Dollar Signs Bids Farewell with Slate of Milestone Shows

Despite their veteran status in Charlotte, this year has still seen firsts for pop-rockers Dollar Signs. In April, the five-piece played its initial (and only) wedding. Things did not go smoothly.

The band had set up, the guests were gathered for the show, Dylan Wachman plugged his bass in and — nothing.

“It just didn’t work,” Wachman says. “I started beating [the bass], and … it eventually made contact with whatever was happening on the inside and started working again.”

Punching a bass to life is both very punk rock and quite characteristic of Dollar Signs, a five-piece that has learned through experience to roll with the punches. Band co-founder, songwriter and vocalist Erik Button says that, ever since the group’s earliest days when he and multi-instrumentalist Luke Gunn launched the project as a punk folk-duo in 2009, things would often screw up onstage.

“Now when things go wrong, we know exactly how to handle it,” Button notes. “We’re … failure forward. We make people feel like they can do this, too … which they can.”

As Dollar Signs expanded, with Wachman and drummer Arion Chamberlain joining in 2012 and guitarist Tommy McPhail coming into the fold in 2017, the beloved band’s relatability became part of its appeal to enthusiastic fans.

Dollar Signs’ most-loved songs boast roaring guitars, triumphant horns and rollicking choruses, but Button’s bluff everyman vocals stand out amid the ensemble’s bold musical virtuosity. In the middle of the dance floor, he’s that socially awkward friend who envelops you in a beery but warm embrace that means so much.

All of this may explain the shock, sadness and disappointment fans have felt this year as Dollar Signs embarked on its final tour, with plans to disband following a slate of three final shows scheduled for The Milestone from Dec. 11-13.

The consecutive gigs, which are long-since sold-out, are billed as “the graduation of Dollar Signs” after 16 years together, pointing to further adventures in each band member’s respective life. Yet not everyone has seen it that way.

“[People] were in our DMs and in our comments acting like … our band is dying,” Wachman says. “They’re talking to us as if we had sentenced it to [an] execution. It was like, ‘Why would you take this away from us?’”

The end of Dollar $igns

All band members are still friends and the breakup is amicable, Button says, adding that the group decided to wrap things up in November 2024, knowingly spending 2025 as their last year as members of Dollar Signs. The band put together one last DIY tour in February with stops including Chicago, Atlanta and Gainesville, Florida. With less pressure to continue as a band and no corporate interference — the group split with its record label after releasing its 2021 LP Hearts of Gold — Button calls it the best Dollar Signs tour.

“Some of my favorite memories over the course of Dollar Signs being a band have been in 2025,” he says.

The main reason for the split is that band members are each in different stages in their lives and their goals have shifted. In addition, the band saw no need to keep together for financial reasons, since everyone has full-time jobs that pay better and more steadily than the music does.

Read More: Prankster Punks Dollar Signs Have ‘Hearts of Gold’

“Spiritually, we accomplished everything we had ever wanted to,” Wachman notes. “We released a record on vinyl, traveled all around the country and played with bands we considered heroes and then became friends with them.”

Button cites the more classic rock ‘n’ roll, less kitchen-sink-punk sound of the band’s most recent album, Legend Tripping (2023), on which he says the band changed musically into something that was no longer Dollar Signs.

“We achieved all the goals that we set out to do as Dollar Signs, and we think it’s better to go out now,” Button says.

Initially the band planned one big farewell show at a bigger venue, but then the band members asked themselves what venue would be the most fun for them to play. The answer was obvious.

“The Milestone has been our home,” Button says. “We recorded our first two full band albums there, The Death of the Party (2014) and Yikes (2015).”

Wachman notes the striking symmetry of the decision. The band played its earliest shows at The Milestone, then graduated to 1,000-seat houses opening for national acts, only to return to its roots at The Milestone come December.

“It feels like we went out in the world, we had our adventure as a band and … we’re coming home,” he says.

Button likes the math of doing three smaller Milestone shows instead of one larger gig elsewhere. It allows the band to include more of their friends, plus newer bands they want to support, on consecutive nights.

Dollar Signs’ nine openers over three nights include Andy The Doorbum, Saintlogic and Alexa Jenson on Dec. 11; Michael Cera Palin, The Eradicator and Late Bloomer on Dec. 12; and Peach Rings, Te’Jani and Bad Idols on Dec. 13.

Read More: Dollar Signs Drop New Album Full of Pop-Punk Folk Tales

The setlist for all three gigs contains 55-60 songs and is still not finalized. It will include at least one song from each of the band’s releases, including the band’s compilation LP of songs from 2011-2013, The Wonder Beers. It’s certain that the Dec. 13 show will include the band’s most popular song, the heartrending alternative love ballad “I Hope I Don’t Fuck This Up” from 2014:

“And she said, ‘Don’t be so hard on yourself/ You fucking idiot, I don’t need anybody else/ You stupid asshole, I’m for you/ And you are for me/ But you’ve gotta get over your insecurities!’/ And that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me…” Button sings on the track.

“That song has been in every single show we’ve ever played,” Button says. “I feel … the most emotionally tied to it. Playing that for the last time is going to be pretty hard to get through.”

Erik Button finds his muse in NoDa

December is a particularly momentous month for Button. Besides bidding farewell to the band that shaped much of his life at The Milestone, he will mark another milestone at the Evening Muse.

Button had just started writing songs under the name Dollar Signs in 2009 when he went to the Muse to test out his material before an audience at an open mic he heard about. The following year, he began a trial run hosting Find Your Muse Open Mic at the Evening Muse. A self-described “snot-nosed, 20-year-old kid” at the time, he constantly expected to be fired because he didn’t think he was very good at it.

