Archive: 2025

Throughout 2025, the buzzword around the music world has been “Reunion.” This word represents a sense of nostalgia, community, and fond memories associated with some of the biggest acts of music’s past. Almost as if the music history books are the latest page-to-screen phenomenon, reunion tours from across eras and genres have been visiting every […]

On a typical Saturday afternoon in Chicago in the summertime, there’s no shortage of leisurely options for one to spend their time. You could head to the beach, check out a neighborhood street festival, hit up Wrigley Field, or maybe even just take in a matinee. In the case of this writer, the latter option sounded like […]

Kenny Burrell’s 1957 self-titled album is a short, inviting set that shows off why he’s considered one of jazz guitar’s greats. Backed by baritone saxophonist Cecil Payne, pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Doug Watkins, and drummer Elvin Jones, Burrell leads with warmth, clarity, and effortless style. At just over 36 minutes, it’s a tight collection, but […]

Frank Wess, John Coltrane, Paul Quinichette, Mal Waldron, Doug Watkins, and Art Taylor’s Wheelin’ and Dealin’ is a compact but thrilling snapshot of hard bop energy from 1958. Clocking in at just over 35 minutes, the session feels more like a live club set than a polished studio date, which gives it an immediacy that’s […]

One of the finest albums you’ll hear this year comes from Jesse Daniel. Son of the San Lorenzo is the fifth studio LP from the California country picker and is easily his most mature and personal effort to date. Daniel puts his road-hardened style of West Coast country in the spotlight while conjuring the kind […]

2025 has tested the limits of our new music processors over here at the smoky old Caustic factory, but over time, it has never shied us away from a hard day’s work. We are firing on all cylinders over here to keep up with the avalanche of impressive releases that seem to be never-ending as […]

There comes a time when every genre takes its turn in the blinding spotlight of pop culture. Currently, we are seeing country overtake Hip-hop on top of the charts, but there was a time when even the most niche, aggressive, raw underground music you can find lands in the binoculars of the Billboard chart. If […]

There’s a rush that comes with walking into a casino: the hum of shuffling cards, the clatter of the roulette wheel, the dealer’s steady voice calling the shots. But in 2025, the same energy is alive and well without ever stepping foot in Vegas or Monaco. Live casinos have transformed the experience, blending the human […]

Sixteen years ago, Pete Droge went looking for his birth mother; instead, he found her obituary. Rather than marking the end of the story, though, that discovery launched a remarkable journey of personal growth and healing, one that would find Droge reuniting with long-lost relatives, battling a mysterious illness, and finding himself in the process. […]