Originally started in France on June 21, 1982 (Summer Solstice) and known as La Fête de la Musique, the free citywide music festival encourages open participation from amateur and professional musicians. The U.S. adopted this concept in 2006 as National Music Day. You should expect to see a whole bunch of performances in traditional and non-traditional spaces throughout town as part of the inaugural Make Music Philly, which is spearheaded by WXPN, in conjunction with the City of Philadelphia and other organizations. It’s Friday, and the weather is predicted to be beautiful outside so take the time to walk around, meet some friends for happy hour, or simply play hookie from work/school, and catch some live music performances from artists like Norwegian Arms, Arc In Round, Toy Soldiers‘ Ron Gallo, Levee Drivers‘ August John Lutz II and many others. To learn more about where and when you should be at today, check out Make Music Philly’s official schedule HERE.
The Builders and the Butchers Record Release at Mississippi Studios 6.22
The Builders and the Butchers, often celebrated for their good ol’ ramshackle, gravediggin’ folk may just prove themselves even more moon-shiny and raucous this time around, as "Dirt in the Ground" sonically proves itself so. This band of merry wild men – fronted by the ever-artful squealer and boisterous shouter, Ryan Sollee – have a habit of fructifying thwacking knee slaps and pounding feet during their rollicking hootenannys. If that’s not reason enough to come out to Mississippi Studios this Saturday to celebrate TB&TB’s newest, Western Medicine, and shout-a-long, junkyard style like you know you’re itchin’ to, you should probably just stay home. – Morgan Talkington
More Dream Folk from Brooklyn: Lapland
With influences that span from ambient-pop to psych-folk, Lapland has released a refreshingly beautiful self-titled album. Josh Mease’s smooth voice fills out his mixes with dense background vocals, and there is a certain timelessness to the shape of his melodies. The full and dreamy production transports the listener to a space and time far from the chaos of the city, notwithstanding the unusual electronic effects. Think Grizzly Bear with some Boards of Canada mixed in. Check out the record’s opening track ‘Unwise,’ streaming below. – Paul Jordan Talbot
Has-Lo’s The Undisputed Deluxe Edition Available for Streaming & Purchase
Has-Lo just release a deluxe edition of 2010’s The Undisputed, which he also produced with Culture I. It includes previously unreleased songs, instrumental tracks, original versions and remixes as well as new album artwork by Kyle Tierce. You can check the album out in its entirety below.
Young Summer Album Release Show 6/28 @ Jammin’ Java
Grabbing attention around the indie-pop scene is DC based alternative artist Young Summer, who’s video for "Fever Dream" was majorly featured on TeenVogue.com, and Paste Magazine named it one of the Top 25 best songs of 2013 so far. Her absolutely stunning EP Fever Dream was just released on 6/11 and in celebration she will be having the official release show at VA’s Jammin’ Java on 6/28.
Dress Fest w/Cool Points & More at Sam’s Vegan Steak House June 20
Never Give a Goat the High Ground new EP “T.I.N.A.” a head-butting good time
In order to pull off a name like Never Give a Goat the High Ground, you had better back it up with some good music. NGAGTHG’s new EP “T.I.N.A.” (short for There is No Alternative) is definitely not background music. It’s noisy. It’s harsh. It’s aggressive. It makes your want to ditch all of your possessions and leave all the insanity behind; everything a good "punk" band should do! Bassist and Vocalist Jeff Ausura’s socio-political spoken word rants and raspy screams, give some serious meaning and legitimate anger behind the noisy guitars and punchy drums. NGAGTHG’s sound has a bit of Post-Punk legends Big Black mixed with Sleep and Refused, which is a delicious combination. Give them a listen on their Bandcamp, and like them on Facebook. – Paul Jordan Talbot
The Symptoms New EP “Contrasts”
Boston Trio, The Symptoms, hit the nail on the head with the sound of their latest EP “Contrasts.” These guys write some smart and melancholy music, repeating a simple idea until the tiniest change smacks you in ear. “Contrasts,” the Bands sophomore effort, raises the bar for this trio. They have definitely started to settle into their sound, with tracks full of ambient ear candy, odd overlapping meters, and despondent vocals. Every track on “Contrasts” is repetitive on the micro scale, but “through-composed,” meaning they ditch all that pesky verse-chorus-verse non-sense. Kudos to The Symptoms for living up to the term experimental, without going too far off the deep-end. That’s an impressive task. Check them out on Facebook. – Paul Jordan Talbot
NYC electro artists on the rise: Candide plays Glasslands on 07.01
Literally nothing will stop Candide from wrecking it on the dance floor. Heartbreak be damned. Whether her mood is to have you stick around (the bouncy ‘Don’t You Go’ – streaming below), or to definitively get rid of you, (the bouncier ‘Weary of You’), the dark alt-dance artist does it all and gets you moving to her turbo-charged BPM faster than you’ll realize you’re listening to some dark and stormy music.
