Theo Kandel
Theo Kandel’s music is a tapestry, with each song woven together like a thread of memory through your life. It’s a beer around the campfire with friends; it’s a baguette you picked up at the farmer’s market; it’s the night’s last cigarette on the porch when everyone else has gone to bed. The New York based singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist zeroes in on everyday details and extracts wonder from them. This spirit surges through his eloquently fashioned folk amplified by just the right dose of rock energy. Its also fueled his quiet rise as a phenomenon with millions of streams and packed shows. After a series of what he describes as “test releases,” he emerged in 2021 with his debut EP, Spin Cycle, which incited the applause of FLAUNT, OnesToWatch, and more. His 2022 EP, What if it all works out in the end?, was highlighted by “Me & All My Friends Have Got the Blues,” a modern-day folk tune à la Jackson C. Frank and James Taylor. The lead single from that project, “Flight to JFK,” has reeled in over 500k streams to date.Between nationwide headlining dates of his own, Theo has supported The Script, Rayland Baxter, Morgan Wade, Evan Honer, ROSIE, WINGTIP, KT Tunstall, AJR, Quarters of Change, The Wood Brothers, Monrovia, Jordy Searcy, and John Oates. He’s shared the stage with Gracie from Lawrence and released a duet with Evan Honer of Theo’s song “Flight to JFK (Alt. Version.) Theo released his debut album “Eating And Drinking And Being In Love” via Nettwerk last September and is currently rolling out Volume 2 of his critically acclaimed “Somewhere Along the Trail” series. Website | Instagram | YouTube | Soundcloud | Facebook | TikTok
Jensen McRae – The Praying For Your Downfall Tour
Jensen McRae could’ve been down for the count. “The most profound choices of my life,” she says, “have often felt like things I did before I was ready to do, and I had to grow into them.” McRae’s songs have a way of giving shape to these leaps, cliff jumps, and trust falls. On her new album, I Don’t Know How But They Found Me!, Jensen McRae goes further than ever, evolving from a promising young artist to a fully grown songwriter and star. “It’s about realizing what you can’t outrun, and what follows when you have withstood what you thought might crush you,” she explains. “There are things that can happen to us—unthinkable, untenable things—that threaten our safety in our own bodies. They happen, and you feel like the only option is escape. In truth, the only way out is in—back into the place you have always lived.” The home—with Jensen front and center, possibly leaving, possibly arriving—adorns the artwork for I Don’t Know How But They Found Me!. “You can leave the city, you can leave the lover,” McRae continues, “but you can never leave yourself.” From the very beginning, fans have fallen in love with Jensen McRae for her sharp, evocative, and clear-eyed songwriting. An avid journaler, McRae has been breathlessly documenting her existence since she was 18. Her first album, Are You Happy Now?, was a mission statement for the artist who grew up an automatic outsider: a Black Jewish girl from Los Angeles, hellbent on making folk music in spite of the world’s attempts to box her into other, more stereotypically Black genres. McRae looked to her songwriting heroes—Alicia Keys, Carole King, James Taylor, Stevie Wonder—to build a sonic world all her own. As her audience grew and myriad doors began unlocking, it “became the record of my coming-of-age. But it was a quiet coming-of-age, one that mostly took place inside my own head.” I Don’t Know How But They Found Me! takes place against the backdrop of romantic turbulence and McRae’s rapidly growing audience. “I had never been in love before,” McRae said, “not really. And then I had two life-altering relationships back to back in my early twenties. This album is primarily an exploration about how love and intimacy knock the wind out of you, can take your legs out from under you.” She has also had multiple viral moments; the most recent was in 2023, when McRae posted a solo verse and chorus online—little more than a piece of a demo—and it took off. Covers, duets, and an avalanche of new fans followed (including the likes of Justin Bieber, Stormzy, and Dan Nigro, to name a few). The song became the beginning of “Massachusetts,” which would become her first Dead Oceans release. I Don’t Know How But They Found Me! also reaffirms McRae’s defiance of expectations as she deepens her singer-songwriter bona fides and claims space for young Black women in the genre. “I do still feel like I’m pushing a boulder up a hill,” she says. “I know that in spite of my success and hard work, I still do hit walls that aren’t there for other people, and that it’s because I’m working in a space that doesn’t already allow for people who look like me. It’s connected to why I make music,” she continues, “to be seen and to help others feel seen. But I remain somewhat misunderstood.” Website | Instagram | TikTok | Spotify | YouTube
