Weekend Two of The Austin City Limits Festival kicks off on Friday and in case you haven’t planned your schedule yet, we have a list of 20 bands to definitely consider. We all know why we are going because of the headliners (Paul McCartney, Metallica, Justice, Arctic Monkeys to name a few). It’s always fun showing up earlier in the […]

The Matinee ’18 September 13th – North American Edition features artists and bands who are originally from or now call Canada and the USA home. All six are alumni to The Matinee, so their names should not be surprises. If they are new to you, then we highly recommend following them because you’ll see them in the future. The second […]

More than 2,500 songs shared, some 200 LPs and EPs reviewed, thousands of photos from concerts and festivals, and dozens of premieres later, we’ve arrived at our annual tradition of sharing our favorite songs of the past 52 weeks – also known as The Mega, Mega Playlist of 2017. This year’s playlist is the biggest yet. The 2015 version had […]

2017 has been another fabulous year for music. Numerous bands and artists made triumphant returns, dozens of newcomers took music to new heights, and some established stars aged like fine wines. With the holiday season upon us, it’s the perfect time to review the year that was. For the last five days, we shared our Favorite 50 Albums of 2017. […]

We have arrived at the time of the year when we reflect on our Favorite Albums of 2017. These are the records that will forever hold places on our vinyl shelves and digital libraries because they are timeless treasures. Our list features the triumphant return of several legendary bands, the meteoric rise of some of music’s finest, and spectacular debuts […]

Last year Ottawa’s CityFolk had some unfortunate luck with very rainy weather. However, this year Mother Nature was in a much sunnier mood and gifted the festival with five unbelievably warm nights, perfect to relax outside with a cold beverage and take in some great music. Festivals like CityFolk can be a logistical challenge to navigate with all the talented artists on the lineup. […]

As always, follow the Ottawa CityFolk on social media as they tend to have contests during the day and to be informed of any schedule changes. Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter And if you still want more music, be sure to check out the musical harvest that is Marvest, a free offshoot concert series held at a variety of […]

This year’s Hopscotch festival kicks off on Thursday in Raleigh, North Carolina, and it brings one of the year’s best lineups to the table.  There are tons of great artists and bands from around the country, representing the Brooklyn DIY scene, Philly punk scene, and even a headlining show from Solange Knowles. While the big headlining shows by Solange, Big […]

For the past six years, we’ve been attending the Newport Folk Festival, and every year we’re left wondering how Jay Sweet and his team of organizers, curators, and volunteers could outdo themselves. This year, they may have organized the best NFF to date, and this is taking into consideration that it’s nearly impossible to see every artist and band due […]

A photo essay from Newport Folk Festival 2017 – Day 1. This is just one of four parts. The other articles are: Things we loved – an overview of Newport Folk Festival Day 2 photo essay Day 3 photo essay   MORE PHOTOS IN SLIDER

We have arrived at our favorite time of year and one of our top two festivals. There is nothing like Newport Folk Festival, now in its 58th year! The Festival’s longevity is a testament to its influence and impact on music, such as when Bob Dylan went electric in 1966 or as recently as last year when Kris Kristofferson made […]

The past week was one of the best of 2017, and the Weekend Showcase 3.23 edition reflects its greatness. A staggering 54 songs are on it, featuring some big-name artists (e.g., Arcade Fire, Fleet Foxes, Chelsea Wolfe, Cigarettes After Sex); rising stars (e.g., Julia Jacklin, Noga Erez, Wolf Alice); established veterans (e.g., Frankie Rose, The Dears, Michael Nau); and, of […]

Over the last nine years, Northside Festival has grown from a small festival on the north side of Williamsburg to one of the largest music events in North America. It’s more than just music, though. Northside now has two components – Music, featuring over 300 bands this year, and Innovation, which is a blend of tech, marketing, and journalism based […]

Last year, Brooklyn’s Big Thief released their first LP, Masterpiece, an album which solidified the Brooklyn-based quartet as one of the best new bands. Almost immediately after Masterpiece appeared on countless year-end lists, Big Thief announced their second record, Capacity. It seemed a fairly short amount of time between records, as many people, including myself, were still immensely enjoying their […]

Today, Northside Festival 2017 takes over the venues of Northern Brooklyn. Over the last couple of years, Northside Festival has become New York City’s equivalent to South By Southwest. Its five days consist of three focused on innovation and four days of music. Last year, we got to check out some cool innovation keynotes from Samsung and Amazon. This year […]

It was a huge week for new music with several superstar bands and artists dropping new singles. Two of them are on the Weekend Showcase 3.21 edition, which includes 47 other great songs. The artists represent 15 countries, including: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, and the United States. The playlist […]

The Matinee June 1st has a cinematic feel, where many of the songs have stories that would fit perfectly on the big screen. There are a few that are just boisterous numbers in which you can lose yourself. In that respect, they have the same effect as a great movie.   Big Thief – “Mary” (Brooklyn, USA) RIYL: Angel Olsen, […]

Another week has passed, and another opportunity to review the best new music of the past 7 days. The Weekend Showcase 3.18 edition features 51 songs by artists representing ten (10) countries. They include: Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, France, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the United States, and Wales. The playlist and tracklisting, as usual, follows the list of articles from […]

The Matinee May 9th edition explores eight countries for new music with wide-ranging genres. You won’t find two songs that sound alike here. Prepare to be amazed by these 9 talented bands and artists who hail from Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand, Sweden, and the USA.   Attic Giant – “Blow” (Vienna, Austria) RIYL: Phox, The Head and the Heart, Shovels […]

From SXSW 2017 to JUNOFest and everything in between, we’ve covered a lot this week. Oh, we also spent some time sharing a bunch of new music, and the Weekend Showcase 3.13 edition summarizes all the songs we’ve featured. Find fifty-one (51) are on the mega-playlist, and the artists are representing 11 countries, including: Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, […]