Durand Jones and the Indications have built a following on modern soul that feels warm, textured, and deeply rooted in classic R&B traditions. Formed in Bloomington, Indiana, the band leans into rich harmonies, tight rhythm sections, and songwriting that balances vulnerability with groove.
Metalachi takes the pumping, undeniable, brass-winded sounds and haunted soul of Mariachi and combines forces with metal songs. Out of Los Angeles, and composed of classically trained musicians, this isn't a schlock shop enterprise.
Celebrated by the BBC as one of the city's top 8 literary destinations, The Urbane Arts Club is more than just a venue-it's a vibrant hub for culture and creativity. Through an eclectic mix of literary launches, musical showcases, and theatrical performances, it fosters an environment rich in conversation and artistic expression.
It makes me feel proud, simply because of the specific time we're in right now. It definitely takes a lot of courage for kids my age to represent their culture. Anthony Benitez, an 18-year-old violin student born in the United States to Mexican immigrants, expressed how the academy provides a meaningful outlet for cultural expression amid punitive immigration enforcement affecting Latino and immigrant families across the country.
For the first time ever, Brooklyn's premier professional orchestra, the Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra, is dedicating a full program to jazz, featuring the work of the late Charlie Parker, "Charlie Parker with Strings," on Feb. 13 at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn Heights. It is also the first time in more than a decade that "Charlie Parker with Strings" will be heard live in New York.
San Francisco math rockers Covet announced an East Coast tour in June with LITE and Hikes, including NYC's Le Poisson Rouge on June 4. Built to Spill announced some new shows this spring and summer, with an East Coast run before they open for Bright Eyes in NYC including Asbury Park's Asbury Lanes on June 3 with Guerilla Toss and August shows in California.
"Many found the music offensive, the dancing objectionable, and the popularity of both with young people verging on a mental health crisis." So writes music historian Susan C. Cook about ragtime, the heavily syncopated ancestor of jazz that arose in the late 1800s. Like all things, ragtime's subversiveness faded over time, and, a century later, the works of Scott Joplin and other practitioners had been relegated to carnivals and fairs, their jaunty piano melodies now evoking quaint notions of old-timey fun.
A trumpeter and composer of rare intuition and inspiration, Blanchard will perform Feb. 20 in Miami as part of the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts' acclaimed Jazz Roots series, returning to his iconic Malcolm X Jazz Suite with his band, The E-Collective, and two-time Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet. Created after he wrote the score for the 1992 Spike Lee biopic "Malcolm X," Blanchard has over the years updated and expanded the suite, performed here as part of the ongoing centennial celebration of the slain civil rights icon. Visit ArshtCenter.org.
I moved to Chicago in September 2024, the year I released The Past Is Still Alive and hit the road with a new band - a group of musicians recommended by my front of house/production manager, Johnny Wilson. Everyone had ties to the city, and had been playing together in the DIY scene for over a decade. Since then, we've traveled the world together, becoming family, playing the best shows of my life.
The 2026 edition of NYC Winter Jazzfest wrapped up on Tuesday (1/12) with a special reimagining of Miles Davis' classic 1970 album Bitches Brew at Le Poisson Rouge, to celebrate Davis' centennial year. The evening, which was also dedicated to the late Bob Weir, began with a discussion of the album between Adam O'Farrill and Lenny White, who drummed on the original recording at age 19. He mentioned how Davis liked to cook, and directed White to be the "salt."
January is the month where music is moving underneath the surface, feeling out the venues, plotting and planning for those great days under the sun, at a festival. If you are a globe-trotting DJ or band, January is the month you're finishing up those FaceTime calls with managers and bookers, and plotting out which month you'll be on the road playing the Empty Bottle in Chicago, the Iron Horse in Northampton, MA, or the Continental Club in Austin, TX.
The duo had originally confirmed their sophomore album Top of the Hills back in December 2025, but soon after, they announced that they had shelved the album due to exhaustion from touring. Now, Top of the Hills has been remade as FREE SPIRITS, and they've introduced a dramatic new narrative along with it; according to a press release, the duo underwent a 12-step healing program at a wellness center run by Sting, who they've enlisted as a collaborator and "wellness mentor."
Musician and visual artist Dan Reeder is one of the longest signees to Oh Boy Records (which John Prine signed him to), and more recently artists like boygenius (who covered his song "Stay Down, Man"), Jeff Tweedy and Wilco, and Joshua Ray Walker have revealed themselves as fans; he also performed during the first ever Newport Folk Festival edition of Jack Antonoff's Ally Coalition Talent Show last year, where he was joined onstage by Waxahatchee, Weyes Blood, and Bleachers.
