Feist holds a mirror up to her ‘Multitudes’

View Post

The commercial machinations of the music industry detest stepwise maturation. Consider the constant chatter about what is young and novel, as if real excitement, engagement and even insight can flow only from the hitherto unknown. Yes, it is totally intoxicating to believe you are experiencing culture’s bleeding edge with every incoming tide pool of best new artists; it is demoralizing, …

In this article:

Best Live Music in Jacksonville | April 24-30

Billy Idol, New Edition, Fruit Bats, rickoLus & Angel Garcia

View Post

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 Billy Idol – Tuesday, April 25 The Amp | St. Augustine  Eighties legend Billy Idol brings his power-pop-rock songbook (and iconic snarl) to the St. Augustine Amphitheatre on Tuesday.  Watch | Tickets …

In this article:

Fred again..: Tiny Desk Concert

View Post

When Fred again.. first proposed a Tiny Desk concert, it wasn’t immediately clear how he was going to make it work — not because he lacked creativity, but because translating purely electronic music at the Desk is a daunting task for anyone. How would an artist, whose performances take the form of DJ sets in front of massive audiences, curate …

In this article:

Ultra Wrapped | Highlights from Miami’s Annual EDM Extravaganza

View Post

Miami’s Ultra Music Festival, which is billed as “the world’s premiere electronic music festival,” returned to Bayfront Park in downtown Miami March 24-26 for its 23rd edition. As in the past, it served as the grand finale to Miami Music Week, a weeklong marathon of electronic music events. Thousands of fans representing 100 countries attended the sold-out festival, with another …

In this article:

Best Live Music In Jacksonville This Week | April 17-23

Wilco, Moonchild, Laura Jane Grace, three nights of Billy Strings and more

View Post

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. Jazz/R&B Moonchild – Tuesday, April 18  Underbelly | Downtown Jacksonville Eclecting L.A. fusion trio Moonchild performs at Jack Rabbits on Tuesday night. To learn more about the band, check out our concert announcement …

In this article:

Popular Indie-Folk Rockers Fruit Bats to Play Intuition in April

View Post

On the heels of the just-released “Waking Up in Los Angeles,” indie-folk rock outfit Fruit Bats have announced a North American tour, which includes a stop in Jacksonville at the end of April. The first newly composed material since the band’s 2021 full lengthThe Pet Parade, “Waking Up in Los Angeles” unspools as an introspective take on the concept of …

In this article:

On “lookin’,” Duval’s Broadway Louie Soundtracks the Perennial Search for Connection

View Post

Duval artist Broadway Louie’s new song “lookin’’ foreshadows spring and summer car rides, nightlife explorations and the perennial search for connection; either in the moment, or forever.  Producer Cheap Limosuine lends the track its enjoyably retro feel, with an active rhythm, that makes it easy for Louie to interject with his melodies. Louie’s lyrics, meanwhile, give “lookin’” a cheerful energy, …

In this article:

On the Sunny, Textured “Surrender,” Jax Band Ducats Resists and Combats Emotional and Artistic Stasis

View Post

Since relocating to Jacksonville from Chicago, musician Trent Holton has seamlessly embedded himself in the local scene – while also arguably doing as much as an interloper could to invigorate that same scene. After introducing his Ducats (pronounced duh-kits) project with a collection of primal, DIY garage tunes, Glob, in 2022, Holton’s band has, in short order, become one of …

In this article:

Wednesday’s ‘Rat Saw God’ is Fearlessly, Chaotically, Grimly American

View Post

There was “a tear in every word,” is how longtime producer Billy Sherrill once described Tammy Wynette’s singing voice. It was the first lady of country music’s signature: a trembling, anguished voice that seemed to hold a teardrop in each note. Wynette had the ability to sell songs like “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” or “I Don’t Wanna Play House,” ’60s suburban melodramas as …

In this article:

With First New Single in 15 years, The Julius Airwave Returns to the Power-Pop Fore

View Post

Whether it’s a career comeback or an inevitable resolve, the return of the Julius Airwave with their new single “Slow Erode” is an object lesson in the ebb and flow of youth, music, relationships, the viability of balancing the two, arguably love and time. Some 20 years ago, the band were precociously young: dapper dressers with crooked neckties, popping off …

