The Henry Millers + Fort Lean + NGHBRS Rock Rough Trade

Saturday was the night for indie music to shine at Rough Trade NY, where The Henry Millers, Fort Lean and NGHBRS rocked the crowd into a sweaty oblivion.

The night started off with The Henry Millers urging everyone to take a step forward, closing the wide gap that loomed in front of the stage to share a bit of energy with the band. Lead singer John MacCallum and songstress Katie Schecter traded off on vocals with jubilant accompaniment from the band, their upbeat, synthy sound transformed the crowd from one lone dancer – that John took the time to hop offstage and twirl around with, to a bunch of dancers jockeying for a great spot to show off their moves. The reward for all of the crowd participation was a ton of free merch, which included tons of tie-dyed items to tickle my inner arts and crafts spirit animal.

The Henry Millers

Moving into Fort Lean’s set, the crowd was visibly buzzing. This band has become a fast favorite of mine since seeing them last year at Communion New York, and they’ve obviously won a lot of fans since then. Front man Keenan Mitchell has shed his wild blonde hair of years past and seemingly absorbed it into himself, as has so much charisma, and natural magnetism; every shot I took of him was interesting. Their songs are infectious and catchy like the recently released “I Don’t Mind,” we certainly didn’t mind tapping our toes and stomping our feet as they rocked out onstage. Their set felt painfully short to our dismay. Hopefully they will come back and headline in the near future.

Fort Lean

Ending the night was NGHBRS, who hail from Long Island, NY. Any band that whips out a bullhorn onstage and uses it the right way is all right with me, and that’s exactly what lead singer Ian Kelly did. I saw boyfriends who brought their girlfriends and instead of making out with them all night like usual, they were both rocking out so hard I had to get out of the way. NGHBRS’ fans are passionate and that passion is shared equally from the crowd to the stage and back again. Drummer Jordan Schneider kept up a breakneck pace behind the kit, while the crowd furiously sang each lyric at the top of their lungs into Ian’s face. It was intense, I loved it.