Last year, when we talked to the president of the Broward Folk Club, Arlene Boumel, she insisted that South Florida has a very vibrant folk community. And it’s true. Though appropriate venues may seem less than abundant, it’s likely that you or your parents have catgut a folk act playing…
On the surface, it may have seemed like garage-rocking punk troupe Bonnie Riot was out of commission last year. But judging by the feisty, full-throttle brashness of the Lake Worth four-piece’s newest release, Backbone, it looks as if it just diverted all its energy into crafting a perfectly raucous follow-up…
It’s hard to believe that 50 years ago, in 1965, African-Americans were fighting for their rights. It’s even harder to believe today in 2015, that while a lot has changed, racism and the racial divide continue to permeate much of American society. That however, is the subject for another day…
Old school fans of the local music scene, circa the late ’90s and early ’00s, will have no trouble remembering the wispy alt rock yelps of Sunday Driver and its frontman Alex Martinez. Navigating a similar hardcore/emo terrain of groups like New Found Glory and the Vacant Andys, Sunday Driver…
Since 1971, John Prine’s been blending, or, rather, muddling the lines between country and folk music. Sure, there might be a stylistic plane on which they might both exist, but no one has done it with more eloquence and chutzpah than Prine. A native of Illinois, the singer/songwriter’s giddy-up to…
There’s good food, good bars, and full-band karaoke that makes a night in downtown Hollywood a great time. There’s also weird all over that city, most especially all around Young Circle. But is there anything really, really interesting? Cheap Miami, with the help of DJ Woozles (AKA Frankie Guzman of…
About two years ago, singer/songwriter Melissa Sandoval was on the brink of a record deal in New Jersey when the offer went sour due to circumstances out of her control. But what seemed like a big disappointment at the time actually became the spark she needed to produce her own…
Lettuce’s show last night at Revolution Live was a tour de force or, more accurately, a tour de funk. Band members are masters of their craft, presenting a sonic tightness and denseness that reached near magical levels. Lettuce kept the crowd rapt on a long, funky ride the entire night…
The Seminole Tribe of Florida is celebrating the 119th anniversary of its Big Cypress Seminole Reservation this weekend. The party will be wild with the expected alligator wrestling but also with a proper country-music hoedown. The Seminoles tapped country music stars Gary Allan and Montgomery Gentry to close out the…
Lovers of indie and world cinema take note, the Donald M. Ephraim Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival returns this month screening 31 film premieres — from shorts to features to documentaries. The fest is showing at five different venues countywide, with 71 screenings scheduled in total, it’s trying to maximize…
Last summer, one of the most risqué fashionistas in pop music, Elton John, told Sky News that if Jesus Christ were around today, he’d be down with gay marriage. “He was all about love and compassion… and that’s what the church should be about,” John reflected on J.C. And all…
Florida is big and populous, and it’s becoming one of the nation’s most popular places for musical gatherings of all sizes and descriptions. One reason we have easy access to huge concerts year-round is the warm weather. We don’t have to wait for the summer months to enjoy live tunes…
Inside Stache, the sign-less speakeasy in downtown Fort Lauderdale, it’s dimly lit and ornately decorated with parlor-style seating. In the main room, a wall is handily stacked to the ceiling with libations. The classy venue hosted a special fundraising event for a homeless advocacy nonprofit that’s been in the news…
There are two distinct types of heavy-metal fans that have developed over the past decade. There are those who continue to ask, “What’s next?” And then there are those who live in a leather-clad past with a vehement disdain for all that threatens to sully the genre by straying too…
Last week, when I wrote about the upcoming Gregg Allman concert, I caught hell from his fans for stating that some have laid claim that Allman coined the term “Southern rock.” Commenters said to do some research. After all, everyone knew Gregg Allman hated that term being thrown around to…
When you ask people who work in comedy or the arts what compels them to do so, they almost always answer with: “for the love of it.” Why else would you slog along in near-poverty, spending every spare cent on equipment or supplies, or drive absurd distances to perform at…
For more than half of a century, the Beach Boys have been harmonizing about good feelings, surfing, women, boats, and whatever else exemplifies Florida living. Never mind that they are the quintessential California band. With those kind of lyrics, any waterfront abode will do. And if you’re not seaside when…
The Grateful Dead has its Deadheads and Jimmy Buffet boasts Parrotheads. There’s little distinction between the fans and fanatics once the crowd has its own name, both will follow the musicians to the ends of the earth. Donna the Buffalo can consider itself among the fortunate beneficiaries of that kind…
Saturday night at Propaganda in Lake Worth, rapper Jabrjaw threw one “hell” of a party complete with satanic imagery projected behind the stage and a slew of hip-hop and electronic-tinged experimental acts associated with the former music collective Black Locust Society. He also premiered his new project with the Astrea…
The future is so close; at least the future Marty McFly time-traveled to with his flying DeLorean in Back to the Future 2. Yes, 2015 was the setting of the far-off future in the 1989 sequel that seemed so far away that Zemeckis imagined we’d have skateboards that defy gravity,…
With all this holiday time spent praising Jesus, why not take a break from the holy and indulge in the devilish this weekend? Relax, County Grind hasn’t gone all Satanic on you, we’re just suggesting you check out the witch house-infused project of local emcee Jabrjaw and experimental beatsmith Mike…
Each year, KISS Country 99.9 FM brings out the country in Broward County with its wild and weird Chili Cook-off. Not that that’s a terribly difficult feat; BroCo loves its cowboy boots and 10-gallon hats more than even its flip-flops and snapbacks. It is the most Southeast bastion of twang…
