Hijas de la Muerte
This is what it sounds like when the kids are let out of the house: distortion, dissent and gloriously bad manners on display all at once, as local rockers unite with a push from the area’s best-known rock ’n’ roll stage mom: Kim Donovan, aka creator and host of South Florida’s Stage Mom Podcast.
Seven regional acts — many drawn from Stage Mom Podcast and Battle of the Bands appearances — are taking part along with a visiting Los Angeles combo in the Up Next Music Fest. Helmed by Donovan, the festival is an offshoot of a podcast that champions musicians chasing gigs like this one, at Fort Lauderdale’s Revolution Live in December. “I want them to walk onto a stage they once dreamed about playing,” Donovan tells PureHoney.
Mother Rucker, from Lake Worth, will provide guitar-shredding, mosh-friendly mayhem — “the kind of performance that makes you feel like you’re part of the show instead of just watching it,” Donovan promises. Fort Pierce’s Dirty Crumbums sound like Dirty Heads, Beastie Boys and Weezer sharing custody of a delinquent; see their track, “Gas Station Boner Pills.”
Lake Worth’s Blabscam! sneak societal commentary into the party; dig into “Gigachud” for lyrics with teeth. Hijas De La Muerte, an Indian and Hispanic trio signed to Atlanta-based Punk Black Records, twist multilingual grunge-punk into distorted, experimental riot grrl music. Jeremy Sousa Six bring the spectacle — “somehow you’re exhausted just watching him,” Donovan says of their energetic frontman.
Vember deliver a nu metal fix while L.A. punks This Is a Revolver drop in from Donovan’s other Up Next festival host city. The headliner here is Miami’s Better Strangers, whose drummer Nic Collins does have impressive big-gig credentials, not to mention a famous musician dad.
Collins’ band plays intricate instrumentals and music that pulls alt-rock nostalgia into the present: Kings of Leon’s grit, 3 Doors Down’s brooding heft and The Killers’ sweep with an undercurrent of grunge. Ever the cheerleader, Donovan says, “There isn’t a filler band on this lineup. There isn’t a set you should skip.” Thanks, Mom!
Stage Mom Presents Up Next Music Fest 7pm Friday, December 4, 2026 at
Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale. instagram.com/stagemompodcast ~ Amanda Moore
