Pittsburgh local band spotlight: Mégane

The indie rock band Mégane — “drawing inspiration from ’70s pop melodies, ’80s post-punk soundscapes and ’90s aesthetics,” according to guitarist Justin Crookston — will release their debut EP “St. Clair” on March 21.

The band, which started in Greensburg, will play a show to celebrate the EP release the same day at Haven in Oakland.

“This EP, regardless of how recently we’ve recorded it, is very much based in the adolescent experience and a spectator’s perspective of lives around us. Songs on the EP such as ‘It Never Entered My Mind,’ ‘Breathing Free’ and ‘Here She Comes’ were formed from fragments of different poems Justin wrote that explore themes of heartbreak, longing, and navigating relationships,” Crookston said. “Songs found on the EP that were written more recently such as ‘Mona Ray’ and ‘Sarah’s Song’ expand upon those themes with more vivid and relatable storytelling.

“Over nearly four years of sitting on songs, forgetting them, remembering them, and rewriting them, we feel that it’s finally time we share some of our earliest stories with an audience broader than the few people who’ve stumbled into our practice sessions.”

One of those people who stumbled into a session might actually become the subject of a song down the road.

“This slightly predates our existence as a public/live band, but once during the period when we would practice in St. Clair park, while playing ‘Here She Comes’ (which has remained nearly identical three years later), we had an older gentleman stomp his way up to us claiming to be from the Department of Public Music,” Crookston said. “Skipping the long boring parts of the story: this guy, Randy, was a genius in the music theory of guitar playing, had great music taste and had a great outlook on life. Now, the infrequent times we see him in passing, we make it a huge deal. Maybe we’ll write a song about it.”

Crookston filled TribLive in on what else we should know about Mégane:

Band: Mégane

Band members: Justin Crookston (guitar, vocals); Spenser Collier (drums); Ryan Leeper (lead guitar, background vocals); Ethan Crosby (bass, keys)

Founding story & origin of band’s name: We got our start in Greensburg as a group of high school friends that always wanted to be in a band. Naming our band after a French girl we met at Disney World when we were young, our music has always reflected our life experiences whether that be the fun moments or the more difficult times. During the post-covid summer of 2022, we started practicing at St. Clair Amphitheater in Greensburg. Although our initial practices were with a makeshift “bucket-and-tote” drum kit and a microphone plugged directly into a guitar amp, we quickly began to develop a unique sound. This led us to writing a full setlist of complete Mégane songs. Eventually, we began playing on our college campus and later becoming part of Pittsburgh’s music scene, playing venues like the Government Center, Club Cafe and The Mr. Roboto Project. These experiences are what inspired our debut EP “St. Clair,” recorded and produced at Duquesne University over the winter of 2024-2025.

For fans of: R.E.M., Peach Pit, Car Seat Headrest

Influences: Electric Light Orchestra, The Strokes, anything we each grew up listening to on the radio

Releases: Debut EP “St. Clair” available March 21 on all streaming services

Next show: “St. Clair” EP release show with The Morning People and Hollow North, March 21, Haven in Oakland. Tickets available online here.

How to find them: Mégane can be found on Instagram, Bandcamp and Apple Music.

Three other Pittsburgh area bands to check out: James Castle (Their first show was the first show most of us attended in the Pittsburgh scene.); Valley View (We’re excited to hear their new sound coming back from their brief pause in shows.); Feeble Little Horse (Does this one need explaining anymore? They’re very inspiring to us as a fellow up-and-coming Pittsburgh alternative band.)

Favorite pizza shop: Jioio’s Pizza in Greensburg. Take the trek out of the city, you won’t be disappointed. Though, if you’re used to a pizza more like Vincent’s, their sweet sauce and pastry crust might subvert your expectations.

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