Sometimes you stumble onto a band that instantly stops you in your tracks and demands your full attention; the kind of band who make you put down your phone or pause what you're doing and immerse completely into the sonic magic within. And recently, Philadelphia five-piece Sweet Pill have definitely snagged that attention globally, whether enamouring celebrities with their heartfelt emo-meets-pop-and-hardcore edge or taking a massive festival crowd by storm.
When you hear a Sweet Pill song, it almost comes across that this is a band who have been sharpening their wares for many years, both with a maturity and dexterity beyond their young years. But perhaps even more impressive, outside of their ear candy with a bite tracks and explosive live show, is the fact that they only released their debut full length, Where the Heart Is, back in 2022.
Ticking off their first ever international shows outside of the US just last year, 2025 marks Sweet Pill's first ever performances down under, with the band locked in to appear at New Bloom Fest, as well as some special headline sideshows for Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide. But before the group tick off their first ever Aussie shows, we spent a moment with Sweet Pill's incredible vocalist Zayna Youssef to dive into some of her most memorable touring moments so far...
ZAYNA YOUSSEF'S FAVE SWEET PILL TOURING MEMORIES (SO FAR):
OUTBREAK FESTIVAL
I had three touring memories that popped up instantly when I was thinking about this earlier, and one of them was Outbreak last year. The memorable one was the first performance, we ended up playing both days, we filled in for Balance and Composure when they dropped out because they had an issue with traveling. So we were like: "could we play?". And they were like: "sure!". And then it was just, all right, let's do it! So we played the first day, but then we played the second day, that was the day that people were expecting us to play, and it was a lot more like "our" crowd. But also people were moshing on the stage. That was new for me, and that was awesome! So that was a great experience. And we weren't playing at home, it was our first international show which was crazy.
THE EL REY THEATER
Another one I thought of was when played in Los Angeles at the El Rey Theater. We were playing with Origami Angel, and I think it was one of the first times we played a legitimate Los Angeles show. I mean, we'd played with La Dispute, but this one at the El Ray was one of our first times in Los Angeles, the first or second time. But anyway, it was right before we played Blood. And that song Blood is about my ex...and my ex lives in Los Angeles. And I just was just up onstage like: "this song's about my ex and she's here tonight!". The whole room just lost it, and it was so funny, but it set the precedence for the show. Everyone was just into it. It was a great show!
HOMETOWN AT UNION TRANSFER
And the last one I thought of was a hometown show, we played, played Union Transfer in Philly. And that's the venue where I went and saw Basement for the first time, it's where I saw Balance and Composure, and Title Fight; literally these bands and artists that I'm now going to Australia to play with, most of them played at this venue, a legendary venue for me. Every show was incredible, it's where I saw Tigers Jaw, a lot of Philly bands like Hop Along. I love Hop Along. There are just so many great bands that I saw there. And I remember when I was younger in high school and I was like: I want to know what it's like to be on that stage to just stand there one day. And it happened! And we sold it out too on top of it, which is incredible.
NEW BLOOM FEST 2025
For ticket info and more, head here
LINE UP:
Basement
Balance and Composure + DRAIN
One Step Closer + Sweet Pill + Glitterer
DATES AND VENUES:
Saturday 8 March - Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane
with Primitive Blast, The Others, Colourblind, Deadshowws, Wifecult + Masochist
Sunday 9 March - Roundhouse, Sydney
with Secret World, Gloam + Feel The Pain
Monday 10 March - The Timberyard, Melbourne
with Horsepower, Wayside + Crawling
SWEET PILL HEADLINE SIDESHOWS:
Supported by Bad Neighbour
Friday 7 March - Valley Loft, Brisbane (18+) Wednesday 12 March - Stay Gold, Melbourne (AA) Thursday 13 March - Jive Bar, Adelaide (AA)
BY TIANA SPETER