Cuffing season may nearly be over, but Cuffed Up season is just beginning. The Los Angeles rockers have announced their debut album All You Got, coming April 5 on Hit the North Records, and shared their latest single and music video, explosive album opener “Finer Things.” Listeners keen on both melodic, emotional indie rock and propulsive, tightly wound post-punk will …
Teal Peel Singer and Guitarist Taylor Neal Battled Perfectionism While Writing and Producing His Song “Sandy”
Welcome to Songwriting School, where we talk to local songwriters about how they wrote one specific song. As frontman of Jacksonville based indie-rock band Teal Peel, songwriter Taylor Neal is the first to admit to his own perfectionism. He held onto some of the band’s songs for several years prior to releasing them. But when you hear the recordings, his …
Jax Indie Rockers Faze Wave Share “Teenage Nightmare,” Plot Fall Tour
Remember Seinfeld’s “Summer of George”? Well, this is about to be the Fall of Faze Wave. The Jacksonville rock four-piece have shared a new single, the hard-charging “Teenage Nightmare,” and announced a fall tour, with eight East Coast shows set for October. Faze Wave are in fine form on “Teenage Nightmare,” a rollicking ode to youthful angst whose jangly rock …
Bobby Kid Singer and Guitarist Anna Lester Shares the Highs and Lows of Writing her Song “Seeds”
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 …
Here’s How the Recently Reunited Jacksonville Indie-Rock band The Julius Airwave Makes Their Crunchy, Confident Sound
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 …
Indie-Rock Stars Flipturn Return to Jax with Two-Night Stand at Intuition
With the momentum of roughly two years of touring behind them — including a completely-sold-out 19-date run in February — Jax-based indie rock band Flipturn has announced a homecoming show. Two shows, in fact, at the Bier Hall inside Intuition Ale Works in Downtown Jacksonville on June 16 and 17. Mixing mature pop melodies with earnest lyrics and raw energy, …
On the Sunny, Textured “Surrender,” Jax Band Ducats Resists and Combats Emotional and Artistic Stasis
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 …
Watch | Bad Madonna on the JME Soundstage
Back in September, singer and guitarist Alexis Rhode released Iron Fist, her second EP of 2022 as Bad Madonna. On Fist, Rhode traded the rootsy acoustics of her first five-song collection, Velvet Glove, for grit and distortion, teaming with guitarist Dylan Young and a crack rhythm section — Storm Bauer (bass), Joey French (drums) — to pack Fist with ample …
Local Spotlight | 4 New Tracks by Jax Artists Out Now
New music from Huan, Bebe Deluxe, Primary School and Rhythm of Fear
We’re always keeping our ear to the ground in order to shine the high beams of our Local Spotlight series on the beautiful noise created by artists working in the Jacksonville region. This week, Jacksonville Music Experience contributors share four new songs by local artists that we think you’ll dig. Let’s dive in. “Not Today” by Huan Ultra-chill Jax indie-pop …
Local Spotlight | 3 New Indie-Rock Songs by Jax Artists Out Now
New music from SolaFide!, Bed Bug Guru and The Citrus Trees
We’re always keeping our ear to the ground in order to put the spotlight on the beautiful noise emerging from Northeast Florida. This week, Jacksonville Music Experience contributors share three new songs by local artists that we think you’ll dig. Let’s dive in. “Howl” by The Citrus Trees What began as a solo project by Lucas Mougeot in 2017, the …
Inside Soccer Mommy’s Widescreen World
Clients of Nashville’s historic Sound Emporium studios are reminded right away that they’re in elite company. Plaques commemorating the commercial success of Kenny Chesney, Kacey Musgraves and other past patrons line the hallways, and across from the reception desk is a wall of framed snapshots, taken when the likes of Vince Gill, Little Big Town, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant …
Just Announced | The War on Drugs to play St. Augustine Amphitheatre in October
Rock torchbearers The War on Drugs will make a stop in Northeast Florida this fall
Throwback American rock band The War on Drugs have announced new dates in support of their latest full-length, 2021’s critically acclaimed I Don’t Live Here Anymore, including a stop in Northeast Florida at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre in October. Led by singer-guitarist Adam Grunduciel, The War on Drugs emerged from the late-aughts red-hot Philadelphia indie-rock scene, performing synth- and guitar-forward …
Jax Artists rickoLus and Ángel García Team Up for a One-of-a-Kind Collab
Backed by The Ángel García Quartet and Good Pluck Trio, rickoLus will perform jazz standards, classic covers and new arrangements from his original song book
Two guys walk into a bar. One is Jacksonville’s most enduring songwriter. The other is a multi-instrumentalist and composer involved in an eclectic list of musical projects. There’s no punchline to this setup. It’s the origin story for an intriguing collaboration between two of the city’s most-respected musicians: Rick Colado and Ángel García. Under the moniker rickoLus, Colado has stacked …
Surfer Blood drop back into Jacksonville with something old, something new
The West Palm Beach indie faves play the Bier Hall at Intuition Ale Works
While Surfer Blood’s latest album plays like a possible rumination on the past, the band is hardly caught in the undertow of a wave of nostalgia. Released in May of 2020, Carefree Theatre is a solid offering from the West Palm Beach-born band that has enjoyed a decade-plus of critical acclaim and rabid fan adoration. The 11-song collection contains the certain …
Watch | The War On Drugs play 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. In their Tiny Desk (home) concert, The War On Drugs gather in their packed studio in Burbank, …
Giveaway | Win tickets to see Sheer Mag at Intuition Ale Works
Free tickets to see potent Philly power-pop quartet
The team over at Intuition Ale Works had big plans for the Bier Hall, a mid-sized music venue inside their Downtown taproom and production facility. While the pandemic may have stalled those initial ambitions (a Ty Segall show was put on ice), the Bier Hall is ready to come alive, rolling out a fall lineup featuring some big-time indie acts …
Local Spotlight | “Waiting to Lose” by Faze Wave
Popular indie rock kids continue to grow, expand their infectious dissonance
Faze Wave is nothing if not durable. Since the release of their well-received debut, 2016’s earnest and reverb-drenched collection Melt, the Jax-based quartet has not only sustained that initial buzz. Over a half-dozen singles, EPs and another full-length (2018’s broad-yet-refined collection, Lethologica), the band has persisted––no small feat considering the group’s core members have spent the twilight of their youth, …
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. …
JME Recommends
Five Jacksonville Indie Rock acts you should know
In the early 1960s, rock n’ roll infiltrated the suburbs, kicking off a decades-long run in which drums-guitar-bass-centric sounds dominated the charts, album and ticket sales, Top 40 radio and the youth-culture milieu in general. Rock n’ roll grew up (kinda) over the years, transformed into rock, then faded after its mid-70s peak, in some ways supplanted by other emerging …