30 years ago, moe. was born in Buffalo, and over the ensuing years the local home town fanbase has only grown. So it was no surprise when nights two and three of the three-day Town Ballroom run sold out weeks in advance. Check out some photos from the second day of the run, Friday November 15th.
Adorned in denim, button-up shirts and boots, Old Crow Medicine Show delivered their high energy blue-grass, folk and country to The Town Hall in New York City. Last Thursday they successfully transported the city slicker crowd to their hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. They danced, jammed and harmonized with a celebrated Southern spirit, spiked with outlaw charm.
Charlie Warsham, an up-and-coming Country music singer/songwriter from Grenada, Mississippi – and current member of Old Crow Medicine Show, kicked off the evening. Armed with an acoustic guitar and his excellent vocals, he delivered a mix of originals and covers, as well as plenty of Southern banter and grace. He closed out his solo set with “Oscar the Angel,” a heartfelt cover of Don Schlitz.
Charlie Warsham opened up the evening.
After Warsham got the crowd warmed up, Old Crow Medicine Show took the stage with vigor. The current lineup includes Joe Andrews (pedal steel, dobro, vocals), Morgan Jahnig (Upright bass), Ketch Secor (Fiddle, Haromica, Banjo, Vocals), Cory Younts (Mandolin, Keyboards, Drums, Vocals), Critter Fuqua (Slide Guitar, Banjo, Vocals) and Warsham (guitar, vocals). Band members were often seen jamming from the energy of each other, in synchronized dance-step.
Old Crow Medicine excels at playing off the energy of each other
The band played a mix of originals and covers. One notable cover was the stoner gospel tune âI Hope Iâm Stoned (When Jesus Takes Me Home),â written by Charlie Warsham and Ashley Monroe for his solo act. The entire group gathered at the front of the stage to harmonize on vocals, with Warhsam taking the lead. The lyrics “A little piece of heaven to take away your blues” are an appropriate description for the incredible show that these talented musicians put on. “Tenneesee Bound,” “Tell It To Me” and “Brushy Mountain Conjugal Trailer” were a few of the originals played this evening.
Charlie Warsham and Ketch Secor include dance moves while they jam
Old Crow Medicine Show has a limited number of shows left on their 2019 tour. Hop on over to their tour page for more details.
Acclaimed indie-pop duo Tennis has announced a major North American headline tour heralding their highly anticipated fifth studio album SWIMMER, due out on Feb.14.
The first single from the album, and first new music in nearly three years, “Runner,” was released with news of the tour, along with a colorful companion video, directed by longtime collaborator Luca Venter and inspired by singer Alaina Moore’s love of “old musicals and all things Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and Bob Fosse.”
“Runner” was called an “incandescent taste of Tennis’s upcoming fifth LP,” by Australia’s Happy, and Cool Hunting hailed the “Runner” video with advice to “Bliss out in technicolor. The visual treatment is full of sequins, night skies and satin—the ideal accompaniment for Moore’s falsetto, crescendoing synths, and lush production.”
Known as a captivating and charismatic live act, Tennis will celebrate the recent premiere of “Runner” with a much-anticipated headline performance at Atlanta, GA’s Over/Under Music Fest on Saturday, Nov. 23. The duo has spent much of its existence on the road, including sold-out headline runs, festival sets, tours alongside such like-minded artists as Father John Misty, Spoon, The Decemberists, and The Shins, and most recently, a sold-out summer double bill with Mumford & Sons at Englewood, CO’s Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre.
Produced by Tennis and mixed by four-time GRAMMY® Award-nominee Claudius Mittendorfer (Panic! At The Disco, Parquet Courts), SWIMMER sees the Denver, CO-based husband and wife duo of Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore elevating their distinctive pop approach to heretofore unexplored new heights, experimenting with atypical instrumentation, complex time changes, and an increased focus on lyrical storytelling fueled in part by a series of life-changing experiences that only served to strengthen their already powerful personal and creative bond.
“’Runner’ is the first song we wrote for our fifth record,” says Moore. “It began as a guitar riff Patrick recorded while we were living off-grid, anchored in a fisherman’s cove called San Juanico. The only instruments we had on board were an acoustic guitar and a drum sequencer, but the limitations seemed to work in our favor. Until that point, we had no clear vision for our writing. The demo Patrick recorded that day outlined our future, the first contours of our next record.”
In addition to their frequent live activity, Tennis has made a number of high profile media appearances, spanning NPR to NBC, while also collaborating on campaigns for top brands like Gucci, Madewell, and Vinyl Me, Please.
