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Shilpa Ray’s recent singles “Heteronormative Horseshit Blues” and “Bootlickers of the Patriarchy” obviously reflect a focus on recent social tumult (She’s described her latest single, “Lawsuits And Suicide,” as, “a diss track to my abuser from a relationship I had suffered through in my mid to late 20s.”), despite...
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Grungy, garage-y alternative rockers Slothrust have been playing the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection for about a decade now, from house shows to the mega-stage of The Fillmore, where they opened for Manchester Orchestra last October. Last September the Boston band released their fifth full-length, Parallel Timeline,...
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We first met twen in November of 2019, when they were on the road supporting Welsh retro alternative rockers The Joy Formidable on their most intimate tour in a decade. The Nashville-based (at the time), Boston-bred indie poppers – led by vocalist Jane Fitzsimmons and guitarist Ian Jones —...
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Last week Lindsey Jordan, better known as Snail Mail, played her first post-lockdown show at Idaho’s Treefort Music Festival. The performance was the first since Snail Mail’s critically acclaimed sophomore LP, Valentine, and since Lindsey had surgery to correct vocal cord polyps, which delayed the tour. However, the album,...
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“Whenever you do something really specific and personal you don’t know if people will be able to relate to it, so to see it resonate with people is so great,” says Charlie Martin of True Love, the latest LP from Texas indie pop duo Hovvdy. The album dropped last...
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Last Fall Chicago-based musician Lala Lala (Lillie West) released one of our very favorite pandemic albums, I Want The Door to Open, via Hardly Art. The album, the artist’s third, has already received a plethora of critical acclaim. Pitchfork said, “I Want the Door to Open slips into new...
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“I love Philly so much… It feels like an extension of New York or something, even though they’re so different,” singer/songwriter Margaret Glaspy tells me during a recent phone chat. Just last November the New York-based, folk-leaning musician opened Theatre of Living Arts for Ruston Kelly with a solo...
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This Monday, March 28th, Theatre of Living Arts was at full capacity for emerging pop star Tate McRae, whose resale tickets — according to gossip heard while waiting in a line that wrapped well around the block – were apparently going for up to $800. And while the 18-year-old...
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“We’re a middle-aged band in the middle of their career and put out a pretty good record that’s not just putting along,” says Cary Ann Hearst, one-half of Charleston-based husband-wife Americana duo Shovels & Rope. Last month the band released Manticore, their latest LP, which focuses on the intimacy...
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“Fucking Kathleen Hanna Tweeted about my record and I literally shat my pants! I’m literally thinking of getting that Tweet printed on a fucking shirt!” Madi Diaz tells me during a recent phone chat. The last time I talked to the Nashville-based artist was last August, just prior to...
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This coming Thursday, March 31st, Minneapolis-based Americana outfit The Cactus Blossoms (composed of brothers Jack Torrey and Page Burkum) will bring the sounds of their third studio LP, One Day, to the Music Hall at World Café Live. Last month the band released this latest full-length of theirs on...
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Last year slowcore legends Low released their 13th full-length, Hey What, to massive critical acclaim. The album, which came courtesy of Sub Pop, made year-end slots on “The 50 Best Albums of 2021” for NPR, Pitchfork, Paste, and The Guardian, in addition to their very-first Grammy nomination, after just...
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In the decade that Adia Victoria has been kicking out twangy blues jams (In the MC5 sense, not the hippie or party-ready sense.), she’s managed to play all of the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection’s favorite barroom dive venues, from local metal mecca Kung Fu Necktie, to...
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The last time Sierra Ferrell played World Café Live she played to a sparse, still-filtering-in crowd as support for Parker Millsap in July of 2019. However, last year the West Virginia-bred, Nashville-based Americana singer/songwriter played a rousing afternoon set at WXPN’s XPoNential Music Festival, in addition to a virtual...
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“I feel like we’re at the peak of ourselves as a band, so I’m excited to get out there and play these songs,” says William Keegan, guitarist and vocalist of SoCal power-poppy garage rockers Together Pangea. The trio released their fifth full-length, DYE, last October on Nettwerk Records, and...
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The last time the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection saw viral-performance-artist-turned-pop-star Poppy was February of 2020, when she last appeared at Theatre of Living Arts, supporting her recently released third LP, I Disagree, which had the candy-coated cyber princess transform into a legit metal vixen (The album...
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Although child-star-turned-pop-sensation JoJo is definitely a “downtown” kind of girl, post-lockdown she’s established herself as a staple of Eraserhood, the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection’s art district most famous as the inspiration behind David Lynch’s Eraserhead. Last October she headlined an exceptionally intimate (and exceptionally sold out)...
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An hour before doors opened, “Verified Resale Tickets” for FLETCHER’s show at The Foundry last Friday were going for $305. And while the rapidly-blowing-up pop star normally performs on a massive-for-a-nightclub, two-tiered stage, the modest stage of the 450-capacity venue had no room for that, making for an extra...
