Cosmic Charlie – High Energy Grateful Dead from Athens, GA

“Cosmic Charlie really is a great band – these guys do this music the way it should be done: having the conversation in their own voices.” -David Gans, Grateful Dead archivistCosmic Charlie was born in the musical Mecca of Athens, Georgia. From its summer 1999 inception, the band swiftly cemented its reputation as a band that puts a unique and personal twist on the Grateful Dead catalogue, a Dead cover band for folks that are ambivalent about Dead cover bands. Rather than mimicking the Dead exactly, Cosmic Charlie chooses to tap into the Dead’s energy and style as a foundation on which to build. The result is healthy balance of creativity and tradition, and both the band and its audience are taken to that familiar edge with the sense that, music is actually being MADE here tonight. Moving and shaking even the most skeptical of Deadheads, Cosmic Charlie storms into a town and plays with an energy that eludes other bands, an energy that sometimes eluded the Dead themselves. Those precious moments during Dead jams when the synchronicity is there and all is right with the world, these are moments that Cosmic Charlie relishes and feverishly welcomes with open arms. Clearly, Cosmic Charlie’s audiences are also eager to arrive at those moments, and together with the band, they have indulged in many memorable evenings. Website | Facebook | YouTube

Sydney Sprague

Sydney Sprague is making music for the end of the world. The 30-year-old singer/songwriter, now a resident of Phoenix, Arizona, was encouraged by her parents to pursue songwriting early on. She spent her formative years daydreaming alone in her room (decorated lovingly with Britney Spears and *NSYNC posters) and unknowingly incubating a talent that would ultimately lead to her future music career. Backed by familiar-yet-surprising hooks and hard-hitting, topical lyrics, Sprague’s songwriting continues to evolve. With eyes on contemporaries like her ’90s idols, notably Avril Lavigne, she flawlessly carries that same fire, creativity, and wit into her 2021 release — maybe i will see you at the end of the world. Sprague knew exactly who she wanted to produce her next record: Sam Rosson (Death Cab For Cutie, Mac Miller, Pedro the Lion) at Hall of Justice (Seattle, WA). The album creates a world of Sprague’s own creation: Every detail, down to the apocalyptic artwork, was deliberately painted so that the disparate parts become most vibrant when viewed as a whole. Though not birthed in 2020’s quarantine, the album goes a long way towards helping listeners deal with our new reality. That’s because Sprague can only be authentic: “maybe i will see you at the end of the world is my bucket list all checked off. It was my life goal to make this album at this studio with these people, and now that it’s done, and in your hands/ears — I can breathe easy.” Sprague announced that she had signed with Rude Records in October 2020. With an exciting team by her side, she released two singles — “i refuse to die” and “steve” — both of which received a sweeping of support from the press, notably landing features in Substream, Refinery29, NPR, UPROXX, GIG GOER, Alternative Press, Rock Sound, and Phoenix New Times. ToneDeaf praised Sprague’s outspoken lyrics and mature sound, declaring that the record is perfect “for those in the mood for some introspective indie rock by someone who isn’t afraid of speaking out” and calling ‘steve’ “your next must-listen.” Sydney Sprague’s debut LP — maybe i will see you at the end of the world — dropped February 26th on Rude Records. Her new album, “Somebody in Hell Loves You” is scheduled for release Sept. 15, 2023. Website | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify | YouTube | TikTok

Certainly So + Coyote Island

Beauty School Dropout

Beauty School Dropout is a Los Angeles based rock band comprised of Colie Hutzler, Beepus, and Bardo.Spearheaded by A&R Mark Hoppus under the new label Verswire with Pete Wentz and Sherry Saeedi, Beauty School Dropout have been turning heads since their debut in 2022.BSD is this generation’s Motley Crue meets Red Hot Chili Peppers. Resurrecting heavy guitar tones, charging drums, and sticky melodies, all while still staying true to the relatable and timeless emotional lyrics we all love.Since their inception, the band has claimed global attention, landing Tune Of The Week on BBC Radio 1; and further support from Travis Mills, Jack Saunders, Daniel P Carter, New Music Friday, New Noise, and an MTV FRESH OUT performance to name a few. They’ve been championed by legendary tastemakers like NME, Alternative Press, Kerrang, Rock Sound, SPIN, Billboard, and many others.Their debut album, ‘We Made Plans And God Laughed’ released in 2022, has garnered over 20+ million streams and counting and featured an amazing list of collaborative efforts including the feature of Mark Hoppus in ‘Almost Famous.’ The creation of the album has seen the band working with hit-making writers and producers such as Andrew Goldstein, All Time Low’s Alex Gaskarth, Inverness, Slush Puppy, Ryan Follese, Nash Overstreet, and Dan Book.The band kicked off this year with hit singles from the upcoming album ‘FREAK’ featuring JXDN, ‘dying to be you’ and ‘beautiful waste’ in conjunction with a 36 date US tour and as support for blink-182’s arena tour featuring the long-awaited return of Tom Delonge. This was followed by a European tour with Maggie Lindemann and Stand Atlantic, a multi-festival summer run across EU and US, and an opening slot for Matchbox Twenty in front of 16,000 fans, solidifying Beauty School Dropout as true road warriors. Rock For People Festival stated; “What an incredible show! These guys are going to go far!!”Continuing their prolific run of success, BEAUTY SCHOOL DROPOUT will release their sophomore album ‘READY TO EAT’ on October 13th, 2023.READY TO EAT is the culmination of our high highs, low lows and everything in between. The album is a sonic spiral through our personal struggles with addiction, relationships and love (or lack thereof). The album is meant to be a reflection of our growth and our intentions to overcome every obstacle that life throws our way. From the last album to this one we have traveled the world, performed in places we never felt possible, gained fans all over but still have to deal with the trials and tribulations that are being a band putting 500% into our career. As much as from then outside in it looks like our lives are skyrocketing, we are still dealing with the same issues we have been for years, only amplified. This album is our purge to our fans and an expansion and growth from where we started and a glimpse into where we are going. The 3 of us use music as an outlet for our emotions and feelings and this project was a therapeutic sonic adventure that we can not wait to share with the world…Mark Hoppus says of the band, “I’m always impressed by how hard these guys work, their talent and uncompromising creativity, and their dedication to their fans.” And READY TO EAT is just another culmination of that.And this is just the beginning.Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Soundcloud

