Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town,” which ignited controversy this week over claims that the song and its new video promote white supremacy and violence, is far from the first country song to attack cities using racist dog whistles. “Try That” is most clearly a descendant of Hank Williams Jr.’s “A Country Boy Can Survive” (1982), which claims, …
Our weekly Go concert recommendations are updated every Monday morning and are always available on jaxmusic.org. For the comprehensive list of this week’s concerts, go to our live music calendar page. Metal/Parody Steel Panther – Wednesday, July 26 Underbelly | Downtown Jacksonville Comedic glam band Steel Panther brings its hair-metal schtick to Underbelly on Wednesday. More Pop/Rock Goo Goo Dolls & O.A.R. – Thursday, …
Over the last few years, Naples-native Dominic Fike has found himself in rarified air: A bonafide, Florida-bred superstar. Perhaps more widely recognized for his role as Elliot on the HBO original Euphoria, before Fike was acting, he was making music here in the Sunshine State. In July, Fike released his third full-length album, Sunburn. Over the course of the record’s 15 …
Memphis, Tennessee, singer-songwriter Kate Teague has a new EP due out in under a month, and in the lead up to Loose Screw (Aug. 11, self-released), she shared its second single this week, the lovesick slow burn “I Feel Bad for My Dog.” Building from nothing but moody keys and Teague’s emotive vocal, the song finds the singer not only …
NewJeans has only been putting out music for about a year, but is already taking a serious run at K-pop domination, partly by subverting the genre’s conventions. On the group’s second EP, Get Up, the songs do lean heavily into cute, sugary sweet dance pop, but leave the edges a bit more ragged with a warmer, more genuine sound. On …
Media Contact: Neily Braren, Promotion & Marketing Associate 904.318.2633 • nbraren@wjct.org Jacksonville Today Earns National Honors In 2023 Local Media Association Awards Digital local news service earns first place in Best Local Newsletter/Email Strategy and second place in Best Philanthropy Journalism and/or Fundraising Campaign JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — July 20, 2023 — WJCT Public Media announced today that its digital local …
Atmosphere shared their umpteenth album in May’s So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously, and this week, the Minneapolis indie hip-hop veterans followed their latest LP with a music video for standout track “Still Life,” plus a new set of November tour dates. Rapper Slug (Sean Daley) and producer Ant (Anthony Davis) collaborate with East London vocalist Murkage Dave on the …
Popular and enduring indie/alt-rock quintet Young The Giant plays the St. Augustine Amphitheatre on Thursday, July 20. The group’s latest release, 2023’s Both Sides EP, features live and acoustic recordings. A few months back, former First Coast Connect host Melissa Ross spoke with the band’s lead singer, Sameer Gadhia, about the show, the group’s new music and his efforts to …
Sing Out Loud, St. Augustine’s month-long music festival, has added three more free events to its 2023 programming: Lincolnville Porch Fest (September 16), the St. Augustine Amphitheatre Night Market (September 19) and the St. Augustine Record Fair (September 24). True to form, the folks behind SOL have packed the month of September with tons of music. Programming for SOL 2023 …
The latest from Northeast Florida singer-songwriter Tori Nance aligns with her self-professed title of “the Queen of Breakup Songs.” Leaning into an indie-adult-album-alternative sound, “The Key to My Door” is an acrimonious anthem that is a minor-key delight for codependency and flat-out lovelorn listeners. Over the course of the song’s three and a half minutes, Nance doesn’t roll too far …
Our weekly Go concert recommendations are updated every Monday morning and are always available on jaxmusic.org. For the comprehensive list of this week’s concerts, go to our live music calendar page. Rock Buckcherry – Tuesday, July 18 Underbelly | Downtown Jacksonville Hard-rock outfit Buckcherry, who had a handful of alt-rock-radio hits in the ‘90s, including “Lit Up,” play Underbelly on Tuesday. More Indie/Folk/Punk Emily …
ECM Records remains an object lesson in autonomy, tenacity and true independence. Co-founded by bassist-producer Manfred Eicher in 1969 to highlight the then-under-looked European jazz scene, ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) has gone onto release more than 1700 albums. The now-80-year-old Eicher has overseen every release, and the label’s cover designs are as consistent as Eicher’s ethereal-meets-high-fidelity production approach. To name …
