Alisa Amidor
The day Alisa Amador decided to walk away from her career in music was, ironically enough, the day her career truly began. “I was burned out and dealing with all this personal grief and trauma, and I finally just came to the conclusion that I couldn’t go on the way I was anymore,” she reflects. “And then as I was walking through the logistics of how I would break the news to everyone in my life, I got a phone call telling me that I’d won the NPR Tiny Desk Contest.” Now, two years later, Amador is an artist reborn, both spiritually and sonically, with a stunning full-length debut to show for it. Recorded with co-producers Tyler Chester and Daniel Radin, Multitudes finds the bilingual singer/songwriter formally introducing herself with a bold, captivating self-portrait, one that serves not only as a testament to how far she’s come, but also as a celebration of where she comes from. Slipping effortlessly between Spanish and English and featuring guest appearances from Gaby Moreno, Madison Cunningham, and Quinn Christopherson, the songs here are raw and vulnerable, at once steeped in devastating loss and uncertainty, but also laced with the hope and resilience of young woman learning to find her voice and stand her ground in the midst of a personal and professional maelstrom. Certainly, Multitudes is a beautiful record — the way Amador’s crystalline voice cut through the album’s lush synthesizers, dreamy guitars, and cinematic string arrangements is nothing short of spellbinding — but more than that, it’s a fierce work of discovery and affirmation that reveals new secrets with each repeated listen, a profound, revelatory meditation on triumph and loss, endings and beginnings, identity and belonging, all delivered by a songwriter convinced she would never write again. “When NPR called, I genuinely considered asking them to give the honor to someone else,” Amador recalls. “I felt like a fraud because after the death of a close friend in 2020, I’d completely stopped writing. But in that moment, it felt like something was telling me to surrender to the reality that music is and always would be my purpose.” Amador’s passion for music is no coincidence. Born to a pair of Latin folk artists, she began singing with her parents’ band, Sol Y Canto, at the age of five, and spent much of her childhood traveling the country on an endless series of tours along with her twin brother, Zia. She spent extended periods with her grandparents in Puerto Rico and New Mexico, as well, before attending college in Maine, which enabled her to study abroad in Buenos Aires for a semester. “From a young age, I saw exactly how insane and difficult it was to make a life playing music,” Amador recalls. “But I also knew I’d be lying to myself if I tried to do anything else.” Fresh out of school, Amador began touring and recording as a solo artist, releasing a pair of well-received independent EPs and crisscrossing the country just as she had during her childhood. But over time, something about her experiences began to feel off, and the purpose and meaning she’d found in music began slipping through her fingers. Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Soundcloud
Bob Mould Solo Electric
This is a seated show. Bob Mould is an American musician/singer/songwriter now in his fifth decade of making and performing music. Bob has released 15 solo albums since his 1989 solo debut Workbook, after forming and leading Minnesota punk rock innovators Hüsker Dü starting in 1979. Along with two albums in the group Sugar, Bob has redefined guitar driven rock across 23 studio albums over the last 40-plus years. In addition to a catalog of over 250 songs, Bob contributed the theme song to TV’s The Daily Show and has served as a creative north star to legions of musicians ranging from Dave Grohl to Billie Joe Armstrong. Bob’s most recent album was 2020’s Blue Hearts, released to continuing critical acclaim. Rolling Stone said “Blue Hearts gushes more piss and vinegar than Stanley Kubrick could fill a hallway with, but what makes it jaw-dropping is the precision with which Mould has focused his ire on conservatives, evangelicals, homophobes, while leaving room for some self-criticism as well.” “The fire in Bob Mould’s belly can’t be extinguished,” gushed Under The Radar. “Blue Hearts is Mould at his fiercest and most deliberate.” Bob Mould tours as both a solo artist and in the Bob Mould Band featuring Jason Narducy (bass) and Jon Wurster (drums). Bob has solo tours set for the remainder of 2024, with two runs in the USA in September and October, and his first visit to Australia and New Zealand in more than a decade in November. Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
The Queen’s Giant, The Phoebes