Fifteen years later, Button is still there, hosting the ever-popular Find Your Muse on Mondays.

“The open mic was where I cut my teeth,” he says. “I learned so much about songwriting by watching other people revise their songs.”

Button plans to celebrate the anniversary on Monday, Dec. 8 by inviting his musician friends to come out and play the open mic. He jokes that he’s considering renting a throne for the occasion.

“I don’t think there’s any other open mic like it,” Button says. “You get to see people trying out their songs, then they’re going out and playing shows regularly. It’s magical and inspiring.”

The open mic was where many budding Charlotte performers have met Button and his bandmates. Several say Button’s encouragement did much to fuel their nascent careers.

Singer-songwriter-producer Te’Jani was 18 when he started attending Find Your Muse.

“Erik was always encouraging,” he tells Queen City Nerve. “He has seen me at every stage [of my career], from open mics to learning how to produce and engineer to going on my first tour and selling out my first show.”

Read More: Multifaceted Musician Te’Jani Becomes the ‘Life of the Party’

Te’Jani also recorded and produced Dollar Sign’s Legend Tripping LP.

Singer-songwriter Alexa Jenson, who opens for Dollar Signs on the band’s final night at the Milestone along with Te’Jani, said she was 15 when she first met Erik and Arion at the weekly open mic.

“Erik was immediately excited and interested in what I was doing musically,” Jensen says. “He was always really supportive.”

A beloved band’s legacy

With or without Dollar Signs, Button is a busy man. He’s a film professional specializing in short-form documentaries and a three-time regional Emmy-winning video editor. He says he’s going to continue hosting the open mic as long as it remains fun, and right now it’s still a blast.

Button also admits that Find Your Muse is going to become particularly important for his musical development and inspiration in the wake of Dollar Signs’ dissolution.

“I need to figure out what kind of music I want to make in the future,” Button says. “I’m not done making art. I have to create. It’s just a thing inside of me.”

Having designed Dollar Signs’ visuals for years, Wachman works as a designer and digital marketing specialist who has recently created graphics for the Independent Picture House and Charlotte Film Festival. Like Button, he has been exploring new musical avenues, honing his audio production skills.

“I’m fully exploring every bit of music that I’m interested in … outside the world of Dollar Signs,” he says, adding that his upcoming music will be heavier and noisier. “It feels a bit more foreign, but spiritually closer to me.”

Gunn works in the film industry as a production sound mixer. He’s also an accomplished midfielder in hurling, a sport that can be described as Irish field hockey.

“Luke is obsessed with [hurling]. He’s good at it and he travels to games,” Wachman says.

Button hopes Gunn, who sings and plays trumpet, synths and keyboards in Dollar Signs, will continue to make music, as well.

‘He’s probably the best musician that I know,” Button says. “Luke’s a genius.”

Chamberlain is a manager at Evening Muse, while McPhail works as an associate social media director at digital agency Everybody At Once.

“Tommy’s also working on some music,” Button says. “I keep bugging him about playing at the open mic.”

Neither Button or Wachman are ruling out musical collaborations by Dollar Signs members in groups of two or three in the future, but they make no promises.

Read More: Charlotte’s Best Beer-Inspired Songs From Local Artists

“It’s important for us to not be a member of Dollar Signs for a bit,” Button says.

With the band’s final shows coming up quickly, Wachman and Button reflect on their time with Dollar Signs.

“Because of Dollar Signs, this group of friends, I have been able to live the life of a world traveling musician, and to grow and … be an artist,” Wachman offers.

“I think that you should not be precious with your art,” Button says. “I think you should make it impulsively and share it impulsively as well. The thing that art gives you back is the joy of making it.

“There is a Kurt Vonnegut quote [that says] if you write a poem and then light that piece of paper on fire, you still gain something positively out of the creation of it,” he continues.  “I truly, deeply believe that I understand myself better because I made art, and I made art with my friends and people that I respect and love.”

Button reiterates that anyone can do what Dollar Signs has done, insisting that they should. However, there are many local musicians who have been inspired and even nurtured by Dollar Signs, some who push back on Button’s assertion that Dollar Signs’ distinctly original accomplishments are within everyone’s grasp.

“[Dollar Signs] found success by being themselves,” says Joshua Robbins. Robbins, co-owner of Self Aware Records, bassist with Late Bloomer, and Queen City Nerve contributor.

The problem with a lot of modern music is that it wants to shave the edges off a band, and that’s not the case with Dollar Signs, Robbins explains.

“They’re not a concept,” he says “They’re distinctive because they’re who they are. Eric couldn’t help but be Eric, and [that’s true] for all of them.”

“They care genuinely about their fans,” Jenson offers. “There’s a level of love and realness that they bring to their music and their performances.”

“[Dollar Signs] has a really good way of inviting everyone in and making them feel like they’re part of a community,” Te’Jani adds. “They establish a pretty sick ecosystem around them.”

That ecosystem of fandom may fade with the band’s passing, but the impact and influence of Dollar Signs will likely remain in Charlotte and beyond for some time.

Read More: Alexa Jenson Builds on Nascent Career with Rock Project

In today’s image-conscious, market-tested and TikTok-ready music industry, Dollar Signs embrace fallible humanity with ramshackle grace and self-deprecating humor. Erik, Dylan, Luke, Arion and Tommy come across exactly as they are: talented multifaceted artists who are relatable to fans as friends and colleagues, not a curated cadre of tastemakers, influencers and unattainable cultural avatars.

Going forward, there will be few to approach the emotional and human value of Dollar Signs.