Dawes has an earnest and easy quality to its folk-drawn rock. The band’s fourth and latest album, “All Your Favorite Bands,” is full of honest, effortless vocals weighted with full snares and resonant, clean guitar lines. Oh and harmonies, quite beautiful harmonies. The band opens for Old Crow Medicine Show and Brandi Carlisle. Dawes plays […]
TYLER PEARCE
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FOLK | Ray LaMontagne
Ray LaMontagne has a raw, earthen quality about him. It’s been more than a decade since his hit debut, “Trouble,” and his raspy, baritone croon is still so familiar. Earlier this year, LaMontagne released “Ouroboros,” his dreamy and etheric sixth album, with a dip into synths and electronics, and backing vocals by Jim James of […]
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FOLK-ROCK | Ryan Montbleau
Ryan Montbleau’s soul soothes out heavy on a vine. Artfully crafted lyrics sit soulful and honest, while his fingers dance multiple rhythms at once. This unique songwriter and performer has lit up everywhere from intimate rooms to festival stages around the country, logging a lot of miles over the past decade, and easily moving between […]
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R&B | Ms. Monet
Ms. Monet has been performing alongside famed musicians like Queen Latifah, Steely Dan, Michael McDonald, and Boz Scaggs for nearly two decades. Full of soul and power in her five-octave vocal range, Monet has toured with Lenny Kravitz and has belted backups for Celine Dion, Faith Hill, and Tim McGraw. Upward Groove, Haewa, and Tommy […]
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FOLK POP | Brett Harris
North Carolina singer-songwriter Brett Harris croons classic pop, and coaxes it mature, mellow, and inviting. Whether solo or as part of his band, Harris’ vocal musings and hooky guitar melodies are at the fore. Out earlier this month, “Up In the Air” is his junior album. He wraps any hard edges in a soft optimism, […]
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ROOTS | Rochester Revival 2016
Pickin’ bluegrass, one-droppin’ reggae, and real rootsin’ Americana will take the Anthology stage for Rochester Revival 2016. The two-day festival celebrates Roots and Americana music from some of the area’s finest, including The Campbell Brothers, The Prickers, The Honey Smugglers, and Personal Blend. Tauk, Cabinet, and The Blind Owl Band will also perform. Food trucks […]
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INSTRUMENTAL | Kaki King
Rolling Stone has dubbed Kaki King a “genre unto herself”; the Brooklyn-based composer and guitarist definitely feels like an iconoclast in her avant-garde approach. While performing her most recent album, “The Neck Is a Bridge to the Body,” King shows her affinity for the visual experience by conjuring a Bjork-esque creative force. Picture her guitar […]
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FOLK | David Ramirez
He once traveled 260,000 miles on tour, lost himself, then “found a little bit of grace,” says David Ramirez. His words wax with melancholy and bitter honesty, laced with a little bit of hope. You get the feeling that Ramirez is whiskey-browed and has been through enough. There’s a Jason Isbell quality to his vocals, […]
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COUNTRY | Lee Brice
Lee Brice is blue-eyed, boot-kicken’, country lovin’. His earnest, love-laden lyrics fall sweet from an easy drawl. He’s currently on an international arena tour with his latest release and third full-length, “I Don’t Dance.” A Nashville-based songwriter for chart-topping country stars before becoming a performer, Brice seems to pretty much have his hand on the […]
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ELECTRONIC | Claude Young
Claude Young’s approach to his beat-based creations is unique and more improvisational than you might normally find in the electronic realm. There’s the familiar bass pulse on every beat, but his tracks open further into something you might find on a sci-fi underworld soundtrack. It’s spacey and cool. 7th City, Djax-Up-Beats, Frictional and Axis are […]
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FOLK | Olivia Quillio
The way Olivia Quillio’s voice weaves between a smooth, jazz purr and a sweet, folk whisper is enchanting and wonderful. Her words feel weightless as she croons, yet hold a heart that’s heavy and wise of someone decades older. There’s more soul here on a thin breath than I’ve heard in a while. This Troy, […]
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POP | Anna Nalick
You may remember the radio hit “Breathe (2 AM)” from a decade ago, but not who penned it. The song, which peaked at No. 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, was off Anna Nalick’s 2005 debut album, “Wreck of the Day.” A little bit wrecking ball and a little heartache whisper, Nalick’s sound pulses […]
