Arkansas to welcome its first FORMAT Festival for Fall 2022

Looking for festivals to fill your roster this year? Have you checked out FORMAT Festival… or even heard of it?? This brand-new festival in Bentonville, Arkansas is one you will want to buy tickets to STAT! The inaugural festival will take place this September 23rd through 25th and will feature not only a stellar lineup, […]

Santana blows away St. Louis, with Earth, Wind & Fire

Seeing a living musical legend in person can be quite the surreal experience. On occasion, the shows don’t entirely live up to the hype and they tend to leave fans somewhat disappointed as they make their way back home… simply wishing and longing for the chance to see that same show, only 20 or 30 […]

Santana’s Miraculous Supernatural Tour hits Mountain View, CA

Man, it was a hot one June 21st at Mountain View’s Shoreline Amphitheatre for Santana’s Miraculous Supernatural Tour with Earth, Wind & Fire. Temperatures were reaching triple digits across the Bay Area, but that didn’t stop Santana fans from coming out early on a Tuesday night to catch Earth, Wind & Fire! At 7:15pm sharp, the […]

BeachLife Festival 2022: Day Three

Day Three of BeachLife 2022 in Redondo Beach, California encompassed the perfect blend of live music energy with the low-key vibes of a beautiful Sunday on the beach. The day kicked off with performances from ALO and The Altons. Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe and Wall of Sound helped kick the party off. Midday, there was […]

Seeing superstars Santana & Earth, Wind & Fire in San Diego

On Friday, June 17th, the mega-collaborative spirit of music again took centerstage during one of San Diego’s biggest outdoor parties of the year. The superpower performers — Earth, Wind & Fire and Carlos Santana — shared the same stage at the North Island Credit Union Amphitheater on a beautiful sunny California day. The setup is […]

Two full weeks of SXSW 2022

SXSW is known for many things… whether it’s throngs of happy music lovers, rediscovering their love of seeking the best new bands, or the pack of tech guys in networking nirvana. Or, the film geeks and geek-ettes, gawking in gritty discourse over the merits (or lack thereof) of their latest screening. For me, though, SX […]

My Forte Artist Spotlight: Bourgeois Mystics

What do you get if you combine OutKast’s The Love Below, some “Blitzkrieg Bop”, a sprinkle of funk and groove, a smattering of Bollywood and some 80s classic rock? A recipe for success? According to Austin’s Bourgeois Mystics, the answer is a resounding ‘yes’.  I first discovered the band’s outrageous excellence early in my Austin years… it was probably 2015 […]

Tower of Power brings the funk to South Lake Tahoe

R&B legends Tower of Power graced Bally’s in South Lake Tahoe on February 11th and old-school funk fans couldn’t have been more excited! This was the premiere performance with ToP for Mike Jerel (a finalist on hit TV show, The Voice). Not only that, but original band member Jody Lopez sat in on the song […]

WORLD TRACK PREMIERE: Matt Waters “Impatient”

Cincinnati-based rising singer-songwriter Matt Waters is back in action with the world premiere of his latest soulful single “Impatient”. Funk-infused and full of joie de vivre, Waters encapsulates in a song exactly what everyone wants once the sun goes down — not to wait! It’s a New Year, a new night out, a new adventure […]

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. […]

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 […]

Los Angeles set for Snoop Dogg’s Once Upon A Time 2021

Once Upon A Time in LA 2021 returns from its 2019 debut! The festival was planned to come back in 2020, yet fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic (as most did). The multigenerational jam-packed lineup for this year gives us a mix of oldies, funk and old and new-school hip hop. Hosted by Snoop Dogg, […]

Same Same But Different Fest 2021 brought the beach party

The third annual Same Same But Different Festival (SSBD) returned this September 9th through 12th in full force, representing all that is freedom and love in the hidden gem of Lake Perris, California. A beautiful, hot weekend perfectly complimented with a cool dip in Lake Perris was a combination made in heaven. Gleaming the best […]