Ghosts, Grief and Folk-Punk with Sideswept Bangs

By Dakota Parks for Inweekly

There are ghosts in Morgan Coby’s songs. Some take the shape of grief. Others linger as shame, loneliness or the ache of wondering whether you deserve healthy love. Through their Pensacola-based indie-folk and folk-punk project Sideswept Bangs, Coby weaves those threads into songs that invite listeners to find pieces of themselves in the music.

“Maybe you’ve also lost someone close to you, or maybe you’ve felt lonely and scared, searching for hope in a hopeless situation,” Coby said. “Not quite in the same way I have, but in a way that’s similar enough that you don’t feel quite so alone.”

Sideswept Bangs began in isolation during COVID-19, when Coby returned home to Birmingham, Ala. after college life abruptly came to a halt. Already carrying the grief of losing a long-distance partner to suicide the year before, songwriting became less about making music and more about surviving.

“I found songwriting to be really cathartic,” Coby said. “Sharing my music online gave me a way to stay connected with people during a time of isolation.”

Although music had always been part of her life—from choir and piano to years of playing saxophone and bassoon—it wasn’t until 2020 that songwriting became her primary creative outlet. The songs that emerged were deeply introspective.

“For a while, mental health kind of felt like a matter of survival, like if I couldn’t keep my head above the water so to speak, I wouldn’t see the other side of my early 20s,” Coby said. “So, I think that’s why a lot of my songs are about wanting acceptance and companionship. I knew that going at it alone was an impossible fight.”

Those feelings found their way into Coby’s first album “Waterworks,” particularly in songs like “Stain” and “Out of Place,” which capture the fear of pushing people away simply by needing them.

“Those songs grapple with needing people to lean on and vent to in a difficult time and feeling guilty for doing so,” she said. “It was kind of about feeling like too much and not enough at the same time. Feeling like you’re not worthy of love in new relationships because of the mistakes you’ve made in the past.”

Having lived their entire life in the South, each place they’ve called home has left its own imprint on both their songwriting and sense of self.

Growing up queer in Birmingham, Coby often felt unsafe being fully themself. Tallahassee, where they moved for college, was the first place they began coming out of their shell. Relocating to Pensacola in 2024 helped them discover the kind of person they wanted to become.

“The Pensacola community has been one of the most accepting places I’ve lived by far, which is strange to say when thinking about the history of this town as a hotbed for radical evangelism and political violence,” Coby said. “But it really compelled me to branch out in my songwriting and explore myself in a way I never thought possible before.”

The move also led them deeper into the folk-punk community.

“When I first started booking live shows as someone who is bisexual and transfeminine, I found that a lot of the singer-songwriter spaces in Northwest Florida cater to predominantly straight white crowds,” Coby said. “I never really felt at home in those spaces.”

Instead, they found belonging in alternative scenes.

“What really drew me to folk-punk more than anything is the DIY ethos and the radical acceptance that comes with being a countercultural movement,” they said. “So many artists I look up to are trans, queer or have otherwise been historically excluded from popular songwriting spaces. There are lived experiences that someone who isn’t queer will simply never have, and those are the stories I think are worth telling.”

The scene’s roots in DIY organizing, mutual aid and anti-capitalism gave Coby a new framework for understanding one of their most popular songs, “Beggars.”

Written while living in Tallahassee, the song grew out of witnessing the city’s housing crisis and the stark divide between college students and unhoused residents. Rather than offering easy answers, the song questions what it means to own so much while others have so little.

“I’ve always been a big collector of various things like vinyl records, trading cards, even license plates. ‘Beggars’ is kind of a critical assessment of my role in that issue: how can I have so much when there are people who have next to nothing?” Coby said. “Is getting rid of it all actually solving anything, or is it just me trying to quiet my own conscience?”

Playing the song in folk-punk spaces gave it new meaning.

“I’ve seen ‘No One Turned Away for Lack of Funds,’ on so many show flyers and ‘Pay What You Can’ written across merch tables,” they said. “For all the struggles and hardships people in this scene are facing, they’re finding joy not in expensive material things, but in playing shows, connecting with others, creating for the sake of creation and carving out a space where money is kinda meaningless.”

During their upcoming benefit show at The Handlebar, that spirit of mutual aid will be central. Sideswept Bangs joins Caca Del Diablo, Mourning Glories, Bangarang Peter and Spider Bucket to support the Ellis-Chambers family following the loss of their daughter, Aleka. All proceeds from the show go to the family.

Coby is also preparing to release a new EP, ‘The Yips,’ featuring songs that have become staples of recent live performances. For anyone wondering whether their own songs are worth sharing, Coby hopes their story offers encouragement.

“Your bedroom indie project doesn’t have to stay in the bedroom,” they said. “Go hit up an open mic night, meet people, book shows, play to your friends and tell them to bring their friends. If you’re passionate about what you do, it’ll shine through, and the right people will care about it.”

Sideswept Bangs

@sidesweptbangsmusic

Benefit Show and Celebration of Life for the Family of Aleka Ash Ellis-Chambers

WHAT: A benefit show featuring Sideswept Bangs, Caca Del Diablo, Mourning Glories, Bangarang Peter and Spider Bucket

WHEN: 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8

WHERE: The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St.

COST: Suggested $5-20 donation

DETAILS: @thehandlebar850