Archive: 2016

The inaugural Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival made for a rousing late night set that highlighted the sold out weekend titled “PoWoW! A Live Superstar Mashup.” After a powerful set by Kendrick Lamar a day after he dropped his new record, Miguel along with Win Butler of Arcade Fire led an all star roster that included John Oates  Kamasi […]

Blues shredder Gary Clark Jr. played a sold out show at ACL Live in his hometown of Austin, Texas on Saturday, March 5th. He was joined by local favorites Eve & the Exiles and the Peterson Brothers. Photos by Tammy Perez (www.TrulyGreatMadness.com). Twitter: @TGMPhoto #TrulyGreatMadness

Those in attendance at Julie Rhodes’ debut album release party for her new album Bound to Meet the Devil at Thunder Road on Friday night should consider themselves truly lucky, because it is likely that she won’t be playing intimate venues like that for much longer. Abbie Barrett & The Last Date and The Silks warmed up […]

South By Southwest (SXSW), that annual spring gathering of the cultural universe in Austin, Texas, is just around the corner. The festival as a whole, which includes, Music, Film and Interactive primarily, stretches March 11-20. Technically speaking (we say technically because there are tons of bands to see beforehand), the Music portion of the festival […]

[rating=8.00] If you can get through “End of the Rope”, the first song on Brett Harris’ sophomore album Up in the Air without beaming and feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, you probably have no soul. It comes at you full blast with a toe-tapping beat and sunny guitars and keys. And it is just […]

[rating=7.00] In the ever expanding world of indie psych rock, Quilt stands out. Anna Fox Rochinski’s sultry, smoky voice is haunting and pierces through her band’s trippy, fluid arrangements, lulling you into their colorful, fully bloomed world. Plaza, the band’s third album, hones in on this sound, but also doesn’t limit them to it. That […]

Those who face nostalgia end up becoming nostalgic. When you stare into the abyss of late-80’s TV, the abyss stares back. How rude!

Sturgil Simpson’s highly anticipated new album A Sailor’s Guide To Earth will be released April 15 on Atlantic Records.. In advance of the release, the first single, “Brace For Impact (Live A Little),” is premiering today and can now be heard below and at Sturgilsimpson.com. An instant download of the single is included with each album pre-order. Produced by Simpson, A Sailor’s […]

Protomartyr’s February 27th show at Dallas’ fairly new, DIY-influenced club, RBC, proved to be quite the step back in time. Unobtrusively tucked away behind snazzier, trendier, and more well-attended Deep Ellum eateries, RBC greets its’ patrons with a series of shrugs; the perpetually stoned ID checker barely taking a glance at your license, the diminutive and […]

Photos of Kurt Vile & The Violators from The Orange Peel in Asheville, NC on 2/26/16.  Photos by John A. Zara.  

[rating=7.00] After a dozen albums or so, you’d think that the Waco Brothers would have earned more respect. On the other hand, being the essential insurgents that they are, respect isn’t necessarily their highest priority. Happily then, the ironically titled Going Down In History. In finds the band still doing what they’ve always done best, that is, […]

[rating=7.00] At this point in Katy Goodman’s career it seems fairer to refer to her as ‘founding member of La Sera’ rather than ‘former Vivian Girls bassist.’ Having already released three critically acclaimed albums over the past five years, her newest album Music For Listening To Music To will exceed the output of her previous […]

[rating=7.00] If you were already a fan of Cotton Jones, then you are familiar with Michael Nau’s soft, lovely voice. Part Beatles, part Nilsson, with a little smoke and the gentlest touch, Nau’s vocals are a treasure. And while he typically makes up half of the Cotton Jones duo (with his wife Whitney McGraw), his […]

Mayer Hawthorne, recently announced the release of his fourth full-length record. Entitled Man About Town, the album is set to hit streets on April 8th via Vagrant Records. Today, Mayer is pleased to share plans to hit the road in support of the album, on the Man About Town Tour. Kicking off on May 4th in Santa Ana, CA […]

Over the course of two full-length albums, two EPs and three compilations, Birmingham, Alabama’s Through the Sparks have developed a unique brand of rock & roll, rambunctious and raw, diligent in its quest for new sounds and in its combinations of psych, prog and indie influences. Their long awaited third album  Transindifference (due on 3/18 […]

Haters might never be satisfied, but Ghostbusters might actually be awesome.

The guys in Dublin Ireland’s Otherkin would like the word Britpop to not even be equated to their explosive sound – after all they are from Ireland- lets at least charm in a little Thin Lizzy, Bell X1 and maybe even The Frames if we’re going in that direction. Maybe its just wishful thinking of […]

Joe Walsh and Bad Company (Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs, Simon Kirke) have  announced their ‘One Hell Of A Night’ tour which begins in Dallas, Texas on May 12 and ends in Nashville TN on July 3rd.  As co-headliners they will rotate the headlining spot each show.  As for who will headline in what city Walsh playfully quipped: “I told Paul, […]