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On the first track of his latest record Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, singer Sturgill Simpson name-checks alien lizards, psychedelic drug DMT, Buddha and cosmic turtles, all of which are crooned about over a classic country shuffle. Simpson may be a country singer in title, but we’re a long way from Kenny Chesney here. Continue reading
Fun fact: You can join a band even if you can’t play an instrument. “When we started the band I did not play any instruments,” Mallory Graham of Nashville’s The Rough and Tumble tells EW. “And I was terrified to do so.” Graham says her college friend Scott Tyler convinced her that if she agreed to play music with him, her lack of musical experience wouldn’t be a problem. Continue reading
The songs of Brooklyn-based quintet Lucius range from alt-country ballads and ’60s psychedelic to percussive pop with beguiling melodies and dance rhythms. But it’s the powerful harmonizing vocals of lead singers Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig that really separate their sound from the mainstream. Listening to the band’s acclaimed debut album Wildewoman (2013), it’s easy to assume there’s just one singer, such is the impressive vocal union of Wolfe and Laessig. Continue reading
The “Rocky and Tyler” tour features A$AP Rocky and Tyler the Creator, but Vince Staples is the rising star to watch. Staples, who supports two of the biggest names in rap on this tour, says he’s glad to make his “contribution to hip hop” and “do these nice little shows.” But shows like the gig at Matthew Knight Arena are going to be the furthest thing from small. This is a huge hip-hop lineup, especially for Eugene. Continue reading
“I remember hearing when I was a lot younger that the universe was infinite,” says Mike Rummans, bassist from ’60s garage rock band The Sloths. “If you kept traveling in space, you’d just go on forever and ever.” Continue reading
Jonny Lang made his name as a 16-year-old blues guitar prodigy. Since then, he’s dabbled in rock, blues, gospel and pop — all the while remaining one of the most respected guitar slingers in the business. Like John Mayer meets Eric Clapton, Lang’s got the voice — and good looks — of a teen pop idol, evidenced in 2013’s pure pop-leaning record Fight for My Soul. All in all, there ain’t much left for blues purists in Jonny Lang, despite the record kicking off with a boogie-blues riff from track “Blew Up (The House).” Continue reading
Happy 10th Anniversary Grrrlz Rock! Thank you to all the musicians, teachers, volunteers, parents and students who make music education and performance a priority during this month-long music and arts festival for the young girls and women in this town, especially when they may not be seeing much gender diversity on stages the rest of the year. Come celebrate with headliner, the Canadian-born, California-based rocker Lila Rose, who’s touring with new album WE.ANIMALS, 6 pm Friday, Nov. 6, at WOW Hall. Continue reading
In their 15-year career, the five members of Blitzen Trapper have traversed wide musical landscapes, from the layered, progressive rock of small dive bars to the rustic alt country of Appalachia. Even within individual albums, Trapper is known for a range of sound that varies dramatically from song to song. Continue reading
Much of Oregon’s music is made by immigrants from back East, but a few native Oregonian musicians have reversed the process, going on to glory far from their native Northwest. Case in point: flutist Elizabeth Rowe, the Eugene native and South Eugene grad who now holds down the principal flute position with the Boston Symphony. She returns to her hometown to lead workshops and master classes at the UO, and joins the Oregon Mozart Players for a concert at 7:30 pm Saturday, Nov. 7, at Beall Concert Hall. Continue reading
After a day or so of fighting our way through dropped calls and shitty cell reception, I get hold of Moon Hooch saxophonist Mike Wilbur somewhere in the middle of Idaho. He and his bandmates — saxophonist Wenzl McGowen and drummer James Muschler — are in the homestretch of their West Coast tour, which eventually will take them through Eugene. Wilbur is also audibly sick, which doesn’t seem to be getting him down in the slightest. Continue reading