That’s right, this past weekend many of us took the yearly journey to Cumberland, MD for the Delfest Bluegrass Festival. This years Fest boasted excellent weather great music and lots of positive interactions. The best part is to catch up and renew friendships and to make new friends that turn out to […]
There are not enough words for love in English; Niall Connolly has found a way around our pretty language’s greatest deficit. With the songs of The Patience of Trees, Connolly has written a collection that explores all the sides of what it means to feel deeply: about a lover, about […]
Main Photo by Gary Gearhart The 930 Club and I go way back. I have seen and photographed countless shows in this beloved venue. However, I missed out on the original 930 Club venue. I was a bit too young for shows in the 80’s but I can only imagine […]
@thenational return to DC to play two sold out shows at @theanthemdc
The much beloved indie-mod-pop band Chisel disbanded in 1997. I saw the band perform only twice before they split (both shows within months of each other in 1996.) On Saturday night, Chisel returned to The Black Cat in Washington, DC with support from DC’s Bed Maker and noise rock-ish New […]
Just like that festival season begins. With the new season comes the 10th Charm City Bluegrass Festival. This year in a new location. Although it has been held at Union Craft Brewery before, it was not held in Union Crafts newest location. Friday The bands performed both inside the brewery […]
I remember hearing The Walkmen years ago with a couple of friends who were already into them. I think there was an unspoken competition to see who could find the next cool band or record. I liked what I was hearing, but it wasn’t until their second album, Bows + […]
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs brought their iconic brand of punk-infused rock and roll to the nation’s capital for the first time in over a decade, igniting the stage at the Anthem for an unforgettable evening of music and mayhem. The sold-out crowd packed the venue to capacity, eagerly anticipating the […]
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 […]
Sometimes music can pull you out of the day to day perils of a stressful busy life. This is exactly what happened to me on Friday evening at The Manor Mill in Monkton, Maryland. After I was worn out from a stress filled day of work, I was treated to […]
photo by Andrew Palermo After, what was referred to as an “extreme hiatus” in 2013, The Walkmen – quintet of Hamilton Leithauser, Paul Maroon, Matt Barrick, Peter Bauer, and Walter Martin – are back! And they are headed to Philly for not one, or two, but THREE shows at the […]
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 […]
During my youth, cruising the back roads and listening to music was a thing that we all did for entertainment. There was no Google or Spotify or even for that matter personal computers, yes I’m old! So when a song came on the radio you had to wait until the […]
There have been a bevy of bands over the last few years that seem to inject much needed energy into this thing that is rock ‘n roll, and the one I’ve been looking forward to seeing but hadn’t – that is, until Friday night – was the Dublin-based The Murder […]
This stupid world – it’s killing me / This stupid world – is all we have What can you say about a band who, for the better part of 40 years has been a driving force in American independent rock and roll and, along with contemporaries like Sonic Youth and […]
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. […]
This past Saturday night, I found myself in Monkton, Maryland at the historic Manor Mill. I was not there to view the beautiful art produced by local artisans or to participate in the many classes they offer, but to see a band called Whiskey Feathers in the Mills music space […]
The Tedeschi Trucks Band rocked the house at the Warner Theatre in Washington DC on the final evening of their 6 night run at the historic venue. The band’s blend of soulful blues and southern rock had TTB fans dancing in their seats from start to finish. Led by the […]
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 […]
This story ends in a hug. — — — — — We disembarked from our midnight flight into Memphis with a few thinly-packed bags and my camera, ears ringing from the pressure of a storm-torn trip. A woman met us outside the airport Comfort Inn, her tooth crooked, hips bent, […]
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 […]
Flogging Molly is a force to be witnessed. Led by Dave King, the band is steeped in both Irish folk and the punk rock ethos of The Clash. It’s a mix that’s kept this band going strong for nearly 30 years. And with a new album, Anthem, having been released […]
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 […]
On a chilly Friday night, Low Cut Connie rolled into Towson to heat things up at The Recher. Adam Weiner – band leader and driving force behind the Philly based band – is one heck of a showman, only matched by his boogie-woogie howl and that Jerry Lee Lewis meets […]
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 […]
Dave Pirner, the principal songwriter and longest member of Soul Asylum, had paid his dues long ago. Co-founding the band in 1981 as Loud Fast Rules, the name was changed to Soul Asylum a few years later before their debut LP in 1984. For forty plus years, Pirner has crafted […]
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 […]
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. […]
Wrapping up 2022 feels like a real return to not only great live music, but for me it was the start of many firsts. From seeing my daughter experiencing her first concerts – caught up in the thrill of live music – to having the chance to step foot in […]
There are some bands that are literally the soundtrack to your life, and They Might Be Giants would have to be one of those top bands for me. My love for TMBG goes back to their 1990 release, Flood. I don’t even remember how I found them – I likely […]
