New York – Best New Bands and Descendant Records are giving away a vinyl copy of The Lone Bellow’s acclaimed new album, Then Came The Morning, signed by the band members! Our review called the Brooklyn-based trio’s second album “a stunning follow-up to their 2013 self-titled debut.” Zach Williams, Kanene Pipkin and Brian Elmquist, “beautifully
Louisville KY – The Forecastle Festival will return this summer led by Louisville hometown heroes My Morning Jacket; soulful breakout star, Sam Smith; southern rock heavyweights, Widespread Panic; and indie veterans, Modest Mouse. The three-day music celebration, now in its 13th year, will take place July 17-19, at the award-winning Waterfront Park, a sweeping green space on the banks of the Ohio River framed by the
Austin – Six months have elapsed between the U.S. and British releases of Wanted on Voyage, George Ezra’s debut record on Columbia, so that the U.S. release could be synchronized with Ezra’s breakout radio hit, “Budapest,” and his first North American tour. (Ed., Best New Bands spoke with Ezra recently; our interview will be published
Los Angeles – While Alex Calder may be the lesser-known artist to come out of the goofball rock band Makeout Videotape, he is well on his way to carving out his own prominent space in the indie rock world. Calder’s most famous former Makeout Videotape colleague is none other than the crowned prince of slacker
San Francisco – Brooklyn quartet HAERTS burst onto the scene with the release of their 2013 EP Hemiplegia, beckoning listeners into a sugar-tinged realm of bustling pop and heartfelt melancholy. With the release of their self-titled debut last fall, they have already solidified a concrete position as one of the most fascinating new pop bands
Seattle – A second album – particularly following a critically acclaimed debut – can perhaps be one of the hardest aspects of an artist’s career. Many consider it a make-or-break point. As The Lone Bellow’s frontman Zach Williams told Best New Bands back in October, “The sophomore record is clutch.” Fortunately, The Lone Bellow’s upcoming
New York – Jib Kidder’s bandcamp bio reads “no genre, no hometown, hard to pin down since Y2K.” This is true: Sean Schuster-Craig has lived all over the country (grew up in Georgia, spent time in the Midwest and on the West Coast, currently based in New York) and experimented with genres from Southern hip-hop
Nashville – Electro-pop duo Generationals answered the call of expectant fans at Cannery Row’s the High Watt—a sister venue to the legendary Mercy Lounge. Best New Bands reviewed Alix, their latest studio album (via Polyvinyl) in September, and the band stopped by Nashville in order to promote this most recent release. Although they remained faithful
Los Angeles – With Weird Moons being Jack Name’s second album in two years, the enigmatic artist is displaying the trademark prolificacy of his peers on the Castle Face Records roster. Released this week, the follow-up to Light Show is a short album which explores a variety of niches within the psychedelic genre, while never
Sonoma, CA – It’s not often I travel up to a random auditorium in the middle of wine country to see a concert, but for Father John Misty’s show at the Sonoma Veterans Memorial Hall, I did just that. Josh Tillman—the man behind Father John Misty—will be releasing his second LP under the FJM moniker—I