Big Richard
The world-class musicians in Big Richard initially convened in 2021 for a festival date. The quartet showed up to the one-off like it had been together for years and quicklygraduated to club shows and dates. The musicians siphon from bluegrass, old time, classical, country, and pop. Bursting with jaw-dropping virtuosity; playfully irreverent stage banter; stunning four-part harmony; imaginative arrangements; a refreshingly eclectic repertoire; and a healthy dose of lady rage, Big Richard is poised to penetrate the Americana music world and beyond. To date, the quartet has issued 3 singles, the Live from Telluride album, and it has new music on the way. Website | Facebook | Instagram | Youtube
Hayes Carll – ‘We’re Only Human’ Tour
We’re Only Human Hayes Carll isn’t preaching or teaching. He’s not interested in telling the rest of us what to do or think. But he is charting out a personal guide for his life, quieting the noise, and sitting with his real voice – the one that’s candid, consistent, and often inconvenient. We’re Only Human is Carll’s tenth album. Like his best lyrics, it is also an understated masterpiece, an honest snapshot of one man’s confrontation and delight with humanity’s biggest and most intimate questions. Where do we find forgiveness for ourselves and grace for others? How do we hold on to peace of mind and stay present? What can we—and should we––trust? And how can we moor ourselves to, well, ourselves, in the midst of confusing, trying times? We’re Only Human offers audiences the chance to listen to Carll as he listens to himself. “I’ve lived outside of myself for so long,” Carll admits. “Distractions, fear, anxiety, insecurity, and the complexity of being human in this world have so often pulled me away from being present or at peace.” “I feel like there’s been a voice riding shotgun all my life, pushing me to do better, but I’ve struggled to listen to it,” Carll says. “The idea behind this record was to do the personal work I needed to do, then codify those lessons in song to serve as sort of breadcrumbs to get me back on the trail if, and inevitably when, I get lost again.” Carll is more than two decades into a celebrated career. Praise from places such as Pitchfork and the New York Times––the latter of which yoked Carll’s ability to tackle tough issues with wry humor to Bob Dylan––punctuate a resume that includes Americana Music Awards and a Grammy nomination. His songs aren’t safe, but many of Nashville’s stars have recorded them, including Kenny Chesney, Lee Ann Womack, and Brothers Osborne. As a solo recording artist, Carll has long-since established himself as one of Americana’s most-played––and most loved––voices. His warm but crackling vocals, wit, and heart dance through wordplay that’s always clever, and never too precious. Through it all, whenever Carll points a finger, it’s most often at himself. As We’re Only Human collects moments of Carll figuring out how to be with himself, the songs feel forthright, hopeful, and timely. In today’s onslaught of instant gratification, rage-baiting headlines, glorified intolerance, and falling empathy, the record is a startling outlier: an artist’s raw, real-life effort to live well—both with himself and others. Carll embraces private epiphanies, and shares them with the world, allowing them to unfold for all to see and share. Of course, We’re Only Human is also art. So while appreciating the motivation and compelling themes driving it will underpin the listener’s experience, Carll’s album also matters because of the sheer brilliance of its execution. These are songs composed by a writer’s writer, wielding his considerable skill with precision and beauty. The album’s title track unfolds with plaintive piano and a mantle of grace. Carll sings, with a calming sincerity, “We’ll do most anything to avoid the pain / Hiding our hearts and casting the blame / 6,000 tongues, but we’re all the same / Ain’t no need to carry that shame / ‘Cause we’re only human.” Website | Facebook | Instagram
S.G. Goodman
