Chicago-based “working-class pop” band Capital Soirée sat down with Atwood Magazine ahead of their biggest headline show to date to discuss their Midwestern roots, the city that inspires them, and the music that defines them. Their polished sound, quick wit, and thoughtful drive make this group one worth watching.
Stream: “carsick” – Capital Soirée
It’s not often you get one of your most successful ideas at nine years old.
Some might say it’s luck, but for Capital Soirée, it seems to be fate. James Kourafas and Max Romero began making music together in the fourth grade.
“We started to write some songs as an acoustic duo, which was very romantic,” Romero says. Today, he serves as the bassist/backing vocals for Capital Soirée while Kourafas is the band’s lead vocalist and guitarist. The duo met lead guitarist Steven Rejdukowski in high school.
“We forced him [Rejdukowski] to play the drums for us for a while,” Romero says, but corrects himself. “Well, he didn’t know how.”
“Mind you, he didn’t own drums,” Kourafas clarifies.
Although Rejdukowski is an experienced guitar player, the band didn’t have a drummer in the early days of Capital Soirée. “The first year was just a lot of noise,” he jokes. Eventually, he began as lead guitarist, and Dean Sinclair joined as drummer in 2018 marking “the modern era” of the band.
Their relationship and history translate seamlessly on and off stage, from their quick interactions between songs to their playful banter in conversation. It’s the first night of their first headline tour, but Capital Soirée’s four members have a sense of calming familiarity about them.
The Right Time Tour is a natural follow-up to the band’s second EP, Right Time, released in July 2025.
Right Time is cohesive and thoughtful in its storytelling. The EP seamlessly blends into a work that feels undeniably “Capital Soirée,” from its broader exploration of connection down to the finer details, such as the title track fading into “Carsick.”
“We’ve literally been making music since we were freshmen in high school,” Kourafas says, “so we made so much bad music for so long.” It’s a joke, but a serious note on the infinite fluidity of artists.
“I think our current catalog is our more conscious representation of once we started to figure things out a little more.” While their older catalog is still accessible, their first song on streaming, “Second Home,” from 2017, marks the band’s “modern” sound.
Have all been born and raised just outside of Chicago, the city’s attitude and culture have embedded themselves into the band’s artistry.
Where several artists understand Midwestern influences to be related to “Midwest Emo,” Capital Soirée find the city’s influences in their mentality.
“It’s inspiring in the way that Chicago has a huge music community,” Kourafas says. “I feel like even when people tour and they play Chicago and they’re like, ‘Dude, Chicago’s shows are always great.’”
“I think we’ve always felt like a little bit of an outlier,” he adds. In the band’s early days, they sounded more pop-adjacent than other prominent bands at the time, like Twin Peaks. “Chicago is very scene-oriented with the music,” Kourafas says. “You have so many incredible musicians, but they usually fall into a few stylistic categories that Chicago is more known for.”
Capital Soirée’s social media often lives in melancholic nostalgia, which can make it easy to mistake them for yet another indie boy band.
However, their lyrical hooks and chords, alongside their nuanced stage presence, cement themselves into the pop genre in a manner that feels novel, thrilling, and innovative.
“I don’t know if there’s a certain kind of Midwest working class sort of thing,” Sinclair says of the band’s approach to pop music. “I can’t quite pin it, but it’s definitely associated with darker colors in our music. I think, really, we’re just working-class pop.”
Kourafas draws a check in the air. “Trademark.”
“That’s our genre,” Rejdukowski adds with a laugh.
The band’s online presence pays homage to their somber pop sound and Chicago roots while giving fans a sense of personality. Whether it be listing their favorite bars and venues around the city, poking fun at each other, or outright music promotion, it seems as though they’ve got a grasp on how to navigate the modern music world.
The band has a substantial following on TikTok, likely due to their viral clips. Most notably, in 2023, the band went viral for playing outside of the local grocery chain Jewel Osco.
@capitalsoiree
They’ve played the grocery store multiple times, with their first appearance pre-pandemic for an Earth Day event. “It kind of worked out because we ended up being able to play at Jewel again, during the pandemic. It was a safe show,” Romero explains. Most recently, they played at a Jewel Osco in Roscoe Village.
