The buzz has officially kicked in. The Head and The Heart – a band that self-released their debut album and broke big while opening for a series of Vampire Weekend dates – packed their third show at the SXSW festival with fans eager to clap along to the Seattle quintet’s unique mixture of harmony-driven, indie…
This year marks graphic designer and poster artist Pete Cardoso’s sixth time showcasing his Ghost-Town Design work at Flatstock, and when I ran into him he was celebrating, not a run in with a musician, but with another kind of rock star. “I was at The Sounds’ show with my girlfriend last night and we…
“Do you know why you’re here?” asked Emmylou Harris after strumming out the first song from her hour-long set at the IFC Crossroads House yesterday afternoon. “We’re playing pretty much all of the new record before it comes out.” How lucky can you get? Harris – songwriter, coveted vocalist, legend – took the stage with…
Eight years ago Rob Jones first went out on a limb and sent some unsolicited posters he made for The White Stripes to a venue they were playing in France. The band’s manager called Jones to chew him out for using band’s name on a print without express permission to do so. And then he…
One thing you can’t take away from Young The Giant, is their commitment to the sport of rock. During a spirited set from their self-titled debut album at the IFC Crossroads House yesterday afternoon, the quintet danced their pants off while delivering their raucous indie rock, deftly maneuvering around guitar wires and each other, to…
Gary Clark, Jr. is a soul man. He’s a blues man. He’s a rock and roll man. Gary Clark Jr. is the real deal. When I happened upon his set, waiting to see the much-hyped Theophilus London at the Habana Bar Backyard, Clark Jr. was mid-wild jam with an electric three piece backing band that…
When you’re in the same room as Portugal. The Man, you notice the climate. You sense the Alaskan landscape from which the band hails. You smell the rain of Portland Oregon, where the group now resides, and where they recorded their latest LP, “American Ghetto” in 2010. And you feel warm for them in their…
Walking through the convention center or the streets of Austin this week, it’s hard to ignore the tape-spackled, staple-ridden posters, sounding their visual siren calls, trying to reel you in amidst the crowds and visual noise. As the world goes digital it’s interesting to note how much tangible objects stand out. You can’t hand someone…
Nicole Atkins has just had her heart broken, but you would never know it. Her waters turned from clear to dark, only recently. Formerly releasing solo records as “Nicole Atkins and the Sea,” Atkins’ the latest incarnation of her solo act was born during a year in which she has her heart broken, her record…
At first glance, you would expect Joy Williams and John Paul White to be a source of stone cold severity. There doesn’t seem to be room for play in a duo that names themselves The Civil Wars — she, dressed in all black, lace up to her collarbone; he, in a staid gray suit, cinched…
Hello friends of IFC! I am Stacey Brook, music journalist, culture lover, rock poster addict, and overly-caffeinated festivalgoer. The inimitable Brandon Kim was unfortunately unable to make it out to Austin for SXSW this year, thus I have been entrusted with the honor of reporting to you from this fair desert city, where the taco…
