Peter Hook & The Light

The music of LA-based Sudanese-American artist Dua Saleh (they/them) explores the inner self and the world at large. With their long-awaited full-length debut, a collection of R&B-infused electronic indie-pop songs titled I SHOULD CALL THEM, they portray the spiritual power, resilience, and joy of love. Equal parts imaginative and lived-through, it’s a statement record only Saleh could make. Across three EPs since 2019, heralded by The New York Times (“commanding”), NPR (“visionary”), and Pitchfork (“ambitious and riveting”) — alongside their breakout role in the Netflix series Sex Education — Saleh has deftly fused and inverted genre conventions with a socially conscious style driven by melody, grit, and bravado. Saleh’s foundation as first a skilled poet and their close ties to the indigenous roots have enriched their music with incredible depth. In 2023, they signed with Ghostly International with the punk-leaning standalone single “daylight falls” and took the cover of GAY TIMES as their Rising Star in Music honour recipient. Now squarely at the helm of their first LP — guests include Ambré, Gallant, serpentwithfeet, and Sid Sriram — Saleh shapes their most vulnerable work to date, an apocalyptic narrative informed by environmental anxieties and their experiences as a lover, holding personal truth and hope amidst chaos. Sonically, the album ushers in a new era for the artist whose boundless sound continues to expand. “It’s important for me to heal by being fully myself,” says Saleh, referring to the outsized role identity and gender expression play in their process. “I am being honest with myself with this record, this is my story.” They see queer love as an act of defiance, be it figuratively, in the album’s storyline, which follows two lovers at the end-of-times, or literally, in the many oppressed cultures around the world. They reference inspirations in popular culture with trans and queer representation such as Japanese manga and various memes like the one the album’s title winks at. They credit Minnesota, where Saleh came of age, for its inclusivity and catalyzing encouragement, and pay homage to the Midwest with the pulsing opening track “chi girl,” which details the playful pursuit of a crush in Chicago. Saleh finds a kindred spirit in serpentwithfeet, who duets with them on the striking, string-backed “unruly.” “Something about his voice is so captivating,” says Saleh. “I think our connection musically is queerness, being able to have that against-all-odds connection with somebody where we may have had to resist our identity initially when we were younger. There’s a power that queerness holds for both of us.” The song pairs otherworldly atmospherics with a tangible bounce. serpentwithfeet rings questions into the night (“how’d I get so unruly”) as Saleh trails with hushed hooks and sly verses. Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Soundcloud | TikTok

G. Love & Special Sauce

“I’ve been in the game a long time, but I’ve always considered myself a student,” says G. Love. “Finishing this album with Keb Mo’ felt like graduation.” Recorded in Nashville with a slew of special guests including Robert Randolph, Marcus King, and Roosevelt Collier, ‘The Juice’ is indeed diploma-worthy. Co-produced and co-written with GRAMMY-winning icon Keb Mo,’ it’s an electrifying collection, one that tips its cap to more than a century of blues greats even as it offers its own distinctly modern pop spin on the genre, mixing programmed beats and hip-hop grooves with blistering guitar and sacred steel. G. Love’s lyrics are both personal and political here, artfully balancing his appreciation for the simple joys in life with his obligation to speak out for justice and equality, and his performances are suitably riotous and rousing to match, with infectious call-and-response hooks and funky sing-along choruses at every turn. Easy as it is to succumb to cynicism these days, the songs on ‘The Juice’ refuse, insisting instead on hope and determination in the face of doubt and despair. “I’ve always tried to make music that’s a force for positivity,” G. Love explains. “It was important to me that this album be something that could empower the folks who are out there fighting the good fight every day. I wanted to make a rallying cry for empathy and unity.” Born Garrett Dutton in Philadelphia, PA, G. Love grew up equally enthralled with folk, blues, and rap, devouring everything from Lead Belly and Run D.M.C. to John Hammond and the Beastie Boys. After migrating to Boston, he and his band, Special Sauce, broke out in 1994 with their Gold-selling self-titled debut, which earned widespread critical acclaim for its bold vision and adventurous production. Over the next twenty-five years, G. Love would go on to release seven more similarly lauded studio studios albums with Special Sauce (plus four solo albums on his own), solidifying his place in music history as a genre-bending pioneer with a sound The New York Times described as “a new and urgent hybrid” and NPR called a “musical melting pot.” G. Love’s magnetic stage presence, meanwhile, made him a fixture on festival lineups from Bonnaroo to Lollapalooza, and his relentless appetite for tour and collaboration landed him on the road and in the studio with artists as diverse as Lucinda Williams, Dave Matthews, The Avett Brothers, Jack Johnson, and DJ Logic. While G. Love has covered considerable sonic ground during his prolific career, he’s always found himself drawn back to the blues, and to one bluesman in particular. “Keb Mo’ and I got signed to the same label at the same time back when I first started out, and we toured together early on in my career,” G. Love remembers. “He used to introduce me onstage as ‘a true American original,’ and I could tell that he got a kick out of what I did. We didn’t see each other for a while after that, but a few years ago we reconnected and did a co-headline tour, which was really special for me.” Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Soundcloud | YouTube

Ray Bull

Ray Bull is an indie pop duo based out of Brooklyn. Songwriters Aaron Graham and Tucker Elkins met as art students in NYC. Their art school origins can be felt throughout their varied discography and their viral content. Website | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube

Philstock ’24

Les Paul Dogs Richard Rocks Effing & Blinding More Cowbell The Honey Pumpkins The Otis Kings * Raffle!! Proceeds will benefit the ALS United North Carolina

