Writer: Ashley Gallagher

Photographer/Editor: Haley Sousa

Young Culture, a three-piece pop-punk band from Albany, New York, is a band to keep an eye out for in 2020. They just finished their run as an opener on Homesafe’s 30-show tour, with Keep Flying and Kayak Jones, but they’re not done for 2019 quite yet. They will be opening up four East Coast holiday shows this year: Keep Flying’s in Amityville, New York on December 20th, and night one and two of State Champs’s holiday shows in Albany, New York on the 21st and 22nd, and Sleep On It’s holiday show on December 15th to close out their most successful year to date.

Since the release of their latest EP, (This Is) Heaven, Young Culture has been placing a heavier focus on touring, specifically as an opener on some of the most stacked tours in order to continue solidifying their place in the pop-punk world. They have catchy pop-rock songs, have a fun onstage presence and can interact with a crowd, even a crowd unfamiliar with Young Culture. As an opener, they have been stealing the hearts of pop-punk fans all over the US. Don’t get me wrong, Young Culture might still be an opener on tours, but their fans are dedicated. It’s rare you see a fan who only knows the lyrics to one song, but that’s what Young Culture does: they hook you. Then suddenly, you realize you’ve listened to their entire discography, but your ears still crave more of their sound. As of now, the band has stated they would like to continue touring as an opening band for all kinds of artists to build a solid fan base before embarking on their own headlining tour, but with their track record, it will not be long before we see them get there.

The YC boys, Alex, Gabe, and Troy, are no strangers to the stage and in Buffalo, New York, you could tell. It was an intimate show, one where you could really get to know the band. Mohawk Place is often a favorite venue for artists because of how up close and personal you can get with the fans. When a band truly takes advantage of the intimacy in Mohawk Place, the crowds never fail to eat it up. The last band I saw at Mohawk Place that engaged fans the same way Young Culture does, was Capstan. Obviously, Capstan has a much larger fan base than YC, but that did not mean that YC’s response from the crowd was any less energetic than Capstan’s, even if the venue was half as full. Young Culture played some of the band’s more popular, upbeat songs which helped the crowd come to life. At one point, lead singer, Alex Magnan, jumped into the crowd and started moshing with the fans. The band shared laughs with each other and the crowd throughout the set, and overall, it was very interactive which made their performance feel much more genuine than if they had simply walked on stage, played their set, and walked off. They made the crowd feel a part of the show, not just merely onlookers.

Their set gave you a glimpse of who Young Culture are as people, but if that was not enough, they stayed at their merchandise table after the set to talk with both old and new fans. With just a few minutes into the band’s set or seeing them at the merchandise table, you could tell this is what they love to do and where they love to be.

The band plans to release new music sometime in 2020 and will be touring with Have Mercy on his final tour this winter.