Microwave in Cleveland

About Microwave

Microwave is an emo band from Poughkeepsie that treats anxiety like it's a subject worth getting angry about. They came up in the mid-2010s streaming era without much traditional label push, just building a quiet cult following through songs that balance vulnerable lyrics with the kind of guitar work that makes your stomach hurt. Their earlier records, especially "Much Love" and "It's Not About the Guitar," established them as the kind of band that could make a song about feeling trapped sound genuinely devastating. They're not reinventing emo, but they're not trying to. They're just very good at the specific thing they do: introspective songs that still hit hard, delivered with enough restraint that the heavy moments land differently. If you've found yourself rewatching their older music videos or relating to songs about overthinking, you're exactly who this band is for.

Known for Senators, Stressful, Dog Leather, Death Wish, The Most Beautiful Thing

Microwave + Cleveland

Microwave knows their way around Cleveland. They last played the Agora in October 2024, running through ten tracks including 'Mirrors.' The math rock outfit has built a solid relationship with the city's venues, returning regularly to play for a crowd that gets what they're doing.

Microwave in Cleveland News

• Finding the microwave thelandcle.org · Dec 23, 2025
• Microwave announce 'Much Love' anniversary tour w/ Anthony Green, Hunny, Into It. Over It., more BrooklynVegan · Dec 9, 2025
• Microwave Celebrates A Decade Of Much Love With Anniversary Shows idobi · Dec 9, 2025
• 11th annual Microwave Dave Day set to take place in Huntsville WHNT.com · Oct 14, 2025
• Why we’re so glad “The Office” sequel about a newspaper is set in Toledo, not Cleveland Cleveland.com · May 15, 2025

Live Music in Cleveland

Cleveland's underground rock scene has always had room for the weird and complex. The city's venues have fostered everything from post-punk to noise rock, creating an audience that appreciates technical playing and unconventional song structures. Microwave fits naturally into that lineage—a band that rewards careful listening and doesn't dumb things down.

Cleveland road trip to see Microwave?

Stay in Ohio City, where Victorian brownstones meet serious coffee shops and galleries. Dinner at Fairmount, where chef Jonathon Sawyer sources locally and cooks with real technique—expect seasonal American food that doesn't announce itself. Spend an afternoon at the Cleveland Museum of Art, which is free and genuinely excellent. Walk through the West Side Market before the show, grab something you don't need, and feel the bones of the city. The whole neighborhood has that working-class dignity that makes Cleveland distinct.