PREMIERES

mega cat is a new instrumental collaboration by Aaron Benson (drums, percussion, guitar,) Kim West (piano and synthesizer,) and Ryan Devlin (bass and guitar). For live performances, the band is joined by Dave Dederer (Presidents of the United States of America) on guitar. Ryan and Kim both play in the Seattle band Smokey Brights. mega […]

If the photographic evidence accompanying The Knockdown Dragout (Gastonwood Music, February 9th, 2024) is any indication, then Chris J Norwood is a beaten man. Beaten, maybe… But not out! As Norwood sings on “The Knockdown Dragout” — the ensemble, album, and first single all share the same name — he is a fighter: I know […]

Spencer LaJoye makes queer indie folk music for everyone. With a coy smile, a wink to the back row, and carefree expertise, they spin their crystalline vocals through a loop pedal while strumming the weathered acoustic guitar they acquired for leading worship in high school. “I don’t believe in much anymore,” they announce to teary-eyed […]

James Mastro – guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, producer and singer-songwriter extraordinaire – has toured the world dozens of times over as a supportive musician with some of the biggest and most critically acclaimed rock and pop artists ever to grace a stage including Patti Smith, Ian Hunter, Judy Collins, John Cale, The Jayhawks, Alejandro Escovedo, Garland Jeffreys, […]

Raised in the Hudson Valley and currently based in Brooklyn, Meir Levine blends his folk-rock nostalgia for the 1970’s with a modern indie sensibility. He recorded his upcoming EP with acclaimed engineer D. James Goodwin (The Hold Steady, Bonny Light Horseman, Bob Weir, Kevin Morby, Watchhouse), with producer Andrew Freedman (Henry Jamison, Michael Mayo), and […]

What is the price we pay for joy, and is it worth it? The thread of this question runs taut through The Fourth Wall’s upcoming collection, Return Forever (slated for release in 2024 on DevilDuck Records), a fever dream of a record that unearths unresolved complexities of the immigrant experience in nine chapters. Throughout the […]

The Dwarves just snarl with daredevil punk abandon on all their songs and when you add Josh Freese (Foo Fighters) and Nick Oliveri (Kyuss/QOTSA) to the mix, it is musical fuel on the fast and furious fire. Both are guests on their new album Concept Album out on November 17th on Greedy Media. Glide is […]

Legendary journalist Greil Marcus stays true to his reputation as a scholar of modern rock’s intersection with rock history when noting in a 2019 Rolling Stone column that “some of the same dirt rubbed off” in regard to how Seattle foursome Loose Wing picked up the mess from fellow Emerald City singer Merilee Rush, best-known […]

Formed by two high school friends bent on traveling the country playing folk music together, New York Americana outfit Driftwood has turned into one of the hardest-working, original bands in the business. With three people sharing in the vocal and songwriting duties, there are certainly some elements reminiscent of other multi-singer bands such as Fleetwood […]

Over the past few years, we have seen some incredible artists put their twist on tropes from folk and Americana to push the genres forward and reimagine some long-standing traditions. The multi-faceted Alex Jordan is the latest artist to step into the role of innovator as a young multi-instrumentalist, wise beyond his years. Jordan made […]

Songs with “rain” in the title have never been scarce, but when those compositions are sung with a radiant gravelly gravitas like that of Josh Langston, drizzles become downpours. And while Langston’s pickings are slim on streaming services, that’s all about to change with his new album Tastes Like Sin out on February 2, 2024. […]

Beneath the mega-stadium tours that are so popular, there’s a sea of artists following community currents to dive bars and basements across the US. DIY artists pile into SUVs and minivans to bring their humble songs to intimate crowds. Despite the gritty realities of touring as a small band, Tucker Riggleman & The Cheap Dates […]

“One, two three- let’s go!” is a familiar kickoff for punk bands and perhaps that calloff has never been more warranted for the return of Portland Oregon’s Mistons. With cryptic electricity and ferocious brevity, the band is as explosive as they are emotive. Started by Sean Croghan (crackerbash, Moustache, Pynnacles) and Micah Kassell in 2017 […]

Ours & Others, the second collection from The Small Square arriving on Farm to Label Records October 31st, finds the duo of multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Paul Chastain and drummer, percussionist, and vocalist John Louis Richardson in fine form. Chastain is the songwriter and co-founder of rock group Velvet Crush and has worked both live and […]

Austin-founded indie rock band Those Who Dig have had a career that spans over 30 years; the band came to fruition in the Live Music Capital of the World in 1991 when all the members were college students at the University of Texas. From 1991 – 1993, the band made a name for themselves, experiencing […]

Tucker Woods is a tried-and-true rock ‘n’ roll band with a dynamic, youthful spirit; they’re readying the release of their new album, Sunshine Blues (due out March 15th, 2024). Based in New York, Tucker Woods is made up of guitarist and vocalist Chris Hurd and Brian Motel on both bass and keys. The two met […]

Partly Cloudy is the full-length debut from Dream-pop auteur Catbells. The album was produced by Billy Mohler (Pom Poms, Coastal Clouds, Airborne Toxic Event, Bel Rays, AWOLNation, Sia, Drowning Men, War Tapes), recorded at his studio in Long Beach CA. Partly Cloudy is being released by SQFT Records on 12” LP vinyl, CD, as a […]

In September of 2021, friends Matt Sammons, Jeremy Castaldo, and J.L. Jones began writing and playing music together, along with other close friends. The group spent many late nights writing, jamming, and brainstorming ideas, organically forming into the country band Midnight South. Less than two years later, they were named “Vocal Group of the Year […]

Lynn Drury has been performing, in one arena or another, her entire life. At the ripe old age of five, she won a 4-H state competition in Mississippi in pole bending; pole bending is a little like barrel racing,. That’s horse talk. In a word, rodeos. Once you know that much about Lynn, you understand […]

Stephen Clair’s grandfather was always singing from behind the wheel while occasionally opening the car door to spit. It was Grandpap who played young Stephen a Johnny Cash record when he was five years old, and that’s everything Stephen remembers from his youth. Best known for his wry humor and guitar stylings, the Beacon, NY […]