The Velvet Underground

  • Kate Nash Albums Ranked (10/10 at World Cafe Live)

    It’s been more than six years since English singer/songwriter Kate Nash has been in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection.  But next Thursday, October 10th, the MySpace-era artist kicks off her North America Fall 2024 tour at the Music Hall at World Café Live, her first appearance...
  • Xana: “We’re gonna rage together, cry together, get dirty together…” (6/21 at Underground Arts)

    Today Vancouver-based queer pop phenom Xana released “Monster,” the third single from her forthcoming sophomore LP, The Sex Was Good Until It Wasn’t, which drops May 10th.  “I wrote this song at a time where I was forced to look my mistakes square in the eye and take accountability...
  • Nick Santino Talks the Return of Beach Weather (3/17 at The Foundry)

    Alternative pop-rock trio Beach Weather are just about two years into the band’s second go-round, after a five-year hiatus.  This time around lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Nick Santino and bassist Reeve Powers (who originally started the band in 2015) are joined by lead guitarist  and producer Sean Silverman. ...
  • 20 CRAZY Concerts in 20 Years in Philthy

    This month marks 20 years since I moved to the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection.  I was the typical suburban alternative teen, migrating to University of the Arts to study among likely the only fans of The Velvet Underground and Nick Cave hailing from upper-middle-class, yuppie-breeding...
  • Lael Neale on Finally Touring, Working with Tape, and Music Aficionados of Britain (5/7 at The Dolphin)

    “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...
  • Shilpa Ray: “I get to run around and lie down more cause the stages are bigger.” (4/15 at The Foundry w/ July Talk)

    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...
  • Stars: “It’s the holidays! So we are pulling out all the stops.” (12/11 at WCL)

    This year marks the 20th anniversary of Stars’ debut LP, Nightsongs.  It also sees the Montreal-based intellectual indie poppers bringing back their customary holiday shows, after last year’s painful drought of live music.  Torquil Campbell, Amy Milan, Evan Cranley, Chris Seligman, Patrick McGee, and Chris McCarron will bring The...
  • Madison Cunningham, Feeling Surreal (10/24 at JB’s)

    “As my first headlining tour, I set manageable expectations, but I’ve been utterly blown away,” says Madison Cunningham.  She’s chatting with me over the phone, en route to her next gig.  Although just on her first headlining tour, the folk-pop singer/songwriter already has a laundry list of achievements of...
  • Kate Nash on Going Back to Pop and Learning to Wrestle

    So, Kate Nash hasn’t exactly been missing, but it has been a while since we’ve heard from her… musically, at least.  Last month the British singer/songwriter released Yesterday Was Forever, her first full-length since 2013’s Girl Talk, and earlier this month she kicked off her first US tour in...