Archive: 2025

Does a band ever honestly know when it is time to release a proper debut album? Does a cult-like following need to be established? Do social media and streaming numbers need to be through the roof, or does the feeling part of the creative process take over? There is no precise formula to follow, and […]

MJ Lenderman and the Wind rolled into The Van Buren in Phoenix on Monday night, September 8th, in support of their acclaimed 2024 breakthrough album Manning Fireworks. In just a short span, Lenderman has gone from playing clubs to headlining theaters, winning over Neil Young devotees along the way, while also closing the chapter on […]

There is a reason Emma Swift calls The Resurrection Game, her first full-length collection of all original material, a “bummer of an album,” as it took coming back from a mental health crisis for the singer-songwriter to develop these ten tracks.  The Sydney, Australia-born, Nashville-based Swift had a major nervous breakdown, leading her to be […]

Eli Shane is an inventive harpist and songwriter from New York, blending folk, chamber music, and avant-garde influences into a sound that’s uniquely his own. Drawing inspiration from artists like Fiona Apple and Stevie Wonder, his creative songwriting weaves intricate details with sweeping imagery. His self-produced debut album, Therein Lies the Garden (2022), explores genres […]

A Different Thread is a transatlantic folk-americana duo composed of Alicia Best (US) and Robert Jackson (UK). After meeting by chance while busking in Galway, Ireland, the two discovered a unique musical and personal connection that has taken them on a decade-long journey across the globe. Their music, a blend of Appalachian alt-country and British […]

Rounding out our salute to the late great Frank Zappa this week, for today’s Weirdo Wednesday, we’re taking it back to where it all started with his original band: The Mothers of Invention. While it’s debatable if this performance of “King Kong” live on BBC from 1968 is Zappa’s “weirdest” (in fairness, there’s a lot […]

A lot can be conveyed through minimal movement. A simple raised eyebrow shot towards a comment can showcase a lack of trust, an involuntary smile can highlight the love between people, and an acoustic, lyric-driven ballad can encapsulate an entire life’s journey. The closest most of us will get to a conversation with an artist […]

Nashville-by-way-of-Arkansas musician Drew Pulliam hinted at his potential with his 2023 EP. With Back of My Mind, his debut full-length, he makes good on that early promise, offering a record that feels both assured and expansive. At only 20 years old, he writes with a confidence and maturity that you wouldn’t expect from someone so […]

Building their own bizarre universe out of Portland, Oregon, The Macks today announce their new album Bonanza will be released on September 25 via DevilDuck Records / Monotone, Inc. The news of the album rolls out in the form of two new singles and videos: “Dually of Man” and “The Modern Grape.” Described by the […]

Tomboy is singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Maia Sharp’s tenth solo album. The album is a celebration of the true self, personal, and mostly uplifting, rather than mired in the depths of introspection.  There’s a rhythmic thread running through the album, with percussion a prominent element on most tracks. Sharp plays all kinds of guitars, keyboards, and […]

Across a dozen albums, Josh Ritter has established himself as a masterful songwriter, capable of transforming the raw stuff of human emotion into poetry that still feels deeply accessible. His talent has resonated not only with fans – music greats like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Bob Weir have also performed and recorded his songs. […]

Singer/songwriter, author, and songwriting teacher Dar Williams will be releasing her thirteenth album, Hummingbird Highway, on September 12th, via Righteous Babe Records. She feels that this album, particularly, speaks to her perspectives gained as a touring musician, and within it we encounter many voices and glimpses of human history from various standpoints in time. Something […]

LECTRICS formed in September 2024 in Barcelona, though none of the members are from there. Singer/guitarist Bobby Wade (Southampton, UK) had given up playing for 10 years before listening to Dostoevsky and deciding to ‘step over it’. He met Juan Agudelo (Medellin, Colombia) at a QOTSA show, and they bonded over a love for The […]

Tele & The Ghost of Our Lord is the solo recording project of Florida-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Matthew Kamm. Blending witty storytelling with oddly familiar yet genre-blurring soundscapes, the debut album, The Jukebox Has Gone Sentient, weaves folk, psychedelia, outlaw country, exotica, and synth-punk influences into a darkly humorous, cinematic meltdown. The album captures a […]

Today, Tortoise announce Touch, the first new album from the groundbreaking group since 2016. This new record from the post-everything icons comes via International Anthem and Nonesuch Records on LP, CD, and digital download on October 24, 2025, and on streaming services on November 11, 2025. Lead single “Layered Presence” — which also comes via video filmed and directed by Mikel Patrick Avery — […]

The Big Ears Festival—the world-renowned, boundary-defying celebration of music and art—returns March 26 – 29, 2026, transforming historic downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, into a dynamic, multi-dimensional, international cultural experience with over 250 concerts, films, artist conversations, workshops, exhibitions, and interactive experiences. Big Ears comes to life in Knoxville’s historic theaters, churches, museums and galleries, rock clubs, converted train […]

A lot has changed since 2008, the last time Rilo Kiley played Philadelphia before what would turn out to be a nearly two-decade-long hiatus from performing together. Back then, the oldest member of the band was 35; now he’s eligible to make catch-up contributions to his 401(k). (Boy, I hope musicians have defined contribution plans!) […]

Josh Ritter has never been in a hurry with songs. Over the last two decades, the Idaho-born songwriter has learned to let them arrive when they’re ready—like unannounced guests, or weather patterns rolling across a wide Western sky. In that space of waiting, he has filled his life with novels, paintings, fatherhood, and touring, each […]