WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sub-Radio, an up-and-coming band in the D.C. area, is sharing their secret to success after dropping theirlatest single, ‘What You Wanna Hear.'
The band is a poster-child for musicians doing all they can to find ways to connect with their fans during the pandemic. Lead singer Adam Bradley told FOX 17 the group has been using their time wisely during the pandemic, making memories, creating and sharing new music, all while breaking LGBT stigmas.
“Everybody is welcome on the (Reddit) streams,” Bradley said. “A big part of our vibe is inclusivity and community; specifically, LGBT rights and inclusion. We really look out for Queer and Trans young people.”
The indie-pop group performs both original content and popular covers in the basement of their shared home in D.C., and the message has been well received by the tens of thousands of Redditors who tune into their weekly live stream. Their latest release "What You Want To Hear," is a song that was hiding in their repertoire of songs. "We sort of put that song on the back burner. There were other things we were more excited about, and it kind of got lost in the demos," Bradley said. "The song is about living in a chaotic world and taking care of the people around you, so it made sense to release this song with the way the world is."
The band has been together for nearly 13 years, finally going public as Sub-Radio in 2017. They tried every avenue on social media before hitting it big on Reddit. The band transitioned to virtual concerts after the pandemic crushed their tour and plans to perform at South by Southwest. While they may have lost some hope, the band eventually found themselves being able to harness the powers of live streaming, performing for millions of people with a larger-than-life show complete with inflatable dancers, choreography, and a light show.
“We were streaming on Instagram, but it only shows you to folks who are following you,” said Matt Prodanovich, guitarist and vocalist for the band. “But the first couple of streams (on Reddit) was seen by like tens of thousands of people, and by our third stream we were seen by almost half a million people.”
The message, music, and community continue to grow on their Patreon page, where the band releases new and limited content for $5 a month.
Sub-Radio is working on another upcoming release at the end of March, hopeful to continue their forward momentum and hit the road in the not-so-distant future.
“All of the new people we’ve met through Reddit streams are absolutely excited for us to get to their hometown and play a show,” Bradley said. “The van is gassed up, and we’re ready to go.”
In the meantime, you can follow Sub-Radio on all their adventures:
