Just Announced | Fort Mose Jazz & Blues Series 2023

Gladys Knight, Mavis Staples, Christian McBride, and more headline second-annual festival at St. Augustine’s historic site

By Daniel A. Brown
View Post

From February 10-19, the second-annual Fort Mose Jazz & Blues Series presents six concerts to celebrate the historic and cultural importance of Fort Mose, the site of the first free African settlement in what is now the United States. This year’s series features performances by Mavis Staples (February 10); Christian McBride’s New Jawn (Feb. 11); Valerie June (Feb. 16); Gladys …

In this article: blues, Christian McBride, concert, Fort Mose, Gladys Knight, jazz, Mavis Staples, Music, st. augustine and Valerie June

Go | Best Concerts in Jax this Week

View Post

Each week the JME team looks long and hard at the concert calendar to identify the best shows in Jacksonville. Our weekly Go recommendations are updated every Monday morning and are always available on jaxmusic.org. For the comprehensive list of this week’s shows, go to our calendar page. Bedroom Pop  Beabadoobee – Tuesday, November 1 Underbelly | Downtown Jacksonville The singer and guitarist, …

In this article: concerts, jacksonville, Live music, November, October, Porchfest and springfield

The gripping ‘Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues’ confronts the artist’s complexities

View Post

Louis Armstrong made his first transatlantic voyage in July of 1932, sailing from New York City to Plymouth, England, aboard the ocean liner RMS Majestic. This was a triumphant visit for Armstrong, whose bravura feats as a trumpeter and rugged ebullience as a singer had already made him a sensation on both sides of the pond. But while the British …

In this article: Black & Blues, documentary, film, jazz, Louis Armstrong, NPR and review

On ‘Blue Rev,’ Alvvays finds euphoria in noise

View Post

It takes just six seconds into the first song on its latest album for Alvvays to pull a new trick out of its sleeve. For a moment, “Pharmacist” feels like what it is: a long-awaited reunion with these Canadian noise pop purveyors on their small-town home turf, a few muted synth notes and a preset drum machine tick-tocking while Molly …

In this article: Alvvays, best new music, Blue Rev, Canada, Molly Rankin, new album, New music, NPR and review

WJCT Public Media to Celebrate Public Radio Music Day on October 26

Media Contact: Neily BrarenPromotion & Marketing Associate, WJCTnbraren@wjct.org For Immediate Release WJCT Public Media to Celebrate Public Radio Music Day on October 26 Stations across the country showcase how public radio music stations unite local artists and support through live concerts and music discovery events Jacksonville, Fla. — October 26, 2022 — WJCT Public Media announced today that the station …

Watch | Bad Madonna on the JME Soundstage

By Matthew Shaw
View Post

Back in September, singer and guitarist Alexis Rhode released Iron Fist, her second EP of 2022 as Bad Madonna. On Fist, Rhode traded the rootsy acoustics of her first five-song collection, Velvet Glove, for grit and distortion, teaming with guitarist Dylan Young and a crack rhythm section — Storm Bauer (bass), Joey French (drums) — to pack Fist with ample …

In this article: Alexis Rhode, Bad Madonna, grunge, Indie rock, Interview, Iron Fist, jacksonville, Live music and local music

Go | The Best Concerts in Jax this Week

The Chats, Amos Lee, JD Pinkus and more

View Post

Each week the JME team looks long and hard at the concert calendar to identify the best shows in Jacksonville. Our weekly Go recommendations are updated every Monday morning and are always available on jaxmusic.org. For the comprehensive list of this week’s shows, go to our calendar page. Singer-Songwriter Amos Lee – Tuesday, October 25 Florida Theatre | Downtown Jacksonville Fresh off the …

In this article: Amos Lee, concerts, jacksonville, JD Pinkus, Live music, October and The Chats

Go | Australian punks The Chats at Underbelly

Even Dave Grohl is a fan!

