Subhumans
Subhumans are one of the most influential bands from the UK Anarcho-Punk scene of the 80’s, filed right alongside Crass and Conflict, and just as relevant today as they were during the darkest days of Thatcher’s Britain. Take your choice in how to label them – Punk, UK82, Crusty, etc, – there lies the attraction and consequent reason for their popularity, the band epitomizes non-conformity and connects with people in many different scenes. Forming in 1980, recording and releasing a series of live and demo cassette tapes on their own Bluurg label, they continued to release music throughout the 80’s – building a powerhouse of a back catalog that completely stands the test of time. Their debut LP ‘The Day the Country Died’ (1983), with its Orwellian influence, is considered by many to be a classic and has sold in excess of 100,000 copies. The second album, ‘From the Cradle to the Grave’, came swiftly the following year (1984), and although the same frenetic pace is in evidence, this marks a significant musical development for the band. In 1985 Subhumans broke up, citing the usual musical differences, although had managed to release a third, maybe ironically entitled, LP ‘Worlds Apart.’ A final EP was released posthumously in 1986, ‘29:29 Split Vision,’ a further demonstration of how far the band had come musically from their initial leanings. Dick Lucas subsequently joined Culture Shock and then formed political ska-punk band Citizen Fish in 1990, both bands releasing many albums, and still playing today. Subhumans had a couple of reunion shows in the nineties, before a more permanent return for the 21st century, including 2 major tours of the US, the first resulting in the ‘Live in a Dive’ LP. The Subhumans then released a further studio album in 2007, ‘Internal Riot,’ again on Bluurg Records. The band is still passionate and angry, illustrated by Dick saying “Being in a band is the source of most of my passion and drive! The live experience of sharing it with people keeps it ongoing, the release of anger, frustration and initially negative/destructive states of mind is a release from the downward spiral of keeping it all bottled up and it feels positive/constructive as a result.” The band have recently written ten new songs, which Pirates Press Records are thrilled to be releasing, and are embarking on a year of touring in both Europe and North America! First a split with The Restarts before a 12” of their own comes out in October of 2019! The social and political commentary of bands like Subhumans forged a path, along with their contemporaries, for punk to change lives and opinions around the world. Sadly the things they sang about forty years ago are largely just as important now, sometimes more so in an age of Trump and Brexit. We can’t wait to hear more of what they have to say about the current political climate, the immense imbalance of wealth and power, and the causes they hold near and dear to their hearts. Facebook · Instagram · Spotify
Music for Mental Health
NC Musicians Mental Health Alliance Caleb Caudle On his latest release, Sweet Critters, Caleb Caudle continues to mine both the brightest and murkiest corners of his imagination, finding that purest of points where tenderness and grit collide, inspired by musical heroes like Buddy Miller and Guy Clark, and mentors like Elizabeth Cook and John Paul White. It was White who Caudle tapped to produce Sweet Critters, along with Ben Tanner, at the duo’s Florence, Alabama studio Sun Drop Sound. “I was very excited to work with Caleb on this record. Iʼve been a fan for years and count him as a friend,” White says of working with Caudle. “Heʼs a stellar songwriter, so I knew heʼd bring the goods. And he did.” The album features Allison Russell, Aoife O’Donovan, John Paul White and Caleb’s own touring band. He has played Stagecoach, Cayamo, Luck Reunion, Mountain Stage, Merlefest, Americanafest and recently supported Marty Stuart, Steve Earle, Hayes Carll, Elizabeth Cook, Brent Cobb, Charles Wesley Godwin and Ray Wylie Hubbard among many others. ———————————— Laurelyn DossettSinger/songwriter Laurelyn Dossett lives and writes in Stokes County, NC. Her songs have appeared in films and television (Hell on Wheels, Ain’t In it for My Health) and have been recorded by many artists including Grammy-winning Levon Helm (Anna Lee) and Rhiannon Giddens of the Carolina Chocolate Drops (Leaving Eden). She has written the songs for seven plays, staged at Triad Stage and Playmaker’s Repertory. Her song cycle, The Gathering: A Winter’s Tale in Six Songs was commissioned by the North Carolina Symphony and premiered in Raleigh in 2011. She last performed it in 2019 with the Winston-Salem Symphony. Laurelyn has written songs for various protest movements in North Carolina including My Beloved Enemy and Vote Against Amendment One. She remains a voice for social justice and environmental activism in North Carolina and beyond. The River’s Lament is her testament to the devastation of the Dan River coal ash spill. She founded and continues to host the annual “Songs of Hope and Justice” at the North Carolina Folk Festival. ———————————– The Vagabond Saints’ Society has waited patiently for many years for the right time to pay tribute to one of their favorite cult albums – The Waterboys’ 1988 classic, “Fisherman’s Blues.” The VSS will perform this timeless record classic in its entirety, featuring Doug Davis on lead vocals, as well as a selection of other Waterboys favorites featuring a selection of Triad & Triangle singers! “Fisherman’s Blues” was the fruit of an intense reevaluation of the Waterboys’ previous anthemic post-punk, filtered through a new fascination with traditional Irish forms and instrumentation. The result is neither rock ’n roll nor authentic “trad” music, but something all its own, rooted in the deeply passionate and romantic writing of bandleader, Mike Scott.
