Philly was my absolute favorite show of the year. I guess it helps that I procrastinate on everything and I’m writing this at the very last minute. To have three of the best ska punk bands on one club show is absolutely bonkers, especially when those three bands are Goldfinger, The Suicide Machines, and The Boy Detective.
Sullvn opened up the show and brought up a surprise guest, Dicky Barrett. As controversial as this could have been, him coming up and performing “The Impression That I Get” was pretty well received by the crowd.
The Boy Detective came out next on fire! It was really great to see Benny stay true to himself and be in the crowd for all but 2 songs. It was evident with how wild the crowd got that Philly finally found a new band to love! They were followed by the Suicide Machines, who opened up with “Islands” and brought Benny out to sing. The rest of their set was on point, as always. They know how to get the crowd going. Singing in the mic with Ox (my 9yo little rockstar) and Jason Navarro has become almost like a tradition for us, one that never gets old. Naturally, Goldfinger came out to close the night and just killed it. As always, the kids were invited on stage for “Mabel.” Ox and another kid we had previously met at another Goldfinger show sang that one in Mike Hererra‘s mic and they didn’t miss a beat.
This was a great year for shows, my main source of therapy! In addition to attending shows, we were able to sponsor This is Not Croydon Festival (TINCF) and Camp Punksylvania and do onsite interviews at both. We also did on site interviews at Pioneer Valley Ska Festival. We also hosted our first shows in 2025 under the Be The Scene moniker. Watch out for more of a that to come in 2026!
Don’t miss out on what’s happening int he ska world. Follow The SKAgazine on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, and Bluesky. Our podcast, Ska Talk with SKAgazine, streams on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Remember if you want to have a scene, you gotta be the scene! Get out to a show, buy physical media and band merch, find your people! Hope to see you at a show soon.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/