The classic family concert series where kids and parents can rock out to the classics, The Rock and Roll Playhouse celebrates a special run of shows in celebration of fathers. This concert takes place June 18 and 19 on Father’s Day and Juneteenth Weekend, hosting 19 concerts nationwide of the music of Bob Marley for Kids. This will be the playhouse’s biggest show return since the pandemic.
The Rock and Roll Playhouse’s goal is to introduce the next generation to timeless classics while providing kids with early music exposure and encouraging creativities. The Playhouse was founded in 2013 at its flagship venue Brooklyn Bowl by Peter Shapiro, entrepreneur and co-owner of the Bowl and owner of The Capitol Theatre, and Amy Striem, a certified Early Childhood and Elementary teacher.
The Playhouse was designed to create an experience live music to bring families together, along with an experience in historic venues. This project continues to unite families through music with hundreds of unforgettable shows nationwide. A portion of the weekend’s sales will be donated to the Preservation Hall Foundation.
The Rock and Roll Playhouse has established itself as the premier family-friendly national concert series and we are thrilled to welcome them to The Troubadour for their LA debut. Their incredible band will introduce the next generation to Bob Marley, spreading his messages of love, peace, freedom and unity, as we celebrate both Juneteenth and Father’s Day
Jordan Anderson, Talent Buyer for the Troubadour.
Rock and Roll Playhouse Fathers Day and Juneteenth Weekend Schedule:
Chicago rapper, Lil Durk, has announced the second leg of his “7220 Deluxe Tour.” Produced by LiveNation, The 15-city, month-long expedition kicks-off with a performance on Saturday, September 17 at The Criterion in Oklahoma City, before making stops across the United States.
The tour will see the “When We Shoot” rapper perform throughout the Mid-West and the South, with a week-long layover on the East coast, that will see Lil Durk perform in Philadelphia, the DMV area and on September 30 at Coney Island Amphitheater in Brooklyn, NY. “The 7220 Deluxe Tour” wraps up in Seattle, WA, at WAMU Theater on Monday, October 17.
Since emerging on the rap scene as part of the then-newly idealized drill scene, Lil Durk has maintained a consistent presence in the rap-game for several years before breaking out as a mainstream act with his 2020 album, Just Cause Ya’ll Waited 2, followed by another gold-release later that year in, The Voice.
Released March 2022, the 7220 album debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 charts and has garnered critical praise from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, the New York Times, as well as being certified gold by the RIAA, spawning the platinum and gold-certified singles “Broadway Girls,” “What Happened to Virgil,” “AHHH HA,” and “Pissed Me Off.” Following the album’s release, Durk performed the records “AHHH Ha” and “Petty Too” on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Boasting features from Morgan Wallen, Gunna, Future, among others, the album is Durk’s most commercially successful work to-date, with over 1 Billion streams in 2 months.
Tickets for “The 7220 Deluxe Tour” are now on sale at LiveNation.com, while tour dates can be found below.
THE 7220 DELUXE TOUR DATES:
Sat. Sep 17 – Oklahoma City, OK – The Criterion
Sun. Sep 18 – Little Rock, AR – Simmons Bank Arena
Tue. Sep 20 – Milwaukee, WI – BMO Harris Pavilion
Wed. Sep 21 – Louisville, KY – Iroquois Amphitheater
Sun. Sep 25 – Portsmouth, VA – Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion
Wed. Sep 28 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia
Fri. Sep 30 – Brooklyn, NY – Coney Island Amphitheater
Sun. Oct 02 – Baltimore, MD – Pier Six Pavilion
Mon. Oct 03 – Washington, D.C. – Echostage
Wed. Oct 05 – Nashville, TN – Nashville Municipal Auditorium
Thu. Oct 06 – Birmingham, AL – Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
Fr.i Oct 07 – Southaven, MS – Landers Center
Wed. Oct 12 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium
Fri. Oct 14 – San Francisco, CA – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium Mon Oct 17 – Seattle, WA – WAMU Theater
France Rocks Summer fest, the largest festival of French music in the United States, have announced their 5th anniversary lineup. Beginning on Saturday, June 4, this month-long festival will feature 15 concerts across Brooklyn and Manhattan, and will culminate with a celebration at Central Park’s SummerStage.
