Dirtwire – Universal Language Tour
Dirtwire stands poised between ancient Mother Earth and modern technology, a blend of ethnomusicology and the psychedelic trance state, gut-bucket delta blues and what the band variously dubs “back-porch space cowboy blues, swamptronica, and electro-twang.” It’s a sound informed by Dirtwire’s travels and performances around the globe, where East meets West and North joins South. From the favelas in Brazil, Femi Kuti’s Shrine in Lagos, Tokyo’s bluegrass clubs, Ayahuasca ceremonies in Central America, Gamelan performances in Bali, desert festivals in the Australian Outback, and the 20th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s modernized new capital Astana, the band spreads its message by building bridges across musical cultures in their own unique way. Dirtwire plays an array of instruments both ancient and modern, including West African kamale ngonis, jaw harps, space fiddles, whamola basses, Rickenbacher electric 12 string guitars, bowed Banjos and mouth harps from around the globe, all interwoven into modern laptop beat creation. Hailing from the underground west coast electronic bass music scene Dirtwire finds itself at the forefront of experimental electronic music production mixing in their wide array of world instruments with sampled beats and 808’s. Dirtwire’s live shows are a communal psychedelic journey, ranging from down home boot stomping get downs, to bass and blues electronic mashups, to ethereal cinematic beat driven soundscapes. Woven into each is the exploration of where live instruments meet computer production, and where tradition meets experimentation. Website | Spotify | Instagram | Bandcamp | YouTube | Facebook
Los Straitjackets & Deke Dickerson
Mike Campbell knocked on the dressing room door and brought in a friend to meet Los Straitjackets. It was the late 1990s and through a chance encounter with Campbell, the band found themselves opening a series of shows for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Mike introduced his friend: “You gotta meet these guys. They sound like the early Beatles… if they didn’t sing.” It was a high compliment because everyone in the band understood exactly how to take it. He wasn’t calling them the equal of Lennon & McCartney and company, just acknowledging that the band were high practitioners of the ‘combo’ sound: an early sixties line up of two guitars, bass and drums playing rock n’ roll music best exemplified by the Cavern Club-era Beatles. Constantly tagged with a slightly reductive “surf music” label, Los Straitjackets are better characterized as “instrumental rock n’ roll,” and have been since founders Danny Amis and Eddie Angel met and watched drummer Jimmy Lester play drums with Webb Wilder at a Nashville club. Their influences range from the double-picking-surf-attack of Dick Dale, to the proto-rock of Link Wray, the hooks of The Ventures, to the groove of Booker T. & The MG’s, all played with an energy that acknowledges The Cramps and punk rock. And past the golden age of instrumentals of the 1960s, one could argue they have brought this music to more fans than any other band, having done it for more than 30 years. They have taken their combo sound around the world, mostly making instrumental records, but also backing vocalists along the way, most notably for over a decade with Nick Lowe. It’s that collaboration that fuels this latest album, Somos Los Straitjackets. The lineup that has been touring since founder Danny Amis had to drop out of day-to-day operations because of his (winning) battle against multiple myeloma is Eddie Angel, longtime bassist Pete Curry, drummer Chris Sprague (The Sprague Brothers, Deke Dickerson) and Rochester guitar hero Greg Townson (The Hi-Risers, John Ellison). Playing hundreds of songs with and without Lowe, this four-piece has coalesced into an incredibly tight, rockin’ combo. “Playing behind a master like Nick Lowe makes you laser-focused on your playing. It has also made us very adept at coming up with twin guitar parts that complement each other,” says Eddie Angel. After recording with Lowe at Alex Hall’s Reliable Recorders, the band knew they had met the man who could capture the sound of this group. Angel elaborates, “We trusted Alex’s instincts and we were fans of some of the studio’s other outputs like JD McPherson and The Cactus Blossoms.” He continues, “The recording process we used this time was different. We got together numerous times at Pete Curry’s Powow Fun Room studio in LA to work up the songs, then we recorded demos to listen back to. Having some time to tweak the songs, and in some cases play them live, really helped when it came time to record.” They booked a session with Hall at bassist Pete Curry’s Marina Del Rey-adjacent studio, the Powow Fun Room, and followed up with a couple of sessions in Chicago. This list of songs built the first album of original material the band would record since Jet Set (2012). They worked on them at soundchecks and even peppered them into live sets. Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify
