Atwood Magazine sat down with Austin-based band West 22nd ahead of their sold-out Chicago show to talk about their debut album and influences, as well as witness games of dominoes and rock-paper-scissors.

Stream: ‘Nowhere to Be’ – West 22nd

You can hear the chatter outside the door – not tension, but a cacophony of thrilled relaxation.

Fresh off sound check, West 22nd crowds around the green room coffee table. Just weeks ago, four of them graduated from college with the fifth heading into his senior year. Now they’re playing sold‑out shows across the U.S.

“When people were screaming our lyrics in Charlotte, New York, Boston, and DC, it was pretty cool to know that our music has spread throughout the whole country,” lead guitarist Jeremy Ancheta says.

In 2023, West 22nd expanded beyond the college scene and began to play around their hometown of Austin, Texas, from The Ballroom, with a capacity of 750, to Austin City Limits, a festival with over 450,000 attendees.

Excited to share their experience on the Nowhere To Be Tour, vocalist Logan Madsen and bassist Jet Beck start to speak at once, playfully engaging in a game of rock‑paper‑scissors to decide who goes first. Madsen wins.

“There’s been so much development since then,” he says of the band’s growth from local gigs to a national tour. “This is the first time we’ve felt like our dream is coming true, and we have a lot of potential with this. It’s just been so much fun.”

Each city along the Nowhere To Be Tour brings fresh energy. Chicago, Boston, New York, and Washington, DC shows sold out shortly after the tour was announced, surpassing their usual Texas and West Coast markets.

“Cities that we’ve never played to – and half of us had never been to – being the ones where tickets were flying off the shelf was a lot to take in,” Beck says.

The relationship they cultivate offstage translates into their onstage performances, from the up-tempo “Savannah” to reenacting the Ferris Bueller-style attendance scene during the Chicago show.

Ancheta and Madsen met as freshmen at the University of Texas at Austin [UT Austin]. In the spring of that year, they experimented with Ancheta’s guitar and Madsen’s vocals.

“I asked him what songs he likes, and he said ‘Steve Lacy and Rex Orange County.’ I was like, ‘Great, I have to learn 20 chords,’” Ancheta jokes.

Ancheta’s freshman roommate introduced them to rhythm guitarist Gabe Acevedo, who “always wanted to be in a band.” He first saw Acevedo at an open mic where he performed a solo, acoustic version of Heart’s 1977 hit “Barracuda” – a challenging piece even for an entire band.

After seeing the performance, he knew he had to recruit Acevedo for what would become West 22nd. “Then it was like, ‘alright, let’s get a full band.’”

In a world where social media is often used to market opportunities, the initial trio resorted to posting flyers around campus to recruit a bassist and a drummer.

“My origin story started many years ago,” Beck says with a dramatic pause.

Ancheta sits up. “Don’t make it too long.”

The group laughs, but regains composure quickly. Someone shifts the board games stacked under the coffee table with their feet, the dominoes resting on top of Apples to Apples clashing with the inside of its metal tin.

A year younger than the rest of the band, Beck discovered West 22nd after the group had already formed. “It was their second ever show,” he says, “and I always wanted to be in a band.” A skilled guitarist, Beck saw an opportunity with West 22nd that he didn’t have before coming to Austin.

“I sent Logan [Madsen] a bunch of videos of me playing to show that I mean it,” he says. His band debut was as a fill-in for Ancheta on guitar. Six months later, he officially joined West 22nd as their bassist.

Drummer Tyler Kerch had known Acevedo since their freshman year of college, but it wasn’t until later that he joined West 22nd. They met in a business communications class where Kerch gave an “impromptu speech” about what he wanted to be growing up: a drummer.

Although West 22nd has amassed national and local success today, Kerch ultimately discovered the band through the same flyers that Beck had seen around campus.

“There was a footnote there that said ‘drum set required.’ I panicked because I did not have a drum set on me,” he admits. A couple of years later, the band announced they were once again looking for a drummer – no set required this time.

Kerch spent the next week rehearsing on any drum set he could find, from practice rooms to local churches.

“Gabe [Acevedo] asked me how much I practiced,” he shares, “and I was like, ‘A couple times?’ But it was a lot more than that.”

In some ways, it sounds akin to a sitcom: 20-something best friends traveling the country, making music. Every member of West 22nd has not only earned their seat at the table but continues to prove that they love the art of music itself.

A multitude of genres and musicians influence the band. From the ska tempo in Vampire Weekend to the stark bass of Cage the Elephant to the coastal acoustics of The Backseat Lovers, West 22nd is a culmination of sonic bliss rather than a singular entity.