Gracing the France Rocks stage will be legendary French hip hop artist MC Solaar, the Nice-based electro-pop artist Hyphen Hyphen and electro-pop trio Bon Entendeur. Co-presented with FiAF (French Institute Alliance Francaise), the performances on June, 21 will also mark the 40th Anniversary of “La Fête de la Musique”, an International day of music that derived from France.
We are thrilled to celebrate the 5th edition of France Rocks Summer Fest and the return of live music to New York City, which is once again thriving.
I am proud to present this diverse group of edgy, up-and-coming artists and can’t wait to witness the beautiful energy of audiences enjoying this tremendous music.
France Rocks founder, Michele Amar
France Rocks highlights the most exciting music coming out of France today, as well as international artists who draw their inspiration from French culture. Attracting more than 50,000 music lovers across all backgrounds, free and ticketed shows will be held across eight venues throughout the month, including Brooklyn Steel and Blue Note Jazz Club.
This year’s France Rocks festival is supported in part by the city’s programming initiative, NY Music Month, the official celebration of New York City’s vibrant and dynamic music ecosystem. In turn, France Rocks hopes to present its most eclectic roster of music to-date, ranging from gypsy jazz, electro-pop, Latin inspired French music and more.
France Rocks SummerFest is also supported through partnerships with France Rocks, French Institute Alliance Francaise, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, Make Music New York, French Morning, A2IM Indie Week, SummerStage in Central Park, and the Lincoln Center.
Fore more on France Rocks Music Festival, visit their official website. While the entire festival lineup can be found below.
FRANCE ROCKS SUMMER FEST 2022 LINEUP: Sat, June 4 – Las Rubias del Norte @ Barbes – 8PM
Sun, June 5 – La Femme @ Brooklyn Steel – 8PM
Fri, June 10 – Clovis Nicolas @ Blue Note Jazz Club – 12:30PM & 2PM
Unique NYC duo MoonTree has released their debut EP For the Time We Have Left, an avant-garde, jazz-oriented record that shows the breadth of the duo’s creativity in 20 minutes.
Eight songs long, the tracks on For the Time We Have Left follow loose, unconventional song structures and feature an array of instrumentation. Accents of mandolin and guitar in the waltzy and cybernetic “No Point of Reference,” and hints of oboe and flute in the cold and ambient “On Q” enhance the EP’s character.
Cover art of For the Time We Have Left. (found on Spotify)
Tone-wise, For the Time We Have Left can range from being eerie and moody to light and melodic. The space-agey shuffling of “UNEARTHLY” contrasts the arrhythmia and creepy vocal snippets of “LOCKET/SOLES,” while never ceasing to create an enveloping atmosphere.
The EP is very textural, with MoonTree leaning heavily on reverb and never overplaying themselves on percussion, also subtly implementing vocal samples here and there to add an interesting rhythmic and melodic element.
Especially spacious and free-formed moments like the closer “your tree” reminisce slightly of Arthur Russell’s experimental 1986 album World of Echo, however MoonTree’s songs on For the Time We Have Left are consistently more focused than Russell’s offerings.
The EP is lyrically sparse overall, with Jaya Franceschini’s echoey lounge-esque vocals conveying a general focus on the complexities of romantic intimacy. This is made clear at points where reverb stripped away, such as the duet-spoken word piece “A Shoulder to Rain On” about an intense romantic moment between two lovers with a disjointed saxophone-driven instrumental sitting in the background.
There’s also the more traditional jazz cut “open book” which offers the record’s sole guest feature. Brooklyn rapper Zedikaya’s guest verse is as open-book as possible, with him offering musings about a love affair gone sour. This brief detour offers a change of pace on the EP and gives MoonTree a good opportunity to incorporate their hip-hop influences.
