Category: music

Embracing Vulnerability: Maya de Vitry’s Journey in The Only Moment

Maya de Vitry’s The Only Moment will be out July 12. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Maya de Vitry’s vibrant voice seems to rise out of some necessity of bringing songs to life, embracing listeners with what Folk Alley calls a “soulful intimacy.” She grew up in a musical family in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, understanding music to be a place of gathering, a way to spend a summer night around a campfire. Maya first traveled and performed as a fiddling street musician, and then in bars, theaters, and on festival stages as a founding member of The Stray Birds (2010-2018). Since the band parted ways in 2018, Maya has been devotedly creating a powerful new body of work—one that consistently blurs genre while showcasing her delight in storytelling and her extraordinarily dynamic singing. In addition to performing and recording, Maya is a sought-after co-writer and co-creator and has been steadily and closely collaborating within her chosen musical community of Nashville, Tennessee, for nearly a decade. (IV-PR, 2024)

Her latest single, “Odds of Getting Even,” owes its inspiration to an unlikely figure in the greater Americana world: the late, great soul and funk singer, Sharon Jones. “I really wanted to do this one justice, for this song to feel as alive and exuberant as I think it wants to be – and I just honestly couldn’t find that in myself for a while. But this finally felt like the perfect band and moment in my own life for me to sing this one,” she says, having compiled her Nashville “bar band” of A-list, next-generation players for this new batch of songs. “I feel especially lucky to have my friend Phoebe Hunt singing harmony. She’s on the whole record, but on this song I just think she’s absolute magic.” 

“Odds of Getting Even” is the latest single to be released from Maya de Vitry’s upcoming self-produced album The Only Moment—out July 12. Fans can stream or purchase “Odds of Getting Even,” check out de Vitry’s previously released single, “Compass,” and pre-order The Only Moment ahead of its July 12 release. 

Courtesy photo, used with permission.

The Only Moment tracklist:

Nothing Else Matters

Compass

Odds of Getting Even

I’m Not Going Anywhere

If They Feel Like Wings

Some Rent

Burning Building

Addicted

Watching the Whole Sky Change

Ribbon

Produced by Maya de Vitry and mixed by Grammy-award-winning engineer Justin Francis (Madison Cunningham), The Only Moment is an unabashed blend of indie folk, indie rock, and indie pop, with elements of Americana and alt-country. Recorded at Phantom Studios in Gallatin, TN, the album captures the unfettered energy and occasional chaos of de Vitry’s Nashville “bar band,” featuring Anthony da Costa on electric guitar, Ethan Jodziewicz on electric bass, and Dominic Billet on drums. These three musicians played a pivotal role in nurturing de Vitry’s vision, crafting atmospheres around her songs that feel unrestricted by notions of genre.

Catch Maya de Vitry on tour:
June 21 – Tryon, NC – Summer Tracks Music Series
July 12 – Nashville, TN – Finally Friday w/ WMOT at 3rd & Lindsley
July 20 – Bethlehem, NH – Colonial Theatre (co-bill w/ Griffin William Sherry)
July 26-27 – South Hiram, ME – Ossipee Music Festival
August 31 – Erwin, TN – Sol Slam Mountain Jam
September 24 – Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe Lounge
September 25 – Cambridge, MA – Club Passim
September 26 – Portland, ME – Oxbow
September 27 – Brooklyn, NY – Owl Music Parlor
September 28 – Lancaster, PA – West Art
September 29 – Vienna, VA – Jammin’ Java
October 1 – Evanston, IL – Space
October 3 – Milwaukee, WI – Anodyne
October 4 – Madison, WI – Shitty Barn
October 5 – Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural Center (supporting Robin & Linda Williams)
November 1 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Caffe Lena
November 2 – Lincoln, VT – Burnham Presents

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From Delta to Getaway Blues: Eden Brent’s Musical Evolution

Mississippi Blues pianist Eden Brent took her award-winning sound to London for first album in nearly a decade, Getaway Blues. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Mississippi Delta native Eden Brent is a modern-day piano-pounding, juke-joint hollering powerhouse of American music. A legendary performer and southern songwriter, she spent the first two decades of her career under the tutelage of Abie “Boogaloo” Ames, before winning the Blues Foundation’s Blues Challenge and bouncing onto the international scene.

