The start of the popular month-long St. Johns County-based music festival, Sing Out Loud, is less than a month away. And the festival runners over at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre continue to add unique (and free!) performances and big-name headliners to the mix. And now they’ve appended the schedule once again, announcing that trance-fusion pioneers Disco Biscuits will play the …
This Musician’s Unlikely Duet Partner? The Golden Gate Bridge
You might’ve heard of the concept of a “bridge” in music. Well, guitarist Nate Mercereau is taking that term literally. In July, he released a new album in collaboration with San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge — yes, you read that right — titled Duets / Golden Gate Bridge, which features droning guitar improvisations over the eerie hum of the Bay …
Local Spotlight | 3 new releases by Jax artists
New local music to add to your playlist
As wild fires rage out west and the Delta Variant burns through the Southeast, the world certainly appears to be in peril. And the local releases that came across the JME desk this week find Jacksonville artists responding to the current (and horrifying) milieu in unique ways. While multi-instrumentalist Reggie Froom waxed existential, singer-songwriter Stacey Bennett gathered her friends to, …
PBS Docuseries ‘Icon: Music Through the Lens’ explores the history of music photography
The six-part docuseries Icon: Music Through The Lens is a visually-thrilling deep dive into the rich history of music photography, an artform that emerged simultaneously with and followed a parallel path to the medium it captures. Featuring in-depth and often irreverent interviews with the world’s best-known music photographers, musicians, gallerists, music journalists and social commentators, the series premiered in July …
Go | Live Music Recommendations
Here's what the JME team wants to see this week
As much as we love to spread the love when we support the scene, this week presented us with two truly-can’t-miss shows at the same venue: Jax Beach’s Blue Jay Listening Room. Here’s where JME contributors will be spending their free time this week. R&B | Jazz Monique Denise – Thursday, August 12 Jazzy’s Restaurant and Lounge | Riverside Apollo-winning …
Hiatus Kaiyote: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert
The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music’s Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. It’s the same spirit — stripped-down sets, an intimate setting — just a different space. Melbourne alt-soul collective Hiatus Kaiyote tricked out its avant-garde recording studio, The Villa, and lathered it with …
New Music Friday: The Top 6 Albums Out On Aug. 6
The best new music of the week from the All Songs Considered team
Abstract Mindstate might be the greatest rap duo you’ve never heard of. MCs Olskool Ice-Gre and E.P Da Hellcat got their start in Chicago in the late ’90s and were about to make an album with features from Kanye West, Common, John Legend and more. But the deal fell through, E.P and Olskool fell on hard times and the two eventually stopped making music altogether. …
Woodstock ‘99 to Lollapalooza ‘21 | Here’s why Limp Bizkit are trending right now
Is the neo nü metal revival upon us?
Shortly into the band’s main-stage set, as guitarist Wes Borland propped his foot on the monitor and dove into a chugging metal riff, Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst addressed a raging crowd of a hundred thousand or so. “Let me make this clear,” he said. “This is not Woodstock ‘99.” The band then unleashed their 1999 hit “Break Stuff,” an …
Local Spotlight | “Florida Motel” by DL is OK
Singer-songwriter DL is OK is so Florida, man
Though he spent his formative years building his catalog and amassing a following in New York City, St. Augustine-based singer-songwriter David Tashjian (AKA DL is OK) is so Florida, man. Tashjian’s sonic approach has drawn comparisons to the likes of Mark Knopfler and the War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel; singular songwriters who deftly reign in a breadth of influences to …
Tampa quartet Glove brings more modern-dystopian bliss with new single and video for “Behaviour”
The band's new song blends darkwave with a splash of color
Glove, Tampa’s stylish and magnetic contemporary indie rock mainstay, has been busy making noise that’s reverberating among some of the most iconic modern music makers. A pre-pandemic tour with indie darlings The Nude Party and gritty guitar pop lords BRONCHO earned them the attention of Brad Shultz (Cage the Elephant), who then produced the band’s forthcoming debut full-length Boom Nights, …
Just Announced | The Killers, John Legend among headliners during an epic month at The Amp
October is heating up in St. Johns County
The big announcements just keep coming from The Amp. Just a couple of weeks ago, they unleashed a torrent of announcements for the fall, including Thievery Corporation on the Backyard Stage, Galactic at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall and Leon Bridges on The Amp stage, proper. And this week, the folks behind the scenes at the beloved St. Johns County …
Fresh Squeeze | August 2021 playlist
The juiciest playlist around
Each month, JME Contributors pick the juiciest noise emanating from Northeast Florida and beyond for our monthly Fresh Squeeze playlist. Featuring a several dozen new tunes from local, regional, national and international artists, there are no rules or genre restrictions; just songs we thought were worth a share. Playlist Highlights: “Behaviour” by Glove “Damn” by Ada Lea “Uh Huh Okay” …
Local Spotlight | 3 new songs by Jax artists out now
New tunes to add to your playlist immediately.