By Rain Henderson
View Post

Quotable Australian punk sensation The Chats are on tour in support of their latest album Get F*cked and are set to stop in Jacksonville on Wednesday, October 26 at Downtown’s Underbelly. Surfacing first from the Sunshine Coast, the band has repurposed their deranged sound in Brisbane, going completely rogue with vicious rebellion by means of gruff vocals and blitzkrieged guitar …

In this article: Australia, concert, Get F*cked, High Risk Behaviour, jacksonville, Live music, punk, rock, Smoko, The Chats and Underbelly

In the haze of ‘Midnights,’ Taylor Swift softens into an expanded sound

View Post

Can Taylor Swift soften up? Like many high-achieving workaholics, I imagine she’s lost the instinct and, practical girl, uses enhancements. In the evening, with her lover nearby, does she vape a little Lavender Haze CBD Rosin and focus on the quietude creeping into her body beneath the relentless chatter of her thoughts? Does she grasp his hand and put it …

In this article: midnight confession, Midnights, new album, New music, review and Taylor Swift

Staff Picks | PorchFest 2022

What to see and hear at Springfield's annual porch party

View Post

Springfield residents love their porches. More than augmentations of their home’s living and entertaining space, the porch is an extension of Springfielders’ personalities. Which is why no event better captures the character and charm of this distinctive Downtown Jacksonville-adjacent neighborhood than the annual Jacksonville PorchFest. Taking place across four square blocks east of N. Main St. between E. 4th St. …

In this article: jacksonville, Live music, Moving The Margins, Music, Porchfest, springfield and Zach Person

The Jacksonville Music Experience From WJCT Public Media Joins VuHaus Group

Media Contact: Neily BrarenPromotion & Marketing Associate, WJCT Boulder, CO (OCTOBER 18, 2022) – VuHaus Group is excited to announce the addition of its newest affiliate, the Jacksonville Music Experience (JME) from WJCT Public Media to VuHaus Group. WJCT Public Media will curate a new local page on the NPR Live Sessions website with their unique, local, and engaging music …

Go | The Best Concerts in Jax this Week

Kevin Morby, Maggie Rose, W.I.T.C.H. and more

View Post

Each week the JME team looks long and hard at the concert calendar to identify the best shows in Jacksonville. Our weekly Go recommendations are updated every Monday morning and are always available on jaxmusic.org. For the comprehensive list of this week’s shows, go to our calendar page. Indie-Folk Kevin Morby – Tuesday, October 18 Intuition Ale Works | Downtown Jacksonville Fresh off …

In this article: concerts, Frankie and the witch fingers, Intuition Ale Works, Kevin Morby, Live music, Maggie Rose, W.I.T.C.H. and zamrock

Katie Crutchfield and Jess Williamson Tell Their Truth Plainly

The duo embraces classic country sounds on 'I Walked With You A Ways'

View Post

At the heart of I Walked With You A Ways, the debut album from Plains, there’s a sense of freedom. It’s the freedom of driving fast down an enormous, dusty road: “tak[ing] the quickest route on this 4-lane highway,” but also “crying on the highway with my windows down.” It’s the kind of liberation that comes from finding your own …

In this article: country, I Walked With You A Ways, Indie, Jess Williamson, Katie Crutchfield, New music, NPR, Plains, review and Waxahatchee

Go | Kevin Morby at Intuition Ale Works

With a critically acclaimed new album, the popular singer-songwriter makes a stop in Jacksonville

View Post

Singer-songwriter Kevin Morby is currently on tour in support of his critically acclaimed new record, This Is A Photograph (out now on Dead Oceans), and will make a pitstop in Jacksonville at the Bier Hall inside Intuition Ale Works’ Downtown taproom on Tuesday, October 18. Before 2014’s critically acclaimed Singing Saw, Morby was already a veteran of the indie music scene. …

In this article: Intuition Ale Works, jacksonville, Kevin Morby, new album, New music, This is a Photograph and tour

Local Spotlight | New Tracks by Jax Artists Out Now

Animal Clinic, Visitation, Crescent and Jay Myztroh

View Post

We’re all about music discovery here at the Jacksonville Music Experience. As we unearth new tunes from artists around the globe almost daily, we love to shine the high beams of our Local Spotlight series on the beautiful noise emerging from Northeast Florida. This week, we’ve got four great new tracks by Jacksonville artists. Let’s dig in. “Heart Beats You …