The Brooklyn-via-Berlin artist characterizes an emotional substance you’ll find in the recent batch of heart-on-sleeve, four-on-floor songwriters like James Blake and The Weeknd. But Candide does it all at her own tempo, and that’s what will really pull you in to the mix. See her live at Glasslands on July 1st. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)
We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best Electro songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!
Majestico- Punk might be dead, but rock n roll’s not
Majestico‘s Facebook page classifies them as "folk n roll," an accurate description of these brazen classic rock junkies. Their vocalist manages to pull off the standard rock’n’roll yelp of a Mick Jagger or an Iggy Pop in an entertaining way. Fans of garage rock will surely yelp along.
Inaugural Third Thursday Live and Local w/Lushlife & More at Race St. Pier June 20
It shouldn’t be a surprise to any of our more dedicated readers that we have much love for über-talented emcee/producer Lushlife, a.k.a. Raj Haldar. We were already fans of his mixtapes, and when he entered HotBox Studios and threw down for our first Choice/Cuts session, everyone in the place knew that we had just witness some real genius shit. And the fact that he was so nice and humble about his skills made us love him even more. So while we wait for the rest of the world to catch up to what we and hopefully most of you already know (which we think will happen when he finally releases his collaboration with one of our favorite local electronic outfits), we’ll gladly take advantage of watching Lush perform for free this evening at Race Street Pier as part of the new Philebrity-curated free concert series, Third Thursday Live and Local. (Ugh…this is a pretty unimaginative name, but we get the point.) He’ll also be joined on the bill by Roots affiliate Dice Raw, Jade Alston, D’Vina and DJ Benz. The inaugural event is in conjunction with Black Music Month Week Philadelphia. (“Month Week” – who named this too?) The series will feature a different genre each month as well as established performers alongside up-and-coming acts. Race Street Pier, Race St. & N. Columbus Blvd., 6pm, Free – Q.D. Tran
NYC bands at 4Knots: Hunters, Parquet Courts, Heliotropes, The Babies
For a third consecutive year at its present South Street Seaport location, the 4Knots music fest continues to highlight New York City’s free summertime music season. Taking place on Saturday June 29 from 1-8 pm, local homegrown talent is fully represented once again this year, with 3 bands (The Babies, Hunters and Parquet Courts) not too recently highlighted by The Deli as NYC Album of the Month.
Brooklyn’s noise rock duo Hunters are one of the most dynamic and exciting live bands out there. Guitar guru Derek Watson’s tonal quality and rhythmic style fluctuates between the tangled jungle stomp of The Cramps and all out mayhem of Sonic Youth. Lead vocalist Isabel Almeida twists and contorts her pliable limbs as she purrs and coos about deadbeats and acid trips.
Parquet Courts have come to embody the disenchanted vibe of today’s slacker generation. Their full-length LP “Light Up Gold” (blessed by a Pitchfork ‘Best New Music" tag) takes on the post-punk, indie rock vibe in a loose and jammy way. Tightly honed rhythms lay the groundwork for a more rambling style of guitar fretwork. Their lyrics skewer towards recognizable observation over obscure metaphors.
Brooklyn’s Heliotropes have been extremely busy over the last few months. Having just released their debut full length record “A Constant Sea” to critical acclaim, the band continues to play significant showcases, culminating with their appearances at this very festival. The heavier aspects of their sound has gotten a lot of deserved attention, however their album also reveals a softer side. Tracks like “Everyone Else” and “Awake” emphasize stark vocals with acoustic guitar accompaniment, as opposed to any kind of explosive guitar bombast. Deeper cut “Moonlite” features violin string textures.
The whole day event will be headlined by Philly’s own Kurt Vile & the Violators and will also include performances by other more established locals rockers The Men, The Babies and Marnie Stern. – Dave Cromwell