More often than not, artists offer anecdotes of tour life, musical inspiration, or other background information about their work between songs. Both Julia Jacklin and Christian Lee Huston practiced this…
There’s always an awkward moment at seated venue concerts where you’re not sure if you’re supposed to be sitting or standing. From the moment that the British indie rock band…
What happens when an LA-based Surf Punk band comes to play a sold-out show in East Nashville? Chaos, but in the best possible way. On October 7th, 2019 Surf Curse,…
As a Chicago native, Pitchfork Music Festival was a summer staple. There, musicians are friendly and approachable. It’s easy to push through a crowd or hop into the mosh until…
“This album is all about how it’s okay to not be okay, and as an Enneagram type 7, that’s been really hard for me.” Surrounded by her friends, co-writers, and…
The Regrettes, an LA based rock band, unapologetically raised hell at their Nashville show this past Friday. From the moment they stepped on stage, it was clear that their energy…
If there’s one thing I learned this weekend while attending Pitchfork Music Festival, it’s that bad weather will not stop a crowd of music lovers. Faced with sweltering, 95+° heat…
Better Oblivion Community center exploded onto the scene upon announcing their self-titled debut album at the beginning of 2019. The folk-rock duo, composed of Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst (of…
The band’s snappy drumwork and wild synths were complemented perfectly by their visuals, which included an impressive light array and three tireless dancers who roboted, wriggled, and rocked their way through much of the show in full space suits.
Last week, King Princess graced us with a stop on her “Pussy is God” tour in Nashville. Debuting in 2018 with her ep, Make My Bed, King Princess is already cementing her reign as one of the premiere rising pop stars. Make My Bed is a masterful blend of catchy hooks, emotional, and self-aware digs, backed by a strong queer identity, and earned her an almost cultish following. Exit/In was a surprising venue given her popularity, and sold out nearly instantly. The intimacy of the venue, this venue was the perfect place to stage her show.
The “one-person-band” known as Tash Sultana rolled through Nashville last Friday as part of their Flow State World Tour, named after their new album released at the end of August. An Australian native, Tash Sultana fuses psychedelic rock and slow, swinging reggae to create an ethereal environment that invites the listener to get lost in the sound. Tash’s captivating music has gained them avid followers worldwide, who have been known to jump the barricade after the show in order to get closer to the artist.
During the guitar duet/trombone interlude in “sponsor me tape”, about five minutes into Mom Jeans’s set, two thoughts occurred to me: Wow, these guys sound even better live than they…
Austin City Limits is a 3-day, 2-weekend music festival held every year in October. Nearly half a million people traverse Zilker Park in downtown Austin during these weekends to hear some of the biggest artists in the biz. This year, ACL brought in an impressive lineup, including Paul McCartney, Arctic Monkeys, Travis Scott, The National, Metallica, and Odesza. Austin is hailed as “the live music capital of the world” thanks largely in part to this festival. Here are some interesting tidbits from Austin City Limits 2018:
The number of artists who started writing music in the 1950s and are still selling out arenas in 2018 is very small. While each of the giants in this musical…
The first day of Pitchfork Festival brought a whole host of heavy hitters. We were grateful for Pitchfork’s urban park setting, making for small walking distance between stages–it would have been hard to see our favorites without that. Despite the ominous weather forecast, there was a vibrant and energetic feel to the festival–we prayed for the rain to hold off, and ventured in to start off with Julien Baker.
The frozen air immediately slapped me in the face as I stepped out of the car into Old City, Knoxville on my way to Rhythm N’ Blooms. In the same vein, watching the groups of festival goers walking around the neighborhood I wondered what conditions in the world would permit so many people to leave the comforts of their home to fare this kind of tortuous weather. I’ve always been fascinated by the culture of festivals. My fondest music memories as a teen involved violently moshing to the likes of post-hardcore bands Counterparts and Dance Gavin Dance. The collective being near-death experience that I shared with the concert goers gave me an emotional outlet; more importantly, being at hardcore shows gave me a sense of belonging in a community who also found value in these types of experiences. This near-death feeling — the screaming, fist throwing, violent thrashing — became a part of my conception of “a fun concert-going experience.” So needless to say, a festival that seeks to honor the identity and spirit of East Tennessee feel a little out of my traditional conception of “a fun concert-going experience.” However, after a weekend of exploring this new conception of “fun,” I quickly discovered the quirks of this intimate festival. Here is a list of rad things I encountered during my time at Rhythm N’ Blooms:
You want Lorde tickets. We know. Here’s the first clue: Where are you most likely to find melodrama on campus? Go to that location to find the next clue! Oh, and…
Gleams of sunlight patterned the back patio of The Basement East as WRVU chatted with Clay Frankel of Chicago-based rock band, Twin Peaks, the evening before their sold-out show. In between wisps of a cigarette, Clay shared his insights on tour life, the writing process, musical influences, his album artwork drawings, along with answers to various questions from WRVU’s DJ-created Question Bucket Hat.
Called “SXSW’s grungy little sister” by Entertainment Weekly, Savannah Stopover is a hidden gem for festival-goers. In fact, EW perfectly describes this small city fest, as it was conceptualized eight years ago to attract touring artists who were on their way to the colossal South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, TX. Savannah Stopover brings in a large spectrum of artists, from the local bands to the Grammy-winners, but gives them all the same southern welcome.
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.”
Simply put: the Snarky Puppy show was very sold out. With a packed venue, I thought I was facing a rowdy night, and every trip to the bathroom would be like a salmon swimming upstream. But instead of parting the waves, walking around was like crossing a pond—the fans were so enthralled with the musicians on stage that they didn’t move. Normally there are a good number of people walking back and forth in the pass-through to several of the bars surrounding the periphery of the floor, but the bars were nearly empty. Every patron was squeezed as close to the front as possible, eyes glued to the stage.