Squirrel Nut Zippers
When Hot first hit the airwaves in 1996, it didn’t just ignite excitement — it sparked a cultural bonfire. With its infectious blend of swing, jazz, Delta blues, and Southern storytelling, Hot rocketed Squirrel Nut Zippers from the underground scene of Chapel Hill, NC, to the national stage, going Platinum and defining a generation’s rediscovery of vintage Americana. The band’s breakout sophomore album captured lightning in a bottle. Recorded at the famed Kingsway Studio in New Orleans (owned by Daneil Lanois), the record radiated with authenticity. Featuring a warm, analog sound, paired with wry, vivid storytelling, the album topped the Billboard 200 charts for an impressive 51 weeks and included such standout tracks as “Put a Lid On It,” “Blue Angel,” and its biggest hit to-date “Hell.” “Hell,” which at the time, was considered an unlikely radio single, topped the Alternative Airplay charts at #13 and has become a pivotal piece of pop culture as it continues to heat up the radio and TV airwaves, appearing on alt rock and Americana stations and in such prominent television shows as Wednesday (2025) and Lucifer (2021).Now, 30 years later, the Zippers are celebrating the ever-lasting magic of Hot with the “In The Afterlife” tour, where the band will play the record in its entirety. The 30th celebration of Hot is not just a look back — it’s a salute to resilience, innovation, and the enduring power of a band that never stopped evolving.Formed in 1993 by Jimbo Mathus, Katharine Whalen, and a tight-knit group of musical misfits, Squirrel Nut Zippers defied genre from the start. Their sound — an intoxicating mix of prohibition-era jazz, big band bravado, and punk-rock irreverence — invited listeners into a world where vaudeville met voodoo and speakeasy swagger met Southern soul. Led by Mathus, and managed by original drummer Chris Phillips, the modern-day Zippers continue to honor that legacy while breathing new life into their beloved catalog. As the Squirrel Nut Zippers bring Hot back to the stage, fans old and new are rediscovering what made the album — and the band — so unforgettable. Music that swings, sings, and sizzles with soul. Website · Instagram · Facebook · YouTube
An Evening with Shawn Mullins: a solo performance filled with songs and stories
After a series of indie releases and growing buzz in the Atlanta music scene, Shawn Mullins’ critical and commercial breakthrough came when 1998 Soul’s Core shot him to fame on the strength of Grammy-nominated No. 1 hit, “Lullaby” followed by AAA/Americana No. 1 hit “Beautiful Wreck” from 2006’s 9th Ward Pickin’ Parlor. His song, “Shimmer” was used in promotion of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and was included on the Dawson’s Creek soundtrack. His co-write “All in My Head” from 2008’s Honeydew was featured in episode one of the hit TV sitcom “Scrubs.” Mullins also co-wrote the Zac Brown Band’s No. 1 country tune “Toes.” In early 2002, he formed supergroup The Thorns with Matthew Sweet and Pete Droge. “No Blue Sky” from the resulting album, is a modern day classic. For the 20th anniversary of his breakthrough album, Shawn revisited the music of Soul’s Core by recording two new versions of the album. He calls this Soul’s Core Revival. This is not a remix or a remaster of the original, but rather brand new recordings with new arrangements of the songs – one album is stripped down solo performances, some on guitar, some on piano and maybe one a cappella and the second is a new studio recording with his full band, Soul Carnival. Website · Facebook · Instagram · YouTube
The Bug Club
The Bug Club are back with a new album. It’s been a whole eleven months since their last. Where have they been? Every Single Muscle, the band’s fifth LP, arrives May 29th, 2026 via Sub Pop, making it a hat-trick for the Welsh duo and their esteemed Seattle-based patrons. Since Very Human Features, which emerged in June of 2025, the non-stop tour has seen the BBC 6 Music and KEXP favourites ping-pong across the Atlantic like they used to the Severn Bridge. Various festival slots in the summer kept them from having any sort of holiday – who needs one when you live in Wales anyway? – until it was time to head back to the writing room. So that answers that first question. Not that you’d have otherwise known. Ever self-effacing, songwriters Sam (guitar, vocals) and Tilly (bass, vocals) go as far as to claim that they’ve been sitting around “doing nothing at all” during track “It’s Our Manager David.” That’s clearly a lie. Every Single Muscle gets off to a full-throttle, chugging start with “Miss Wales 2012,” referencing a competition both Tilly and Sam have actually won. Dead serious. It’s the first of many sub-two-minute tracks on the album, setting the tone for The Bug Club’s punkiest offering yet and recalling