The sons of a Swiss father and an Ecuadorian mother, Hermanos Gutiérrez have only been playing together for a few years, but music has always been a point of connection for them. “I started playing guitar because of my brother,” Alejandro says. “He was always playing, and I loved the sound of it. Then he went to Ecuador for a year, and as an expression of missing him, I started playing the guitar as well. I learned by trying to imitate other songs, but soon realized that I didn’t like playing covers. I wanted to play my own music.”

In the mid 2010s Alejandro moved to Zurich, not too far from the small village where his brother lived. One night he invited Estevan over and told him to bring his guitar. Together, they worked out a few melodies that quickly turned into fully realized songs. They didn’t intend to start a band together, but soon decided to record an album. They booked time in a studio and soon emerged with their full-length debut, 8 Años, named for the age difference between them. Their only ambition was to make a keepsake for themselves and their families: “We love collecting old vinyl, so we thought we should make our own,” says Alejandro. “But it was also a moment for us to reconnect. Music helped us to be together in the same moment and create something new. So let’s just do a record for us.”

Being No One, Going Nowhere. The title of STRFKR’s fourth album may seem bleak at first. But hold it in your head a minute, feel its weight, and you may recognize the phrase for what it is: a goal. In the era of the personal brand — amid the FOMO Age — it’s increasingly hard to shed a stifling sense of self, or to just be in the moment that you’re in. Well, consider this an invitation to get blissfully insignificant. That’s what STRFKR founder Joshua Hodges aimed to do when he exiled himself to the desert to create this record, but he returned with his most significant work yet: a set of darkly glistening dance songs rife with sticky beats, earworming hooks, philosophical heft, and bittersweet beauty.

The album opens on “Tape Machine,” and the difference is readily apparent. On 2013’s Miracle Mile, STRFKR refined a full-band sound, but this doubles down on and completely reimagines the project’s electronic and pop roots. The initial synths could fuel a rave, and the ensuing groove could score a Drive sequel, but the song is richer still, with cosmic effects flying overhead and a psych-folk earthiness below. It isn’t that the band sat this LP out — drummer (etc.) Keil Corcoran penned the thick astral disco of “In the End,” and he and bassist (etc.) Shawn Glassford both pitch in throughout. But Being No One, Going Nowhere was born in Joshua Tree after Hodges packed up his Los Angeles apartment and moved to that tiny Mojave outpost under the great big sky. “It came together for me in the desert,” he says. “Out there, it’s easy to feel small and slow.”

When Hodges started STRFKR in 2007, it was designed to be success-proof. The name was both unfit for radio and a jab at fame-chasers. But the project was also meant to be bright, playful and brimming with energy. He stumbled upon a winning juxtaposition that’s a STRFKR staple to this day: dark (or heavy) lyrics set to happy music. Hodges credits that to Elliott Smith’s influence, although Being No One, Going Nowhere has closer sonic kin in Italo-disco, kosmische musik and Tony Hoffer’s work with Phoenix, Beck and M83. English thinker/writer Alan Watts, a scholar of Eastern philosophy, was another muse for Hodges — his voice appears on nearly every STRFKR release, including this one. That’s him on “interspace,” talking about sloughing off preconceived identity to find one’s place in the universe, which is the story of Hodges’ eventual career: stop trying — no, start not trying — and succeed.

This album’s name actually paraphrases the title of a book by Ayya Khema, a Buddhist nun, but the concept came to Hodges in a less chaste setting. “I had an experience at a BDSM club that was really freeing,” he says. “I realized that the appeal is letting go of your mind and stress. You can be super present with the pain, and then the pain isn’t even pain. It’s a gateway to freedom.” In a way, each song on Being No One, Going Nowhere seeks that end. There’s the reality-refracting fantasy of “Never Ever,” the hard truths about addiction’s ravages on “Tape Machine,” a death-defying coming of age tale on “Open Your Eyes,” and references to Hermann Hesse’s 1919 novel of self-realization, Demian, on “When I’m With You.” If the words don’t set you free, the music — exuberant, enveloping, incredibly catchy — should do so handily.

