Wish Queen
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The Blazers: Celebrating 50 Years
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Elizabeth Moen
From her life to the studio, Elizabeth Moen carries with her a certain kind of street-smart wisdom: She knows when you’re on your bullshit and she is also highly sensitive to when her own actions fall short. This perceptive quality is a gift and a burden. The burden is that she is too smart, too tuned into reality to lie to herself and put on a facade that makes it easier to pass for ok. The gift is that instead of giving in, Moen channels life’s turmoil into a constant process of growth–as a songwriter, an arranger, and powerful lyricist. Emerging from the introductory stage of her career, Moen is now cementing her commitment to craft: Making Wherever You Aren’t wasn’t just an impassioned way to pass time, it was a calling and an opportunity to reflect life’s lessons into a gripping statement of art. A self-taught guitarist, Moen wrote her first songs while a student at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. It was a small town in the Heartland but also a culturally dense world of artists, musicians, and writers–a scene whose space limitations meant the traditional songwriters, the alternative rockers, and the avant-garde enthusiasts were playing the same house shows, talking at the same bars, and dancing in the same clubs. That interdisciplinary experience and its overlap of styles shaped Moen’s aesthetic scope over her first self-released albums. She gave up her lease in Iowa City and toured for two years across the USA, the UK, and the EU, eventually making Chicago her homebase. It was during that swirl of migration that she leaned into the project that would become Wherever You Aren’t. The first sparks: A session in Dublin, Ireland in Summer 2019 where she recorded the lead track “Headgear.” Then: Passing through Alabama on her Fall 2019 tour, she laid down the core tracks for “Synthetic Fabrics.” With a long list of songs and just enough money to pay the players and engineers, she guided her band to San Francisco’s Hyde Street Studios to record basics for a full album in early 2020. Those initial sessions produced 14 songs. As the pandemic took hold, she tracked vocals and overdubs wherever she could–apartments and studios across the States, Canada, and Ireland and finished mixing and mastering in Winter 2021. (She only took a pause to record a satellite set of songs in the midst of the process; those tracks became her haunting Creature of Habit EP.) Stepping back from those two years of work, Moen reflects: These songs are about mental health, joy, panic attacks, falling in love, falling out of it, and accepting that sometimes it will stay with you forever. Musically, the record teases sounds from alt. country, contemporary Nashville, and indie soul but mostly settles into the less genre-specific tone of early 20’s weariness. Where 2020’s Creature of Habit etched out a dark, synth-folk vibe, Wherever You Aren’t finds its spirit in guitar twangs and robust rhythms; though something ethereal and haunting is always there in the mix–it’s Moen’s nuanced understanding of space, knowing when to flood a track with catharsis and crescendo and when to let her voice guide us through eerie minimalism. As evidenced across all her catalog, Moen can bend any genre to her unique mix of sorrow, hope, and endurance.Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube
Rachel Baiman x Highland Reverie
Baiman Finds Mutuality in American Pain on “Common Nation of Sorrow”“When I was a kid, my dad was in this tiny fringe political group called Democratic Socialists of America” explains songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Rachel Baiman. “That was considered really extreme, and something I didn’t tell my friends about. Now my generation has had to wake up to the intensity of our own economic oppression. We sit around talking about how anyone affords to buy a house, and how we can get rich people to pay for our albums”, she laughs. Baiman finds hope in this shared experience as a mechanism for activism. On Common Nation of Sorrow, Baiman’s third LP, she tells stories of American capitalism, and the individual and communal devastation it manifests.Raised in Chicago, Baiman made her way to Nashville at 18 with the dream of being a professional fiddle player and has since released two solo records and an EP, alongside session and side-person work with Kacey Musgraves, Kevin Morby, and Molly Tuttle among many others. As a songwriter, she has garnered a reputation for her specific brand of political and personal lyricism, which Vice’s Noisey described as ‘Flipping off Authority one note at a time”.In contrast with her previous work, Baiman is the sole producer of Common Nation of Sorrow. After recording for twelve days in Nashville with Grammy-Award-winning engineer Sean Sullivan, Baiman traveled to Portland, OR, where she spent two weeks mixing the record with famed engineer and producer Tucker Martine (My Morning Jacket/The Decemberists/First Aid Kit).On “Common Nation of Sorrow”, Baiman has found a production style to match her straightforward writing. Baiman displays a certain self-awareness and comfort with the inability to be all things, while simultaneously pushing to new heights with her message, and delivering a heartbreaking, albeit beautiful, assessment of her country.Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | TikTok
