Thundercat at The Pageant, St. Louis

There was a feeling of funk, rhythm and soul in the air on November 16th at The Pageant in St. Louis, MO. Los Angeles-based road cat Stephen Bruner (also known by his stage name, Thundercat) rolled into town, breaking out his massive, unique signature six-string Ibanez TCB1006 to take his audience for an absolute ride. […]

A night with Satsang at Felton Music Hall

On Wednesday, November 17th, Montana-based quartet Satsang brought their All. Right. Now tour to Felton Music Hall, located up in the Santa Cruz mountains. Self-produced by frontman, Drew Mcmanus, the new album was entirely written and recorded during the bands hiatus from the road. Drew flew the band up to Montana, where they rented a cabin and recorded what is now, All. […]

WORLD TRACK PREMIERE: Qarreo “The Little Drummer Boy”

Rising Nashville band Qarreo is back with an all-time Christmas classic — an ethereal eclectic take on “The Little Drummer Boy”! Everyone knows the original 1941 version by American classical music composer Katherine Kennicott Davis… you know, when the wisemen happened upon a drummer boy on their path to Bethlehem? He ended up leading the […]

Anderson East leaves Nashville audience rejoicing

Friday night in downtown Nashville would be my first opportunity to experience two things I have had on my musical bucket list for quite some time. The first being to attend a concert at Ryman Auditorium, the venue that pretty much birthed Country Music. It’s a place so iconic and legendary they nicknamed it the “Carnegie […]

Neal Francis comments on new ‘In Plain Sight’ LP

The writing process for new music always varies from artist to artist. Some, like Springsteen, can spend days locked inside a studio perfecting snare beats. Others, like Chicago native Neal Francis, can find themselves living inside a church for a year, immersed in “Well Tempered Clavier”. I guess you could say, when creating his sophomore […]

Same Same But Different 2021: Day Three

As the morning of Day Three kept upon the attendees of the funky, flair-approved and freedom-encouraging Same Same But Different festival, the last thing on anybody’s mind was to stop the party early. Lake Perris shimmered in the sunshine, welcoming swimmers and floaters as Red Giant Project and Moontricks played the musical stages. The Coconut […]

Gipsy Kings at San Diego’s Humphrey’s By the Bay

Gipsy Kings put on a great show at Humphrey’s By The Bay on November 3rd! The Latin pop group brought the same energy to San Diego that they started with 40 years ago and had most of the crowd standing and dancing at their seats. Even fans enjoying the show from their kayaks just outside […]

Eclectic Soundtrax Podcast, Ep. 61: James Desautels

Air date: November 24, 2021 On this episode of Eclectic Soundtrax, hosts Victor Ramos and Skunk Manhattan chat with virtuoso violinist, composer, producer, songwriter, arranger and conductor, James Desautels. From concert halls and music festivals to small clubs and intimate recording studios, “Jamie” has performed in 37 countries across five continents over a career spanning […]

Getting to know art punk band Gustaf

Some bands are exceptionally talented and some bands are just lucky; Brooklyn’s avant-garde art punk icons Gustaf are both. What began as a series of ‘fortunate’ events on the way to SXSW has blossomed into something quite magical for this group of five rock ‘n roll misfits. Not many artists can say that one of their […]

TRISHES’ emotive ‘Id’ album release show in Los Angeles

It was a stormy Monday night for Los Angeles on October 25th, yet nothing indicated a stay-home attitude at the Hotel Cafe on Cahuenga Boulevard. TRISHES’ dedicated fan base came out in full force for the highly-anticipated, intimate album release show her latest, The Id. Following The Ego, The Id is (naturally) another side of […]

One psychedelic trip with Pigeons Playing Ping Pong in St. Louis

The earlier this month, I experienced a band for the first time. It was a band with a quirky name and an even quirkier onstage personality. They play a pretty intense version of electro-funk, mixed with a psychedelic-esque groove undertone that is unmistakable to their particular genre of music. All four of the band members […]

TSM Artist #HotList: November 20th, 2021

Alexia Johnson for #TopShelfMusic here, with another TSM Artist #HotList! This week, we visit an island reggae artist originally from Guam (now based in Colorado), a Guyanese artist (famously known as “Lady LAW”) and two reggae rock groups from the San Francisco Bay Area. Thank you for tuning in! (Please set your video settings to […]

Julien Baker headlines Oakland’s Fox Theater

On Saturday November 6th, Julien Baker was back in the Bay Area, after a surprise opening set with Boygenius bandmate and friend Phoebe Bridgers a mere few weeks ago at the Greek Theater in Berkeley. Tonight’s occasion was for the Little Oblivions Tour in honor of Baker’s new full-length album of the same name. Baker’s third studio […]

Outside Lands 2021: an extra special Halloween

Halloween in San Francisco was one for the record books this year! After being postponed two years in a row (and then rescheduled for Halloween weekend), the beloved Outside Lands Music Festival returned to Golden Gate Park for its usual three-day event, starting Friday Oct 29th and ending on Halloween night. Headliners included The Strokes on […]

Punk in the Park 2021: Day One

On November 6th, Punk in the Park was held at the Oak Canyon Park in Silverado, CA. Saturday was headlined by Pennywise and included sets from 13 other kickass punk bands! For people that were 21+ with a tasting pass, you were able to enjoy unlimited samples for half the day from some regional breweries […]