Into The Fog

Into The Fog is a psychedelic jamgrass band from Raleigh, North Carolina that combines timeless songwriting with progressive instrumentation and tight harmonies. The group consists of Winston Mitchell (mandolin), Derek Lane (upright bass), and Connor Kozlosky (guitar), with everyone contributing on vocals. The band’s members have varied musical backgrounds that range from bluegrass to funk, which helps create Into The Fog’s genre-jumping sound. The band has released three studio albums and two live records. Their latest, Carolina Moon released in August of 2024, expands upon their latest sounds incorporating collaborative songwriting, improvised jams, and a focus on harmony. Live shows are a keystone of the Into The Fog experience, as the band expands songs to highlight their instrumental prowess and push the boundaries of the newgrass sound. . Into The Fog has shared the stage with the likes of Sam Bush, Keller & The Keels, Town Mountain, Daniel Donato, Arkansauce, Shadowgrass, Big Richard, and The Grass Is Dead. No strangers to the festival scene, Into The Fog has played FloydFest, Rooster Walk, Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, Charleston Bluegrass Festival, Earl Scruggs Music Festival, The Big What? and more. Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | TikTok

Lutalo

Lutalo’s highly visceral folk goes electric on The Academy, the Vermont multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer’s debut LP. Recorded in January 2024 at the storied Sonic Ranch and co-produced alongside Jake Aron (Snail Mail, Protomartyr, L’Rain), The Academy feels like watching the best underground film you’ve seen in years; establishing Lutalo as a singular voice of this generation of indie rock. Lutalo describes The Academy as their “first chapter” – a time capsule of the lessons they’ve learned in their 20-something years of life. “This record is exactly that: a ‘record’ of my early life,” they say of their debut album, out via Winspear. “The experiences, thoughts and feelings I was holding at those times and am currently processing. To me, this is the first big stamp of my existence I’m sharing.” While Lutalo’s 2022 EP Once Now, Then Again introduced them as a lo-fi acoustic guitar wunderkind, The Academy is bigger and bolder without compromising Lutalo’s inviting sense of emotional intimacy, inspired by alt-rock veterans like Thom Yorke and Rob Crow as well as electronic greats like Aphex Twin and Bowery Electric. The Academy’s grander arrangements are heard in the biting adrenaline rush of “Ocean Swallows Him Whole,” or the anti-war jangle of album closer “The Bed.” Their lyrics are often deeply intuitive, flowing as a stream of consciousness, albeit with weighty meanings. With their unique baritone and finesse for lyrical world building, Lutalo cuts to the bone–while only just beginning to reveal the depth of their artistry and vision. Instagram | Twitter | Spotify | YouTube

Arts Fishing Club

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Moon Zooz: Too Many Zooz + Moon Hooch

Self-described “Brass House” trio Too Many Zooz make manically kinetic instrumental music that combines avant-garde jazz, EDM, punk rock, and sundry other traditions into their own distinctive brand of high-energy dance music. A viral sensation since they first emerged as New York subway buskers in 2013, Too Many Zooz have evolved into a globally recognized phenomenon who tour often and produce YouTube videos that have garnered millions of views. Formed in 2013 in New York City, Too Many Zooz features the talents of baritone saxophonist Leo “Leo P” Pellegrino, trumpeter Matt “Doe” Muirhead, and drummer David “King of Sludge” Parks. Pellegrino and Muirhead initially met while students at the Manhattan School of Music where they studied jazz. They eventually joined forces with percussionist Parks, whom Pellegrino had played with in a separate busking outfit. They began playing live at various New York subway stations and quickly attracted crowds with their aggressive instrumental sound and Pellegrino’s ability to dance and hype the audience like a DJ while playing. In 2014, a video of the band went viral and helped set the stage for the group’s meteoric rise. In 2016, the trio released their debut full-length album, Subway Gawdz, which featured guest spots from Kreayshawn, Armani White, members of Galactic, and Beats Antique. That same year they were featured on Beyonce’s Lemonade album, and performed with Beyonce and The Dixie Chicks at the CMA’s. Over the course of the next several years, Too Many Zooz continued to release EP’s and singles – including ZombiEP (2019), a concept album about a fictional band playing a music festival during a zombie outbreak, plus collaborations and remixes with The Floozies, Beats Antique, Spencer Ludwig, Moon Hooch, Dot Cromwell, Nitty Scott, Lester London, and RoRo. All of that set the stage for the band’s 2024 sophomore album Retail Therapy – a 13-song chronicle of auditory subway cinema that features appearances from Moon Hooch, Thumpasaurus, Lucky Chops, and Too Many T’s. Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | TikTok Moon Hooch began busking in the subway platforms of NYC in 2010, quickly getting noticed by the NYPD, who had to ban them from locations that couldn’t handle the crowds. In a few short years they were opening for the likes of Beats Antique, They Might Be Giants, and Lotus, while selling out their own headline shows at marquee venues around the United States and Europe. Their unconventional sound and techniques, utilizing found objects like traffic cones, landed them appearances on NPR’s Tiny Desk in America, “Later…with Jools Holland” in the UK, “Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year” in Australia, and private audiences with the Premier League’s Chelsea F.C. They are currently touring the world. Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | TikTok

John Vincent III

After touring his acclaimed, self-released 2019 debut album, Songs From the Valley, John Vincent III was ready for a bit of a break. Nearly four years later, the 27-year-old Nashville/Houston-based folk troubadour has distilled that once-in-a-lifetime experience into his beautiful and evocative sophomore full-length, Songs for the Canyon. Co-produced by Vincent with Tom Elmhirst (Adele, David Bowie), and featuring additional production from Tony Berg and Ryan Hadlock, Songs for the Canyon is a massive leap forward from a proudly DIY artist who has already built a diehard fan base on the strength of his heartfelt, stripped-down, classic folk sound. Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube

Genre: Miscellaneous