Despite juggling various ideas and influences, this project weaves these concepts together into a cohesive, inspired project. With tight musicianship on display, this duo of Jaya Franceschini and Ben Cuomo gives an inspired showing of what they have to offer on For the Time We Have Left.
Brooklyn-based alt-rocker Moon Walker has released his new dark, synthy single “I’m Afraid I’ll Go To Heaven.” He also announced his sophomore album The Attack of Mirrors.
Moon Walker has been described as “Fuzzed-out 70’s rock bliss…politically charged rock music with a sound akin to the White Stripes. Lyrically, the songs are confrontational and sarcastic,” by Westword. He has also been compared to The Talking Heads by New Noise.
Formed during the height of the pandemic, Harry Springer created Moon Walker to pass time and get extra money through selling songs to song libraries. Now, he produces and performs under the name after his first album Truth To Power garnered a fanbase and hundreds of thousands of streams.
The single “I’m Afraid I’ll Go To Heaven” is sarcastic and sincere, with 70s-inspired dark-heavy synths and lyrics commentating on religion and the modern political system. They find humor in darkness as they sing “I’m afraid I’ll go to heaven / That’s why I’m hoping that I’m right / My biggest fear ain’t no red Devil / It’s being near you people all the time.”
Photo credit: Madison McConnell
The music video produced by Madison McConnell is inspired by Kubrick’s The Shining, and the infamous bar scene. Moon Walker gushed about the video in a statement.
This is my favorite music video I’ve ever made. Madi had the idea to base it heavily off of one of my favorite scenes in one of my favorite movies, which I think was brilliant. It also gave me specific references to base my performance off of, which is great if you suck at acting, like me!
His new album TheAttack Of Mirrors, due October 21, will elevate his nostalgic, alternative garage band sounds over ten tracks. He will be using a more experimental approach, expanding on the sounds shown on his first album.
NYC-based singer-songwriter Rachel Bard has released a new track, “The Buildings Are Fake,” her third song to be put on streaming services.
Having written it in 2018 after visiting Los Angeles as a first year film student, the track “is a heartbreak song about the City of Angels.”
Cover art for “The Buildings Are Fake.”
Produced by Brian McTear and Amy Morrissey, the song takes a stripped down garage rock approach. Almost Pixies-like it sets a nice quiet-loud contrast between its imagery-driven verses and disillusioned, anthemic choruses as the track builds towards a loud finish.
As for Bard’s vocal performance, comparisons that ring strongly include Nico and Dan Bejar of Destroyer. Her gloomy, vibrato-laden delivery faithfully match the song’s cynicism and rise to meet the track’s energy during louder moments.
In “The Buildings Are Fake,” Bard is quite visual in how she delivers her ideas. During the verses she muses about pushing “through crowds of teardrops and sunscreen” and “watching the stars all over the floor,” picturesquely reflecting the excited curiosity of a young film student.
It’s all for nought however. “The buildings are fake, and so is your job,” Bard shouts on the hook, comparing the glamorous facade of Los Angeles and the artificial nature of movie sets to that of a dishonest romantic partner, enforcing the track’s general sense of disappointment.
While Rachel Bard doesn’t stray from being artsy and metaphorical in “The Buildings Are Fake,” its message never fails to be clear. This air of let down and heartbreak is conveyed in full articulation over a solid slacker-rock backdrop, making for a fine new addition to Rachel Bard’s resume.
The longevity of the hip hop era has yet to cease. Its influence within the music industry, as well as the significant role it plays in cultural shifts worldwide is ever-growing. With the help of stellar records, powerful performances, captivating music videos and the puissant storytelling, hip hop has become engrained in everyday life, down to basic communication. Over decades it has been fragmented into sub-genres with its origins deriving globally, with one of the most bodacious being drill music. It may have first originated from Southside Chicago, but nonetheless has extensively embedded itself within the rap game forever.
