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Being the week of SXSW, I realize most celebrating artists are currently caught in a cheap-beer-and-taco-fueled haze of Rock’N’Roll taking over Austin’s least conventional performance spaces (perhaps even an airport baggage claim…), so I was thrilled to get a chance to chat via phone with Why Bonnie band leader...
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During a recent phone chat, I found out that Kyle Thomas, better known as King Tuff, actually has some roots in and around the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection: “I have a strong connection to Philly because my dad is from Cherry Hill… I grew up going...
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“The best reaction is the fans, and the fans felt like the new songs could stand up to the old songs. The new songs can hold their own in the set,” says Janet Weiss, drummer, co-founder, and one-half of Portland indie rock duo Quasi, of the songs on band’s...
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Indie rock band The Beths have traveled across the world from their native home of New Zealand for their current 2023 North American Tour for their recent album Expert In A Dying Field. The quartet — consisting of Elizabeth Stokes (vocals and rhythm guitar), Jonathan Pearce (lead guitar and vocals),...
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“We’re expecting a freaking awesome show!” says Los Angeles-based shoegaze trio Soft Blue Shimmer of their show tonight, March 7th, supporting grungy, dreamy duo Softcult at The Foundry at The Fillmore. The two acts that would seem to share a love of 90s-alt-rock have been on the road together...
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Today LA-based chamber pop singer/songwriter Natalie Mering – better known as Weyes Blood — announced new batches of dates in the US (August 23rd-30th and September 12th-14th) and UK/EU (October 28th-November 14th) for her headlining In Holy Flux Tour, in addition to European Festival dates this June and July. ...
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Polyvinyl indie folk artist Ella Williams, better known as Squirrel Flower, has the unique distinction of being the very last artist I got to see perform live before the pandemic shut down any and all legitimate forms of live musical performance for a year-and-a-half. Squirrel Flower was headlining The...
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Earlier this month London-based singer/songwriter Naima Bock (formerly of Goat Girl) released “Lines,” a stand-alone single on Sub Pop/Memorials of Distinction. The track was engineered and produced by Ali Chant in 2022, and is the follow-up to Bock’s solo debut, Giant Palm (released last year on Sub Pop), which...
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Stockholm post-punk band, Viagra Boys, played a sold out show at Union Transfer on 2/14. The band is currently on tour for their third album release, Cave World. I’ve been following the band since their first album but this was my first time seeing their live show, so I...
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“I really hope we get to go on more tours this year. We wanna be road dogs! So, if anyone sees us, who needs a fun, sad band on your tour…” says Puppy Angst vocalist and guitarist Alyssa Milman, offering an open invitation for anyone who may want to...
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NYC hardcore/noise punk band, Show Me The Body, kicked off their headline tour at Union Transfer on February 9th. The band played songs from their latest album release, Trouble The Water, as well as fan favorites from previous records. Santa Cruz hardcore punk band, Scowl, was one of many...
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After an abundance of sell-outs, added dates, and venue upgrades, tonight Nessa Barrett kicks off her young forever Tour, the first-ever headlining jaunt from the 20-year-old pop star on the rise. The trek begins with the first of two nights at the Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix, Arizona, and will...
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UK post-punk band Dry Cleaning continued their US tour with a show at Union Transfer on February 1st. They played songs from their sophomore LP, Stumpwork, one of last year’s most acclaimed releases, along with favorites from their debut album and EP. I’ve been following the band since 2019...
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Nashville-via-NYC songwriter Samia is currently on tour for her newest album Honey, released Jan. 27 of this year. She kicked off the night with the first song off the eleven track album, “Kill Her Freak Out,” and continued through the rest of the album (besides “Nanana”). In amongst the...
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Last Friday singer, songwriter, filmmakers, and Spotify EQUAL Ambassador for February, Zolita, dropped her latest EP, Falling Out / Falling In, along with a music video for the EP’s latest single, “Crazy Ex.” The EP features two new tracks (“Drunk With Your Exes” and “For The Both of Us”),...
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“Basically, I’ll be playing like I’m playing Madison Square Garden. I put all of myself into it,” says folk singer/songwriter Al Olender of her upcoming tour dates, with a bit of a chuckle. We first met Olender last May when she headlined MilkBoy, with support and accompaniment coming from...