Since then she has accrued awards and accolades galore, including three Blues Music Award wins, a prestigious Mississippi Arts Commission Folk Arts Fellowship, a featured performance on NPR’s Weekend Edition, and a million streams for her classic-in-the-making original, “Better This Way.” Her new album Getaway Blues, a collaboration with her UK-born life and musical partner Bob Dowell, presents nine original songs recorded in London with a four-piece band and was released last week by Yellow Dog Records. (IV-PR, 2024)

“Well let’s make a record while we’re there,” thought Delta born-and-raised singer and pianist Eden Brent, while planning a trip to a party in London. Brent’s husband, British trombonist and bassist, Bob Dowell, then called on two of his finest studio musician friends to accompany Eden on what would become Getaway Blues. 

Getaway Blues continues Eden’s lifelong devotion to the Blues with a collection of originals that play to her many strengths: driving blues, double-entendre, and riffing piano, balanced by introspective ballads such as the heart-on-sleeve triumph “You on My Mind,” sung with the natural phrasing of a true Southerner. Produced and co-written by Dowell, Getaway Blues symbolizes the musical union that Eden and Bob have created.

The recording facility that Brent and Dowell found for the project, Fish Factory Studio, was suitably funky and led to some of the quickest tracking Eden has ever done. “They say cleanliness is next to Godliness,” says Eden. “And I’m no saint! Most of the studios that I’ve felt comfortable in were like Piety Street in New Orleans [where she made Ain’t Got No Troubles]. Real lived in. That’s the way this place was. It used to be a fish factory! It felt real cozy…We knocked it out in two days!” 

Back in the States, Grammy-winning engineer Matt Ross-Spang gave the record a Memphis mix, one as down to earth as the sessions. “We did something that you can easily take on the road,” says Eden with pride. “What you hear is what you’re gonna get.” 

Exploring the Heartland: Jim Lauderdale’s Latest Album My Favorite Place

Jim Lauderdale’s new album My Favorite Place will be released June 21, 2024. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Jim Lauderdale is the Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter, and performer known as one of Americana’s most steadfast champions. Put him in a room with a killer band and a near-as-can-be-perfect country tune, and one would be hard-pressed to find a better combination in all of current-day music. Luckily, that’s exactly what happened when Mr. Americana took to the studio to record “I’m A Lucky Loser.” Flanked by Chris Scruggs and Kenny Vaughn on electric guitars, Wes L’angolis on acoustic, Will Van Horn on pedal steel, Micah Hulshcer on piano, Pat Bubert on drums, and equally stellar touring band members Jay Weaver, Frank Rische, and Lillie Mae Rische, Lauderdale took to Nashville’s famed Blackbird Studios to track the lilting, cheeky ode to luck, both good and bad. (IV-PR, 2024)

“I’m A Lucky Loser” is the latest single from Lauderdale’s upcoming LP, My Favorite Place—out June 21. Continuing a string of stellar releases with his touring band, The Game Changers—Craig Smith (Guitar), Frank Rische (Guitar), Jay Weaver (Bass), Dave Racine (Drums), and the extraordinary Lillie Mae Rische (Vocals)—along with some of Music City’s favorite ringers like the cast of “I’m A Lucky Loser,” My Favorite Place is pure Jim Lauderdale country; his legendary voice carrying a new batch of stories, all framed by pure pedal steel, fiddle, and the tightest rhythm section this side of the Grand Ole Opry. 

To hear the new single live, fans can check out Lauderdale’s recent performance and interview on RFD-TV here. Fans can stream or purchase “I’m A Lucky Loser” at this link, hear Lauderdale’s previously released singles, “You’ve Got A Shine,” and “Mrs. Green” at their respective links, and pre-order or pre-save My Favorite Place, ahead of its June 21 release right here. 

My Favorite Place tracklist:
My Favorite Pace
Mrs. Green
The Lightning Tree
You’ll Be Gone By Then
Sweethearts Remember
Don’t You Treat ‘Em That Way
Baby Steps
I’m A Lucky Loser
We Ought To Celebrate
You’ve Got A Shine
What’s Important After All

Catch Jim Lauderdale on tour. A full list of Lauderdale’s tour dates can be found below or online.

