Home is Where Forever

october 5, 2025 - new york, new york

The Bowery Ballroom in the Lower East Side of New York City lit up this past Sunday as southern emo band, Home is Where, graced their stage. Originally from Florida, the band is currently touring their second album release, titled Hunting Season, a transformation from their past work, that blends emo rock with alternative country. They were supported on tour by Ultra Deluxe, Short Fictions, and all the way from Singapore, Forests, giving New York City an energy-filled performance.

Self-described as Cyber-Skramz from New York, openers Ultra Deluxe took the stage by storm with electric violin and punchy vocals. Next up was Short Fictions from Pittsburgh, bringing a more mellow emo rock sound to the New York City stage. As the lineup at most emo shows includes an extravagant amount of openers, Forests, an up-and-coming mathy-emo band from Singapore, followed with silly quips and undeniable chemistry within the band.

Home Is Where began their set with a showing of a short film made during their previous tour, Make No Mistake, These are the Glory Days. The documentary follows the group on the road as they navigate what it means to find and create community as a band from the south led by two trans women. The film is emotionally charged, heartwarming, and powerful; beautifully filmed on multiple video mediums, and pieced together into a large quilt that sums up the tour of their first studio album, The Whaler.

After the showing of their film, Home is Where takes the stage by storm. They begin their set with new songs off their recent release, Hunting Season, such as “Migration Patterns” and “Milk & Diesel”, with stunning harmonica and captivating vocals from lead singer Bea MacDonald. It is an album about transformation, love for each other and their home, even when it became unsafe. They play a couple of fan favorites as well, such as guitar-ripping screamo powerhouse, “Assisted Harakiri”, and punchy harmonica soloing on “Long Distance Conjoined Twins”, both off the band’s 2021 EP, I Became Birds.

Home is Where has enthralling emo roots with a southern rock twist, blending punchy harmonica with twinkling guitar. They carry an important message of community and acceptance with them and in their music, creating much-needed safe spaces with their performances. The band will carry out their tour through the end of November, ending in Salt Lake City, Utah.