Holywatr at Fine Line (October 12, 2026)

One thing I really like about showing up early to the Fine Line is watching the upcoming shows flashing on the drop-down screen in front of the stage.  For example, now I know The Mary Wallopers will be coming in March, 2027 just in time for St. Paddy’s Day.   

I only mention this pre-show ritual because while I was looking at the screen I wasn’t paying attention to the pre-show music until I said to myself: “Is that really classical music?” 

Shazam told me it was one of the greatest classical pianists of all time:  Artur Rubinstein playing “La Plus que Lente” by Claude DeBussy.  

I thought this selection funny considering the crowd was all dressed in black and certainly not there for a piano recital.  

mercury took the stage and immediately electrified the at capacity crowd. They are a musical project of Maddie Kerr, who blends her ethereal and sometimes anguished voice with a grungy shoegaze sound.  The band has been around since 2022, and we got a chance to see them in June, 2024 opening up from Dreamer Boy at 7th Street Entry.   Back then they were supporting Together We Are One, You and I.  At the Fine Line on a relatively quiet Monday, they played from their new album Roar of the Heliac Goat with “Heaven” opening up the set.  And even though they were the opening act playing from a new album, there were many in the crowd cheering the new songs.

After more classical piano interludes, the headliner, Holywatr, took the stage and kicked the shoegaze-vibe into a heavy metal overdrive, playing “Give Me a Show” and “Hiding in Plain Sight” as a section of fans got pushed toward the brick wall of the cozy venue when a mosh pit sprung up as quickly as a summer tornado.  I tried to take photos, but part of me kept an eye on the gyre of sprawling bodies.  The fans in black came to play and the lead singer Patrick Piddelthon aka Holy encouraged the chaos as he screamed into the mic and his band leaned heavily into their own shoegaze sound.  

Holywatr is a musical project of Middelthon’s, formed in 2025 with his debut album Red Heifer giving notice to hard rock fans in 2025.  The band is supporting their sophomore album Deo Gratias (Thanks be to God!), an album that they almost played in its entirety as the crowd cheered the songs with religious themes doused in fiery metal.