Tennis Swimmer Tour dates
November 2019 23 – Over/Under Music Fest – Atlanta, GA
February 2020 25 – Madrid Theatre & Cafe – Kansas City, MO 27 – Granada Theater – Dallas, TX 28 – Paper Tiger – San Antonio, TX 29 – Stubb’s Bar-B-Q – Austin, TX
March 2020 2 – White Oak Music Hall – Houston, TX 4 – Meow Wolf – Santa Fe, NM 26 – Metro Music Hall – Salt Lake City, UT 28 – Top Hat Lounge – Missoula, MT 30 – Venue Nightclub – Vancouver, BC 31 – Neptune Theatre – Seattle, WA
April 2020 1 – Wonder Ballroom – Portland, OR 3 – The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA 4 – The Fonda Theatre – Los Angeles, CA 5 – Belly Up Tavern – Solana Beach, CA 8 – Crescent Ballroom – Phoenix, AZ 10 – Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO 16 – Slowdown – Omaha, NE 17 – Cedar Cultural Center – Minneapolis, MN 18 – The Vic Theatre – Chicago, IL 20 – Majestic Theatre Center – Detroit, MI 21 – Deluxe at Old National Centre – Indianapolis, IN 22 – The Opera House – Toronto, ON 24 – Higher Ground – Burlington, VT 25 – Royale – Boston, MA 26 – Port City Music Hall – Portland, ME 28 – Brooklyn Steel – Brooklyn, NY 29 – The 9:30 Club – Washington, DC 30 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA
May 2020 1- Haw River Ballroom – Saxapahaw, NC 4 – Saturn – Birmingham, AL 6 – Cannery Ballroom – Nashville, TN 8 – Headliners Music Hall – Louisville, KY 9 – Delmar Hall – Saint Louis, MO
At Bushwick Public House on November 20, the east-coast debut screening of Mrs. Henry Presents the Last Waltz will be accompanied by performances from Mrs. Henry and Brooklyn favorites Garcia Peoples.
The evening includes a documentary film featuring Mrs. Henry from their Last Waltz show two years ago, with both bands playing originals as well as a mix of songs from the Last Waltz. In the spirit of the Last Waltz, the bands will collaborate and invite special guests to the stage throughout the night.
On November 26, 2017 the Blind Owl Records band Mrs. Henry led by Dan Cervantes (guitar, Howlin Rain) performed the Last Waltz in its entirety with a wonderful community of San Diego artists with guest performances Pat Beers of The Schitzophonics, Brenden Dellar of Sacri Monti, Jesse Lee of The Paragraphs, Clinton Davis, Noah C Lekas and more. The film premiered at the Oceanside Film Festival and will be a part of the International Shorts Film Festival.
This screening on November 20 at Bushwick Public House will be the film’s first on the east coast, and joining the musical festivities at Bushwick Public House are Mrs. Henry’s musical comrades, and a favorite in the New York live music scene, cosmic indie jam band Garcia Peoples.
A celebration of life, love, and great working class music, fittingly performed in working class Brooklyn. For more info visit the event page.
Brooklyn indie rock fix Drug Couple will celebrate their recent debut EP, Little Hits, tomorrow Monday, November 18, released via PaperCup Music. Self-Titleddescribed the EP as “a collection of songs about finding someone special to share the end times with” – referencing everyone from the Gin Blossoms to Shania Twain… ”
Drug Couple is a musical duo bonded by Miles and Becca. The pair met in November 2015, when Miles produced a record for Becca’s previous band at The CRC, the Brooklyn studio where he has recorded artists including Chairlift, MGMT, Public Access Television, Buscabulla, Kelsey Lu and more.
The duo fell in love in with making music together, and then each other. Since, they’ve been microdosing LSD, considered getting a dog and recorded a collection of songs about finding someone special to share with.
Drug Couple’s music attempts to showcase a dialogue between genders—as opposed to one sided soliloquies that define popular music. Little Hits is a compilation of tunes to get you high, under-influenced by Yo La Tengo, Dinosaur Jr., and the musical partnership of Mutt Lange and Shania Twain.
With Miles on vocals, guitar, keyboard, percussion, and production, Becca owns vocals, bass and keyboard; Pastor Greg finishes on drums and percussion. Will Berman played drums on “U Made A Sound,” mastered by Heba Kadry, and produced, engineered, and mixed by Miles.
Drug Couple’s writing process is different for every song, but the throughline is a spirit of deep collaboration. They wrote Little Hits at home in Brooklyn, and on trips to Vermont and California. The Couple recorded the EP at the The CRC, where they first met.
Drug Couple Tour Dates
Nov. 18 – The Broadway (EP Release Show) – Brooklyn, NY
Set break is over! With those four words Disco Biscuits fans rejoiced and prepared for the first tour from the Philly based jamtronica veterans in nearly a decade, with the first stop was at the beautiful Roxian Theatre in Pittsburgh, PA for two nights with 7 Biscuits’ originals spread out over the shows.
They continue their tour in Richmond, VA, then head north to Burlington, VT and Syracuse, NY next weekend.
