It was a real pleasure to get to know Black Violin in Austin at SXSW. The hip Florida based outfit just released a tasty new album called Stereo Types and tomorrow night November 14, 2015 they’ll do their thing at Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts. I’ve never checked the classical, hip […]
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Greg Holden isn’t too keen to write typical love songs. He told me as a singer/songwriter he’s already got that cliche to contend with, and he’s not about to sing: I love you…fill in a girl’s name… type songs. They don’t interest him. What does interest the British ex-pat is writing […]
Josh Ritter is Getting Ready To Get Down! His rapid-fire vocal on that lead track from his new album, Sermon On The Rocks, sets the tone for a spirited record that is sure to end up on many a top ten list for 2015. The son of neuroscientists in Idaho recorded […]
Protomartyr, the Detroit quartet who just put out their outstanding third album The Agent Intellect, are in NYC for the 35th annual CMJ Music Marathon. Here’s a look at the performance at Santos Party House and a little backstage conversation about the festival.
The Zombies are experiencing an amazing phase in their career that began in 1961. The brilliant rock and pop outfit from St. Albans, Hertfordshire in England unleashes their new album, Still Got That Hunger, this week and they’re on tour playing their 1968 masterpiece Odessey and Oracle (sic!) in its entirety for […]
Smoking hot R&B is what Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats deliver on their self-titled debut album out on Stax Records. Yes, this band is worthy of rebooting the legendary record label. The 8 man outfit crowded into WFUV’s Studio A and duly burned it down! Click HERE for the […]
Upon hearing Shawn Colvin had a new album of covers, Uncovered, her first such collection in 21 years, I looked forward to the album release with something similar to the feeling of sitting down for brunch at La Bonbonniere. That is, I knew I was going to be happy. There […]
Vijay Iyer is currently the most acclaimed pianist in jazz. This year he released the third album – Break Stuff – as the Vijay Iyer Trio featuring Marcus Gilmore on drums and Stephan Crump on double bass. I spoke with the Harlem resident (and Harvard University Professor) at the Montreal Jazz Festival earlier […]
It was a brilliant week at WFUV radio where a pair of Juniors – both amazing guitar players – stopped by for conversations with me and to lay down live versions of songs found on recently released albums. Follow the links to hear the chats and enjoy video of the […]
I don’t want to put a jinx on her but after spending some time with Melanie Martinez, I’m convinced she’s got an extremely promising future as a recording artist. The 20 year old out of Baldwin, Long Island clearly has a creative vision for her music and whether it’s co-writing […]
The new James Maddock album is called The Green. The British-born singer-songwriter who has called the Lower East Side of Manhattan home for the past 12 years has penned another appealing collection of songs. He treated the fortunate group who squeezed into Rockwood Music Hall Stage 3 to a good handful […]
Fifth Harmony are on a roll! Their single Worth It was recently certified double platinum, they celebrated the release of their new video for I’m In Love With A Monster by premiering it in Times Square, and they sold out The Beacon Theatre. In addition to the look at the fab […]
Howard Jones combined adept, crafty skills on synthesizers and keyboards and (an area where many of his contemporaries who were lumped in a general category of synth-pop were lacking) strong songwriting to create a memorable catalog of hits. He brought those hits, 15 in the top 40 including 6 in […]
We are lucky to have Warren Haynes as local talent. The Asheville, NC bred artist moved to the East Village decades ago and is now ‘burbing it up in Westchester. He tapped New Jersey’s Railroad Earth to flesh out a group of songs that he had written over many years including one penned […]
Australian rockers DMA’s, who recently released their self-titled EP in the States, are regulafellas. The guys in this exciting rock band still have day jobs back in Sydney and are tormented tenants too; they told me how they plan to trash their house above a hairdresser’s salon before they move […]
Justin Townes Earle was part of AmericanaFest NYC at Lincoln Center earlier this month. The singer-songwriter has added significantly to his impressive body of work recently with Single Mothers followed closely by Absent Fathers that was recorded in the same sessions. Here’s a taste of the performance and our conversation which featured […]
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 […]
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 […]
Moving to Los Angeles would be an intense experience for almost anyone but for Laura Marling, who grew up on the English countryside, it precipitated what the folk-rock singer-songwriter – half jokingly – called an existential crisis. Here she talks about that city which was an inspiration for her latest release […]
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 […]