Magic City Hippies bring Miami vibes to snowy Chicago

Magic City Hippies rocked the Metro in Chicago on a snowy Saturday night in January.   Loyal fans trekked through the biggest blizzard of the winter season to see the Magic City Hippies perform in what seems to be their yearly Windy City visit in the early months of winter.  Magic City Hippies are a Miami […]

New Found Glory kicks off acoustic tour in St. Louis

The first show of punk legend New Found Glory’s “Make the Most of It” Acoustic Tour kicked off at Delmar Hall in St. Louis, Missouri on January 28th. The show sold out fast, with a crowd ranging in ages from pre-teens to teenagers to people in their late thirties and early forties. St. Louis has […]

mmeadows gains new fans at Casbah in San Diego

Kristin Slipp and Cole Kamen-Green are not new to the music industry, but they’ve come together in an entirely different journey: mmeadows. Kristin (vocals, keys/key-tar) comes from big time indie legends Dirty Projectors, while Cole (instrumentalist including but not limited to: trumpet, electronic valve Instruments, and overall music engineering/production) has a history of collaborating with […]

Greensky Bluegrass rolls into New York for an unforgettable night

Bluegrass heavyweights Greensky Bluegrass rolled into the Stanley Theater in Utica, NY on Sunday January 15th for the fourth stop on their winter tour.  I was able to catch the show and starting with opener Mikaela Davis it was truly an impressive night of music.   Mikaela Davis started the night off taking the stage […]

G. Love and Donavon Frankenreiter sell out The Pageant in St. Louis

Woah…now THAT was a show!  When Philly-born funk rocker G. Love decided to mash up his signature special sauce with surf-rock maestro Donavon Frankenreiter, I’m sure even the two of them didn’t quite know what to expect. That being said, the musicians hit the road anyway and made their first stop of the Flying Embers […]

Pitbull unleashes fire on Sac Town

What a fun night at the Hard Rock Casino, located 30 minutes north of Sacramento!  At the casino, there were so many excited fans to see Pitbull. Some wore ray-ban or aviator sunglasses and others wore a cap on their head that made it look like they’re were bald, like Pitbull. The makeup and outfits […]

Old-school punk rock band X brought moshpits to Santa Ana

Few bands have withstood the test of time for more than 45 years. Fewer bands have done it with the original members the entire time. Even fewer have done this in the punk and alternative world. And arguably, of those in that diminutive list, no one has done it better than John Doe, Billy Zoom, […]

Best mainstream live performance of 2022!

2022 ushered in what many considered the first full year of music without restriction since the pandemic began. This year, the photojournalists and writers of Top Shelf Music have had the privilege of covering some pretty amazing shows! In true end of year fashion we have compiled a list of some of our favorite live […]

Thank you, Everclear, for 30 years of glorious music

The line wrapped around the building despite the cold winter weather creeping onto Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip. Eager fans chatted while huddled together, reminiscing over the last time they saw Everclear perform and holding up the toy they brought with them as Everclear partnered with Border Kindness, a 501c3 nonprofit humanitarian-aid organization, for a toy […]

Wonderfront Fest 2022: Day 3

It was day three at Wonderfront Festival and the grounds were busier early in the day, full of festival goers shopping around at any of the incredible vendor booths that were filled with one-of-a-kind art, clothing, jewelry and all the other festival accessories of your dreams. Over on the grounds on Embarcardo North, a stationary […]

Wonderfront Fest 2022: Day 2

As Wonderfronters gathered for day 2 of bliss in sunny San Diego, the festival vibe was in full affect. Cue the cute festival outfits, sun hats, selfie stations, and even a ball pit. That’s right, a ball pit! Wonderfront is a festival that you come to for the incredibly stacked lineup, but you could also […]

Whitney brings a little bit of Chicago to Milwaukee

Whitney fans have come to know the band’s unique sound and emotions that its songs evoke. Each idyllic melody is interwoven through nostalgic lyrics, inducing a deep happiness for the memories made, as well as a sadness that those moments can’t stay forever. Throughout their four albums, Chicago-based indie soul duo Whitney have mastered their […]