Before their show in Brooklyn at Barclays Arena, TOTO were given commemorative plaques to recognize an eyebrow-raising 40 million albums sold. The achievement is another feather in the cap of the veteran rock ensemble best known for their three top 5 hits Africa, Rosanna, and Hold The Line. Fans of […]
Live Music
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Amazing night Outdoors At Lincoln Center on Saturday 8/8/2015 as an all-star band (Smokey Hormel, David Garza, Benmont Tench, Al Kooper, etc) played Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited for the second annual AmericanaFest NYC. Watkins Family Hour, the long running side band of Nickel Creek’s siblings Sean and Sara Watkins […]
If you’re a Sharon Jones fan, you know Saun & Starr as her backing singers The Dapettes. Now, it’s time to know them at the front of the stage! Their new album on Daptone Records Look Closer is out and the dynamite duo celebrated with a show at Lincoln Center…
Country star Luke Bryan delighted the crowd at FarmBorough Festival earlier this summer. Now the Georgia native is coming back to New York City, where he was asked for directions during his last visit, to celebrate the release of his new album Kill The Lights…
New York City’s own John Pizzarelli is, like a lot of us, a lifelong Beatles fan. You can imagine the thrill it was for the jazz guitarist/vocalist to record with Paul McCartney on the latter’s Kisses On The Bottom a few years ago. Macca had liked the John Pizzarelli Meets The […]
Dr. John gave us a scare by canceling his show in Central Park on 8-2-2014 for health reasons. However, the New Orleans music legend was in good spirits when we chatted a couple of weeks after that on the release of his new album: Ske Dat De Dat – The Spirit […]
After the backlash of the Songs of Innocence giveaway and Bono’s harrowing Central Park bicycle accident last fall, U2 may have felt somewhat beleaguered. Whether or not that history had any bearing on their attitude for this tour is nothing that can be known. What is clear, however, after seeing […]
The Loveless brothers Eoin (pronounced Owen, pictured above) and Rory, better known as the hard-rocking English band Drenge, have a name that sparks associations with grunge. That parallel isn’t necessarily incorrect since fans of Soundgarden’s sonics might appreciate the sludgy goodness that this duo have crafted on their second album, […]
Four heavy jazz artists: Gary Bartz, Buster Williams, Larry Willis, and Al Foster have come together as Heads of State. The new album, Search for Peace, is out and they’ll be celebrating its release with shows this weekend at Manhattan’s Smoke Jazz Club. I spoke with Gary Bartz at the […]
Long time Allman Brothers guitarist Warren Haynes has released an album unlike any in his tremendous career. Ashes & Dust was made with Railroad Earth at The Barber Shop Studios in Hopatcong, New Jersey. Haynesy explained that he’d been collecting songs for years that were the kind of thing that […]
Welsh rockers Super Furry Animals were a tasty take and Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks didn’t disappoint as the 5th annual Village Voice 4 Knots Festival made the transition to a ticketed event and enjoyed its new digs on Pier 84 on Hudson River Park after 4 years at South Street Seaport, […]
Micky Dolenz recorded an album to be released in September 2015 over three shows at Manhattan supper club 54 Below last week. The Monkee and childhood television actor, who has a brilliant run on stage as well, draws upon all of it in his show A Little Bit Broadway, A Little Bit Rock […]
I’m mad about hanging out at the Jazzfest – this year’s Montreal Jazz Festival 2015 being no exception. I ran amok with my video camera and got a taste of groups as far afield as Novalima, The Barr Brothers and Cibo Matto. Catching the Wayne Shorter Quartet was a highlight […]
Brad Paisley and Justin Moore led the charge on the rainy Saturday of the first ever FarmBorough Festival on Randall’s Island, Manhattan. “New York City’s Brand New Country Music Festival” happened Friday through Sunday, June 26 – 28 2015.
The Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital Series has small ensembles visiting parks in all five New York City boroughs this summer and Jackie Robinson Park in Harlem, Manhattan was the venue on Friday, June 26 2015. Accompanied expertly by Dan Saunders on piano, Kiri Deonarine, Ginger Costa-Jackson, and John Moore delighted […]
Christopher Owens has written some amazing songs – both as a solo artist and as the lead singer and songwriter for now defunct indie rock band Girls – and there’s more on his new album Chrissybaby Forever. We grabbed some stoop time before his show at Baby’s All Right in […]
Public Enemy’s Chuck D coming over to say hi to Madisen Ward And The Mama Bear at SXSW in Austin was indicative of the kind of magnetism this mom and son folk duo have. Their songs exist outside any specific time or place and they deliver them with affection and […]
Anthrax has been kicking ass for 34 years! I spoke with Scott Ian about past, present, and future of the legendary thrash metal band backstage at Hammerstein Ballroom…
Before heading to Brooklyn for a Northside Festival show, rock duo Best Coast dropped by WFUV radio for a session. Their gig (with 3 additional touring members) is this Saturday June the 13th; the multi-faceted event runs June 8 – 14 2015. Prepare for the show by enjoying 2 interviews with the […]
Here’s a taste of the 2015 Governors Ball Music Festival action at Randall’s Island Park NYC this past weekend, June 5-7…
The music of Algiers is intense. Its rooted in drums and percussion that create mesmerizing rhythms. Rumbling bass adds momentum and depth while slashing guitar adds texture and urgency. Commanding vocals deliver lyrics that rail against post-colonial power imbalance and injustice. There is anger and intelligence. I spoke with lead […]
London based rock quartet The Vaccines just unleashed their third album English Graffiti. As the record wasn’t out yet when I saw them at SXSW, I was hearing songs like Dream Lover for the first time – and thinking they sounded great next to older material like Bad Mood. Those […]
Pedrito Martinez is such a heavy guy that Wynton, Waters, and Winwood as well as Springsteen, Sting, and Simon have either dropped in on him or invited him on stage or to a session…and those are just the names that grouped well by letter. The Cuban percussionist, singer, bandleader and […]
The Violent Femmes have a long history with New York (Brian Ritchie lived here for a decade, Gordon Gano longer than that, and Brian Viglione now) and a longer history making distinctive music – some visceral, some cerebral – always honest. The veteran proto-alt-rockers tore it up at Rough Trade […]