Baltimore’s Lower Dens released its third album in March. The band’s leader, Jana Hunter, has been a fixture in the independent music community for years,...
Music
Gems and roses
Christopher Barnes formed Gem Club in Boston about five years ago, inspired by the RPM Challenge to write and record an album in a month....
Now Hear This
“Stay Home,” Soft Eyes Eye Vybe Records File Under: psychedelic, vibe-rock, lo-fi Sounds like: Morgan Delt, Quilt, (early) White Fence, Allah-Las There’s a moment during every...
Songs and stories
Martha Redbone wanted to follow her 2006 album “Future Street” with a project that would honor her family’s years in the mountains and coal mines...
Deep cuts
Humor can be a surprisingly sharp weapon in hip-hop these days, but it’s a double-edged sword. Through jest and wordplay, MCs can engage listeners and...
Keeping hope alive
On a recent afternoon, John Fullbright was at home on his family farm in Bearden, Okla., walking around the same little town where he grew...
The next step
It’s hard to imagine Natalie Cressman as anything but a musician. The daughter of two West Coast jazz musicians is in her early 20s, with...
Have guitar, will travel
In March, 22-year-old Mike Dunbar, frontman of the Portsmouth-based band Black Agnes, was awarded a grant from College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.,...
Talking music at PMAC
A guest lecture at the Portsmouth Music and Arts Center (PMAC) will explore the origins of country music, jazz, hillbilly, blues, ragtime, pop ballads, rock...
Summer rocks at the Rochester Opera House
The Rochester Opera House is expanding its season with two new series. The Summer Rocks Series and the Summer Movie Series both kick off in...
Gerhard strums for the Grange
Grammy Award-winning guitarist Ed Gerhard will perform his annual benefit concert for the Bow Lake Grange Hall in Strafford on Saturday, June 6. Catch him...
Apocalypse now
Taraka and Nimai Larson have an “apocalypse state of mind.” Since 2010, the sisters, under the guise of their band, Prince Rama, have been crafting...
Learning to rock
Performing music on stage is Meghan McPherson’s dream. She’s been playing piano since age 6 and guitar since she was 10. She started writing her...
Summer music survival guide
Summer in the Seacoast means music. Lots of music. More music than anyone can handle. There are outdoor shows and indoor shows, concerts at the...
Howling at the moon
When people ask lead singer Sam Vlasich what kind of music Red Sky Mary plays, he always gives the same answer. “I just like to...
Now Hear This
“Gettin’ Tight with Dreadnaught” by Dreadnaught, Red Fez Records File under: Prog-rock, Experimental, Jazz, Funk Sounds like: Thinking Plague, Steely Dan, King Crimson One of the...
Postcards and cassette tapes
Aly Spaltro started recording and performing as Lady Lamb the Beekeeper in Brunswick, Maine in 2007. Her self-released albums quickly garnered a lot of attention...
Audio Artifacts: Soft Eyes
Soft Eyes talks about New England’s psychedelic scene, Halloween barn parties, and donating band members Sometimes, the best things in music are right under your...
The Mothership rises
While the Seacoast hip-hop scene has ebbed and flowed over the years, Patrick “DJ Ayo Beat Perv” Bernard and Jamal Cooley are part of a...
In your face
When John Norwood Fisher picked up his bass and started Fishbone in Los Angeles in 1979, the music industry was in flux. Disco was in...
Blakeslee at Book & Bar
It’s not easy to make a career out of playing music. Just ask Dan Blakeslee. He’s been doing it for 20 years, gigging relentlessly around...
Musical chairs
Six local bands, six downtown venues, one worthy cause — those are the basics behind Dover Revolver, a live music event taking place on Saturday,...
Exeter comes alive
In an effort to breathe new life into the arts scene and nightlife of downtown Exeter, a group of arts advocates is launching a new...
All mad here
Rain Dogs” is as close as Tom Waits has ever come to releasing a commercially popular record. The 1985 album, with its gnarled cacophony of...
Letting go
Happiness, emptiness, history — those are the first words of each stanza in Iska Dhaaf’s song, “Happiness.” The Seattle-grown, Brooklyn-based, indie psych-rock duo translates stories...