Archive: 2014

Hailing from Washington D.C. and Boston, Massachusetts respectively, the six-piece band Kingsley Flood have been capturing the attention of adoring fans since releasing their 2010 full-length Dust Windows. The group succeeds in spinning influences of folk, punk, Americana and rock music into catchy, thoughtful songs you can both dance to and sing along with. Following […]

Christmas time is here, a season of stress and indulgence. The holiday is contrived beyond recognition to most but for those of us who can see through the fabric or could just care less, nothing is really different except for the decor of surroundings. All throughout the town one can see the sights of minty […]

[rating=7.00] Twenty-odd years into their career, Cracker is still going at it, as they return this month with an ambitious look into the dualities of their home state of California. Appropriately titled, Berkeley to Bakersfield, it’s a double album that offers forth two entirely separate takes on the Golden State sound and allows for a […]

Photos of the Trey Anastasio Band at the Tower Theatre in Upper Darby, PA on 12/13/14. Photos by Kenny Pusey

‘Black Messiah’ broadens the range of black pop, sometimes by rendering it unrecognizable, sometimes by stretching its limits, and sometimes simply by reintroducing elements to it that we had forgotten. It’s a mission statement on black pop’s past, present, and possible futures.

[rating=8.00] As we move through the stages of our lives, each and every one of us carries our own personal baggage – the weight of our sins and our misgivings, learning as we do that the burdens of our pasts are ours and ours alone. At the end of the day, no one can pick […]

Veteran singer, songwriter and musician Jesse Harris has just announced the release of new album No Wrong No Right, out Feb. 10 on Dangerbird Records. The Grammy-winning Harris had his breakthrough in 2003, having written Norah Jones’ first and biggest hit “Don’t Know Why.” He subsequently has had a vibrant solo career of his own, along the […]

When’s the last time you went to an evening of music headlined by an accordion player and based on the adventures of a man named Chicken – and then laughed uproariously, loved the music, and cried over the life story of someone you’ve never met? If you’re like this author, the above sentence seems completely […]

Blitzen Trapper has announced their first ever live album, Live In Portland, which will be made available as a holiday gift to their fans via BandCamp. The 17-track album was recorded over three shows at the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland, OR on November 29th and 30th of 2013 on the VII tour. Fans can download […]

Whereas the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy introduced a new generation to the wonders of fantasy, ‘The Hobbit’, as a whole, feels like exists only to capture the dollar of a demographic.

Turn out the lights and set the lampshades on fire, please. It’s time to party. Sort of.

Much like soul singers Charles Bradley and Lee Fields, Sonny Knight has been making music for nearly fifty years, but recently the 66-year-old performer has found a new zest for the stage with the help of his young whipper snapper band The Lakers. Together the group released their aptly titled debut album I’m Still Here earlier this […]

Photos of The Smashing Pumpkins at the Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas, NV on 12/13/14. Photos by Paul Citone

The best part about playing in Los Angeles, Brad Barr told the packed room at the Satellite on Friday night, is putting Samuel Jackson on the guest list and hoping he shows up. From what I could tell, Mr. Jackson did not take advantage of this honor, but the band provided enough star power to […]

Do you have that one festival that is so much fun that you make certain you return each and every year?  For a growing number of music aficionados that festival is the trailblazing and unique Rock N Roll Resort.  On New Year’s Eve,  Rock N Roll Resort & Turkuaz present The Ball Drop, a spectacular […]

[rating=9.00] Swooning strings introduce D’Angelo’s new single, “Really Love.” They never let up, and neither does anything else. Not Pino Palladino’s loping, melodic bassline, which seems to respond to the singer’s nonstop vocal coaxings and maneuvers. Not the flamenco-inflected guitar, which moves as naturally and idiosyncratically as Big D’s speak-singing. Not the whispered conversation in […]

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced its 2015 class. Green Day; Bill Withers; Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble; Lou Reed; Joan Jett and the Blackhearts; and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band will all be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next spring. Those six performers were selected from […]

[rating=9.00] Gov’t Mule has never performed material without as much emotional resonance as musical validity and that goes for the covers they choose as well as their originals. And because every song the group plays carries some meaning, this single album of a set devoted entirely to the music of Pink Floyd, Dark Side of […]

Over 26 years of existence, Warren Haynes Presents The Christmas Jam has come to mean many things to many people. The event is most importantly a charitable home run for Habitat For Humanity. But it’s also an annual musical rite, a celebration of a longstanding southern musical community, and a tribute to Haynes’ hometown of […]