Midwest Friends Fest is back for year two in the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area. Once again taking over Southgate House Revival on May 28-30 (tickets), the festival brings together an incredible and diverse mix of national and regional acts for two days of loud guitars, DIY spirit, and the kind of community you only find in independent music scenes. With artists like Teens in Trouble, Little Low, The 1984 Draft and Tooth Lures a Fang joining dozens more across multiple stages, Midwest Friends Fest is shaping up to be another unforgettable weekend.
This year, MWFF is treating the lineup like a pack of trading cards where each band is its own collectible piece of the Midwest Friends Fest universe. In the lead-up to the festival, we’re spotlighting the artists one by one so you can get to know the players before the doors open. Next up in the set: Cardboard Giant
For anyone discovering you for the first time… what should our readers know about Cardboard Giant? What’s one song in your catalog that feels most important to you personally or best displays your sound and voice, even if it isn’t the one people know best?
I think our song “100 Miles” encompasses everything that we do. It has both pretty sections and heavier sections. Big dynamic shifts, raw, screaming vocals, and hella riffs. Everything that makes Cardboard Giant Cardboard Giant.
You’re gearing up for Midwest Friends Fest. What does the festival circuit mean to artists like you right now… especially festivals that feel community-driven rather than industry-driven?
It’s our first festival, and we’re super excited about it! Community-driven festivals give
smaller bands like us opportunities to tap into a regional audience, and we are incredibly
grateful. While community-driven fests may not have the resources of industry-driven
fests, industry fests will never have the passion and love for the art that can be found at
community fests.
You came together in 2021 out of Birmingham. How did that local scene shape the early identity and chemistry of Cardboard Giant?
The band has been around in various forms since 2021, but the shaping of the project
began in the early 2000s. We’ve been heavily influenced by the bands that came
through a Birmingham all-ages venue called Cave9. In a lot of ways, we are a throwback
to that era. The current Alabama scene has been great to us as well. The friends we’ve
made in the scene have been a huge help to our growth as musicians and people.
We’ve been able to bounce ideas off them, get advice, interact, and just be friends with
some really great people.
When you’re not writing or playing music, what’s feeding your creativity lately?
Brandon: Growing up, I wanted to be a writer. I used to write short stories all the time. I was
involved in the literary magazine in my high school. When I started making music, that
kind of fell to the wayside, but I’ve recently started writing short stories again. It’s been
fun creating again in my old medium.
Jake: One of the biggest things feeding my creativity outside of music at the moment is
dungeons & dragons. I’m a really big nerd. I love high fantasy and medieval combat
stuff. I also love worldbuilding. Drafting a D&D game has allowed me to dabble in all of
that, and I’ve been having a great time. I’ve also been doing some photography and
videography for some friends here lately!
Many listeners connect to the dynamic shifts in your songs… quiet tension exploding into loud, cathartic moments. What do those contrasts allow you to express that a more straightforward sound wouldn’t?
A lot of our songs deal with regret, anger, and self-loathing. These emotions tend to be
quiet at first. They build until they come flying out at full volume. I think the tension lets
people lean in and be vulnerable with us, and then the explosion is the moment of
honesty. These shifts make the songs feel less like performances and more like
confessions.
When it comes to live sets, what are you most excited to bring to the MWFF crowd? Ideally, what do you want people to say about your set when they’re driving home or texting friends who skipped it?
Brandon: These songs are our confessions, our journals and thoughts put to music. It’s our
therapy. When I write something, whether it’s a riff or lyrics, I want it to make me feel
something. It should elicit some kind of emotion. I want to make something people can
connect with. I want people to walk away feeling like they felt something real.
Jake: We’re excited to bring our energy and passion and our love for the art to Newport. After
our set, we want those who watched us to think two things. One, “Those guys really love
what they do.” Two, “That looks like a lot of fun. I should start a band with my friends.”
Punk, ska, and indie scenes have long been leaders in inclusion and community, yet gatekeeping still creeps in. Why do you think these scenes can feel so welcoming on one hand and so closed-off on the other?
I think fans of genres and scenes that aren’t necessarily mainstream are used to being
the outsiders. We’re the weirdos. When we find other weirdos that make us feel seen
and safe, we form communities and scenes. The natural inclination is to protect those
scenes. In my opinion this can get taken a little too far to the point that scenes can just
become high school cliques. The only people that should be gatekept are bad actors,
abusers, or other violent people. Safety and inclusivity are the cornerstones of
alternative music.
Everyone talks about “the scene”… what’s something the scene gets right right now, and what’s something you hope improves?
Something the scene gets right more so now is keeping the scene safe. Due to the
internet, gone are the days that violent predators can hide within the scene. That gets
called out, victims are believed, and the problem gets handled before more people get
hurt. In that same vein of safety, I think the scene needs a crash course on pit etiquette. I
see way too often grown men punching teen girls while “moshing,” and that’s just not
cool. The aim of moshing is never to injure the people around you.
Midwest Friends Fest has a reputation for feeling intimate even as it grows. What makes a festival feel “right” to you as an artist?
We’ve never played a festival, so I can’t say for certain what feels right, but I think this
one will. The people over it are super involved and passionate about the project. I think
that’s what makes a festival feel “right.” When real people with real passions come
together to create a real event for the enjoyment of others.
Hypothetically speaking… if you made a Midwest Friends Fest friendship bracelet, what word or phrase would it say this year?
Brandon: Our phrase would be “Still trying.” It feels really great to be playing our first festival. It
feels like things are coming together, but I still have nothing figured out. We’re still
growing, we’re still making mistakes, but we’re still trying.
Jake: I agree with “Still trying.” Impostor syndrome is something I struggle with pretty heavily. I
try a lot of things (sometimes I have a plan), and a lot of the times that stuff blows up in
my face. When that happens, regardless of the reason, it feels like I’m not good enough.
Regardless, I keep trying. I keep sending DMs, I keep making connections, and I keep
pushing until it works. “Still trying” is something that resonates pretty deep with me.
Post-show, stereotypically Midwestern empty field, questionable bonfire, everyone’s tired but happy… what song are you covering?
Brandon: “Let’s Talk About Your Hair” by Have Mercy. Nobody will be happy for long.
Jake: “Cinco De Mayo Shit Show” by Marietta. A field full of emos singing this together would
be an out of body experience.
MWFF is stacked. Which bands are you most excited to see, and are there any you’re hoping to connect with offstage as well?
Brandon: STMNTS! There are a lot of great bands, but they have been in heavy rotation for me.
Jake: FinalBossFight! I love their sound so much. They sound like they’re gonna be absolutely
nuts live, and I’m so hyped to see it. I hope to connect with as many bands and fans
alike offstage during fest weekend. I love making friends that are passionate about
alternative music, and that’ll be essentially everyone there <3. If you read this and see
me at the fest, come say hi!
Once MWFF wraps up, what’s next for Cardboard Giant? New music, touring, a reset, or something unexpected?
Currently, we’re working on our debut EP! We’ve discussed the possibility of touring, so
we’d like to make that a reality soon. Our plan is to keep recording, keep playing shows,
and next time you see us, we’ll still be trying.
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/