Fifty six interviews in, there’s just no denying it… there really is something about Chicago music. This week’s featured band, Four Stars, are no exception. Pop punkers Aida (vocals), Danny (guitar), and Mike (drums/screams), push the distinctive Chicago punk sound to new heights with innovative riffs, playful textures, and lyrics that make plain where they stand on society’s most divisive issues. Four Stars do a beautiful job of blending diverse musical and cultural influences to deliver something pleasantly familiar yet still new and intriguing.
The guys of Four Stars are proud to call Chicago home, so much so that their name derives from the four stars present on the city’s flag. Rather than dreaming of escaping home “someday”, Four Stars have no plans to make their way out of the Windy City. Their latest track, “Summer Fling”, produced in collaboration with fellow Chicago rising star, Hardly, is an anthem for anyone wading through the dizzying seas of modern dating. Meanwhile, 2025’s “Crashout Bandicoot”, has all the makings of the perfect mid-fall sad song. Since 2018, Four Stars has produced a staggering eighteen singles and four EPs, and I hear there’s plenty more on the horizon. These guys are primed and ready to take the scene by storm, so make sure to add Four Stars to your watch list for 2027
Keep scrolling to check out my lightning round interview with Four Stars. Be sure to follow along on socials (@fourstarsil on Instagram and TikTok) and tune in to Spotify. Don’t forget to save the Under Exposed playlist on Spotify to listen to my favorites from Four Stars and the rest of the Under Exposed lineup!
Interview
Cameron Conrad sits down with Aida, Danny, Mikey, and Four Stars
What’s your dream venue, the place that will feel like you’ve “made it” once you've played there?
For me it would have to be the Congress Theater. It shut down I think in the early 2010s for many safety violations, but it will forever hold a special play in my heart. It was the first time I got to see Yellowcard perform live and they are my favorite band! So to get a chance to play on that same stage that the young version of myself was looking up to would be wild.
Riot Fest. I remember when it used to not suck but would still be really fun to play
House of Blues Chicago. I’ve seen so many of my favorite artists there and it would be an honor to be at the same level as them, performing at a venue as prestigious as that.
If you could pick any band or artist, past or present, to tour with, who would it be?
I would tour with George Harrison after The Beatles broke up.
Yellowcard or The Wonder Years
With Confidence or the 2006-era Panic! At The Disco.
If each of you was a Disney character, who would you be?
Aladdin, obviously. No seriously though. I feel like I’ve just been cosplaying Aladdin (in being my brown self) my whole life so it seems like an easy fit.
R2D2 #thuglife
Simba – young Simba though, since I’m the baby of the band.
What’s the craziest, cringiest thing you’ve done for the sake of your music?
Act like my voice didn’t matter and that no one would care what we have to say. Boy was I crazy.
Anything that has to do with TikTok, reels, or “content”
Trends. I hate following social media trends with a passion and I wish the algorithm wasn’t a thing.
If we gave out high-school superlatives today, what would each of you win?
Most likely to make a joke during an awkward or sensitive time
Most likely to bring baked goods
Most likely to get bloody or injured doing literally anything
Any new music or upcoming tours we should know about? Anything brewing behind the scenes you can give a hint about?
We dropped a track called “Summer Fling” on August 7th! It is a collaboration with our good friend Hardly (Sara Stocking) and is the perfect closeout to the rest of Summer. Summer Fling, you either have one, had one, or want one. Guaranteed to be your new favorite karaoke anthem.
We are also in the studio with Roye Robley and hope to be able to have more singles out before the end of the year.