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“With the EPs I’ve released, the music has been more related to a concept or a theme and not a sound,” says Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Nisa Lumaj, better known simply as Nisa, who describes her songs as, “genre-less music, leaning on pop, but not being tied to a genre.” (She...
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Being packed into a cramped corner of the seemingly well-beyond-sold-out Franklin Music Hall this past Saturday night (2/4), it was hard to believe that the headliners were, not so long ago, playing to half-capacity crowds at the likes of Tin Angel, Boot & Saddle, and MilkBoy. However, in less...
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This Saturday, February 11th, MilkBoy will be hosting PHILTHY MAG’s pick for the city’s best unofficial Super Bowl pre-party! The concert — which is currently sold-out — will feature the unlikely pairing of Nashville-based indie pop singer/songwriter Marielle Kraft with local openers Great Time, a dance-rock outfit whose sounds...
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“I’m excited and expecting a lot of kids to come out to these shows and pull the craziest stunts, moshing and stagediving. That’s honestly the greatest thing about being in a hardcore punk band,” says Kat Moss, vocalist for Scowl, the Santa Cruz group who’s become known for pairing...
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“We love Philly! I feel that Philly often is chatty in a good way, like talking about how much they like the music. They’re attentive and it’s a party; it’s a mix!” says baroque pop duo Gracie and Rachel, who have opened for the likes of Tori Amos, Julien...
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“As I get older there’s less fucks to give. I like to think I’ve always been making music for myself, but that feeling grows stronger as I get older,” says Jon Spencer during a recent phone chat. Spencer is perhaps best known as leader of punk blues trio The...
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Today queer, all-female/non-binary rockers Razor Braids released a brand-new video for “Nashville, Again.” The video captures the quartet recording (or, rather, re-recording) the track in Jake Cheriff’s Brooklyn studio. The song, which dropped earlier this month, is a reworking of the Brooklyn band’s very first single, “Nashville”, which dropped...
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“We just want it to be a party before we take a break-y… a short break,” says Lizzy of Lizdelise during a recent phone chat. They’re referring to the Philly-based experimental pop group’s headlining show this coming Sunday, January 29th, at Johnny Brenda’s. The gig, which also features locals...
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“I’m just making the shit I wanna do, and I sense that freedom in the record,” Kimbra tells me of her latest album during a Zoom chat earlier this month. That record is A Reckoning, the New Zealand art pop musician’s fourth LP and first to be released independently. ...
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Last month LA-based singer/songwriter Sabrina Teitelbaum – better known as Blondshell – sent millennials on a nostalgic excursion through the trials and tribulations of our formative years with her latest single, “Veronica Mars,” an ode to the CW teen drama and an acknowledgement of just how fucked up are...
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It’s not often we come across a country singer/songwriter with Spotify playlists filled with the likes of The Cramps, MC5, and Lou Reed… However, that just seems to be how Nashville-based Emily Nenni rolls. “I’m just a huge fan of music, not just country,” she tells me during a...
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“It started in dumpy little clubs and evolved into this huge thing,” says Greensky Bluegrass dobro player Anders Beck, joking about the band’s rise to fame. The group have been churning out a sound that blends their namesake with roots-rock, delivered as a jam band, since 2004’s Less Than...
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Today indie-pop singer/songwriter Julia Wolf drops the music video for her latest single, “Rookie of the Year,” in addition to her debut LP, Good Thing We Stayed. That name may sound familiar, if you were one of the few lucky enough to catch FLETCHER’s super sold-out, super intimate, and...
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“Part of me is happy to hear that there’s not a lot of information about us. We’ve never wanted our personalities to be front and center,” says queer, doomy, experimental black metal duo Ragana. This is not such a surprising revelation, as the two – Maria and Nicole, who...
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“Pitchfork gave it a really awful review, which means it’s the kind of album I would love,” says Turnover singer Austin Getz of the band’s latest album, Myself in the Way. The album — which dropped November 4th courtesy of Run For Cover Records — is the fifth full-length...
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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...
Being the week of SXSW, I realize most celebrating artists are currently caught in a cheap-beer-and-taco-fueled haze of Rock’N’Roll taking over Austin’s least conventional performance spaces (perhaps even an airport baggage claim…), so I was thrilled to get a chance to chat via phone with Why Bonnie band leader...
During a recent phone chat, I found out that Kyle Thomas, better known as King Tuff, actually has some roots in and around the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection: “I have a strong connection to Philly because my dad is from Cherry Hill… I grew up going...