Fusing elements of Rock, Blues, Country, and Electronica, The Queen’s Giant brings a high energy sound with a refinement and flavor that oozes originality. Accompanied with an inventive rhythm section and diverse keyboard synthesizers, Brendon Jacobsen drives this project via attractive songwriting and a raw, penetrating guitar. Forming in 2021 in Wilmington, NC, The Queen’s Giant aims to establish a brand that offers a professional, highly entertaining live act while we meticulously craft our debut album. Each musician in this band comes from a completely different background, and it is our understanding of each other’s unique perspective that drives the creative direction. The variety of influences each artist applies to the project produces an amusing, dynamic sound complemented by a dazzling lead guitar, a sturdy, guttural bass, and a sentimental yet striking match of keys propelled by bolting percussion. Brendon describes the music as a fun and refreshing take on arrangement. “We like to honor the sounds across genres; honor Country music, EDM, we like to honor the Blues… we don’t want the project to sound the same every song, we want the show to be spontaneous.” Every musician in this project has had to overcome their own extended period of personal struggles to get where they are today. In an existential attempt to explain the foundation of the projects content, it could be argued the lyrics of some songs express a longing and desire of some missed opportunity, a motif that conveys the paralysis of personal struggle. This theme, coupled with driving rock’n’roll and multi genre elements, engenders an identifiable experience that conveys to the listener that no matter our struggles, no matter who we are, the world doesn’t stop, and it is our responsibility to accept and overcome our defects. “At times, these thoughts can be a little cliche when applied to songwriting,” Brendon confesses, “but we really just want to make good music, a consistent sound that has changes, a sound that evolves and tells a story as the album progresses.” What started as a few acquaintances that just wanted to have fun and play some tunes, The Queen’s Giant has developed into lifelong friendships that created something organic. “I had a few songs, you know, folk type singer/songwriter stuff I brought to our first meet. I could tell right off the bat this wasn’t going to work for these guys, so I had some rock’n’roll type stuff I started to play instead,” Brendon states. What followed was an original sound written on top of some contemplative lyrics. “I got what he was saying right away,” bassist Austin Redwine states. “Not only that, but what his guitar was saying was equally as interesting.” Recognizing he needed a supporting cast to continue his concepts, Brendon charged Christopher Rocca on keys to add a fresh perspective to the work. “These guys are able to see things I can’t,” Brendon describes. “We really do complete each other in a totally cheesy way.” Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Soundcloud
Uz Jsme Doma, Weird God, Server
Uz Jsme Doma, (pronounced oosh-smeh-dough-ma), are a progressive avantgarde kazz-punk band from Czech Republic. It was active in keeping freedom during the totalitarian system in former Czechoslovakia and due to that, the band had played mostly on illegal level and in constant danger of jail. The band´s approach to arrangements is unique in the world of rock. They bring the instruments and vocals in different directions within the same scales and keys to create a dense melodic atmosphere. In addition, their rhythms often accent off-beats and half-beats, throwing the listener in unexpected directions. The band is also fond of shifts between time signatures and the insertion of extra beats in the shaping of the mood of the song. Band tours frequently whole the world – till now they visited 43 different countries, major part of them took USA (more than 700 shows in almost all states), but as well as Japan, New Zealand, Israel, France, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, etc etc. The band has, to date, released eight proper studio albums, two live albums, several DVD’s a many compilations all over the world. They collaborate to theatre, film or occasionally they play with symphonic orchestra. They collaborated very closely to the world famous band The Residents on their Freak show and later they released album Moravian Meeting, where UJD and Randy, the singer of The Residents, perform together. Artist Martin Velisek is the non-playing and mostly non/travelling UJD member. His unique, absurd cartoon style, replete with alarming flourishes of realism, gruesomeness and beauty, gives UJD records their distinct look. Lineup 2024: Miroslav Wanek (guitar, keyboards, lead vocal) Martin Velisek (brushes – non/playing, non/traveling, but painting) Adam Tomasek (trumpet, vocal) Pepa Cervinka (bass, vocal) Vojtech Boril (drums) Website | Facebook | YouTube
Mama’s Broke, Allison de Groot + Tatiana Hargreaves