Set 1: Little Betty Boop-> Pimp Blue Rikki-> Little Betty Boop-> Hero*-> Little Betty Boop, Bernstein & Chasnoff-> Miracles (inverted)-> Rocket Science*-> Bernstein & Chasnoff
Set 2: Spaga, Stars in the Sky*, Spraypaint Victory-> Anthem*-> Spraypaint Victory
Curl up, get warm and fall into a world of self discovery, an introspection that Ian McCuen has created. McCuen of Buffalo will release the third installment of his album, Songs of Fleeting Permanence, on November 22, once again capturing a daunting but beautiful atmosphere that anyone can relate to – the feeling of confusion and self exploration that we have all felt at some point in our lives.
McCuen has created these last three albums virtually by himself, in his bedroom using using only a laptop, two microphones, and every instrument he could find in his house. His ability to create such an impressive and professional sound under these conditions is jaw-dropping. Yes, technology can give anyone with a computer an opportunity to reach stardom, but it takes a certain level of creativity, wisdom and soul to do what McCuen has done. He created feelings and sensations that people can relate to lyrically, but most impressively, instrumentally. The timbre of every instrument is ideal for the melancholy mood devised; it brings the whole thing home.
A genre like this, with such small orchestration of instruments, can become redundant. But each of the 11 tracks are truly unique, despite using minimalist chord exploration. Defining each track is a well balanced use of major and minor sounds, a colorful use of picking and strumming styles as well as unique percussion choices. The oscillation between these stylistic choices result in an album you can listen to all the way through. There is one thing that could use some balancing; the instrumentation can over power McCuen’s voice at times. When the lyrics are this deep, it’s important to embellish them with a bit more annunciation.
When McCuen composed a song as enthralling as “Buried At Sea,” filled with immersive instrumentation and builds, it overpowers his voice. But when you hear McCuen’s deep lyrics, “..bury me at sea, there’s nothing left for me,” it sucks listeners into the storyline, searching for more. In less complex tracks like
“Don’t,” you hear his wispy, spine-tingling voice speak: “Don’t want your pity, don’t want sympathy, don’t want your advice on how I’m supposed to be. Don’t need constant scrutiny, don’t you know this is all just chemistry.”
“Don’t,” – Songs of Fleeting Permanence, Vol. III
We hear more very honest lyricism in “Giving Up.” “I give up so easily. I can’t seem to follow through with what’s required of me. When I quit on everything else. It’s only a matter of time before I quit on myself.” It takes courage to listen to. These lyrics are revealing and personal, another reason why this album merits respect and attention.
This style of music is hard to swallow sometimes. Listeners will need to be in a similar mindset of McCuen’s trials, relating to being twenty-something. If not, the album will draw you to that space. But, we could all use a little self reflection, and listening to someone else’s troubles can bring us some peace, knowing that this was McCuen’s creative outlet that allowed him to work towards a place of homeostasis.
Key Tracks: Buried At Sea, Don’t, Love Lost, No. VI
Give Songs of Fleeting Performance a try on November 22 with Soundcloud, Spotify and Bandcamp. In the mean time, listen to the single off the album “Love Lost, No. VI” on his Bandcamp page.
Nick Granelle, a vocalist from Long Island, gathered Bronx rapper Evan Lesoule and NYC based singer/songwriter Lillimure together in order to create his new single “Transformation.” Released on Friday, November 1, the track starts as a beat created by Jade Aubertin, utilizing a kalimba in place of a hi hat, and various unconventional percussion instruments, as well as 808 to make the track fall into amorphous categories. From there, Granelle created a multifaceted track with recorded vocals by Lesoule.
Some flavors that come to mind when listening to the track are world, pop, and hip-hop, all mixed together with ethereal female vocals, and features an uptempo ambience packed with many elements. The music video is dark, industrial and hectic, using both vintage and modern contrasting shots.
Gorilla River has announced an expert panel of judges for the Music Video Film Festival, planned for Saturday, February 8 at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center. Sirius XM host Mark Goodman (One of MTV’s “First Five VJs”), Vevo VP of Original Content and Production Ed Walker, and music journalist Alan Light (author of Let’s Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain, and The Skills to Pay the Bills: The Story of the Beastie Boys) will offer commentary on 10 music videos which will be screened at the event. They’ll then select three winners who will get to present their videos at the 2020 Hudson Valley Music Summit.
The inaugural event brings music videos together with fun commentary and live music. The 10 artists who are selected will be given a 15 minute slot, allowing them to share their vision with the audience, show their video and receive feedback from the judges.
“MTV came on the around the time when I first became aware of music in general, so it’s an honor to have a familiar face like Mark Goodman join us at our inaugural event,” said Gorilla River CEO Dave Hoffman. “Alan Light and Ed Walker also bring insight based on their unique vantage points in the industry. We’re very much looking forward to hearing what kind of wisdom they have to offer.”
