Austin – Fun Fun Fun Fest definitely front-loaded its lineup. The five bands I wrote about played on Friday, along with Alt-J (who Best New Bands reviewed earlier this month), 2 Chainz, Dinosaur Jr., Death From Above 1979, Judas Priest, and lots of others. The festival got swamped on Day 1, and the line to
Chicago – On Friday night, Capital Cities started a massive dance party inside The Riviera that lasted well into the night. The LA electro-pop band has been performing with CHERUB and Night Terrors of 1927 on an epic North American tour sponsored by Xbox One and Forza Horizon 2. All three bands had Chicago jumping, singing, and dancing
Los Angeles – The independent woman has been picking up a guitar to spill her emotions for decades and Lonna Marie is making her predecessors proud. Her ballads have a simplicity that could easily be imagined being plucked alongside a campfire. They are a simple and lovely homage to love and life’s teachings. The raven-haired
Los Angeles – On a warm, peaceful Wednesday evening at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles’ Miracle Mile district, Tijuana Panthers were anything but quiet as they revved up the large, buzzing crowd with their surprisingly unique brand of saccharine-laced surf punk. Opening for Mariachi El Bronx, the Long Beach-based band put on a performance that
Los Angeles – Brooklyn indie-pop outfit Ex Cops is the duo of Brian Harding (formerly of Hymns) and Amalie Bruun (formerly of Minks). They first made waves late 2012/early 2013 with the release of True Hallucinations. It navigated through the channels of dream-pop never replicating but only purely reinvigorating the vibe. The group now find themselves on a
New York - Seaway is Canada’s contribution to this year’s class of pop rock bands. Although the band has been steadily releasing EPs since 2011, their 2013 debut full-length Hoser was the first of their releases to gain the band anything close to mainstream attention; although they have deserved recognition since “Sabrina the Teenage Bitch” and the Seaway EP. To follow-up
New York – Lorde has revealed the video for her massive single “Yellow Flicker Beat.” The Grammy Award-winning artist not only contributed four tracks to the soundtrack for the forthcoming The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (Republic Records) but she curated the entire lineup of artists which will feature many collaborations including the recently
Chicago – Despite the snow, rain, and hail, the line grew and grew outside The Vic on Halloween night. Chicagoans didn’t let the crazy weather ruin their evening with Junior Prom, Hunter Hunted, and Andrew McMahon. Once inside, concertgoers shed their coats, gloves, and scarves to reveal costumes, anticipation, and excitement. LA duo Hunter Hunted
Chicago – English experimental rock band alt-J has come along way since its formation in 2007 in a Leeds University dorm room. With a new member and new album, the band has been selling out show after show, including two sold-out dates at Chicago’s Riviera. Joe Newman (singer & guitarist), Thom Green (drummer), Gus Unger-Hamilton (keyboardist), and
Chicago – On a recent crisp night in Chicago’s Logan Square, local band Kittyhawk was hanging out with friends and family over beers and laughs at Township. Guitarists Erik Czaja and Mark Jaeschke, singer and keyboardist Kate Grube, and drummer Evan Lorusch, were celebrating the end of their North American tour and the release of