None of which is to imply that STRFKR is drifting along aimlessly. To the contrary, Hodges crafted this album’s dance bent with the stage in mind. The live setup these days includes a custom-made LED wall and a homemade light show that syncs with the rhythm of the songs (also, the occasional crowd-surfing astronaut and band-in-drag). Plus, he camped out at the house of producer Jeffrey Brodsky (Yacht, RAC) for a week and a half, working all hours to ensure Being No One, Going Nowhere sounds as crisply booming over PAs as it does in headphones. Even if Hodges is too busy pushing the future of indie dance-pop forward to possibly attain his goal of unplugging, his aspiration is everything: “Existing is it. This moment is enough.”

Rock juggernaut Futurebirds’ newest EP, Bloomin’ Too, is a benchmark that not only celebrates 13 years together, it’s also a testament to the sheer iron will of a group of musicians hungry for the fruits of its labor. 

“Futurebirds is the best it’s been right now, far and away,” says singer/guitarist Carter King. “We’ve been unintentionally carving out our own space sine the beginning, since we never exactly fit in anywhere else musically. We were always too indie rock for the jam festival, too country for the indie scene, a little too psych-rock to feel like we were Americana. The music over the years just kind of created its own weird little ecosystem- it’s thriving and it just feels great.” 

The Athens, Georgia- based group once again tapped storied My Morning Jacket guitarist/producer Carl Broemel in the latest chapter of this seamless, bountiful partnership that initially came to fruition with the 2021 EP, Bloomin’. 

Scary Pockets are a rotating roster of world-class musicians who release live funk reimaginations of familiar songs every week.

Since their first recording session in 2017, Scary Pockets have released 300 videos that have been watched over 234 million times for over 540 million minutes on YouTube where their channel has 1M subscribers. Their songs have been streamed 117 million times on Spotify by 640,000 monthly listeners.

Scary Pockets’ 200 collaborators (so far) include all-stars like David Ryan Harris, Larry Goldings, John Scofield, Joey Waronker, John Mayer, Darren King, Sean Hurley, James Gadson, Darren Criss, Antwaun Stanley, Judith Hill, Bruno Major, Reeve Carney, Derek Hough, Bill Wurtz, Joey Dosik, Lee Sklar, Joe Bonamassa, Theo Katzman, Rachael Price, Lizzy McAlpine, and Joshua Radin, to name a few.

The 2023 Scary Pockets touring lineup consists of Pockets fan favorites Mario Jose (vocals), Therese Curatolo (vocals), Nick Campbell (bass), Swatkins (talkbox, keys), Rob Humphreys (drums), Ryan Lerman (guitar), and Ariel Posen (guitar). The show will feature an opening set by legendary singer/songwriter David Ryan Harris

VAMPA, otherwise known as Emily Mucha, is a 21 year old producer / DJ rising in the North and Southeastern dubstep scenes, bringing a new wave of otherworldly deep bass music to the masses. Through her low end, wobbling frequencies, she allows people to feel the bass resonate and move within themselves, capturing the audience and delivering them to a new kind of heightened experience from right where they’re standing. Her unique sound is represented by her love for the underground, hailing respect from artists she has opened for in the past, including Mija, Boogie T, Trampa, Dubloadz, EPROM, Whipped Cream, Nitti Gritti, Blunts and Blondes, Jphelpz, Xaebor, Yheti and more. Playing sets at Okeechobee Music Festival, Miami Music Week, Hulaween Music Festival, Zen Awakening Festival, Pass the Good Festival, and Fractal Beach, she has gained a dedicated following, seeing her dreams manifest before their eyes as she progresses in the scene. Her mission is to unveil her creative expression to the world and prove to others that there is infinite potential for every person to succeed. Through the perfect blend of logic, creativity, and spiritual inspiration, her visions continue to come to life. 

An Evening With Brooks Nielsen

If David Byrne is one of the geniuses of modern times, then Start Making Sense is a tribute to genius. The musicians in this 7-piece Talking Heads Tribute take pride in faithfully recreating the music of Talking Heads entire career, including songs Talking Heads never performed live! Together they bring much of the Heads unique live show to the stage, with front man Jon Braun as a spot-on David Byrne, some have said this is the closest thing you’ll get to seeing Talking Heads again.