BENEE
BENEE makes sense of the world through music. She absorbs the chaos, confusion, and craziness of everyday life and molds it into addictive alternative pop. On her sophomore album Ur An Angel I’m Just Particles [out November 7th on Republic Records], the multi-platinum, New Zealand-born and Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and producer takes control back and channels anxieties of the unknown into irresistible anthems fueled by her signature creative storytelling and genre-bending production. BENEE opens up about the state of the world, saying, “The world right now is at a cultural turning point; it feels as though we are on a precipice…all we have understood and accepted about humanity and our world order seem to be on the verge of dissolution. In a post-COVID reality, the rapid rise of AI, environmental disasters, and the global rise in authoritarianism has left many of us in shock. The ground moves beneath our feet, and we can feel emotionally paralyzed.” She continues, “Ur An Angel I’m Just Particles is a deep dive into existential dread, where love, identity, and meaning slip through your fingers like sand. Each song grapples with the weight of existence. Feeling too small in a world too big, questioning whether connection is real or just another fleeting illusion.” BENEE has carefully built and invited listeners into a sonic and visual world of her own. Early singles “Soaked” and “Glitter” deemed her an artist-to-watch, and then during 2020, her Double-Platinum breakthrough hit “Supalonely” feat. Gus Dapperton and acclaimed debut album Hey u x established her as a phenomenon and one of pop’s most distinctive voices. Follow-up singles like “Beach Boy,” “Green Honda,” and “Do it Again” feat. Mallrat—which was chosen as the Official Song for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023—solidified her staying power. Along the way, she’s gathered billions of global streams, earned more than a dozen Platinum and Gold Certifications around the world, collaborated with everyone from Lily Allen to Grimes to Phoenix, toured with Olivia Rodrigo and Tate McRae, and played to sold-out crowds on multiple continents. She notably took home an MTV EMA and scored 10 honors at New Zealand’s Aotearoa Music Awards, as well as received nominations at the MTV VMAs, People’s Choice Awards, and more. Expanding her work into the film and TV space, her song “WHAT” is featured in the second season of the critically acclaimed Netflix hit Nobody Wants This, and she also contributed “Zero To Hero” to the A Minecraft Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack). Not to mention, she made her big screen debut in the New Zealand indie film Head South. In the midst of everything, BENEE settled in Los Angeles full-time. Creating constantly, she embraced a wide swath of inspiration, listening to The Beach Boys, James Blake, Gorillaz, Groove Armada, and more. Over the course of a few years, she took her time to craft Ur An Angel I’m Just Particles, defining the overarching vision more clearly than ever. “I’ve never honestly sat for that long intentionally working on an album,” she notes. “It wasn’t rushed. We were able to try different things. As a result, this is more cohesive than anything I’ve done in the past.” Website | Instagram | TikTok | Spotify | YouTube
Unprocessed
Nep
The story of Nep begins in Daytona, Florida, a place of endless motorcycle rallies, sticky summers, and the kind of small-town culture she always knew she’d leave behind. Growing up surrounded by Bike Week and Biketoberfest, she felt both shaped and alienated by the noise of her hometown. “Beaches are fucked, Daytona sucks,” she sings on Biketoberfest, mocking and mourning the place that raised her. It’s that push and pull, the desire to escape and the need to memorialize, that fuels her debut album, Noelle. Written during her senior year at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, Nep crafted the record with her best friend and collaborator Jake Sonderman. Between classes, late-night studio sessions, and college parties that often bled into the lyrics themselves, the pair built an album that feels both diaristic and cinematic: raw experience refracted through sharp, infectious indie-pop. Each track on Noelle pulls from a different corner of Nep’s lived experience and explores a different sonic palette. All Around Beauty captures the heartbreak of running into an ex at a college party, blue tongues, Jell-O shots, tears in the bathroom. The