photo credit: Angel Park

Written by Angel Park

This past Friday evening marked the first of two sold-out shows at the Union Transfer for legendary Philly folk artist, Kurt Vile. These hometown stops were done as part of Vile‘s multicity tour spanning cities across the U.S. in support of his latest album, Watch My Moves. This fifteen-song release is filled with dreamy, psych-inspired rock and features acclaimed fan favorites such as “Mount Airy Hill,”  “‘Goin’ on a Plane Today,” and “Thinkin’ About Flyin.”

As the crowd packed the venue floor, the supporting band, Natural Information Society, kicked off the show by diving right into their pleasant avant-garde, long-form set. Despite lacking any introductions, the group’s contemporary sound captivated the audience and touched on a compelling combination of jazz, minimalism, and traditional music genres.

Following Natural Information Society was Vile, who warmly greeted the crowd of cheering fans before riffing into the opening chords of “Palace of OKV in Reverse.” With his bandmates strumming along and his iconic Vile logo glowing behind him, Vile‘s stage presence captivated everyone in the audience. Mixing both his old and new music, his set had a track to please both past and recent Vile fans.

If you’re a fan of folk, Kurt Vile and Natural Information Society are definitely two groups that are worth a listen.

Tickets are still available for the ‘Watch My Moves’ tour here.

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Connect with Natural Information Society

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Kurt Vile / Natural Information Society Photo Gallery

photo credit: Angel Park

Written by Angel Park

If you’re a fan of rap music, then there’s a good chance you’ve heard of 24kGoldn. The Los Angeles-based producer and DJ have been making waves in the hip-hop scene over the past few years. The producer/DJ is currently on tour in support of his latest album, El Dorado, and the tour is proof that he’s only getting better.

Last Monday night marked his debut show at the Foundry in Philadelphia, and it was definitely an experience to remember.

Supporting 24kGoldn on this tour was singer/songwriter, Bailey Bryan. Bailey is an incredible artist in her own right and she brought an immense amount of energy to her set. Bailey is known for her singles, “Own It” and “Hard Drive Home.” In 2017, she released her debut album, So Far, and most recently dropped her album, Fresh Start, last year.

The next performer in the lineup was Chicago-based rapper, Lil Bean. He started rapping at the age of 17 and has been perfecting his craft ever since. His live music was a mix of old-school hip hop and contemporary trap, with a healthy dose of humor thrown in.

Finally, 24kGoldn took the stage. The crowd erupted in cheers, clapping and whistling enthusiastically. The rapper wore a bold two-piece outfit that glittered under the stage lights. 24kGold sang and danced his way through his set, which included singles, “Valentino” and “Mood.” His performance cultivated an encore that left the audience wanting more.

If you have the opportunity to see 24kGoldn, Bailey Bryan, or Lil Bean live on the next few El Dorado tour dates, grab your tickets soon!

Connect with 24kGoldn

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Connect with Bailey Bryan

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Connect with ‘Lil Bean

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Photo Gallery

Singer/songwriter, Lindsey Jordan, (better known as Snail Mail)’s debut album, Lush, was one of my top favorites of 2018. So, needless to say, I had high expectations for her latest follow-up release, Valentine. I am happy to say that it did NOT disappoint. The album is packed with catchy melodies and heartfelt lyrics that will stay with you long after the end of the song, with singles like “Ben Franklin” and “Glory” being the best standouts of the new release. If you are a fan of indie rock or just appreciate well-crafted music, then Valentine should be on your playlist rotation.

In support of Valentine, Snail Mail is embarking on a North American tour spanning major cities across both coasts, with a stop at Philadelphia’s Union Transfer for two nights: tonight, April 5th, and, tomorrow night, April 6th – if you’ll be around the city of brotherly love those two days and are looking for an evening filled with fun, heartfelt indie rock music, then Snail Mail’s shows are a must-see!

Tickets for her Union Transfer show are still available here.

Connect with Snail Mail

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Allman Family Revival

Written by Eric Sperrazza

My childhood had a soundtrack of some of the greatest and most diverse music by the people in my tribe raising me. I have vivid memories of my father’s love of southern rock and how Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the Allman Brothers Band would permeate through the car, as he would shuffle me back and forth to extracurricular activities.

Over the years, I grew an affinity for the sounds that would put wind into my Dad’s proverbial sails and I always keep an eye out, to this day, for moments I can share with him to celebrate the love of that genre he instilled in me. Luckily, for me, I didn’t have to search too hard for the next opportunity to make a memory with him!

On Thursday, December 9th, the Allman Family Revival will be front and center, at The Met in Philadelphia, for their annual multi-hour celebration and tribute to the legendary Allman Brothers Band.

A sheer spectacle of musicianship, I experienced no small amount of pleasure in speaking to Devon Allman, son of Gregg Allman and co-founder of the Allman Betts Band, about how the show got started.

