The Districts Bring Incredible Live Show to Sidewinder Tuesday 6/27
Back in March of 2014, The Districts performed to a fairly full indoor room at Stubb’s, touring ahead of their quietly powerful breakout album, A Flourish and a Spoil. The band has continued to rise in…
Conor Oberst in Top Form at ACL Live
If I’m honest: happy people bother me a little. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about focusing on the positives to keep yourself from spiraling headlong into depression. But it does seem like if…
Kevin Morby and Big Thief at Sidewinder: Live Review
Last week, two acts that both played SXSW and received notable attention returned to Austin for a sold out joint show at the Sidewinder. Initially known for his role as the bassist for Woods…
Track Premiere: SUPERMOON “Emily (Knot My Nets)” and B-side “Hitchhiker”
You may recognize SUPERMOON front man Paul Banks’ name from his work with his backing band The Carousels. Together, Paul Banks and The Carousels created folk rock songs with occasionally theatrical flairs. Following…
Stream Hazy Summer Folk Jam “To the Marshes” from Tedo Stone
Tedo Stone’s “To the Marshes” has the big, buzzing production of an epic summer jam like Tom Petty’s more upbeat tunes or Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” cut with the distorted chords of…
Track Premiere: Smokey Brights – “Monster House”
We heard about Smokey Brights ages ago now from our good friends who share with them the city of Seattle. However, we first saw the band for ourselves this summer at Timber Fest,…
Show Preview: Delta Spirit with EDJ at Emo’s Thursday, September 11th
Touring in support of their newly released album, Into the Wide, Delta Spirit will bring their famed, energetic live show to Emo’s tomorrow night. With four albums under their proverbial belt, the band has…
Lukas Read Expands Lineup for Lambert’s Show: Live Review
The first time I saw Lukas Read, he was doing a stripped down, seated, solo performance of world-weary guitar tunes, channeling the old-world folk of the kind of troubadours who played NYC’s Gaslight…
Album Review: Sharon Van Etten – Are We There (Pop Press Pick)
An ethereal haunting. A beautiful ache. Broken love and scars that smile. Life is no black and white analysis, but is made up of a complex series of contradictory feelings all competing to…
Damien Jurado Brings His Beautiful Sounds to Red 7 Tomorrow
I love Damien Jurado’s new album. This week is packed with great shows. Perhaps you already know about The National, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Orchestra, Phantogram, and Vampire Weekend, and we’ll definitely be…
Dana Falconberry Shares New Single “Palmless” From Sessions with Jim Eno
Skittering, electronic beats run the length of Dana Falconberry’s new single, “Palmless,” which is a product of a series of sessions with Spoon drummer Jim Eno and will be featured on a 12″…
Horse Thief Shares Video for “Devil”
We told you recently about the news of OKC’s Horse Thief signing to Bella Union for their upcoming LP Fear in Bliss. The group already shared the audio for upbeat, folky track “Devil,” which…
Lord Huron at Emo’s with Superhumanoids: Live Review & Photos
A clear upward trend can be observed in Lord Huron’s trajectory. In 2012 they headlined Stubb’s indoor stage. Last year the returned and performed on the much larger outdoor stage, opening for Alt-J….
Show Preview: Lord Huron with Superhumanoids at Emo’s
Next Monday and Tuesday night, Lord Huron and Superhumanoids will take over Emo’s for a two night stint. Monday night is already SOLD OUT, but if you’re going to Neutral Milk Hotel that…
The Men Share Two New Songs From Tomorrow’s Hits LP
The Men are exploring America’s musical landscape. When the Brooklyn-based band burst onto the scene in 2011 with the release of their second album, they were pumping out abrasive, caustic punk rock. After…
The Head and the Heart, Quiet Life, and The Eastern Sea at Stubb’s: Live Review
Simply said: I’m impressed. Sunday night marked my third time to see The Head and the Heart perform live. I’ve also seen The Eastern Sea perform a few times as well. Both acts…
Dana Falconberry, Brass Bed, and Reservations at Mohawk: Live Review
You’d think that being a brilliant lyricist and accomplished musician would be the thing that sets an artist apart. And to a point, you’d be right. Dana Falconberry’s distinct voice always stirs something…
Dawes ACL Taping: Live Review
Even with solid bands, the conditions surrounding a show can matter as much as anything the band does onstage. This fact is a sort of double-edged sword that both makes live music exciting…
Album Review: Scout Niblett – It’s Up to Emma
Scout Niblett’s newest effort It’s Up To Emma, out now on Drag City, presents a collection of raw, sparse, and eerie electric folk songs that sprawl out in moody tendrils. For those unfamiliar…
Okkervil River Preps The Silver Gymnasium, Shares “It’s My Season”
When I moved to Austin in 2001, folk rock was exploding in the independent undercurrent. Okkervil River was one of the first bands I fell deeply in love with. I still remember the…
Show Preview: Win Tickets to Night Beds with Tristen and Reservations at Mohawk
At a time in music when the folk rock genre seems bloated with overly similar bands bottlenecked at the mouth of the mainstream, Night Beds manage to still craft excellent and interesting indie-folk…
The Lonely Wild at Holy Mountain Live Review
The Lonely Wild are an ambitious bunch of Californians. Eschewing the popular tendency of young bands to start a guitar-drums-bass trio that commits lo-fi songs to tape in a garage, The Lonely Wild…
Show Preview: Win Tickets to The Lonely Wild at Holy Mountain 5/26
The Lonely Wild create acoustically driven, elaborate folk music angled toward celebrated bands such as The Decemberists, Neutral Milk Hotel, or Beirut. Epic, minor-key choral chants, claps, kick drums and tambourine punctuate pianos…
Father John Misty at Emo’s Live Review
I’ve seen Father John Misty twice before, and his recent sold-out performance at Emo’s marked the third occasion. If you can see a band that has only a single album more than once…
Baptist Generals Share Second Single, Announce Tour with Mountain Goats
It has been a decade since the Baptist Generals release their debut on Sub Pop. It has also been a decade since the band toured with The Mountain Goats. I saw the two…
Lumineers with Shovels and Rope ACL Taping
Austin City Limits has deep roots in folk and country music, and its earliest tapings included artists such as Willie Nelson, Asleep at the Wheel, and Townes Van Zandt. As folk music has…
Album Review: Frank Smith – Nineties
On their ninth album, Nineties, Austin band Frank Smith delivers some of the tightest, most powerful songs of their long career. Previously firmly rooted in Americana and folk-rock, the band leans in that…
New Track: Joanna Barbera – “Tempt Me”
Joanna Barbera creates smoky folk rock in the vein of Sharon Van Etten and Neko Case. As a follow up to last year’s debut Carnival Beginning, Barbera will be releasing her sophomore album Forget this…
Album Review: Lady Lamb the Beekeeper – Ripley Pine
Lady Lamb the Beekeeper is the moniker for songwriter Aly Spaltro, whose debut full-length Ripley Pine inspires me. Essentially, it’s the fulfillment of the American dream: if you work hard and believe in yourself anything…
