The Strike Light Up The Wiltern Before The Fray’s 20th Anniversary Show
LOS ANGELES, CA- I arrived at The Wiltern promptly at 7 p.m. under the impression that I would be seeing The Strike open for The Fray. However, if I had been paying attention to the social media promotion around this tour, I would have…
Soft Palms at Gold Diggers: Dream Pop with Bite on the Horizon
LOS ANGELES, CA- I’ve been aware of Soft Palms for a while, keeping tabs on their dreamy indie output while also following the separate projects of husband-and-wife duo Julia and Scott Montoya. But July 18th, 2025, at Gold Diggers was the first time I’d finally…
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram Glides Into A Soulful Groove With “Nothin’ But Your Love”
LOS ANGELES, CA- Christone “Kingfish” Ingram has never been shy about wearing his influences on his sleeve, but what makes him such a compelling figure in modern music is how naturally he bends traditions into something uniquely his own. With his latest single “Nothin’ But…
Uncle Charlie Wilson’s Cookout at the Hollywood Bowl: A Celebration of R&B Memory and Legacy
LOS ANGELES, CA- There are concerts you walk into with expectations already set. Charlie Wilson is one of those artists. The man is a known commodity. I’ve seen him at the Hollywood Bowl before. I’ve even had the opportunity to shoot him, so I knew…
Ethel Cain Transforms the Shrine Auditorium with Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You
LOS ANGELES, CA- There are certain artists who don’t just write songs… they build worlds. And I’ve always gravitated toward those musicians who can take the intimacy of a lyric and stretch it into an entire mythology, crafting storylines that hurt as much as they…
Taylor Acorn Signs to Fearless Records and Drops “Hangman” Ahead of Poster Child
LOS ANGELES, CA- Taylor Acorn’s music has been creeping onto my playlists for a while now, but her new single “Hangman” is the one that finally hit me square in the chest. There’s a moment in the chorus where she asks, “Did you run…
Xdinary Heroes Electrify Brooklyn Paramount with High-Energy Beautiful Mind Tour Stop
BROOKLYN, NY- Korean rock band Xdinary Heroes, a six-member powerhouse under JYP Entertainment’s Studio J label, kicked off the U.S. leg of their Beautiful Mind world tour on Saturday, August 2nd, at Brooklyn Paramount, and what a night it was. Officially debuting in December 2021 with the…
Fiona Silver Steps Into a New Galaxy with Life On Other Planets
LOS ANGELES, CA- Los Angeles got its first taste of Fiona Silver’s new musical identity on a night that already felt charged with possibility. The venue lights dimmed, the bassline rumbled through the room, and she emerged. No guitar slung across her shoulder this time,…
Mustard Service Captivates a Sold-Out Echoplex with a Career-Spanning Set and Summer-Perfect Vibes
LOS ANGELES, CA- My introduction to Mustard Service came embarrassingly late. Earlier this year, I stumbled upon their single “Big Time,” and was immediately pulled in by its breezy, heart-on-sleeve groove. I ended up writing about it for Blurred Culture, calling it a “zest-soaked breakup…
Bathe Bring “Surf R&B” Vibes to The Bellwether and Shine on Latest Album “Inside Voice(s)”
LOS ANGELES, CA- Earlier this year, I caught Bathe opening for Cymande at The Bellwether in Los Angeles. I remember thinking at the time that Bathe, a Brooklyn-based duo with a breezy, laid-back R&B sound, felt just slightly out of sync as an opener for…