In preparation for their new album Berkeley’s On Fire, soon-to-be punk-rock icons SWMRS have announced a massive North American tour. SWMRS are a punk-rock band from Oakland, California that riff on old-school West Coast vibes with a touch of indie rock sprinkled in. SWMRS made their debut in the early 2000’s under the name Emily’s Army and quickly made a name for themselves as they toured the festival circuit throughout the West Coast, East Coast, and even England. They adopted the name SWMRS upon returning from a short-tour in England around 2015. Since then, they released their first album titled Drive North in 2016, including a re-issue later in the year that had two additional songs on the LP. Their brand-new album titled Berkeley’s on Fire will be hitting airwaves on February 15th. Fans who just can’t handle the anticipation and need to reserve their copy of the LP can find their opportunity to pre-order the album here.

SWMRS began in 2004 when two best friends, Cole Becker and Joey Armstrong, decided they wanted to start a punk band. Shortly after, Cole’s brother Max joined their team. Cole Becker leads the band with vocals, rhythm guitar, and piano while Joey Armstrong plays drums and provides backing vocals. Max Becker is the lead guitarist, provides backing vocals and up until 2014 he was the bassist. The band released their first album titled Don’t Be A Dick under the name Emily’s Army and followed it up two years later with Lost at Seventeen. Sebastian Mueller joined as the band as the official bassist in 2014 and the group underwent some stylistic changes while on a festival tour in England, and came back to the states known as SWMRS. Since then, the band has been making a huge name for themselves in the world of punk and indie rock. They first gained mainstream media attention with their song Miley, which fueled some hype around the release of their first album under the name SWMRS titled Drive North. This album featured their single “Figuring It Out”, which has gained almost 700,000 views on Youtube. Shortly after this release, SWMRS signed to the infamous pop-punk label Fueled By Ramen and re-released Drive North with additional songs “Palm Trees” and “Lose It”. Berkeley’s On Fire will be the first release from them in over two years, so fans are already raving about the release of the single.

The Berkeley’s On Fire LP has been produced by none other than Rich Costey (has produced Muse & Death Cab For Cutie) which has fans on the edge of their seats to hear the full album. To ramp up the hype around the album, the band has released the single off the album with a full music video on Youtube. The music video more than illustrates how the band heavily pulls from influences in the lates 90’s and early 2000’s. The indie-rock vibe of the song mixes with the punk-rock vibes of the video and perfectly communicates the overall SWMRS vibe. The video was released in August of 2018 and has since gained over 100,000 views. Details on the full album track listing can be found here. While the album will only boast ten songs, the album is set to be a masterpiece lyrically. Frontman Cole Becker has stated in an interview with Kerrang Magazine that the band was “conscious of our role in creating a space for people to escape from the nonstop negative media cycle.” Becker continued to say. “It’s a strange time to be young…We wanted these songs to document that feeling we’ve observed closely in ourselves and in the people we’ve share our music with over the past three years.” The SWMRS vibe perfectly captures an indie/punk-rock, teenage angst that everyone has experienced, which makes their music so easy to connect to. It should come of no surprise to soon see the name SWMRS circulating airwaves worldwide.

The SWMRS 2019 Berkeley’s On Fire Tour will kick off in San Diego, California at the Music Box on March 28 and then conclude back in Los Angeles, California on May 3. They are set to trek their way across the US, so make sure to check out the tour schedule below and catch them in a venue near you. Tickets for this nationwide tour are around $20, depending on your venue and designated processing fees. Tickets for the Berkeley’s on Fire 2019 Tour can be found on Ticketmaster. As you pre-order the new LP and grab your tickets for the upcoming tour, check out SWMRS on Spotify to prep for a moshing good time. As always, we hope to see you at a show or festival very soon - preferably in the pit.

SWMRS ‘BERKELEY’S ON FIRE’ FULL TOUR SCHEDULE - 2019

March 28 – San Diego, CA @ Music Box

March 29 – Las Vegas, NV @ Vinyl – Hard Rock Hotel and Casino

March 30 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre

April 1 – Austin, TX @ Barracuda

April 2- Dallas, TX @ Gas Monkey Bar N’ Grill

April 4 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade (Hell Stage)

April 5 – Charlotte, NC @ Amos’ South End

April 6 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Rex Theater

April 7 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club

April 9 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of Living Arts

April 11 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel

April 12 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club

April 13 – Syracuse, NY @ Westcott Theater

April 14 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre

April 16 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre

April 17 – Cincinnati, OH @ 20th Century Theater

April 19 – Chicago, IL @ Concord Music Hall

April 20 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave II

April 22 – Indianapolis, IN @ Deluxe @ Old National Center

April 23 – St. Louis, MO @ The Ready Room

April 25 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre

April 27 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex

April 29 – Seattle, WA – El Corazon

April 30 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom

May 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco Theater

SWMRS Announce Massive North American Tour