Chicago isn’t an “industry town” in the same way New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville are. While there is a thriving music scene, management, record labels, and other industry-specific businesses aren’t as prominent. Even so, the city is home to major forces in music, from household names like Wilco and Smashing Pumpkins to indie artists like Beach Bunny and Post Animal.
Where in other places Capital Soirée might operate as a small fish in a big pond, their hometown of Chicago platforms them to be a big fish in a small pond.
“We’re seeing our friends, like on the radio, for example,” Kourafas says, “and do really cool tours and things. So it feels like there’s a little eye on the city right now. We definitely want to highlight that, and we’re stoked to participate in that.”
The venues the band plays at today – Schubas, Subterranean, Lincoln Hall – are the same ones they frequented growing up.
Sinclair fondly recalls his first time at Lincoln Hall in high school, the same venue Capital Soirée plays that night.
Where some artists are very hands-off once the project has finished recording, Capital Soirée pours their heart into tracks, from writing to recording to producing.
“We had to, because we didn’t have any money,” Kourafas says, laughing slightly, “or knew anybody who knew how to do it.” The others are quick to agree. “It’s just kind of become our thing now. And we just got our little studio, and we make the records.”
Kourafas has produced for several artists outside Capital Soirée, including his other band Friday Pilots Club, as well as OSTON, Lemondrop, DOUBLECAMP, and more.
“Chicago is definitely hard work in town, you know what I mean?” Romero adds, circling back to the idea of “working-class pop.”
It felt natural for the band to create music themselves rather than wait for someone to assist.
The band’s attitude towards creating their music seeps into their larger discography, from their time putting tracks on SoundCloud to their commercial hits like “Keep It in The Dark” and “Dancing Off My Sins.”
“It’s very random,” Sinclair says of what songs have resonated with audiences. “The fact that anyone listens is awesome, but for example, for ‘Keep It in The Dark,’ it was like, ‘Oh, we’re going on this tour. We should just have a new song just to have something.’”
“I’m not saying it was rushed, but comparatively it was wrapped up quicker. I guess that’s the one that people are liking the most right now.”
Streaming services enable people to access artists’ entire discographies beyond their most recent releases or radio hits, and social media has aided in these discoveries. For instance, Charli xcx’s “Party 4 U” was released in 2020 but reached a Hot 100 spot in 2025. Halsey’s “Colors” is seeing a resurgence on TikTok 10 years after its release, alongside the 2012 hit “Beauty and a Beat” by Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj.
Capital Soirée’s 2019 single “Dancing Off My Sins” and 2024 single “Keep It in the Dark” have seen the same phenomenon. In addition to their singles, their EPs Reruns and Right Time have also received significant streams.
While it’s hard to predict what will be a hit, Capital Soirée have developed a dedicated fan base.
Concertgoers at their Chicago show knew their entire set list, which is categorized into “eras,” the band jokes.
“I think it feels more appropriate, like where we are in our career to start cooking up an album, potentially,” Romero says. The Right Time Tour delves into each section of Capital Soirée, from longer projects like Reruns and Right Time down to singles like “Daylight” and “KEROSENE.”
The band’s favorite song to play live differs between members, with Kourafas’ current one being “Instead” from the new project.
“[Mine] is still ‘Pop Band,’” Rejdukowski says.
“No way,” Romero replies due to the song’s requirements for bass. There’s a lot of movement on the instrument.
“‘Pop Band’ is fun,” Kourafas says with a shrug. “I have fun playing it.” It’s a danceable song, and it’s quick to get the crowd moving.
One of Romero’s all-time favorites is “I Couldn’t Fake It,” while Sinclair’s current favorites are “Right Time” and “Lead Me On.” He also mentions “Reruns,” a fan-favorite.
Capital Soirée are a true novelty in the modern music scene.
Their dedication to their art is both inspiring and polished, making each show exciting, intimate, and personal to both themselves and fans.
As they wrap up The Right Time Tour, the band are looking forward to what’s next. “We’ve been kind of just promoting and doing a lot of stuff for this release cycle, but we’re back to square one,” Romero says, “so I’m excited to get back to work.”
Want more? Listen to or watch their episode of “On The Record,” a podcast about all things music. Stay updated with Capital Soirée on Instagram and TikTok!
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