June 13 – The Colonial Theatre – Phoenixville, PA ^
June 14 – Ardmore Music Hall – Ardmore, PA ^
June 15 – Godfrey Daniels – Bethlehem, PA
June 22 – Grand Ole Opry House – Nashville, TN
June 27 – ROMP – Owensboro, KY *
July 30 – Pickin’ in Parsons Bluegrass Festival – Parson, WV
August 31st – Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival – Brunswick, ME *
September 13 – Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion – Bristol, TN
September 27 – IBMA Bluegrass Live – Raleigh NC
September 28 – IBMA Bluegrass Live – Raleigh NC
October 10 – Eddie’s Attic – Decatur, GA !
October 13 – CaveFest – Pelham, TN

^ With Los Lobos
* With The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
! With Lillie Mae

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Lord Buffalo: Holus Bolus Album by Austin Psychedelic-Americana Band

Lord Buffalo’s new album Holus Bolus will be released July 12, 2024. Photo: Metal Injection

Austin heavy psychedelic-Americana band Lord Buffalo recently released a new single from their forthcoming album Holus Bolus. CvltNation shares “I Wait on The Door Slab” single HERE. Also now streaming on Bandcamp and all DSPs HERE. (US/THEM Group, 2024)

Metal Injection previously launched the title track and official video for “Holus Bolus” HERE.

Lord Buffalo is Daniel Pruitt (guitar, bass, piano, vocals, melodica), Garrett Hellman (guitar, sub-bass, piano, synths), Patrick Patterson (violin), and Yamal Said (drums, percussion).

Lord Buffalo is heavy in the way that ghosts are heavy… in the way that billowing dust is heavy.

That is to say, the Austin, TX Psych-Americana band’s music impacts hard, though it seems impossible to touch. Their sound flows through us, it doesn’t invite the Pavlovian response of typical heavy rock music

Perhaps it’s fitting then that their new album Holus Bolus takes its name from an antiquated term meaning “all at once.” It materializes instantly from the first notes of the opening title track, like a dark grey haze drawing listeners in with the band’s deft juxtapositions of droning violin, guitars, drums and vocals. It draws equally from Morricone and Badalementi as from Sabbath and Swans.

While the quartet trudges the same murky waters as dark emotive brethren David Eugene Edwards/Woven Hand, Chelsea Wolfe, Emma Ruth Rundle, Earth/Dylan Carlson, Echo & The Bunnymen, and Nick Cave, their creative interplay of Middle Eastern influence with a distinctly Western feel takes listeners in entirely new directions as the album envelops them. Holus Bolus was recorded by Danny Reisch and Max Lorenzen at Good Danny’s in Lockhart, TX. Mixed by Danny Reisch. Mastered by Max Lorenzen.

“While the making of this record feels a bit like a sleep-deprived hallucination to me. Listening to it now, I find it strangely hopeful — there’s a kind of release that you hit in exhaustion. I think the record knew what it was after, even if we didn’t. It felt very much like the record just appeared one day, holus bolus.” – Daniel Pruitt

Holus Bolus will be available worldwide on vinyl, CD, and digital via Blues Funeral Recordings on July 12, 2024. Pre-order HERE.

Artist: Lord Buffalo
Album: Holus Bolus
Label: Blues Funeral Recordings
Release Date: July 12, 2024

Courtesy album photo, used with permission

Holus Bolus

Slow Drug

Passing Joy

Malpaisano

I Wait on the Door Slab

Cracks in the Vermeer

Rowing in Eden

“Known for their atmospheric spin on folk-rock, at times sounding like the Anthology of American Folk Music beamed from outer space.” — NPR Music

“A dusky, moody, roots-quaking disc of tension and release.” — Austin Chronicle

“Lord Buffalo masterfully mixes straightforward, stoner-tinged rock with more violin-driven post-rock tones into one beautifully captivating sound that everyone should be familiar with.” — Metal Injection

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New single release: Kick It – flor

flor doesn’t care much what you think of them on their new single ‘Kick It.’ Courtesy single artwork, used with permission.

