Posts by Gary Schwind

Mental health is always an important topic. However, mental health issues are heightened in May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month. Brian Mackey is an artist for whom mental health issues are very important. He wrote “Saturday Night Sleeping” for his son who died of a heroin overdose. With the release of the song, Mackey […]

The Rumjacks is a Celtic punk band whose members live in five different countries. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the band was able to gather in Milan to record the new album Hestia (named after the Greek goddess of home and hearth), which was released earlier this year. It is the fifth studio album from the […]

Brett Newski is a singer-songwriter from Wisconsin who has supported artists such as Pixies and Violent Femmes. He is also the host of the Dirt from the Road podcast, which has seen guests such as Dashboard Confessional and Frank Turner. If that weren’t enough, he has also written a book called It’s Hard to Be […]

Blueanimal is a band that has its origins in an Orlando band called Redwax. Luke Elms (guitar, vocals) and Matt Lube (bass) branched out from Redwax nd got together to perform duo shows. Those duo shows grew into Blueanimal. The band’s new album is entitled Figment That Was Me and it is that rare entity: a […]

The Accidentals formed in Traverse City, Michigan, in 2011 when Savannah Buist and Katie Larson got together for a class orchestra project. The next year, the band released its first album Tangled Red and Blue that explored themes of feminism amidst folk melodies. The folk melodies remain on the group’s new EP Time Out (Session […]

The Shootouts is a band that came together because of a love of classic country music among its members. You don’t have to listen to much of their music to hear how classic country has influenced the band’s sound. On their new album Bullseye, the band continues to explore not only classic country, but also […]

Amigo the Devil is an artist from Austin who is something of a Renaissance Man. On top of being a musician with something of a cult following, he is also a Master Brewer and attended culinary school. He is known for singing about dark themes, and that hasn’t changed on the new album Born Against. […]

Like a lot of musicians, Ryanhood is a band that started playing on streets. Fortunately for them, a booking agent saw them perform at Quincy Market in Boston. Shortly after that, the duo found itself in demand on campuses across the country. For the last decade, the band has shared the stage with artists such […]

Jobbaloon is a group from Detroit that defines itself as an audio-visual experience. So how does that work when you’re just listening to the music without seeing them perform it? Well, it gives you enough of an experience to get some understanding of what the group does. Also, since the visual aspect is missing from […]

The Blips is a band from Birmingham, Alabama, that comprises five frontmen. The band came together when Will Stewart of Timber asked some friends to collaborate on writing some songs. He was Joined by Taylor Hollingsworth, Wes McDonald, Eric Wallace, and Chris McCauley. The band formed in late 2019. By the time of the COVID […]

Like a lot of artists, Sweetlove’s introduction to music came in a church. That gave her a good background and preparation for singing backing vocals for Grammy-nominated and Tony-winning artists. Also, like many other artists, Sweetlove found herself creating as a way to deal with some pretty serious emotion. The new EP Goodnight, Lover was born […]

Esther Rose is a singer-songwriter whose sound, despite being steeped in classic country, is very much her own. It has earned her a spot opening for Nick Lowe as well as being asked to sing on Jack White’s latest album.  Her new solo album How Many Times was written over the course of two years […]

When you think of soul music, you probably think about places like Detroit and Philadelphia, not Lincoln, Nebraska. However, Lincoln is home to Josh Hoyer and Soul Colossal, a band that plays ultra-groovy soul music that is influenced by the sounds of Motown and Stax. The new album Natural Born Hustler was produced by Eddie […]

Gentleman’s Dub Club is a band that has moved pretty easily between genres in its 14 years together. From reggae to dub to jazz (with some electronic touches), the band has covered some musical ground. Down to Earth is the band’s eighth studio album. With the band being locked down and unable to tour, the […]

Rambling has long been a common bond among musicians. Countless songs have been written about the wanderlust musicians have experienced. Melissa Carper is a musician for whom wanderlust is nothing unusual. She has plied her trade in New York, Austin, New Orleans, and Nashville, among other places. She has been part of bands like Sad […]

boWsER is a band from the Gold Coast of Australia. You could describe the band in any number of ways, but all of those ways would include the word rock. It is a rock band with some bits of metal, psychedelic, and groovy heavy rock.  The band’s new album Whispers from the Wicker Man has […]

It’s difficult to come up with a succinct label for some bands. Honshu Wolves from Bern, Switzerland, is one of those bands. The band’s sound is described as “delta blues desert gospel space punk”. Admittedly, it’s a bit of a mouthful, but it is a pretty good description of what this band does. In fact, […]

Jaz Elise is an upcoming singer from Jamaica. Her contemporary style has led her to become part of the In.Digg.Nation Collective (founded by Protoje) alongside other artists like Lila Iké and Sevana. With a Jamaican artist and Protoje behind the project, you might expect a reggae album, and though her debut EP The Golden Hour, […]

One of the great things about music is that you never know where your next favorite artist is going to come from. Sara Petite is a singer-songwriter who was raised in a tulip-farming town in Washington. She now calls San Diego home. But more than just calling it home, she has found it to be […]

Songs and albums about love are nothing new in music. Although, with as contentious as our society has become, an album about love may seem like something of a novelty. Reed Turchi’s new solo endeavor I’ve Chosen Love is an album in two parts. The first part is the one that centers on love. The […]