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Although historically most associated with the aughts, Portland-based indie rockers Modest Mouse’s breakthrough sophomore record, The Lonesome Crowded West, actually dropped in 1997. This 25th anniversary of the Calvin Johnson-produced album – ranked 29 on Pitchfork’s 100 greatest albums of the 1990s and 59 on Spin’s 100 greatest albums...
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2022 has already seen a plethora of icons of ‘90s alternative rock grace the stages of the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, including Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon bringing her solo debut to the TLA, L7 celebrating the 30th anniversary of Bricks Are Heavy at Union Transfer, and...
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This Friday, December 9th, Sunn O)))’s Greg Anderson and Stephen O’Malley will kick off a tour as Shoshin (初心) Duo in Atlanta, which includes a December 16th stop at our very own Union Transfer. Last month the experimental metal band and EarthQuaker Devices released the third incarnation of the...
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Dying Wish — a self-described, “extreme metallic hardcore band infused with a punk spirit.” – have been touring basically nonstop since the release of their debut LP, Fragments of a Bitter Memory, which dropped last October on SharpTone Records. The Portland-based group played both Underground Arts and the First...
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The City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection first met Bonny Light Horseman at Boot & Saddle in February of 2020, just before the world shut down… The band – consisting of singer/songwriter Anaïs Mitchell, multi-instrumentalist/producer/arranger Josh Kaufman, and Fruit Bats leader (and former member of The Shins) Eric...
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A Tour of The Concrete Jungle’s stop at Union Transfer next Tuesday, December 6th, has been sold-out for quite a while now. And while beyond-buzzy Richmond metalcore enthusiasts Bad Omens are headlining, and likely provided the biggest incentive for fans to get their tickets early, the tour’s support acts...
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Last December Montreal indie rock outfit Stars treated the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection to a seasonal spectacular at World Café Live as part of their annual North American holiday shows. The 24-song set included covers of Christmas classics by the likes of The Pretenders and The...
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The last time the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection saw The Greeting Committee was just this February, when they headlined The Lounge at World Café Live after selling out the venue almost immediately. However, the Kanas City indie rockers are already prepped for their return, when they...
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Philly’s own Alex G played three sold out shows at Union Transfer 11/18-11/20, completing the tour for his latest album release, “God Save The Animals.” It was especially sweet hearing him sing lyrics on “Miracles” about having a baby while standing next to his pregnant partner, Molly Germer, as...
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Katie Crutchfield has already graced the stage of Union Transfer twice this year, and during her third and most recent 2022 appearance at the Eraserhood ballroom, the singer/songwriter revealed that she was just informed she had played the venue more than any other artist… Her two sold-out appearances this...
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“What’s pleasantly surprising about these shows… is having people come up to us at the merch table and say things like, ‘I usually don’t like this kind of music,’ meaning pop music,” says Kristin Slipp, laughing. Slipp is likely best-known as a member of Cuddle Magic and The Dirty...
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Indie rock singer/songwriter Bartees Strange has already made a major splash in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection this year, with an April show supporting Car Seat Headrest at Franklin Music Hall and a September appearance at WXPN’s XPoNential Music Festival in Camden. However, the DC-based musician...
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Canadian indie poppers Alvvays have described their latest single, “After The Earthquake” – inspired by Haruki Murakami’s After the Quake – as, “a rapid fire recital of drive-thru breakdown, tectonic breakup and boyfriend in a coma brake failure.” The track is off of the band’s third LP, Blue Rev, released...
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This Friday, November 11th, 25-year-old Nashville indie rock singer/songwriter Sophie Allison – better known as Soccer Mommy — returns to Philadelphia to play Franklin Music Hall, her biggest headlining show in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection yet, as part of her Touring, Forever trek. The tour...
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BAYLI is currently our favorite alt-pop-phenom-on-the-rise to emerge from the confines of lockdown-inspired internet fandom. “She makes bops for the it-girl that resides in all of us,” says The Face. The queer, Black singer/songwriter first made a major splash on her own with 2021’s stories from new york EP,...
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Few bands would seem better suited to headline Kung Fu Necktie – Philly’s Mecca of proto-punk – than San Diego garage-soul trio The Schizophonics, whose primary influences would seem to be MC5, The Stooges, and The Cramps. The band – who have been kicking out their jams since 2009...
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I vividly remember five years ago, a quartet of teens looking like the supporting cast of Todd Haynes’ Velvet Goldmine thrusting their way through a beyond-sold-out Kung Fu Necktie (and an exceptionally sweaty and crusty cast of punks there to see A Giant Dog) to take the stage of...