In this article:

Wilco Return to the St. Augustine Amphitheatre for 2023 Spring Tour

View Post

Wilco are readying to kick off their 2023 spring tour in support of their current, critically lauded 12th album, Cruel Country, and will return to the St. Augustine Amphitheatre for a performance on Wednesday, April 19.  Recorded at the Loft, the six-piece band’s Chicago studio space, Cruel Country is a double-album release that has been lauded as one of the best albums …

In this article:

Best Live Music in Jacksonville this Week | April 10-16

Mattson 2, River Jams, Local Showcase, Hovvdy, Bobby Kid

View Post

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. Jazz The Mattson 2 – Wednesday, April 12 Hotel Palms | Atlantic Beach San Diego twin-brother duo the Mattson 2 bring their surf-meets-jazz-meets-dreampop swing to the Hotel Palms in Atlantic Beach on Wednesday.  …

In this article:

Shawny Binladen and the Rise of Sample Drill

View Post

After Pop Smoke’s tragic death in 2020, many wondered what would become of New York drill, and many naysayers claimed it died with him. Over the next year, several booming voices would knock at that door, but the man who broke it down was one who raps in whispers. 27-year-old Queens rapper Shawny Binladen’s reimagination of drill music opened up …

In this article:

Kassa Overall | Tiny Desk Concert

View Post

Kassa Overall is no stranger to NPR. Back in 2020 he was a featured vocalist and percussionist on the Terri Lyne Carrington + Social Science Tiny Desk concert and in the same year he scored the original music for the first season of NPR Music’s Louder Than A Riot podcast. (His catchy theme song has been remixed by producer Suzi …

In this article:

Rob Rase, Left On High and the Loud Art of Evolution and Survival

View Post

Call it ferocity in domesticity rather than fully tamed. Rob Rase is sitting in the home recording studio in the Westside home he shares with wife, Brenda Kato. Sleeved and legged in tattoos, sporting a Rat Town Records t-shirt, Rase grins as he shows off the gear he’s assembled in a relatively short time. The studio doubles as a practice …

In this article:

Playlist | April’s Best New Music

boygenius, Pearl & The Oysters, Sunny War, Angel Olsen and more.

View Post

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 playlist includes music from supergroup boygenius‘ monumental new …

In this article:

Wynton Marsalis, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Samara Joy, Ulysses Owens Jr. and More to Play 2023 Jacksonville Jazz Festival

View Post

For more than 40 years, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival has brought international jazz legends and emerging artists, as well as offering local musicians the chance to be seen and heard. Held every Memorial Day Weekend, the festival attracts jazz fans from around the globe to soak up some (hopefully) warmer weather and cool sounds on different stages. This year is …

In this article:

For the beloved trio’s return, Nickel Creek created its own world

View Post

The opening song and title track of Nickel Creek‘s fifth studio album, Celebrants, poses a striking image: “Heaven’s always been in this cathedral that we rebuild nightly together.” The line conjures the fantastical and the spiritual, but, at its heart, the song celebrates something simple, even ordinary: choosing to come together in community. It’s an idea made quietly radical not …

In this article:

Durand Bernarr | Tiny Desk Concert

View Post

Durand Bernarr is an experience. At the Tiny Desk, members of his band — clad in costumes evoking characters from the Disney Channel animated series The Proud Family — surrounded Bernarr, outfitted in a white and magenta sequined ensemble with a wig styled in a pompadour, channeling the electric energy of the soul and funk singer of the Proud Family, …

In this article:

On Eureka Springs’ “Nothing Quite Like,” Jax Singer-Songwriter Cory Driscoll Balances the Light and Dark

View Post

The latest from Duval singer-songwriter Cory Driscoll is an impressive mix of what could be described as cheery morosity—no small feat when one considers the “ship in a bottle” delicacy of penning a tune, about love no less, that is neither grinningly hypomanic nor headed for the psych ward. “Nothing Quite Like” is the first song of Driscoll’s new full-band …

In this article:

