We had fun this year, huh? Here are some of my favorite IRHP moments of 2024:
1. Standout live sessions with English Teacher, TEKE::TEKE, and LA LOM
Our in-studio sessions have become a hallmark of the Indie Rock Hit Parade, and in 2024 we hosted some particularly vibrant guests. Montreal’s TEKE::TEKE brought joyful dance moves and globetrotting genre fusion in the spring. With the dog days of summer sweltering outside, Los Angeles trio LA LOM supplied their own kind of on-the-border heat. Perhaps the most auspicious visit of the year was from the young Leeds band English Teacher who, two months after their IRHP session’s airing, took home the Mercury Prize for their debut album.
2. A Giant Dog return for an interview and one-of-a-kind video
To commemorate the one-year anniversary of their latest album, Bite, Sabrina Ellis and Andrew Cashen of A Giant Dog returned to IRHP for a wide-ranging conversation about the album’s bold storyline and the duo’s long friendship at the core of their collaboration. We also took the Texas-based musicians on an excursion to a local arcade, where they cavorted from amusement to amusement; their antics compiled into a visualizer for one of their 2023 in-studio performances.
3. Illuminating conversations with Hugo Largo, Cults, and Young Fresh Fellows
There aren’t too many interviews in the IRHP archives, and most of the ones that do exist are with Jon Wurster. This year, I spoke with old friends and new, about fresh albums and loving reissues. Highlights include reconnecting with early IRHP favorites Cults as news of their new album was breaking, celebrating the 40th anniversary of Young Fresh Fellows’ debut with the always entertaining Scott McCaughey, and rediscovering the long out-of-print work of Hugo Largo with two of the group’s original members.
Mimi Goese and Hahn Rowe of Hugo Largo on Indie Rock Hit Parade
4. IRHP performances showcased on World Cafe and included on Sen Morimoto’s EP
After 10+ years on the air, IRHP simply cannot be contained to just a few weeknight hours. In 2024, no fewer than four of our in-studio sessions made their way to the NPR airwaves via World Cafe. One of those, from Chicago mainstay Sen Morimoto, saw further release via Sen’s EP BONK!, containing outtakes and live tracks to supplement his latest full-length, Diagnosis.
5. Cherry Glazerr and Kate Bollinger take the reins as guest DJs
It takes a very special someone to pick the music for IRHP. Usually that special someone is me, but a few times in 2024 I ceded the airwaves to folks whose ears I trust. Namely, Clem Creevy of Cherry Glazerr and Kate Bollinger served as guest DJs this year. Both have been guests in our studio (Bollinger in 2022, Cherry Glazerr this year), and both took highly creative approaches to curating their sets.
Cherry Glazerr Guest DJ on Indie Rock Hit Parade
