The Backfires, who play New World Brewery in Tampa, Florida on Feb. 15, 2025. Credit: Photo via thebackfires.com

Opting to study abroad in London may have been the best decision Alex Gomez ever made. That’s when he met guitarist Harry Ruprecht at a Battle Of The Bands event, and the two hit it off well enough to introduce each other to some musical friends on both sides of the Atlantic.

Five years after a debut EP, the whole of The Backfires has relocated to Manhattan’s West Village and last month, it dropped its debut album This Is Not An Exit, an anthemic collection that allows Gomez and friends’ British indie influences to seep through the cracks.

California indie-rock quartet Foxtide opens for The Backfires’ Bay area debut.

Tickets to see The Backfires play the music hall at New World Brewery in Tampa on Saturday, Feb. 15 are still available and start at $15.