US indie juggernauts Hippo Campus share tenacious new effort ‘Semi Pro’, the second reveal from the band’s upcoming record ‘LP3’, set for release February 4th via NYC indie label Grand Jury (Samia, Twin Peaks, Jordana, Native Sun, Hovvdy). 

“‘Semi Pro’ was the last song added to the record”, explains frontman Jake Luppen. “We went on vacation with our [touring] crew in the summer of 2020. I was talking to our monitor tech, Geron about the pandemic, and he was saying that he wanted to get out of the music game because Covid had been so hard and everything was unstable. It struck me in this really crazy way because all the shit that we do is literally meaningless in the grand scope of things. When the chips are down, playing a guitar is not really worth anything.

The song essentially is about quitting. It’s an athlete metaphor - where somebody spent a long time in the game, seeing themselves age out of it, and then making peace with that and being OK. And  furthmore recognizing the ways that you are tied to your craft can really fuck with your head. It took a global pandemic and falling in love to help me find an identity outside of music and in that I finally feel free as an artist.”

Marking the follow-up to exhilarating lead single ‘Boys’, the Minnesotan quintet’s newest pop gem explicitly charts the death of a career, the meaningless of fame, and how dreams change - all themes which are prevalent throughout their forthcoming LP - with the group’s freshly-inked portrayal of young adulthood and personal identity resulting in their strongest and most complete work to date.

With effusive praise rolling in from key indie press champions (DIY, Dork, The Line Of Best Fit, The Independent, Gigwise, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Consequence of Sound), as well as countless plays on the BBC Radio 1 airwaves (Jack Saunders, Clara Amfo), Hippo Campus’ vast potential is certainly gathering pace ahead of February’s LP release, with a huge UK/EU/US live run lined up to coincide with its arrival.

Accompanied with an official video directed by Phillip Soulliere, Hippo Campus’ ‘Semi Pro’ - produced by Caleb Hinz (Baby Boys, Samia, Miloe) - is out December 1st via Grand Jury and will be available on all digital platforms.

Hippo Campus is Jake Luppen (vocalist, guitarist), Nathan Stocker (vocalist, guitarist), Whistler Allen (drummer), Zach Sutton (bassist), DeCarlo Jackson (trumpeter)

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2022 Live Dates

1st Feb - Glasgow - Stereo
2nd Feb - Manchester - The Deaf Institute
3rd Feb - London - The Garage
5th Feb - Antwerp, BE - Trix Bar
6th Feb - Cologne, DE - Jaki
7th Feb - Amsterdam, NL - Bitterzoet
17th Feb - Madison, WI - The Sylvee
18th Feb - Chicago, IL - The Riviera Theatre
19th Feb - Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Room
21st Feb - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
22nd Feb - Tulsa, OK - Cain’s Ballroom
24th Feb - Atlanta, GA - The Eastern
25th Feb - Nashville, TN - Brooklyn Bowl
26th Feb - Raleigh, NC - The Ritz
28th Feb - Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore
1st Mar - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Steel
2nd Mar - New York, NY - Webster Hall
4th Mar - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
5th Mar - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
6th Mar - Boston, MA - House of Blues
8th Mar - Montreal, QC - Corona Theatre
9th Mar - Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall
11th Mar - Pittsburgh, PA - Roxian Theatre
12th Mar - Columbus, OH - EXPRESS LIVE!
29th Mar - Kansas City, MO - Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland
31st Mar - Englewood, CO - Gothic Theatre
1st Apr - Englewood, CO - Gothic Theatre
2nd Apr - Salt Lake City, UT - The Union
4th Apr - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
5th Apr - Seattle, WA - Showbox SODO
6th Apr - Vancouver, BC - Vogue Theatre
8th Apr - Oakland, CA - The Fox Theater
9th Apr - Pomona, CA - Fox Theater
10th Apr - San Diego, CA - The Observatory North Park
12th Apr - Los Angeles, CA - The Hollywood Palladium
13th Apr - Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren
15th Apr - Dallas, TX - House of Blues
16th Apr - Austin, TX - Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater
17th Apr - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall
19th Apr - San Antonio, TX - Aztec Theater
20th Apr - Oklahoma City, OK - Jones Assembly
21st Apr - Omaha, NE - The Admiral
23th Apr - Minneapolis, MN - The Armory