Top Shelf Music News: Episode 1

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Top Shelf Music News, with your host Matt Cook & Kristy Rose guiding you on this daring quest. It being right after the holidays, a lot is going on in the music industry, from festival announcements to new music to hot gossip of the bands you love. This episode […]

Coachella 2020 is here!

The moment all mainstream music lovers have all been waiting for is here — Coachella 2020 has been revealed! That magical unveiling always warrants your money well-spent if you secured your passes from festival’s pre-sale, prompting others who haven’t splurged for a ticket yet into a panic for when whatever’s leftover goes public. You never […]

Okeechobee Fest returns to Florida for 2020

Tucked away in the serene grasslands of Sunshine Grove, Florida’s own fun and freak fest is back on for 2020! After hitting its first year out of the park in 2016, Okeechobee Festival and its down-to-earth vibrations grew in 2017 and 2018, before coming to a grinding halt for March 2019… apparently it was due […]

Wonderfront 2019: Day Three

Still reeling from the previous two days, I was a child at Christmas impatiently waiting to open my presents or, in this case, the festival gates. I knew the festival grounds like the back of my hand by now; I had my sets lined up and now I just needed a beer. Local breweries were […]

Wonderfront 2019: Day Two

Day Two — let’s go! First off, kudos to Wonderfront for their festival companion app! I’ve never seen a more polished festival app that was intuitive, fast, reactive and a must-have for the festival-goer. I started my day with the app and a cup of Joe. Selecting all the acts I wanted to see then […]

Wonderfront 2019: Day One

November in San Diego can be a toss up: sometimes cold and rainy; other times, it feels like the middle of summer. The weekend of November 22nd would be where these two extremes met to create the perfect stage for Wonderfront’s inaugural bayfront festival. Seven stages spanning 1.5 miles of the treasured San Diego bayfront […]

Cold War Kids at San Diego’s Observatory North Park

Alt lovers gathered from far and wide the night of Friday, November 15th for an intimate performance by Cold War Kids, supported by Samia, at San Diego’s Observatory North Park. Being a smaller venue (versus big amphitheater performances by CWK), the Observatory filled up real fast as opener Samia took center stage. Cool, complacent, yet […]

KAABOO Del Mar 2019: Day Three

KAABOO Del Mar started Day Three 2019 with a big public announcement — this is the last KAABOO Del Mar day EVER! Never to fear: KAABOO is simply relocating due south to downtown’s Petco Park, rebranding in the process to KAABOO San Diego from here on out. With that in mind, attendees made the most […]

The Black Keys & Modest Mouse rocked San Diego

The Black Keys‘ headlining tour, featuring Modest Mouse with Shannon and the Clams, hit San Diego’s Pechanga Arena on Sunday, November 14th. Shannon and the Clams started the night off right with some upbeat jams that got the crowd going. The quartet, based out of Oakland, consists of Cody Blanchard on vocals/guitar, Shannon Shaw on […]

The Who at the Hollywood Bowl

When a living rock band legend like The Who comes to town, it’s a huge event for everyone. Even in Los Angeles. Especially, when the venue is a legend itself. People get excited: some looking forward to relive their youth; others, to learn about classics and make sure that they still rock. Sometimes, they rock […]

KAABOO Del Mar 2019: Day Two

KAABOO weekend is always a highlight of the year. After KAABOO Del Mar kicked off to an epic start with Wu-Tang and Snoop Dogg headlining Night One, Day Two vibes were running high… almost as high as the heat! Good thing the pool in the BASK section was popping off all day aside the Sunset […]

Tenacious D takes San Francisco

Wow, what a show! The Masonic in San Francisco was sold out and packed for a rock-and-dance kind of night. Beautiful chandeliers on the ceiling and the stage held a large white curtain. In front of the curtain were two acoustic guitars. Opening band Wynchester came out and had fans screaming with excitement. During their […]

Lana Del Rey brings joy to San Diego

What to say about Lana Del Rey… The renowned ‘Xanax rock’ queen has had anthems in big budget Hollywood films, been recognized several times by the GRAMMY Academy and has garnered countless hours of radio play over six studio albums — on top of being drop-dead gorgeous. But, one thing I didn’t understand until the […]

Van Morrison serenades San Diego

It was a marvelous night for a moondance when Van Morrison fans lined the seating of the North Island Credit Union Amphitheater in Chula Vista, CA on October 8th. Motown queen Mavis Staples opened the night, with her soulful voice blending well with her jiving backing band. Everyone was clapping along as they were finding […]

How Lana Del Rey dazzled Sacramento

It was a beautiful night in Sacramento on October 8th… 73 degrees and the sky was dimly lit, yet full of stars. There were two large lines of excited fans circling around the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. As the crowds entered the venue, many were walking as fast as they could to the pit and seats. […]