Maya de Vitry
“the perfect soundtrack for uncorking that emotion and (defiantly) loving life again” – NPR “an emotionally moving – and gripping – delight” – No Depression “her voice is among the most ethereal and pure in roots music” – Glide Magazine Maya de Vitry’s dynamic and vibrant voice seems to rise out of some necessity of bringing songs to life, embracing listeners with what Folk Alley calls a “soulful intimacy”. She grew up in a musical family in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, understanding music to be a place of gathering, a way to spend a summer night around a campfire. Maya first traveled and performed as a fiddling street musician, and then in bars, theaters, and on festival stages as a founding member of The Stray Birds. When the band parted ways in 2018, Maya embarked on an ever-evolving musical path of solo work and new collaborations. Her recordings and live performances embody both sincerity and playfulness, and a compelling reverence for the power of songs to be a place of gathering – whether played on stage, or around a campfire. Maya tours in a variety of formats, each featuring a fluid lineup of inspired collaborators. She also enjoys the art of warming up the stage for other artists and she has been invited to support a variety of tours, from innovative singer-songwriters like John Craigie and Aoife O’Donovan, to bands like Mighty Poplar and The Wood Brothers.While on a tour in April 2023, Maya felt deeply moved by the musical chemistry, emotional immediacy, and joyful spontaneity of her live band. She reached out to Nashville-based engineer Lawson White to arrange a recording session for this specific ensemble. But as far as the material for the session, she felt certain of only one song. “Stacy, In Her Wedding Gown” – a captivating portrait of a deeply creative working mother, inspired by one of Maya’s former co-workers at the Nipper’s Corner Starbucks – had become a staple in her live show and could be a centerpiece of the collection. With the band booked and the session on the calendar, Maya wrote several new songs with the ensemble in mind, and chose one cover song for the collection. The resulting EP, Infinite, is performed with astonishing depth and tenderness, shimmering with a loose, human beauty from start to finish. Produced by Maya de Vitry and engineered and mixed by Lawson White, Infinite features Maya de Vitry (acoustic guitar, vocals) and members of her touring band – Joel Timmons (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals), Hannah Delynn (vocals), and Ethan Jodziewicz (upright bass, fretless electric bass). It is a powerful 23 minute journey that invites listeners into the space of warmth and freedom that Maya has so devotedly created.Website | Instagram | Facebook
Good Kid
Good Kid is a five-piece pack of rambunctious indie rockers from Toronto, a jack-of-all-trades ensemble of musicians, programmers, and storytellers. Blending their skills with their J-rock, indie-rock, and pop-punk influences, they’ve turned the band into a massive internet art project. With a visual focus on their fictional character called Nomu, the band has created video games, curated inclusive spaces for their fans online, and struck a chord with some of the largest content creators in the world. Their music was featured on a recent MrBeast video, in the game Fortnite, and they are endorsed by content creators from the likes of Wilbur Soot, TommyInnit, and Ph1LzA. The single “No Time to Explain”, from their new EP Good Kid 3, has garnered millions of streams on Spotify, and has been featured on radio stations such as Alt Nation, Alt 94.7, Out of Order with Ted Stryker, and more. With two sold-out headlining US tours in 2022, support runs for Lovejoy’s a sold-out UK and EU tours, and a nearly sold out headline tour in May 2023, it’s clear that Good Kid’s online following translates into the physical world in a truly substantial way.Website | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify | YouTube | Soundcloud
Lamont Landers
Born and raised in Alabama, Lamont Landers grew up absorbing the soulful sounds of the South that surrounded him. At the age of 14, he taught himself how to play guitar, and, at the age of 19, began singing. He spent years quietly honing his talents behind his bedroom doors, listening to records by Stevie Wonder, Al Green, Sly & The Family Stone, and Ray Charles on repeat. At the age of 22, a candid video recorded by his sister of Lamont performing the Ray Charles’ classic “Hit the Road Jack” went viral on YouTube and garnered over 400,000 views overnight. In the summer of 2023, history repeated itself with similar enthusiastic fan response propelling five Lamont Landers TikTok videos to over 1,000,000 views each. A feature on the Bobby Bones nationally syndicated radio show and shoutouts from music tastemakers ranging from Snoop Dogg to Questlove soon followed. No longer a secret of North Alabama, Lamont will be touring throughout North America in 2024.Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | TikTok
Billy Allen + The Pollies
