Shoegaze is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volume. It emerged in Ireland and the United Kingdom in the late 1980s among neo-psychedelic groups who usually stood motionless during live performances in a detached, non-confrontational state. The name comes from the heavy use of effects pedals, as the performers were often looking down at their pedals during concerts.
Shoegaze's name is in reference to how many guitarists in the genre stare downwards at their pedals
Scottish band Cocteau Twins (pictured in 1986), helped define what would become known as shoegaze, credited with the development of "a sound that would become the gold standard for enigmatic, ethereal indie-pop"
My Bloody Valentine performing live in 2008
Deafheaven brought blackgaze, a black metal and shoegaze fusion genre, to prominence with the 2013 album Sunbather.
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent record labels, by the 1990s it became more widely associated with the music such bands produced.
The Chills performing at Indietracks in rural Derbyshire in 2014
British band The Jesus and Mary Chain performing in California in 2007
My Bloody Valentine pioneered the indie rock subgenre shoegaze
The Stone Roses' 1990 Spike Island concert was the highest attendance performance by an independent artist of its time
