Slam Dunk Fest set for Leeds & Hatfield for summer 2022

The annual Slam Dunk Festival returns to the United Kingdom this summer! The North installation of the festival takes place on Friday, June 3rd at Temple Newsam in Leeds, followed by the South installation on Saturday, June 4th at Hatfield Park in Hatfield. Slam Dunk is a one-day festival taking place in two different cities […]

My Forte Artist Spotlight: Mobley

How does one describe a phenom consistently setting the bar ever higher in creativity, sound and musicianship? Singer-songwriter, ‘Curator of the Creative’, pitch-perfect (figuratively and literally), multi-instrumentalist, genre-defying performance perfection? Those are but a few of the many impressions Mobley leaves on anyone lucky enough to cross his path. One of Austin’s best and brightest, […]

Oliver Tree steers Cowboy Tears World Tour into Nashville

Fans of all ages filled the sold out Oliver Tree show at Marathon Music Works on a rainy Tuesday night in Nashville, Tennessee on March 22nd. His two openers, 347aidan and Sueco, prepped the crowd for a whimsical evening with Oliver, playing their TikTok hit songs “Dancing in My Room” and “fast”, respectively. The Nashville […]

The ‘soft opening’ of Ventura Music Hall, with G. Love

If the inside looks familiar, that’s probably because you’ve visited the building in its past life as a fusion bowling alley/small(er) music venue, formerly known as Discovery Ventura. While the bowling lanes have been replaced in favor of additional high-top seating, the large horseshoe bar, booth seating area and notable Quonset hut-style, wood-paneled ceiling all […]

Louisville’s Louder Than Life is larger than ever for 2022

The Louder Than Life 2022 lineup has finally been announced!! This is said to be the festival’s biggest year yet and rightfully so, because the lineup is just… wow! The fest will return to the Highland Festival Grounds in Louisville, Kentucky on September 22th through 25th. Four full days of INSANE rock bands?!? The lineup […]

Glass Animals sells out St. Louis

Glass Animals celebrated their third consecutive week at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for their single “Heat Waves” by playing a sold-out show at The Factory outside of St. Louis, Missouri. The alternative band from London released their latest album Dreamland in August of 2020. While the hit single “Heat Waves” has been charting […]

A serendipitous night with Tedeschi Trucks in Syracuse

“This is just like Jacksonville,” Derek Trucks says. We’re looking out the window of a bar in downtown Syracuse, NY, admiring the architectural columns of the building across the street. “Jacksonville is the Syracuse of Florida. I love this city.” The guitar phenom from the GRAMMY Award-winning Tedeschi Trucks Band is holding a glass of $30/oz whiskey.  He […]

alt-J & Portugal. The Man back-to-back in St. Louis

It was another perfect night of music at St. Louis’ Chaifetz Arena on March 15th, 2022. To kick off the three-round alternative rock extravaganza and filling in for Sir Chloe at this stop of the tour was a band known as Windser. Born in Spring of 2020, Windser was created by Jordan Topf at the […]

Briston Maroney ends tour at The Basement East, Nashville

Briston Maroney gave an epic performance at his second-to-last show of his Sunflower Tour at The Basement East in Nashville, Tennessee. What better way to wrap up a tour than two back-to-back sold-out hometown shows? The night started with Mercury, who are Nashville natives, and Jackie Hayes. Both openers got the crowd warmed up for […]

Mayday Parade sells out Delmar Hall, St. Louis

Many of you may remember Mayday Parade from their heyday back in the early 2000s. If, like me, you happened to be in middle school between 2005 and 2010, this band was reaching the height of their popularity right around the same time as your angsty emo phase that hit so many young teenagers (and continues […]

Eclectic Soundtrax Podcast, Ep. 67: Tarantula Mountain

On this episode, Eclectic Soundtrax hosts Skunk Manhattan and Victor Ramos are joined by John “JB” Mendez and Jasmine Jew, members of the Austin-based heavy alternative rock band, Tarantula Mountain. The duo are currently riding high off the release of their debut album, Virgo Sunday, recorded locally at Antimatter Studios. The two originally met in […]

Daughtry brings rock back to St. Louis

Walking into The Factory before the Daughtry concert felt like walking back into the year 2006. Anyone who was alive back then probably remembers a little show called American Idol. Most of them probably also remember feeling outraged when Chris Daughtry was eliminated from the competition after reaching the top four during the show’s 5th […]

Machine Gun Kelly releases rap-style “ay!” with Lil Wayne

Machine Gun Kelly dropped another song from his forthcoming Mainstream Sellout! The new song “ay!” sees MGK returning to rapping… it seems this new album will be a combination of pop punk and rap, and I’m really excited. I had the biggest smile on my face while listening to this song for the first time. “ay!” […]

Parquet Courts at The Pageant, St. Louis

Arriving at The Pageant in St. Louis, anticipation was in the air for a night of alt rock revelry. The show started with rock band Mdou Moctar, who played an awesome version of American rock with the added influences of their home country, Niger. Classic rock guitar riffs and face-melting solos made up a large […]

Avril Lavigne returns with ‘Love Sux’ album

It’s time for the world to witness the return of Avril Lavigne! Getting her start in 2002 with the album Let Go, this pop punk princess exploded on Billboard charts (almost overnight) with the song “Complicated”, with the subsequent single “Sk8er Boi” becoming a pop punk staple soon thereafter. Thus, the album Let Go is […]