Getting personal: Waxahatchee shoots straight from the heart on new album

Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield released her second album, Cerulean Salt, in 2013 to high critical acclaim. Full of punk-edged folk songs that are at once quiet and powerful thanks to a stripped-down performance and sublime lyrics, the record was rated an 8.4 out of 10 and dubbed Best New Music by Pitchfork. It landed at No. […]

ARTS Pick: Cabinet

Formed in eastern Pennsylvania in 2006, Cabinet is a band that honors Appalachian tradition by channeling bluegrass, country and folk into a hard-driving style that’s been deemed slamgrass. Through steady harmonies, soaring vocals and storytelling, the group’s music takes the long way home, inviting its listeners to sit back and relax on a virtual ride […]

A wonderful thing: Lyle Lovett on how to get a song going

In the three decades since the notoriously idiosyncratic and gentlemanly Lyle Lovett erupted onto the country music scene with the single “Cowboy Man,” the Texas native has earned a reputation as being an artist’s artist. Lovett’s genre-bending 1986 eponymous debut received unanimous critical acclaim, even winning a spot on Rolling Stone’s best albums of the […]

David Duchovny talks about performing in the moment

Confession: Without “The X-Files,” I wouldn’t be a professional writer. Way back in middle school, I thought I hated writing. At least, I hated writing dry, research-based essays for class. But every Sunday night I found inspiration in the form of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, characters whose investigations into paranormal phenomenon inspired me so […]

A time for place: The Anatomy of Frank makes discoveries on North America

Take a look at The Anatomy of Frank’s song catalog and one thing is immediately clear: These guys are really into geography. The group named its debut album Pangaea, after a supercontinent, and its forthcoming second album, North America, includes songs with titles such as “Occupy Anchorage,” “Vancouver (for child astronauts)” and “A Bridge Over […]

ARTS Pick: An Evening with Lucero

Lucero was born out of boredom during the spring of ’98, when a group of Memphis, Tennessee, buddies who were tired of the punk rock and metal that dominated the local music landscape decided to pick up instruments and pluck out edgy, country tunes. After a period of woodshedding and experimentation, the band grew to […]

ARTS Pick: Dr. Dog and Trampled by Turtles

When two of the most beloved live bands on the circuit are packaged together on the same tour, it’s time to put your party hat on. So, get your fix from Dr. Dog before getting Trampled By Turtles late into the evening. (Sorry, we couldn’t resist.) The indie bluegrass meets neo-psych rock blowout promises a […]

Authentic stuff: The All Souls Tent Revival’s inclusive message of love

New Orleans blues-and-funk bandleader Adrian Duke is known around town for groove-worthy vocals and soulful love songs. Adrian’s wife, Holly Duke, grew up singing soul music, too. But for her, a Baptist-raised Alabama native, that soul came in the form of gospel—and it brought with it a faith that nearly prevented their marriage. “I met […]

ARTS Pick: Andrea Wolper Quartet

A New York jazz scene staple, Andrea Wolper Quartet has been praised in the industry press as “easily superior to the ever expanding population in the singer/songwriter category,” and Wolper has been named one of the “great jazz singers.” The group’s style combines poetry, text and improvisation to create  beautifully complex compositions, and when she’s […]

ARTS Pick: Tom Tom Fall Block Party

Looming sculptures and creative spaces serve as the landscape for the annual Tom Tom Fall Block Party featuring music, food trucks, crafts, performances and a beer garden. Music by Michael Coleman, Moonlight Circus, Disco Risque and Galaxy Dynamite will keep the event lively. Amid the groovy backdrop there will be a tech mixer where some […]