The Summer Mass Line-up Ended The Season With a Bang!
Los Angeles closed out the summer with an explosive, loud and gothic send-off at the Summer Mass showcase. The Echo + Echoplex transformed into an intimate festival space, spotlighting some of the best emerging voices in goth rock, alternative, nu-metal and beyond. Headlining the event was HOLYWATR, delivering their gritty, high-energy sound, while Amira Elfeky closed the night in a gothic midsummer dream state with her haunting, captivating vocals.
Both stages of the Echo + Echoplex were open, offering relief from the city’s scorching heatwave. Walls decorated with memorabilia and show posters created a space rich in legacy and promise, where music history and future legends coexist. Low-lit and compact, the venue amplified every note, forcing a sense of focus and unity: the stranger beside you quickly became a moshing partner or a headbanging companion, lost in the same rhythm.
Garzi ignited the night with a blistering set, blending trap and hip-hop with heavy rock to whip the crowd into chaos. Rapid-fire drum fills and kinetic vocals fueled the energy, setting the tone for what was to come. Zach Tabori followed with a shape-shifting set of experimental prog rock — operatic choruses colliding into bursts of raw British punk. His constant switch-ups, packed with surprises and improvisation, kept the audience on edge and engaged.
Closing the night with back-to-back sets, HOLYWATR and Amira Elfeky delivered contrasting but equally powerful performances. HOLYWATR’s gritty, raw energy had the packed venue erupting — crowdsurfing, moshing and screaming along to long-requested deep cuts absent from their tour setlists. Their mix of nu-metal aggression and brooding alt-rock brought the room to a fever pitch, shaking the walls with a perfect blend of chaos and unity.
Then came Amira Elfeky, shifting the atmosphere into a dreamlike state. Her haunting vocals and deeply emotional lyrics cut through heavy riffs and melodic bass lines, creating an immersive, intimate experience. Singing with raw vulnerability, she brought a cathartic release to the crowd, teetering between a beautiful nightmare and haunting bliss. It was a performance that not only closed the night but cemented why she’s poised to join Bring Me the Horizon on tour in the coming months.
Summer Mass was the perfect send-off to the season — a showcase of rising talent and local bands carrying the torch of the nu-metal and alternative scene in Los Angeles. With promises of new music and upcoming shows, the fall season is already shaping up to be just as unmissable.