Artists
Branches on the tree of music will never stop growing. As soon as someone pioneers a new sound, five others have radiated from it, creating what they see as their own unique niche, slightly different form their predecessors. Unfortunately, such constant divergence creates an intricate web of music where nothing is original and no two sounds can be grouped exclusively under one heading. This has lead to bands describing themselves with more stylistic differences than those listed at a record store. "Rock infused funk with folk and indie influences." What the hell is that?
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Known for his hip-hop and reggae style, Jewish musician Matisyahu's sold out show Sunday night at Boulder's Fox Theatre proved to have attracted far beyond the religious folk of his faith. While a considerable amount of Jewish families with women in their head dresses and men in their customary yarmulke could be spotted from among the crowd, the greater majority of the audience showed to be just as diverse as the musical genres in performance.
Coming off of its very successful November 25th 2008 Gala Fundraiser which raised over $200,000, the National Jazz Museum in Harlem spends December explores the variegated personalities and styles of jazz music through discussions with trombonist and experimental composer George Lewis, drummer Andrew Cyrille and pianist Larry Willis.
Jazz pianist Kenny Drew Jr. returns to New York for a rare solo performance on December 17, 2008 as part of the Lyric Chamber Music Society of New York concert series at the Kosciuszko Foundation.
Usually, I'm a rock and roll fan. Usually. But I like to mix it up now and then, see something I don't usually get the opportunity to see, hear something I haven't heard before. The club scene is rarely my scene, but last Wednesday night, I find myself in the middle of a DJ show at the Fox Theatre in Boulder, CO. To me, this is like being on another planet. It's not the music really, although there is something futuristic and otherworldly about electronica that I find appealing, it's the people who make m
I hope the folks in Greensboro, NC and Florida got the same treatment we got from RatDog here in Philadelphia before ending their Fall Tour. Two weeks after our country rejoiced and welcomed a new sign of hope in the free world with the election of Barack Obama, Ratdog brought the house down. The stage was full of election remnants.
JFJO are just back from a tour of Europe where they hit a slew of festivals and turned on a whole new world of fans. At The Cork Festival in Ireland, they won the Guinness Award for "Best New Band," meanwhile Reed Mathis returned with a treasure trove of soundboard recordings from the tour, so we might even get a limited edition release of JFJO in Europe '08. Fingers crossed. Back in the U.S., look for JFJO to maintain a high touring profile throughout '09.
Umphrey's McGee's one-of-a-kind pre-order campaign for their highly anticipated new studio release, Mantis (January 20, 2009 / SCI Fidelity Records) is already being recognized as a brilliant and innovative use of digital technology. The power of this new pre-order concept is in the hands of the fans.
