There are plenty of great things about growing up in a small town, but as most folks who've lived in one will tell you, it's got its downsides too. There are plenty of reasons you might feel like you need to escape, from seeking economic opportunity to getting out of tightly knit social circles, where a difference of opinion might turn you into an outcast. Over the years, many musicians have come to Nashville — a city that constantly struggles with just how big it should be — in part to escape small-town life. Judging by the title track of their 2016 record A Place to Sleep Among the Creeps, Corinth, Miss., transplants Light Beam Rider belong among that number. The band has since dissolved, but the feeling lingers. LBR's Thomas Sweat and Daniel Sowards have formed a new group called HaveARadDay, or H.A.R.D., with Cody Balaschak and Brady Gomillion, and we're pleased to premiere a H.A.R.D. song that grapples with those feelings. Below, take a listen to "Hometown Hero," a heavy anthem about getting in a fight because you're wearing "a leather jacket with the wrong patches." It also illustrates how getting away from small-minded bullies doesn't suddenly make everything easy — at the end, the protagonist also catches heat from city boys for being too country. The song is from an EP called HaveARadDay that's due June 8 via The Haters Ball (no preorder link is available yet, but watch the THB site for that). You can also check out another track from the EP called "Bellyacher," which features The Weeks' Cyle Barnes and Diarrhea Planet's Jordan Smith. You can catch H.A.R.D. in person on Saturday when they open for The Katies at The 5 Spot, again on Friday, April 20, when they play Microwave Mountain's album release at The Cobra, and again at Reality Something's album release at The Cobra on May 4.

Nuclear Tourism is a surf punk guitar band that brings fresh life to alternative rock. They are an up and coming group of college kids from Athens Georgia who got together at a Nuci’s Space Camp Amped a few years ago and have since played dates all around the country. Nuclear Tourism combines elements of California punk bands Bass Drum of Death, The Frights, and other influences like The White Stripes and The Ramones to create a raw and punchy sound.