Global news outlets are reporting that the most famous opera singer of our time has passed away. Luciano Pavarotti died at his home in Italy after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 71 years old. The king of the high C’s and longtime member of the famed Three…
Within the realm of African free jazz, there’s never been a performer with charisma and skill that could match South African trumpet player Hugh Masekela. He’s been an icon within jazz on a global level since the late 1960s, when he was releasing songs like “Grazing in the Grass” to…
Taking their cues from dub pioneers like King Tubby and Lee “Scratch” Perry, Austin-based quartet Grimy Styles seems glad to respectfully step away from anything old school and focus on ushering in a new wave of exploratory dub. Listen to the group’s freshly released LP, Rewind, and you’ll hear tracks…
There aren’t many performers alive today with catalogs more extensive in both gospel and contemporary music than Mavis Staples. The gifted singer got her start in the early 1950s as a teenager and gained acclaim as part of the legendary gospel outfit the Staple Singers. The group had strong spiritual…
Someone needs to pinch Freddy Lim. The 31-year-old Taiwanese singer thinks he’s living the ultimate heavy-metal dream. His long-time black metal band, ChthoniC, has been traipsing across the country all summer as part of Ozzfest and getting more exposure than band members ever could have imagined. They’re the first Asian…
There aren’t many names within the global house community as recognizable as Bad Boy Bill’s. As the long-time poster boy for Chicago house, Bill has been taking house music to higher and higher levels since the mid-’80s, when he used to open for the famed Hot Mix 5. While he…
It was sometime around last February that Sharon Osbourne, wife of grandfatherly rocker Ozzy Osbourne, made the shocking announcement. Ozzfest, the 11-year-old mainstay of the world of heavy-metal concerts, would be free this year. All summer long. Questions of how could they pull this off and what it meant for…
It’s an undeniable fact that certain traditionally black genres of music such as the blues and sacred steel have become embraced by jam-band audiences far and wide. Despite what some purists may think, this is irrefutably a good thing. Artists like Robert Cray, Aubrey Ghent, and the Lee Boys can…
Within the holy walls of New Orleans backline music, George Porter Jr., Russell Batiste Jr., and Brian Stoltz are easily looked at as the city’s three funky wise men. They’ve been anchoring the New Orleans sound for decades and have made just as much of a musical contribution to the…
Every few years, South Florida seems to cough up a rock band with superior pop talent that’s capable of becoming the next big thing. Although some rock fans might argue about what band currently occupies this spot, it’s undeniable that Big Bang Radio has all the makings of a local-meets-global…
Jamaican reggae group, Rootz Underground is playing their first ever show in Miami tonight at PS 14. The group has a powerful video, “Victims of the System” which has been getting a lot of love on MTV’s Caribbean station, Tempo, lately and the band is known for its positive vibes…
And you thought Bobby and Whitney were bad. Amy Winehouse and her husband, Blake Civil-Fiedler were recently photographed bloodied and bruised after a recent fight in London. It can’t help that paparazzi follow their every move and make matters worse, but the couple could certainly clean themselves up after they…
From the Big TNT show in 1965. It’s and old school medley with the full Ike and Tina Turner band moving and grooving like mad. Not sure how they managed to have such good stage chemistry considering how crazy Ike was behind the scenes, but here’s a rare video that’s…
It’s been a bluesy week so far so why not start off Tuesday with a nod to John Lee Hooker, one of the greatest blues musicians to ever live. “Hobo Blues” is easily one my favorite songs of all time, mainly for its guitar work and the sincerity in his…
Josh Smith The Poorhouse August 25, 2007 Better than:Watching Taylor Hicks perform in Boca Raton with a bunch of horny grandmothers The Review: Guitarist Josh Smith played two shows on Saturday and was running on fumes by the time I caught up with him at the Poorhouse in Fort Lauderdale…
Baby Anne Studio A August 25, 2007 Better Than: Paying $80 to watch break-beat sessions at Ultra Music Festival. The Review: Florida’s own legendary bass queen, DJ Baby Anne, headlined the Clash of the Titans electro breaks session at Studio A on Saturday August 25th along with Darling Nikki, vocalist…
There’s a big reggae concert happening on Randall’s Island in New York this weekend that even state politicians are trying to get shut down due to the homophobic lyrics of some of its artists. Typically, I would say, FORWARRDDDD!!!! And big up to anyone willing to put all of that…
Autumn To Ashes Holding a Wolf By The Ears Vagrant Note to all you would-be rock scribes. When you’re reviewing a group fronted by the band’s drummer, have your earplugs handy. Drummers tend to crank up the volume and you don’t want premature hearing loss to hamper your career. Okay,…
What do you get when you grab the Au Pairs, ´80s-era King Crimson, Mungo Jerry, and the guy who mixes the harmonies for The Scissor Sisters, stick them in a blender, and hit “frappe”? Goo. You get goo. It’s disgusting. Never try it. But! If you take those same ingredients,…
Any group that’s been together for three-plus decades is bound to go through some sonic shifts. The legendary reggae band Inner Circle isn’t exempt from these laws of music physics, as anyone who’s followed the band can attest. When its career got off the ground in the late ’60s and…
It was a hot Friday night in Fort Lauderdale and Dred Scott had hip-hop on the brain. It’d been a while since I’d found a comfortable place to enjoy beats, rhymes, and life in Broward County, and I was getting frustrated. The lull in hip-hop-related events around these parts is…
Guitarist Josh Smith isn’t a celebrity in his native Pembroke Pines, but the longer he keeps playing in Taylor Hicks’ band, the more it’s inevitable that he’ll reach stardom. The 27-year-old, down-to-Earth guitarist is on the road with last year’s “American Idol” winner. This weekend they’ll be in town for…
