It’s a late Friday afternoon at Mel’s Diner in Hollywood when Tommy Lloyd walks in wearing black cowboy boots and a leather jacket. He’d just returned from Weekend One at Coachella, where he played guitar live with Billie Joe Armstrong and the band Green Day.
Lloyd was wearing a shirt that said, “Hey Billy, can I play guitar?” in hopes of performing with Armstrong, when he was pulled onto the stage for Green Day’s very last song.
His eyes lit up as he described the moment, still in disbelief. “Walking up those steps and seeing just a sea of people, it’s something that words can’t do justice,” Lloyd said. “He handed me his guitar, and we did the damn thing.”
Within hours, videos of the performance were trending on TikTok. Users flooded the comments asking who Lloyd was, demanding: “Someone find him.”
But for those familiar with the L.A. alt scene, Lloyd is no stranger. He’s the lead singer of 20K Rio, a band he started in 2023 with drummer Luke Caro, after having previously played together in a band called Lip Candy.
Since its founding, 20k Rio has been a passion project for Lloyd, who wants to create rock music that “sounds new.” What he came up with is a vibe he calls “dark pop” – a blend of sounds that draw from many other genres, including alternative, indie, rock, blues, trap and pop.
20k Rio creates a dark sound using heavy synths, distorted guitar and layered vocals.
“We love that dark, thrilling, cinematic vibe, and we feel like all of our songs could be in a movie soundtrack. Even the name 20k Rio sounds like it could be a James Bond mission,” said Lloyd.
When they make music, Lloyd embraces spontaneity, letting his instincts guide his production. By experimenting with more in-studio production sounds, Lloyd feels freer in his creative process.
In the studio, “There’s all these different effects that I can use to produce my vocals. The synths give [our music] a more unique sound because we’re way less limited,” Lloyd said with a big smile.
The result is music that’s hard to define — and that’s the point. “We get flattered when people say, ‘I don’t know how to describe this,” Lloyd said.
That feeling immediately resonated with Valeria Gonzalez, a sophomore music industry major, who discovered the band through their single “Gravedigger.”
“I can hear rock, pop and house influences, and it’s really cool that they are able to pull from lots of genres and create their own unique sound,” Gonzalez said. “Although they’re not the typical band I’d listen to, I can definitely appreciate their musical talent and ability to break genre barriers”.
Behind the scenes, producer and musician Henry Thrill is shaping and elevating 20K Rio’s sound. Thrill has been working with the band since their genesis.
“Tommy [and Luke] come into the studio with unique ideas and an original approach to making music,” Thrill said. “It’s opened my eyes to new ways of thinking when it comes to building sonic landscapes and crafting songs that feel alive.”
“Alive” is exactly what 20K Rio is aiming for as they enter a new chapter. Lloyd finds joy in performing live and for 20K Rio’s upcoming EP, he’s trying to capture his live sound and bring it to the studio.
“There’s been a bit of a disconnect because the studio stuff does sound very EDM and influenced rock, but then when you see us live, it’s hard to replicate that,” Lloyd said. “Our next few songs are a perfect blend of having that raw rock sound mixed with all that modern stuff that we were talking about.”
Thrill agrees. “They’ve spent a lot of time refining their sound, finding a new lane that feels authentic and best represents both who they are and the kind of music they truly love to make,” Thrill said.
Back in Mel’s Diner, Lloyd leans back in the booth. His aesthetic appears dark, but his energy and passion for his music are intense and vibrant.
Lloyd hopes to one day headline Coachella. But for now, he plans to keep chasing the sound that feels like his truth.
“I would love for 20k to be it, to be the band that makes it, and I think it very well could be,” Lloyd said. “We plan to take it as far as we can.”