When Jerry Leader was growing up, he made himself a toy set of DJ equipment. Two empty cereal boxes were the turntables. For the records, he cut circles out of cardboard. The needle, a plastic spoon. He would sing to himself, “mixing” the tracks. Leader grew up in an 18-story apartment building in the Bronx, New York City, during the …
Update: This show has been postponed. Yo La Tengo provided the following message to Sing Out Loud. “Hi everybody – it pains us to write this message (in Georgia’s case, literally), but we have no choice except to postpone our September dates until early 2024. A knee that’s been bothering Georgia for years has gotten bad enough that she’s going …
Welcome to Jacksonville Music Experience’s Songwriting School, where we talk to local songwriters about how they wrote one specific song. Jacksonville-based songwriter Anna Lester has been recording and performing music since 2017 under the name Bobby Kid, an indie rock band she started with her husband, drummer Brian Lester. In March, Bobby Kid released their second album, Babyface. This long-awaited …
Huan, the Jacksonville-based purveyor of dreamy indie-pop has released his latest single, “Agradecido,” an open thank-you note to his mother, and his first single in Spanish. “This is my love letter to her while leaving a digital footprint at the same time,” Huan said about the song in an email. “Her name and voice deserve to live forever. I didn’t …
Featuring a few dozen new tunes from local, regional, national and international artists, our Fresh Squeeze playlist includes the best new music emanating from Northeast Florida and beyond. Handpicked by our team of contributors, there are no rules or genre restrictions; just songs we thought were worth a share. Our latest Fresh Squeeze includes new music from wholly original acts Blonde …
You may already be familiar with the work of multi-disciplinary artist Rahill Jamalifard, a founding member of Brooklyn garage-rock faves Habibi. That familiarity, however, won’t likely prime you for the enjoyably avant-garde pop on Rahill’s debut solo LP, Flowers at Your Feet. Through the development of Habibi’s music to her solo debut, the 2022 EP Sun Songs, Rahill has displayed …
Our weekly Go concert recommendations are updated every Monday morning and are always available on jaxmusic.org. For the comprehensive list of this week’s concerts, go to our live music calendar page. Pop/Rock Louis Tomlinson – Tuesday, July 11 The Amp | St. Augustine Former One Direction member, the UK pop-star Louis Tomlinson performs on Tuesday at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre. More Indie Rock Harbour …
Electro-pop singer Aluna Francis first made her name as one-half of the hit-making duo Aluna George. Now, her second album as just Aluna, MYCELiUM, finds her working with the worldwide artistic community she’s built in the last few years. With an emphasis on queer and/or Black artists from many different countries, she’s built a powerful statement about claiming your power …
Proprietor Emily Moody is already a key figure in local music history, in her own right–not as a performer, but as a facilitator. “Jacksonville has a long history of great music,“ she says. ”It has always been a mission of mine to highlight and celebrate music created right in our city.” She’s done just that, for almost every notable local …
When Duane Betts and his band Palmetto Motel hit the stage at Downtown Jacksonville’s Intuition Ale Works on Sunday, July 16, they’ll be performing mere miles from where the Allman Brothers Band formed more than fifty years ago. As the son of founding ABB member Dickey Betts, the now-45-year-old Duane was born within a direct lineage of that elder band’s …
You gotta love a band that names itself after siblings that don’t exist, and under a name that doesn’t match anyone in the band. At least I do. I’ve been a fan of the edgy sonic traditions of the Meridian Brothers for a while now, and jumped at the chance to bring the duo’s space age cumbia direct from Bogotá, …
NPR Music is celebrating Black Music Month with an array of brand new Tiny Desk concerts. Together, these artists represent the past, present and future of Black music. This month of carefully curated shows is a celebration of Black artists expressing themselves in ways we’ve never seen before, and of the Tiny Desk’s unique way of showcasing that talent. “WTF …