Kid Flvsh
This sub-genre of music began in the early 2010s and was pioneered by the notable, King Louie and Chief Keef. Nonetheless, drill has yet to falter, as it has grown from underground to mainstream music, preeminently within New York and the United Kingdom. Every drill song has a storyline, centered around gun violence, disses, and gang culture which touch upon the realities of surviving the streets. Its raw nature is what also connected people, as well as led rappers from a life of poverty, a higher degree of institutionalized racism, and crime within the hood, to a better life with riches and fame. After consummating such accomplishments, many take on the role of the hero within their hometowns and devote their time, as well as their money to giving back.
Fivio Foreign, Alicia Keys, and Ye, also known as Kanye West, are the three prominent artists who collaborated to create the timeless song, “City of Gods”. Considering the trio’s hometowns are New York City and Chicago, the cultures from both were intertwined to perfection.
In an interview with DJ Clue on 105.1, Foreign compared his song with another credible record by Keys and Jay Z, “Empire State of Mind”, which is a New York classic. The idea for “City of Gods” was first established by none other than musical genius Ye. When Foreign first received the beat, it was a sample from The Chainsmokers’ 2015 song, “New York City“. Soon after creating his verse, he shared everything with Ye, who then envisioned a new path for it. Ye not only mixed up the beat, but also encouraged the drill rapper to alter some of his lyrics to further reinforce his message. After adding in his own verse, the only thing missing was the chorus and Ye knew undoubtedly, the one person who could tie this masterpiece together was Keys.
At first I had said ‘ain’t no King of New York, nobody really in charge’ and Ye like ‘yo you gotta say you the King of New York, you the one that’s in charge.’
Fivio Foreign
Not only did Foreign tribute “City of Gods” to New York City, especially his hometown of Brooklyn, but he dedicated it to his friend and fellow drill rapper, TDott Woo, who was fatally shot soon before the record was released. This tragedy is a prime example of the message behind the passionate lyrics, “New York City please go easy on me tonight. New York City please go easy on this heart of mine.” These are more than just lyrics for another hit song but are words that electrify the hearts of so many who experience the same livelihood of violence and crime within their neighborhood.
Kid Flvsh’s vision, for the cover art of “City of Gods”, was to make a statement with the vibe of New York City, as well as all of the emotions from the song. The drawing is in honor of TDott Woo who mirrored what drill is all about.
“City of Gods” is a biblical term that refers to Heaven, which is why Foreign chose it to represent the city that means the absolute world to him. Additionally, the drill rapper shares this nostalgia with New York City natives, Nas, and Jay Z, who are viewed as “gods” within the world of hip hop. All-embracing, Foreign knows the massive impact his city holds, regarding the rap legends it birthed.
Throughout the record, Foreign continued to shed light on how much he appreciates love from his city and is always considering ways to improve its livelihood, especially for people of color. Nonetheless, he spoke of its terrors and how to survive them, which correlates to his album title B.I.B.L.E., Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.
On Ye’s verse he mentions “It’s a Sunday Service in Brooklyn”, which refers to the time when him along with his gospel group, performed at DMX’s Memorial in Brooklyn. Sunday Service was recognized globally after their appearance at Coachella on Easter of 2019.
Ye proceeds with a juxtaposition, “It’s the city that come with the lights. I’m with the drillers that come with the night.” The first line describes the city that never sleeps, specifically Brooklyn and how it is a city of light. However, the next line emphasizes how dark and gloomy it is at nighttime, considering all the violence that occurs. This topic is nothing new to Ye, as he once bared witness to the crimes of Chicago growing up.
New Yorkers continuously support and respect Ye’s music, cultural influence, and commitment to his artistry. Resultantly, every chance Ye receives he praises New York, hence his reference to Frank Sinatra, “I feel like Sinatra in these streets.” Sinatra is accoladed with being one of the greatest musicians of the 1900s, which Ye compares to how the world views himself in this generation. Additionally, the 20th century singer once created a record in honor of the city, called “New York, New York“.
I’m from the Chi but I’m always New York. In the city, they treat me like Jesus is walkin.
