Catchiness. It’s the pop song writer’s holy grail. But what is it about a song that gets it lodged in hipsters’ heads? Is it a combination of the perfect melody and a poetic hook? The right balance of whistling and “woo-woos”? Perhaps a horn-driven chorus? Cowbell anyone? Whatever the formula, Detroit-based Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. […]
Catchiness. It’s the pop song writer’s holy grail. But what is it about a song that gets it lodged in hipsters’ heads? Is it a combination of the perfect melody and a poetic hook? The right balance of whistling and “woo-woos”? Perhaps a horn-driven chorus? Cowbell anyone? Whatever the formula, Detroit-based Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. […]
Though she cut her musical teeth in NYC’s Lower East Side among other notables in the anti-folk game, Diane Cluck now resides in Virginia—a fitting landscape for her lovely and lonely brand of intuitive songwriting. Her first release in eight years, Boneset is a collection of songs written during her hiatus and presented in loose […]
The ink on their college diplomas is not dry, but the nine members of Major and the Monbacks are already making a splash in the Central Virginia music scene. Defying genres, these energetic artists combine Motown, Ska, and Southern rock with the self-proclaimed “Eastern Seaboard’s Horniest Horn Section.” Their songs are pure celebration, a tribute […]
A claw-like spaceship hovers above a cityscape as electronic dance music begins to build. The heavy bass finally drops, and a claw releases fiery bombs syncopated with the beat, leveling the city with sound and displayed by the Executioner, a 420 square foot video stage featuring 3D animation. Housed in the center of the behemoth, Canadian DJ […]
If you’re looking for a mid-century, backwoods throwback, join Kathryn Caine & The Small Band to celebrate the release of a new studio album. Sometimes twangy, sometimes bluesy, Caine’s vocals evoke ’60s folk darlings Dusty Springfield and Bobbie Gentry on this self-titled collection of wide-ranging Americana. The lifelong singer-songwriter’s lyrics drive tunes featuring guitar work […]
Eddie Money whose songs “Baby Hold On,” “Two Tickets to Paradise,” “Shakin’” and “Take Me Home Tonight” dominated the airwaves throughout the ’80s, died Friday, September 13 at age 70. A statement provided by his family reads: “The Money Family regrets to announce that Eddie passed away peacefully early this morning. It is with heavy […]
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The Infamous Stringdusters had a pretty good year last year. Indeed, it seems almost clichéd to lead with such a statement, despite its truth. After all, the Stringdusters have been on a steady rise for nearly seven years, and the band didn’t hit the lofty critical heights […]
When Juan Wauters emigrated from Uruguay to Queens, New York in the early aughts, he brought a love of music that was nurtured into maturity in the borough that brought us the Ramones. In his debut solo record, N.A.P. North American Poetry, Wauters delivers effortless hooks and sentimental lyrics with a heavy folk influence. The […]
Restless musical innovator Béla Fleck is known for taking the banjo on a wide range of sonic journeys. The 15-time Grammy winner brought his instrument to the outer limits of improvisational jazz with his lauded outfit the Flecktones and explored its roots in Africa through the documentary Throw Down Your Heart. These days, Fleck is […]
Throw the word “post” before the name of a music genre, and it can pretty much mean whatever you want it to. The members of Future Islands, an act caught somewhere in the limbo between indie rock and electronic dance music, once called themselves a “post-post” band. Fortunately, the three-piece outfit is willing to get […]