There is a ferocious Southern engine inside of Billy Allen + The Pollies’ debut album Black Noise. It thrums to life atop a classic rock chassis and expertly weaves in and out of gospel, grunge, funk and soul along its eleven-song journey. From the explosive top of the album (a liberating anthem of self-worth called “All of Me”) to the spiritually haunting final track (the wurlitzer fueled “Go on Without Them”) Black Noise is a genre-defiant haymaker that lands. The band is a hybrid of four piece rock outfit The Pollies and fellow Alabamian, and frontman, Billy Allen. The story of what fused Allen and The Pollies is one that begins in a bar 8 years ago. This particular bar was on Allen’s gig circuit and it just so happens to be where Jay Burgess (founder of The Pollies) was having a drink that evening. While there was intrigue and potential in that first chance meeting, the two would remain ships in the night, each building their own careers, until years later when the stars would align at FAME studios in Muscle Shoals. As the story goes, both Allen and The Pollies, who were all occasional session musicians at Fame, were finally in the room together and the track on deck was Little Richard’s “Greenwood, MS”. To hear Allen retell this part of the story is to hear a man talk about the beginnings of a priceless friendship. “There was an immediate romantic musical connection,” Allen said. “This is my band.” To hear Burgess tell it, the feeling was mutual. Over the subsequent year, the two groups rehearsed, toured, wrote, and gelled together under the moniker Billy Allen + The Pollies. The joining of Billy and Jay (along with the other charter members of The Pollies: Spencer Duncan, Jon Davis & Clint Chandler) was like the clicking of a dislocated bone back into true. Named after a theoretical sound bomb with the power to destroy whole cities, Black Noise was written almost entirely during the pandemic, beginning as voice memos between Burgess and Allen. With the lockdown in full swing, the musicians became each other’s micro-community, and voice memos progressed to writing sessions in Jay’s garage, and continued to full band rehearsals at Jay’s Greenhill, Alabama, sanctuary Studio 144. When the time to cut the record arrived, they tapped long-time friend and Grammy winning musician Ben Tanner to produce and engineer. Tanner (co-owner of Single Lock Records and former Alabama Shakes keys player) brought the band to Sun Drop Sound in Florence where the bulk of the recording was done. The band was so deeply meshed that the album they captured between April and November of 2021, other than a small overdub section, was recorded fully live, without a click, and 3 takes or less per song. Listening to Black Noise feels like walking on the alien terrain of a new genre. It sounds like garage grunge by way of Jackie Wilson. The very same kerchief Billy Allen uses to wipe sweat from his brow on stage could be carrying DNA from Wilson Pickett, Joe Cocker, D’Angelo, Ziggy Stardust, or any of the Spiders from Mars. Theirs is a gritty and trailblazing sound. They are a band full of smiling time travelers, able to visit and draw from a multitude of eras and styles. Black Noise is an album that devastates you to the point of remembering why you love music. This is the type of band you root for. You can’t help it. They’re that damn good. Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook
Secret Monkey Weekend, Cage Bird Fancier, Dragmatic
Dragmatic Described as “Teenage Fanclub if they ate biscuits and gravy for breakfast,” Raleigh’s Dragmatic plays a mesh of power pop and indie rock with a hint of North Carolina twang. Facebook Secret Monkey Weekend This trio are two sisters and their father who play in a style reminiscent of power pop, 80’s Southern Jangle, with classic 60’s rock undercurrents. Their 2022 debut, produced by REM / Smithereens producer Don Dixon, captured the ears and hearts of indie radio and streaming playlists across the U.S. and Europe. They have played extensively throughout the South and Northeast in ‘22-’23 supporting The Connells, Southern Culture On The Skids, and Pylon / Fetchin Bones / dB’s alumni. PBS recently highlighted their family’s unique “tragedy to healing through music” story in a 15 minute feature. Website | PBS Cage Bird Fancier (John Ensslin /Dave Alworth/ Andrew Branan/Scott Carle) – Durham Indie Rock/Power Pop Punk made up of veterans of NC favorites What Peggy Wants, Dillon Fence, Collapsis, and Maxell 90. Facebook
Christian Kuria
Christian Kuria, a Vallejo, California native, is a celebrated producer, songwriter, and recording artist whose music has garnered over 180 million streams globally. He made his mark in late 2019 with a U.S. tour alongside Cautious Clay, paving the way for his debut album, ‘Borderline.’ Kuria’s success expanded internationally with hit singles like ‘Toroka’ and ‘Deep Green,’ earning recognition from CLASH, OkayPlayer, MTV, Apple Music, and Spotify. In November 2022, he released his sophomore project, ‘Suspension of Disbelief,’ alongside the Arimé arts incubator, showcasing his evolution as an artist. Undaunted by industry challenges, Kuria embarked on a 2023 international headlining tour, captivating sold-out audiences across three continents. From Vallejo to global acclaim, his story reflects an artist dedicated to innovation, talent, and pushing the boundaries of musical artistry. Website | Instagram | Spotify
