Ghost Light began as the solo project of multi-instrumentalist Barrett Lindgren, and has evolved into a rockin’ quartet. Taking the intimacy of Lindgren’s rich confessional-style vocals and placing it in broad instrumental spaces, the band allows the musical experience to expand as its leader opens himself up to the audience. While the songs, in moments, take a traditional folky route, it has a depth exemplified by a layered instrumental approach that is set off by free-falling percussion. (BTW: Jarret Nathan is a beast on drums – sooooo good!) Ghost Light will be illuminating the stage at Kung Fu Necktie tonight opening for Northampton, Massachusetts native Jason Anderson, whose throwback soulful rock ‘n’ roll endears in its hearty delivery. Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 8pm, $5, 21+ (Photo by Zach Blum) – Michael Colavita

Here’s the latest music video from synth army Instamatic with some retro videogame graphics for their rad new single “Invader.” The band recommends that you watch it on your phones and pretend like it’s a Game Boy. We totally agree!

Check out a new video where über-talented producer, DJ, musician, record label exec and all-around good dude rjd2, a.k.a. Ramble John “RJ” Krohn, shares his perspective about being an artist! It was recorded as part of T-Mobile’s “Life Without Limits” series. Get inspired – enjoy!

Insound and Fred Perry hosted an artist lounge and recording session on October 18 at CMJ this year, which was engineered by Grammy-winning Geoff Sanoff and mastered by Matt Shane. Philly’s own Bleeding Rainbow and Ape School along many others like Foxygen and So So Glos were invited to lay down some tracks. You can download a couple of the bands’ songs (“Losing Touch” & “Drift Away” – Bleeding Rainbow and “Be an Encore” & “Bone Dry” – Ape School) HERE simply by tweeting Insound’s message, liking their Facebook, or signing up for their newsletter.

 

After over a decade of being involved with the local music scene making quite a name for herself performing solo and collaborating with Espers, her sister Laura (The Baird Sisters), Watery Love, and whole bunch of other notable artists like Kurt Vile and Sharon Van Etten, Meg Baird (Drag City) will be playing her last show in Philly tonight at Studio 34 before heading off to San Francisco where her new home with her boyfriend awaits. It will certainly be a bittersweet evening for the folk songbird and great great-niece of famed Appalachian folk singer/historian I.G. Greer, but she’ll surely be back again to visit all her family, friends and fans, and to grace our local stages. She’ll also be going out in style as part of a fine Folkadelphia showcase with much buzzed-about Missouri-born, Chicago-based singer-songwriter Angel Olsen (Bathetic) and Philly’s own folk-influenced psych rocker Brendan Codey (Treetop Sorbet). It’s surely going to be a stellar, intimate night of music that should not be missed! Studio 34, 4522 Baltimore Ave., 8pm, $8, All Ages – H.M. Kauffman

 

Below is a new track called “Leave It” from noisy post-hardcore outfit Sore Saints. It appears on their demo/EP cassette 1.1/1.2 that is available via Phonographic Arts. The local four-piece just returned from a mini-tour this past weekend with Psychic Teens, and will be performing next in Philly this Friday, November 16 at The Bikery.

It’s hard to beat getting something for free, especially music. Well, tonight Watery Love and Birds of Maya will be putting on a free show upstairs at Kung Fu Necktie. It’ll be a good opportunity for you to toast Watery Love’s drummer and Philly folk darling Meg Baird, and wish her the best of luck in her future adventures as she gets ready to make a big move to San Francisco. You’ll also have a chance to soak up the sonic blasts from Birds of Maya, whom you should already know by now put on a helluva jamtastic show. (Remember to buy Meg a drink for all her contributions to Philly’s music scene, and after all, you didn’t have to pay to get in you cheap bastard so hook a sista up.) It’ll be a rager with plenty of familiar faces so don’t miss out! Kung Fu Necktie (Upstairs), 1250 N. Front St., 8pm, Free, 21+ (Watery Love Photo by Tony Rettman; Birds of Maya Photo by Brandi Lukas) – Alexis V.

 

Locals Rosetta will be helping Fight Amp celebrate their new release Birth Control at The Barbary tonight. Rosetta, an intricate, alluring hybrid of metalcore, sludge, doom and gossamer space-rock, are humble dudes with an incomparable sound. I’ve taken to avoiding "epic" as a descriptor as much as humanly possible, but sometimes you are bludgeoned with a ten-minute leviathan like "The Determinism of Morality" or "TMA-3," and few other adjectives will get the job done. Rosetta are always cerebral (self-labeled “DIY nerds”), but never tedious, with crunching riffs and soaring atmospherics in abundance. A look at their social media reveals an onslaught of ecstatic fans proclaiming their devotion (with one going so far as to say that they’ve filled the Isis-shaped void in her heart), whether they’re playing shows or not. Coming at you from a different end of the spectrum are Ape!, grunge-loving stoner metalheads with a fondness for guitar acrobatics, Dridge, a New York sludge/drone outfit with sepulchral odes given joyous titles like "Black Vomit," and finally Fight Amp, one of New Jersey’s most beloved post-hardcore enthusiasts, bringing the sound of classic 90s to close out the night. The Barbary, 951 Frankford Ave., 6pm, $10, All Ages – Alyssa Greenberg