\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div> \t\t\t\t\tHolzman and Hughes at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Ekko Astral<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tReflecting on the fallout, Holzman recognizes the criticisms of her decision to go through the court system. \u201cClearly there was some sort of karma going on with respect to my re-education about how to better stand for the values that I do hold,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \n\tWhen it comes to Topshelf, they say the label\u2019s decision to cease representing them came as a surprise. \u201cI think at the end of the day, it was a financial and emotionally driven decision for them,\u201d Holzman says. \u201cI can\u2019t think of any other reason.\u201d (Topshelf declined to comment further for this story.)<\/p>\n \n\tHolzman and Hughes didn\u2019t foresee this future, but note that the pressure to succeed strained all members, current and former. After Pink Balloons<\/em>, Ekko Astral went from playing to a few hundred people to opening for major punk bands in front of 2,500 people. \u201c[We\u2019d go] from Orlando to Pensacola, two in the morning, only to drive to New Orleans at 10 a.m., on four hours of sleep,\u201d Hughes says. \u201cIt started to take its toll on people.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn the months that followed, Ekko Astral parted ways with former bassist Guinevere Tully, who makes music under the name Rosslyn Station, as well as former guitarist Sam Elmore. Hughes believes their former bandmates viewed Jae as their employer due to her position as Ekko\u2019s frontwoman, songwriter, and quasi-manager. \u201cI am someone who tries to do my best and be a kind person at all times, but I\u2019m also a journalist,\u201d Holzman says, referring to her ways of handling things as \u201ccurt\u201d; she recalls with regret one occasion when she yelled at Elmore. \u201cThat [time] was challenging and I was handling it all on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tUltimately, she says, \u201cThe people that were in this band wanted to be in a band, but they didn\u2019t want to be in a band with each other. I think everyone wants to just find peace and tranquility from one another \u2026 That seems to me to be what\u2019s best for everyone, and that includes both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tHughes feels the Ekko Astral name has been tarnished, but he isn\u2019t thrilled to be starting over. \u201cI was in denial, because I had too much pride about what we had built and what we were sitting on,\u201d he says, lamenting The Beltway<\/em>\u2019s scrapping. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to just give that up, because to me it felt like starting from zero \u2026 [but] the only way we can really move forward with all this being said is to just make something new if we so choose.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tEkko Astral planned their Aug. 27 show in D.C. to commemorate the end of the band.\u00a0(They are also planning a free outdoor show in New York on Aug. 22 to make up for a recent date that was postponed due to a heat wave.) They\u2019ll be auctioning off the painting that appears as the album art for Pink Balloons<\/em>, and all proceeds from the show will go toward funding trans health services at the D.C. non-profit clinic Whitman-Walker Health<\/a>. The setlist will be \u201cdiscography-spanning,\u201d featuring a cover of a song by fellow DMVer Father John Misty, as well as The Beltway<\/em>\u2019s opening track, which Jae particularly cherishes. \u201cThe first song on Beltway<\/em> [is] \u2018Body Generation.\u2019 It was originally titled \u2018My Body Is an Abortion\u2019 \u2026 That song was something that has always been very deeply personal to me and is rooted in trying to stay alive and exist as a trans woman.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tHolzman and Hughes in Brooklyn, May 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGriffin Lotz for Rolling Stone<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tShortly after the final show, Holzman and Hughes are reuniting with Jeremy Snyder in the studio. Their relationship with the producer continues to be a great source of pride, and Hughes likens it to a child trying to impress their dad. \u201cHis taste definitely at first glance can be a little off-putting. But then you realize like most things \u2026 there\u2019s something really cool underneath it if you can strip away the harsh artifice \u2026 I just also personally love a producer that\u2019s just gonna make fun of me if my stuff is too cheesy.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tHughes plans to move to New York soon, while Holzman will remain in D.C., which she describes as her forever home. They\u2019re ready to move forward, together, and also in their new musical collaborations; Hughes with longtime friend Gus Mirabella, and Holzman with a new band of fellow trans women which she\u2019s keeping under wraps for now.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ekko-astral-BK.jpg\")
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