​Call it futurepop, EBM, darkwave, whatever you want — but alternative electronic icons VNV Nation have long struck a chord in Florida, where a predilection for synth-pop is long-standing. The group’s frontman and leader, Ronan Harris, is based in Germany, while his musical partner, Mark Jackson, usually resides in France…

For years, Oski Gonzalez — alternately known as DJ Oski or just Oski — has been hosting all-local multiband festivals in Miami, usually at Tobacco Road. Now, with his partner in Qool Productions, a promoter friend who prefers to go by “Queen of the Scene,” he’s expanding. Recent months have…

How can one man inspire so many different emotions over the years? In the ’80s heyday of Bret Michaels’ band Poison, he was the ultimate hair-band object of devotion, the kind of guy who would seemingly drink all your whiskey and leave but at least write a song about it…

As an alumnus of the late-’90s, early Warped Tour-type scene, Authority Zero is one of the few acts of its ilk not only surviving but thriving on the underground circuit. The group has long specialized in fast, no-frills skate punk blended with reggae and a little ska. It’s nowhere near…

Singer/songwriter Paleface is often credited as one of the founders of the so-called “freak-folk” movement, a pioneer who influenced later fellow New York artists like Kimya Dawson and company. In fact, he even counted Beck as an early roommate and like-minded musician — and like his buddy, he enjoyed a…

Through his Dangerfun brand, Miami-based promoter Ian Michael boasts some of the most unusual events in the tricounty area.While some are straightforward rock and roll shows, most are so much more. The typical Dangerfun Sideshow evening of entertainment may involve bands sharing the stage with contortionists and burlesque dancers, with…

We like the promotional matchup behind a show at the Funky Buddha in Boca on Saturday, February 18. The evening, dubbed the “Boca Shindig,” is a group collaboration between South Florida Music Obsessed, Jolt Radio, and Brotherly Love Productions. If you don’t know, they are, respectively: a new, high-energy blog…

You’ve got to hand it to rapidly rising Cleveland-born rapper Machine Gun Kelly. Despite the wads of industry hype he’s building his buzz the classic way, by dropping mixtapes and hitting the road hard. Luckily, his live performances seem to measure up to the ticket price — his recent performance…

Canadian heartthrob Drake has risen to the top of the commercial hip-hop heap by breaking nearly all of its macho rules. As they go, rappers don’t sing. Singing is soft! And they can’t come from a clean background. Yet, for this former teen soap star, with his buttery-smooth croon and…

With his penchant for a sort of watery, pastel visual imagery and the vaguely tropical-sounding name, it would be easy to file Sumsun away under the rapidly fading chillwave genre. Still, the artist born Judson Rogers has, as his output has increased, proved a penchant for a much wider spectrum…

The country is currently awash in Americana fever, with any number of rock radio favorites dabbling in the sounds of yore. It’s part of a search for authenticity when so much pop radio is heavily synthesized, and partially a need for the warm fuzzy blanket of an imagined yesteryear. Cute…

If you’re not already initiated into sneakerhead culture, don’t get too worked up about it. Yes, the sneakers fetch exorbitant prices. No, they aren’t always worn. And all that talk about uppers! Soles! Colorways! (This is something characteristic of collectors’ vinyl toys too — why aren’t they just plain-old “colors”…

ToolWith YobBankAtlantic Center, SunriseMonday, February 6Better than: Many bands who waste more stage time on useless chatter than actual music. About 20 minutes — or three songs — into last night’s headlining Tool show at BankAtlantic Center, frontman Maynard James Keenan finally spoke. “Some of the songs we’re playing tonight…

Wednesday hails the return of Proper Dosage, the regular bass-music weekly at Respectable Street in downtown West Palm Beach. (We’re almost sure it’s pretty much the only low-end-heavy party on that strip, in fact.) Besides appearances from regulars like Somejerk and the Reazin, this week’s edition also features a slot…