Archive: 2020

Buffalo, New York jam stalwarts moe. have been proudly moving along at a steady clip for thirty years. In that time, the band has had some brushes with mainstream success, garnering some radio play or perhaps a song featured in a commercial here or there. But mostly, they have maintained a devoted following of fans […]

Saturday Night Live musical guests are most likely chose for their current pop culture influence rather than their legacy status. That all changed this past Saturday night (2/29/20), as David Byrne brought his American Utopia ensemble to the iconic late-night comedy show for two songs and a sketch. Byrne opened his SNL musical guest spot — his […]

Dreamland has announced its two-day festival in Austin, TX. The first-of-its-kind festival is set for Saturday, May 2nd and Sunday, May 3rd. The experience, centered around the “American Dream” and the promise that it holds for the immigrant communities, will explore and honor these roots. The festival will host genre-spanning artists including a headlining performance […]

Leslie Mendelson has released “Medication“, the second single from the singer/songwriter’s upcoming studio album, ‘If You Can’t Say Anything Nice…‘ due April 17 via Royal Potato Family. A haunting, piano ballad, Mendelson examines the pain and conflict caused by pharmaceutical addiction to those around her and even in her own life at times. “I had a […]

Circles Around The Sun kicked off their latest tour at Baltimore’s 8×10 Club on February 27th to a packed house. The psychedelic rock-outfit, consisting of Adam MacDougall (keys), Mark Levy (drums) and Dan Horne (bass) were joined by guitarist Scott Metzger (RANA, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead) for a two-hour-plus show that honored the memory of […]

The San Francisco blues-rock outfit The Stone Foxes newest release Gold is an EP mixing modern sounds with overblown retro rock staples, all-around passionate vocals. Led by the brothers Koehler, Shannon and Spence tie their clear devotion to classic rock into full-blown, arena-ready jams.  The group has a long list of successes using their music […]

The first collaboration between the always recording freak rocker Ty Segall and the monster noise drummer Brian Chippendale (Lightning Bolt) as Wasted Shirt is titled Fungus II and the vociferous record oscillates between artistic/experimental outings and ripping rawness, sometimes measure to measure.  The band opens with the driving clanging feedback of “All Is Lost” and […]

Stephen Malkmus has released a new single/video, “Shadowbanned,” from his forthcoming album, Traditional Techniques, out March 6th on Matador. Following lead single “Xian Man,” “Shadowbanned” bursts with flute-laced swagger and Malkmus as attuned as ever to the rhythms of the ever-evolving lingual slipstream as he sings of “Amazon wheatfields and rivers of Red Bull//drip gush drip//data driven skip//to […]

Venerated singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams stands up for pride, dignity and perseverance in the newly released “You Can’t Rule Me”, the opening track off her highly anticipated new album Good Souls Better Angels (Highway 20/Thirty Tigers). Listen below… Set for an April 24th release, Good Souls Better Angels finds the multi-Grammy winner addressing domestic and socio-political issues of our […]

The Universal Monsters get their best reboot since…well, ever.

The days to see Gene Simmons and Paul Stanely in makeup are coming to an end as the KISS End of the Road tour mad its way across the states. The Xcel Center in St. Paul, MN played host to this most recent twin cities gig, which saw fire up the hits, along with support […]

This is an unexpected turn by acclaimed vibraphonist Warren Wolf, acknowledged mostly as a traditionalist and a successor to forbearers Milt Jackson and Bobby Hutcherson. Here the Baltimore-based vibes man returns to the love of R&B and soul that he grew up with during the ‘90s. Reincarnation is also a blissful album of nine Wolf […]

Drummer Ted Poor, best known for his work with folk artists and indie rockers, makes his debut as a leader with this minimalist jazz effort You Already Know, produced by Blake Mills. Besides Poor, whose thoughtful drum parts are clearly heard from the opening “Emilio” through the nine tracks, is saxophonist Andrew D’Angelo who has […]

This is not your father’s organ trio a la Jimmy Smith, Grant Green, Jack MacDuff or others. The music made by drummer Bobby Previte, keyboardist Jamie Saft, and guitarist Nels Cline takes liberties and then some, in keeping with its apt title, Music From the Early 21st Century and the record label name, RareNoise. Don’t […]

Steve Earle & The Dukes will release Ghosts of West Virginia on May 22nd, 2020 via New West Records. The album was produced by Steve Earle and engineered by Ray Kennedy at Jimi Hendrix’s legendary Electric Lady Studios in New York City. The 10-song set is Earle’s 20th studio album and was mixed entirely in […]

One of 15 artists who contributed to the Songs for Australia benefit album,The National, have chosen to cover one of Australia’s most iconic songs, INXS‘s “Never Tear Us Apart”.  Available now on all digital platforms, the band was thrilled to be able to contribute to the project and dove straight into recording and delivered this simply stunning version of a classic.  Fans […]

The latest installment of The Grateful Dead’s weekly video series All The Years Live features a rousing take on Reverend Gary Davis’s “Samson & Delilah“, from the 12/31/78 show at the Winterland Arena in San Francisco, CA.  The Dead introduced this number in 1976 and it quickly became a regular inclusion in their set-lists, often as a second set opener, […]

In Vinyl Lives we spotlight and profile record stores around the country who offer music lovers an experience that goes beyond an iTunes purchase or a Spotify playlist. For this month’s installment of Vinyl Lives we are doing something a little different by turning over the column to LA band Zooluxx, a sludgy funk outfit […]