Last week Chanel Beads – the experimental project of New York musician Shane Lavers – kicked off their first-ever North American headlining tour, which has Lavers joined by collaborator, songwriter, and producer Maya McGroery and instrumentalist Zachary Paul.  The dates follow the April release of Chanel Beads’ debut album, Your Day Will Come, which dropped courtesy of Jagjaguwar (home of our buddies Bonny Light Horseman) and has received praise from the likes of Pitchfork, SPIN, and FLOOD, who wrote, “Shane Lavers captures the awe and unease of humanity’s impermanence on his debut album ..read more

The last time we saw burgeoning pop icon Griff in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection was in January of 2022, amidst another wave of COVID and a massive snowstorm.  The show was at The Foundry (and technically sold-out) and was actually great, despite the icy circumstances (I actually think we may have gone a little harder than usual because of the circumstances.)  I recently got a chance to chat with the 23-year-old English singer/songwriter via Zoom and she definitely remembers the experience, but emphasizes that she’s very much looking forward to a Philadelphia “redo ..read more

“I’ll be singing about freedom and how to be alive together and create a safe world where everyone can be in it and have freedom to have safety…  I want nothing less than world peace,” proclaims singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer Shara Nova, better known as My Brightest Diamond.  We’re discussing My Brightest Diamond’s upcoming headline tour, which kicks off tomorrow in Cleveland and will be at the Music Hall at World Café Live next Friday, September 20th.  And during a phone chat earlier this week, Nova tells me that the show will be a little bit different ..read more

Vocalist Veronica Swift is gearing up to play her fourth area show this year when she’ll be headlining the Music Hall at World Café Live on September 12th.  Swift sold out Longwood Gardens this March, before making special appearances at The Dresden Dolls’ June shows at Union Transfer, which had her performing “Delilah” off of the band’s 2006 LP Yes, Virginia… both nights, in addition to “Sing,” which closed out Night Two. “They were one of my favorite bands from my childhood!” Veronica tells me of the dark cabaret duo during a recent phone chat, going on to explain, “We didn’t have inter ..read more

US audiences have now been patiently waiting for almost nine months for London singer/songwriter Marika Hackman’s first North American tour in more than five years, announced late this January, shortly after the release of her self-produced (along with Sam Petts-Davies and longtime collaborator Charlie Andrew) fourth LP, Big Sigh, which had the artist performing every element of music, aside from the brass and strings.  The album, the first of Marika’s thirties, dropped courtesy of legendary British label Chrysalis Records (her first for them) on January 12th and was the first full-length ..read more

Tomorrow night (8/30) Brooklyn feminist rock band partygirl return to the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection!  During a recent Zoom chat, I discover that partygirl founder, songwriter, and frontwoman Pagona Kytzidis is actually from the area, and the band (who first emerged during the pandemic) has already made several stops in town since 2022.  Tomorrow they’ll be playing a sizeable set at Center City’s only remaining rock club that will include both the group’s forthcoming 2025 LP in its entirety and rearrangements of the songs of their 2022 self-titled EP.  Earlier ..read more

“As a music fan, I love all genres of music…  My cousin’s cheerleading mixes are actually how I discovered EDM and Alice Deejay just became my thing,” says Melissa Brooks, who we know best as the founder and frontwoman of SoCal surf rock/”sunshine punk” outfit The Aquadolls (I last caught up with Brooks in March of 2022, prior to The Aquadolls double-headlining The Lounge at World Café Live with Sitting on Stacy… before they actually opened Camden for Incubus that summer.)  However, Melissa has actually been a major player in the Los Angles EDM/hyperpop scene for the better part of a ..read more

“We kind of wanted to circle back to more of the rock venue feel.  We enjoyed the intimacy of the last one, but we got a lot of feedback from people who felt trapped in their chairs,” Cloud Cult founder and primary songwriter Craig Minowa tells me, laughing.  March of 2022 saw the release of Metamorphosis, the Minnesota experimental indie rock outfit’s first full-length in six years, which was followed by quite a bit of touring, with most dates taking place in fully seated listening rooms, including our own City Winery (It was fun, but I can confirm the feeling of being trapped in a ..read more

Portland, Oregon’s Pure Bathing Culture are longtime phriends of PHILTHY (We first met them in September of 2014, while they were on tour with Tennis.), but I’m pretty sure they haven’t headlined the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection in more than a decade… and I haven’t gotten the chance to chat with the indie pop duo – comprised of Sarah Versprille and Daniel Hindman – since March of 2016, when they were on the road supporting Lucius.  However, this coming Thursday, August 22nd, they will be headlining MilkBoy, and last week I got a chance to chat with Sarah and Daniel via em ..read more

Last month Brooklyn-based psych-pop quartet Crumb played an electrifying Sunday evening set alongside PHILTHY phavorites Jessica Pratt, Mannequin Pussy, and MUNA at Pitchfork Music Festival (There’s tons of footage on YouTube.), the final of three Midwest shows that served as the opening chapter of a North American headline (aside from Pitchfork) tour.  The band are currently nearing the end of a monthlong break, but their tour will resume this coming Tuesday, August 20th, at our very own Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia, where they’ll be joined by experimental instrumentalist L’Rain and Discov ..read more