both the short, sharp snaps of their very first singles and the grunt of recent releases. So packed is the album with wall-to-wall riffs and lyrical hooks rammed into tight confines that Sam actually asks permission to squeeze in a solo during second track “A Good Day for Dying.” He’s given two seconds. Not that we’re short-changed, though, because Sam asks again later on and is granted more. Across eighteen tunes there’s enough classic Sam/Tilly guitar interplay to satisfy even the most vociferous Bug Club club member and firmly refute the band’s own claim that they are only “just about technically proficient on our instruments.” “Full Range of Motion” has a choppy rhythm that sits atop drummer Tom’s tight beat and serves to remind us all of Minutemen, for a minute. “Make It Count” brings sweet melody and call and response, while “All My Clothes Fell Off” allows for a slower paced ballad that builds to a crescendo that would not be out of place in the world of classic rock. “Cut to Black” combines a Sparks-esque falsetto and Tilly’s melodic bass playing with a rhythm something close-ish to what Klaus Dinger used to do for Neu! And closer “My Uncle Warren Drives a Passat” sees them doing a bit of a left turn and swapping out guitars for keys. This record’s an exercise in efficient maximalism – the musical equivalent of your dad packing the car for a holiday. Bring what you like; space is tight but they’ll get it in there somehow. On to the words, because with these guys those are important. While Very Human Features did an excellent job of pointing at everyday things and highlighting their absurdity, on Every Single Muscle The Bug Club look more closely at themselves. Not so much in an introspective way, though. More in a way an alien might probe a captive specimen on an intergalactic gurney. Horror movies get their “body” subgenre, now garage rock albums get theirs too. Self-interested in an entirely new sense of the term, the human form and condition is prodded and inspected from every angle throughout the course of the album. Bandcamp · Instagram · Facebook · YouTube
BALTHVS
BALTHVS has grown in six years to become one of the most unique psychedelic groove acts in the world. With over 100 million streams, four albums, and twelve EPs, the band has established itself in the global touring circuit, performing across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. They have played in 26 countries and 94 cities worldwide, appearing at major events including Jam Cruise, SXSW, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Outside Lands, Electric Forest, Lightning in a Bottle, Montreal Jazz Festival, SXSW Sydney, and Jazz Cafe Festival. The band has also made notable appearances on KEXP, Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Cafe, and the BBC. Website · Spotify · Instagram · Bandcamp · YouTube
Fruit Bats
The midwest, particularly the part of the midwest Eric D. Johnson hails from, is a largely flat expanse. Zipping through it on the highway, you’ll see cities and towns rise up in the distance, but blink and you’ll miss other man-made rejoinders to horizontal living dotting the landscape, hill after hill, built from the refuse of the past: landfills. Some of these hills make for great sledding spots, parks, and trails. Others turn organic waste into compost. The Landfill, Fruit Bats’ June 12, 2026 album from Merge Records, is something else entirely: a mountain dominating the landscape of Johnson’s heart. This being a Fruit Bats record, one scales that mountain to take in the view, to see the future spread out as wide and endless as the midwestern plains. “But the mountain that gives us this vantage point,” Johnson says, “is made out of the trash that we’ve created, the collective weight of the past and where it’s taken us.” When he details that view on title track and lead single “The Landfill” — “a holy vision / of what could be / and couldn’t be / and could have been” — it’s thrilling to hear him sent soaring by a full complement of instruments. But what’s truly stunning is how, in his recontouring from could to couldn’t to could have been, he has lost none of the vulnerability that was brought to the foreground of his songwriting by 2025’s solo outing, Baby Man. Over the course of his now 25-year career under the moniker, most of Eric D. Johnson’s output as Fruit Bats has been the product of patience and fine-tuning. His songs, to borrow a phrase, are slow growers, given life on albums that encompass long stretches of time and memory. Baby Man changed that — he disallowed himself from referring to material he’d been working on before laying the album down, utilizing the morning pages technique of stream-of-consciousness, observational songwriting which flowed directly into his afternoon recording sessions. It was both a breathtaking document of