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There is a harsh truth about dreams—they’re the easiest thing to give up on. For many, the far fetched career they envisioned as a child, be it rock star, astronaut or explorer extraordinaire, just isn’t possible. Real life happens, bills have to be paid and families have to be supported—for many, those childhood dreams change. And that’s perfectly alright.

Although for the homegrown indie band Youth Antics, that is far from the case. On Friday June 13, the four-man band, which began officially in 2017 as a local cover group, will play its final local show at Oscura Coffee and Cocktails in Bradenton. The show, titled Escape From Florida, is a tribute to the band’s roots at Palmetto’s Manatee School for the Arts—the members of Youth Antics, who have all worked “typical” jobs since the group’s inception are packing up and moving to Milwaukee to focus solely on making it in the music industry.

“Getting the majority of the band to move to Milwaukee is going to give us the opportunity to be able to go 100 percent back into music,” says lead singer and bassist Derek Luna. “I feel fortunate to get to a place where I don’t have to share my livelihood, basically having a 70/30 split between my day job and scrounging up some time to work on music.”

This dream, however, wouldn’t be possible without a vision and more importantly, a distinct sound. “We’ve been described as candy-coated indie rock, but we’re definitely moving towards New Wave and a little darker sound, more akin to post-punk,” says guitar and synth player Dylan Nicholas. “Derek’s vocals have developed so much recently. He’s really been able to express himself in such a wonderful way and his songwriting has gotten a lot more mature, which has led to an edgier sound.”

While the band’s catalog of released music is not extensive—such is the cost of balancing jobs and music—the group plans to release a new single, “Volatile Heart” in July, with an accompanying EP shortly after. “We’ll play our whole catalog of music that we’ve released since 2017,” says Luna. “On top of that, we’ll feature unreleased music, “Volatile Heart” will be on the set list as well as songs from the upcoming EP that no one has heard before. I think that it’s going to be one of our biggest shows yet.”

Youth Antics’ “Escape From Florida” with Lennon Cripe, Treis & Friends, SILVR, June 13, 7-11pm, Oscura Coffee and Cocktails, 816 Manatee Ave East, Bradenton, 34208

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