Red Sun spent years growing together as friends and musicians before releasing its debut album, At Their Very Best. Now, as the band members enter new stages of their lives, they are figuring out what comes next for the group.
“The local music community has been integral to Red Sun,” Quinn said.
Long before the formation of Red Sun, its members shared a love for music. They spent years listening to local artists, going to shows and getting acquainted with musicians in Oklahoma. For Quinn, Ben Quad was one band that had a significant influence on Red Sun and its connection to the local music scene.
Quinn said the band’s rise helped bring more attention to OKC’s underground emo scene. Red Sun eventually played alongside Ben Quad at its EP release show in February 2025 at the 89th Street Collective in Oklahoma City. For Quinn, the show was a full circle moment: He had attended one of Ben Quad’s album release shows at the same venue years earlier. Now, he was performing on the same stage with the band in front of hundreds of fans.
During those years in the local emo music scene, Red Sun refined its sound and deepened its love of music. That eventually led to the release of At Their Very Best. They recorded the songs for the album in summer 2025 and narrowed the project to 10 tracks. The debut single “Slayce” came out in December 2025 as Red Sun prepared for the album’s January 2026 release. The band took inspiration from late 2000s pop-punk music and “tried to write songs as catchy as the era while staying true to the Red Sun feel,” Quinn said.
One of the songs on that project was written before Red Sun was even formed: Quinn wrote “God Bless Luke Wittrock” when he was 17, and said he performed it for years until it finally landed a place on their album when he was 23.
“I wrote that song while on vacation in Colorado with my first band before we all went to college. It is a beautiful song, and the one I am most proud of writing,” Quinn said. The song has followed Red Sun through years of change. Quinn said the track explores the “feeling of never feeling like you change.
“You never want to feel like you are not growing and staying in your old ways,” Quinn said. He believes the feeling of staying stuck in old ways is something many people can relate to.
For new listeners, the lead single “Slayce” offers a glimpse into some of the influences that shape Red Sun’s sound. Quinn compared the song to Fall Out Boy and said the goal was to create a catchy sound. As part of the rollout, the band traveled to Cobblestone Creek in Norman, to film a music video that was heavily inspired by the movie Caddyshack. The song also features a sample from the video game League of Legends, a detail Quinn described as “pretty cool.”
“Red Sun is, first and foremost, a group of friends making music,” Quinn said.
Jokes and onstage fun are part of its live shows. Each member comes from a different background, bringing their own personality to the group and helping shape the music they hold close to their hearts.
Reflecting on the album’s release, Quinn said he is proud of what Red Sun had accomplished.
“I am forever proud and grateful that we got to put one out and to have had such a positive reception. I would encourage anyone who has had the thought to do so, to just give it a try,” Quinn said.
As the members finish school, get engaged and become homeowners, Quinn said they does not have the same drive to “get in a van and travel the Midwest” like they once did.
Although another album remains uncertain, he said the band will continue to play music and that he is sure there will be new songs. For Quinn, creating another album would take time, preparation and care to ensure the project reflects where the band is in its next stage.
This article appears in Not Quite Bedlam.