Grace Woodroofe Grace Woodroofe’s set at Mercury Lounge proved she was a singer who can hold an audience’s attention without trying too hard. That’s not to say she didn’t put all of herself into her performance, but what came out seemed completely natural and honest. Her voice was what carried the show. The lyrics were
America’s oldest performing arts center, BAM, is gearing up to host what may be Brooklyn’s most refined, intellectually stimulating music festival: Crossing Brooklyn Ferry Festival. Running from May 3-5, the festival is curated by The National’s Bryce Dessner and Aaron Dessner, and features a lineup of many of their collaborators and friends. It’s a good
The Head and the Heart’s Charity Rose Thielen The Head and the Heart played a sold out show at Terminal 5 last night to a jubilant crowd. I’m not sure if this band has been on the One Tree Hill soundtrack or something, but somehow they sold out this huge venue and packed it with
It’s artists like EMA who remind me that music is an art form. The lyrics are raw poetry, and every whisper, yell, pause, and fill are placed where they are for a reason. Her show at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Talk Normal and Nü Sensae showcased her emotive set of self-expression well, and her
Modern Americana rock outfit The War on Drugs kicked off their North American tour last week, and are playing their first SXSW show at Pitchfork’s day party today (Image by Samantha West). After making the southern music mecca rounds in Ausin, they’ll be heading west as co-headliners with Sharon Van Etten. Their following headlining leg
Austin Psych Fest doesn’t really need much of a description. It is exactly what it sounds like: a festival with a lineup entirely consisting of psych rock, experimental, garage noise bands, which takes place in Austin, TX the weekend of April 27-29th. This is a festival for blurring the lines of reality with alternate planes
Now everyone is caught up in the SXSW hullabaloo, but the beginning of next month, when the indie rock realm is catching it’s breath is when the indie hip-hop realm has it’s day. The Paid Dues Independent Hip Hop Festival takes place on April 7th in San Bernardino, CA, starting at noon and ending late
The middle of the week promised a great lineup at Union Pool on what was probably the nicest almost-spring night in Brooklyn yet. It was Dead Stars’ 7-inch release show, with Heliotropes and The Veda Rays supporting – all bands that do the Brooklyn music scene justice. (Pictured: Heliotropes) Jessica Numsuwankijkul of Heliotropes Heliotropes are
It’s only been a week since catching Ava Luna at Mercury Lounge, and I’ve been jamming out to them ever since. As witnessed during that show, the band seems to have found a great combination of friends and influences to really be a best new and emerging band. Ava Luna is Carlos Hernandez on vocals
Right before SXSW gets into full swing, and the lines for the food trucks grow exponentially in Austin, Festival Nrmal takes place in San Pedro Garza García, Mexico on March 10th. It’s only a 6-7 hour drive from Austin…a road trip to Mexico could be fun, right? Festival Nrmal is the namesake of the Mexico-based