Soil Compilation

Music
Best Albums of 2025: KRUI Staff Picks

The rumors are true, KRUI likes music! 2025 was a crazy year all around, and even crazier, we here at KRUI actually listened to lots of albums this year. We’ve picked out eleven of our favorite albums from this year to share, and explore together.

Music Category
Best Songs of 2025: KRUI Staff Picks

It’s December 29, 2025, and if you can believe it, we here at KRUI actually listened to music throughout the whole year! From pop superstars, to indie legends, to the fresh Bandcamp up-and-comers, we’ve picked out nine of our favorite songs released this past year to share and explore together.

Music
Festival Preview: Chicago’s New Year Transitions, Dec. 26–Jan. 1st

Spanning 7 venues across 7 days, Transitions, the New Years Eve celebration by AURIS PRESENTS, in downtown Chicago has cultivated a lineup of the biggest names spinning records and electronica today. From December 26 – January 1st, Chicagoland will be ablaze as it welcomes the likes of 70 artists and a 21-hour marathon to ring in the new year at Outset. Here are the highlights coming this week to Chicago. 

I spoke with Derek Sanders, frontman of Mayday Parade after their gig at Vibrant Music Hall in Waukee, Iowa. A conversation spanning much more than the 20 years of the band, he told me about his latest trilogy release and all the way back to his very first autograph he signed.

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I had the chance to sit down with Andrew McMahon while at When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas. We spoke about his historic gig at Red Rocks this summer, playing at Notre Dame Stadium, and how incredible of a movie “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping” is.

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I sat down with Jordan Brown and Matt Wilson of Set Your Goals while at When We Were Young Festival. The California natives made their highly anticipated homecoming this past February, playing their first gig in 6 years. We spoke about their return to live performances, whats next for Set Your Goals, and how good “One Battle After Another” is.

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KRUI’s recap of When We Were Young Festival 2025 in Las Vegas. Throughout 4 stages, 53 bands tore through their sets across a 13 hour day. Here is how I spent my day at When We Were Young. 

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