Archive: 2019

The early show on Wednesday, February 13th was the third overall during Thundercat’s six night, fourteen show residency at New York City’s legendary Blue Note. The band was already in peak form, letting it all hang out while dazzling the packed house. Even with all of these shows booked and sold out, a line waited […]

Yes, the British are coming! Here is another in the growing line of UK jazz musicians being signed to a U.S. label; in this case, the progressive Ropeadope label, home to artists like Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah and Logan Richardson. This is Duncan Eagles’ debut as a leader apart from his UK group Partikel, a […]

With their new record Ten Seated Figures, Yes We Mystic has succeeded in exceeding their previous excess; creating something bigger than anything they’ve done before. Voices and instruments meld into a swath of sound so dense and so complex that something new bursts forth, its origin impossible to place. On 2016’s Forgiver (lauded by Exclaim! […]

Jimbo Mathus has blazed a singular path as a singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer and shaman for 40 years, recording and releasing more than 300 songs that are a testament to his hoodoo craftsmanship and to the sounds, sights and spirits of his inspirations in the deep South. His new album, Incinerator, which debuts on April […]

If you’re familiar with Carsie Blanton, then draw your own comparisons.  But, for the uninitiated think blatant sexuality of Liz Phair, filtered more cleverly, and then delivered in a vocal style that’s more jazz-like in phrasing like a witty Madeleine Peyroux. Some have compared her to Nina Simone and Billie Holiday.  The inside jacket photo […]

Robert Ellis’ career has come a long way since his 2009 debut The Great Re Arranger and even since his 2014 song and album The Lights from the Chemical Plant, (one of the best songs in the last decade). So, yes, his latest effort comes highly anticipated. Count on Ellis to do something a bit different. The […]

Austin, TX-based musician Frederico7 is proud to announce his debut solo album Exótico Americano, set for release on February 23rd. The album is an amalgamation of Frederico’s diverse background and experiences living in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina before setting his roots in the “Live Music Capital of the World.” Exotico Americano fuses Afro-Brazilian rhythms with American […]

Following his rather bleak breakup album, Lovers and Leavers, Hayes Carll seems rejuvenated on What It Is. The album is co-produced by fellow songwriter and fiancée Allison Moorer and long-time cohort Brad Jones in Nashville. Carll wrote some of these songs alone and co-wrote others with Moorer, Matraca Berg, Adam Landry, and a few others. […]

Denver trio Yawpers will release a new album Human Question (ALBUM PRE-ORDER LINK) on April 19. New Noise Magazine announced the album, an album-supporting tour, and debuted the new song “Child of Mercy.” Following their critically acclaimed and meticulously plotted concept album Boy in a Well (set in World War I France, concerning a mother […]

In the latest Wannabe, artist Chris Prunckle offers his illustrated commentary on Encore, the first new album from legendary British band The Specials in 37 years, in his signature six-panel comic strip form. Click on the image for full resolution (best viewed on desktop):

Travis Hayes’ sophomore LP, Sleepless, encompasses many restless nights where the San Francisco singer-songwriter found himself grieving until all hours of the night. “Two years ago, I had the wind knocked out of me,” Hayes explains. “One of my closest friends was hit and killed by a drunk driver.” Hayes found that in order to abate the fear, frustration, […]

Ryan Bingham has a distinctive voice. It has an underlying weariness like maybe he spent the previous night trying to be heard in a loud room, but it also has an electric resonance, like he’s somehow able to amplify himself without the need for electronics. That kind of immediately-recognizable vocal character can become a prison […]

The Motet transported their modern take on whimsical 70’s disco funk to Philadelphia’s Fillmore on February 8th. The band is touring in support of their most recent album Death or Devotion. Photos by Cathy Poulton

Mavis Staples is thrilled to announce three celebratory shows commemorating her 80th birthday this year. Presented by Newport Folk, the shows will take place this May at New York City’s Apollo Theater, Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and Los Angeles’s Theatre at Ace Hotel. Called ‘Mavis & Friends: Celebrating 80 Years of Mavis Staples’, the trio of shows […]

Devin Tuel may consider herself to be an artist meant for a different time, but she now finds herself inhabiting her own true place. The singer-songwriter is at home in Upstate NY reflecting on her third album, Happier Now, released under her nom de plume, Native Harrow, as well as the difficult sojourn the former […]

Beirut kicked off the tour behind their latest release Gallipoli with a sold out show at New York City’s Brooklyn Steel on Saturday, February 9th. Helado Negro opened.

Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit and Father John Misty are teaming up for a Summer co-headline tour. Both bands will be playing about 60 minute sets each night, and the shows will be opened by Jade Bird (June 6th – June 25th) and Erin Rae (June 27th – June 29th). Tickets go on sale to the general public this […]