Summer Underground is the mind-melding creative partnership of Grant Carey and Chrissy Sandman: two singer-songwriters and multi-instrumentalists whose expansive discography traces their journey from high school friends to musical collaborators to eventual life partners. Growing up in the quiet suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA, Grant and Chrissy were drawn together like magnets. A friendship forged over late night drives and a shared obsession with Sufjan Stevens nurtured their emerging songwriting: the pair made a habit of skipping choir practice to hide out in practice rooms where they’d share a piano bench and trade song ideas. 

Their early discography, including their DIY twee-core debut Beneath This City (2011) and the sprawling conceptual folk epic Honeycomb (2014) showcased their lyrical vulnerability, unexpected arrangements and singular vocal chemistry. By 2015, they were living in NYC where they honed their sound as a four piece (+ Aidan Boardman on bass and Andrew Weir on drums) playing venues like Pianos, Mercury Lounge, Pine Box Rock Shop, and the fabled DIY space David Blaine’s the Steakhouse. In 2016, they embarked on a 2-part cross country tour. With mobile recording gear in tow, they finished final overdubs on their fourth album in hotel rooms along the west coast. More Than a Friend, Less Than a Lover arrived in August of 2016 and featured their finest songwriting yet, backed up by a ‘living room art rock’ sonic palette of piano, drums, strings & horns.

Summer Underground’s latest record ROLLING ROCK (2026), marks a heartfelt homecoming after a decade-long hiatus - a period that saw them falling in love, moving across the country, and experiencing a major loss. The album is a raw, panoramic reckoning with the landscape of their youth, set against a backdrop of green rolling hills, mall parking lots, and suburban back yards. Written during the claustrophobia of the pandemic and amidst the profound grief following the passing of Sandman’s father, ROLLING ROCK marks a return to songwriting with the urgency of youth. Sandman reflects, “Grief is a creative force, and a song is a safe container that can hold wild emotions.” The 12-song album explores themes of family, love, loss and their ever changing relationship to home. Or as Grant half-jokingly describes it: “sex, grief, and rock n’ roll.”

Sonically, ROLLING ROCK is the sound of past, present and future intertwining. “I Miss The Snow” is classic Summer Underground: a gorgeous yearning Appalachian folk tune with Chrissy’s crystalline soprano floating above it. “Lost In The Park” is a signature Carey-penned story-song about getting lost on a hike and features such wry and devastating lines like: “you send me nudes from colorado / while fascists hang their flags out in the yard.” “I Put On My Makeup” is an absolute barn burner about gender dysphoria, while the title track showcases their neo-futurist-classical side with its morphing time signatures, shredded autotuned vocals and freaky arpeggiated pianos. Longtime fans will recognize the toy-piano that triumphantly chimes in during the album’s closer “10 Years Later”. The album brings the living-room intimacy of their early recordings into a new era of sonic clarity thanks to mixing engineer Kal Pipal (Told Slant, Odetta Hartman) who imparts a sensitive but impactful radio ready sheen. 

ROLLING ROCK was released independently on January 16, 2026 along with an accompanying 35mm photo zine, which serves as a visual travel guide to the landscapes that inspired the music.