In this article: Animal Clinic, Crescent, dance, Indie, jacksonville, James Rubia, Jay Myztroh, local artists, local music, pop, rock and Visitation

Bob Mould Crams a 40-Year Career of Alternative Noise into a Solo Electric Show

By Heather Schatz
View Post

Alt-rock pioneer Bob Mould, who founded both Hüsker Dü and Sugar (among other projects), performs a solo-electric show at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall on Friday, October 14. He recently spoke with First Coast Connect host Melissa Ross about the gig, his 40-year career and his latest work. Listen to the interview below. Bob Mould performs at the Ponte Vedra …

In this article: alternative rock, Bob Mould, First Coast Connect, hardcore, Husker Du, independent music, Interview, punk and Sugar

Blink-182 are Getting the Band Back Together with a New Tour

View Post

Blink-182, San Diego’s kings of pop-punk, are getting the band back together. Tom DeLonge is rejoining bandmates Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker for the first time in seven years. The band announced via their web site and social media that they would be embarking on a world tour starting in March 2023 are are releasing a new song, “Edging,” on …

In this article: Blink-182, Dude Ranch, Enema of the State, Mark Hoppus, reunion, Tom DeLonge, tour and Travis Barker

Go | The Best Concerts in Jax this Week

Keith Sweat, The Head And The Heart, Jim Lauderdale and more

View Post

Each week the JME team looks long and hard at the concert calendar to identify the best shows in Jacksonville. Our weekly Go recommendations are updated every Monday morning and are always available on jaxmusic.org. There’s a handful of legends (Jim Lauderdale, Keith Sweat) on this week’s calendar and more than a few artists you should know about. Here’s the rundown of …

In this article: Blue Jay Listening Room, concerts, florida, jacksonville, Jim Lauderdale, Keith Sweat, Live music, October, St. Augustine Amphitheatre and The Head and the Heart

Watch | Ebony Payne-English at Blue Jay Listening Room

Jax multi-disciplinary artist performs “Kuongoza”

By Matthew Shaw
View Post

I could think of no better venue to feature the music of Ebony Payne-English, than the intimate Blue Jay Listening Room. The depth of the Jax-based rapper-poet-author’s music, after all, requires intentional listening.  Stream Ebony Payne-English’s music on your preferred platform Payne-English, fresh off the release of her 2021 full length, Kuongoza, and just months away from releasing another album, …

In this article: Blue Jay Listening Room, Ebony Payne-English, hip-hop, jacksonville, Kuongoza, poet, rap and spoken word

Mexico’s Son Rompe Pera Bang the Marimba at the Crossroads of Cumbia and Punk

View Post

In celebration of Latinx Heritage Month, NPR Music is spotlighting a series of artists across Latin America who are engaging with their musical heritage in unique ways. From reworking conservative genres for new eras, to teasing out modern sounds from old-school instruments, these artists represent the wide range of experimentation that makes up contemporary Latin music. Earlier this year, in …

In this article: cumbia, global, Latinx, Mexico, New music, NPR Music, punk and world

Local Spotlight | 4 New Songs by Jax Artists Out Now

Tai Boujie is "So Florida." And so are the rest of these Duval artists.

View Post

We’re all about music discovery here at the Jacksonville Music Experience. As we unearth new tunes from artists around the globe almost daily, we love to shine the high beams of our Local Spotlight series on the beautiful noise emerging from Northeast Florida. This week, we’ve got four great new tracks by Jacksonville artists. Let’s dig in. “Nature Boy” by …

In this article: Everything To Me, hardcore, Indie, jacksonville, jazz, local music, New music, New Wave, post-punk, Suntouch House, Tai Boujie and Ulysses Owens Jr. Big Band

WJCT Public Media Announces New Additions to Board of Trustees

Media Contact: Neily BrarenPromotion & Marketing Associate, WJCT WJCT Public Media Announces New Additions to Board of Trustees Frank Denton, Lawsikia J. Hodges and Asghar Syed elected at annual meeting; Farley Kern elected as Chairperson JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – October 3, 2022 – WJCT Public Media today announced three new additions to its Board of Trustees. The community-owned and operated public …

