Peter Sagar, more popularly known as Homeshake, first made his name as guitarist for Mac DeMarco! The Montreal-based singer-songwriter released Under the Weather, his fifth studio album as Homeshake, last year, and now he’s coming to perform at 9:30 Club on Friday, April 22.
Leif Vollebekk performs at Union Stage on April 1, 2022. (Photo by Casey Vock)
A voice that sounds like it’s lived a lifetime’s worth of heartache — if that’s not a solid foundation for an indie folk singer-songwriter, then possessing the skills of a world-class multi-instrumentalist would most certainly assist those efforts.
Leif Vollebekk began playing instruments as a little kid in Ottawa, and it would appear that the countless hours the 36-year-old spent training served as a worthwhile and illuminating runway for the music he’s offering the world today. Leif offered that music to a receptive audience at Union Stage in DC recently.
Leif Vollebekk is a Montreal adopted singer-songwriter, who last released New Ways in 2019. He’s preparing to release a live EP, New Waves (Live Recordings ’19-’21), and he appears at Union Stage on Friday, April 1.
Allison Russell performs at Wolf Trap on March 6, 2022. (Photo by Casey Vock)
For Allison Russell, taking a chance and sending a message to Brandi Carlile’s Instagram paid off. It started a conversation with Carlile’s wife, which lead to getting detailed, track-by-track feedback on her debut solo album, Outside Child. From there, it led to yet bigger things: a contract with the label Fantasy Records, which released the powerful record to “universal acclaim” (per Metacritic) last May. It has been nominated for Americana Album of the Year at this year’s Grammys, and the standout song “Nightflyer” has been nominated for Best American Roots Song and Performance.
“I have a great team behind me,” Russell told the audience at the sold-out Barns at Wolf Trap recently. “That’s why I’m ’emerging’ at 42,” she said, referring to her nomination for Emerging Artist of the Year at last year’s Americana Music Awards.
Chromeo debut their surreal video for “Clorox Wipe,” directed by Patrick Jean. The track is taken from their Quarantine Casanova EP, five tracks written and recorded under lockdown and released earlier this year.
100% of net proceeds from EP digital downloads, physical sales, and merch have been donated, with $20,000 to Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp COVID-19 Relief Fund plus an additional $30,000 match donation from Clorox.
Canadian post-punks Wolf Parade dropped Thin Mind, a highly anticipated fifth album, via Sub Pop last month. Frontman Dan Boeckner and the gents are on tour, and they perform at 9:30 Club on Saturday, Feb. 22.
Funk duo Chromeo announced their fist ever live band shows earlier this year, presenting 90 minutes of expanded sound. The band said it will record the upcoming shows at First Avenue in Minneapolis for a live album, but first Chromeo brings the show to the Lincoln Theatre on Sunday, May 19.
Chromeo performs at Rams Head Live on Baltimore, Maryland, on Sept. 25, 2018. (Photo by Rashad Polk)
David “Dave 1” Macklovitch and Patrick “P-Thugg” Gemayel last played Baltimore when their electronic-disco-funk outfit, Chromeo, performed at the 2008 Virgin Music Festival. This past Tuesday, Chromeo made their triumphant return to Charm City with a two-hour set at Ram’s Head Live.
Wolf Parade rocks a sold-out Ottobar on Aug. 29, 2018. (Photo by David LaMason)
Have you ever listened to a song and you swear to yourself you had to see this band to see if they are real? I came to the Wolf Parade party a little late. I had heard their second album, At Mount Zoomer, from a friend who had made a copy for me and I liked it, but for some reason it wasn’t until the follow up, Expo 86, that I really came around to see what amazing musicians and songwriters Wolf Parade are. The band reminded me of that at Ottobar on Aug. 29.
Dave 1 performs with Chromeo at 9:30 Club on June 12, 2018. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
Like a romantic suitor in one of their electro-funk songs, the gents of Chromeo don’t mind taking their time. And the payoff was worth the wait when David “Dave 1” Macklovitch and Patrick “P-Thugg” Gemayel blasted through 9:30 Club in twin shows recently.