We've got issues.
It’s easy to miss some of the many excellent musicians who swing through town, thanks to conflicts with other shows, a skimpy entertainment budget or simply an overabundance of awesomeness. This month offers numerous second-chance opportunities to catch some highly recommended performers you may have missed last time around — or didn’t, and want to catch again. Continue reading
Songwriter Ari Shine met his wife, Adrienne Pierce, in L.A.; the two immediately connected over shared interests like Canadian folk-rock band The Grapes of Wrath. Shine says the two worked in the music business together for years as an “undercover duo.” “We co-wrote Adrienne’s records,” he explains. “We were doing a lot of music together [for soundtracks] but we weren’t a band.” Eventually Shine and Pierce struck out on their own, forming The Royal Oui. Continue reading
Even though Elephant Revival released its latest offering, These Changing Skies, in 2013, the album was largely conceived before the band had even finished its previous release, 2012’s It’s Alive. Continue reading
Despite never writing lines over three beats long, Dom Kennedy works a pretty contagious game. In interviews, the California-born rapper sounds like Muhammad Ali, toting himself as the hardest-working, most prolific, sensational, fresh, badass artist in hip hop today. While most of these claims can be taken with a gargantuan grain of salt, “hard-working” lands with great accuracy. Continue reading
Straight-A students: The A3 Group, an advanced nine-piece instrumental music ensemble from the Springfield Academy of Arts and Academics, will fill the Wildish Theater with the sounds of “Bass Folk Song,” “Django’s Castle” and other music by A3 student composers 7:30 pm Friday, Feb. 28; $5 students and seniors, $7 general. Local favorite Mood Area 52 takes the stage next, performing its signature blend of jazz, American folk, Brechtian cabaret and classical music. The groups will cap off the night with a joint performance of “St. Continue reading
Cécile McLorin Salvant has gone from rising to shooting star in the world of jazz. The New York Times has heaped praise on the vocalist, declaring her the heir to the legacy of the “Big Three,” Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. The 24-year-old French-American jazz singer won the prestigious Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition in 2010, and her first distributed album, 2013’s WomenChild, was a 2014 Grammy nominee. Now, she comes to Oregon for the first time, performing her debut concert at The Shedd Feb. 21. Continue reading
Forget The Tortoise and the Hare, The Tortoise and The Crow is the hot, faster-paced new duo. That’s the name of The Grouch & Eligh’s latest project, a triple album featuring a solo Grouch disc, a solo Eligh disc and a third disc with both indie rappers. The Grouch & Eligh will drop this expansive collaboration on Eugene with a little help from their friends, Madchild, Pigeon John and DJ Fresh, 9 pm Sunday, Feb. 23, at WOW Hall. The pair released the album in February 2014 with the help of a $90,000 Kickstarter infusion. Continue reading
Not many people associate classical music or ballet with scandal, but that’s exactly what The Rite of Spring was on an early summer evening in Paris 101 years ago — a white-hot scandal. A near-riot shook the Théatre des Champs-Elysées as the discordant sounds of Igor Stravinsky’s Spring, accompanied by Vaslav Nijinsky’s jarring choreography, filled the hall. American novelist Gertrude Stein said of the fateful performance, “No sooner did the music begin and the dancing than [the audience] began to hiss.” Continue reading
Legendary British songwriter Nick Lowe has said of folk-pop musician Eleni Mandell: “She stole my band and my sound, but I’d still have her ’round for tea.” That quote is proudly displayed on Mandell’s website. Well, they say good artists copy and great artists steal. Continue reading
Getting to know Australian snotty-rockers Dune Rats via their online presence, you get a pretty clear picture of what to expect: The band’s Facebook page lists “max chillin” as an interest, describes the band’s sound as “dunecore stoner pop” and the members as “three hyperactive stoner cunts.” Digging into the music, you’ll find this all pretty apt. Continue reading