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Welsh alternative rock band The Joy Formidable are currently finishing up their 2022 US tour for their fifth studio album, Into the Blue. Lead singer Ritzy Bryan, bassist Rhydian Dafydd, and drummer Matthew James Thomas took the stage at Underground Arts on October 27th for the fourth date of the...
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This July London-based, internationally bred pop outfit Superorganism released World Wide Pop, the year’s most unabashedly candid collection of songs, and also one of the year’s best. New York Times called the band’s sophomore album, “An explosion of bubble-gum hooks, wild production ideas and genuinely poignant reflections about growing...
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Canadian country singer/songwriter Tenille Townes’ upcoming show at the Music Hall at World Café Live this Friday, November 4th, is at least the third scheduled date for the emerging star’s headlining show at the legendary venue. This January’s date was rescheduled for June, due to the latest strand of...
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Chicago post-punk band Dehd returned to Philly on October 22nd to play songs from their 2022 album, Blue Skies, as well as favorites from their two previous beloved records. ...
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Nashville-based alternative and folk band, Judah & The Lion have just closed out their “Happy Again Tour” for their recent album “Revival.” They were joined by American folk/pop band The National Parks for the second half of their tour, with support from Smallpools for the first half. Check out...
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“It’s good to be back after everything went to shit,” says Gareth Liddiard, frontman and guitarist of Australian art rock band Tropical Fuck Storm. Since the pandemic the quartet has released a handful of releases, including their third full-length (Deep States), a joint EP with King Gizzard & the...
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“When we go the extra yard and do something that’s unexpected and ridiculous, we get really good results,” says Man On Man. Comprised of boyfriends Roddy Bottum (Faith No More, Imperial Teen, Crickets) and Joey Holman (Holman), Man On Man is a self-identified, “unabashed queer rock band… that confronts...
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Nashville-based Americana singer/songwriter Madi Diaz has played a handful of ginormous shows in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection since the August 2021 release of History of a Feeling, her ANTI- debut, which NPR Music called, “freaking superb,” and which even earned a Tweet from Kathleen Hanna. ...
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“We have lots of happy memories of playing there!” says Ritzy Bryan when I ask for her thoughts on the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection. Ritzy is the lead vocalist and guitarist for Welsh alternative rockers The Joy Formidable (alongside bassist Rhydian Dafydd and drummer Matthew James...
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Yesterday Atlanta duo Lowertown released their debut LP, I Love To Lie, courtesy of Dirty Hit. And next week they hit the road for more than a month of shows supporting labelmate beabadoobee, including an October 29th stop at Union Transfer. The band is comprised of BFFs Olivia Osby...
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Momma, the indie slacker rock band from Los Angeles, tour for their latest album release, Household Name, at Johnny Brenda’s on 10/7/22....
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Twin brothers Wyatt and Fletcher Shears, also known as The Garden, brought their 5th studio album, “HORSESHIT ON ROUTE 66,” to Union Transfer on October 8th. The brothers walked onto the stage in their signature jester face paint and performed with simple white stage lights the entire show –...
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“Generally playing Johnny Brenda’s is a good memory,” says Calin Peters, one-half of Boston-based indie folk duo The Ballroom Thieves. The last time I spoke with the band’s other half (in March of 2020, just before COVID put live music on hold), and Calin’s husband, Martin Earley, he told...
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“We’re never really home for more than four days, so the line between home and road is really blurry,” Sammy Rae tells me during a recent phone chat. Sammy Rae is the frontwoman of Sammy Rae & The Friends, a NYC group who blends classic rock, folk, jazz, musical...
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The Killers are, both literally and figuratively, likely the most Vegas band in the world… and that’s not a bad thing… The Las Vegas group shimmied onto pop music’s radar in 2004 with their ineffably infectious anthem of androgyny, “Somebody Told Me,” a smash single that fully embraced the...
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Word on the street (It’s actually from a quite reliable source.) is that tickets are running low for Rare Americans’ upcoming show this coming Sunday, October 9th, at The Foundry… And, considering that their first-ever North American tour completely sold-out earlier this year, I might suggest getting them ASAP… ...
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“We felt like we wanted to make a record that felt like the antidote to the last few years that we went through,” says St. Lucia mainman Jean-Philip Grobler of the band’s fourth LP, Utopia, which drops this Friday, October 7th, courtesy of Nettwerk. The synth-pop band, led by...
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A year ago, to the day, Canadian indie folk trio Wild Rivers graced the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection with a sold-out show at The Foundry, shortly after recording their sophomore LP, Sidelines. The album, which dropped this February on Nettwerk, was characterized by Wonderland as, “sure...