S.G. Goodman returns from the Western Kentucky bottomland with her latest full-length album, Planting by the Signs, Available June 20, 2025 on her very own Slough Water Records via Thirty Tigers. Composed of songs inspired by love, loss, reconciliation, and the aforementioned ancient practice. Eleven tracks highlighted by the critically-acclaimed and award-winning artist’s singular voice and her penchant for juxtaposing vulnerable folk music with punchy rock ‘n roll, replete with chiming guitars, ethereal atmospherics, and her DIY ethos. Goodman provides a timely reminder that the only way forward is together, and that we must always take into account humanity’s dependence on and responsibility to the natural world.Back in the early hours of 2023, Goodman told her late friend Mike Harmon and his wife Therese that she wanted to base her next album around the concept of planting by the signs, which she had heard about growing up, and recently rediscovered while reading a volume of Foxfire. She remembered general points from her rural southern childhood – how planting a garden, or weaning a baby, or getting a haircut are best timed in accordance with the cycle of the moon. A concept diametrically opposed to the tech-obsessed, profit margin-driven mania swirling around her. Through exploring themes related to planting by the signs, Goodman hoped to help herself and others reconcile this jarring disconnect, as well to pass along the story of the practice to her nieces and nephews – the latter being a role she took very seriously. But it wasn’t an easy path to writing Planting by the Signs or to the recording studio. 2023 saw the passing of her beloved dog, Howard, as well as the tragic death of Harmon, a father figure and mentor. Mike was mentioned in Goodman’s song, “Red Bird Morning” on Old Time Feeling, her debut. Her band used to practice in the quonset hut behind his house. He would check on her house while she toured. Often, Goodman would call him for advice from the road. A few days before he died, he advised her about putting chains on her van during a snow storm. He once drove that same van from Boston to Chicago so the band could play a one-off in the middle of a tour. He was a rock for Goodman, and a rock star in his own right. Harmon’s death led to Goodman reconciling with her longtime collaborator and guitarist, Matthew Rowan, who had become estranged from her following a year of grueling live shows in 2021. Rowan and Goodman had met in their early 20s while at college in the Murray, KY, indie rock scene, and eventually began playing music together. His idiosyncratic guitar work became an essential part of her production. He wrote most of the guitar parts on her first two records, and their creative relationship stretched for nearly 10 years. But life on the road isn’t for all, one thing led to another, and Rowan decided to step away. After Harmon passed, Matt was one of the first people Goodman called. From there they began to mend their relationship, and eventually, once she started working on her new album, S.G. asked Rowan to be her co-producer. The album would not exist in its current form without their reconciliation. With over 150 performances on the books in ‘23, including headlining sold out tours and opening for the likes of Tyler Childers and Jason Isbell from Red Rocks to the Grand Ole’ Opry, there was also little time for songwriting, much less recording. Website | Spotify | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
WXYC Presents: The All-Denim Disco
UNC Students $5 with One Card$10 for non students
School of Rock Chapel Hill’s End of Season Showcase
FREE and Open to the Public, but $10 donations at the door are kindly requested and gratefully received to help cover fees for students with financial need. Thank you for your generosity. 11:00am – Super Bowl Halftime Heroes!12:00pm – The Best of Beck!1:00 pm – Arena Rock!2:00 pm – Epic Album – Led Zeppelin’s “In Through The Out Door”!3:00 pm – A very special Senior Send-off Ceremony for our graduating high school seniors in the Performance Program!3:30 pm – Janis Joplin vs. Grace Slick!4:30 pm – Little Richard vs. Chuck Berry!5:30 pm – Best of Rage Against The Machine! Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Event
The Soul Rebels
Brass sensation The Soul Rebels started with an idea – to expand upon the pop music they loved on the radio and the New Orleans brass tradition they grew up on. They took that tradition and blended funk and soul with elements of hip hop, jazz and rock all within the style of a modernized and contemporary brass band. The Soul Rebels built a career around an eclectic live show that harnesses the power of horns and drums in a party-like atmosphere. The eight-member collective frequently appear on major record label releases with star artists including Sony Music artist GEazy’s single ‘When You’re Gone” featuring Lil Wayne, Def Jam artist Dave East and Nas’ “Godfather 4”, Big Freedia and Icona Pop’s “Pipe That” and Warner Music Group artist Phony Ppl’s new album. The Soul Rebels have scored original music for Walt Disney’s 2023 movie Haunted Mansion and appeared on the official soundtrack for Universal Pictures’ hit comedy Girls Trip. The Soul Rebels have impressed viewers with two appearances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk series with Wu Tang Clan front man GZA, and headlined the global TED Conference. The Soul Rebels are riding high in 2024 after receiving national attention following the release of their new album, Poetry In Motion. The Soul Rebels continue to expand their international reach touring four continents including Europe, Australia, China, South Korea and Japan. Their explosive stage presence has led to live collaborations with the likes of Katy Perry, Nas, G-Eazy, DMX, Robin Thicke, Macy Gray, Portugal. The Man, Robert Glasper, Pretty Lights, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Matisyahu and most notably their new supergroup with the legendary Wu Tang Clan. The Soul Rebels continue to chart new territory and are respected for their ability to combine topnotch musicianship with songs that celebrate peace, love and soul. Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Soundcloud
Post Animal
When Post Animal stepped into the studio for their new album, it was the first time all six original members were in the studio together for nearly a decade. Three band members had recently relocated away from Chicago, not to mention Joe Keery having left the band in 2017 to focus on acting. In the end they started right back up at the beginning, rediscovering that uncompromising closeness of connection they all shared from those endless hours spent in practice spaces and the late-night diner runs that follow. Prolonged stretches of time together not only reinforced the strength of their friendship—it reinvigorated their music. “If you want to get one hour of good painting in, you have to have four hours of uninterrupted time,” David Lynch once said. The product of a few straight weeks together, IRON (due July 25th) not only finds them reunited with Keery but is the embodiment of 30 days of camaraderie and unbound musical exploration, their renewed connection ironclad.After 2022’s sublime Love Gibberish, their first independent record, Post Animal found themselves sunk deeper into their work than ever before. They toured extensively, both on their own and with UK psych band Temples. By the time things settled down, guitarist Javi Reyes and drummer Wesley Toledo were back home in Chicago, while guitarist Matt Williams moved to Los Angeles, bassist Dalton Allison decamped for Ithaca, and multi-instrumentalist Jake Hirshland relocated to Brooklyn. “There was some burnout happening,” Allison says. But then Keery showed up at a New York tour stop, and the idea was hatched that they cut another record—all six band members together again, for the first time since 2017’s When I Think of You in a Castle. “That was near the start of Stranger Things, and now with it kind of coming to an end in my own life, we all felt it’d be great to do something like that again,” Keery says. “It was a labor of love.” The group focused on the experience and ignored any pressure. “We all agreed that even if we went and just hung out, we’d be happy with it,” Toledo says. “There was a real positivity and optimism among us.” They would set up camp at the Indiana home of their friends, tucked into some woodlands.The creativity driven by comfort is apparent from the opening instrumental track; “Malcolm’s Cooking” was recorded in part on a balcony overlooking the foliage, complete with the humid wind, insect whirring, and euphorically clinking bottles. Lead single “Last Goodbye” follows, a slow-loping look at the end of a relationship, a point in time somehow both uneasy and familiar. There’s a vintage AM radio glow to follow-up “Pie in the Sky”, a giddy-up bass and thumping percussion giving way to layered harmony. “Make me wanna sell my soul for just a bit of your shine/ How am I gonna fill this hole, if your heart ain’t mine?” they sigh in a fit of honest, unadorned adoration.“This record felt like a revitalization of our friendships and our band,” Hirshland says. “We always work collaboratively, but it’s amazing how reintroducing Joe into the mix brought back that dynamic from 2017.” Keery agrees, noting both how close they’ve remained despite so much change. “I was just appreciative to be spending this time, knowing we might not get another chance,” he says. “The record reflects that enjoyment, and you can feel the fun.” Website | TikTok | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
Six Foot Blonde
Six Foot Blonde is the rare combination of earnest and exciting, the synthesis of front-woman Julia Rusyniak’s tremendous vocal talent and heartfelt lyrics with a 90’s-alt-washed take on soul pop that is lush, tight-knit, and brimming with energy. The kind of band that means what they say in every song and dances with you to every word, Six Foot Blonde burst out of their local midwestern scene with enough excitement to draw crowds across the country in under three years. In 2024, the band finished their first national headlining tour, followed by the release of their debut album, “Ask Me How I Am.” Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | TikTok