Jacksonville artists continue to swing for the fences. This week brought us new tunes from multi-instrumentalist and producer Shane Malone, Afro-cuban salsa orchestra LPT, and hip-hop artist Jahny Steel. Whether working within the strictures of hip-hop, indie rock or salsa, the artists featured herein are expanding the scope of their preferred genre, while simultaneously redefining what music from Northeast Florida …
Go | This Week’s Live Music Recommendations
Big name bands are beginning to return to Northeast Florida, providing opportunities for the region’s standout acts to lend support while getting in front of a larger audience. This week, local indie rock youngsters Faze Wave will open for Cold War Kids at The Amp’s backyard stage. It’s one of the three shows JME contributors recommend checking out this week. …
The First 100 Videos Played On MTV
“Ladies and gentlemen, rock ‘n’ roll.” Those were the words spoken by Warner Cable executive John Lack on Aug. 1, 1981, at 12:01 am when MTV––Music Television––went on air for the very first time. It was accompanied by the image of an astronaut, modeled after Neil Armstrong, and an MTV flag planted on the moon’s surface. Comparing the station to …
Just Announced | Kevin Morby added to Sing Out Loud lineup
Wildly popular singer-songwriter will play a free show at the Lightner Museum
Singer-songwriter Kevin Morby will play a free show at the Lightner Museum as part of 2021’s Sing Out Loud Festival. The announcement comes just weeks after the initial lineup announcement for the popular, multi-venue St. Johns County festival. With NYC garage rockers Parquet Courts already on the docket, Sing Out Loud is slated to be a hot ticket for fans …
Watch | LPT drops new single and video “Se Quema El Mundo”
LPT seeks light among the darkness; emerges with a scorching new tune
What is LPT––Jacksonville’s mighty 10-piece Afro-Cuban salsa orchestra––without a dance floor? It’s a question that the band, which began its world-beating run performing in dank clubs in and around Northeast Florida, enticing revelrous, full-capacity crowds onto the dance floor (and all but daring the fire marshal to shut them down), was forced to reckon with in the face of an …
Local Spotlight | “Insecure” by Jahny Steel
Think you know another emerging hip-hop artist that is “on fire.” In 90 seconds, Jahny Steel will burn them down.
Less than six months ago, Duval hip-hop artist/poly-auteur Jahny Steel released the single “Stick Up Kid.” In less than three minutes, he delivered a tale of a marauder with uncertain intentions, embedded in a production of basscore wobble and 420-schizo rhythmic clack. Arguably the underheard 2021 spring jam, “Stick Up Kid” only benefitted from Steel’s self-produced video clip that is …
Crate Diggin’ | Guilty Pleasures
JME contributors own up to their embarrassing listening habits
In the age of streaming, music listeners have become increasingly genre agnostic. If one wants to put Sylvan Esso’s “Coffee” on the same playlist as Black Flag’s “Black Coffee,” and title the playlist “Espresso Blend,” one would be well within their rights to do so (and arguably very clever!). Yet, while we may no longer silo ourselves based on our …
Local Spotlight | ‘Seclusion of Sanity’ by Mindfield
An expert and uncompromising nine-song discourse in Sunshine State aggression
The chimera was born for modern metal. The hybrid monstrosity of Greek mythology, an aberration fire-breather with a serpent’s tail, goat’s body, and a roaring lion’s head, is the ideal emblem of a music that is a fusion of roiling thrash, glacial doom, guttural defiance, and resolute nihilism. The debut from Jacksonville’s Mindfield is an impressive and informed evolution of …
Local Spotlight | 3 local tunes you should listen to right now
Songs from Jacksonville artists that turned our ears this week
From hip-hop to pop, R&B and indie rock, it’s been another eclectic week of new music drops in Northeast Florida. Here’s four tracks that turned our ears. Ashton Chase – “Nachos” Emerging Duval hip-hop artist Ashton Chase brings his colorfully eccentric and undeniably hype stylings to bear on a new tune “Nachos.” In an email Chase described “Nachos” as “a …
JME DJ Sessions | 3 local tunes to put you in a mellow mood
Listen to July's JME DJ Sessions on First Coast Connect
With the humidity at or above 90% — and likely to stay that way for the rest of the summer (that’s another two months, at the very least, in Northeast Florida) — it’s perfectly normal to be moving a little slow. Knowing that, we kept the BPM’s low for July’s JME DJ Sessions on First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross, …
Go | Live music recommendations
Jazz Jam plus a dinner and a show
Here’s what we’re looking forward to this week. Jazz Blue Jay Jazz Jam – Tuesday, July 26 Blue Jay Listening Room | Jacksonville Beach Every Tuesday, fun-size Jax Beach venue Blue Jay Listening Room hosts one of the city’s premier jazz jams. Standouts from the region’s avant-garde come together for an evening of improvisation in Blue Jay’s intimate environs. This …
Just Announced | Leon Bridges, Thievery Corporation, Galactic, all coming to St. Johns County
Is the small-market touring boom upon us?
