The band that would come to be called VARSITY started out as a good idea at a party in Chicago, IL in 2013. Stef Smith (vocals/keyboards) invited long time friends and guitarists Pat Stanton and Dylan Weschler to play a salon night, they had fun, and unlike many good ideas sparked at parties in Chicago, this one actually had legs. They recruited Jake Stolz on drums and his brother, Paul Stolz, on bass to fully round out their sound and become the quintet that they are today. On their second full length release, 2018’s “Parallel Person”, Varsity brings their music to new depths that express themes of the uphill battle of isolation, popularity, and artistic frustration they all too frequently experience in their current lives in Chicago. “Parallel Person” is an instantly catchy, cathartic and infectious indie-pop record that has challenged the band’s style and the confines of the genre. In October, Varsity announced their signing to the Boston-based indie label Run For Cover Records alongside their strongest pair of digital singles yet. “The Dogs only Listen To Him” and “UFO” further explore a range of power pop inflected melodies blended with dreamy atmospherics. Inspired by a pair of overheard conversations, the tracks each follow threads of vocalist and lyricist Smith's daydreams about how the relationships in those conversations might play out.