Ra Ra Riot, Maps & Atlases, Princeton

2006 may not seem like that long ago to most folks, but, in the time since, Syracuse's Ra Ra Riot has been through a lot. It was in that year that the band survived the drowning death of original drummer and major creative force John Pike even before recording its first full-length album. Despite the early tragedy, the band has managed to carry on. Add in a pair of sessions for the highly acclaimed Daytrotter Web site, the formation of an indie rock supergroup side project (Discovery), and successful tours of Europe and North America and it becomes pretty apparent that Ra Ra Riot has been able to pack an entire career's worth of exploits into the past three years.

Not only was the band's debut album, 2008's The Rhumb Line, widely regarded as one of the year's best, it established the band as chamber pop pioneers in a sense, because of its use of cello and violin to create complicated sound textures that push beyond the calamitous hymns of predecessors Arcade Fire.

Joining Ra Ra Riot on this bill are fellow indie pop acts Maps & Atlases and Princeton.