THE GALAXY

Shelley Star is a pop artist born in California and raised in small town Florida, who now resides on Planet Glam full-time. She was introduced to classic rock and pop music when her parents played it at home working on projects, and in the car driving her to dance classes. Shelley grew up singing and harmonizing with her two sisters Caroline and Christyanne, and had her first gig singing at a pizza restaurant at the age of 8. In her pre-teen years, pop punk radio music started to align with her moods, and she began writing her own songs. Shelley Star is heavily influenced by Pop, Rock, and Electronic music, and brings the warmth of her sunny upbringing into her songs.

Alan Xtra is a songwriter and chocolatier from Northern Virginia. He studied Theatre at Ithaca College and co-founded the best little drag show in Fairfax, "The Palace", held every second and fourth Tuesdays at Mackenzie's Tunes and Tonics. Alan was the very first person to join the Galaxy! Shelley saw him capture the crowd with his original synth pop music at The Palace and just had to have him on her team. Alan is an incredibly prolific creator and wonderful collaborator. He also plays in The Hit Singles (synthpop) and Poppers at Brunch (indie queercore). Check out Alan Xtra wherever you stream!

Chris Anderson is an award winning producer and filmmaker from Upstate NY. They create music under the electronic project Tungsten Lungs and are one of the co-founders of the synthpop band The Hit Singles and you2gaze records with Alan Xtra. He has worked with and remixed artists such as Honest (fka Misses Sick07), Moxie Grim, Deluxe Ultra, The Holy Ghost Tabernacle Choir, and Anthony Kannon. Despite the fact that he is stuck in a liminal space 300 miles away and thus cannot directly interact with the world, Anderson can often be found producing and mixing for the band - they started with co-producing and mixing the song “Battery Baby”, and has continued to contribute to production and mixing tasks as time goes on.

James crash landed onto planet earth bringing his musical knowledge and fiery live performances to the Galaxy, fellow DMV-based indie rock band @5thoffour, pop-punk cover band @anighttoforgetband, and the musically versatile duos @b12covers and @jsquared_acoustic. Come catch James’ signature stage moves as he shreds on guitar with us THIS SUNDAY 6/30 at @jamminjava! Tickets available at the link in bio! ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 📸: @mvj.dc

Matt Branner is a local bass player, born and raised in Northern Virginia. After graduating from James Madison University, he was a founding member of the funk band The Elegant Plums, a funk and jam band that played at all your favorite DMV venues. He loves all kinds of music including rock, jazz, funk, hip-hop, classical, and extraterrestrial pop.

Adam is a guitar and bass player from Maryland. He has played for various national touring acts over the past ten years and currently plays guitar for Lights Out by 8, a rock and pop cover band in the DMV.

Travis Braunfeld is a percussionist and multi-instrumentalist from Northern Virginia. He came in as a session musician to write and record drums for our single "I Love Me In California"and was so good that we snagged him to write drums for the rest of the album and play live with us! He studied Music Technology and Sociology at George Mason University and has collaborated with a number of local artists and orchestras including the George Mason Percussion Ensemble, the Old Bridge Chamber Orchestra, and, most recently, indie-rock band Faded Home.

Mariko is an alumna and instructor at Virginia Ballet Company and School. Along with Hannah and Natalia, she is one of Shelley's former dance students! Mariko's creatitivity and dedication are a wonderful addition to the team. She is also currently working on her MA in Secondary Education at George Mason University to become a History teacher.

Natalia Melnikova has been dancing in the DMV area from a young age, and is classically trained mainly in ballet, contemporary, and character dance. They are currently a junior at GMU pursuing a BA in Film and Video Studies. Outside of school and dance, they are very passionate about live music and have performed in several local bands. They crash landed with Shelley Star in summer of 2023, and are very excited to continue to explore the galaxy together!

Hannah Black (she/her) is an out-of-the-box thinker, creator, and performer in the DMV area. Her passions are to push the limits of dance, art, and absurdity in order to inspire deep thought through abstract content. Growing up in Fairfax, Virginia, she first began her artistic endeavors training with Virginia Ballet Company, IMPACT Dance, and Fairfax Academy Dance program. Currently, Black is earning her BFA in Dance at Shenandoah University. Hannah's keen eye for detail has been a crucial part of the co-choreography process! The show wouldn't be the same without her.

Sylva Woolf is a producer and musician from Virginia who exists in the crosshairs of a cultural movement. Rising from the ashes of the “hyperpop genre,” she embodies the forward thinking pop sensibilities and deconstructionist tendencies that characterize the scene while bringing a hyper-detailed and bubbly take to modern pop, punk, and indie rock alike. You can find her as @sylvawoolf on instagram.

A lifetime multi-instrumentalist, creative visionary, and passionate amateur chess player, Asher Now has recorded over 1,000 songs and performed on 4 continents, including at SXSW, the Reason Rally, and Moonromantic Tokyo. He can also crack two eggs at the same time without breaking the yolks. Asher's proudest work is with his fiancé, McKinley Claire, in their band MLEMON (pronounced muh-LEM-on, like m'lady). The two of them run The MLEMON Grove studio out of their home in Northern Virginia, which they share with their cat, Elvis. MLEMON will release their 10th studio album in 2024.

Samuel Rees is a freelance engineer that has worked in the live sound industry for over ten years. He holds his Bachelor's degree in Audio Production from American University, where he is now a professor. He currently works as an audio engineer at Capital One Hall in Tysons, and as the front of house engineer for the touring band SHAED.

Shane grew up in Spotsylvania, Virginia, and has been playing music for the past 12 years. His project King Krash killed it at the Jammin' Java Band Battle prelims, where we first saw and then adopted him. Shane gathers his musical inspiration from classic rock heroes including Eric Clapton, Angus Young, and Mike Bloomfield.

Bryan is a talented queer stylist in Northern Virginia, getting his start executing punky haircuts with vibrant colors at 16, opening his own queer focus salon at 20, and becoming an educator at 21. You can follow the salon, his work, and follow the progression of his newly expanded salon @HappyLab13 Bryan's focus on creating an inclusive space has lead him into teaching allyship within the industry with his friend and business parter, @HappyHairByKathryn - catering uniquely to the queer communities and their allies, resulting in the creation of @HappyLabEdu Keep up with Shelley and her future wig changes as they happen- there is so much in store for the future.

coming soon!

A self-taught dabbler in web design, Marge created her first professional website when establishing herself as an independent movement artist and teacher back in 2018. Her skills had no choice but to grow; the solitude and quarantined mania of Covid pushed her to develop and produce her own virtual yoga content and has been running a succesful on-demand studio ever since 2020. She was honored to assist Shelley in creating her first website and is thrilled to be back in the chair and behind the screen, bringing the artists of the Galaxy to the rest of mankind.