Matthew Schultz may well be on his way to becoming a household name, the singer-songwriter and actor has been making waves since his collaborative breakthrough song “Money Or Me” hit airwaves earlier this year with millions of plays on YouTube. Now he’s back with two sure-to-be-hit singles, one is a cover of the Rihanna classic…
Way down in lower Alabama, almost every weekend for the past two years, folks have been coming together for a music gathering called The Frog Pond at Blue Moon Farm. One part house concert, one part Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble, the affair in its short existence has already hosted some of the country’s finest songwriters,…
After headlining numerous summer festivals, Empire of the Sun will launch an extensive North American headline tour that will give fans the opportunity to see the Australian band in more intimate settings. The fall outing will launch on September 1 at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC and will include shows at Pier 26 at…
Toy Soldiers will release their second album, The Maybe Boys on September 10, 2013, distributed by Rocket Science Ventures. Stream and share the stand-out track from the new album, “Tell the Teller” at Paste Premieres “Tell The Teller” MP3 at: SKOPE IT HERE! Toy Soldiers’ first album, Whisper Down the Lane (2010), was described…
Popa Chubby has announced plans to continue touring North America following a July European run. Ted Horowitz, aka Popa Chubby, released Universal Breakdown Blues on May 28th via Provogue / Mascot Label Group. The album marks a premeditative return to the world of Blues, and it has received raves from media across…
If you like blues-rock music with soul and great lyrics, then check out up-and-coming singer/songwriter/guitarist Zach Caruso. With more than 10 years in the music industry, Zach has opened for national and Grammy-nominated acts like Johnny A and Charlie Musselwhite, and has independently released three studio albums. Drawing comparisons to the likes of Gary Clark…
JAMES BAY will join ZZ Ward on her upcoming fall jaunt, “The Down and Dirty Shine Tour”. The tour commences on September 2 at Aladdin in Portland, OR and wraps up October 15 at the House of Blues in Chicago. The 22-year-old UK troubadour is supporting The Dark of the Morning, his debut EP for…
Shining Stone Records announces the signing of Brazilian blues/roots guitarist Nuno Mindelis and will release his label debut CD, Angels & Clowns, on August 20. The new CD was produced by Duke Robillard and features backing by the Duke Robillard Band, with a special guest vocal performance by label-mate Sunny Crownover. The rest of the…
The Claddagh Fund, the charitable foundation of the Dropkick Murphys, created by band founder, Ken Casey, has donated over $300,000 to over 60 victims affected by the tragic events surrounding the Boston Marathon. The three-year old foundation created a specific fund following the bombings, with 100% of the proceeds disbursed directly to the victims and…
It shouldn’t be shocking that Zach Caruso has a good grasp on lyrical composition: the man’s earned a Bachelor’s in Journalism and a Master’s in Writing. Some might say he has an unofficial degree in Guitar. He also has considerable real-world experience, a full decade in fact, during which time he has opened for Grammy-nominated…
Charlotte, NC-based singer-songwriter Russell Howard is set to release his album, City Heart +, on July 30, 2013, via Rock Ridge Music. His debut EP, City Heart, had such a positive reception that Howard is releasing it in an expanded edition as City Heart +, and the new incarnation augments the EP with freshly…
As the title suggests, this release is Omar’s tribute to Chester Arthur Burnett, aka Howlin’ Wolf. It’s no secret that Rock & Roll is derived from the old blues legends. The British Invasion was also based on the English experience with U.S. based blues artists. The Stones, The Animals, Cream, John Mayall, Yardbird’s,…
Hello everyone out there, I hope your week is off to a great start! It seems like everyday we witness how the Internet is revolutionizing all indsutries from music to TV and more. Well I read an article in Variety yesterday how radio is next up in a major way. I enjoy apps like Iheartradio…
Cherrytree recording artist JESSIE WARE returns to the U.S. this fall in support of her critically acclaimed full length release DEVOTION. The North American headlining tour kicks off on October 17 at the South Side Music Hall in Dallas, TX. The five week tour wraps on November 22 in Las Vegas at the House of…
The Outdoor Music Center at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino in Anderson, Indiana welcomed Huey Lewis & The News on Saturday, June 08, 2013. What an excellent way to start out the concert season with the one-and-only Huey Lewis and the News! Even better was the fact that this was the “Sports…
Xenia Dunford is back and better than ever on her brand new full-length album titled ‘His & Hers’. I had the pleasure to review Xenia’s last EP (http://www.skopemag.com/2012/04/26/xenia-dunford-the-eastern-exile-lonely-streets) in 2012 and I knew last year that I hadn’t heard the last of this Xenia Dunford. With such a phenomenal voice and thought-provoking lyrics,…
With the remixes to ‘Skylarking’ still sitting at the top of the charts (Ilan Bluestone’s has remained at #1 on Beatport’s trance top 100 for almost a week), respected DJ and producer BT has set the bar high for his ninth artist album A Song Across Wires. Releasing on Armada Music on August 16, A…
Born in a small New England town, Christie Leigh grew up in a family that encouraged her creativity from a very young age. Her father’s rock and roll band rehearsed in the basement and Christie was the girl with her ear pressed to the door. It was no surprise she developed a love of classic…
Chicago-based songwriter Jeanie B! is taking a respite from her acclaimed children’s music album making to reflect and revive, on her new album, CPR. Inspired by a series of personal obstacles over the past several years, the six-track EP confronts issues of separation, loss and love renewed. Jeanie wrote: “…having recently gone through a divorce,…
Much in the vein of Medeski, Martin and Wood or Galactic; The Dream Logic has ushered forth a fusion album that seemingly says: “Genres, styles and classifications be damned!” Spanning myriad musical styles, the 13-track self-titled album effortlessly blends nuances of Jazz, Rock, Soul and Funk into an amalgam sound where the sum of the…
