tenmonthsummer, the Chicago Band Built Off of Community, Justice, and New Styles
In Chicago, a city known for its constantly evolving music scene, tenmonthsummer isn’t trying to fit into one lane. No pun intended, of course.
BY JAMARI SHELTON
The Chicago based lakeshore emo and shoegaze band is made up of Scumdrop, Nish, Charlie, Sam, and Luke. Each member brings their own background, influences, and creative instincts, shaping a sound that feels less like imitation and more of a blended variety.
For Scumdrop, music has always been constant. Describing over a decade of experience with bass and a broader connection to sound through live engineering and production, “Music’s always been a big part of my life and this band is an extension of that truth,” they said
Nish approaches the band from a different angle. Writing first, performing second, “I’ve been writing for probably my whole life,” he said. “I’ve been a writer as my trade for quite a long time. I feel like this band is a really good extension of the ways that we want to tell our stories.”
That difference in entry points is part of what defines the group. They didn’t grow up together, didn’t build from childhood friendships, or shared a hometown . Instead, they found each other the way a lot of modern connections happen.
Online.
“I feel like that’s like our version of, ‘everyone meets on Tinder and Bumble these days,” Nish said.
These 5 strangers are not only now best friends, but family. Who’ve now toured, shared secrets, done weird and strange things, and eaten strange foods.
An early member found themselves overextended and stepped away shortly before the band fully took off, opening the door for Scumdrop to join. At the time, the group was still in its early stages, only a few weeks into writing together, but it quickly became clear that the project was moving faster and more seriously than expected.
For Nish and Luke, who had previously been in a band together, the transition felt like a fresh start after months of uncertainty. One that came together by chance, but ended up being fate.
That transformation from strangers to resembling family shaped the band’s foundation early on.
“There’s not really an ascendancy,” Scumdrop said. “It’s kind of just a collective effort.”
That mindset carries into how they create. Rather than chasing a specific genre or trying to replicate a sound, the band focuses on alignment. Both musically and personally.
At its core, the band pulls inspiration from a wide range of influences, but avoids leaning too heavily into comparison. Instead, their sound comes from the combination of five different perspectives, experiences, and tastes fueling a process that keeps them consistently creating.
That dynamic has also made them a pretty prolific group when it comes to writing.
“The biggest thing is that we don’t want to be a copy of anyone,” Nish said “There’s like maybe like 30 plus songs in the ‘will not touch again’ folder,” Nish said. “Our number one ethos is that we have to like what we’re playing. All of us.”
If even one member isn’t fully on board, the track doesn’t move forward. It’s a process that keeps the music from becoming repetitive and keeps the band invested.
That flexibility is part of what sets tenmonthsummer apart from their previous projects.
“Personally, there’s not a need for dominance. By any of the members in this group,” Scumdrop said, comparing the band to past experiences. “We want to do it in a way that showcases not only talent but also interests.”
But the difference goes beyond structure. It’s also about intention. That balance has allowed the band to sustain itself in a space where many artists tend to struggle. Not just creatively, but financially. However the ‘Chicago Yearners’ aren’t focused on losing money.
They remain committed to making good music and having a great time instead.
That attitude of focusing on sustainability rather than chasing dollar signs has helped them maintain momentum without burning out. It’s also what’s allowed them to release projects, tour, and continue building their sound on their own terms.
Their 2024 debut EP, Fate Lines, marked a significant step in that process.
For Nish, the project was deeply personal, but intentionally different from the typical narratives found in emo and pop-punk spaces.
“I didn’t want to literally write another EP about how my heart’s broken,” he said.
Instead, Fate Lines centers on growth within relationships, learning how to love someone fully while acknowledging imperfection. “It’s about how to love someone that is flawed and also how to love someone when you are flawed.”
The project reflects a more mature perspective, shaped by lived experience rather than nostalgia.
“I was like 30? In my late twenties when I wrote that,” Nish said. “I don’t want to spend my time running around that kind of stuff.”
For Scumdrop, joining the band during that era meant stepping into something already in motion then finding their own rhythm. Over time, understanding the lyrics more deeply reshaped how they approached the music.
“I was kind of filling in the gaps,” they said. “That kind of helped change the part that I initially wrote.”
With their next EP, the band is expanding beyond personal relationships and into broader themes; community, survival, and the world around them.
That pledge to the community extends beyond their music. On the band’s Instagram, their Linktree includes direct links to a Palestine Children’s Relief Aid fund and a Chicago Mutual Aid fund. Small but intentional ways they’re using their platform to support causes both globally and within their own city.
“We don’t exist in one to one,” Nish said. “We have the dual edge of both platform and privilege. We have a duty to speak to that too.”
That shift reflects a growing awareness of their role not just as artists, but as voices within a larger conversation. There’s a danger, fear, and anxiety and their 2nd EP plans to address it.
Describing their upcoming single, they called it “organized chaos”—a dense, layered track inspired by the transition from winter to spring.
“It’s kind of like just nature starting anew,” they said. “It’s kind of chaotic, but it makes sense and it’s still beautiful.”
Nish sees that same idea reflected in the structure of the music itself.
“When the lyrics are cut out and the instruments take the front stage… it feels like that moment when the first real spring thunderstorm just explodes,” he said.
Those moments between sound and meaning is what continues to drive the band forward. Outside of their own releases, tenmonthsummer remains deeply connected to the Chicago music scene. Their recent collaboration on the Chicago Handshakes split project reflects that commitment to community.
“People trust their communities,” he said. “If you feel like what we’ve said… or what our song has said are important things to spread… then that's awesome.”
That same mindset carries into everything they do. Whether it’s touring, releasing music, or simply showing up for other artists.
Listen to the full interview with tenmonthsummer on our Spotify and YouTube!
You can catch tenmonthsummer in a joint concert May 19th, 2026 at Subterranean in Chicago and on Instagram @tenmonthsummerband to stay updated.