First Hood River, Oregon’s, now the world’s alt-pop darlings, flor, released their newest single this month –  “Kick It.” A fuzzed out, knobs dialed all the way up type of track, “Kick It” tells judgmental onlookers to shove it and be on their way. A more confident, provocative take from flor, the band continues showing their vast songwriting range as they explore the joy of their newfound creative independence. (Big Hassle Media, 2024)

flor finds light in the promise of a new day. The Hood River, OR trio—Zach Grace (vocals, guitar), Dylan Bauld (bass), and Kyle Hill (drums)—excavate unshakable melodies from jubilant synths, buoyant beats, and lush guitars as they relay a coming-of-age story all their own.

The story began as high school kids playing in a garage. The band quietly generated hundreds of millions of streams in the wake of their 2016 debut come out. you’re hiding. In 2019, ley lines only accelerated their momentum buoyed by tracks including “white noise,” “slow motion,” and “dancing around.” Critical acclaim followed from NYLON, Billboard, Paste, and Ones To Watch who hailed the album as “an exhilarating balancing act.”

They concluded a successful headline tour at the top of 2020 only to face the harsh reality of the Global Pandemic with the rest of us. Once it became safe enough to do so, the musicians congregated back in Los Angeles at Dylan’s studio for a series of writing sessions. This time around, they built the bulk of the songs face-to-face together inspired by favorite records from the likes of MGMT, Phoenix, The Killers, and M83. The result was their 2022 third full-length album, Future Shine which won over the praise of Rolling Stone, AltPress, and many others.

After taking some time to evaluate who they want to be creatively, flor is now back and more refreshed than they’ve ever been. The end of last year saw the release of “Same Color as the Sun” as the band joined The Maine for a massive North American tour.

Last month, flor starred in The Noise’s first episode of their new video series titled Something Loud. Filmed in Los Angeles – with the help from Betawave Media – flor performed their singles “Every Night,” “Warm Blood Pt 2,” “No More Time,” and “Gotta Do Something” to showcase what “loud” means to them.

Regularly releasing new singles to keep their fanbase fed, the last few months have seen flor unveil “Same Color as the Sun,” “Warm Blood Pt 2” and “Nosedive.” “Same Color as the Sun” quickly gained traction at Triple A radio and continues to chart higher week after week. “Warm Blood Pt 2” also arrived with an official video. With the song’s precursor dating back to their 2016 debut album come out. you’re hiding, part two wasn’t initially created as a follow up. But as the band began writing with the intent of creating something as rapturous as the original, things started to fall in place.

The end of 2023 also saw flor join their friends in The Maine for a massive North American tour, selling out almost every single date. Over the coming months, flor will continue to ride their current wave of inspiration with more new music on the way.

New single release: Relief – Gus Baldwin & The Sketch

Gus Baldwin shares new single and launches Western US tour. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Austin Power Punk artist Gus Baldwin is a 25-year-old singer/songwriter/ex-hippie/part-time punk hailing from Austin, TX. After a stint holding down drums for Dallas surf punk legends Sealion in high school, Baldwin went on to form the Psych Pop combo Acid Carousel, which he led for 6 years and 20 something releases before departing the band on Halloween night 2021. He shares the official video for his new single Relief via Austin Town Hall. (US/THEM group, 2024)

Since leaving Carousel, Gus has made a name for himself as a solo artist in Austin, constantly performing as a singer/songwriter, one man garage band, or with his band The Sketch. Quickly releasing a string of titles on his own GetWithIt! Records imprint, including the EPs “THRILLER II,” “Live Bugs,” as well as a slew of singles, Gus established himself firmly as the godson of Texas rock ‘n’ roll. Splitting his time as a frequent collaborator with The Black Angels, Baldwin also works with the likes of Christian Bland & The Revelators as well as The UFO Club with Night Beats frontman, Danny Lee Blackwell.

Gus Baldwin & The Sketch kicked off their Western U.S. tour this month, which includes a performance at Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas. 

GUS BALDWIN & THE SKETCH LIVE 2024:
5/22 Marfa, TX
5/23 El Paso, TX
5/25 Las Vegas, NV
5/26 Long Beach, NV
5/27 San Francisco, CA
5/29 San Diego, CA
5/31 Los Angeles, CA
6/01 Tucson, AZ
6/02 Phoenix, AZ

Cover art for single Relief. Courtesy photos, used with permission.

