I’ve been to an Aries gig before. Only one, but that’s all it took for me to be completely hooked. Mysterious and nerdy, his voice is smooth, and he’s quickly rocketed to higher fame since releasing his second album, BELIEVE IN ME WHO BELIEVES IN YOU, this time last year.

He’s come so far in fact, that he hosts his own festival, Wunderworld Fest annually. I was lucky enough to attend this festival and cover the entire show, which consisted of nine artists. The three-day festival had three locations; New Jersey, Philadelphia and Massachusetts. The Philadelphia leg was hosted at The Fillmore, a roomy industrial-style venue tucked away in the Fishtown District. 

underscores

underscores took the stage at 5 p.m. with a microphone and a MacBook. This electronic punk artist had the perfect energy to kick off the night. Her sound was playful and grungy. Her graphics were a speed run of a video-game in which the character speeds first person around the map. Literally a speed run, there was an on-screen timer that ran down from 15 minutes. She bounced around the stage as her music blipped and blooped while she sang along. If you’ve never heard of her, you’re missing out. Her style is reminiscent of cute Gameboy music.

underscores put out a single this summer called “Everybody’s dead”. 

Oliver Malcolm

Oliver’s set began at 5:30, he skipped onto stage in black slacks and an intricately-detailed beaded vest with no shirt. This genre bending act is the perfect combination of pop and surf-rock. Oliver danced up and down the stage, showcasing both his rhythm and undeniable charisma. His sound is sharp, and his across the pond accent is complementary to it in every way.

Malcolm recently released an EP called Act Two, donning 4 songs this past September, which you can listen to here. 

Midwxst

Midwxst has all the gusto of a national artist, despite only breaking into the music scene two years ago. At 6 p.m., he storms the stage. No soft intro, no explosion of light, he packed all the punch he needed with his energy alone. He darted back and forth, whipping his head around and dancing wildly along to his music. His set included him chanting “MID” while the fans quickly sang back “WEST!”

Midwxst released his newest album, Back in Action 3.0, in September. 

Quadeca

Quadeca takes over the stage at 6:40 to slow things down a bit. This emo rapper has a grungy approach to his music, crooning about somber subjects such as closure and death. He positions a chair center stage and takes a seat with his guitar on his lap. His last song is a beautiful acoustic performance where the stage lights beam through fog, creating a striking scene. 

Quadeca just dropped his third album, I Didn’t Mean To Haunt You, which you can hear by clicking here.

Verzache

Verzache set begins at 7:20 and he keeps the emo vibe going, but with more of an alternative pop feel. Less sad with a little more of an upbeat tempo, he performs most of his set on an acoustic guitar. He serenades the crowd and they’re lulled by his velvety vocals. His set beams with warm orange and yellow lights, which made me feel all fuzzy inside alongside his lovely voice.

Verzache released a new single, called “Feel Like,” in October. 

Tsubi Club

Tsubi Club (previously known as Biskwiq) was on at 8:00 p.m, and he kicked off his set strangely. The lights go down, two special agents march on stage wearing sunglasses and black suits. A warning visual plays on screen behind them, instructing fans on how they should behave and look after each other. Tsubi then bolts onto stage out of nowhere. The guy is like a bullet through a flock of doves, and he doesn’t stop. With only two released songs, he knows how to keep the crowds attention with boundless energy and electro-pop sound. 

He played his smash hit, “burbank house,” which the crowd basically begged for. He promises the crowd he’s releasing more music soon.

Jeleel

Set to go on at 8:35, Jeleel rushes the stage early and with a hell of a bang. He emerges from backstage, rips off his shirt, does a front flip and smacks onto stage and begins to convulse. He jumps up and cries “Jeleel!”, then hops off stage and stands on the barrier facing the crowd. At one point, Jeleel forms a pit in the crowd and moshes along with them as the beat drops. This guy is ripped and shows no fear while wilding out. He doesn’t miss a beat as he raps, either.

Jeleel released a single, DELIVER!, in September. 

ericdoa

The last act before Aries, ericdoa goes on at 9:15. With a song featured on the hit show Euphoria, the “sad4whattt” artist has quite the following. The venue roars when he comes into view. His sound is trap-pop, angsty and fast paced. ericdoa takes his shirt off and takes on a new form, spraying water all over himself and the crowd as he closes out his set.

“things with wings”, ericdoa’s third album was released in May. You can listen to it here.

Aries 

The clock strikes 9:55 and the lights dim, the crowd chants “Aries Aries Aries.” Known for his offbeat art style, an animation begins on the big screen counting down from 10 to 1. The countdown ends and there is a brief, tense moment before Aries appears onstage. The silence in the room becomes a deafening roar. The crowd is damn near feral for this dude, and deservedly so. Aries commands the stage and his fans follow.

He opens with the song “RACECAR,” my personal favorite from his first album, WELCOME HOME. His visuals that play behind him are nearly as hypnotic as he is as he shimmies across stage. The set continues with songs from his latest album. FOOL’S GOLD, ETA, RIDING and KIDS ON MOLLY are on the setlist (all bops by the way). He switches things up, covering “1000 Miles” originally by Vanessa Carlton. Before he does, he asks the crowd if he can get silly for a minute, which, of course, they encourage. 

Aries bids farewell and disappears, while his visuals tells fans to “drive safe and goodbye, or in other words..Sayonara”. It’s encore time and they know it.

He bursts back into sight and the crowd loses it. They’re hanging on his every word to his hit song, Sayonara, which he always closes out the show with because, ya know.

Aries brings energy to his shows that is absolutely electric and unmatched. It’s a show you have to experience at least once.

Wunderworld Fest wraps up this year’s tour, but fans speculate that we could be getting new music from Aries soon. He’s teased snippets of unreleased songs this year; “Snakes in the Grass” and “Comet.”

To keep up with the latest from Aries, check out his Twitter and Instagram pages.

You can listen to BELIEVE IN ME WHO BELIEVES IN YOU in its entirety here.