johnny brenda’s

Singer/songwriter Anya Marina has spent the past half-decade opening sold-out comedy shows for BFF and former roommate Nikki Glaser in theatres across America.  Although I’m picturing drunken bachelorette parties talking over Marina’s indie pop as they fall into their seats, she tells me during a recent phone chat that...

A few weeks ago, Brooklyn based, funk-infused, psychedelic indie-dance pop legends Rubblebucket released a cover of The Moldy Peaches’ “Anyone Else But You.”  The song — which opens with the line, “You’re a part time lover and a full time friend” —  seems like the perfect fit for the...

“I’m gonna have rehearsal every day for a week, so I’m gonna sound great for ya!” Jordana Nye, best known simply as Jordana, playfully proclaims during a recent phone chat.  This coming Friday, January 24th, Jordana will kick off the monthlong Lively Premonition Tour at our very own Johnny...

Congratulations to those of you who got the Criterion reference in the title!  It seemed fitting, as Sophie Allison has recently been rebranded (on some scale) as not only the woman behind Soccer Mommy, but a part-time cinephile and potential film critic in the making…  Prior to a feature...

We’ve seen Nandi Rose, AKA Half Waif, a lot in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection over the past decade or so, from shows at PhilaMOCA and Everybody Hits, to opening Boot & Saddle for hovvdy and Land of Talk, and providing support for both Julien Baker...

“I remember playing Stalag 13 in 1998 felt like playing Madison Square Garden, and there were probably 10 people at the show,” says a laughing Michael Berdan, vocalist for NYC noise outfit Uniform (whose demeanor is far more lighthearted than Uniform’s sounds would suggest).  For those unfamiliar, Stalag 13...

“I’m not gonna play another show for 11 months, which is awesome for me… and my nervous system… but it’s bittersweet,” says Adrianne Lenker two songs into her second sold-out performance at Union Transfer in as many nights.  The vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of indie folk icons Big...

“I know we can kind of have a sweet sound to a passerby, but it’s got some hurt, too, much like Philly has,” says Laura Colwell, frontwoman of Austin, Texas-born (but currently spread out) outfit Sun June, whose sound the group have long referred to as “regret pop.”  Despite...

Johnny Brenda’s has hosted several exceptionally quick sell-outs of soon-to-be superstars this year, notably hyperpop chanteuse Hannah Diamond and queer country icon CMAT.  However, none have seemed to be quite as destined for superstardom as Dublin-born, London-based singer/songwriter Orla Gartland, who played an immediately sold-out show on her immediately...