As we profiled last week in our Artist of the Week feature, Mayer Hawthorne is an artist on the rise. He’s in the midst of a month and half tour with some headlining dates with his band The Country and will opening for Foster The People on others. Crowds seem to like what they hear,
Brendan Benson has had a busy past years, but that’s what happens when you run with Jack White. As we reviewed his show last week, Benson has the chops to cut it live and has learned how the handle a crowd from the reigning king of indie rock. It’s hard to believe that the singer/songwriter
I was there too early, before the doors opened. I was a little more stoned that I should’ve been, more than I wanted to be, the shit I’ve been smoking is deathly powerful and I still haven’t grasped that yet. The scene became downright surreal as the Mother Hips, fronted by Tim Bluhm, Nicki Bluhm’s
The first band of the weekend I caught was Caged Animals at Cameo. This is the project of singer/guitarist Vincent Cacchione, along with his sister Talya on bass, Patrick Curry on drums, and Magali Francoise on synth and awkward dance moves. Together they make fun psych surf pop rock about young love and the New
After a successful few days, the dust is settling on the music run of Northside Festival 2012. Once again, it was often hard to decide what show to see when, but it was also hard to make a bad choice. Here are some highlights from Friday: After a second full day of shows, Zambri, the
Good news for fans of new music: FYF Fest is proud to announce its return to the Los Angeles State Historic Park in downtown Los Angeles, where it’s been held for the past four years. Taking place on Sept 1 and 2 (which is Labor Day weekend), the festival will include performances by the newly
Longtime BestNewBands.com faves Grouplove have done it again. The Los Angeles-based quintet and our official “Best New Band of 2011″ have hit number 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Radio chart for their hit single, “Tongue Tied,” which you may have heard quite a few times on an Apple commercial and several television programs. If
It’s been a good few years for Maps & Atlases. The Chicago-based math rock quartet’s acclaimed 2010 debut full-length, Perch Patchwork, gave it the push it needed to become a heavy hitter in the indie scene, and its sophomore effort, Beware and Be Grateful has allowed the band to regain momentum. The four-piece is currently
Yunalis Zarai, better known as Yuna, is one busy singer/songwriter who is a relative new comer to fans in the States. Her shows are filled with appearances by celebrities like Nicole Richie, Dave Chappelle and rapper Theophilus London, unusual for 26-year-old from Malaysia. Signed to FADER’s record label, the singer is always busy. She got
Two years ago, I saw Kristian Matsson (a.k.a. The Tallest Man On Earth) for the first time in Portland’s swanky Doug Fir Lounge. He was supporting his sophomore album, The Wild Hunt, and though I was only familiar with a selection of tracks on the album, the Swedish singer-songwriter blew me away. On Tuesday night,