Fresh Squeeze | The Best New Music of October

Stream & discover something to love

View Post

Each month JME contributors pick the juiciest noise emanating from Northeast Florida and beyond for our Fresh Squeeze playlist. Featuring a few dozen new tunes from local, regional, national and international artists, there are no rules or genre restrictions; just songs we thought were worth a share. In recent weeks, icons of independent music Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Built to Spill …

In this article: best new music, Fresh Squeeze, New music, October, playlist and Spotify

Go | Indie-folk band The Head and the Heart at St. Augustine Amphitheatre

Neo-folk revivalists bring their jangly hits to The Amp in October

By JME Staff
View Post

Indie folk band The Head and the Heart will visit the St. Augustine Amphitheatre on Thursday, October 13, as part of the group’s first tour in more than two-and-a-half years. A seminal band of the neo-folk revival that was gaining steam in the mid to late aughts, the Seattle-founded group’s eponymous 2010 Sub Pop release remains one of the iconic …

In this article: Ghosts, Let's Be Still, Rivers and Roads, St. Augustine Amphitheatre, Sub Pop, The Amp, The Head and the Heart and Warner Bros

Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ ‘Cool It Down’ is an Exhilarating Yet Unhurried Return

View Post

The audacity, to be an artist who waits nearly a decade to release a project — to sit out the conversation that long. The news cycles that whirr by, the social feeds left to rot on the vine. The refusal to chase the currency of constant, insistent relevance. It’s jarring nowadays. And when that artist is, say, a beloved rock …

In this article: best new music, Cool It Down, Indie, Karen O, New music, NPR, review and Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Go | The Best Concerts in Jax this Week

Victor Wooten, The War On Drugs, Zac Brown Band, Melvins and more

View Post

Each week the JME team looks long and hard at the concert calendar to identify the best shows in Jacksonville. Our weekly Go recommendations are updated every Monday morning and are always available on jaxmusic.org. There are a ton of household-name acts visiting the First Coast this week. Here’s the rundown of what JME contributors want to see and hear in and …

In this article: calendar, concerts, jacksonville, Live music, Melvins, st. augustine, The War On Drugs, Victor Wooten and Zac Brown Band

Watch | Howdy live in the Studio 4 at WJCT

Beaches-based singer-songwriter performs a couple Gulf-and-Western style ballads

By Matthew Shaw
View Post

Jacksonville Beach-based singer and guitarist Landon Gay is a true saltwater cowboy. And therein may lie secret to the unique Americana sauce he’s injected into the four singles he’s released under the moniker Howdy, which have collectively racked up more than three-quarters-of-a-million plays on Spotify. Indeed, embedded in Howdy’s lofi, minimalist ballads is a palpable authenticity — in the pace …

In this article: country, El Paso, folk, gulf and western, Hard Feelings, Howdy, jacksonville, Jacksonville beach and Spotify

Pharoah Sanders, Giant of Spirit-Driven Jazz, Dies at 81

View Post

Pharoah Sanders, the revered and influential tenor saxophonist who explored and extended the boundaries of his instrument, notably alongside John Coltrane in the 1960s, died on Saturday morning in Los Angeles. His death was announced in a post on social media by the record label Luaka Bop, which had released his celebrated 2021 album Promises and confirmed by a publicist …

In this article: Astral Traveling, dies, jazz, John Coltrane, NPR, NPR Music, obituary, Pharoah Sanders, saxaphone and Thembi

Go | The Best Concerts of the Week in and Around Jax

Jax Symphony returns, Lucius on the Backyard Stage and more

View Post

Each week the JME team looks long and hard at the concert calendar to identify the best shows in Jacksonville. Our weekly Go recommendations are updated every Monday morning and are always available on jaxmusic.org. Of note: Sing Out Loud, the month-long St. Augustine-based music festival continues this week. To dig in deeper on this year’s festival, consult our interactive guide to this year’s …

In this article: concerts, Earth Wind & Fire, jacksonville, Jacksonville Symphony, Live music and Lucius