“In 2017, I lost my Dad,” Devon said. “After six months of grieving, I realized I was denying myself of the power of healing through music and invited a bunch of friends to a comeback show. My agent came back and said San Francisco wanted the show at the Fillmore. I thought it was so cool because my Dad lived in San Francisco throughout the 90s and it became a second home to us. They only had one date to offer, though, December 8th,” he explained. “Which also would have happened to have been my Dad’s 70th birthday. I thought ‘Holy Shit! That’s serendipitous!’ So, we decided to make it a birthday present for my Dad and made it a tribute to him. It started off so innocently and then it evolved to where New York, Denver, and then more wanted the show.  Now? We are in our 5th year and we have 31 offers which we whittled down to 18 shows.”

And evolved, it did. Today, everyone from Kenny Wayne Shepherd, G. Love to Lilly Hiatt, and Robert Randolph perform during the Allman Family Revival show. The structure of the actual show was described by Devon best when he said, “It’s amazing that all these musicians put three weeks aside, every year, to be a part of this. So, I modeled this event after The Band’s famous 1976 concert, ‘The Last Waltz.’ The Allman Betts Band will be the house band, and we will play a few songs and then begin introducing guests. The guests perform their take on an Allman Brothers song and then a song they are famous for. So, they can promote their music and then take on one of my Dad’s songs.”

It is truly an epic night honoring one of the greatest American songwriters and musicians in American history, but what of younger music lovers that might be unfamiliar with the Allman Brothers Band.

Devon had a message for them. When asked to give his elevator pitch to the new school of music fans, he was quoted as saying, “It’s a continuation of the wild wild west! We are doing it the way they did it in the ’60s and ’70s. Anyone who is out of their pop phase and looking for good organic music, this is the real stuff. I mean, good God!  It’s a clinic in the electric guitar up there on that stage. If you are a fan of the electric guitar and you missed this you seriously missed the show of the year!”

Here’s the rub; If you miss the show this year, there is no guarantee that Philadelphia may always be on the annual tour stops. As Devon impressed upon me, there are so many markets that want this show and only so many days to perform so they may mix up where they go, from year to year. With great urgency, it would behoove anyone on the fence to get a ticket to the show and be a part of the Allman Family Revival.

As for me? I will be there, celebrating my father’s 70th birthday and celebrating Gregg Allman along with everyone else. As I sing Midnight Rider in the audience along with a cavalcade of stars on stage, I will simultaneously be honoring my dad and the lessons he imparted to me on what fun southern rock can be…even for a Yankee like myself.

Doors open at 7 pm at The Fillmore and the show kicks off at 8 pm. Tickets are still available here.

Hope to see you there!

Connect with Allman Family Revival

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photo credit: Eric Sperrazza

Written by Eric Sperrazza

Being a Dad can be easy when your kids are all in lockstep with the music, movies, and sporting events you love.

That is the case with most of my children; sans one. My twelve-year-old is a quiet introvert who doesn’t like being around too much “busy” and isn’t one to share with the proverbial group her thoughts and feelings as readily as the others. At times, you can feel like you’re on the outside looking into her life until you have properly earned, in her mind, the privilege of being let in.

This year, I tried to rectify that gap by taking guitar lessons together with her. The time between class has been spent with her opening up and showcasing the sheer depth of her musical interests.

Enter, Beach Bunny. When she began playing songs from various albums she liked, I assumed it was a fleeting TikTok fad. But she really became a fan of the modern surf pop-punk sound and, quite frankly, so did I. We talked about the band and shared things we learned like how frontwoman Lili Trifilio started the project in her Illinois bedroom and how it grew organically to a seven-year run with multiple albums.

Serendipitously, we also discovered that Beach Bunny was still touring and coming to Philadelphia at Union Transfer. I had a passion to want to share this great music with a larger audience, as it now lived in a special place in my heart. I also wanted to see if, but for a night, my daughter could deal with all the people and the loudness for the chance at being enveloped in the experience of seeing her new favorite band live.

Once we were through vaccination record checks, people flocked to get as close to the stage as possible; a diverse crowd of kids and adults, many cosplaying as Trifilio, herself. Finding a spot to settle in amongst the chaos with an anxious kid seemed like an exercise in futility. But, with my arms filled with her little purse, souvenirs and a Shirley Temple drink from the bar, we found our mark and planted our flag for the night.

photo credit: Eric Sperrazza

The first band to perform was the artist, Miloe. Let me start with this –  if anyone says rock music is dead and that it’s all just auto-tune and computers, these days, it is because they have not seen Bobby Kabeya thrash on his guitar and hear his soulful voice fronting this group! There is a modern new wave vibe that echoes through their music and deep emotion pouring out of the vocals like some battle-tested rhythm & blues artist all at once. I was flabbergasted and thoroughly entertained.

Out to plug their newest EP, Greenhouse, the band performed songs, including “Winona” and “Yellow,” with the crowd electrified and hanging onto every word.

In fact, with Kabeya playing his guitar more like a vintage punk rocker and singing with such raw talent, the innocence shocked me when he told the won-over crowd that he was more accustomed to playing basements at house parties than venues such as Union Transfer. As Miloe exited the stage, I knew this was a group I needed to hear more of, and have.

photo credit: Eric Sperrazza

After a short break, Beach Bunny made their way to the stage and we made our way to the front. The band kicked off with their hit, “Prom Queen.” The track absolutely set the pace for the night, and immediately, you saw fans clambering to the front, reaching out to feel closer to Trifilio.

