If I had to pick just one…I think it would be The Royale. It’s one of those venues that has an entry that you can easily just drive right past, a cozy intimate feel that still has room to breathe, and it was the stage for an exhilarating and boundary-pushing…

There are some bands that you hear for the first time, and you fall instantly in love with them. The opening notes to any song can play and it has you screaming in your car while hearing it on the radio, and before you know it you are turned into…

Raleigh’s Between the Buried and Me, longstanding boundary pushers sitting somewhere delightfully between metal, prog and hardcore, swung through Minneapolis’ Skyway Theatre with some heavy help to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release of their album The Parallax II: Future Sequence, supported by Reading’s death prog wizards Rivers of…

As we headed over for Day 2 of RRU the weather reports were not looking great, hot with thunderstorms, but were too exited to worry too much about it. It was a day filled with a lot of firsts of bands/artists I have never seen before (but excited and curious…

Back in the heyday of the emo scene days, we were all looked down on as cringe culture. Some people may look back on their scene hairstyles and clothing choices with the same reaction as our parents looking at photos of their 80s glam days. But something 80s glam and…

This was year two for Reggae Rise Up in Maryland at West Covington Park. Last year I had a great line-up and to be honest I was not as hyped about this overall line-up. However, I ended up being really surprised (in a good way) and the entire three day…

While in high school I had my first experience with the metal community by discovering 80s Glam Metal. This was my introduction to the bigger world of metal music that was coming my way. But while I was getting into big hair, bright colors, and spandex, most of my friends…

The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto was transformed into a boiling cauldron of energy as the Summer Storm Tour featuring Nita Strauss unleashed a relentless display of musical prowess. The evening kicked off with local band Sticks N' Stones, a local group hailing from Brampton, Ontario, known for their high-octane performances.…

My first time through Janelle Monáe's The Age of Pleasure, I had two thoughts; this is very different from her previous albums in style and this is a very quick album, only 31 minutes long. Janelle makes a big shift from her Afrofuturist persona, character driven themes of race, power…

The Indie Rock Road Trip tour had a (planned) pit stop at Minneapolis this Wednesday, stopping at the fabulous, gargantuan Armory where 8000 adoring fans packed themselves into the massive space to catch the return of 90s-but-also-other-decades darlings Weezer. They brought LA indie rising stars Momma and the ineffable Modest…

I believe I witnessed a superstar in the making Saturday night in San Diego. Twenty-eight year old singer songwriter Melanie Martinez brought her Portals tour to San Diego mesmerizing the audience with a captivating and visually stunning show that felt more like performance art than just a concert. The world…

The Studio at The Factory in Dallas, Texas, was buzzing with anticipation as fans lined up outside, eagerly awaiting a night filled with electrifying performances for The Property Tour. Waterparks, the pop-punk sensation from Houston, was set to headline the show, with direct support from the dynamic indie rockers Hunny,…