Rapper Wale had an unpredictable and odd 2014. The D.C. representative of Maybach Music Group punched a heckling fan while attending a WWE event in April, left Jay Z’s Roc Nation management in August in favor of 77 North — run by LeBron’s buddies — and had a one-sided “beef”…
After a successful indie band plays nine years and then breaks up, you might think members would take their earnings and leave the music scene entirely. They might travel the world, experiment with drugs, hit rock bottom, try to hook up with someone more famous to get back on the…
Music can make you feel old. Standing in the aisles of a record shop waiting for an in-store performance, you come upon used records from your youth. You scratch your head wondering if that can be right, that it has been 26 years since De La Soul’s 3 Feet High…
Author Phillip Crandall made his way into the Swap Shop last Saturday at 6 a.m. It was still dark outside and humid as he set up a table in his little rented area. Even at the crack of dawn, there was a long line of people down Sunrise Boulevard. When…
No matter that he’s been awake some 36 hours straight, Graham Drout finds himself traveling the roads of America’s Deep South, symbolically following in the footsteps of many of his blues idols. He’s working his way back from Memphis, where his band Iko-Iko ably represented the South Florida Blues Society…
“A conductor is a lot like a football coach,” explains Keith Lockhart, conductor of the Boston Pops. Football comes up a lot in the conversation, probably because his beloved New England Patriots are days away from playing in the Super Bowl but also because of what he sees as obvious…
The late, great Jacob “Killer” Miller said, “Dreadlocks can’t live in a tenement yard.” He was sick of nosy neighbors messing with his vibe. Just as the world could relate to his words then, it still can today. That’s why Inner Circle has made the song “Tenement Yard” a hit…
Musicians Pino and Taylor M. Cohen are a legitimately cool pair. Though each is separately involved in different sorts of musical endeavors, the two young women come together with other exciting musical acts to raise arts awareness in Fort Lauderdale. They’re doing these good deeds through different projects that unite…
One year ago, 16-year-old dynamo Casey McBane’s father passed away from complications related to pancreatic cancer. At 53 years old, James McBane died young, but he won’t be forgotten. His son organized a tribute show and charity event planned for this Friday, titled Stand for Your Glands. The oddly titled…
A group of college kids with a passion for jammin’ and a desire to funk — that’s how NOLA’s funkmeisters Galactic got their start in the music biz nearly two decades ago. “We were all, myself, Rob [Mercurio, bassist], Jeff [Raines, guitarist], and Stanton [Moore, drummer], in school in New…
By Erick Lappin When you go to an event and the door guy takes a Sharpie and draws a happy face on your hand because they ran out of wristbands, then you know fun is on its way. And it’s likely helped along by the free drink that comes with…
We recently interviewed interviewed Lucinda Williams, and on our call, she lamented the difficulties of her earlier days, hitting the road alone. “I talked to a girl not too long ago, a young singer-songwriter. And she was doing all that that I used to do, driving all over the place…
Regular old weeknights don’t have to be boring. House of Reggae at Delray’s Boston’s on the Beach, hosted by Kulcha Shok Muzik, makes sure of that. The label’s head DJ Lance-O is keeping things irie and bumping in Palm Beach County every Monday night. With no cover for ladies from…
If you read our article “You Think You Know T.I., But You Have No Idea” this week, you learned how dang cool T.I. is — how he’s a published author, acclaimed actor, and even how he saved two dudes from killing themselves, even Scott Stapp (thus saving Creed, but whatever)…
Fear not, greaser guys and gals. After a three-year absence, Revenge of the Tiki IV will be in full swing Saturday at Kreepy Tiki Lounge, with plenty of grub, hot rods, and a more guitar action than is proper to experience in one day. Promoter Rob Stannard and Kreepy Tiki…
Musician Keller Williams came from some humble beginnings. Before becoming a singer, he did construction work for a temp agency. However, Williams soon came to a revelation. “I realized,” he said, “I could make more money sitting on a bar stool, drinking beer, and singing.” And that’s where it all…
Not all rappers are versatile. Many speak on what they know and play it creatively safe. Or, if you’re Rick Ross, you make up a fantasy and sell that. There’s a standard formula in the game — the rise up from the streets to a subsequent lavish life in the…
Time seems suspended when you’re on a cruise, and like it’s zoomed by afterwards. Recently on the Sandy Beaches Cruise, hosted by Atlanta’s Sixthman music cruise team, a boat full of music lovers got caught up in that complex forward motion. On the Norwegian Pearl, the music ploughed ahead at…
Oh, man. We hate delivering bad news. But sometimes, there’s no way around it. We just got word that this year’s Coastline Music Festival is being canceled. The new fest that featured craft beers and food trucks received our Best Local Music Festival in 2014. But Pompano Beach Amphitheatre will…
UPDATE: The show was canceled on Monday, January 26, due to transportation issues. Merle Haggard’s path to success as a venerable living legend of country music has been marked by periods of incarceration, drug abuse, and enough marriages to fill one hand’s count. In other words, the right path for…
There’ll be a huge gathering in Pembroke Pines on Sunday. It’s not church-related, but people will line up religiously the morning of, as early as 1 a.m., to get a prime spot. This will lead them to tailgate and worship at the altar of their trunks with kegs as their…
Big Guava Music Festival is probably going to make Tampa cool. Like really cool. Last year, they brought the return of Outkast to the state and this year’s lineup is looking all kinds of stellar. And along with the music, there’ll be plenty of craft brews and “thrill rides” to…