The Music Video Film Festival is an extension of the Hudson Valley Music Summit which launched this past summer in Kingston, NY. The Summit is a full-day of panel discussions designed for managers, A&R reps, publicists, and anyone who is responsible for managing an artist’s career. Local luminaries such as Pete Shapiro, owner of the Capitol Theatre and Stefani Scamardo of Hard Head Management spoke at the 2019 event. In addition to expert insight, the 200 music industry professionals in attendance enjoyed vendor tables, live performances, and a music video presented by Dennis Dunaway, founding bassist of the Alice Cooper Group.
The Music Video Film Festival promises to tap into the same spirit of creative enthusiasm as it brings a new music and film event to rock and roll fans in the area.
“This is the first event we’re doing that is specifically designed to be enjoyed by fans,” said Hoffman, who has extensive experience producing global B2B conferences. “Our tagline is ‘You want it, you got it.’ Members of the MTV Generation will get the reference.”
Bands and Video Directors looking to submit should visit the festival website for details.
Grammy-nominated Metropolis Ensemble is a dynamically evolving 21st century orchestra with a dedication to creating a future for classical music both of and for the times we live in. Founder and conductor Andrew Cyr, who has been called “a prominent influence in the world of newly emerging music,”by the Washington Post). Metropolis Ensemble exists to support ascending contemporary classical performers and composers, often engaging them with other bleeding-edge cultural innovators and artists through its unique collaborative process.
This season’s performances reflect Metropolis Ensemble’s ongoing process of forming highly collaborative and nurturing relationships with artists to make and present large-scale projects. Past partnerships include major live presentations and studio recordings with artists such as Avi Avital, Timo Andres, Questlove, William Britelle with Wye Oak and Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and Emily Wells.
The collective has announced additional performances for their already underway 2019-2020 season. New events will find collaborations with the collective 37d03d at Eaux Claires Hiver in Wisconsin, as well as pop up shows in New York City.
Several of this season’s events in New York City are being held at Metropolis Ensemble’s pop-up venue called 1 Rivington, which Metropolis launched in 2017 to provide a place for new projects and collaborations to take shape in a supported framework. It has since presented more than 75 performances and commissioned dozens of new works in the loft space. Through these various forms of support and collaboration, Metropolis Ensemble works to re-imagine what a classical music ensemble and community can be in the 21st century. For more information on events, visit their website for details.
Metropolis Ensemble 2019-2020 season upcoming performances
11/22-23/19 — Eaux Claires Hiver – Eau Claire, WI (various locations) Members of the Metropolis Ensemble community will join the collective 37d03d (“People”) for an immersive weekend of performance and improvisation featuring Ani DiFranco, Aaron Dessner, Justin Vernon, Pieta Brown, Jon Hopkins, Willam Brittelle, and more.
11/23/19 — Oak and the Ghost: Music of Nathan Schram – NY, NY at 1 Rivington The album release performance for violist Nathan Schram’s Oak and the Ghost (New Amsterdam Records), featuring the Attacca Quartet. Schram’s music meshes the acoustic world of the classical string quartet with the bumps, bruises, and richness of modern electronica.
12/02/19 — Ecstatic Music: Gaby Moreno, LADAMA and Metropolis Ensemble present ¡Spangled! – NY, NY at Kaufman Music Center Guatemalan-born singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno is joined by the women of Latin Alternative quartet LADAMA and the Grammy-nominated chamber orchestra Metropolis Ensemble (Andrew Cyr, conductor) to perform music from ¡Spangled!—her new collaborative album with American musician, songwriter, arranger and producer Van Dyke Parks (Nonesuch Records).
12/09/19 — JACK Quartet Studio Readings – NY, NY at 1 Rivington In partnership with Metropolis Ensemble, JACK Quartet will read and record existing works by artists who may not otherwise have access to professional ensembles and performance space.
1/03/20 — Fiona Gillespie and Elliot Cole: Tam Lin – NY, NY at 1 Rivington A modern adaptation of the 16th-century Scottish ballad “Tam Lin” — a story of transformation and love to life in a musical drama weaving traditional Celtic, medieval, and modern musical threads.
4/02/20 — Ecstatic Music: Metropolis Ensemble and Bell Orchestra NY, NY at Kaufman Music Center A sonorous trip into the energetic abysses and meditative heights of orchestral music from Bell Orchestre’s upcoming third album, House Music, in a large ensemble arrangement by multi-instrumentalist and composer Owen Pallett, featuring Metropolis Ensemble. Bell Orchestre consists of six musical mavericks including Arcade Fire members Sarah Neufeld and Richard Reed Parry. The evening will also feature the world premiere of a new piece, more details to be announced soon.
