State Champs launched out of Albany, New York, in 2010 and within a decade became one of the biggest names in pop-punk — a genre they helped revitalize at a time when many critics had written it off. Founded by vocalist Derek DiScanio and guitarist Tyler Szalkowski, the band built their following the old-fashioned way: basement shows, van tours, and a relentless DIY work ethic rooted in the Capital Region punk scene that had been quietly incubating talent for years.
From Albany Basements to the Billboard Charts
The band’s early lineup included guitarists Szalkowski and Tony Diaz, bassist William Goodermote, and drummer Evan Ambrosio. They cut their teeth playing VFW halls, house shows, and small clubs in the Capital Region before recording their debut. Their 2013 album, The Finer Things, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and established them as leaders of a new pop-punk wave that included Neck Deep, Knuckle Puck, and The Story So Far. The record caught the attention of Pure Noise Records, which became their long-term label home and a champion of the genre’s resurgence.
Follow-up albums cemented their status: Around the World and Back (2015) was ranked No. 4 on Alternative Press’s “10 Essential Records of 2015” list and featured the anthem “Secrets” which became a staple of Warped Tour sets. Living Proof (2018) expanded their sound with more polished production while maintaining the high-energy hooks that packed stages across the country. Kings of the New Age (2022) and their self-titled fifth album (2024) showed continued evolution without abandoning the core energy that made them connect in the first place.
Awards and the Warped Tour Generation
State Champs won Best Breakthrough Band at the 2016 Alternative Press Music Awards, a recognition that placed them at the forefront of their generation. They became regular headliners on the Vans Warped Tour during the festival’s final years, and their energetic live shows — DiScanio’s charismatic stage presence and the band’s locked-in pop-punk precision — translated to headlining slots at festivals and theaters worldwide.
What makes their story compelling for Upstate New York is the trajectory: a band that started in Albany bedrooms, played Capital Region DIY spaces, and scaled to international touring and major festival slots without ever abandoning the scrappy energy that defined their origins. In a genre often associated with Southern California, State Champs proved that Albany could produce pop-punk with the best of them. They are the Capital Region’s most successful punk export of the modern era, and they did it entirely on their own terms. DiScanio and Szalkowski built something from nothing in Albany’s basement scene, and their career is a blueprint for how a band can scale from local DIY to global stages without losing the raw energy that made them connect in the first place.