Ye
Although, many claim drill music to be detrimental to the culture and that it supports ongoing violence, Foreign is an advocate of the contrary. In fact, he firmly believes this style of music provides people with the freedom to express themselves and discuss what their ferocious world entails daily. Furthermore, rising to stardom, provides an opportunity for monetary gain, which leads to a better life and keeps more Black men off the streets. Notwithstanding this perspective, he discusses that many artists do not write their own lyrics, and according to Foreign, would make it unjust for laws to be used against them based on the messages relayed.
As a respected voice of this generation, Foreign is currently planning to unify distinguished artists in support of one another to cultivate change. Those he mentioned who were already in agreement are Ye, Jay-Z, Dave East, 2 Chainz, Fabulous, Jim Jones and more. Moving forward, Foreign would love for younger artists to connect and take part in this brotherhood.
Essentially, no matter how much recognition and fame Foreign receives worldwide, he knows that his home will always be right here in the “City of Gods”.
“City of Gods” Lyrics
New York City, please go easy on me tonight New York City, please go easy on this heart of mine
Nigga, this my shit Welcome to the city of Gods Pop was the king of New York Now I’m the nigga in charge Only the drillers, the city is ours We found out the opps and we pick ’em apart I give ’em my time so I give ’em my heart If the city love me, then I’m really a star New York City, please go easy on me tonight New York City, please go easy on this heart of mine ‘Cause I’m losing my lover to the arms of another New York City, please go easy on me
Yeah, look, this is the city of money and violence Everything we do is gon’ come with a challenge Every bitch you fuck is gon’ come with a balance Every shooter with me is coming in silence And you niggas better pick a side You niggas side hoppin’ If I want ’em to not let you come into the city, it’s my option This is the home of the fly shoppin’ This where the bitches gon’ watch pockets When I’m on TV, I gotta look good ‘Cause I know the whole block watchin’ If you chill with the opps, we is not vibin’ If I see ’em in person, we Fox 5 ’em Yeah, the police is on us, we not stoppin’ (Yeah, the police is on us, we not stoppin’, nah)
This is the town of the big drip (big drip), smooth talk (smooth talk, ha) Milly Rock (Milly Rock), Shmoney Dance (Shmoney Dance), Woo Walk (Woo) You will not survive being too soft Been a long time, we took a new loss Shooters shootin’ ’til we got a new corpse If we stop then we lettin’ it cool off
New York City, please go easy on me tonight New York City, please go easy on this heart of mine ‘Cause I’m losing my lover to the arms of another New York City, please go easy on me
We went off the grid We ain’t watch the throne, we took it We went viral on ’em, they lookin’ It’s a Sunday Service in Brooklyn It’s the city that come with the lights I’m with the drillers that come with the night They ain’t do four years in college But they’ll do 25 to life
We make money every night Never too big of a price After I buy the Chicago Bulls Imma go link with Mike And if I let ’em have my wife, niggas should thank me With this Balenciaga and Balenci’ boots and a new blue Yankee
This is Ye, I’m so focused, throw on a mask, no COVID Imma turn your life to a meme, let Justin LaBoy post it You got an album? Postpone it I drop two and they both going I got a feeling they in they feelings They filmin’ a show, but won’t show it
You gotta watch me in slow motion, I’m in that wide-body Benz I go back to college, do an album, and then drop out again Took me a minute to get here, my vision is crystal clear Ayy, Fivi’, excuse me, but this the feature of the year
I feel like Sinatra in these streets Me and Drizzy, we at peace This the backpack with the Polo and the first Jesus piece I’m from the Chi’ but I’m always New York In the city, they treat me like Jesus is walkin’ I been through the pain and all of the torment I’m sayin’ His name, I make that important
Now it’s time to give ’em hell Ask my staff, I pay ’em well This afternoon, a hundred goons pullin’ up to SNL When I pull up, it’s dead on arrival They act like they love you, they don’t even like you They throw a party, won’t even invite you I seen the same thing happen to Michael
You black and you rich, they sayin’ you psycho It’s like a cycle If you text me anything hype You better text back and say it’s a typo The city of Gods, no city is like you This the new New York, Ye is the GOAT Fivi’ is viral and this is the B.I.B.L.E.
