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“A lot of reviewers in the UK seem to really get what I’m going for, to move out of the female singer/songwriter thing and more into the Joy Division/Velvet Underground thing,” says Sub Pop recording artist Lael Neale during a recent phone chat. For instance, The Guardian says, “Half...
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“We love Philly!” says Kelley Nicole Dugan and Mina Walker, better known as Daisy the Great, who played the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection twice last year, with a March Date opening for half•alive at Union Transfer and a December date supporting The Happy Fits at Theatre...
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“We’re going on before Ministry, so we won’t be doing any ballads. We’re gonna keep it as hard as we can,” gothic/industrial/dark wave legend Gary Numan (who is far more light-hearted than you’d imagine) tells me during a recent phone chat. Numan is currently on a tour that has...
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Beloved 90s Riot Grrrl band, Bikini Kill, first announced their comeback US tour in 2019, with the Philly show originally scheduled for May of 2020. But due to the pandemic, all shows were postponed not once, but three times over the last three years. I was afraid the show...
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This February New York indie pop duo Overcoats (JJ Mitchell and Hana Elion) brought a preview of their third LP, Winner, to The Music Hall at World Café Live for a WXPN Free at Noon Concert. Well, the album officially dropped April 7th, and Mitchell and Elion are already...
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This Monday, April 24th, Sacred Bones recording artist and friend of PHILTHY MAG, Marissa Nadler, will be in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection for a particularly intimate evening of music, when she kicks off her solo headlining tour at our very own MilkBoy. I recently got...
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“It feels like a reclaiming of self, or an assertion of self. Releasing music under a moniker was always a way to distance myself,” says Kristine Leschper, previously known as the person behind Mothers, but who last year released her official solo debut, The Opening, Or Closing Of A...
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Chicago-based Americana singer/songwriter/guitarist Elizabeth Moen seems to be familiar with a lot of friends of PHILTHY… She’s shared stages with the likes of Margaret Glaspy, Lissie, and Buck Meek, and even performed as a guitarist for Squirrel Flower in 2021… And last year Moen released Wherever You Aren’t, her...
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“We’re adapting to a sort of different energy just because we’re older , and things that we’ve had to do because of the pandemic. We’re trying to be a little less crazy and a little more musical,” says Mike Haliechuk, guitarist, songwriter, and producer for Canadian hardcore punk legends...
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“I think on some level I’ve been surprised by the lack of acknowledgement about the change in sound. I thought people would be upset that it wasn’t another bluegrass record!” jokes singer/songwriter Bella White of her sophomore LP, Among Other Things, which drops this Friday (4/21) on Rounder Records...
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Last week Ruston Kelly kicked off The Weakness Tour, following the April 7th release of his third full-length, The Weakness, on Rounder Records. The LP had No Depression saying, “Ruston Kelly created an album that turns his own experiences and the layers of his own existence into a universal message...
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“Mauvey really, really is head and shoulders above the crowd… the music is absolutely fantastic,” says BBC Radio 6 Music of the postmodern-leaning Canadian/British singer/songwriter who blends pop, rock, punk, alternative, and electronic into something as profoundly uplifting as it is danceable. Tomorrow (4/14) MAUVEY drops a brand new...
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“Honestly, just the past year of touring has been a literal dream come true… I’m down to live out of a suitcase for the rest of my life,” says UPSAHL. I first met the emerging alt-pop star – who I’m chatting with over the phone from the studio –...
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We first met Brooklyn-based indie folk singer/songwriter Scout Gillett last summer, prior to the October 28th release of her debut LP, no roof no floor, an album she recorded in an actual barn with Ellen Kempner of Palehound, David Lizmi of MS MR, and producer Nick Kinsey. The album,...
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“I feel like with math rock audiences, you can kind of throw a lot at them and it’s fun to see how they react to stuff,” says Mike Haldeman, guitarist of altopalo, an experimental, indie-electronic quartet of veteran NYC studio and touring musicians. Last week, altopalo kicked off a...
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This Friday, April 7th, will see the release of Warm Blanket, the fourth full-length from Worriers, the musical outlet of LA-based punk rock singer/songwriter and visual artist Lauren Denitzio, who recorded and mixed the record entirely on their own, despite no proper training in audio recording. The album, which...
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Montreal shoegaze duo Bodywash are preparing for the release of their sophomore album, I Held the Shape While I Could, which drops April 14th on Light Organ Records. The album is the follow-up to 2019’s Comforter. However, during a recent phone chat with Rosie Long Decter and Chris Steward,...
