Bumbershoot has been around for a while – this will be their 42nd year of gathering some of the most interesting and stimulating music and art in Seattle, Wash. This year it will take place September 1-3, which is Labor Day weekend, at the Seattle Center. This will no doubt be a weekend of wildly
Charlie Mars is a singer/songwriter from Tupelo, MS who’s not just another white guy with a guitar whining about his girlfriend. He’s releasing his latest album, Blackberry Light today, independently, and about to go on an extensive tour in support. I recently had what turned out to be a really sobering conversation with him, as
“I would see more black people with mohawks than I’d ever seen my entire life. You see people who you thought you were the only one of.” -P.O.S., musician From August 25-26 the 8th annual Afro-Punk will go down in Brooklyn’s Commodore Berry Park. This will be a full-on culture fest for not only the
There was a distinct moment when Alt-J took the stage this past Tuesday night at Glasslands. Simultaneously there was a heightened air of excitement and energy, coupled with an extremely odorous aroma – the kind left hanging in the air after a rowdy punk show. While my nostrils were momentarily accosted, I knew Alt-J was
One of the latest genre-defying new bands to come out of NYC is New Beard. This eclectic five-piece is led by former Arizona frontman/songwriter Ben Wigler, accompanied by a virtuousic electric tuba player (Tuba Joe Exley), a singly named lefty guitar wizard (Yazan), a sax blasting girl (Maria Christina Eisen), and a Japanese-singing, uber-hyper drummer
Doe Paoro is one of those performers that you may not realize how good they are until you see them live. In the case of this Brooklyn-based chanteuse, her Bandcamp gives an idea of her vocal ability, but her live performance at Glasslands Wednesday night was jaw-dropping. Paired with live drums, the slight vibrato of
Reading and Leeds are technically the same festival, held over the same three-day weekend, with all the same bands performing across seven different stages. What’s the difference, then? Just that one is held in Reading, England, and the other is in Leeds, England. Reading is the original leg of the two, and is in fact
What better way to end the weekend than soaking up the good vibes of Quilt on Sunday night at Mercury Lounge. Their harmonious psych folk show was a gentle segue into Monday, along with the mesmerizing qualities of Young Magic, who played right before. Listening to Quilt was just about tantamount to laying down in
Quilt is a somewhat mysterious and intriguing band from Boston, who make freak-folky, experimental psychedelic jams that swirl around your head and transport you back in time to somewhere in the future. When you listen to their music, somehow that previous statement makes total sense. The trio of Anna Rochinski, Shane Butler, and John Andrews
Outside Lands Festival, named after what the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, Calif., used to be marked as on a map back in the gold rush days, is going down August 10-12. The headliners range from Neil Young & Crazy Horse and Stevie Wonder to Skrillex and Metallica, and the entire lineup in general