Forthcoming new album release: The Iceland Sessions – Greensky Bluegrass

Greensky Bluegrass announces new EP The Iceland Sessions featuring Holly Bowling out May 10 via Thirty Tigers. Photo: Tobin Voggesser, used with permission.

Greensky Bluegrass is widely known for their thoughtful lyricism, edgy and genre-expansive sound, dazzling live performances, and relentless touring schedule. However, that is only the tip of the complex tale of the five musicians that make up Greensky Bluegrass: Anders Beck [dobro], Michael Arlen Bont [banjo], Dave Bruzza [guitar], Mike Devol [upright bass], and Paul Hoffman [Mandolin]. The five are connected through a deep bond, just as they are seasoned road warriors, they’re a band of brothers who have seen each other through decades of ups and downs, personal and collective highlights, and the moments when life turns it all upside down. (Big Hassle Media, 2024)

For the past century, bluegrass music has traditionally relayed real tales of American life, struggle, tragedy, and triumph. It gives a voice to the quiet, yet colorful stories woven into the fabric of the country itself. Greensky Bluegrass live these stories through their records and performances.

Greensky Bluegrass is thrilled to announce The Iceland Sessions due out May 10 via Thirty Tigers. Pre-orders are available now.

The EP was recorded at Flóki Studios in the summer of 2023, just before their first-ever Icelandic run of shows at Reykjavik’s Harpa Concert Hall. “We invited some of our favorite friends and musicians to play with us, including Holly Bowling, and we set out to make memories in the twilight sun with a bunch of fans who joined us from all over the world,” recalls Paul Hoffman. Bowling has been a regular guest in Greensky’s band lineup throughout the last several years and the chemistry between Bowling and the band is undeniable.

Flóki Studios is located in a very remote section of northern Iceland, and for Greensky, that’s precisely what was needed. A very intense few days that drew out creativity and inspiration not yet tapped by the band. “We embraced the disorienting inspiration and played late into the night as the sun never left us, all the while still developing lyrics and figuring out harmonies and arrangements. We swam in the cold water. We saw more sheep than people for days. We listened to the birds sing through the night while we charged through each song. A recording project that felt like a whirlwind at times turned into something calm and peaceful that felt more creative and raw than anything we’ve done before. Fully aware that we could continue to work on this later, we decided to commit to what we created in Iceland and have the recording be truly a moment in time.”

Following the release of The Iceland Sessions, Greensky will set out on their summer tour which kicks off May 12 in Mill Valley, CA. Up to date news and tour information is available online. 

Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Forthcoming new album release: I Want It All Right Now – Grouplove

Grouplove announces deluxe version of I Want It All Right Now – out on May 10, 2024. Photo: Brantley Gutierrez, used with permission.

On their new album I Want It All Right Now, Grouplove offers up a body of work built on a raw but incandescent sound that vocalist/keyboardist Hannah Hooper refers to as “resistance pop.” As Hooper reveals, the Atlanta-based band’s sixth full-length album emerged from a period of intense transformation for herself and her husband/bandmate, vocalist/guitarist Christian Zucconi. Over the course of 11 shapeshifting songs, Grouplove’s debut release for Glassnote Records documents that progression from external searching to radical self-discovery, infusing each track with the wildly unbridled spirit the band has always embodied. (Big Hassle, 2024)

I Want It All Right Now fully harnesses the ecstatic energy Grouplove has brought to the stage on multiple international headline tours and at leading festivals like Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza. In a major leap forward for the band—whose lineup also includes bassist Daniel Gleason, guitarist Andrew Wessen, and drummer Ben Homola—the album explores the deepest tensions of the human psyche with equal parts tenderness, curiosity, and exacting self-revelation. A bold evolution of the defiantly sincere songwriting they first delivered on their 2011 debut Never Trust a Happy Song, I Want It All Right Now ultimately leaves the listener newly awakened to the wisdom and power of their own intuition.

I Want It All Right Now Deluxe will be available everywhere on May 10, 2024.

The deluxe album will feature six new tracks, including the live version of the album’s title track “All” from Madison Square Garden. With Jake Clemons from Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band lending his talents on the saxophone, the live rendition sheds any previous confines and swells into something altogether larger than life.