With a heavy emphasis on songwriting, the Straw Dogs have released their new full-length, No Dividing Line–14-tracks of Americana melodies, vast instrumentation and anecdotal, deep lyrical matter. Four years removed from their last outing, Dave Von Beck took a different approach to the songwriting format by initially starting with stripped acoustic versions of the songs…
Let’s be honest for just a second shall we. I get a lot of albums sent my way for review and I mean a lot. Most of them don’t do anything for me. They don’t always get happily placed in the CD player, but the ones that do usually get a three song stay of…
Hello everyone all over the world, it’s a pleasure we meet again like this. Being that we are based in New England, I would like to welcome Tim Tebow to the area. Before we begin I want to speak on a report on TMZ that said, “for every BMI song that gets played on a…
Heaven & Earth premiered a live performance of their song “House of Blues” with Noisecreep yesterday. The electric performance was shot at the band’s memorable record release show at the Fonda in Hollywood to celebrate the release of their new album, Dig (available on iTunes and Amazon). “House of Blues” live performance: http://youtu.be/kyyoZy-0kYI
Jersey native John Flynn stopped performing just long enough to lay down his debut solo effort Heading For The Sun, a nine-track album encompassing rock, funk & blues. Themes range from Woodstock nostalgia, to avoiding a night in the slammer, to the concept of home and how it transcends material acquisition. Regarding this last theme,…
Blues has often been described as both the source of the song and the song itself. For an artist like Nashville-based bluesman Patrick Sweany, it’s also become a means of catharsis. “It’s fairly obvious that a good deal of this album is dealing with grief, loss, and its aftermath,” he explains about his new album…
Louisiana Red Hot Records is proud to announce the release of Cane Sugar, the 4th recording from Honey Island Swamp Band, on July 30, 2013. Formed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in San Francisco, Honey Island Swamp Band has developed into one of hottest new bands coming out of the South. The band…
Formed by Thomas Storz (bass, percussion), Justin Toland (vocals, guitar, percussion) and Andrew Denham (drums, percussion), and originally from Mississippi, the power trio Dirty Streets now calls Memphis home. That’s where they recorded their new album Blades Of Grass, at the legendary Ardent studio, under the guidance of sound engineer Adam Hill. The core trio…
BIO: Indie pop-rock duo that fuses folk and contemporary songwriting with soulful harmonies. They touch on all styles, fusing genres with each song. Their third studio album, ‘Circus’ was also recorded at the Village Recorder, with the exception of Voodoo Woman, which was tracked at Little Dog Records with Pete Anderson. A number of mentionable…
Tom Odell, winner of the 2013 BRITs Critics’ Choice Award, will launch his next North American run on July 30 at Phoenix’s Crescent Ballroom. Tickets for the outing — which will also include shows in San Diego, Austin, Houston and Dallas — will go on sale this Friday and Saturday, June 7 and 8. See…
Cheech and Chong were, and probably still are, the kings of humor that’s often drug based and seems quite stupid, while having a definite intelligence to it. They poke fun at society and at themselves — or at least charactures of themselves. Well, really, they are characters who happen to share names with the…
Live At Devil’s Gulch Drinkery is the fourth album from Troy Lindsey, the world-traveling sky crane worker who was long ago taught guitar by a Wyoming preacher and now records music at the drop of a crane in such venues as Moscow’s Red Square. Yeah, I think it’s a pretty colorful background, too. Anyway, Lindsey’s…
We take a look at some of the top independent artists in the UK in association with Labelled Independent, the new music podcast! At Labelled Independent, we pride ourselves on keeping our minds open. For those who may have read our contributions to Skope before, you’ll hopefully remember that the artists we recommend have only…
One might expect 6 piece Funk-Rock band from Maryland SOL to deliver music that could be categorized as somewhat dated. I mean this is 2013 and before I even listened to a single note of music from SOL that’s honestly the impression I got. I expected them to be a kind of 70’s Rare Earth,…
Switzerland might be a strange place to birth an “Americana” artist, but Ajay Mathur’s “Come See Conquer” will undoubtedly have a few heads spinning in confusion… at first glance anyway. The good news is that Ajay’s e.p. is addictive and might make us all believers afterall. The songs are raw, combining world music, 50’s and…
Here’s the Devon Allman video, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around”, from his Ruf Records solo-debut, Turquoise, released on February 12th. This rock classic is a duet with label mate and Blues Music Award winner, Samantha Fish, whose vocals are sassy and smart; melding with Devon’s strong rich voice. I am hoping you will be interested…
Get ready to wrap your brain around this lyricist from Latvia enjoying the sunny side of California. Whether it’s good, old-fashioned “California Dreamin’”or a dream of one day playing with Sting or Eric Clapton, Maxim Senin is definitely on the right path. Maxim had an excellent quote that I’d like to share with…
Energetic is the first thing that comes to mind upon hearing the opening track “Real Time” from Steve Ryans latest album “Boundless Moments”. Hearing an actual band is a refreshing change of pace for this writer, usually Singer/Songwriter types heavily rely on electronic arrangements to convey their lyrics and vocal abilities. Steve’s band is more…
Inverting a quote from a 19th -century poet, Georgia native Steve Ryan is a “dreamer of music, and maker of dreams.” Picking up the piano as a child, then guitar & singing as a teen, he now draws on inspiration that enters his brain while dreaming or in full consciousness. Boundless Moments is his second…
Brandi Carlile will kick off her 2013 summer headline tour on June 13 at Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach, NH. She’ll perform at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO on July 13 and the Filene Center at Wolf Trap in Vienna, VA on July 24. The west coast leg of the “Hard Way…