“I’ve never really had a religious experience, in a religious place,” the Atlanta rapper Killer Mike says to begin the title track of his 2012 album, R.A.P. Music. “Closest I’ve ever come to seeing or feeling God is listening to rap music. Rap music is my religion.” The intent in his voice doesn’t read as blasphemy. It’s more a confession: …
Levitation music festival organizers unveiled the first wave of a mind-melting lineup earlier this week, ahead of the event formerly known as Austin Psych Fest returning to the Lone Star State capitol on Halloween weekend, Oct. 26-29. “Eclectic” is one of few words rangy enough to wrap its arms around Levitation: The four-day festival’s 2023 iteration will feature headliners Unwound, …
Our weekly Go concert recommendations are updated every Monday morning and are always available on jaxmusic.org. For the comprehensive list of this week’s concerts, go to our live music calendar page. Hip Hop/R&B Che Forreign – Wednesday, July 5 Little Alley Shows | Downtown Jacksonville The latest installment in a series of pop-up concerts curated by Downtown vintage boutique Wolf & Cub, Jax singer …
While hardly a household name on these shores, German jazz guitarist Volker Kriegel (1943-2003) appeared on more than 200 releases and was a founding member of the United Jazz + Rock Ensemble, a large ensemble which included fellow European-based, forward-thinking jazz heavyweights including bassist Eberhard Weber, flugelhornist Kenny Wheeler and trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff. While still in his twenties, Kriegel was …
NPR Music is celebrating Black Music Month with an array of brand new Tiny Desk concerts. Together, these artists represent the past, present and future of Black music. This month of carefully curated shows is a celebration of Black artists expressing themselves in ways we’ve never seen before, and of the Tiny Desk’s unique way of showcasing that talent. On …
Al Letson, acclaimed host of “Reveal,” joins WJCT Public Media as interim host for “First Coast Connect,” starting July 5, 2023. Returning to his Northeast Florida roots, Letson’s award-winning storytelling promises to drive meaningful community discussions. Listen across multiple platforms, including WJCT’s app, major streaming services, and podcast directories.
On this edition of All Songs Considered, we asked NPR member stations to pick their favorite new artists of 2023. We begin with Matt Shaw from WJCT in Jacksonville, Fla. He chose the grunge-inspired music of Blondshell. Justin Barney from WNXP in Nashville is obsessed with the music of Hannah Jagadu, who recorded her debut as a student at New …
If you are lucky in country music, you will eventually run into hard luck. Anyone can have gratitude on a sunny Friday pay day. It’s the broke-a** rainy Tuesdays that keep you on your feet or flat on your back. And while country music isn’t all ragged blues and boozy ruminations, arguably the best and most memorable music of that …
Local musicians looking for a chance to perform in front of a live audience (compared to a dead or undead audience) are in luck. The seventh-annual Sing Out Loud Festival is accepting applications from Northeast Florida musicians to perform during the festival, held each year at various venues in and around St. Augustine. The festival is accepting applications from solo …
Ebonique has returned, in dominance mode no less, with a new single called “Respectfully.” Over nimble guitar work and a hissing drum machine, the Jacksonville-based R&B and soul singer-songwriter states what she notices about how others intentionally gravitate to her for clout. In doing so, she clearly lays down the guidelines of what her purpose is. The confidence and competence …
Among the surest ways to feel out of the loop right now is to look at concert listings and notice that artists you’ve never heard — or even heard of — are somehow big enough to play very large venues. These days, it’s a revelation that can strike without warning, no matter who you are or how closely you keep …
When Rick Colado, Chris Gibson, and Mark Hubbard started making music together in the late ’90s as The Julius Airwave, their teenage sound was confident and wild. “Our music eventually became restrained and unsure,” says singer and guitarist Colado, “and now, it’s just fun. But we are an indie rock band.” This year, the band has released two new singles—Slow …