Multifaceted in her approach to artistry, Hannah Hooper has painted all of the band’s artwork. Grouplove’s artwork has become almost as recognizable as their sound over the years, seeing the band work out the tensions of life through all mediums at their disposal.

In February, Grouplove released the first deluxe track “Chances.” The rapturous, overstimulated, hallucinogenic singsong saw the band channeling their ecstatic energy into the deepest tensions of the human psyche, all while playing with the contradictions and complications of existing. I Want It All Right Now, the band’s sixth studio album, was originally released in 2023.

Over the last month, Grouplove has been joined by Bully for the North American Rock And Roll You Won’t Save Me Tour. Fans who missed the tour or simply want more need not despair as the band has upcoming festival performances this summer at Wildflower! Festival, Bonnaroo and Oceans Calling. By popular demand, Grouplove has been added to 9 new dates this fall supporting P!nk.

UPCOMING TOUR DATES
May 17 – Richardson, TX – Wildflower! Arts & Music Festival
June 14 – Bonnaroo – Manchester, TN
June 22 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage (with Arkells)
September 28 – Ocean City, MD – Oceans Calling Festival
November 3 – Austin, TX – Moody Center ^
November 6 – Arlington, TX – Globe Life Field ^
November 8 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center ^
November 11 – Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena^
November 12 – Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena^
November 14 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena^
November 16 – Birmingham, AL – Legacy Arena at The BJCC^
November 18 – Orlando, FL – Camping World Stadium^
November 20 – Columbia, SC – Colonial Life Arena^

^ supporting P!nk

I Want It All Right Now Deluxe track list:
“All”
“Cheese”
“Malachi”
“Hello”
“Eyes”
“Billie”
“Tryin’”
“Cream”
“Francine”
“Climb”
“Wall”
“Chances”
“Can You Feel My Love”
“Fire”
“House”
“Fishbowl”
“All (Live)”

Courtesy photo, used with permission

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New album release: Talking to Strangers – Jack McKeon

“Last Slice of Heaven” is the first single off Jack McKeon’s forthcoming new album Talking to Strangers, due out June 21, 2024. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Jack McKeon is a different sort of musician; a Nashville-based singer-songwriter with an honest, plainspoken vocal, an eclectic-roots sound, and a knack for bringing crystalline characters to life. A student of the greats drawn to the timeless, rather than the trendy, he hails from Chatham, New York (a few hours north of New York City and a world removed from the Americana and bluegrass scene he now inhabits), and harbors a deep love for the written word. First inspired by literary music icons from Hank Williams and Guy Clark to Tom T. Hall and John Hartford, McKeon arrived in Nashville in 2021 and has since established a reputation for his own message-drive lyricism—a value which shows up in its full sonic serenity on his 2024 album debut, Talking to Strangers, due out June 21. (IV-PR, 2024)

Recorded live over three days, Talking to Strangers captures the warm, organic sound of contemporary Appalachian soul, infusing folk rock with an easy-going bluegrass sway and speaking to his long-held musical values. It’s a work of classic craftsmanship, sturdy and simple yet packed with the nuance of a true, intentional wordsmith, and just the first significant step in what McKeon sees as “a lifelong pursuit.”

“Last Slice of Heaven” is the first single from Talking to Strangers. Fans can stream or purchase the single and pre-save Talking to Strangers ahead of its release.

With a classic banjo kick-off and rose-colored details dotting the first verse, Jack McKeon gives listeners their first taste of his new album with “Last Slice of Heaven.”

McKeon’s depiction of developmental creep is the story of every landowner outside of burgeoning cities nationwide. It doesn’t take long for the story to take a darker turn. How are the bills getting paid? Is there a new contractor twisting the county’s arm to condemn? “But now the land that he’s been working is worth more than he could need,” McKeon sings in the song’s pre-chorus. “If selling out’s surrender, is leaving like defeat?” “I wrote this song to give a voice to the person I imagined holding on to this ‘Last Slice of Heaven,’ a character at odds with the transformation around him who’s fighting to hold on to his own identity,” says McKeon. “…in spite of ‘A world that’s always changing what it means to be the same.’”

