Apes of The State with Clover-Lynn and The Hellfires

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Courtesy The Spot on Kirk

Apes of the State is an independent Lancaster, PA based folk punk band.

Apes of the State was born from the post-rehab bedroom folk punk project of singer/songwriter April Hartman in 2015. In her words: “I picked up a guitar and started writing about s*** instead of doing drugs about it.” Their sound is a distinct blend of classic folk punk, emo, pop punk, folk, and bluegrass with attitude fueled vocals spitting clever lyrical wordplay. Drawing early influence from artists such as Pat the Bunny & Paul Baribeau, April filled out the sound of her stripped down and honest acoustic songwriting with a ramshackle crew of musicians collected from open mics and the music scene of their home base Lancaster, PA. The current lineup consists of Dan Ebersole on mandolin & electric guitar, Mollie Swartz on bass & violin, & Ian Cornele on drums.

Following the release of their first full band release “This City Isn’t Big Enough” in 2016, the band quickly started building a name for themselves through rigorous and consistent DIY touring and clever use of community building utilizing social media. Their second LP “Pipe Dream” was released in November 2019 just ahead of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Their full year of touring to support the record ended up cancelled due to lockdowns. Undeterred by the setback, April went to work collaborating with the folk punk community virtually to create Coping with Dystopia, a live stream series that aired regularly throughout the lockdowns and raised over $10k for various charity organizations. At the same time, they saw their listener base start to grow exponentially on streaming services. When they launched back into touring in 2021 they were playing bigger shows than ever before, and had to upgrade their sound from the single mic unplugged acoustic style to the full rock band lineup they currently tour with.

In November 2023 ahead of their first big international tour in Australia they released the split EP “They Can’t Kill Us All” with folk punk freshmen Sister Wife Sex Strike. The EP was both an effort to help platform the newer artist as well as release politically charged music ahead of the 2024 election year. A full touring schedule in 2024 followed with the band playing 123 shows across North America, Canada, Europe, and the United Kingdom, including a “Rehab Tour” in March where the band performed as a duo at rehabs and recovery centers up the east coast of the United States alongside Myles Bullen.

Despite their growth Apes of the State remains fiercely independent and practices a DIY ethos. They hope to serve as an example that you can achieve success outside of the traditional music industry framework. In April’s words, “we don’t beg for anyone to pay attention to us and give us opportunities – we create them for ourselves and our community.”

Doors Open at 7:00 pm | Show Starts at 7:30 pm

TICKETS:  $15 ADV | $20 Day of Show

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