When a musician puts something out that sounds completely different than anything they’ve ever done, sometimes fans can get upset. It’s not what they are used to. People dislike change. It’s uncomfortable. However, people grow. People change. Their tastes change. Influences, friends, locales. They all change. Polaroid Lovers, the latest album […]
In 2009, friends of mine, Pete and Lindsay—AKA Free Breakfast, hosted a music night every Monday at First Capital Dispensing Company—AKA The Cap. Sometimes, they would play by themselves; other times, friends would join in; and other times, they brought bands in from out of town to play. Back then, […]
Explosions In the Sky perform 2 sold-out shows in DC at the 9:30 Club.
I remember exactly where I was the first time I heard Arctic Monkeys. It was 2004 and I was deployed to Kuwait. Like every other night for six months–after work, chow and the gym–Pat Quinn, Anthony Black and I were sitting in my corner of our tent playing NCAA Football on the PlayStation and listening to BBC’s Radio 1.
For the first time in 54 years to the weekend, a festival was held on the hallowed grounds that hosted Woodstock ’69, and what a weekend it was. Taking it’s name from the bird on the original Woodstock poster, the inaugural Catbird Music Festival was held this past weekend at […]
What does it mean when an artist is described as prolific? How many albums do they need to release? I can’t answer that question but I believe 21 Lp’s, 18 EP’s, 3 live albums and nearly 700 recorded songs qualify. John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats pumps out albums like […]
Indie-Pop Darlings Celebrate the First Birthday of Second Nature Lucius released Second Nature, on April 8th, 2022. The album was their first since the acoustic collection, Nudes was released in 2018 and a lot had changed for frontwomen Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig in those 4 years. The album addresses […]
Normally I am not a fan of solo tours. I want to see the band and feel the energy. However, M.C. Taylor, who writes, records and performs as the face of Hiss Golden Messenger, basically said to me, “Here, hold my beer.” I have seen him with his band twice […]
alt-J’s debut album, An Awesome Wave, was released 10 years ago. 10 YEARS AGO?! I feel like an old man saying I can’t believe it’s been that long already. I was working at Hayman Studio when it came out and Ryan and I listened to it seemingly nonstop for months. […]
The Wood Brothers rolled into Harrisburg and let loose their unique, high energy blend of jazz, blues, gospel and folk music on enthusiastic fans at XL Live. Underneath an I-83 overpass, on an unassuming side street, across from the famous Savannah’s On Hanna strip club, XL Live has become the […]
Performing the first of two sold-out shows at Union Transfer in Philadelphia, Weyes Blood gave the audience an ethereal, theatrical show composed entirely of songs from her critically acclaimed two latest albums – 2019’s Titanic Rising and 2022’s And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow. Weyes Blood is the moniker of […]
Cory Wong must be an alien. Or at least superhuman. Since 2016 he has released fourteen studio albums and seven live albums. And that’s just his solo stuff. He also plays guitar for The Fearless Flyers and Vulfpeck. The latter even has a song named “Cory Wong. Oh, he also […]
Just a few months ago I had never heard of the Viagra Boys. Then all of a sudden my musician friends started bringing them up and telling me how much they loved them. When those friends tell me about a band it piques my interest because they usually hear something […]
This will not be the last time you hear of Danielle Ponder. It was only thirteen months ago that she quit her job as a public defender in her hometown of Rochester New York to follow her dreams of being a full time musician. Her performance at Newport Jazz Festival […]
Grammy-nominated guitarist, bassist, composer, producer, podcast host, guitar teacher, and variety show creator Cory Wong has a lot on his plate. But what he does best is play hype man and conductor on stage with very talented musicians surrounding him. On Feb 24th, he’ll be doing that on stage in […]
Neal Francis has been through some shit. We all have our skeletons in the closet. What is refreshing though, is Francis doesn’t keep them locked up in that closet. He comes right out and tells you about his struggles with addiction. He doesn’t hide the fact that he has had […]
E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES! I heard this chant so many times on Saturday night that I began questioning if I was at Lincoln Financial Field, where the Eagles were hosting a playoff game, or the Fillmore, where Greensky Bluegrass was set to take the stage. Mikaela Davis opened the show on this […]
14 months and 23 shows. That’s what has passed since Chuck Garvey suffered a stroke. Fans of moe. weren’t sure if they would see the guitarist and founding member join the band on stage ever again. It’s been a slow, arduous journey for Chuck, but he is back. On NYE […]
Say what you will about jam bands. Strong opinions are had about them. You love ‘em or you hate ‘em. Say what you will about Umphrey’s McGee – call them a jam band if you must. Lead guitarist, Jake Cinneger, understands how you may label them that and he’s sorta […]
Growing up my dad always had his Nikon with him and no matter what we were doing he was taking photos. He could care less about making artful photographs. He just wanted to capture the moments he shared with his friends and family. I loved dropping off rolls of film […]
It’s a special feeling when you have the chance to see a band play in their hometown. To me the energy is palpable. The crowd is intimately familiar with the band and revved up to welcome them home and the band feeds off of this and maybe some home-cooking, too. […]
November 30th marks the official end of the Atlantic Hurricane season. In the Florida Keys, residents have traditionally celebrated this by dousing hurricane flags in rum and then burning them. In recent years, a new celebration has come to Key West. In 2017, after Hurricane Irma devastated the Keys, Billy […]
