ARTS Pick: That 1 Guy

A kind of magic: After years of playing professionally in other people’s jazz bands, Mike Silverman, aka That 1 Guy, was frustrated by the instruments and touring schedules that stopped him from making all the rhythms and harmonies he dreamed about. That’s when he started making his own original instruments and formed his unique one-man […]

ARTS Pick: When Particles Collide

After finding similar rock ’n’ roll roots while acting together in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Sasha Alcott and Chris Viner joined forces to create When Particles Collide, a fast-paced, uncompromising band whose sound defies definition—or any sort of containment, for that matter. The duo tours full-time under its own record label and with the […]

ARTS Pick: Lucy Dacus answers some big questions

Being cautious has never been in Lucy Dacus’ playbook. Comfortable with big questions and lyrically confident, Dacus is still riding a wave of accolades from her debut, No Burden, an album that pegged her as someone to watch. Of her latest release, Historian, C-VILLE’s Nick Rubin says Dacus delivers “disarming frankness and old-soul wisdom.” Supported […]

Jessica Lea Mayfield gets personal about domestic abuse

Jessica Lea Mayfield is done apologizing. The Nashville-based artist made her solo debut in 2008 with the album With Blasphemy So Heartfelt, produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach. Known for towing the line between straight-ahead roots (she grew up playing in a bluegrass band with her family) and snarling alt-rock, Mayfield delivered languid vocals […]

ARTS Pick: Eli Cook

Local bluesman Eli Cook takes everything he learned from performing at church revivals and channels it into his long-awaited new album, High-Dollar Gospel. The singer-songwriter’s unique merging of his own Appalachian folk history with ferocious rock riffs has earned him accolades since he came on the scene at age 18. The musical growth apparent on […]

ARTS Pick: Tennis

What is there to do to pass the time when you’re living at sea on a tiny sailboat with only your partner for company? Starting an award-winning band is always a good option. Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley, the duo that comprises Tennis, began writing songs to document their adventures on the ocean. Now, their […]

Own world: The Wild Reeds’ unified harmonic vision

In his essay titled “The Decay of Lying,” published in 1891, Oscar Wilde famously wrote that “life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” The Wild Reeds (in town on July 31) experienced this concept firsthand when they were filming the music video for “Only Songs,” the first single off their sophomore album, The […]

Lowland Hum regains strength with no-frills record

While passing through southeastern Wyoming on tour, Lowland Hum’s Daniel and Lauren Goans borrowed a friend’s car to drive the short distance to Vedauwoo, a place known to the Arapaho as “Land of the Earthborn Spirit” in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest. The Goans drove past Vedauwoo’s hoodoos and outcrops of billion-year-old Sherman granite. They […]

ARTS Pick: Carl Broeml

When you are the lead guitarist for a beloved indie-rock band, you get appearances from cool musician friends on your solo record, as is the case for Carl Broemel on his 2016 release, 4th of July, featuring Neko Case, Laura Veirs and some bandmates from My Morning Jacket. While Broemel is known for his guitar […]