PREMIERES

When the esteemed Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel had a gig at the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville last year, he decided it might be best to capture the moment. This is, after all, a picker known for his unique fingerstyle and stunning complexity, and also for never putting on the same performance. The result is […]

You’d have to be living under a rock to not be aware of just how ugly our world has gotten. Hate is seemingly everywhere, spewing forth on social media, being inflicted physically through terrorist attacks and war, and being pushed as official agenda by those in public office. In such an environment art is more […]

Recently the members of Philly band The Snails decided it was time for some changes. Well, not entirely, but recently the band announced in a Facebook post that they would be changing their name to The Dull Blue Lights. While fans speculated and the band vaguely hinted that the name change may have been legally forced […]

Canadian songwriter Sarah Jane Scouten is at the top of her craft. Her new full-length album, When the Bloom Falls from The Rose drops on June 16th on Vancouver indie label Light Organ Records. The album is a luminous body of work, shining a light on the wind-whipped highway of Scouten’s life as a songwriter, scholar of […]

Nashville, Tennessee is home to some of the finest guitarists and pedal steel players around. These are the guys being hired by major acts to back them up in the studio and make their albums sound perfect. So what happens when a pedal steel player and a guitarist decide to strike out on their own? […]

In 2015 we saw the debut album from GospelbeacH, a group whose collective credits include Beachwood Sparks, Further, The Tyde, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals and Everest. That album, Pacific Surf Line, captured our attention for its breezy tunes swim with swirling Hammond organ, soulful drumming, walking basslines and lightning guitar flashes, not […]

Befitting their handle, Dead Posey is fascinated by what lies beyond, their music exploring the nature of mortality through both waking life and dreams. But while the Los Angeles duo’s lyrics lean toward the metaphysical, its debut EP, Freak Show (out 6/2), is a raucous, fuzz-loaded collection ofback-to-basics rock ‘n’ roll. Singer Danielle Souza’s inspired vocals blend seamlessly with guitarist Kyle Foster’s […]

Getting out of a long relationship can be a blessing and a curse for a musician. The experience can lead to a burst of creativity, but the songs that result often aren’t too happy. For Austin, TX-based musician and songwriter Abram Shook, the end of an eleven-year relationship did lead to many songs – two […]

usLights’ expansive, shimmering psych-rock is linked by a golden thread of melody to a firm foundation of pop songwriting. Assembled in 2014 by Matt Nastri and former HERRA TERRA members Gregg Kusumah-Atmadja and Shawn Pelkey, the band crafts dreamy, often cinematic music that counterpoises heady sonics with a knack for the immediately engaging chorus. Pelkey […]

Heather Trost is best known as one half of the global folk duo A Hawk and a Hacksaw along with Neutral Milk Hotel drummer Jeremy Barnes. She has also played with  Neutral Milk Hotel, Beirut, Josephine Foster and most recently with Thor & Friends, the ensemble led by Thor Harris formerly of Swans. All of […]

Singer-songwriter Pierce Edens grew up in North Carolina, and it is this place and the rich history of Appalachian music that has informed his work as an artist. Edens has dedicated himself to soaking up his surroundings, channeling the region’s heritage of folk and bluegrass music into his own thoughtful music. Along with his partner […]

Nathan Bell is a songwriter’s songwriter—at 57, the troubadour’s weary voice bleeds experience. He made his bones sharing bills with legends like Townes Van Zandt, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal and Norman Blake. The son of a poet and professor, the Iowa-born/Chattanooga-based Bell has a keen eye for detail and an unapologetic penchant for the political, populist humanism of his […]

Dallas group The Effinays have spent a decade steadily building a loyal fan base eager to get down to their heady blend of reggae, funk and rock. The group’s keyboardist and drummer Valenti Funk is a one-man rhythm section, known for his ability to play both instruments at the same time. Valenti is a vital member […]

The glory days of piano rock when people like Billy Joel, Elton John and Michael McDonald were cranking out hits have long since passed. Sure, all three of those artists still draw huge crowds, but mostly nostalgic baby boomers who yearn for the days when the piano men topped the charts. Even though putting the […]

Hailing from the small Wisconsin city of Green Bay, sisters Andi and Alex Peot have been garnering attention at the leaders of the four-piece band Queen Hilma. Some may recognize the sisters’ beautiful blood harmonies and guitar-strumming from their time on The Voice. Despite their appearance on such a mainstream show, with Queen Hilma Andi […]

Lunar Electric formed in 2014 as an outlet for the original work of guitarist Dre DiMura. They released their eponymous debut EP in 2015. Following the release, DiMura spent the next two years caught in a whirlwind of film, television and international touring, working alongside legendary director David Fincher on an unfinished project for HBO, appearing on Nickelodeon with RnB […]

It’s not often that members of a band meet while fighting over the preferred lighting at a party, but that is exactly what happened with Red Moses and Sami Knowles. Somehow out of that situation the two hit it off and a musical companionship was born. Three years would pass as the duo crafted their chemistry […]

In his home country of Australia, Paul Kelly is a preeminent songwriter, an artist who immediately draws respectful acknowledgement. Here in the States, Kelly has a modest but loyal following who have long followed his soulful folk and Americana, and now he is currently in the midst of his first U.S. tour since 2013. This […]

Combining indie-rock, power-pop, and American roots music with beautiful arrangements and crystalline studio sound, Willodean succeed in crafting a unique and catchy sound that demands listening. Each of the band’s members has a diverse musical background: the southern roots of front man Abbie Huxley, the smart, McCartney-esque songwriting of Randy Wooten, and the indie rock edge […]

Since his first show at the age of 12 at the Alaska Folk Fest, Eric Tollefson has known his calling. Now some two decades later, the singer-songwriter is still true on that path, and it is the sacrifices he makes daily that give soul to the aptly-titled EP, This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice […]