The new album (their fourth) from Dragonette, Royal Blues, is due out on Friday! Check out the latest single, “Darth Vader”.
The band is currently on tour — check out the dates below.
Tour Dates:
* = w/ Lowell
^ = w/ Gibbz
11/9: Waterloo, ON @ Maxwell’s*
11/10: Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre*
11/11: Montréal, QC @ Théâtre Fairmount*
11/12: Ottawa, ON @ Bronson Centre*
11/16: Winnipeg, MB @ Pyramid Cabaret*
11/17: Saskatoon, SK @ Louis’ Pub*
11/18: Edmonton, AB @ Starlite Room*
11/19: Calgary, AB @ The Gateway at SAIT*
11/22: Kelowna, BC @ Sapphire Nightclub*
11/23: Vancouver, BC @ Imperial*
11/24: Victoria, BC @ Sugar Nightclub*
11/26: Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge ^
11/27: Seattle, WA @ Neumos ^
11/29: San Francisco, CA @ The Independent ^
11/30: West Hollywood, CA @ The Roxy Theatre ^
12/2: Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Bar ^
12/3: Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater ^
12/5: Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry ^
12/6: Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall ^
12/8: Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar ^
12/10: Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw ^
12/11: Boston, MA @ Royale Boston ^
Since their inception ten years ago, Mad Decent has quickly established itself as a global hotspot for budding talent and the Diplo-led imprint has become home to several of the electronic industry’s brightest talents. Their newest release titled “Easy Go,” comes from the dynamic pairing of certified remix king Grandtheftand singer/songwriter Delaney Jane.
“Grandtheft and I have been working on this track for about a year now and I’m super excited to finally put it out, especially with a fellow artist from Toronto. This song is about living in the fast lane, kinda just going through the motions of every day life while not really feeling alive… That is, until meeting someone who changes it all. I’m in love with this track and I hope it speaks to people like it does to us!” – Delaney Jane
From the start, “Easy Go” has the makings of a chart-topper: Irresistable vocals, whimsical lyrics, and an addictive melody that one may expect from a Grandtheft production. The chemistry between these two Toronto-based artists is on full display throughout the single, with Delaney Jane providing the perfect touch of vocal gloss to match with Grandtheft’s creative output.
“The song has notes of The New Pornographers, and the harmonies during the hook are heavenly. A pretty voice over a grimy guitar? Yeah. That’s good.” – USA Today“
…soothing on a surface level, like latter-day Yo La Tengo…the subject matter is much deeper and darker” – Stereogum
A few years ago, Johnny Solomon was a fixture in the tight knit Twin Cities music scene, forming the angular indie pop band Friends Like These and touring extensively, receiving critical praise from far-flung sources that looked like the beginning of a promising career. The rising success masked his struggle with addiction and mental health problems and quickly eclipsed his career, landing him in jail and treatment facilities across the country. By the end of that whirlwind, he retreated to a small town across the border in Wisconsin where he assumed his music days were over.
However, when he moved out of the city, his demons followed him and he spent his nights writing and recording what he thought would be his eulogy: songs about lost love and lost chances, He recruited some friends to come out and put it all to tape. Calling his new band Communist Daughter, they released their debut album Soundtrack to the End in 2010. As they gained national attention, Johnny once again had to put it all on hold and checked himself in to rehab.
In 2012, Communist Daughter returned with a clear-eyed John, his now-wife Molly Solomon, bassist Adam Switlick, Steven Yasgar on drums, Al Weirs on guitar and Dillon Marchus on keys. They released an EP, Lions & Lambs, and began touring the country again and gaining national attention.
By 2014, they had entered the studio to spend the next two years crafting their sophomore release. Working with producer Kevin Bowe (Replacements, Meat Puppets), they recorded in and out of studios trying to capture the deeply personal songs in a much more deliberate style. Going from studio to bedroom to studio again, they created an album with 11 songs running the gambit from high peaks to dark lows. They took the finished tracks to Nashville where Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Benjamin Booker) put the final mix together, and had Heba Kadry (Future Islands, And You Will Know Us…) master the final product in NYC.
And now, here we are — celebrating the release of their highly anticipated sophomore album The Cracks That Built the Wall. Check out the video below for their track, “Hold Back”.
Tour Dates:
11/7 Lexington KY – The Burl
11/8 Madison – The Frequency
11/9 Iowa City – Yacht Club
11/10 UW Platteville – Platteville, WI
11/11 Minneapolis – First Avenue
Byron Nash, a Pittsburgh based musician, has been doing this music thing for a long time. While playing lead guitar of the band Formula412, he worked on writing and recording some ideas and keeping them on the “back-burner” you could say. This “back-burner” was called ‘Plan B’.
After collecting over 10 years of songs and ideas, Nash took some music production courses and eventually started his own music company, BNDEEPendent Music. He and his friend Evan Thorsen had been jamming and hanging out together for years; when they finally decided to play some of their songs live in 2014. After great reception, they were asked the following year to play at Kayafest, a restaurant that was having it’s 20th Year Anniversary block party. They put together a makeshift band of talented musicians and again were met with great praise…enough that they finally decided to go forth full throttle as a band.
All they had to do was come up with their name. It was suggested that their name simply be ‘Nash’, but Byron felt weird about it being just his name. So — ta-da!!! Byron Nash & Plan B it is!
And they’ve got a little bit of something for everyone, too! The band is “a well-balanced fusion of rocking dual-guitars, funk-and-soul, straight-forward and emotional vocals, simple songwriting, and a little bit of jam-band and fusion mixed in there.”
The band is having a very special release party for their very first EP, The Late Bloomer, this Friday at The Funhouse at Mr. Smalls.
On the heels of 2014’s acclaimed full-length Bodyparts which landed them a captivating performance on Good Morning America as well as collaborations with Kaskade, Galantis, Big Data, Martin Solveig among others, Canadian electro-pop trio Dragonette have made a valiant return with their fourth studio album Royal Blues to be released worldwide on November 11.
Strapped with a joyous energy yet tinged with melancholy undertones, the record is perfectly timed to keep listeners warm while the winter months creep in. “Body 2 Body” is a bass-driven silky lovesick banger that touches upon the universal struggle of letting go. Directed by Alison Honey Woods with dance and improvised choreography by Alex Crenian and Miles Faber, the “Body 2 Body” lyric video is posted below for you to check out.
Royal Blues is an irresistibly hook-laden, dancefloor-ready celebration of wisdom that only comes from life experience. To celebrate the release, the band will embark on a 22-date North American tour making stops in Boston, LA, Chicago, Portland, Toronto and more. Be sure to catch the powerhouse pop trio live in a city near you!
Tour Dates:
* = w/ Lowell
^ = w/ Gibbz
11/9: Waterloo, ON @ Maxwell’s*
11/10: Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre*
11/11: Montréal, QC @ Théâtre Fairmount*
11/12: Ottawa, ON @ Bronson Centre*
11/16: Winnipeg, MB @ Pyramid Cabaret*
11/17: Saskatoon, SK @ Louis’ Pub*
11/18: Edmonton, AB @ Starlite Room*
11/19: Calgary, AB @ The Gateway at SAIT*
11/22: Kelowna, BC @ Sapphire Nightclub*
11/23: Vancouver, BC @ Imperial*
11/24: Victoria, BC @ Sugar Nightclub*
11/26: Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge ^
11/27: Seattle, WA @ Neumos ^
11/29: San Francisco, CA @ The Independent ^
11/30: West Hollywood, CA @ The Roxy Theatre ^
12/2: Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Bar ^
12/3: Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater ^
12/5: Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry ^
12/6: Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall ^
12/8: Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar ^
12/10: Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw ^
12/11: Boston, MA @ Royale Boston ^
Easy, breezy and just a bit left of center, Miniature Tigers arrive with their perfectly infectious new track, “Nobody Else,” taken from their forthcoming album, I Dreamt I Was A Cowboy, due October 28.
With an eclectic sample and meditative lyrics that will make you feel brand new, the song was a collaborative project for the band. Frontman, Charlie Brand explains- “My friend Jeff Whitman turned me on to Millie Small when we were having dinner one night. I became obsessed with her incredible voice. I started chopping her song “What Am I Living For” up and sent it to Rick. He added those piano chords and some vocals and sent it back to me to finish.”
Brand adds, “Mae (Whitman) gave me the line “Sleep more / Drink less / Find a better therapist” which led to the theme of the song. This song to me is really a big collaboration with my friends and loved ones.”
Upcoming Shows:
10/21 Philadelphia PA – Boot and Saddle
10/22 New York NY – Sunnyvale
10/23 Boston MA – The Middle East Upstairs
After a period of chart-topping collaborations, Canadian electro-pop trio Dragonette have made a valiant return with their fourth studio album Royal Blues to be released worldwide on November 11. Perfectly timed to keep listeners warm while the winter months creep in, the 13-song collection is an irresistibly hook-laden, dancefloor-ready celebration of wisdom that only comes from life experience.
Sonically strapped with a joyous energy, the record is tinged with melancholy undertones. “Sweet Poison” is a deeply personal album cut about love that you can’t hold onto nor let go of. The purposeful simplicity of the video artistically elevates the emotion of the lyrics.
To celebrate the release, the band will embark on a 22-date North American tour making stops in Boston, LA, Chicago, Portland, Toronto and more.
Tour Dates:
* = w/ Lowell
^ = w/ Gibbz
11/9: Waterloo, ON @ Maxwell’s*
11/10: Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre*
11/11: Montréal, QC @ Théâtre Fairmount*
11/12: Ottawa, ON @ Bronson Centre*
11/16: Winnipeg, MB @ Pyramid Cabaret*
11/17: Saskatoon, SK @ Louis’ Pub*
11/18: Edmonton, AB @ Starlite Room*
11/19: Calgary, AB @ The Gateway at SAIT*
11/22: Kelowna, BC @ Sapphire Nightclub*
11/23: Vancouver, BC @ Imperial*
11/24: Victoria, BC @ Sugar Nightclub*
11/26: Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge ^
11/27: Seattle, WA @ Neumos ^
11/29: San Francisco, CA @ The Independent ^
11/30: West Hollywood, CA @ The Roxy Theatre ^
12/2: Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Bar ^
12/3: Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater ^
12/5: Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry ^
12/6: Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall ^
12/8: Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar ^
12/10: Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw ^
12/11: Boston, MA @ Royale Boston ^
Thrival Festival just continues to get better and better every year. This year we were introduced to a new venue, the Carrie Furnaces. The festival also brought it’s largest lineup yet. I’ve saved you guys the trouble of reading all the other articles and posts out there, I’ll tell you the gist.
Friday wasn’t the best, and there’s a lot of feedback on social media to verify that. There were long lines galore; for drinks, for wristbands to GET drinks; and some heavy confusion around drink tokens. Oh, and then they ran out of water. BUT ALAS, no fear, they fixed everything all up for Saturday which was amazing! It’s not very often that an event like this fixes up main complaints in time for the following year, let alone Day Two!
The music has great feedback from Friday (shout-out to Lettuce!!!) EXCEPT for one MAJOR setback. Hmm…let’s see, we have Daya performing and we have The Chainsmokers performing. Daya and Chainsmokers have the hit song “Don’t Let Me Down” and yet they definitely let everyone down by not performing that song together! Whyyyyy? Blasphemy! I seriously don’t get it, can someone explain this to me? There was a chance for some legendary shit right there. *big sigh*
But, here’s a video of them performing their brand new song, “All We Know” featuring Phoebe Ryan:
Anyway, according to festival goers, Saturday ran much smoother and they nixed whatever the hell those drink tokens were about (Thank goodness because no one has time for that when they’re going to have a good time and listen to music!)
I did not make the Music Festival for Day One. But, my main passion was Thievery Corporation who was headlining on Day Two. You know how in your car, if you have Sirius, you can set “alerts” to let you know when certain artists or songs come on, and you can set it to auto-tune to that station. Well, Thievery Corporation is one of the groups on my “alerts” list….and lemme tell you, that alerts list has maybe 3 artists on it. So, that’s how excited I was, if that puts it into perspective for you.
I would have never known the fiasco of Day One had I not read about it, because Day Two was a dream. The weather was perfect; anyone from Pittsburgh knows that’s a huge accomplishment to have good weather for an exciting event. The crowds weren’t as big as Day One, which I attribute to the Chainsmokers crowd, but I welcomed the much more relaxed flow. Especially since only a week before, I was in California for the Kaaboo Music Festival (which The Chainsmokers also performed at) and it was way oversold and overcrowded. So much so that we were forced to leave the event early. Womp Womp.