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“The first album was vegetarian, this one’s an omnivore,” says SASAMI of her sophomore LP, Squeeze, which dropped last month on Domino. The singer/songwriter (who played synths in Cherry Glazerr from 2015-2018) is chatting with me via phone during a brief break between two headlining jaunts. Squeeze follows-up SASAMI’s...
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Wednesday, April 6th, Canadian indie folk singer/songwriter Leif Vollebekk will be returning to The Music Hall at World Café Live, and tickets are selling fast. However, opening the evening is equally noteworthy Canadian artist La Force, AKA Ariel Engle, best known as a recent-ish addition (2017) to Canadian indie...
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‘90s Seattle grunge legends Alice In Chains recently announced a double-headlining summer amphitheater tour alongside Breaking Benjamin and opening act Bush, including an August 11th stop at Camden’s Waterfront Music Pavilion. However, for those particularly dedicated fans (and those who prefer something a little more intimate than 25,000-capacity sheds),...
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“It’s communal. If there’s competition, it’s friendly, which is why Carly Cosgrove has done what it’s done, because we have such a supportive culture around us,” says Lucas Naylor of the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection. Naylor is the vocalist and guitarist of Carly Cosgrove, a Philly-based...
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For those of you, like me, who believe that the ‘80s synth-pop, post-punk, and new wave of artists like The Smiths, The Cure, New Order, and Peter Murphy represent the greatest period of pop music, Vancouver’s ACTORS might just be your new favorite band… However, they’ve technically been around...
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This Monday ALT 104.5 made the announcement that Incubus and Sublime with Rome will be coming to Waterfront Music Pavilion Friday, August 5th. However, the announcement failed to emphasize the very coolest band on the bill, The Aquadolls, who will be handling opening duties… But don’t worry, for those...
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“As a band, we’re not married to a certain kind of music, other than that sound that makes it Petite Amie. We’re really open,” says Isa Dosal, one of two vocalists in Mexico City-based indie pop outfit Petite Amie. Guitarist Carlos Medina (bassist of Little Jesus, who play the...
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“We want to make sure everyone knows we’re making music for ourselves, but it connects with people because we’re like them,” says Max Rainer, frontman of folksy indie-rock trio Wilderado. The Tulsa-based band, who have been at it since 2015, seem to be doing quite a good job of...
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“People are like, ‘It sounds so Nashville,’ but it’s funny because I had only been there for a year… and I’m in LA now,” says Kayla Graninger, laughing, during a recent phone chat (going on to note that she’s also lived outside of Chicago, Pennsylvania, Las Vegas, and New...
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21-year-old British singer/songwriter and popstar-on-the-rise Maisie Peters just kicked off her completely sold-out, first-ever US tour… Last year saw the release of Peters’ debut LP, You Signed Up For This, on Ed Sheeran’s Gingerbread Man Records. The full-length follows up a plethora of singles and EPs that she has...
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After nearly two years and three rescheduled dates, industrial legends Ministry are finally bringing The Industrial Strength Tour to Franklin Music Hall next Wednesday, March 9th, with The Melvins and Corrosions of Conformity. Last night the tour kicked off in Columbus, Ohio, and boasted mostly songs from the late-‘80s...
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The Beths are the kind of band that teach you how to pogo through heartbreak. And that was certainly the vibe when the New Zealand harmony-laden power pop quartet played a sold-out show at Eraserhood’s Underground Arts last Thursday, February 24th. The basement venue’s capacity-crowd hopped, bopped, and chanted...
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“We’re in like the throws of touring. We’re touring hard. I never wanna be that cliched Rock N’ Roll thing of, ‘We’re in Rochester tonight, where are we tomorrow?’ but it feels like that sometimes,” says Sammy Rae, laughing. Sammy Rae is frontwoman and leader of Sammy Rae &...
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I imagine than Toronto-based quartet Valley make the kind of pop that Butch Walker would love: vulgar, yet completely inoffensive. They know how to put on a helluva party, but a party which your parents are well aware of and hope is enjoyed by all of those who attend. ...
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Mattiel’s upcoming third LP, Georgia Gothic, will likely earn the award for 2022’s most straightforward album title. The album’s cover features Mattiel Brown and Jonah Swilley donning red-leather suits (of sorts) and grasping pitchforks in a sort of space-age, fetish homage to Grant Wood’s famous painting. The 11 tacks...
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“The songs tell a story of my gremlin-ass running around LA, sneaking into pools at night, messing up and starting over, begging for attention for one second longer, and asking the audience to let me do one more,” says Sarah Tudzin of illuminati hotties’...
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“The main goal is to connect with people,” says Justin Osborne, singer, songwriter, and mainman of Charleston, South Carolina-based indie Americana outfit SUSTO. He’s speaking to me from the road and we’re discussing SUSTO’s fourth full-length, Time in the Sun, which was released last year and called by No...