I can’t describe the energy in that room any better than a stadium concert jammed into a boutique venue on a Thursday night. The atmosphere was thick and joyful, fueling the band to add to it and make it more substantial by the note.

Trifilio and Beach Bunny performed “Good Girls (Don’t Get Used)” from their Blame Game record, in addition to the track, “Dream Boy,” from their debut, Honeymoon. They ended the set with their hit singles, “Sports,” and “Cloud 9,” and returned with an encore cover of Katy Perry’s “Hot N Cold.”

photo credit: Eric Sperrazza

Trifilio was a real, organic performer radiating honesty to a crowd that wasn’t trying to be like her but rather she was, in fact, one of them. It may not have been a show that I would have found on my own, but it wound up being one of the best concert experiences I’ve had.

What about my daughter? Well, the longer you’re a Dad the easier it gets to recognize those little impactful moments as they play out. You can relish in them a bit more and look around to really take it all in. That said, in my phone is a video of my 12-year-old wearing the biggest grin I have ever seen on her little Cherubin face while dancing, jumping, and belting out every word of “Cloud 9,” flushed and fatigued with zero intention of stopping.

That was her concert moment; the moment when you are no longer awkward about who you are and feeling alone in a crowd because now you are an army! A mass of individuals sharing in an existential experience of feeling newfound strength in numbers. It’s that concert moment when you first realize you found your people. I was able to bear witness to that.

photo credit: Eric Sperrazza

Walking back to the car from Union Transfer we both realized that we are more similar than we ever knew. We both reconciled early with the idea that not everyone will like our music, our anime movies, our comic books, or even the New York Yankees. But it was worth it to stay strong and be true to who you are because our people were out there waiting for us.

It’s amazing how great music and the right crowd can make one night change your perception of things. We need more Miloe and Beach Bunny shows in our world.

Connect with Beach Bunny

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Connect with Miloe

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Movie Night

Written by Lauren Rosier

The Philadelphia post-punk quartet, Full Bush, is releasing a new EP Movie Night, due out on December 3rd via Brutal Panda Records.

Of the track, the band said: “‘Movie Night’ is about what it feels like when people project their insecurities onto you instead of addressing their own shit.”

The EP was mixed, mastered, and produced by David Downham (Beach Slang, Low Do) at Gradwell House Recording in Haddon Heights, NJ.

From Full Bush:

“The EP is about change. Whether within ourselves or outside, the past few years have seen a major shift for us individually and as a band. We acknowledge the pain that was caused by our trauma responses, gaslighting assholes, or turbulent relationships. Sitting in and confronting the discomfort of necessary internal shifts and letting go of what doesn’t lift us up, support us, love us in all the beautiful, fucking flawed ways we are as humans. Movie Night is the endcap of self dialogue when you realize you have control and you aren’t dealing with bullshit anymore, you’re stomping on it.”

The four-piece have also collaborated with three artists [Marian Bailey, Theresa Baxter, Eva Martinez-Bond] on a special series of limited edition merch designs, which are currently available on their Bandcamp page. 100% of the proceeds will go towards Morris Home, Loveland Foundation, and The Innocence Project.

Full Bush commented more on this collaboration:

“During the height of the pandemic last year, we decided that whatever we do next,  we wanted to do something to help our community in a tangible way. We’ve always been tied to organizing/mutual aid as individuals but last year pushed us to want do something bigger, as a band.  So we had three amazing artists design shirts that 100% of the sales will be split among three organizations doing amazing work. Quarantine times might be over but we can only get through together by educating ourselves about each other, empathy, continuously challenging our patriarchal systems, and mobilization through mutual aid.”

Movie Night Tracklisting

01. Spooky
02. Sweet & Low
03. Movie Night
04. Wild Heart
05. One Second

Pre-order the EP here.

Connect with Full Bush

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Philly-based Fried Monk (Lucas Kozinski) and beautiful-fortune (Jameel Farruk) are delivering the good vibes with their first single, “Planet B.”

After years of working together, the two artists are combining their projects, and delivering some popping indie electronic/hip-hop tracks for their forthcoming EP, Here As One, due out May 7th, 2021.

I have this Spotify playlist where I keep a list of my favorite tracks of 2021 thus far, and I had to add this song. It’s upbeat, catchy, and there are just good vibes. It’s ideal for that late spring/summertime weather.

Ironically, this track was only fully realized by the end of the first day that they had collaborated in the studio. After the two had laid out the structure of the EP’s opening track, “Patient Zero,” they immediately started on a beautiful, new electric guitar piece, and it quickly became their lead single.

“I’m overly curious about the sun. I’m borderline obsessed with it,” says Farruk. “As a solo artist, I can’t help myself from having referred to the sun over and over throughout my catalogue of songs.” Combining this fascination with the all too common experience of a bad breakup, Farruk dove into his personal history and called ‘Planet B,’ ‘a declaration of my acceptance of a life without her.'”

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