Local Rock Band “Halcyon” to Play at Pointfest

By Zachary Daum

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On April 26, the indie rock band “Halcyon” won the Road to Pointfest Grand Finals at Pop’s in Sauget, Illinois. The win earned them a spot on the Pointfest 2025 lineup, which will be held May 17 at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in St. Louis. It’s a major milestone for the band, which began by playing benefit shows and cover sets, and now finds itself among the region’s rising original acts.

The band includes lead vocalist Jade Baker, lead guitarist Braden Christian, rhythm guitarist Alex Andersen, bassist Alise Forsyth, and drummer Bryce Erlinger. Though the band started as a cover group, their journey changed when they were asked to play in a battle of the bands hosted by Club 110 in Belleville.

“That gig kickstarted our band,” the band states on their website’s biography page. “We were forced to debut original work to qualify for the battle and it was really the first time anyone had heard our sound. The overwhelmingly positive response was all we needed. We decided then and there that this was now the reality stage.”

Since then, “Halcyon” has played regularly throughout the St. Louis and Metro East area, including shows at The Hi-Hat, Club 110, and now Pop’s. The band describes their sound as indie rock with influences from The Backseat Lovers, Peach Pit, and Paramore.

Jade Baker, the band’s lead singer, expressed how much the band has meant to her. “Originally, “Halcyon” was just me, Braden and a couple friends in my garage with a love for music. We just played covers of popular band-ish songs for more of a hobby rather than a job.” Jade said.

Jade continued, explaining the bond she shares with her bandmates, “The members we have now, however, have become a small group full of the most musically and creatively inclined artists I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. From my perspective, we’re just young adults that love to create and perform and it’s a love we’ve all nurtured together to improve and continue putting art into the world.”

Braden Christian, “Halcyon”’s lead guitarist, reflected on the band’s beginnings and evolution. “Originally, we were a cover band that did a couple of gigs here and there throughout Mascoutah,” he said. “We did benefits for Deb Huber when she had her cancer, and then when Mary Lee just had her benefit at the VFW back in November.” The group performed a wide variety of covers, from 80s to 2000s rock to bar staples like “Tennessee Whiskey.” Over time, their passion shifted toward writing original music, influenced by their diverse cover set. “Our first gig with original music was a battle of the bands through Club 110 at Big Dads in Belleville,” he said. “People really seemed to like it.” That show also connected them with fellow Mascoutah band Raze the Alarms, who introduced them to the local music scene and the Road to Pointfest competition. After winning their session in the eight-round contest, “Halcyon” advanced to the Grand Finals on April 26. “We were fortunate enough to have all of the support from our fans, from people from Mascoutah, people from O’Fallon, where Alex is from, and even his parents came down from Chicago,” said Christian. The band received the winning email on the following Monday, confirming their place in the 2025 Pointfest lineup.

Alex Andersen, “Halcyon”’s rhythm guitarist, expressed deep appreciation for his place in the band. “I just think I feel really lucky to be in this group,” he said. Alongside bassist Alise Forsyth, Alex is one of the newest members, joining a band that had already been developing for two or three years. Despite coming in later, the transition was seamless. “When we all got together, we just found something. We have some sort of spark,” he said. “We have a really good meshing of our individual artistic ideas, and I think it just made it really easy for us to collaborate and make some good music that we really enjoy playing.”

Alise Forsyth, “Halcyon”’s bassist, began her journey with the band as a fan before joining its lineup. “I actually started out as a fan of “Halcyon”, right back whenever they first started playing with their original group,” she said, recalling early shows like a graduation party at the Ag building. Even then, she believed in the band’s potential. “I always knew that the group had the talent to start making original music,” she said, adding that it wasn’t until the current lineup came together that things truly clicked. With less than a year of experience on bass, Alise credits the band for helping her grow. “They all pushed me to be a better musician,” she said. “They’ve been so incredibly patient with me while I’ve been learning… and they don’t yell at me whenever I mess up, so that’s always really nice.”

Drummer Bryce Erlinger reconnected with music after a long break, never expecting to return—much less to perform live with a band headed for one of the biggest rock festivals in the country. “I’ve known these guys since seventh, eighth grade,” Bryce said. After years apart, a chance conversation with lead vocalist Jade Baker changed everything. “One day, I was at work, and Jade was just like, ‘Hey, we need a drummer.’ And I was like, ‘Of course,’” he said. “We’ve been playing for what…ten months now? And having a lot of fun.” Finding out “Halcyon” would play Pointfest left Bryce stunned. “It’s being headlined by some of my favorite artists—311, The Urge, Toadies,” he said. “It’s the largest annual rock festival in the country.” He was at work when the band got the news. “All I saw was a FaceTime call pop up, and I was like, ‘Is this the win?’ I couldn’t believe it. I was trying to talk to my lead, and I was just like, ‘Whoa. I can’t believe it… Mama, we made it.’”

The members of “Halcyon” said that their success wouldn’t be possible without the support of their team and the local community. The band made sure to thank the people who helped them along the way, “We want to shout out to Rick Turcotte of Flatlander Studios, Livia Kinzel, our manager, Savannah Webster from media, and Zeke Lindhorst at Frontier Psychiatrist Creative Solutions. A big thank you also goes out to Christopher Gore of Mascoutah Middle School and Jordin Gouge of Mascoutah High School. We wouldn’t be where we are without their help.”

The band also expressed appreciation to the other bands involved in Road to Pointfest, including Raze the Alarms, The Down Bads, Party Hat Club, and Tree One Four, who were also winners in the competition.

Looking ahead, “Halcyon” plans to record their debut album and hopes to release music before Pointfest. “With all this being said, we are only just getting started,” the band said. “We have so many big plans for this band that we are constantly working on and venues that we want to eventually play.”

Their performance at Pointfest promises to be a defining moment in their still early career. Their online links and information is available on their link tree at https://linktr.ee/OfficialHalcyon

Pointfest takes place on Saturday, May 17, at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in St. Louis, and their fans can look forward to seeing them perform alongside some of the biggest names in the music industry.