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This August Australian indie folk singer/songwriter Julia Jacklin released her third studio album, Pre Pleasure. Building on the momentum of her 2016 debut, Don’t Let the Kids Win, and 2019’s Crushing, Pre Pleasure sounds to be the 8-time ARIA-nominated musician’s most intimate and unrestrained yet, and its critical acclaim...
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This Friday, September 30th, legendary LA rockers L7 will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their third LP and grunge masterpiece Bricks Are Heavy with a limited-edition reissue on gold and black vinyl, courtesy of Licorice Pizza Records. Although the album was never officially certified gold, the band, along with...
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This February Welsh art pop singer/songwriter Cate Le Bon released her sixth studio album, Pompeii, courtesy of Mexican Summer. NPR claimed the album and artist, “made meaning out of high-art nonsense, turning simple, quotidian things into freaky and oblique images, the stuff of heady and sensual dreams,” and The...
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This May Toronto indie rock collective Broken Social Scene announced their tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their breakthrough album, You Forgot It in People, their sophomore LP, which Pitchfork called, “endlessly replayable, perfect pop.” The album features contributions from longtime friends and collaborators from Do Make Say...
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This coming Sunday, October 2nd, the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection will once again have possibly their last chance to see an emerging pop icon from the intimacy of The Foundry when buzzyworthy alt-pop chanteuse Maude Latour brings her what is this feeling? tour to the 450-capacity...
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“This video does a really good job of portraying how annoying I am!,” said Australian indie rock singer/songwriter Stella Donnelly of the visuals accompanying her latest single, “How Was Your Day?,” which dropped last month. The video juxtaposes imagery of the musician enjoying an afternoon soccer game and happily...
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23-year-old LA-based/Iceland-bred singer, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Laufey is currently in the middle of a sold-out US headlining tour. Last month saw the release of her debut LP, Everything I Know About Love, which Consequence of Sound described as, “a captivating symphony for the modern age,” and which V...
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Although farewell tours are usually associated with Jurassic bands whose relevance has been lost for years, if not decades, that’s far from the case for LA indie duo Girlpool. Avery Tucker and Harmony Tividad have been making music together for just under a decade and, earlier this year, released...
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Colorado trio The Velveteers look like an entity straight out of Todd Haynes’ Velvet Goldmine. However, frontwoman and guitarist Demi Demitro says (in the band’s official bio) that they are far from a retro act: “We don’t want to sound like a band from a different time… We want...
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Tonight alternative metal legends In This Moment bring their part-circus, part-Broadway, part-festival-ready rock show to The Fillmore. And supporting the LA-based band will be Nothing More, Cherry Bombs, and, most notably, proggy, artsy, and surprisingly poppy English experimental metal collective Sleep Token. The literally masked and anonymous band, fronted...
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“I had my sister listen to it and she said, ‘This is like the chaos remix!’” says Sam Huntington of “control,” the first single from local Philadelphia duo Crooks & Nannies in five years, which dropped this Wednesday. The song is an older track, which Madel Rafter (the other...
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Although Americana singer/songwriter Michaela Anne calls Nashville home, she certainly has a special place in her heart for the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection. When we last spoke, in November of 2019, just prior to her headlining show at MilkBoy, she told me that her recent sold-out...
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Earlier this week alternative rock legends The Afghan Whigs released a music video for their latest single, “A Line Of Shots.” And today the Cincinnati band, on their fifth decade, release their 9th studio album, How Do You Burn?, and kick off a US headlining tour that will have...
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Last year Swiss avant-garde metal outfit Zeal & Ardor, led by Manuel Gagneux, found themselves playing North American mega-stages, opening for metal legends Mastodon and Opeth, previewing their self-titled third full-length, which dropped this February on MVKA to resounding praise from the metal community. Kerrang! said, “For a band...
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“When I was younger, I listened to a lot of country music, a lot of hair metal, and I was in a shoegaze band in the early 2010s, so I love Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, and Cocteau Twins. We joke that Honey Harper is ‘bootgaze,’” says Will Fussell, frontman...
Although historically most associated with the aughts, Portland-based indie rockers Modest Mouse’s breakthrough sophomore record, The Lonesome Crowded West, actually dropped in 1997. This 25th anniversary of the Calvin Johnson-produced album – ranked 29 on Pitchfork’s 100 greatest albums of the 1990s and 59 on Spin’s 100 greatest albums...
2022 has already seen a plethora of icons of ‘90s alternative rock grace the stages of the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, including Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon bringing her solo debut to the TLA, L7 celebrating the 30th anniversary of Bricks Are Heavy at Union Transfer, and...
