It had been a hectic couple of days at the LMF offices aka my desk. I’ve been busy listening to the many, many submissions that have been pouring in and scheduling the summer season of LMF. It’s going to be a great summer of local, original music from all kinds of music from folk to rock to blues. This past Friday we welcomed back Longfellow Street or The Longfellow Street Music Collective for long. They came on to promote their new album, Longfellow St., which was released Saturday. They had a CD release show that night at The Hampton Taphouse which was also their farewell show. Mallory and Trey are moving down to New Orleans via the US Navy but I’m pretty sure their start a new incarnation of Longfellow. Click this link to keep up-to-date with all things Longfellow St.
Our Live Music Friday featured artist this week is the muti-talented and award winning, The Fuzz Band. They are releasing their first EP in 5 years and will be playing at the UMOJA Festival in Portsmouth Saturday night. They also were the big winners at the 2013 VEER Local Music Awards, picking up Best Live Performer, Best R&B and Best Open Mic Night for their Fuzzy Wednesdays.
Ghost Of April is having a CD release party Friday night at Smoked Out in Virginia Beach. They are releasing their new disc, Dead Philosophy, and admission is FREE. So take the $10 you would spend at the door and buy a CD. JACT, Dirty Rock and one of my personal favorites, Revery are opening the show.
That’s about it for me today. I’ll catch up with you later in the week. Get out there and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC!
The warm up I mentioned in my last post is finally here. 90 and sunny. I’ll take it…and sweat my you-know-what off during my afternoon run. We’re gearing up for another edition of Live Music Friday with the sounds of The Longfellow St. Music Collective or Longfellow St. for short. They recently won the Best Americana award at the Veer Magazine Local Music Awards and are releasing their debut album, Longfellow St. They’ll be hosting their CD Release show this Saturday at The Hampton Taphouse. I’ll mention more about that in tomorrow’s post.
Audiostrobelight has a new record out. What You’re Running From dropped this week and you can grab it at your favorite digital download hole in the wall. It’s pretty awesome and you should check out their high energy live show. They have a FREE one coming up with our friends from Pilot! at Smoked Out off of Oceana Blvd. in VB Friday, May 31. A show you should definitely check…especially since it’s FREE!
Our friends at The NorVa have recently been selected by Rolling Stone as one of the Top 20 Best Venues in the US of A. A great honor for the venue and for our area. They need your help in the Reader’s Poll for Best Venue. Just click on this link and VOTE! It’s your patriotic duty.
Now it’s time to announce the winner of the signed vinyl copy of The Last Bison’s Inheritance. I received over 200 request for the album, which is awesome! To give everyone a fair shot, I simply wrote down everyone’s name on a piece of paper, threw them in a bucket and picked a name. The name I picked is Tanner Wells from Austin, TX. Congrats Tanner and I’ll be shipping the record to you ASAP!
That’s it for me and I’ll catch up with you tomorrow for Live Music Friday! SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC!
As I was heading out of the door this morning to head into work, I had to throw on a fleece because it was a tad chilly at 3:00am. I thought this was May 14, two weeks away from Memorial Day, and I have to break out the long sleeves?! I hear from Mr. Wheeler that the weather will turn around and heat up and if it doesn’t, I have a couple of great local rock bands that will turn it up.
One of my favorites bands, Revery, are filling out the calender with a slew of shows. They will be supporting Ghost Of April’s CD release party Friday, May 24 at Smoked Out and then will head up 64 to Richmond with Seven Ten Oil to support Like A Storm’s return to Virginia. They also have a big headlining show at the Jewish Mother Hilltop Saturday, June 29th. Seven Ten Oil and Corbin Dallas will support and they promise a handful of surprises. If I had to take a guess, I bet one of the surprises will be some new tunes they have been working on. They are about to head into the studio to record the followup to their super awesome debut, Avarice & Absolution. I have a feeling this will be an epic record. They will be adding some more dates throughout the summer, so make sure you click the this link to keep up to date with Revery.
