Posts by Matt Hoffman

Before the private jets, the billion-dollar hospitality empire, and the globally recognized shorthand for coastal escapism, Jimmy Buffett was, in the words of guitarist Roger Bartlett, “a mere mortal.” Bartlett was the first-ever member of the Coral Reefer Band, and he is one of many past Buffett collaborators to speak in Occupational Hazard: The First […]

In the improvisational circuit, the rhythm section is often the foundation upon which others build their dreams. But on the self-titled debut from Animonic, bassist Chris DeAngelis and drummer Adrian Tramontano step out from the supporting roles they’ve played in powerhouses like Kung Fu, The Breakfast, and Reprise to build something entirely for themselves. The […]

Philadelphia is a city that prides itself on family, a sentiment that was turned up to 11 last night at a packed house Johnny Brenda’s. The “Hardcore Friends Show,” presented by Matt DiMaio for his 9th annual birthday benefit, was every bit a living retrospective of a twenty-year friendship with some of the artists who […]

What do you get when you cross Smell the Glove-era Spinal Tap with a load of 1975 Ted Nugent, a henry of early ‘70s Lemmy Kilmister, and an 8 ball of mid-‘80s Tommy Lee, then dress the band up in peak “Macho Man” Randy Savage garb, surround them with alluring ballerinas, and give them all […]

On October 16th, David Byrne brought his Who Is the Sky? concert tour to Philadelphia’s Metropolitan Opera House (for the first of three shows), beautifully restored in 2018, and the perfect stage for the legendary 73-year-old polymath to present his latest live multimedia experience. Who Is the Sky? marks Byrne’s first album of new music […]

It feels reasonable to say that millions of people know Mike Viola’s music and could recite a lot of his lyrics but have no idea that he wrote it or who he even is. (I’ll unpack that in a moment.) But on October 15th, at the legendary John & Peter’s in New Hope, Pennsylvania, songwriter […]

Ballad of a Starving Artist, the debut LP from New Jersey’s The Modbeats, serves both as a love letter to the early days of rock and roll and a candid reflection on modern life in the business. On Friday, October 10th, at Kung Fu Necktie, in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood, the Asbury Park-based quartet delivered a […]

A lot has changed since 2008, the last time Rilo Kiley played Philadelphia before what would turn out to be a nearly two-decade-long hiatus from performing together. Back then, the oldest member of the band was 35; now he’s eligible to make catch-up contributions to his 401(k). (Boy, I hope musicians have defined contribution plans!) […]

For over a decade, Philadelphia’s Muscle Tough, the self-described “futuristic funk fusion trio” of Ross Bellenoit (guitar), Jonathan Colman (bass), and Joe Baldacci (drums/synth), has been carving out a unique sonic space. Known for their instrumental jazz/funkadelic that echoes the likes of Living Colour, Lotus, and the Wayne Krantz trio, they deliver “out there” grooves […]

There can be artistry in constructing an evening of music, similar to how a band might approach building a setlist, where the structure of the night functions as a conductor directing an orchestra. This premise underlies Dual Pathways, a Philly festival that held its second annual iteration on Saturday, May 17th. It touted more than […]

It’s been said that in space, no one can hear you scream; but sometimes you can feel the echo of vibration. From the outer reaches of the star Melodious, a spectral sound alchemist known as Blanc du Blanc has partnered with dub pioneer Scientist (a.k.a. Hopeton Overton Brown) to reimagine dub music as an interstellar […]

Ashton Freeman (@souperfruit) and Bugger (a.k.a. Michael Melchiondo @bugg.e.r), the progeny of Gene and Dean Ween, respectively, made headlines last week when they announced a performance on March 28th in Lambertville, New Jersey, at Soupçon Salon, a small art gallery and event space at the back of a coffee bar/ice cream shop and below a […]

On March 14th, the Brant Bjork Trio offered an evening of pure stoner rock to a sold-out crowd at John & Peter’s in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Bjork’s name is synonymous with the Palm Desert Scene, and he tours in a formidable trio that includes Mario Lalli, bassist and co-founder of pioneering bands Yawning Man and […]

Clad in a brown suede tuxedo jacket with a black peak collar and five-button surgeon’s cuffs, the legendary Stanley Jordan graced the stage at 118 North in Wayne, Pennsylvania, on February 2nd, 2025, with a performance that was both a retrospective and a revelation. Forty years after releasing his groundbreaking debut album, Magic Touch, Jordan […]

The Dirk Quinn Band didn’t just play the Beatles’ Abbey Road at the Zlock Performing Arts Center in Newtown, PA on January 31st, 2025; they inhabited it, exploring its hidden corners and presenting a fresh perspective that both honored the original and showcased their own unique musical identity. The show constituted a conversation between generations […]

420 Funk Mob, led by Parliament-Funkadelic’s own Mike “Clip” Payne, is ushering in the next era of Funk with their debut studio album, The Emperor Has No Clones. But while the album is flush with P-Funk veterans, don’t expect a nostalgia trip: it’s a full-fledged funk revolution, a 14-track testament to the power of groove […]

Reed Mathis has built an impressive career and body of work by following his intuition as an instrumentalist and classically trained musician. For over thirty years, this intuition has taken the musical polymath to countless interesting places, from experimental jazz (Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey) to jamgrass (Tea Leaf Green), classical music (Electric Beethoven) to the […]

In pre-Internet times, teenagers used to make time capsules in school. (Nowadays, I guess kids just gather ‘round the Wayback Machine?) For the uninitiated, you’d fill a box with items from that moment in time, then bury it with the expectation that somebody would dig it up decades later. At the same time, your class […]

What would the universe look like if DJ Lollipop Man had never taken to the airwaves from the Mothership? Think about it: if not for the Long-Haired Sucker, we’d know nothing of Starchild, the Mothership Connection, or the Thumpasorous. We’d never have learned the history of Dr. Funkenstein and Sir Nose d’Voidoffunk (the Cro-Nasal); of […]

Worldtown Soundsystem has perfected the art of synthesizing global music with EDM and shining the result through the singular lens of Philly soul and hip-hop; and the result is something awesomely unique and uniquely Philly. While the project has served as a platform for each member of the group to spread their individual sets of […]