A brand-new festival entitled Space Echo took place on May 2, 2026 at Radius in Chicago. It was the festival’s inaugural edition, and it took everything away by a storm with grand performances from each and every act.
The acts included the following:
Failure
Baroness
Trail Of Dead
Torche
Shiner
Ringo Deathstarr
Spotlights
Open Hand
Slow Mass
There were two stages with 10 minute overlaps, which wasn’t too brutal. Fans were able to seamlessly go from one to the other and enjoy all the bands. There was food, beverages, and lots of merchandise available throughout the event. Thousands of fans lined up early to catch the entire show and photographer Jon Van Dine was on hand to capture it all.
Slow Mass and Open Hand both opened the show on their respected stages, bringing their brand of alt-rock, with Slow Mass more on the shoegaze tip and Open Hand more on the stoner rock tip. Between both bands, it was a great way to get fans prepared for the day that was in store.
Ringo Deathsarr graced the main stage with their unique blend of shoegaze and indie rock. Thousands of folks gathered around in awe of their unbelievable performance.
Next up was Spotlights whose album “Tidals” turned 10 this year and the band performed songs from that, as well as songs from the latest LP, “Alchemy for the Dead” and fan favorites from “Seismic.”
Florida doom alt-rock legends, Torche disbanded in 2022 and then announced a reunion in 2025. Fans who were saddened by the breakup have been waiting to see them and the performance they brought was epic, powerful, face-melting, and everything we had hoped for. Members of Baroness, Spotlights, Open Hand, and others from the bill could be seen on side stage rocking out.
SHINER also ripped through classics, while also showcasing songs from their latest ripper, “Believeyoume.” The 90’s alt rock band had done a few reunions since their breakup in the early 2000’s and then released the LP, “Schaudenfreude” in 2020, which was their first new music in 19 years. Fans have been longing for something new since their innovative album The Egg, which came out in 2001.
Trail of Dead ripped through classics like fan favorite “Source Tags and Codes” while also including songs from their later catalog. It was a pleasure for all the old-school fans who don’t get to see them often because they rarely gig these days.
Baroness brought their signature stoner rock sound to the stage and blew everyone away with ripping guitar solos, harmonious vocals, thumping bass lines, and classic rock drumming. There were lots of singalongs and smiles throughout their set across the sea of people rocking out.
Finally the moment everyone waited for took place. Failure took the stage with an amazing light show to boot, and they played classics from their ’90’s catalog, including fan favorites from the groundbreaking LP, “Fantastic Planet” and the trail blazing LP, “Magnified” while also including songs from their latest album, “Location Lost” and some selections from their 2000’s catalog. They were loud, spacious, and melted everyone’s face who got to witness their epic set.
Follow Space Echo Festival on its website.
Photo by Jon Van Dine