The Longfellow Street Music Collective will be releasing their new record, Longfellow St., this weekend. It is a little bittersweet as they are hosting a CD release/going away show this coming Saturday. Trey and Mallory are moving to New Orleans, so this will be their farewell Hampton Roads performance….or let’s say their last one here for a while. They will also be our Live Music Friday featured artist this week, so make sure you tune in. I’ll have more on their release show in Friday’s post.
The uber great Fuzz Band is gearing up to release their first EP in five years and they need to your vote in the Afro Punk Competition. Click the link to help them out.
That about wraps it up for me today. For those who have emailed me about the signed copy of The Last Bison’s Inheritance, I will be announcing the winner Thursday. Until then, get out and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC!
The weekend is here and I hope you are preparing to give your mother and/or the mother of your children the greatest Mother’s Day ever. I can’t think of a better gift to Mom than the gift of great local music. Open Mom’s horizon and get her out of the Dan Folgerberg collection and get her into some Logan Vath, Gina Dalmas, United Souls, The Aragona Project, JACT, Revery, Jackie Scott and The Last Bison. Mom will thank you for it. Speaking of The Last Bison, they stopped by the studio last week for a special web exclusive performance. I had so many great responses and feedback from it that I decided to air it on The Hampton Roads Show as our Live Music Friday segment. They made their worldwide television debut on THRS back in December of 2011 and soon after they took off on a national rocketship. A few months later they played a showcase at the Universal Records office in NY in front of the big wigs. This was their moment and as they were about to play, the power went out. Most bands were have just had their dreams shattered as they would see a powerless room a dilemma but not this band from Chesapeake. They simply played to candlelight and were offered a deal. Sent off to LA to record their first album with famed producer Kevin Augunas at his vintage ladened Fairfax Recording studio (check out the film Sound City), the band re-polished some favorites from Quill and christened some new tunes. They then hit the road with fellow local Kishi Bashi, who first heard the group from that December 2011 appearance, and gained new fans everywhere they went. In October, they released Inheritance The EP..a little appetizer of what was to come and in March, Inheritance The LP was born. The group was actually on the road when it was released and their first local show since the release will be Sunday, May 19 at the Norfolk Botanical Garden as part of the Virginia Arts Festival. This is sure be a one-of-kind, outdoor performance that shouldn’t be missed. Tickets are still available and going fast, so click this link to get yours. If you missed the show today or haven’t since their performance yet, here you go:
The band also singed a vinyl copy of Inheritance that I’m giving away. If you want it, just shoot me an email at kyle.bloom@wavy.com and tell me you want it. I will randomly select a name next week and send him or her this signed gem.
The weekend has, once again, quickly wrapped up and it’s back to another week of work. I hope your blustery weekend was filled with plenty of live, local music. I was in Hampton Saturday afternoon for the 6th Annual Virginia Reggae Awards, which celebrated the great original reggae bands throughout the commonwealth of Virginia. A lot of great music filled the air at Mills Point Park including LMF’s RastaMiles and United Soul. In between songs, awards were given out to Best Artist, New Artist, Promoter, Sound, Producer, Song, Album and Media. I’m honored to say that I was announced as the winner of The Media Award. It is a great thrill to be recognized and thank you to everyone that voted for me. It is a true honor.
Audiostrobelight is set to release their new album, What You’re Running From, May 14 and they gave their fans a sneak peak Saturday night at their CD release show at The NorVa. A packed house also heard the sounds from To The Floor, Secret Mark, The Eleventh Hour, Rosedale, and LMF’s Your Favorite Coastline. Fans of YFC recently learned that this show was the last one for lead vocalist and guitarist Nate Weis. Not sure the reasons why but we wish nothing but the best for both Nate and Your Favorite Coastline.
Speaking of band departures, we’ve learned of another one this weekend. Ashley Phillips of One Among Us announced that she was leaving the band. Anyone who has ever seen them perform live knows she is the ultimate singer and performer. She is also a big support of the blog and I wish all the best for her and for One Among Us.
If you missed our exclusive web performance with The Last Bison, you can check it out here and if you want to see it on the tele, well, you’re in luck. We will be showing their performance this Friday on The Hampton Roads Show and I’ll give away a signed vinyl copy of their album, Inheritance. Details will be in the blog Friday!
