Since the late ’80s Pearl Jam has been rocking out the grunge genre it helped to define. The benchmark of the Seattle scene is currently touring on its tenth album, Lightening Bolt, and it still delivers the authentic, high energy rock ‘n’ roll performances, led by passionate frontman Eddie Vedder, that broke the mold in […]
Since the late ’80s Pearl Jam has been rocking out the grunge genre it helped to define. The benchmark of the Seattle scene is currently touring on its tenth album, Lightening Bolt, and it still delivers the authentic, high energy rock ‘n’ roll performances, led by passionate frontman Eddie Vedder, that broke the mold in […]
The Cold War Kids are kind of like leftovers from a good restaurant in the back of your fridge. You remember them being tasty, but you forget to eat them for a while, and then you start to wonder if they’re any good anymore. If only old leftovers could produce an album like the Kids’ […]
Led by musically accomplished UVA professor Joel Rubin, the Klezmer Ensemble explores Jewish and eastern European musical traditions across centuries. Chief among these is a style developed by the eastern European Jewish instrumentalists known as the klezmorim. The last 40 years have seen a revival of the klezmer derived from the tradition brought by immigrants […]
Though her name might still be unfamiliar to many locals, Diane Cluck has a well-established career as a writer and performer, and a network of fans around the world. She’s the rare female singer-songwriter whose music cannot easily be compared to other artists. Cluck’s music seems to come not so much from a dialogue with […]
The success story of SOJA sounds improbable: An all-white reggae band from the Washington, D.C. suburbs of Northern Virginia gains global acclaim. But after more than a decade of hard touring and developing a catalog of roots reggae tunes, the band (formerly known as Soldiers of Jah Army) has headlined shows in 20 different countries […]
With over 15 years of acclaim under his belt, it’s hard to believe Gary Clark Jr. is just releasing his debut album, Blak and Blu. His natural prowess on guitar first surfaced during his childhood in Austin, Texas, a city that declared an official Gary Clark Jr. Day while he was still in his teens. Prodigy […]
Formed in Montreal in the late ’90s, the band Godspeed You Black Emperor! took its name from a documentary about Japanese motorcycle gangs. The group added musicians and instruments as it grew, at one point totaling 15 members before whittling down to a nine-person line-up with two drummers, three guitarists, a bassist, and a three-piece […]
JJ Grey’s voice is unmistakable. It soars with soulful howls and digs in deep with gritty growls, propelled by Grey’s backing band Mofro, which churns out body-shaking swamp rock. Earlier this year Grey released This River, his seventh studio album dating back to 2001 and the latest in a consistent line of Southern-fried stompers that mix […]
When Scott Hutchison started writing songs, he wasn’t sure he wanted to be heard. He says he intentionally mumbled early in his career so people wouldn’t understand his lyrics. His band’s name, Frightened Rabbit, was taken from a nickname his mom gave him because he was such a shy kid. What a difference a bit […]
Aoife O’Donovan (pronounced ee-fah) has girl-next-door good looks, which makes it all the more shocking when she breaks into the opening lines of “Too Repressed,” a song she wrote for her folk trio Sometymes Why. “I wanna fuck you/But I’m too repressed/ I wanna suck you/but I can’t take off my dress,” she breathes on […]