title track, Noelle, sets aching strings against lyrics of rage and betrayal: “I was a kid / You were a guy / It’s not fair / I was a girl.” Black Car begins as a delicate piano ballad before erupting into a punk track with a heavy metal guitar solo, memorializing a summer defined by grief and family rituals. Scar leans into a bluegrass inspired folk arrangement that detonates into a harsh rock ending, tracing the way friendships can wound and mark us permanently. By the album’s end, July opens into a big band sound with horns dominating the track & points toward renewal: “I think I might love life again.” The final track, Florida Girl, closes the record with an anthem of self realization, a defiant chant that reclaims her roots while refusing to be defined by them. Nep has been building an audience for years, long before any records were even finished. Short clips and demos posted to TikTok racked up over 5 million likes, drawing fans to her mix of sardonic humor, brutal honesty, and a quirky charm that makes even her darkest songs feel oddly uplifting. She quickly translated that online energy to the stage, selling out early headline shows in Los Angeles, New York City, and Chicago, and touring alongside Ricky Montgomery, mxmtoon, and Grent Perez. With the release of Noelle, Nep is not just putting out an album; she’s leaving Florida behind. After years of translating Daytona’s beaches, bike rallies, and heartbreak into song, she’s moving to Los Angeles, a new chapter, a new landscape. Even so, traces of home are everywhere in her songs: in the defiance of Florida Girl (“You can never break a Florida girl”), in the humor and heartbreak of I Will Always Love You, Alright, and in the unflinching intimacy of The Soundtrack. Noelle is both an origin story and an emancipation. It documents the mess of youth and the catharsis of finally walking away. In Nep’s world, scars become anthems, heartbreak becomes punchlines, and growing up in Daytona becomes the stuff of unforgettable songs. Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | Soundcloud | Spotify
Goldie Boutilier
Goldie Boutilier has partnered with PLUS1 so that $1 per ticket goes to supporting organizations working for equity, access, and dignity for all. www.plus1.org With the soul of a poet, the heart of a rock icon, and the diamond-hard vision of an auteur, Goldie Boutilier is an absolute master of turning mythmaking into self-salvation. On Goldie Boutilier Presents Goldie Montana, the independent singer/songwriter offers an intimate glimpse of her alter ego: a fiercely glamorous outlaw-provocateur created by Goldie as a source of strength during her some of her most difficult times. A glorious smash cut juxtaposing moments of lust and danger and hard-won transcendence—all soundtracked by her lavish brand of guitar-driven noir-pop—the album ultimately finds Goldie taking charge of her destiny by fully living her truth and ultimately inspiringothers to find their own “Goldie Montana” within. Arriving on the heels of an acclaimed run of EPs – 2022’s Cowboy Gangster Politician, 2023’s Emerald Year, 2024’s The Actress— Goldie Boutilier Presents Goldie Montana marks the Nova Scotia-born artist’s most bravely confessional body of work to date. “When I wrote the previous EPs, it was my first time speaking about things I felt very ashamed of, and there was a lot of fear around that,” says Goldie. “But after seeing how those songs resonated with people, I felt empowered to take more of those risks in my songwriting. Being honest about my experience has transformed my life for the better, and this album is reflective of a woman who feels totally unshakable.” Inspired by epic crime dramas like Brian De Palma’s Scarface and Martin Scorsese’s Casino, Goldie Boutilier Presents Goldie Montana embodies all the splendor and flash of those classic films, matching its kinetic energy with an opulent sonic aesthetic. In dreaming up the album’s gorgeous blurring of eras and genres—’70s glam-rock, ’80s synth-pop, torch-song balladry, moody psychedelia, and more – Goldie worked with an eclectic lineup of producers including her unwavering ally and cowriter Simon Wilcox, longtime collaborator Max Baby, Thomas “Tawgs” Salter, as well as elite guest musicians like Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. Recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles, GoldieMontana draws much of its impact from Goldie’s beguiling vocal presence. This is an element that’s enraptured audiences in her 2025 headline tours across North America and Europe, opening for Katy Perry in the U.K. on her Arena Tour, her performances at major festivals like Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, All Things Go and her 2024 run as support for country iconoclast Orville Peck. Although Goldie Boutilier Presents Goldie Montana surfaced from the daring sense of self-assurance she’s unlocked in recent years, the album’s narrative is rooted in a whirlwind saga that began over a decade ago. After signing her first record deal at age 21 and moving to L.A. from her tiny hometown, Goldie found herself swallowed up by the cold-blooded chaos of the music business. As she navigated a landscape of sometimes unsurmountable obstacles, Goldie found a lifeline in the anti-heroes of her beloved films. Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Youtube
