When our friends with Austin band, My Education and Salt Lake City’s Theta Naught told us a new album was coming ten years after the release of their second collaboration, it was a bit of a surprise it took that long to make the follow-up to Sound Mass II: Spiritual Docking. It was particularly perplexing given that the recording sessions for this release, entitled Ampersand were made in 2019 not long before the worldwide pandemic put a stop to pretty much everything including collaborations between awesome post-rock bands. The story of this collaboration goes all the way back to June 2010. My ..read more

When a band like Cage The Elephant moves out of their place of formation for England, you know they intended to live up to their titular mission statement. Kentucky-born Cage The Elephant is many records removed from super-hit “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked,” becoming one of the mainstream’s most hard-hitting arena rock and roll acts while churning out a discography with inarguable depth that carries the torch for contemporaries such as The White Stripes, Beck, Modest Mouse, and The Black Keys. On Thursday night at Austin’s downtown basketball arena, as Melvins’ Buzz Osborne would call a “non-v ..read more

Hot Summer Nights in the Red River Cultural District in Austin, is yet another RRCD-sponsored event that features countless local artists performing across the downtown area. Each showcase will not charge a cover at the door, meaning dozens of free showcases akin to the annual Free Week, which takes place the first week of  January each year. Hot Summer Nights will take place July 18 – July 20 and will feature over 140 acts from all over Austin and surrounding areas. Venues participating in the event will include Mohawk, Chess Club, Cheer Up Charlie’s, and Empire Control Room & Garage ..read more

On June 8, I had the exciting opportunity to interview author Tara López at Sound Decay Records in El Paso, Texas. The interview celebrated the release of López’s new book, Chuco Punk: Sonic Insurgency in El Paso. A native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Lopez is currently an assistant professor of ethnic studies at Winona State University in Minnesota. She’s passionate about music and in her research, discovered the wide influence of DIY music scene in El Paso. Lopez not only documented the bands and promoters of the this vibrant scene but traced the origins and history of El Paso’s culture to sh ..read more

The Black Angels aren’t just a band. They’ve carved themselves out to be much more than just your average independent rock act. From being producers of Levitation Festival in Austin, each having their own side projects, and even producing records from up-and-coming bands, the psychedelic rock act’s career has become a coveted phenomenon whose following has expanded beyond the music itself. After announcing the lineup for Levitation 2024, a stint in Europe and the rest of the United States this Fall, The Black Angels headed to San Antonio to give their Central Texas fans a blueprint of what wil ..read more

Austin-based psychedelia collective Levitation has announced the 2024 edition with the lineup and schedule of their multi-venue festival to take place in downtown Austin over Halloween weekend. The festival will retain its four-day format, featuring venues in the Red River Cultural District and other parts of Austin. The event runs from October 31 – November 3.  Each day of programming will contain multiple shows at various locations throughout its duration, including; Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheatre, Mohawk, Empire Garage & Control Room, Elysium, The 13th Floor, and the new additio ..read more

The word “culture” is derived from the Latin word “cultus” which means “to care.” Later, the French used the same root for “colore” which adds a connotation of tending the earth for growth. Culture, as we use it today, combines both meanings and can be defined as the ongoing process of working, nurturing and attending to an environment with the intention of producing something of value. It’s a dynamic word, and therefore, ideal for the purposes of creation. So when we say that Austin, Texas has a culture of live music, we don’t simply mean that there are lots of places where you can see bands ..read more

Athens, Georgia indie phenomenon Of Montreal (Styled as “of Montreal.”) has entered their 30th year as prolific and vibrant as ever. Singer, songwriter and visionary Kevin Barnes doesn’t “funk” around when he takes the stage, usually sending out dancers, presenting mesmerizing stage visuals, tossing stage props into the audience, and stage presences that make the audience bask in the long-running oddball indie act. For Of Montreal’s sold-out Austin performance at Red River Cultural District stronghold Mohawk on Tuesday, the summer Texas crowd was ready to sweat it out for yet another triumphan ..read more

This Saturday, June 29 Jeremiah Jackson, Et Ceteras and Psychic Seatbelt (duo with Jake Lauterstein)play SIMS Saturday at Love Wheel Records 4-7 p.m. The performances are free. You can RSVP here. The quarterly event benefits SIMS Foundation, the mental health organization that supports local music industry workers and their dependent family members with mental health and recovery services. A generous donor is matching same day record sales and donating those funds to SIMS. Love Wheel is a great little independent record shop with a great selection of vinyl records for all types of music listen ..read more

Austin-based, dark ambient, indie-rockers Lunar Gold release their latest single “Vestiges” today. Led by singer-guitarist Jason Morris, Lunar Gold once again fills the creative void with their new track. “Vestiges” surges with soulful energy, featuring Morris’s powerful and haunting vocals. Backed by Tyler Cornett on guitar, Jenni Weiland and Kevin Flatt on horns, Mike Pena on keys, Paul Goetz on drums, and Garth Condit tracking the upright bass, the single adds another gem to their growing collection of recordings available online. Lunar Gold plays a single release tonight at Mohawk with loc ..read more