Take care and I’ll catch up with you later this week! SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC!
Today’s Carpenters inspired title is appropriate for today considering the rains pouring down from the skies. I hope everyone got to soak in the lovely weather this weekend by listening to the plethora of local talent playing at a variety of outdoor festivals. The neighborhood of East Beach held it’s annual Art, Music and Wine Fest. Nate Sacks & Reckless Passengers and Seth Stainback entertained the crowd Saturday and teen guitar wiz Grant Austin Taylor played Sunday. On the other side of Norfolk, the Colonial Place hood had their Lafayette RiverFest with our good friends Longfellow Street, Skye Zentz and Gina Dalmas playing to the crowd. Longfellow Street is about to release their debut album and will be kicking off the release Friday, May 17 as our Live Music Friday featured artist. Gina Dalmas and the boys are currently recording the follow up to Yee Haw Etc and is slated to be released this summer.
Over The Ocean played a set at Jewish Mother Backstage with Long Division and TVLS. Their fantastic new album, Be Given To The Soil, has been available for the last month only on vinyl but for the ones without a turntable, the record goes digital tomorrow. So make sure you hit up Amazon.com or iTunes and upload it. Your iPod will thank you for it. They recently performed Riverbed and In This Darkness on the show and in case you missed it the first time, here it is:
As I mentioned last week, I’m super excited to announce the The Last Bison will be in studio this Thursday for an exclusive web performance. The band will just wrapped up the first leg of their Inheritance tour and is back home for a brief time before the hit the road again this summer for a slew of festival dates. Before they head out in their Zebra painted van, they will be performing Sunday, May 19 at the Norfolk Botanical Garden as part of the Virginia Arts Festival. Tickets are still available but going fast so get yours here. Their special web performance will be available on WAVY.com, TheHamptonRoadsShow.com, Fox43tv.com and right here on the LMF blog around 12p.
That’s all for me today. Stay dry and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC!
Happy Friday everybody! A relatively less hectic one than last week, which is always good when you’re in the news business. Jazz trio The Blue Mile was our Live Music Friday featured artist today. They are set to release their debut full length album next month and will be performing next Tuesday at the Terrace at the Founders Inn and next Friday at Fresh Tapas and Tonics in Virginia Beach. If you missed their performance on the show, as always, I have you covered:
A little news happened this past week that pretty much not only shocked me but to pretty much everyone else. James Steele was let go as Program Director at 96X. If you’re a local musician or a supporter of local music, you know that James was an integral part of of getting the locals on the airwaves and in the rotation along side with the major national players. He was the one who gave the green light for fantastic Local Music Show (Sunday at 11p) and undoubtedly a major force in getting The Last Bison to the national stage. We wish James nothing but the best in the future and thank him for what he has done for local music. Thanks James.
Speaking of The Last Bison, I’m very pleased to announce that they will be stopping by for an exclusive web performance next Thursday, May 2. They just wrapped up the first leg of their Inheritance tour and will be performing their first hometown show since the release of Inheritance Sunday, May 19 at the Norfolk Botanical Garden as part of the Virginia Arts Festival. You can catch their exclusive web performance here on the LMF blog, WAVY.com and TheHamptonRoadsShow.com Thursday, May 2 at 12p.
That’s all for me today. Have an awesome weekend and get out there and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC
Monday is here and I hope everyone had a nice and relaxing weekend especially after the big news of last week. Friday’s national coverage of the search for the suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing resulted in The Hampton Roads Show not airing. That also meant that Live Music Friday wasn’t on the tele but that doesn’t mean you have to be left in the dark. The super talented Lake Stovall was our featured artist and you may remember him from Ariane’s I am Hampton Roads segment. Ariane spotted him dancing at a concert and wanted to do a profile on him. During that shoot is when she discovered his singing ability. Lake is a student at ODU and currently plays throughout different events on campus. On the show he performed two original songs, Treasure Map and Better Man, and since you didn’t get to see on TV, here it is:
The folks over at Seven Cities Music are joining forces with The Iguana to put on a Night of Rising Stars. A couple of LMFers, Skye Zentz & The Gents and DJP and MrT will be onstage along with Atumpan – The Talking Drums for a night of fantastic music. Stay late for the Full Moon Vertigo featuring WODU’s Positron, DJ Wooj, and DJ Chynna providing the soundtrack of the evening with a little hip-hop. All this happens at The Iguana (Hampton Blvd & 37th St – Norfolk) Thursday Night. Click here for more info and speaking of The Iguana, our good friend Cassie Lord is their new booking manager. She’s always looking for great, local and original talent, so give her a buzz.
