Portland – (Publishers Note: We all reach that point where our favorite playlist starts to feel a bit tired and needs some new songs; well most of us do. Not writers for Best New Bands though, because its our job to listen to all the best new stuff. Actually the issue with being a writer
Chicago – Yes, yes it’s that time of year again! Time for one of the hippest music festivals around: Pitchfork. As to be expected, the line-up is stellar. As an added bonus, it’s loaded with Chicago artists, from the legendary Wilco and the remarkable Ryley Walker, to local hip hop celebs Vic Mensa and Chance the Rapper.
New York – London-based synth-pop trio Years & Years have already achieved widespread success since their formation in 2010. They have been slowly but steadily building up a collection of critically lauded single releases and won BBC’s Sound of 2015 (past winners of which include now household names Sam Smith, Haim and Ellie Goulding). Years
Los Angeles – Though outside The Echo the temperatures had fallen a few degrees from their scorching mid-day high by Jacco Gardner’s late 11:30 start time, the venue’s ancient cooling system still failed to provide relief inside the packed club. Thank goodness Gardner specializes in a brand of baroque pop that is not really meant
Chicago – Good grief, Good Graeff! Sorry, it had to be done. However, after getting to know twin sisters Brooke and Brittany “Brit” Graeff – that’s Graeff like “safe” – you too will be exclaiming it, but in a good way, of course. Brooke (guitar, lead vocals) and Brit (cello, backup vocals) along with their
San Francisco - “I can’t remember a time when music wasn’t an important part of my life,” Kendra McKinley tells me at a small coffee shop/sci-fi bookstore in the Mission district of San Francisco. In between sips of green tea she continues, “It was always celebrated in my family and I was constantly exposed to new
Milwaukee – Saturday night at Summerfest, Ohio pop sensations Walk the Moon brought the largest audience employees recalled ever having seen at the U.S. Cellular Stage. The tightly packed crowd stretched out to the waterfront. Everywhere you turned, painted faces and smiles greeted you. Fans up front waited all day, also taking in The Griswolds
Berlin – The Unravelling are back and ready to prove themselves yet again with the release of their latest single ‘Master Drone’, the follow-up to their previous single ‘Revolt’. Released on Fat Wreck Chords, the success of ‘Revolt’ confirms that the dynamic rock duo are back in a major way. Since the release of ‘Revolt’,
Los Angeles - The Red Bull Music Academy is proud to announce the 61 participants of the 2015 Academy edition at la Gaîté lyrique in Paris. Selected by a jury out of 4,509 applications, this year’s class is composed of producers, DJs, instrumentalists, vocalists and composers from 37 different countries. (Represented for the first time in the Academy’s 17-year history are artists
San Francisco – What’s that sound? It’s a punk band. No, it’s a metal band. Nah, it sounds like gritty prog-rock. Not quite – it’s Mutoid Man, a heavy hybrid of all those genres, possibly the result of some sweaty, noisy orgy featuring Black Flag, Exodus and King Crimson. Mutoid Man’s name certainly captures their