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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
Playwright David Ives (A Flea in Her Ear, Venus in Fur) calls his play The School for Lies a “translaptation” of French playwright Molière’s classic 1666 farce The Misanthrope. Lies is now playing at University Theatre under the direction of Tricia Rodley. Ives has maintained much of the source material’s language. The play is written in rhyming verse, and Ives adds well-timed modern zingers for comic effect. Continue reading
I can’t say I felt much when I read that the Jacobs Gallery was closing; having never visited, I only knew of it as “that gallery under the Hult.” I could envision the work they presented. You know, the kind of art that could easily hang in a “respectable gallery.” Continue reading
Lindsey Swing of Honeysuckle & Sassafras. Photo by Athena Delene. 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