Mama’s Broke have spent the past eight years in a near-constant state of transience, pounding the transatlantic tour trail. They’ve brought their dark, fiery folk-without-borders sound to major festivals and DIY punk houses alike, absorbing traditions from their maritime home in Eastern Canada all the way to Ireland and Indonesia. Nowhere is the duo’s art-in-motion approach more apparent than on their long-awaited sophomore record Narrow Line (May 13, 2022 on Free Dirt Records); it’s the sound of nowhere in particular, yet woven with a rich synthesis of influences that knows no borders. It earned them a JUNO nomination for Traditional Roots Album of the Year 2022. The eleven songs on Narrow Line burrow deeply, with close harmony duets, commanding vocals, and poignant contemplations on cycles of life, including birth and death. Tinges of Americana stand side-by-side with the ghosts of Eastern European fiddle tunes and ancient a cappella ballad singing, melding into an unusually accessible dark-folk sound. A careful listen of Narrow Line invokes an ephemeral sense of place—whether real or imagined—inviting us to take comfort in the infinite possibilities of life, whether or not we ever choose to settle down. For a group defined by constant touring, it’s not surprising that the two artists that make up Mama’s Broke, Lisa Maria and Amy Lou Keeler, met on the road. As Lisa remembers it, “Amy was driving her old Mercedes from Montreal to Nova Scotia and I was looking for a ride. We spent the 17 hours in the car talking almost exclusively about music. By the time we reached Halifax we started playing together, and within a week or two became a band.” Both coming out of traveling communities that are focused on music and protest, the two owe the way in which they move through the world to the integrated and self-sustaining nature of DIY culture and activism. It was a busy life that took them on a roundabout annual touring schedule running between Canada, the United States, Ireland, the UK, and Europe. In each country, they built grassroots DIY communities to support their music or moved along the pathways of communal organizing that sustained other touring artists. The driving force behind this band is – and has always been – the commitment to challenge borders between people, places, and traditions; while encouraging freedom of expression and community through music. Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube
The Frozen Charlottes, carcrashpoolparty, The Flowers of Beltane, Solar Illusion
The Frozen Charlottes are a four piece riot grrrl/emo/grunge band based in Moore County, NC. Their debut single and IG with performance videos can be found here: Spotify | Instagram Flowers of Beltane are a psychedelic grunge band from New Orleans. Their debut album can be found here: Spotify Car Crash Pool Party is an emo jazz collective led by Lucy Lopez. Their latest EP can be found here: Spotify Solar Illusion is a pop rock group based in Sanford, NC. They’ve recently returned from a 2-year hiatus. Their latest single can be found here: Spotify
The Cactus Blossoms
“Hey baby, do you wanna take a trip with me? / I’ve got a feeling there might be a silver lining all around.” So begins One Day, the captivating new album from critically acclaimed Minneapolis duo The Cactus Blossoms. Written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, the record explores the tension between optimism and despair that’s defined much of the past few years of American life, examining the power (or naïveté, depending on your perspective) of positive thinking in the face of chaos and uncertainty. The songs here are tender and timeless, with straightforward arrangements centered around brothers Jack Torrey and Page Burkum’s airtight harmonies, and the performances are warm and intimate to match, delivered with a soulful, ’70s-inspired palette of playful Wurlitzer, breezy guitars, and muscular percussion. The Cactus Blossoms broke out nationally in 2016 with their JD McPherson-produced debut, You’re Dreaming. Dates with Kacey Musgraves, Jenny Lewis, and Lucius followed, as did raves from the New York Times and NPR, who praised “the brothers’ extraordinary singing.” The band was further catapulted into the spotlight in 2018, when David Lynch tapped them to perform in the return of Twin Peaks, and continued to build on their success with their 2019 sophomore LP, Easy Way, which led Rolling Stone to laud the duo’s “rock-solid, freak of genetics harmonies.”Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
FIDLAR
Sure, life’s a risk. But FIDLAR have proven that risks are worth taking. Starting out as a group of drunken punks playing gnarly house shows around Los Angeles, their fanbase exploded and congealed into “FIDIOTS.” Fan’s who show their dedication to both the band and their mantra of “fuck it” by etching “FIDLAR” onto their bodies by way of homemade stick-and-poke prison style tattoos. With songs like “Cheap Beer” and “Wake Bake Skate,” the light speed rocket that was 2012’s eponymous album blasted them into the stratosphere where they had the room to expand the idea of the band. Being thrust into the loneliness of space, they were confronted by the void and slog of touring. They responded to that introspection with 2015’s “TOO,” where songs like “40oz On Repeat” “Why Generation” and “Sober” grapple with how to age gracefully as hard partying punks headed towards their 30s. “Too” pushed the band further to the edges of their comfort zone where these four SoCal weirdos found themselves playing gigantic festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza, Reading and Leeds. Propelling them to refine and expand their sound with 2019’s “ALMOST FREE” where you can start to hear more than just their “punk and indie” influences. The Beastie Boys tinged “Get off My Rock.” The asphalt-groovy take on L.A. hipster culture “Can’t You See.” And the alterna-pop, radio friendly, heartbreak duet of “Called You Twice” featuring grammy nominated artist K. Flay. But that was in “the before times…” During the pandemic, unable to tour as a band, the guys all separately dove into their own pet projects and they all experimented with different styles of music (sometimes with the aid of psychedelics). Unintentionally, this caused them to shake off the impulse to layer “bells and whistles” (not literally, but kinda) to their songs. Like they had been doing progressively over the years. Now, after duck-diving the choppy waves that is the modern music industry, FIDLAR are ready for the next gnarly set. Armed with 3 Chords, the truth, and some jazz cabbage, FIDLAR has a new found appreciation of not only where they came from, but where they are now. And when asked what the new sound is, the response is simply “FUCKBOI ANTHEMS.”Well then… fuck it, dawg. Let’s get weird.Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Soundcloud
The Dismemberment Plan
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Emergency & I, The Dismemberment Plan is playing a handful of shows in their current hometowns of Washington D.C., Richmond, VA and Durham, NC and the Best Friends Forever festival in Las Vegas, NV. Our schedules don’t align much these days, so these will be the only cities we’re playing. Website | Instagram | YouTube
Odie Leigh
Odie Leigh would never have called herself a musician before the depths of the 2020 pandemic, when her rapper roomies made a bet: Whoever records a song that goes viral first, wins. Slightly ticked off that they hadn’t included her in the wager, she decided to hit them with her best shot, and Odie was crowned the victor when a track she wrote blew up on TikTok. “I was like, ‘I’m gonna show y’all. I’m gonna win,’” she recalls, laughing. “Then I woke up to a bunch of comments on TikTok being like, ‘Oh my God, release this. This is amazing!’ Now, I’m a musician.”Four years after posting what she calls “that silly joke song” on TikTok, Odie Leigh has continued to transform and evolve as an artist — from what she calls “acoustic, ethereal folk sad girl music” to a harder-edge tunes that flirt with early Aughts pop-punktivism. That trajectory culminates in her first LP, Carrier Pigeon. “All the music I’ve released up until this point can kind of be thrown into the indie folk acoustic genre,” Odie says. “But I never set out to make Americana music. I never set out to make folk music. I’m just a girl with an acoustic guitar.”The fact that Odie Leigh never set out to make music is key here. Unlike a lot of musicians who grew up picking out tunes on toddler guitars or belting it out in garages, Odie never pictured herself on stage. Born and raised in Louisiana, she sang in the church choir, sure — her grandfather built the building, after all, and her family attended three times per week. But after moving to New Orleans to study English, she fully intended on making her bones in the film industry. That 2020 wager changed things, though, when she realized that she could win hearts in addition to bets. Although she’d taught herself to play guitar as a child, Odie didn’t know that much about music from the get-go, but she was inspired by the likes of ‘50’s singer-songwriter Connie Converse and her out-of-the-box style. “I didn’t realize that music could be like this. It was all so unique and not pretentious,” she says. “I was like, ‘I can do this.’” Her first real single, “Ronnie’s Song,” followed in 2021, a sweetly silly track she wrote to cheer up a friend. Coming from the film world, she found songwriting freeing, unbound from the rigidity of screenplay and discovered that simplicity can be a strength.She released her first EP, How Did It Seem to You?, in 2022, about a situationship gone wrong. Recorded everywhere from Louisiana to Miami, “That first EP was born out of desperation to feel heard and be connected,” she says. “Releasing that EP is probably like one of the scariest things I’ve ever done because it was just so real and embarrassing. All of my music is stuff I would never say out loud.” In 2023, Odie Leigh dropped her second, EP, The Only Thing Worse Than a Woman Who Lies Is a Girl Who’ll Tell Truths, which was recorded in the woods of Tennessee. “That second project was definitely like the edgier, angrier step up from: I’m a girl that makes folk music,” she says.Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | TikTok
