It’s tough going for singer-songwriters. If you’re not a natural poet or have some truly unique angle, you better have one hell of a voice and a perfect live act. At this point, the guitar-toting James Bay out of Hitchin, UK, is pretty close to having the latter. With his Thursday night performance at the Troubadour in L.A., the 22-year-old delivered a charismatic little set, opening for Beth Orton with a nice mix of songs from his EP, The Dark…

The Tractor Tavern is typically the home of Seattle’s local and travelling folk and blues groups. The relatively small club has hosted acts such as Langhorne Slim and The Proclaimers. In the past few weeks, in a fit of summery surprise, the Tractor has seen psychedelic pop’s new star Mikal Cronin and Seattle’s dance-pop group The West past through.  The latest installment in the Ballard club’s rock sets was the Young Empires and Generations who filled the venue with a hyped crowd. Young Empires…

Northside Music Festival has commenced in northern Brooklyn, and it’s bigger and heavier than ever. Last night was the first night of the music portion, and I already feel like I barely made it out alive. But then again, I did choose to see A Place To Bury Strangers and Iceage at Music Hall of Williamsburg, so that definitely had a lot to do with it. Pour me another drink and punch me in the face, I'm ready for the…

On Tuesday night Check Yo Ponytail 2 hosted a dance party, and even though headliners Anamanaguchi weren’t slated to play until midnight, the room was full by 9:45 pm with fans anticipating a rare performance by Chrome Sparks. Though currently on tour with the 8-bit power punkers, gigs by the (pretty much) instrumental electronic outfit tend to be few and far between, making this night even more memorable. Led by the project’s founder, Jeremy Malvin, the trio stepped onstage and…