Emo Night Brooklyn started in the 100-capacity basement of Cameo in Williamsburg in early 2015 — and more than 300 people turned up for the first one. Founders Alex Badanes and Ethan Maccoby read that overflow correctly: a generation raised on emo and pop-punk had nowhere to collectively scream those songs back into a crowd. More than a decade later, they’ve built a national touring operation that arrives at Higher Ground’s Showcase Lounge in South Burlington on Saturday, Dec. 12.
About the Show
What started as a free-admission basement event has grown into something considerably larger: approximately 20 shows weekly, 35 DJs across the country, and dates spanning New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, London, Paris, and Singapore. Badanes and Maccoby, childhood friends who met at age 2 in Surrey, England, attended college in Boston before landing in Brooklyn — Maccoby at Tufts, Badanes at Berklee College of Music. After the Cameo debut drew three times its intended capacity, they moved operations to Brooklyn Bowl and secured the same booking agent representing bands like New Found Glory and Saves the Day. By April 2022, both founders had left their day jobs in music publishing and tech sales to run the business full-time through their parent company, Burwood Media.
The format is deliberate in its simplicity: a late-night DJ set of emo and pop-punk hits, an all-ages room, and a standing invitation to “scream your lungs out, mosh and dance” with people who know every word. The enterprise found its footing even through the years when emo was culturally dormant, gaining renewed momentum as Gen Z rediscovered the genre during the pandemic. The organizers keep their playlists “definitely radio friendly” — the songs people grew up with, not curated deep cuts. What gives these nights their unpredictability is the possibility of a surprise guest; past appearances have included Ryan Key of Yellowcard, Derek Sanders of Mayday Parade, William Beckett of The Academy Is, Jordan Pundik of New Found Glory, and Travis Clark of We the Kings. The Dec. 12 date lists no advance support acts.
Venue & Logistics
Higher Ground’s Showcase Lounge — the venue’s more intimate room, at 1214 Williston Rd. in South Burlington — hosts the night, part of the north-country calendar. Doors open at 8:30 p.m., with the show beginning at 9 p.m. The event is all ages.
Tickets
Tickets are $20–$25. Buy tickets.