Sunday Cruise kick off their tour at home, Friday at Cobra Lounge

The Chicago-area pop-punk-leaning indie band opens an eight-date run with a four-band, $20 bill on Nov. 13.

Before Sunday Cruise head to Cleveland, Boston and on to the West Coast, they're playing for the people who know them best. Friday's show at Cobra Lounge is the send-off.

Sunday Cruise play Cobra Lounge on Friday, Nov. 13, with the show starting at 6 p.m. Cheerleader Roadkill, Arcadia Grey and Friend are also on the bill. Tickets are $20 through DICE. The room holds about 300, and with four bands on the lineup, that early start is the thing to plan around: if you want to see everyone, don't treat 6 p.m. as a suggestion.

It's the first of eight dates we have listed for the band. From here the tour goes to Cleveland on Nov. 15, Boston on Nov. 18, Raleigh–Durham on Nov. 23, Denton on Nov. 28, Tempe on Dec. 2 and Los Angeles on Dec. 3. Chicago is where the band plays more than any other market in our records, so opening here makes sense. This is the home crowd before the long drive.

The home crowd before the long drive.

If you haven't caught them yet: Sunday Cruise are an independent indie and alternative band from the Chicago suburbs, fronted by singer and guitarist Zoe Garcia, according to profiles on the sites of The Masquerade, First Avenue and Cactus Club, all rooms the band has played. Those profiles describe upbeat, catchy pop music with punk and emo influences. That's the sweet spot for a room like Cobra Lounge, loud enough for the punk side and small enough for the singalongs.

The band has been building steadily. Its venue bios say it has passed five million streams since its 2020 debut, *Am I Pretty?*, and followed with the 2024 album *The Art of Losing My Reflection*. That's the kind of growth that comes from playing the circuit (Atlanta, Minneapolis, Milwaukee) rather than from one viral moment, and it shows in how often the band's name turns up on mid-size club calendars across the Midwest and South.

A four-band bill for $20 also makes this one of the better-value Friday nights in town. Shows like this, with a local headliner, several support acts and an early start, are often where you find your next favorite band in the opening slots. Get there for Friend, Arcadia Grey and Cheerleader Roadkill, not just the closer.

A few practical notes. A 6 p.m. start means you can make the whole bill and still have the rest of your Friday. Buy through the DICE link above; it's the official seller for the show, and tickets live in the app. With a 300-cap room and a hometown tour kickoff, don't count on tickets at the door.

There's something about a band's first night out that's different from the rest of the tour: the set's still fresh, the van's still clean, and the crowd is full of friends. Friday at Cobra Lounge is that night for Sunday Cruise. Go wish them well on the way out.

Sources: Sunday Cruise — The Masquerade (masqueradeatlanta.com); Sunday Cruise — First Avenue (first-avenue.com); Sunday Cruise — Cactus Club (cactusclubmilwaukee.com); Tickets — DICE (link.dice.fm)