Rec Hall
Southern California trio Rec Hall—John Barry [guitar, vocals], Lance Meliota [drums], and Ben Tyrrell [guitar, bass]—glide between indie, rock, and alternative on the crest of a catchy sun-soaked signature sound. Growing up in the South Bay neighborhood of Los Angeles, John and Lance initially met in pre-school at barely four-years-old. Building a friendship as they absorbed influence from “the 60’s to the 2000s,” John and Lance jammed for years and listened to the likes of Led Zeppelin, The Clash, The Shins, and Interpol. Cementing their lineup in high school, they finally linked up with Ben. The three-piece went on to win a series of “Battle of the Bands” competitions and performed local gigs at a relentless pace. They cooked up tunes throughout college, each member contributed to the writing process and rotated between instruments, giving the sound three distinct dimensions. Eventually, they linked up with producer Nicolas Zagorin and cut their debut single “She Doesn’t Get It.” It organically gained traction, gathering over 20 million Spotify streams and counting. During 2023, they caught the attention of Arista Records and inked a deal with the label. After building buzz, the musicians instantly transfixed with their debut EP, Localism. They are currently on their first tour with labelmate, Beach Weather. Since the tour started, the band’s socials increased by 30%. To kick off the second leg of their tour, the band is sharing track “How Long.” Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | TikTok
The Band Solstice
In 2019, on the evening of the summer solstice, 5 high school friends growing up together in Knoxville, TN had a crazy idea. While bonding over their favorite groups like Kings of Leon, Dawes, Mt. Joy and Dr. Dog, they decided to start a band. 6 years later, The Band Solstice, now college students at The University of Tennessee, have been consistently touring and releasing music. Marty Gee’s powerful vocals and charismatic stage presence are rounded out by a powerhouse band anchored by drummer Grayson Strayder and bassist Maddox Frazier. Jacob Greene on the keyboards adds depth and layers while Jackson Frazier on lead guitar takes songs to the next level with his shredding solos and melodious guitar riffs. In 2025, with new music on the horizon, The Band Solstice is heading out on their “Crashout Tour” hitting major markets in the South East and East Coast. Be on the lookout for new tunes and new cities. Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | TikTok | YouTube
Arts Fishing Club
Arts Fishing Club is more than just a band; they are storytellers, explorers of the human condition, and purveyors of living life boldly. An ethos demonstrated by frontman Christopher Kessenich’s first 4.5 month tour in which he walked 1600 miles along the east coast from Maine to Atlanta to Nashville, played 60 shows, and slept in strangers’ living room floors. The boldness that compelled such an adventure is felt in AFC’s electrifying live shows where the band weaves the raw energy of rock and the introspective lyrical honesty of folk to create a sound that is timeless and refreshingly original. Whether performing in sold out small clubs or on festival stages (Bonnaroo, Summerfest, Treefort, Mile of Music), their engaging stage presence and ability to connect with fans makes their live performances a cornerstone of their success. With a growing fanbase, commitment to pushing their creative boundaries, and an infectiously entertaining live show, Arts Fishing Club is poised to make a lasting impact on the indie music landscape. Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube
Bad Bad Hats
Bad Bad Hats is an indie rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Kerry Alexander and Chris Hoge met in college and formed the band in 2012. In the 10 years of BBH, they have toured the country many times in their trusty minivan, sampling the best local cuisine along the way. BBH has toured with The Beths, Margaret Glaspy, The Front Bottoms, Hippo Campus, and Michelle Branch, among many others. Their fourth album Bad Bad Hats will be released April 12, 2024 on Don Giovanni Records. Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | YouTube
