Best Local Band

1. High Step Society HighStepSociety.com.

2. Fortune’s Folly FortunesFollyBand.com.
3. Medium Troy MediumTroy.com.

High Step Society, winner of this year’s Best of Eugene best band category, plays electro-swing, a style of music popular in Europe but just catching on in the States. Electro swing, sometimes called swing house, combines electronic music with jazz stylings, but High Step Society is more of a hybrid, with added elements of trap music, West Coast bass, glitch hop and dubstep, says High Step Society bassist, keyboard player, and manager Ethan Rainwater.

Unlike what a lot of people may think of with electronic, High Step Society is very much a band, playing live instruments on stage as opposed to a more DJ-style experience, Rainwater says. Whatever you call what it is High Step Society does, it’s been a hit in Eugene from the very beginning. “Our first show was almost sold out at WOW Hall,” Rainwater remembers. This town likes to dance, which makes electro swing a good fit for Eugene audiences. “That’s really the goal of what we do: making people move,” Rainwater says. “This town is always down to shake it with us; everybody here is ready to boogie.”

“We feel so fortunate to have this as our home. That’s what fuels us as a band to take it to the next level. We have big plans for the future,” Rainwater says.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

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None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!