“You can make a word cloud out of that,” Acevedo jokes about their extensive list of influences.

While hints of modern artists are apparent in their work, the group is quick to appreciate the lyrical melancholy of Radiohead and the energetic culmination of The Beatles.

“I don’t think any band would be where they are without them [The Beatles],” Madsen says.

During the show, West 22nd transitioned into a cover of “Twist and Shout.” Where some artists find covering a prominent musical figure to be a daunting task, it was clear the group was just having fun (and doing a phenomenal job).

Madsen’s twist (pun intended) on John Lennon’s vocals was a pleasant surprise, showcasing his skillset in a way unlike any West 22nd song. Acevedo and Ancheta chimed in on the guitar, uplifting Beck and Kerch’s steady beat on bass and drums.

Beck’s mother and family friends, along with some of Ancheta’s college friends, were at the show. They moved to the front of the venue, excited to witness the band’s talent in a new city and the crowd’s joy.

Madsen adds, “I don’t think our influences have changed so much. We’re not trying to recreate the same song or the same vibe that we already have. We just go with whatever flows.”

The band call their sound “Carousel Rock,” a term coined by Acevedo to reflect their diverse catalog, from their first single “Sunburns” through their debut album Nowhere To Be, released in April 2025. “It goes all around,” he explains. “You got a sports car, a unicorn, and they all work. And it’s fun.”

Nowhere to Be - West 22nd — Nowhere to Be – West 22nd

The band pay homage to their hometown of Austin in numerous ways, from one of their first songs, “Road Trip,” to the name “West 22nd” itself. Austin is nicknamed “The Live Music Capital of the World,” a title that resonates with the band as residents and musicians of the city.

“We’ve learned it wasn’t always huge artists like Taylor Swift rolling in and playing there, because there isn’t a venue big enough for someone like that,” Ancheta explains, “but what it really is is underground, small music happening in every bar in the city.”

Both UT Austin and the city itself have supported the band’s journey. “We want to be that next band that comes out of Austin and puts the spotlight on them,” Madsen says.

“Our production has gotten better. We’ve gotten a little wiser as musicians,” Acevedo says of their journey from singles and EPs to their first album. “But at the same time, it was also a very ambitious project.”

“Every time we write a new song or create a new project, once we’re done, we’re like, ‘This is better than what we have done,’” Beck says.

Even on tour, they’re writing. A new track is in “very, very infant stages.” Some of the band think it “might be one of the best songs” they’ve ever made.

The band’s social media is very active, with photos of their shows across their Instagram. Many feature the crowd or excited shots of the band, with Madsen sometimes crowdsurfing.

Madsen shifts a little at the mention of crowdsurfing. “There have been times when I’ve crowd surfed, and it doesn’t go so well. So you kind of have to pick and choose.” It makes sense. You don’t want to have a “Dare moment.”

They joke that Madsen crowd surfs to “I Wonder Why,” the only full acoustic song in their catalog. While he didn’t crowd surf to the song, Ancheta, Kerch, and Beck resorted to a game of dominoes on stage and let Madsen’s and Acevedo’s vocals and guitar shine.

They treat social media as a tool, not a necessity. “We get to sell tickets and let people know what we’re doing, but we don’t want to get too sucked in and need to get a viral moment,” Madsen says.

“I feel like where we capture our fans is at those live shows. It takes seeing us or listening to our album. It’s not like ‘Oh, that’s the band from TikTok,’” Beck adds.

The others laugh at the thought. Many artists have had songs – or even a chorus – go viral, leading them to sell out arenas or music halls just for the crowd to be silent until the viral moment.

“I would hate to be that band,” Madsen says.

The Nowhere To Be Tour is exciting, fun, and energetic. “It’s like a workout class,” Ancheta jokes. “Work out your shoulders. So Logan [Madsen] can jump onto you.”

Minutes before the band took the stage in Chicago, the crowd rushed to the front in excited chatter. Typically, the band walks through the crowd to get to the stage at that venue. Shoulder-to-shoulder with friends, family, and strangers, West 22nd entered from the side door, standing outside the venue on an inviting June evening because of the massive crowd.

Where many artists like to “relax” after their tours by taking a vacation or spending time with loved ones, West 22nd intends to get back to writing.

“We want to be a band that stays long term, and just build up our brand and our pull nationwide,” Madsen says. They talk about their vision amongst each other, from new lyrics or chords for tracks on a second album to artistic concepts intended for a fourth or fifth album.

“Let’s just finish this tour without breaking any more equipment,” Ancheta says.

Madsen shakes his head. “That’s not going to happen.”

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