Author page: Cole Jackson

Magic in Memphis: A Review of Beale Street Music Festival 2018

One of the nation’s best kept musical secrets lies a mere three hours away from Nashville. Beale Street Music Festival, located in my hometown of Memphis, TN, consistently has one of the best small-festival lineups each year for only a fraction of most festivals’ price. I got the great pleasure of being able to work press this year, and as a result fell even more in love with my favorite Memphis event of the year.

WRVU Up-And-Coming: Still Woozy

Among the droves of indie “bedroom pop” artists saturating the music industry right now, Still Woozy stands out as one of the best. The man behind this whimsical name is Sven Gamsky, a recent college graduate from Oakland, California. Writing, producing, and recording everything in his own garage, Gamsky is obviously a man of immense talent and creative aptitude. His music is reminiscent of fan-favorites like Clairo, Gus Dapperton, and Rex Orange County, but his combination of live instrumentation and his affinity for genuine emotional connection set him apart from the rest.

Grammy-Eligible Joywave Rocks The Basement East

Atop the dark stage in the large ballroom of Nashville’s The Basement East sit six vintage television sets, arranged in a cultish semicircle. I’m here to see Joywave, the glitchy indie-pop group from Rochester, New York. They’re 10 minutes late. I begin to look at my watch when I hear a dull murmur emerge around the room. As I lift my gaze, I see a single man emerge from the darkness. A dim light illuminates his body from below. I can’t make out his face, but I can see his shirt strikingly clear. On it reads one succinct sentence: “I don’t like corn dogs, but I do like Korn, dawg.”

WRVU In-Depth Look: Ranking Every Song on the SATURATION Series

Last weekend I was able to fulfill a year-long dream of mine when I saw BROCKHAMPTON in concert in Indianapolis. If you listened to music in 2017, you probably heard about this group at least once. The 15-member “boyband” took the nation by storm at the tail end of what already was a fantastic year for music. Driven by outstanding production that’s somehow simultaneously progressive and nostalgic and verses from off-kilter personalities such as the unapologetically gay frontman Kevin Abstract, the charmingly sluggish Matt Champion, and electrifying Merlyn Wood, BROCKHAMPTON truly stands out among the hordes of hip-hop projects released each year. In this list, I will attempt to rank every song BROCKHAMPTON released in their SATURATION series, from worst to best. (Note: This includes songs only, not Skits, Scenes, Cinemas, or any of the bonus tracks included in the box set.)