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This Wednesday, April 5th, legendary indie rockers Deerhoof come to Underground Arts. However, we’re equally excited for immediate support, Hello Mary, a Brooklyn all-female trio who dropped their self-titled debut LP last month on Frenchkiss Records. You may have seen Hello Mary – comprised of Helena Straight (guitar, vox),...
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Here at PHILTHY MAG, we’re big fans of Saddle Creek Records, home to Ada Lea, Big Thief, Indigo De Souza, Land of Talk, and The Rural Alberta Advantage. And last month I got a chance to get to know Katherine Paul (or KP), better known as Black Belt Eagle...
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This past week, in an interview for Paste, singer/songwriter Laura Stevenson – who you may have most recently seen performing Neil Young covers at the First Unitarian Church, alongside fellow former Bomb the Music Industry! member Jeff Rosenstock – admitted to being a big fan of local celeb. M....
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After more rescheduled dates than any of us can remember, this coming Friday (4/7) Kathleen Hanna, Kathi Wilcox, and Tobi Vail’s Bikini Kill – co-founders of riot grrrl, arguably the most important musical movement of the ‘90s – are finally bringing their reunion tour to Franklin Music Hall for...
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“I feel like we’ve been playing shows since we had like one song. And we were playing shows, and we would do cover songs to fill up the time. I feel like the shows came first, and then really diving into the music making process has been a slow...
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Last September I was chatting with singer/songwriter Kelsey Wilson about her funk outfit Sir Woman, who were currently on the road, and she casually mentioned that her band Wild Child were actually preparing to drop a new album, their first since 2018’s Expectations. Well, today...
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Next week Donovan Woods and Henry Jamison kick off The Husbandry Tour, a tour which is apparently more or less just an excuse for the two singer/songwriters to hang out and develop a friendship under the guise of “working.” And Thursday, April 13th, will bring Woods and Jamison (along...
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“I’m gonna be totally honest, I had never gone on a tour this long, and I wasn’t sure how my mental health was gonna be, but I’ve honestly been having the time of my life!” says budding pop star and Island recording artist Stacey Ryan, who’s been serving as...
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Today LA shoegaze outfit Draag released “Demonbird,” the second single from the band’s upcoming debut LP, Dark Fire Heresy, out April 28th. The song (and accompanying music video) – like the full-length’s first single, “Mitsuwa”— has Jessica Huang exploring and coming to terms with the religious abuse of her...
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Although Lunar Vacation aren’t quite personages of Pitchfork just yet, they have certainly been making a name for themselves recently, especially around the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, where they played three shows last year. Last February the Georgia indie rock band opened a sold-out show for...
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“I’m really excited to overshare and laugh and cry with you tonight!” said Maddie Zahm, one song into her performance from the semi-stage of The Lounge at World Café Live this past Saturday night. The 24-year-old singer/songwriter sold-out the 220-capacity space in less than an hour (faster than Billie...
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Denver-based husband-wife indie pop duo Tennis (with whom we last spoke in January of 2018) have played many of our favorite Philly venues over the past 10+ years, although not necessarily in a logical order… They’ve headlined Johnny Brenda’s, Union Transfer, Underground Arts, MilkBoy, Underground Arts again, and Union...
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“Izzy, I’m so excited for the light show!” says indie pop singer/songwriter Caroline Rose, who embarks on their biggest headlining tour yet at the end of this month, which includes an April 11th stop at Union Transfer. I first met Caroline Rose in January of 2014, when they had...
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Earlier this week, impressively eclectic 23-year-old singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Elise Trouw had a bit of a milestone when she returned to The Fox Theatre in Boulder, Colorado. “The last time I was there I was the opening act, so it’ll be cool to be back at the same place...
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“I just love playing shows anywhere… With every tour it’s a combination of, ‘Oh, wow! We haven’t been here in a long time,’ or, ‘Hey! This city has always been so great to us!’” says Nils Edenloff, lead vocalist and guitarist of folky indie rockers The Rural Alberta Advantage,...
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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), Benjamin Sinclair...
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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. The band played songs from their sophomore LP, Stumpwork, which became one of last year’s most acclaimed releases, along with favorite tracks from their debut record and EP. I’ve been...
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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...
“A lot of reviewers in the UK seem to really get what I’m going for, to move out of the female singer/songwriter thing and more into the Joy Division/Velvet Underground thing,” says Sub Pop recording artist Lael Neale during a recent phone chat. For instance, The Guardian says, “Half...
“We love Philly!” says Kelley Nicole Dugan and Mina Walker, better known as Daisy the Great, who played the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection twice last year, with a March Date opening for half•alive at Union Transfer and a December date supporting The Happy Fits at Theatre...