Twin House Music 5 Year Anniversary Party

WebsiteSlow TeethHot BrainsWarka

Soen

Initially formed in 2004, it was in May 2010 that the formation of Soen was officially announced. The original lineup consisted of former Opeth drummer Martin Lopez, Testament and Sadus bassist Steve Di Giorgio, Willowtree vocalist Joel Ekelof and guitarist Kim Platbarzdis. The first song “Fraccion” was released on the band’s official website in October 2010. Founding member and drummer Martin Lopez describes Soen’s music as “melodic, heavy and intricate.”Since Lopez and Joel Ekelof formed the group, Soen have never shied away from exploration and analysis of self or society, both as musicians and expressionists. 2012’s “Cognitive” beat a firmly heavy, progressive metal path, before 2014’s “Tellurian” saw Soen start to stride freely into their own power and unique visions.Their third offering, “Lykaia,” was a conceptual journey exploring earthier places.Soen’s fourth album, “Lotus,” is another journey using a different set of perspectives. The album was released on Feb. 1, 2019 via Silver Lining Music, produced by David Castillo and Inaki Marconi at Ghostwards Studio and Studio 6 between July and October 2018. “Lotus” contains dissertations on modern society such as “Rival,” “Covenant,” and “Martyrs” that are the fraught with poetic, finitely designed confusion and chaos. Specific meanings, however, remain at once deeply personal and wholly universal.Produced by Iñaki Marconi and the band, “Imperial” (2021) was mixed and mastered by Kane Churko, who has worked with the likes of Ozzy Osbourne and Bob Dylan. Eight crisp, sharp, and supremely constructed songs spanning frustration, reflection and hope, “Imperial” is the most fierce and dynamic release of Soen’s journey, which will engage the listener immediately and sustain long after this crazy time has passed, its rich details destined to make it a classic metal album of this era.Their latest album, “Memorial,” was released Sept. 1, 2023, via Silver Lining Music. The Prog Report raves: “Memorial stands as a testament to Soen’s evolution as a band. It’s an album that not only showcases their musical maturity and songwriting brilliance but also their ability to create a deeply resonant and accessible body of work. This release solidifies Soen’s position as a force to be reckoned with in the progressive metal and hard rock scene, and Memorial could very well be considered their best and most accessible album to date.” SOEN: Joel Ekelöf – VocalsMartin Lopez – DrumsLars Enok Åhlund – Keyboards and Guitar Cody Ford – Lead Guitar Oleksii “Zlatoyar” Kobel – Bass Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube

We Came As Romans

Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify

SkyBlew & Friends

Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Soundcloud

Jeffrey Martin

On a small corner lot in southeast Portland, Oregon, Jeffrey Martin holed up through the winter recording his quietly potent fourth full-length album Thank God We Left The Garden (out on Portland’s Fluff and Gravy Records Nov 3). Long nights bled into mornings in the tiny shack he built in the backyard, eight feet by ten feet. What began as demos meant for a later visit to a proper studio became the album itself, spare and intimate and true. Recorded live and alone around two microphones, Jeffrey often held his breath to wait for the low diesel hum of a truck to pass one block over on the busy thoroughfare. During the coldest nights, he timed recording between the clicks of the oil coil heater cycling on and off. “There was a magic quality to the sounds I was getting in the shack with these two cheap microphones, some lucky recipe of time and place that allowed my voice and the way I play guitar and the shape of these new songs to come together with the kind of honesty I was craving.” So much has happened in the world since the release of his previous album One Go Around (heralded by No Depression as “the poetry of America”), and Jeffrey has filled the time doggedly, but happily, touring the US and Europe, watching it all unfold in a stream of small town conversations and city sprawl. In a moment where depth is so often traded for the instantaneous, where tech billionaires are building rockets to escape the planet, where the dead-eyed stare of artificial intelligence is promising to existentially upend our world, and where divisiveness in our culture is breeding delusional levels of certainty, Jeffrey Martin’s new record feels like a hopeful and fully human antidote. The sounds feel warm, close, and refreshingly real, all held up by the richness and rare candor of Jeffrey’s voice. Production is restrained mostly to his guitar and vocals, with flashes of classical guitar for a tumbling wash of melody and low-end color. Martin’s voice sits high above everything, reaching into new melodic territory that goes beyond his earlier work. “I feel like I’ve only just learned how to sing,” Martin said. “Like I’ve been chasing this record since my very first recordings. I wanted to really see what I could do, just my guitar and my voice and little else.” Beloved Portland-based guitarist Jon Neufeld added electric guitar to three tracks. Sticking to the same less-is-more approach, his playing skillfully and subtly elevates the lyrical intention. Neufeld also mixed and mastered the album, and was such a crucial part of the final feel of the record that Martin also credited him as a producer. “Jon and I really produced this album together,” he said. “Me in the shack, and then him in his studio working with what I brought him as he mixed and mastered. It was such a treat to work with him. I brought this pile of rough songs and he was able to dial it in and make up for my complete lack of recording know-how. I love the performances I got, but Jon’s magic is what helped them breathe and truly come to life.” Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube

Katie Alice Greer

Genre: Concerts