San Fransisco – “Life is beautiful.” This is a sentiment that floods the minds and hearts of bright-eyed optimists all over the world. Everything is relative, obviously, so there isn’t really any objective way to assess the quality of consciousness and existence. There are many who would probably argue that life is, in fact, far from beautiful: the
Glasgow - Scottish band WHITE recently set out to tour the U.K., with photographer Martin D Barker along for the ride. Together they documented the journey for Best New Bands. This was the first time the five-piece – comprised of singer Leo Condie, guitarists Hamish Fingland and Chris Potter, bassist Lewis Andrew, and drummer Kirstin Lynn – toured
Los Angeles – Much like the very “search engine unfriendly” name would suggest, Quilt crafts a warm, comforting tapestry of music. Pulling influence from psychedelic rock, krautrock, dream pop, and typical guitar-driven indie rock, the group’s songs sprawl out in all directions, creating a blanket of sound. Despite the fact that Quilt is just now making major
New York – San Fransisco indie rock band Finish Ticket will join Fitz and The Tantrums on the first leg of a summer tour, kicking off at The National in Richmond, VA on June 14th and wrapping up in Bloomington, IN at Bluebird Nightclub on June 28th. Finish Ticket just wrapped up a two month co-headlining
London – Four-piece alternative rock band Race the Flux, from Galway in the Republic of Ireland, first came to the attention of Best New Bands when the band’s entry to the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition found its way onto your judge’s spreadsheet. The band was duly selected as one of three acts to go forward to the next stage.
Los Angeles – In the vast range of artists’ popularity (your local garage band being the low point and U2 being the high point), there is a sweet spot right in the middle that bands like The Rubens occupy. These groups are popular enough to bring a dedicated following to every show, giving each performance an exhilarating feeling
Chicago – Last Thursday, fans began lining up outside the Vic Theatre, in the Lakeview neighborhood, starting at six in the morning, to see rising pop star Melanie Martinez. By six that evening, the line stretched far down Sheffield Avenue, filled with kids, teenagers, and twenty-somethings, most of whom were dressed to the nines. Pigtails were
Austin – The number of Austin-area music fanatics multiplied this week as SXSW 2016 kicked into high gear. Thrill-seeking audiophiles paraded through the city and bounced between venues to search for the sounds they craved. City streets were blocked off, the lines grew longer by the minute, and coffee was the only thing keeping people
San Francisco – The streets of the Bay Area have been turned into veritable rivers over the course of the last few days as El Niño sent its latest barrage of rain into the region over the past several days, satiating the parched California earth with much needed moisture. Saturday saw some of the heaviest precipitation I have
Chicago – London based band Daughter brought its indie folk rock to the Metro in Chicago last week, giving fans an emotional and magical evening. On album, Daughter is fantastic! Simply brilliant! However, the trio brings it ten fold live. Audience members at the sold-out show calmly and respectfully packed in. This crowd was the