Editor's note: My good friend Josh Burke travels to far more festivals than I do, and he was at Post Festival in Indianapolis while I was at Fire in the Mountains in Montana. He was kind enough to share his thoughts about Post in the writeup that follows. Please give it a read - if he gets a warm enough reception, perhaps he'll also grace us with his thoughts on the upcoming ArcTanGent festival!

By Josh Burke

Post Festival 2026 has come and gone. In what has been a weird (and, frankly, terrible) year in so many ways, the core of what makes Post a can’t-miss festival remains. There's great music of course, but also great people. It feels like a cliche to call any festival a “family,” but it’s well-deserved here. I’ve met and gotten to know a lot of great people in the three years that I have attended, and reconnecting with them has become almost as important as the music to me. I know a lot of festivals say that and mean it, but I haven’t found a festival with a more accepting vibe. That matters more than ever these days. That vibe comes from everyone - the organizers of the festival (the tireless, amazing, delightful Sean, Nason and Derek), the bands, and the people who travel from all over the world to be in Indianapolis for the weekend. Everyone is hanging out, digging the bands, and chatting with everyone else all weekend. There is nothing cooler than hearing Phil from Caspian say that they would not be a band if it weren’t for The Appleseed Cast, and then seeing him packed into the small room with everyone else watching The Appleseed Cast, bobbing his head and singing along.

I won’t try to define “post,” but the festival celebrates all things post-rock, post-metal, post-punk, and post-hardcore. I thought the emphasis this year skewed a little more towards post-rock than in years past. Friday (day two) in particular had a heavy emphasis on mostly instrumental post-rock. Having so many similar bands play in a row meant that some of the bands from Thursday and Friday blurred together and I had to look back at my photos to know for sure who I had seen. Even so, there were some definite standouts, most notably Lesotho from Boston and Loraine from Atlanta. Looking through the stack of merch I took home, other post-rock bands that earned my dollars were Banquet, The Battle, Fury & Solace, and Star Guided Vessel. The latter played Wednesday at the official/unofficial pre-party. This was the second year that Matt McCray and Idlestar Productions have given us a warm-up and it’s a great way to start the weekend. The pre-party lineups are as solid as the fest itself and tend to feature some recent Post alums [side note: Post tends to have bands wait two or three years before bringing them back. I love this and honestly find it bizarre that some people want to see the same bands year after year].

One can’t talk about US festivals right now without mentioning the lack of international bands and international fans. It is noticeable and it is shameful. No sane person can blame anyone from elsewhere for being wary of traveling to the US right now, which makes the mere appearance of Mexico City’s Austin TV noteworthy. For a band of brown folks to travel to the middle of the country right now literally requires a level of bravery I’m not sure I possess. But joy is an act of resistance and Austin TV brought the joy. It would have been enough for them to simply melt faces and drop jaws with their high-caliber set of post rock. But the overwhelming sense of fun they brought, dancing on stage in their crazy costumes, was infectious. What can you say about a band that gets everyone - metalheads, goths and normal (well, “normal”) people - vibing out to their set? In a weekend of great performances, this was the highlight of the fest. Their merch line was the longest I’ve seen at Post and I hope they sold every t-shirt, album and sticker they brought. 

The other highlight of the weekend was Torche. As a favorite of mine, I was happy to see last year that they were back after their break-up or hiatus or whatever. Getting to see them again has been high on my to-do list. I say that, and yet I was a little wary of their set. Their last album was not bad, but was far and away my least favorite (although ironically it features my favorite Torche song). The last two times I saw them, they drew heavily from that album. I normally don’t look up set lists in advance, but made an exception and I was happy to see that they have been playing songs from all over their catalog at recent shows. Their set at Post included all the hits, and frontman Steve Brooks was in a great mood. I couldn’t have asked for more and hope they’re back for real.

The surprise of the fest was Les Savy Fav. I thought this noisy, “sleazy” post-punk band was “fine” when I was doing my homework, but several people told me that they are always highly entertaining. And, sure enough, frontman Tim Harrington makes this a can’t-miss live band. I did a double-take when I saw a man wearing a caftan and a captain’s hat making his way through the crowd from the back of the room and should not have been surprised to see him take the stage. He was only on stage briefly, however, spending the rest of the set walking around the crowd to the angular guitars and pulsing rhythm section of the band. Trailing the world’s longest mic cord, Harrington conducted a one-man crusade against the fans (both the people and appliances) around the room. His charisma was overwhelming. He finished the night in his underwear and if he had commanded us all to do the same, I’m pretty sure we would have.

Other bands that stood out:

• Caspian - magnificent post-rock as always. My mood morphed from “oh, I’m seeing Caspian again” to “oh! I’m seeing Caspian again!”
• The Armed - pure chaos on stage in the most fun way possible.
• Minsk - the Illinois quintet were crushing in an abbreviated set that scratched the post-metal itch. They’re wrapping up recording for a new album and I can’t wait.
• Lockstep - slow and dreamy shoegaze in the same league as Cloakroom. I recommend seeing them on tour with REZN this fall.
• So Hideous - screamy, blackened post-rock/post-hardcore with a fretless, 5-string bass. Another band I’m not going to listen to around the house, but great live.
• StarChaser - proggy art metal with chops for days. Singer/guitarist Juju Starchaser said at one point that they were the odd band on the bill, but she was incorrect - there is a home for everyone at Post. 
• El Ten Eleven - the double-neck bass and guitar and the looping, math rock make comparisons to the polka-dotted aliens from Quebec inevitable, but the music is only marginally related and these guys have been doing it for almost a quarter of a century. No micro-tones to be found anywhere.

Like many other festivals in the US right now, it was a rough year for Post. Ticket sales were down and there was uncertainty due to some planned construction at Post’s home, Hi-Fi and Hi-Fi Annex. Despite (or maybe because of) some headwinds, the festival felt like a triumph. Post means a lot to a lot of people and hopefully this a blip in the journey for a festival that is completely unique for this weird little corner of the music scene.