After more than a year in hibernation, live music has come roaring back. And it seems we’re just getting started. If Pitchfork is to be believed, a small-market touring boom is underway. As booking agents battle it out for rooms in major market cities (New York City, Los Angeles, Austin), they’re increasingly having to get creative. In the grand scheme …
Funkadelic’s ‘Maggot Brain’ At 50: R&B, Psychedelic Rock And A Black Guitarist’s Cry
They may be two of the most influential notes in funk-rock history: the soaring, plaintive start to guitarist Eddie Hazel’s legendary solo in Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain.” The song, an audacious, emotive 10-minute-long bluesy ballad kicked off by a brief, eccentric poem from leader George Clinton, is centered on Hazel’s expansive fretwork. Clinton pulls the bass guitar and drums mostly out …
La Luz announces new album, drops video for new single “Watching Cartoons”
The band teamed up with Adrian Younge for a psychedelic and personal collection of new tunes.
After dropping their first single since 2018’s highly regarded Floating Features, La Luz has announced a new full-length album. Due to be released in October (on Hardly Art Records), the self-titled record came together during the throes of the pandemic, the band teaming up with multi-instrumentalist and renowned hip-hip, soul and jazz producer Adrian Younge to bring the songs to …
Local Spotlight | “All Good” by Leo Sun
Leo Sun's new indie pop ditty encompasses all things good.
The second single by Leo Sun, the moniker of Jacksonville native Matilda Phan, is a summer tune meant for blasting at full volume whilst driving to a beach picnic, replaying last night’s blissful encounter with your latest crush. Sun’s vocals have a signature flutter that showcase their pipes, all the while blending a country vibrato with pop sensibilities painted across …
Maple Glider: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert
The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music’s Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. It’s the same spirit — stripped-down sets, an intimate setting — just a different space. Tori Zietsch, aka Maple Glider, is in her Australian home surrounded by her bandmates and friends. Comforting …
Go | Live Music Recommendations
Don't Miss A Beat Jazz Festival highlights this week's calendar
Here’s a rundown of what JME contributors will see and hear this week. Singer-Songwriters Songwriter Spotlight – Wednesday, July 21 Rain Dogs. | Five Points Original music, only. That’s the extent of the strictures put on performers who land on the Rain Dogs. stage for the Five Points venue’s weekly songwriter showcase. A kind of open-mic style event, each showcase …
Lucy Dacus: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert
The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music’s Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. It’s the same spirit — stripped-down sets, an intimate setting — just a different space. Lucy Dacus sits at a very special desk for this Tiny Desk (home) concert. And though she’s …
Biz Markie, Pioneering Beatboxer And ‘Just A Friend’ Rapper, Dies At 57
Biz Markie, an American original born Marcel Theo Hall and a larger-than-life hip-hop figure, has died at the age of 57. Known widely for a career spanning back to 1986, Hall went on to become a beloved cultural figure later in life, celebrated for his spirited personality as much as his massive 1989 hit, “Just A Friend.” His death was …
Local Spotlight | 5 local songs out this week
Leo Sun, Lost Club, Teal Peel, John Aloszka, Laney Tripp & Jacob Cummings all turned our ear this week
Jacksonville artists are keeping us on our toes. We barely had time to reflect on the best local releases of 2021 before a new wave of great tunes come across our speakers. Here’s five quality tracks from local artists that’ve been bumping in our headphones of late. Leo Sun – “All Good” The second single by Leo Sun, the moniker …
Tyler, The Creator is Number One, Again
Unpacking the enigmatic artist’s latest mainstream smash and what it means for hip-hop
When Tyler, The Creator collected his Grammy for 2019’s IGOR, he did so begrudgingly. “I’m half and half on it,” he said on the night of the awards show. “On one side, I’m very grateful that what I made could be acknowledged in a world like this, but also, it sucks that whenever we—and I mean guys that look like …
Turntable Tuesday Giveaway | Win a limited-edition Déjà Vu digital download
Tune in to Anthology for your chance to win a digital download of this limited-edition collection
In 1969, the supergroup consisting of David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, who’d recently formed Crosby, Stills & Nash, became even more super, moving their ampersand and adding guitarist and emerging singer-songwriter Neil Young for a run of shows, including the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. The group set about recording an album later that year, bouncing between the …
Local Spotlight | “Smello Coffee” by Teal Peel
A sought-after collaborator, Taylor Paul Neal unleashes his own dynamic new project.
Multi-instrumentalist and producer Taylor Paul Neal has emerged as a significant presence in Jacksonville’s indie scene. Neal, who’s a member of or accompanying player with several standout local bands (Bobby Kid, Leo Sun) with a list of production credits to his name (Leo Sun, Shane Malone, Quarter Roy, John Aloszka), has now stepped into the spotlight, dropping the first-single “Smello Coffee” …
Go | Laney Tripp and Jacob Cummings at Blue Jay Listening Room
Florida-bred experimental folkies collide on new album
In early July, LA-Based, Florida-bred musicians Laney Tripp and Jacob Cummings released the single “Passing Sun,” a sepia-toned and truly unique presentation of indie folk. The two grew up down the street from one another in New Smyrna Beach, a sleepy, tourism-dependant Central Florida beach town known more as an incubator of surf prodigies than experimental musicians. Cummings and Tripp, …