“What’s Health Got to Do with It” – Season Two Launch

Media Contact: Neily BrarenPromotion & Marketing Associate, WJCTnbraren@wjct.org WJCT Public Media Announces Second Season of “What’s Health Got To Do With It?” Popular health program hosted by Dr. Joe Sirven, returns on Saturday, September 24 with expanded podcast platform distribution  Jacksonville, Fla. — Sept. 22, 2022 — WJCT Public Media today announced the second season of “What’s Health Got To …

Another Side of Bad Madonna

Jax singer and guitarist Alexis Rhode goes electric on her new EP

By Carissa Marques
View Post

As Bad Madonna, singer-songwriter Alexis Rhode encapsulates what it means to be genre-bending, something so many artists tag on to the back of their bios but rarely succeed in achieving.  Earlier this year, the Jax-based Rhode released the debut Bad Madonna EP, Velvet Glove, a collection of five songs that sound like country-twanged journal entries. Less than six months later, …

In this article: Alexis Rhode, Bad Madonna, grunge, Iron Fist, jacksonville, local music, New music, rock and Velvet Glove

The Uneasy Confessions of Alex G

The devout 'God Save the Animals' distills the songwriter's eccentric style

View Post

With over a decade of released music behind him, Alex G has long taken a playfully distorted approach to songwriting, like he’s filtering his music through a funhouse mirror. The 29-year-old artist often addresses or morphs into fictional characters: insecure teenage girls and children with names like Sarah, Alina, Sandy. Flashes of storybook innocence, tales of guarded treehouses and stolen …

In this article: Alex G, Alex Giannascoli, God Save the Animals, Philadelphia, review, Runner, Sandy and The Independent 89.9 HD4

How Charley Crockett Makes New Music Sound Old (and Old Music Sound Brand New)

View Post

Charley Crockett knows his story seems far-fetched. “People always tell me, ‘Man, you didn’t ride trains — that’s not possible, no one does that anymore,’” he says, sitting at his tour bus’s small table. Crockett is clearly frustrated – the fact that he’s traded train cars for tour buses and street corners for venerable stages that he shares with even …

In this article: Americana, Charley Crockett, country, I'm Just a Clown, Man From Waco, New music, NPR and Welcome to Hard Times

Go | The Best Concerts in and around Jax this week

St. Aug Songwriters Fest, HC at Underbelly, indie at the Walrus and Shovels & Rope

View Post

Each week the JME team looks long and hard at the concert calendar to identify the best shows in Jacksonville. Our weekly Go recommendations are updated every Monday morning and are always available on jaxmusic.org. Of note: Sing Out Loud, the month-long St. Augustine-based music festival that features national headliners and dozens of local performers popping up a local venues around town, …

In this article: concert calendar, concerts, jacksonville, Live music, Luci Lind, Shovels & Rope, Sing Out Loud, St. Augustine Songwriters Festival and Stick to your gun

Marc Bolan and T. Rex Blended the Visionary with the Saccharine

A deep dive into the glam-rock pioneer's varied catalog

By Daniel A. Brown
View Post

There are so many alleged geniuses in music that the field has grown fallow. Marc Bolan wasn’t a genius. But judging by his body of songs, and the overall harvest, he was absolutely guided by a conditional brilliance. Equal parts Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry and John Keats, the late UK glam god seemed to misplace the stolen promethean fire of …

In this article: 20th Century Boy, Bang a Gong, best songs, glam rock, Marc Bolan, T. Rex, The Independent 89.9 HD4 and The Slider

Allison Russell | Tiny Desk Concert

View Post

“I am grateful and I am proud for this circle of goddesses,” said Allison Russell during her joyful, rousing Tiny Desk set, reaching toward the six women surrounding her. Russell has cultivated this band’s harmoniousness in the year she’s been touring in support of her astounding, unclassifiable album Outside Child, which tells the singer’s life story, from her childhood escaping …

In this article: Allison Russell, Americana, folk, New music, Nightflyer, NPR Music, Our Native Daughters, Outside Child and Tiny Desk