I also did not deal with any of the parking or shuttle woes thanks to Uber. Though I very much like that a shuttle service was available. So, Uber dropped us off at a designated drop-off area and we marched on down to the entrance. The entrance brought on a teensy bit of confusion, since there were different locations for general admission, will call and VIP, but nothing major. I just have a really bad sense of direction. Once inside, we were thirsty (duh) and while I’m happy with almost anything, my friend was bummed about no liquor, unless you were VIP. BUT, it was still a step up from last year because this year there was wine. Maybe next year everyone can have access to liquor, who knows. Oh, but there were, however, two Skyy Vodka gals there though giving out free shots of a watermelon vodka of some sort, so we took advantage of that (again, duh).
I love that this festival has two stages with only one band playing at a time. This way, there’s no conflicts of interest and you can hear the band playing from anywhere on the festival grounds. And there’s no long waits in between the bands because the next one is already setting up on the other stage. Ty Dolla $ign was supposed to perform, but sadly had to cancel due to a death in his immediate family. But, there was lots to check out besides the music. There were vendors set up selling different items including clothing and coveted flower crowns. Rivers of Steel Arts created live iron pours. The Wheel Mill Stunt BMX team put on a show. There was even a tent with a virtual reality simulator to check out.
Metric put on a fantastic set and wowed us with some of their best songs. Here’s a video of “Breathing Underwater” from Shawn Glass on YouTube:
When it was getting to be that time (Thievery Corporation), the place was noticeably and expectedly even more crowded. I can’t even express how excited I was to see this group that’s been together for over 20 years and yet this was their very first time performing here in Pittsburgh! Their set exceeded mostly everyone’s wildest expectations and hopefully it doesn’t take them that long to come back! They were the most perfect close-out for a sensational Thrival Festival.
After their set, everyone wafted around seemingly walking on clouds. And then suddenly…something more happened. Over yonder, music started playing. The strange but cool artsy thing that everyone had been looking at all weekend sprung to life. It was the Squonk Opera! And what…pray tell, is that?
Squonk Opera is a group of interdisciplinary performing artists from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Led by artistic directors Jackie Dempsey and Steve O’Hearn, Squonk Opera’s shows consist of music, visual art, and acting elements in an attempt to make a form of opera accessible to all people. The group “like to think of ourselves as a wacky, provincial opera company,” says Dempsey, who named the group “Squonk” after a description of a jazz saxophonist’s playing as a “squonk-fest”, rather than the legendary creature of the same name. — From Wikipedia
Check out this little tidbit video of Squonk Opera performing from their Pneumatica show:
I’m so glad that Pittsburgh keeps moving up that cultural ladder and bringing more and more awesomeness, especially in the music department. There’s always going to be little hiccups but this festival was overall a huge success and I can’t wait to see what next year brings!
(P.S. I’m sure I’ll think of more suggestions, but I’d love to see Lotus come perform next year! — Here’s a video of them performing “Anti-Gravity” at the Summerdance Festival in Ohio this year!)
Harts has already had a huge 2016, releasing two hit radio singles in “Peculiar” and “Power“, as well as touring non-stop – storming the UK and Europe earlier in the year, before returning home for a triumphant set on the hallowed Splendour In The Grass stage in July. He is now poised to unleash his sophomore album, the follow up to his critically acclaimed debut Daydreamerin 2014, and the follow up EP Breakthrough in 2015 – records that caught the attention of some of the biggest names in music, including the late, great icon Prince, who became a mentor to the young Melbourne phenom.
Despite the mammoth sonic scale already exhibited by “Peculiar” and “Power” and set to be revealed across all of the album’s 14 songs, Smoke Fire Hope Desire was remarkably self-recorded in Harts’ home studio in Melbourne – its impressive scope the culmination of what the “one-man music-making machine,” attributes to spending years developing his sound as a performer and a producer. The album is the sound of an artist who has locked his musical identity and his voice into his sights, and as Harts admits has allowed himself to be influenced by, “a lot of what I was seeing in the world around me – very current day issues, mixed with my own thoughts and challenges in my life.”
The result is a record that seems destined to find success on both a local and a global level.