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Would you know what I meant if I said that something resembled a film adaptation of a Bret Easton Ellis novel? Well, last Thursday night, February 10th, Underground Arts resembled a film adaptation of a Bret Easton Ellis novel. The charmingly seedy basement venue, normally the home to punks,...
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“I think most people expected me to come out with a metal album. And I love metal, but my voice doesn’t sound anything like Arch Enemy,” says Kat Von D, laughing. Last year the tattoo artist, author, reality TV star, and beauty entrepreneur released her first album, Love Made...
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Although she’s currently in the middle of her first-ever headlining tour, there’s a good chance that country music fans of Philadelphia are already familiar with Hailey Whitters. 2019 saw the Iowa-born, Nashville-based singer/songwriter supporting Maren Morris at The Met and just last November she opened for Midland at the...
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“I can definitely guarantee it’ll be very chill, a very relaxing night, with a bit of angst thrown in there,” says Laura Colwell, lead vocalist and songwriter for Austin “regret pop” outfit Sun June, who will be headlining The Lounge at World Café Live Tuesday, February 22nd. “I’m so...
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The last time I spoke to Mica Tenenbaum, one-half of electro-based, experimental indie-pop duo Magdalena Bay (whose biggest influences include Gwen Stefani, Britney Spears, Charli XCX, and Grimes), was in March of 2020, when the band was just about to kick off sold-out tours supporting Yumi Zouma and Kero...
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It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Nashville-based (traditionally acoustic) folk pop duo The Harmaleighs. August of 2019 saw the release of She Won’t Make Sense, the sophomore LP from Haley Grantwho (lead vocals and guitar) and Kaylee Jasperson (bass and backup vocals), which had the band working...
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“I’m just overwhelmingly grateful because I struggled to get anything going for a long time in my life,” says 33-year-old Chicago musician Neal Francis, who is about to kick off a massive tour, which includes headlining dates, festival stops, and a run supporting Amos Lee. The dates are in...
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“The solo record is an interesting thing, when you have these people who are normally heavy collaborators. But every once in a while you have to let out the steam a little bit, which is I think what solo albums do,” says Macie Stewart, best known as one-half of...
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This Saturday, February 5th, Kansas City indie rock outfit The Greeting Committee kick off their US tour in Saint Paul, Minnesota’s Amsterdam Bar and Hall. The tour is in support of their sophomore LP, Dandelion, which dropped last September on Harvest Records. And while the band is still in...
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Last Wednesday, 1/26, Kacey Musgraves gave the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection everything they’d been needing, an arena spectacle complete with pyro, laser lights, and a country diva commanding a mega stage in a skintight jumpsuit as she belted out anthemic breakup ballads (largely from last year’s...
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Last week UK pop phenom Griff and Norwegian electropop chanteuse Sigrid released the most uplifting jam 2022 has had yet, “Head on Fire.” The collaboration began when the two shared a pizza at the Reuben Selby show at Fashion Week in London and quickly started bonding over life as...
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Although Courtney Barnett is far from shedding her punk influences (which include Iggy Pop, Sonic Youth, and Bikini Kill), her third album, 2021’s Things Take Time, Take Time, showcases the Australian indie rock singer/songwriter’s most intimate and vulnerable offerings yet. And with that, comes the artist’s biggest and fanciest...
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2021 produced a plethora of noteworthy releases, but I haven’t found myself namedropping any as “album of the year” as much as UPSAHL’s Lady Jesus. The debut LP from the Phoenix-based singer/songwriter is a raunchy, alt. pop wet-dream-come-true of party-playlist-perfected bangers… quite a feat, considering that the last time...
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Last September Asheville-based indie rock singer/songwriter Indigo De Souza played a sold-out show at Eraserhood’s exceptionally intimate PhilaMOCA. However, she’s already returning to David Lynch’s former neighborhood, this time to play across the street, at the much larger Union Transfer on Sunday, January 30th. But, during a recent phone...
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Toronto-based singer/songwriter Gwendolyn Lewis – better known as DYLYN – is yet to release her first album, but she already has a sold-out US tour on the books. On January 7th the postmodern chanteuse will kick off a six-week run of dates supporting indie rockers Mother Mother, who will...
Shilpa Ray’s recent singles “Heteronormative Horseshit Blues” and “Bootlickers of the Patriarchy” obviously reflect a focus on recent social tumult (She’s described her latest single, “Lawsuits And Suicide,” as, “a diss track to my abuser from a relationship I had suffered through in my mid to late 20s.”), despite...
Grungy, garage-y alternative rockers Slothrust have been playing the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection for about a decade now, from house shows to the mega-stage of The Fillmore, where they opened for Manchester Orchestra last October. Last September the Boston band released their fifth full-length, Parallel Timeline,...
