Last CMJ 2015 show! It’s pop time, who doesn’t like pop? C’mon everybody – there will be FREE SWEETWATER BEER from 7 to 8pm!!!

Check out this awesome compilation with a track by each artist performing tonight.

The Deli NYC’s Folks

My first CMJ day started at Arlene’s Grocery with Wet Leather, an NYC based band. The quintet filled the venue with their soulful and memorable alt pop. You can hear an 80’s influence (dominating synth & funky basslines) in their music, but it isn’t gimmicky. Performing alongside, “Yours and Mine,” a track of theirs with anthem potential, Wet Leather also premiered their new track, “Shame,” which had just been premiered on Consequence of Sound. Continuing my night at Cake Shop, Caged Animals were a highlight. The group makes dreamy alt pop so momentous, I forgot I was in the Lower East Side of Manhattan; with introspective lyrics, Vincent Cacchione’s voice, often harmonizing with Magali Francoise, soared over the tightly organized instrumentation. Ending the set with their song, “Teflon Heart,” the track’s catchy melody and vocal hook followed me the rest of the night. To finish the night, I headed back around the corner to Arlene’s Grocery to see local Hip Hop duo (via Philly and Iraq!) Weekend Money perform (pictured). Lead singer Ne$$ was bold in every way, shouting into the crowd, “This ain’t spoken word, wake the fuck up!” Accompanied by Baghdaddy, the two made the audience bounce, but it was Ne$$’s lyrics that were most affecting. Performing their track “Yellow,” he exclaimed to the NYC audience, “Piggy piggy piggies, all I see/Roll around in NYC/And I just try to stay out their way/ We get money in Manhattan take it back to BK.”

Oh Taylor Dexter!

Beloved drummer of Hunter Hunted and the Body Parts. He who watched Daniel Garner and Ryder Bach raise roofs from afar. An apostle of the kit, born-again singer and frontman who spread the word of Pop and the future spirit of Soul into our hearts. Though our daily grind leaves us broken and defeated, the collective voice of Air Life lifts us up with such energy and funk, and carries us on.

Blessed are we Angelenos to have witnessed Air Life’s residency at the Satellite, the collab performance with HOLYCHILD, and the back-to-back showcases at Echo Park Rising. Blessed are the stalwart sextet backing Dex, musicians of immeasurable talent — bassist Brad Babinski and drummer Brijesh Pandra, Derek Howa of keys and Mark Einhorn of the brass, the dextrous Wesley Singerman on guitar, and singer Cassandra Violet who loops and spits like it’s nobody’s business.

Woe to the music purveyors who forsake Air Life’s next show, happening tomorrow at The Satellite with Steady Holiday and an undisclosed special guest to open the night. Forgive them, for they know not what they are missing out on (new music, an awesome live performance, $6 entrance with RSVP). – Ryan Mo

The dimly-lit Arlene’s Grocery may have been rather empty yesterday afternoon (tough to fill up a NYC venue on an early Tuesday pm!) but it held several intriguing, strangely beautiful acts, booked by NYC promoters Siren Sounds. First up was the Brooklyn six-piece Captain Baby whose heavy guitars and warbled vocals conjured a darkly electric atmosphere, like something out of Gotham City. The Asher Rogers-led band also displayed a warmer side, though, their drum-pulsed last track (presumably from their debut album ‘Sugar Ox’) being catchy and even sexy. Next to take the disco ball-fronted stage were fellow Brooklyners Rosy Street. Down to frontman Kyle Avallone’s skinny black jeans and deep vocal rasp, the rock quartet was something out of filmmaker Jim Jarmusch’s universe, its ominous yet serene tracks of thin guitars and tumbling drums creating a spectral warmth. Afterwards came Henry Hall, a beguiling singer-songwriter whose hometown on his Facebook page amusingly states: "JFK//LAX." Along with his bassist Robby Caplan and drummer (apparently Nate Mondschein), Hall broke into the guitar-fuzzed songs (off his eponymous EP released earlier this year) that intriguingly sunk mellow R&B in hard rock, his virtuosic voice at times recalling Jack Black and at others Destiny’s Child and always commanding the room. Philadelphia-based rock trio Ron Gallo closed the afternoon with classic rock force, its thunderous guitar cuts (off a forthcoming album) fondly recalling Led Zeppelin and Cream while proving, as many of the songs from the previous groups did, that thrilling, committed music can occur at all hours of the day. – Zach Weg

If you saw the cover of Jaime Woods‘ new EP, "Troy," and thought it was an effort in nu-feminist rock, ala Tracy Chapman or Sinead O’Connor, you’d only be half wrong. Musically, she’s retro-soul with a modern twist; vocal inflections recall Amy Winehouse, though the restrained singer-songwriter vibe of cuts like “How Love’s Made” keep things resolutely personal and poetic. Her more recent single "Powers" (streaming below) has been resonating with thousands, online. Don’t miss he performance, tonight at Rockwood Music Hall within The Deli’s CMJ 2015 Showcases. – Brian Chidester