Johnson’s skill as a singer-songwriter and an unvarnished account of the two weeks in which he recorded the album. Baby Man’s closeness to Johnson’s heart and the close attention to his voice and instrument its minimalist-maximalist ethos required uncorked something in him as he wrote towards a new full band effort. “That session was over,” he explains, “but there was way more to explore. I liked the immediacy of it, and I wanted to see how that would translate into a full-band Fruit Bats record.” Within weeks, he was back in a studio, this time with his band — David Dawda (bass), Josh Mease (guitars, synth), Frank LoCrasto (piano, synth), and Kosta Galanopoulos (drums) — with whom Johnson has spent over a decade building Fruit Bats into one of the most in-demand live acts in indie rock. Listening to The Landfill, it’s not hard to understand why: simply put, this band smokes. Producing the initial recording sessions in Washington’s Bear Creek Studios, Johnson set out to capture “the sound of this band I constantly marvel at, the feeling of being in a room with musicians you love and trust enough to let them cook.” They laid most of it down on the floor — no click tracks, no comped vocals, and minimal overdubs, with frequent collaborator Thom Monahan returning to provide additional production and The Landfill’s final mix. Website · Instagram · Facebook · Spotify
Cole Chaney and Kyova
When it comes to his latest album, In the Shadow of the Mountain, 25-year-old singer-songwriter Cole Chaney is pretty candid and blunt about who he is and what kind of music he wants to make—the result of which is this stunning offering from an artist wise beyond his age. “There’s a yin to every yang,” Chaney says. “I want nothing more than for people to be creatively fulfilled, and to do what they want. But, for me to preach that? I have to practice it.” That attitude resides at the core of the record, where the trajectory of the songs seemingly—more so purposely—shoot off in the opposite direction of many of his contemporaries in the Americana, country and folk music scenes. In truth? Chaney is summoning his rock roots. “I’m not concerned with being labeled as ‘country.’ There’s not a lot of music being released right now that is doing anything for me. I made something that I would want to listen to.” Pointing to his lifelong admiration for 1990s rock—specifically Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots—as a vital influence on the sonic landscape of the album, Chaney aimed to find a melodic balance between that raw and real rock sound and the bluegrass and folk music of his native Kentucky. “I wanted to make something that sounded like Ralph Stanley went in and got backed up by Soundgarden,” Chaney jokes. “I write what I listen to. And whatever I listen to is going to come out in my music.” In the Shadow of the Mountain was captured by famed producer Duane Lundy at his legendary studio in Lexington, Kentucky. While talking at length about the possible collaboration, Lundy spoke of his love for Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots. “I know plenty of bluegrass guys that could have recorded this for me,” Chaney says. “But, I wanted to take that string band and folk sound and bring it to a rock producer, to bring that big sound out of these acoustic instruments—[Duane] was able to do that.” The album was also co-produced by guitarist Zachary Hamilton, a close friend of Chaney, who is also the brother and bandmate of rising Lexington singer-songwriter Abby Hamilton. “[Zach] has that ability to fill a room with his guitar, his voicings, and all the choices he goes for down the neck of the guitar,” Chaney says. “When Abby was opening for us, I got to sit there and watch him play every night. I knew when I was going to do another album, he needed to be involved in some capacity.” Heading into the recording sessions, Chaney brought along his band, which included Ella Webster (fiddle), Kyle Kleinman (mandolin), Joel Murtaugh (upright bass) and James Gooding (drums). Acclaimed Kentucky musician (and former bandmate) Aaron Bibelhauser also makes an appearance. With this pivot in his tone and intent compared to his 2021 debut album, Mercy, Chaney sees this current path as more in tune with what he’s not only wanted to do all along, but has slowly shifted towards in recent years amid endless touring and performing. “I was green [while recording Mercy]. I didn’t really know what I was doing,” Chaney admits. “And, by the grace of so many people around me, we were able to get some really great string band music on [that album].” Website · Facebook · Instagram · YouTube
Lynn Blakey: A Celebration of Her Life and Music
