Midwest Emo

Midwest emo is a genre characterized by intricate, twinkling guitar work, driving rhythms, and emotive, often screamed or spoken vocals. Emerging in the 1990s in the American Midwest, the genre drew from post-hardcore and indie rock, with bands emphasizing intense, personal lyrics and dynamic song structures. Reaching peak popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s, midwest emo became a staple of the DIY scene, with its raw, emotive sound resonating with fans seeking authenticity and community. Influenced by post-rock and math rock, the genre's complex time signatures and guitar interplay set it apart from other emo subgenres. Its cultural significance lies in its portrayal of small-town life, relationships, and introspection, providing a voice for the anxieties and hopes of a generation. As a precursor to later emo and indie rock movements, midwest emo's influence can be seen in its blend of technicality, emotional intensity, and heartfelt storytelling.

Latest Midwest Emo Release
undefined album image
Look What I Found
Album - 13 Tracks - Released August 29, 2025

RecentMusic users are tracking 590 Midwest Emo artists for new releases, and have access to the full timeline of 4,555 releases .

Join them and feed your new music addiction, and add the Midwest Emo artists you love!

Get Started Browse Releases
2DS sex tape
ANORAK!
Amateurish
American Football
Amoeba Arena
Aorta
Apes of the State
Arcadia Grey
Arm's Length
Awning
Beijing Connection
Belmont
Bird Bone
Boilermaker
Cap'n Jazz
Car Crash Bird Funeral
Carpool
Cecimonster vs. Donka
Charmer
Chinese Football
Chinese Park
Cicadahead
Clay Birds
Cory Castro
Crossing i's Dotting t's
DURRY
Daisyhead
Dead Butterflies
Diels-Alder
Emergency Exist
Ensslin
Equipment
Failed to Ignite
Fiesta Bizarra
Foot Ox
Forth Wanderers
Free Throw
GREY.
Head North
Heart to Gold
Incompleteness Theorem
Kerosene Heights
Knuckle Puck
La Dispute
MIDDLING
Marchioretto
Michael Cera Palin
Microwave
Milledenials
Movements
My Dad Died
Nogato
Nuvolascura
Origami Ghosts
PADLA BEAR OUTFIT
PUP
Pet Symmetry
Pool Kids
Portraits of Past
Quem é você Alice?
Raccoon Tour
Real Friends
RudyWade
Saetia
Shanghai Qiutian
Short Fictions
Slow Joy
TRSH
Tarnish
The Casket Lottery
The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die
To Be Gentle
Totorro
Troubled Minds
Uklao
Versus You
Via Luna
WOES
Wavers
WeWillLookBackAtYouAndLoveYouForever!!!!!
Winter Wayfarer
Woolbright
against realism
always sunny
bright little stars
chase usa
downt
elizabeth whitington
gingerbee
girl goes to greenland
hey, nothing
mil ataris por segundo
paranoid void
son of deni
sports.
water margin
when you found me.
wont stop dreaming.wsd
даша онзероад
нет ничего твоего
Mom Jeans.
Movements
PUP
Knuckle Puck
La Dispute
RudyWade
hey, nothing
Microwave
Arm's Length
Free Throw
toe
American Football
Real Friends
TRSH
Belmont
Sunny Day Real Estate
Slow Joy
Macseal
Delta Sleep
Moose Blood
Pet Symmetry
The Get Up Kids
Oso Oso
Ben Quad
The Hotelier
Your Arms Are My Cocoon
Cory Castro
Apes of the State
Tiny Moving Parts
Mat Kerekes
Michael Cera Palin
Upon Your Dead Body
I Hate Myself
TTNG
Forth Wanderers
Radiator Hospital
Worst Party Ever
Fiesta Bizarra
DURRY
It Looks Sad.
gavin m
Orchid
Elephant Gym
The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die
Aaron West and The Roaring Twenties
Adjust the Sails
Dikembe
Marietta
Milledenials
Chinese Football
Ispentsixhourswatchingshockvideosyesterday
Kerosene Heights
CLIFFDIVER
A Great Big Pile of Leaves
Charmer
Salvinorin-A
You Blew It!
Owen
sports.
Brave Little Abacus
The Appleseed Cast
The Promise Ring
Pool Kids
Cap'n Jazz
Foot Ox
Into It. Over It.
Heart to Gold
departmefrombearisland
Estoy Bien
I'm Glad It's You
Algernon Cadwallader
Pageninetynine
Bouquet
Totorro
Braid
The Anniversary
All My Wishes Were Thrown Down a Well and Should Die There
Dead Butterflies
Any Two Words
Beeswax
Carpool
downt
Super American
Beijing Connection
Attic Abasement
bright little stars
Equipment
Suis La Lune
paranoid void
Clever Girl
Flight Patterns
Enamore
Via Luna
The Sonder Bombs
Clay Birds
Ogbert the Nerd
Perspective, a Lovely Hand to Hold
Chão de Taco
William Bonney
Safe Bet