Features / Music

Providing a welcome alternative to not only the blast of insanity that South by Southwest brings but also the increasingly-crowded shitstorm that is the Austin City Limits Festival, Austin, Texas’ Psych Fest was founded by members of the rock group The Black Angels in 2008, bouncing around between locations in … Read more

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears Image The Gaslight Anthem Of Montreal Perry Farrell LA Riots Gang Gang Dance Lou Reed The Chicago streets outside Grant Park 2009's Lollapalooza kicked off Friday, August 7th in downtown Chicago's rain-soaked Grant Park. Festivalgoers included the predictable assortment of Chicago hipsters, glass-eyed stoners, … Read more

It’s been three very long years since SPB hit The Fest. Well, it all changes this year – we’re also getting our first taste of Pre-Fest, already in its fifth iteration. With a lineup of something like a million of our favorite bands (Iron Chic, Hot Water Music, Toys That … Read more

The Fest is a fascinating piece of DIY culture. Not only has it grown into a mega-event of 400+ bands, comedians, wrestlers, and other forms of entertainment, but it’s continued year after year for 17 years. Keep in mind that few bands last more than a couple years, and that … Read more

Beginning in 1997 and becoming a staple of James Madison University and the surrounding community, MACRoCk is back after a year on hiatus. Having served as a stage for acts such as Fugazi, Converge, Sufjan Stevens, and countless other bands, MACRoCk has always served as a means of exposure for … Read more

Leatherface never achieved the success they deserved. In the late '80s and early '90s, the UK punk band created a sound - marked by gravely vocals, killer riffs, and an underlining pop sensibility - that earned them a cult following in Britain. While the band never broke North America, they … Read more

I’ve been going to punk shows for well over a decade. That statement may seem like bragging, but it’s not. Most people in my day to day life think going to punk shows is dumb. I can understand why. At a punk show there is a good chance you’ll be … Read more

13 Jan – 18 Jan, 2016 MONA, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia In 2011, I visited Tasmania for the first time. In many ways it was still uncharted territory and one of the few things I knew about the place was that Hobart was the late Joachim “Blacky” Fuchsberger’s adopted home. While … Read more

Hobart, Tasmania January, 18-22, 2017 We no longer engage, sing nor dance. We do not know how to anymore. Instead, we watch other glorified people sing and dance on stages, preferably through the lenses and screens of mobile devices, reducing it to a purely passive, receptive pleasure and ourselves to … Read more

19-21 January 2018 Hobart, Tasmania – Australia Nine is fabled to be the number of completion and fulfillment. After nine incarnations in Hobart and not only adding spark but providing much needed fire to the local summer season, the 2018 incarnation was a bifurcated affair with the first half of … Read more

It's strange that, while numerous memories have vanished from my mind over the years, I can still remember where I was when I learned of the death of Kurt Cobain: in a school bus, rounding the loop outside an elementary school in south-central Pennsylvania. Probably the strangest thing about remembering … Read more

PART I: Beginner's Blues In the beginning... There was silence. For the first seven years of my existence, silence. Then one day, a strange thing happened. I began to notice sounds coming up through the furnace vent into my bedroom. Using my powers of deduction that Frank and Joe Hardy … Read more

PART II: I Was A Teenage Headbanger When I bought Number of the Beast, I immediately knew it would make an excellent addition to my collection. Why? Cuz the cover was so friggin cool, that's why. You see, Eddie ruled over the Devil, and the Devil ruled over the people. … Read more

PART III: Seminal Moments In History Dec. 6, 1986 While at an autograph signing from Cinderella, who were in town opening for David Lee Roth, I tell singer Tom Keifer how awesome he is. He says nothing. Dec. 19, 1986 Waiting for Metallica at their bus, bump into Duke Erikson … Read more

There’s no shortage of new music or exciting shows this fall. But two of the big ticket items include a new record by KEN mode (Null, Artoffact Records – check out new single "Throw Your Phone In The River" here) out Sept. 23, followed by the band’s set at No … Read more

Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum is a Grammy Award-winning and Juilliard-trained composer. She was born in New York City. She grew up listening to classical music “by the pound,” as well as enjoying musical theater and film music. She is greatly skilled and immensely talented. In this interview Nora talks about her creative … Read more

  There is a light that never goes out, and it has nothing to do with the Smiths. It's actually more closely affiliated with Travelodges, train stations and airport terminals. Last month, some friends and I attended most of the dates on A.F.I.'s Octoberunderground Tour with Dispute and The Explosion in … Read more

By Matt Hutchison -- A Jesuit school might not be what the general population would consider a thriving spot for underground music culture, yet that’s part of the allure of KXLU 88.9 FM. Entering the radio station’s cluttered, vinyl-stacked, and sticker-tacked fourth floor production area is like stepping into another … Read more

Can you believe that this is the tenth iteration of Only Death Is Real? Ten editions of a column featuring some of the best and most exciting extreme music of today and ten editions of a column that celebrates just how diverse the underground metal scene really is. The world … Read more

Welcome to the first Only Death Is Real of 2021. Not much has changed since the last time although perhaps there is now some light at the end of the proverbial tunnel in terms of being able to get back to some kind of normality. Perhaps you’re able to meet … Read more