New York City, please go easy on me tonight New York City, please go easy on this heart of mine ‘Cause I’m losing my lover to the arms of another New York City, please go easy on me
Don’t leave me, go easy, go easy, go easy Don’t leave me, go easy, go easy, go easy Don’t leave me, go easy, go easy, go easy
Brooklyn-based progressive rock band Nerd Salad has released a new single, “Dogmeat.” The song is the lead single in promotion of their debut album Press Start coming June 3, is the group’s first new music since their 2018 release Your Father and I Aren’t Angry, We’re Just Disappointed.
Artwork for “Dogmeat.”
“Dogmeat” follows a highly transformative structure over its seven-and-a-half minute runtime, going from basic verse-chorus format to instrumental breakdown before returning to its original melody in the song’s conclusion.
The song’s dreamy opening riff gives off a nice warmth that contrasts the apocalyptic subject matter on the verses. “Our future is grim and bleak, all alone to find what you seek,” they sing in the track’s opening lines over a funky blues guitar rhythm. The song’s verses paint a detailed Mad Max-like picture of a world past salvage. “Found you in this desolate wasteland, digging through trash and scraps of old tin cans,” they sing in the second verse’s opening lines.
The melodic chorus gives release to this tension, where all instruments crash together on top of the song’s defining words, “the ceiling’s now the ground, we’re all just dogmeat now.”
The instrumental bridge after the third verse fully plays into the chaos described here, with a long disjointed guitar solo being paced by hyper-frenetic drumming. This part of the song keeps up with the track’s understanding of tension and release, as this section closes out with a heavy blues jam. We then hear the chorus one more time, reinforcing the song’s musical identity before the song’s outro.
All members of Nerd Salad are very talented musicians, and while the song displays this clearly, no part of “Dogmeat” leans into self indulgence. This is even true during the “Paranoid Android” reminiscent freakout which closes the song, as every part of the track properly serves its purpose of detailing a world in havoc.
“Dogmeat” is a creative and chaotic piece of progressive rock, and is a good sign of what’s to come from Nerd Salad next month.
On Friday, Brooklyn-native band Superbloom released their new single “Falling Up,” the group’s first new music since their 2021 debut album Pollen.
Superbloom first promoted the single via Facebook and Instagram on April 29, saying “something short, fast and loud coming soon.”
Promotional artwork for “Falling Up” done by Patrick Turk.
Produced by Superbloom, the two-minute “Superbloom” is a grunge track also features mixing & mastering from Zach Tuch, a Los Angeles-based engineer who has worked with Touché Amoré among many others since 2016.
The song’s structure is simple enough, consisting of two verses and choruses each before the moody but melodic track quickly wraps up.
While glossily produced, the song doesn’t remotely shy away from being loud. Shades of My Bloody Valentine-esque shoegaze are there, with Dan Hoon’s soft, layered vocals competing against waves of dirty guitar noise.
“Falling Up” is at its best when it leans into this noisier side. This is on point during the pre-verse/post-chorus section, where vigorously alternating guitar chords blend with an explosion of drumming.
This energy is matched by the angst of the lyrics, which are somewhat ambiguous. “Shit may hit different if you’re sipping off the pain,” Hoon sings at the end of the second verse.
“Falling Up” does a good job showing awareness for pop-grunge conventions of songwriting while not sounding restrained.
Rochester’s Boy Jr. is gearing up to unleash their debut album Pay Attention to Meee next month. In anticipation of the release, they’re giving us a taste of the synthy-pop ear candy to come.
Inspired by Chairlift and Caroline Polachek, the bedroom pop ditty “Hey Sorry” ensconces girl power in the face of heartbreak.
“‘Hey Sorry’ is a sonic showcase of how fucked up I get when I have a crush.”
– Boy Jr.
Boy Jr. is the songwriting/production project of Erica Allen-Lubman (she/they). To celebrate the release of “Hey Sorry” they will be opening for Aryia at The Knitting Factory, Brooklyn tonight (May 18). Follow on Instagram.
