“I’ll do it forever, do nothing but fail, a student of error who can only prevail. ’Cause learning is trying and trying is hard, when it feels like falling is gonna tear you apart. But now, I’m ready to win,” Tokyo Police Club declares in a Violent Femmes-esque track from their latest album TPC, appropriately…
In October 2018, singer/songwriter Kurt Vile released his critically-acclaimed seventh album Bottle It In via Matador Records. Bottle It In heads off in new directions, pushing at the edges of the map into unexplored territory–these songs show an artist who is still evolving and growing, expressing himself through monster jams, a songwriter who, like his hero…
Beloved readers, I’m sure you’re familiar with the age-old adage of “love at first sight”–I’m here to tell you that “love at first listen” is definitely a thing. And when I say “love at first listen,” I mean “love at first listen of the very first seconds of a song.” The creator of this fuzzy…
It’s been almost two years since we heard from Brooklyn-based Winstons, one of our most favorite garage-rock duos and all-around purveyors of electrified badassery. Way too long, y’all! Today, Lou Nutting and Ben Brock Wilkes are back with a crunchy new video, “Hard Times,” a track from their self-titled debut full-length LP, out March 1st (“Hard Times”…
Oh, Valentine’s Day–such a polarizing thing; while it’s awesome to remind loved ones that, well, you love them, in its hokey and aggrandized Hallmark form, it can create unrealistic expectations and can send folks who are unattached down a shame spiral. That’s why we can’t get enough of Nashville singer-songwriter Anna Moon‘s supreme kiss-off to that whole…
There are some principles that we know to be true. Space is curved. Every action in nature has an equal and opposite reaction. We get to eat pie each year on March 14th. However, one of the great unsolved mysteries is how rock duos manage to consistently outplay and outperform prototypical, stage sprawling bands. Seeking…
It takes a lot of strength to face this world every day, and when you fight anxiety daily, it can feel like you’re in quicksand, sinking deeper the harder you try to overcome it. Nashville-based artist Lanaé takes an alt-pop turn and addresses her own struggles in her new single “Let It Be,” set for…
One of the unexpected challenges of writing concert reviews when the artist is the offspring of an iconic musician is determining whether the rising artist is trying to embrace the legend of the parent or hoping to bury any familial comparisons. Ironically, most musicians seem to be internally struggling with the same thing. Fortunately, The Devon…
A short time ago, a friend sent me a Spotify link and told me to check out an artist named Lennon Stella. The link came with almost no details except that Stella’s background included being a cast member on the TV show Nashville. It was around this same time that I discovered I may be…
Bass players seem to be the unsung heroes of every band, but there’s one outfit whose renowned bassist is always front and center, delivering his low-end grooves and inspiring crowds of all shapes and sizes, from Coachella to clubs, to let the power of the music wash over them completely. That band is cosmic funk…
Haw River Ballroom was recently treated to a double-billed funk invasion featuring Turkuaz and Lettuce—these vastly talented groups bring the promise of hard-hitting basslines, sizzling horns, and jazzy guitar riffs. The mixed crowd spanning a few decades in age came ready to dance in the venue tucked away in small Saxapahaw, North Carolina. Turkuaz opened…
It’s no longer a secret that Nashville’s music scene is more than a love-hate relationship with its country music stereotype. With indie and alternative rock now a dominating force, the music floods out of concert venues, clubs, and bars nightly. While there are numerous faces in the crowd of the city’s emerging rock acts, there…
“In the beginning, the land was pure”….a spoken word excerpt borrowed from The Jacksons’ 1980 tune “Can You Feel It” opened the show at the High Watt this week for Keuning, the solo project of Dave Keuning, lead guitarist and co-founder of world-famous rock band The Killers. As words turned into funky beats, Keuning took…
Nashville may have a country music heritage, but the indie pop scene is exploding. Every day, we discover new bands making poptastic waves, and we are excited to share what’s happening with you! Beloved readers, meet brand spanking new duo IF I COULD_FOREVER, who will unleash their debut single “Simpler Times” tomorrow. It’s a classic Nashville…
At the ripe old age of 14, Dave Keuning picked out his Christmas gifts from the Sears catalog, and a guitar was the first item on the list. “I didn’t get it, but I got like the next five things after,” he recalls. “Later, I was at a friend’s house who had a guitar and…