It Could Happen To You | Playing One Tune with Jazz Great Bunky Green

View Post

As I have traveled the world as a jazz musician from Jacksonville, I’ve found that there are only a few jazz musicians from Northeast Florida that everyone recognizes. Globally, saxophonist Bunky Green is at the top of that list.  In 2015 I was on tour with Christian McBride Trio when we played a concert at Wigmore Hall. I remember running …

In this article:

Ryuichi Sakamoto, a godfather of electronic pop, has died

View Post

Ryuichi Sakamoto, a trailblazing composer and producer who was one of the first musicians to incorporate electronic production into popular songcraft, has died at the age of 71. Sakamoto died on March 28 after a multi-year battle with cancer, according to a statement published on his website Sunday. “We would like to share one of Sakamoto’s favorite quotes,” the statement …

In this article:

Yves Tumor’s disruptive pop-cultural synthesis

View Post

The latest Yves Tumor album begins with a scream and ends with a call to lock eyes. A project with the koan-like title Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) might seem like it’s obscuring or even deliberately thumbing its nose at meaning, but the carnal bookending of a scream and a …

In this article:

The Beths | Tiny Desk Concert

View Post

If you squint hard enough at the paper in front of Elizabeth Stokes, you’ll find an encouraging note she wrote to herself: Breathe. Relax. Smile. (followed by a hand-drawn smiley face, of course). We get it: The Tiny Desk is filmed in broad daylight, at eye level, in front of NPR employees and, eventually, is released to “the inside of …

In this article:

The Best Concerts in Jacksonville This Week | April 3-9

Jax River Jams, Sleeping Giant Fest and more.

View Post

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. Blues  Jimmie Vaughan – Tuesday, April 4 PV Concert Hall | Ponte Vedra  Texas blues guitarist Jimmie Vaughan returns to Northeast Florida, performing at the PV Concert Hall with his Tilt-a-Whirl Band on …

In this article:

On “King Kong,” Jax Duo Jawberry Unleashes a Monster Mashup of Indie, Grunge and Hip Hop

View Post

The latest from Jawberry, the collab project from local indies Huan (aka Juan Mallorca) and Rockbot Studios owner Josh Cobb, “King Kong” mashes up prominent ‘90s guitar-slack-and-hip-hop styles into three-minutes of casually retro-vibed, upbeat rock, with a riff that is maybe one chord from a “Smells Like Teen Spirit” lawsuit. A minor sin, considering the legion of songwriters that have …

In this article:

Jax Indie-Rock Band flipturn on the JME Soundstage

View Post

Indie-rock band flipturn is ascendant. The Fernandina-founded, now-Jax-based quintet is probably the biggest Jacksonville-music success story since Black Kids blew up in the early aughts.  Watch flipturn, as well as performance videos of other local and nationally touring artists on our NPR Live Sessions Page On the strength Shadowglow, their debut for unimpeachably cool boutique label Dualtone (Shovels & Rope, …

In this article:

Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Nielson on the family-inspired new album ‘V’

View Post

Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s sound is something of a mystery. While it’s bathed in a lo-fi aesthetic, it has managed to evolve and grow through genres such a psychedelic, punk and even disco through the band’s decade-plus making music. UMO is back now with its latest album, V, bathing this time in the pools of Palm Springs and oceans of Hawaii …

In this article:

San Diego Surf-Jazz Duo Mattson 2 to Play Hotel Palms in Atlantic Beach

View Post

We’re stoked to welcome world-renowned surf-jazz duo the Mattson 2 to Jacksonville as part of our JME Presents Music Discovery Series. The San Diego based duo, made up of twin brothers Jonathan and Jared Mattson, will perform at the Hotel Palms in Atlantic Beach on Wednesday, April 12.  Over the last decade-plus, the Mattsons have consistently displayed a kind of …

In this article:
View Post

WJCT Public Media Appoints New Vice President of Development

Media Contact: Neily BrarenPromotion & Marketing Associate, WJCT WJCT Public Media Appoints New Vice President of Development Sarah Dobson steps into role to expand WJCT’s major gifts program, lead fundraising campaigns and bolster organization’s development strategy JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — March 27, 2023 — WJCT Public Media today announced the appointment of Sarah Dobson as the organization’s Vice President of Development, …