Five years ago, a three-piece from Baltimore released a debut EP that Stereogum compared — without irony — to Riot!-era Paramore and Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge-era My Chemical Romance. The comparison landed because Pinkshift had earned it: lead singer Ashrita Kumar sings, per that same review, “with the subdued aggression of someone on the brink, but still 100% in control, walking on a tightrope between frustration and hope.” The Saccharine 5 Year Anniversary Tour arrives in Buffalo on Sunday, August 23, both a celebration of that origin and evidence of how far the band has traveled since.
About the Show
Pinkshift’s 16-date North American run opened August 1 in New York City and closes August 27 in Philadelphia; Buffalo, second from the end, gets the show with support from Pollyanna and Thorns for Lovers. Pollyanna, a New Jersey three-piece that recently released their sophomore album Weirdo, blend what they describe as “loud rock, pop and punk into an emotional roller coaster.” The tour also marks the arrival of a fifth anniversary vinyl edition of Saccharine, featuring five previously unreleased demo recordings.
The band (Ashrita Kumar on vocals, Paul Vallejo on guitar, Myron Houngbedji on drums, with Pocholo Itona joining on bass for the tour) formed at Johns Hopkins University in 2018, where all three studied science before committing fully to music after graduation. As WBUR noted in a late 2025 feature, Pinkshift draws from a lineage that runs through Riot Grrrl, Afropunk, and queercore, with roots in Dead Kennedys, Anti-Flag, and Sleater-Kinney. Since Saccharine, they have moved steadily toward heavier terrain: their 2022 full-length Love Me Forever and last year’s Earthkeeper both incorporate what the band describes as nu metal influences, citing Loathe and Knocked Loose as touchstones. Kumar described Earthkeeper‘s core theme as “an intrinsic relationship with the Earth” — “a journey…for both a personal sense of empowerment and also for a collective sense of empowerment.” In performance, WBUR observed, Kumar oscillates between screaming into the microphone and addressing crowds with tenderness, using the stage as a platform for social commentary and community building.
Venue & Logistics
Rec Room, at 79 W. Chippewa St. in western New York, is a 300-capacity bar venue sized to match a Pinkshift set. Presented by After Dark Presents. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. The show is 16-and-up; guests under 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, and no one under 12 is admitted.
Tickets
Tickets are $27.01–$50.15. Buy tickets.