The Bluegrass Situation premiered the music video for “Last Slice of Heaven,” a simple, poignant affair in which McKeon picks the song on his vintage Gibson dreadnaught in his own little slice of heaven.

Talking to Strangers track list:
Willow Lane
Paler Shade of Blue
Highway 29
Last Slice of Heaven
I Don’t Trust You
Hard Headed
Crooked Teeth
Past the Point of Rescue
Waffle House Wonder
Love at the End of the World

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Red Bull Batalla: worldwide rap battle tournament at Paper Tiger

Red Bull Batalla returns to Fiesta San Antonio. The world’s biggest Spanish language freestyle rap competition takes over Paper Tiger. Photo: Red Bull Batalla, used with permission.

Red Bull Batalla, the world’s largest Spanish-language freestyle rap competition, returns to San Antonio as part of Fiesta San Antonio 2024, bringing together some of the America’s best freestyle rappers to battle it as part of a bracket-style tournament on Saturday, April 20 at Paper Tiger. (Red Bull Batalla, 2024)

After a successful debut last spring, Red Bull Batalla returns to San Antonio, welcoming 16 aspiring MCs, a quarter of which hail from the Lone Star State. 

These Latino lyricists will put their wit, creativity, and stage presence to the test over a series of bracket-style knockout rounds all for a chance to compete at the USA National Final later this fall, and potentially the 2024 International Final in Madrid, Spain this November.

Immediately following these intense rap battles, attendees will be treated to music performances from a pair of hip-hop stars – fast-rising Mexican rapper/singer Tornillo and Houston’s very own Bo Bundy – to close out San Antonio’s Red Bull Batalla Regional Qualifier.

Attendees will be able to get their hands on a brand new metal created to commemorate Fiesta San Antonio 2024. Designed by Texas-based Monarch Trophy Studio, these special medals are limited in quantity and offered as a first-come, first-served gift to attendees.

Photo: Red Bull Batalla

Throughout the evening event, guests will also be treated to several tasty cocktails curated by Red Bull, as well as free haircuts and beard trims courtesy of some of San Antonio’s premier barbers and hair stylists including Faded Culture and Kurly Kutz, among others. This barber pop-up experience will be available first come, first serve starting when doors open at 8p.m.

Fans 18+ are encouraged to RSVP for Free online today to reserve their spot in advance, although prices increase to $5 the week of the event. 

USA REGIONAL QUALIFIER – EVENT INFORMATION:

DATE: Saturday, April 20
TIME: Doors open at 8p.m., rap battles start at 9p.m.
LOCATION: Paper Tiger (2410 N St Mary’s St, San Antonio, TX 78212)

MCS:
• Boss
• Cuban **
• Heavy
• Magimbri **
• RuRa
• Pharaon
• Maluque
• White Caracas **
• Oner
• YENKY ONE
• Jordi **
• Versomc
• J Luna
• TREBOL
• LINK_ONE
• CAS **

** MCs based in Texas

JUDGES:
• Chester – Spanish freestyle legend and longtime California scene icon
• Skiper – Red Bull Batalla Mexico National Final 2021 Champion and freestyle OG
• Barba – San Antonio and Texas Native, Barba is a mainstay in the Texas freestyle scene

HOST:
• Racso White Lion – Official host of the 2023 Red Bull Batalla USA season and creator of the Indigo Freestyle League based in Orlando, Florida
• Fluffy – Host of Red Bull Batalla and Official host of the Texas freestyle league, Urban RapStars

DJS:
• DJ Lobo – Resident DJ for Texas freestyle league Urban RapStars
• Rudy Rios – San Antonio native and resident DJ at Vibras bar

Since 2005, Red Bull Batalla has provided a platform for the best hip-hop improvisors in the Spanish-speaking world to connect, develop, and compete. Within the last few years, the Red Bull founded project has become the world’s biggest international freestyle battle competition, uniting Spanish speaking Latin America and Spain. The roots of this improvised rap scene are as deeply connected to hip hop as they are to the improvisation styles of traditional folk troubadours. It has evolved into a style completely distinct from that of hip hop in North America. With Batalla, Red Bull gives an opportunity for young MCs to train, perform and improve their improvisation and rapping skills.

Photo: Red Bull Batalla