Smoke Fire Hope Desire track-listing:
1. Smoke (Intro)
2. Fear In Me
3. All Rise
4. Fire (Interlude)
5. Peculiar
6. Power
7. Deeper The Hole
8. Hope
9. Unfamiliar
10. Wisdom (Interlude)
11. Realize
12. Here I Go
13. Desire (Interlude)
14. Ain’t Too Far Gone
Los Angeles-based rock band Night Riots have announced an October 21st release for new album Love Gloom (Sumerian Records). The band has already released two preview tracks from the album – “Nothing Personal” and “Fangs”.
Fans can get both “Nothing Personal” and “Fangs”—plus “Contagious,” the hit single from last year’s Howl EP—as instant downloads by clicking HERE to pre-order Love Gloom on iTunes.
Night Riots—vocalist Travis Hawley, guitarists Nick Fotinakes and Matt DePauw, bassist Mikel Van Kranenburg and drummer Rico Rodriguez—recorded the album with producer Joe Chiccarelli (Morrissey, Spoon, The Strokes) at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles.
“We recorded in the same room where Led Zeppelin recorded ‘Whole Lotta Love,’ says Hawley. “It was pretty inspiring to come in each day, walk through a hall of gold records and see pictures of Jim Morrison sitting at the console where we mixed. We even had a few weird celebrity sightings, like the time Mikel bumped into Lenny Kravitz and his procession of super models. He flashed a peace sign, said ‘what’s up,’ and sauntered off, his scarf dancing on the ground behind him as he walked.”
About the album title, Hawley says, “Love gloom is within all of us. It’s a collision of emotions. It’s when you need love and can’t find it. It’s the sickness of wanting someone and not knowing if they feel the same way. It’s the tearing of a breakup and the coldness of a partner during a fight. We wanted to make an album that sounded like ecstasy and despair and make the listener feel like they’re climaxing and suffocating at the same time.”
Love Gloom is the follow-up to 2015’s Howl EP, which featured “Contagious,” a song that hit No. 1 on SiriusXM’s Alt Nation while amassing over 4.5 million streams.
Night Riots have been compared to The Cure (by MTV) and The Killers (Earmilk), described as “new wavey bliss” (Billboard) and praised for their “anthemic, synth-laden rock” (Spin). Buzzbands, who recently premiered “Fangs,” praised the band for “fashioning the sound of urban desperados wandering rain-slickened streets, hearts playing tug-of-war with hope and despair.” Over the course of the past couple of years, the group has shared stages with the likes of Lana Del Rey, Morrissey, Cage The Elephant, Walk The Moon, OK Go, The Mowgli’s, Angels & Airwaves and many more, while garnering praise from the likes of KCRW, HuffingtonPost, KROQ, All Things Go, Nylon and AV Club, among others.
Prior to the upcoming “Alt Nation” tour with The Shelters and The Hunna, Night Riots will be playing a string of dates, including an October 21st album release show at the Troubadour in Los Angeles.
Catch Night Riots on these “Alt Nation Advanced Placement Tour” dates:
Nov 5 @ The Shelter in Detroit, MI
Nov 6 @ Bottom Lounge in Chicago, IL
Nov 7 @ Triple Rock Social Club in Minn, MN
Nov 10 @ Adelaide Hall in Toronto, ON
Nov 11 @ La Salsa Rossa in Montreal, QC
Nov 12 @ Gramercy Theatre in New York, NY
Nov 13 @ Once in Somerville, MA
Nov 15 @ U Street Music Hal in Washington, DC
Nov 17 @ Foundry at The Fillmore in Philadelphia, PA
Nov 18 @ Rex Theater in Pittsburgh, PA
Nov 19 @ The Underground in Charlotte, NC
Nov 20 @ Mercy Lounge in Nashville, TN
Nov 22 @ Terminal West in Atlanta, GA
Nov 23 @ Parish Room at HOB in New Orleans, LA
Nov 25 @ Cambridge Room at HOB in Dallas, TX
Nov 26 @ Bronze Peacock at HOB in Houston, TX
Nov 27 @ Antone’s in Austin, TX
Nov 29 @ Marquis Theater in Denver, CO
Nov 30 @ Club Sound in Salt Lake City, UT
All three songs will be part of the band’s set during the upcoming “Advanced Placement Tour,” presented by SiriusXM’s Alt Nation with The Shelters and The Hunna. Dates begin November 5th.
Musically Amusing 
