Written and Photographed by Eric Sperrazza When you think of any great metropolitan area of Pennsylvania, be it Philly, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, or Scranton, in your mind, you can see hard-working men and women bustling about, work trucks blaring WMMR or Rock 107FM and earning their day’s wage by keeping the city, and everyone in it, running. But that is separate from the metropolitan areas. Our country was built and run by the Pennsylvania working class, providing steel, coal, and crops to the rest of our nation for decades. The success of our entire country during the industrial era rested so ..read more

By Ric Sperrazza/Live photos courtesy of Ric Sperrazza and Dropkick Murphys   Towards the end of 2022, I had the opportunity to see The Dropkick Murphys do an all-acoustic set in Atlantic City of songs crafted from the unproduced lyrics and unrealized songs of Woody Guthrie. Dropkick fans were familiar with a few of the band’s earlier Guthrie-covered songs, “Shipping Up to Boston” and “Gonna Be a Blackout Tonight”, but the passionate Union Rally cries of Guthrie’s work fit seamlessly along with Dropkick’s Hooligan-Chorus anthems on the plight of the working men and women of Boston. Anyone ..read more

Written and Photographed by Maria Arroyo In this two-part series, contributing writers and musicians Maria Arroyo and Dustin Sclafani partake, perform, and report on the Play Music Conference.  They each give us an inside look at the spectacular annual event with an artist’s perspective to attending the music education panels as well as performing on their respective nights. That Mag readers, it’s time to prepare your favorite beverage and sit down to read a real treat. We begin Part One with singer, song writer Maria Arroyo: “She networked her ass off and that’s why this room is f ..read more

Written and Photographed by Julie Shaw I love the banjo. I will never apologize for that. I don’t know exactly what it is about a banjo that makes me so happy, but every single time I hear one, I can’t help but feel better, about all things in life. The two bands that played this night both brought their banjos and I feel like we are all better for it.  I clearly am not the only person who is drawn to the banjo. The line to enter The Fonda Theater wrapped around the corner with fans willing to wait hours in the cold in the middle of Hollywood to see Larkin Poe. Before the show began, I w ..read more

By Killian O’Neil Photos By Lead Photographer Liv Foltiny In thirty years of living, I’ve never considered myself a reggae fan. Typically, what my playlist consists of is something with a whiney voice, a heavy rift and it’s coming from the ethers of emo music. This past Friday at Ardmore Music Hall all of that changed.Dry Reef and Yam Yam were co-heading with local opener, We Are Minka. It was also Superbowl weekend and the Birds were playing so energy everywhere was high, especially that night.  I walked into AMH around eight that evening and people were slowly starting to file in ..read more

By Dustin Sclafani     The illusion that all good art has an age limit is a staple in our society. It seems an artist’s age can become branded to them like their own personal Scarlet Letter. The lie that we no longer have an artistic point of view can snuff out the fire in so many artists but truly a death nail if you are a woman in the music industry, but like any glass ceiling all it takes is one brick and the person with one hell of an arm to smash that son of a. That brick here is “Rapture” and the artist taking aim at said glass ceiling: Emily Breeze. Emily Breeze is from ..read more

Written and Photographed By Julie Shaw When I cover a show by artists I have never seen live before, I do my best to not walk in with any kind of expectations. This allows me to experience the show with fresh eyes. Walking into The Piano Guys’ show at The Terrace Theater in Long Beach, California, I had absolutely no idea what I was going to experience. Was I going to sit in silence as I enjoyed masterfully played music, as one would expect from such a concert? Would I fall asleep if not fully caffeinated? Would I even know what songs they are playing, given that there are no vocals to accompa ..read more

Photos by Mark Franzen Dry Reef is something of pure alchemy. This band continues its journey beyond adolescence and into adulthood. The best way to explain their sound is if Explosions In The Sky had a baby with Lotus, then somehow Rebulation got sprinkled on top. I know that’s a bit of a mind-blowing thought, but it’s true.    In 2019, Dry Reef was introduced to me, and in August 2022 I got the opportunity to see them perform live at Ardmore Music Hall. They left such an impression on me that interviewing them was a no-brainer. The thing that stands out most about this band in ..read more

SMYL   By Noelle Simeon Photos by Sarah Cass SYML, Finnish for the word simple, has been releasing music since 2016. With a folk-rock base, in the alternative genre, SYML has created a new record that doesn’t feel overly crowded or muddled by too many musicians in the studio. “The Day My Father Died” has 15 tracks, and packs as much of a punch as SYML’s usual quiet, piano-laden, self-described sad songs, making it worth the listen. This new album approaches loss and grief, but unlike his 2021 EP “Dim”. It is not grappling with the fear and raw grief of losing a parent, but finding beaut ..read more

By Nick Hopton Photos courtesy of James Lowrie Hailing from the great city of Philadelphia, Teyquil is an emerging artist, writer and musician extraordinaire who has just released his newest track, “Flashy”. From the moment the first notes drop, the vibe and feel bring you right back to the synth covered 80s era of pop music that, so profoundly impacted not only forthcoming musicians, but the world as a whole. His ability to layer tracks on top of one another, in a way that enhances individual instruments rather than hide them, is a fantastic feat. And though this is very much an instrumentall ..read more