As in previous years, Monday following the first weekend was a “dark” day at Bluesfest with no shows on the schedule. This allows the festival to tweak the grounds as needed while pass holders get a day of rest. Below we share Days 5 through 7. Take a look back of the first four days over here. Day 5 – […]

RBC Bluesfest 2018 week 2 is here! If you’ve been in attendance, you’ve likely already figured out which food vendor is your favourite, which bathrooms have the shortest line at 8 PM, and grabbed some glow-in-the-dark Mardi Gras beads. However, you may still not be sure who to see and with six days of music still ahead, the choices can be […]

It’s the long weekend in Canada, and the Weekend Showcase 4.19 edition is just the playlist for the road trip of the lazy days at the cabin. Find 46 songs on the Showcase, featuring artists from 12 countries, including: Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United States. The playlist and tracklisting, as […]

When Courtney Barnett announced that her sophomore album, Tell Me How You Really Feel, was coming out this year, she stated the LP would be less meandering than her previous records. This comment raised a few alarm bells. Did this mean that the edgy, witty, and bold songwriting and rollicking indie-rock approach was temporarily (or even permanently) being set aside? […]

Fortress Fest 2018 returned to Fort Worth’s cultural district last weekend, building upon and developing its previous year’s performance. Re-mapping of the festival grounds was the most noticeable improvement. Last year, the two stages were too far apart, forcing concertgoers to make a tedious back and forth walk from Will Rogers to the Modern Art Museum. The festival this year […]

We have a much leaner mega-playlist with just 39 songs on the Weekend Showcase 4.15 edition. While it’s a little shorter, it still plenty awesome with the artists and bands representing 14 countries, including: Australia, Austria, Canada, England, Germany, Greece, Israel, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Scotland, Sweden, and the United States. The playlist and tracklisting, as usual, follows the […]

The Matinee ’18 April 20th features fun, boisterous, catchy, and even bombastic numbers. The mini-playlist is the perfect gateway into the weekend, so turn up the volume and listen to these nine fabulous songs. Courtney Barnett – “City Looks Pretty” (Melbourne, Australia) RIYL: Courtney Barnett Courtney Barnett stated earlier in the year that her new album would be different and […]

As March continues to roar with wintry temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere, the music is heating up. The Weekend Showcase 4.10 edition is evidence of this with its 50 songs. There’s more of an edge – rock and post-punk in particular – on the mega-playlist as well as some ambient, pop, and electronica. Fourteen countries are represented, including: Australia, Canada, […]

More booming rockers, a groovy funk-soul-disco-pop tune, some psychedelia, and one of the best songs of the year are all featured on The Matinee ’18 March 16th edition. We get things started with one of the great singer-songwriters of the past decade.   Courtney Barnett – “Need A Little Time” (Melbourne, Australia)  RIYL: Courtney Barnett When Courtney Barnett released […]

It was Valentine’s week, and we fell in love with several new artists and bands. We also fell head over heels again for some of indie’s greatest artists, who surprised us with the gift of new songs. To hear what we mean, the Weekend Showcase 4.06 edition reviews the week that was in music. The playlist has 55 songs from 14 […]

The Matinee ’18 February 16th is full of surprises with a few all-time favorites unveiling new songs to go with tracks from fast-rising “newcomers”. There’s a bit of almost everything below, from rockers to slow burners to melodic ballads. Happy Friday everyone! Courtney Barnett – “Nameless, Faceless” (Melbourne, Australia) RIYL: Courtney Barnett We still remember the day – one of […]

The music scene has become “girly” in Bono’s opinion. The U2 frontman bemoans the lack of “rage” in rock in this month’s Rolling Stone cover story: “I think music has gotten very girly. And there are some good things about that, but hip-hop is the only place for young male anger at the moment – and that’s not good. When I was […]

Today we share our 61 Most Anticipated Albums of 2018, a list that includes long-awaited debuts, returns of some legends, and plenty of emerging talents destined for superstardom. Some of the LPs listed have definite release dates; others are based on substantiated rumors. Then there are a few that are just us desperately hoping for a new record. Let us […]

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 […]

When I think of laid-back guitar rock, it’s hard to beat Courtney Barnett’s Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit. Unless you’re talking about Kurt Vile’s Wakin’ On a Pretty Daze. Luckily, Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile have joined forces on Lotta Sea Lice, their first record together. The result is an album loaded with wonderful, quirky […]

The Melodic Tonic ’17, September 27th edition provides the perfect antidote to the mid-week blues – a.k.a. hump day. Most of the tunes will leave you in a relaxed state, and we’ve included the video to one song as it’s a must see. Happy Wednesday everyone.   Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile – “Continental Breakfast” (Australia/USA) Lotta Sea Lice by […]

Though 2016 does not mark my initial year of taking photos at concerts, this year has afforded me a few photographic firsts. I was lucky enough to be able to work from a photo pit of an arena, take more intimate yet still candid photos of artists during interviews, and photograph a pair of venerated international music festivals as approved […]

This has been a performance I’ve been waiting excitedly on, having picked up tickets when it was originally announced some time ago. Most certainly the prospect of seeing Courtney Barnett live was worthy of enduring a groggy Monday that always manifests after shuttling myself to Montreal and back in an evening. I expect others were anticipating good things too as the venue […]

Over the past year, we’ve listened to thousands of singles – way too many to count. Throughout the year, we’ve shared many of them through three regular features – The Melodic Tonic, The Matinee, and The Weekend Showcase. While we could have rolled up all those singles into one mammoth playlist, that would have meant a playlist of nearly 1,500 songs, not to […]

For ease, here is the complete list of our Favorite 50 Albums of 2015. Click on the sub-heading below to be taken to the original post and hear tracks from the artists. Thanks for reading and here’s to another great year of music ahead of us.   The First 15 Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color Algiers – Algiers The […]