Look, we have a pretty good grasp on which local bands deserve some introduction, which ones are somewhat known in the scene, and which are undeniably, 110% recognizable bands within Boston unless you’re that guy down the street from us that solely listens to the Dropkick Murphys discography at full blast every Friday night.

If you happen to be our neighbor, we are happy to promise a stupid amount of money for you to a) stop playing “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” for the rest of observable time and b) tune to Guerilla Toss and Pile instead ahead of their appearances at Skull Pop Fest. Both bands certainly fall into the latter category above in terms of Allston Pudding’s collective favorite bands, acting as unofficial ambassadors for Boston’s DIY musicians deserving of the national spotlight over the past couple of years. Although Guerilla Toss has since left us for Brooklyn, the five-piece will be returning to the Middle East Upstairs later this week to assemble Skull Pop Fest, a two-night summer party featuring a co-headlining set from Pile.

Considering how locally beloved both headliners are, Guerrilla Toss singer Kassie Carlson offered to introduce us to the other bands on Skull Pop Fest in the form of conversations, fun facts, mini-interviews, and not-so-mini interviews with the bands themselves, including Listening Woman, Home Body, Palberta, and more!