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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Rock on the River 2021: two terrific days in Timmins, CAN

Welcome to a small town rock festival in the far-off north! It’s a place where friendly, happy-go-lucky organizers are as serious about good music as they are about making sure there’s enough cold beer to go around. And, it was a bigger than big rock lineup — we’re talking nationally acclaimed artists — The Arkells, […]

Boy Harsher & friends pack Empire Garage for Levitation Fest

Empire Control Room & Garage was absolutely packed Thursday for Day Two of Austin’s annual psych rock fest, Levitation. The five-day experience prides itself in showcasing some of the coolest and most unique shows anywhere in America. This night, Empire would be hosting some rising artists, such as Nation of Language and Rosegarden Funeral Party, […]

A chat with The Collection at Shaky Knees Fest

The Collection is an amazing seven-piece band hailing from Saxapahaw, North Carolina. Their wild live shows and upbeat blend of pop rock have earned them a 2019 NPR Tiny Desk judges pick, as well as a recent opening spot with Larkin Poe. Their latest single, “Get Lost”, was released a few weeks ago and they […]

The full Shaky Knees Fest 2021 experience

Shaky Knees is Atlanta’s premiere alt and indie rock music festival and Friday would mark its triumphant return to the Peach State after a 2020 absence. Located in the heart of downtown in Central Park, the festival would be a sight for sore eyes for many hungry music fans excited to return to live music. […]

Eclectic Soundtrax Podcast, Ep. 60: The Dodies

Air date: Tuesday, November 2, 2021 Top Shelf Music is proud to present Episode 60 of Eclectic Soundtrax, hosted by Skunk Manhattan and Victor Ramos! On today’s podcast, Manhattan and Ramos chats with The Dodies, a two-piece garage rock duo from the southern desert of Israel. Yoni Avittan fronts the band as lead vocalist and […]

IDLES & Gustaf destroy Atlanta

Friday, October 22nd was one of those days that absolutely drained me. I left Nashville around 8 o’clock in the morning to drive four and a half hours to the Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta. It would be an understatement to say that, by the end of the evening, I was completely exhausted. Anyone who […]

A night with Badflower at San Diego’s Observatory North Park

Badflower played a rare San Diego show at the North Park Observatory on October 17th! They don’t play in San Diego that often, so it was a pretty special show, with support from Dead Poet Society and Teenage Wrist. Dead Poet Society has a really unique sound that I really dig! They mostly played songs […]

Jimmy Eat World & Taking Back Sunday rock Paso Robles

Jimmy Eat World and Taking Back Sunday brought their double-headlining tour to Vina Robles Amphitheater in Paso Robles on October 19th, with special guests The Beaches. First up was The Beaches, an all-female Canadian rock band. I haven’t heard of this band, so it was cool to see someone new. I was most excited for […]

311, Iration & Iya Terra absolutely stun Irvine

On October 15th, 311’s Live From The Ride Tour made its Orange County stop at FivePoint Amphitheatre in Irvine. They were joined by tour support bands Iration and Iya Terra.  Iya Terra started the night out strong, hitting the ground running.  Even with some minor technical difficulties, they still put on an amazing set. Next up […]