Lynn Blakey: A Celebration of Her Life and MusicFeaturing Chatham County Line, Tift Merritt, Skylar Gudasz, Caitlin Cary, Tonya Lamm, Sara Bell, John Howie Jr., Linda Hopper, Jeffrey Dean Foster, Caroline Mamoulides, Anne-Claire Cleaver, Rachel Kiel, Mary Johnson Rockers & MoreBacked by an All-Star Tarheel Band: John Chumbris, Doug Davis, Wes Lachot, Will Rigby & Robert Sledge Lynn Blakey, one of the most beloved singers North Carolina ever produced, died February 6. Those who knew Blakey speak of her kindness, beauty, and optimism, and the way she lit up any room she was in. All true. She was like a sun that never set, and a tireless warrior—an activist with North Carolina Music Love Army, and an unofficial advisor to friends trying to negotiate the intricacies of the Affordable Care Act. A spectacular vocalist and terrific songwriter, Blakey played in North Carolina and Athens, Ga., bands including Oh Ok (with Lynda Stipe), Let’s Active (with Mitch Easter), Holiday (with Linda Hopper), Glory Fountain (with John Chumbris), Tres Chicas (with Caitlin Cary and Tonya Lamm), and most recently, the indie-rock supergroup Salt Collective (including tracks with Mike Mills and Matthew Caws). Her Christmas shows with her husband, violinist Ecki Heins, were treasured local events as well. She was our scene’s Emmylou Harris, blessing scores of other friends’ recordings with her voice for the ages. Yep Roc Records is releasing Dreams Are Lovers: A Retrospective, a collection of some of her marvelous songs, on May 29, and the concert is both a celebration of her life and a record-release performance for this release. “Anybody Lynn ever met immediately realized what a bright shining star she was,” said her Tres Chicas bandmate Lamm. “Not like a rock or movie star, but a brilliant light of kindness, happiness, and depth. A living angel. I can still hear her laugh and will hold that in my heart forever.” Blakey’s musical life began four decades ago at UNC-Greensboro, where she was a college radio deejay and avid concert-goer. When R.E.M. played Friday’s in Greensboro for the first time in 1981, she was one of perhaps 20 people in the room. Inspired, she began playing in bands herself, among them Broken Crayons and, later, Holiday with Linda Hopper. In 1983, she left school and toured with Let’s Active, eventually landing back in Chapel Hill and fronting a series of great bands over the years. “All I ever had to do was put a mic in front of her,” said Chris Stamey, who frequently recorded Blakey, “and the first take would always have magic in it. To us, she was family, even singing some of the Tres Chicas album with everyone around one mic while holding our young daughter, Julia, in her arms.” The May 30 concert will benefit Ecki Heins’s ongoing cancer treatment expenses, and sales from the Yep Roc release will benefit the NC Musicians Mental Health Alliance, a partnership between Be Good To Yourself, the SIMS Foundation, and Backline that provides grants up to $1,000 to help cover the cost of mental health care for North Carolina-based music industry professionals and their family members. Apply here: https://backline.care/case-management – excerpted from an article in INDYWEEK by David Menconi
MC Chris
It was twenty-five years ago that most fans first came across mc chris when Adult Swim premiered September 2nd, 2001. The first album was free for download on a website most OG fans found in the credits of a random Sealab episode. After five years of working for Cartoon Network during the day and making mc chris music at night, mc took a chance, quit his job and headed out on the road. He found packed venues filled with nerdy kids who knew all the words. Twenty years later he’s still at it, playing the same venues, singing along with the same kids, who are now in their thirties. The only difference is now they’ve either brought their kids or given themselves a much-needed night off. This year mc celebrates 25 years in existence and a new Marvel inspired album, King in Black. mc chris is most widely known for his reoccurring character MC P Pants on Adult Swim’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force where he was also an animator and writer. He’s been featured in the Aqua Teen movie, the video game and most recently on a series of You Tube videos called Aqua Donk Side Pieces. He’s also starred on several Adult Swim series including The Brak Show and Sealab 2021. A pioneer of the hip hop subgenre Nerdcore, mc chris has worked with Talib Kweli, Andrew WK, and Donald Glover. His fans include the likes of Gerard Way, Post Malone and T-Pain and he was even sampled by Run the Jewels for the latest Aqua Teen movie Plantasm. He’s toured with Reggie and Full Effect, and Ninja Sex Party, performed on the Warped Tour and The Gathering of the Juggalos, appeared on a GWAR album, and even had his own Honda commercial. You truly never know where he’s going to pop up. He’s a full-time single father to his son, Tony, and lives in Los Angeles.