That’s all for me today. Have an awesome day and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC
It’s Thursday and the week is wrapping up and what a week it has been. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims in the Boston Marathon bombing and in West, TX from the fertilizer plant explosion. I’ll talk a little bit about that at the end of this post. Today is the 108th day of 2013 hence the title of this blog and so far this year has brought some awesome new music to the local scene and there is still 257 days remaining for some more.
Our friends in Pilot! are gearing up to release their new EP, Dear Creature, and for a limited time they are streaming it for your streaming pleasure for FREE. Six bombastic and axe-licking tunes that you just want to play over and over again. They have one of the best rock sounds I’ve ever heard and they are bound to blow up soon. Take a listen by clicking this link and make sure you check out their live show..and bring ear plugs because they are loud..like, one louder loud.
Our favorite cause singer Bekah Eden has released her music video for her song, In Between. Bekah is a talented singer-songwriter who performed the song on the show back in November. You can also catch her every Tuesday night at the Starbucks on Shore Drive, where she takes part in their open mic night. Check out her video for In Between:
Tomorrow is Live Music Friday and our guest will be the muti-talented Lake Stovall. Lake is a freshman at ODU and was recently featured in Ariane’s I am Hampton Roads segment. Check that out here and check him out on the show tomorrow.
As I said earlier, our thoughts are with the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing and those of the West, TX explosion last night. As a runner and two-time marathoner, there is nothing more sacred than the finish line. A flood of emotion pours through you as you see that line and think back to the grueling months of training and pounding the pavement for 26.2 miles. The families waiting and cheering you on also go through that emotional ride and they are ones you have supported you. To take that moment away from a horrific and senseless act from a coward is just shattering but no matter how much you try to knock us down, we will always get up. You can never take away the perseverance of a marathoner.
I guess it’s time to break out the bubbly, cut the cake, scoop out the ice cream and light a candle because we’re celebrating a birthday today. This little blog, Live Music Friday: The Blog, is one year old today. Time really has flown by and I didn’t really think about it until The Local Music Show celebrated their first birthday — Happy Birthday! Both of us started the same week and I had to look back to the archives to see when the first one was published. April 16, 2012 was the birth of Live Music Friday: The Blog and the initial goal was to just have an after show post about that week’s Live Music Friday but that lasted all of one day. I’ve covered concerts, festivals, reviewed records and introduced you to some fantastic artists. 142 post later and I think I’ve done an okay job.
Not only have I covered some great music but I’ve met some awesome people and made some lifelong friends. People that share my same passion and enthusiasm for local music and music in generally. Too many to thank individual but if I met you this past year, you are one of them.
I’m going to keep the celebration short but I just wanted to give a nod to the date and raise a glass and cheers to another year of covering this wonderful music scene. Cheers….and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC
May 21st, 2013 at 2:12 pm by Kyle Bloom under THRS Live Music
It had been a hectic couple of days at the LMF offices aka my desk. I’ve been busy listening to the many, many submissions that have been pouring in and scheduling the summer season of LMF. It’s going to be a great summer of local, original music from all kinds of music from folk to rock to blues. This past Friday we welcomed back Longfellow Street or The Longfellow Street Music Collective for long. They came on to promote their new album, Longfellow St., which was released Saturday. They had a CD release show that night at The Hampton Taphouse which was also their farewell show. Mallory and Trey are moving down to New Orleans via the US Navy but I’m pretty sure their start a new incarnation of Longfellow. Click this link to keep up-to-date with all things Longfellow St. 