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Music
How the Coachella 2018 Set Times Conflict and Compliment Each Other
Damn, Coachella. Not only do you knowingly keep us in suspense every year as we wait for the moment to start planning every hour of our festival experience, but now you make us skip dinner to salivate over your newly released festival set times for 2018. Whether it leaves you filled with joy or aching […]
The Spirit of Long Beach Folk Revival Finds Rebirth at the Red Leprechaun
Walking around the 2017 Long Beach Folk Revival Festival was a blissful, if slightly surreal, experience. The craft boutiques that had long since been corporatized at other festivals felt once again local, the stages had an openness to them, and the blankets and folding chairs that dominated Rainbow Lagoon Park indicated a small festival where […]
Coachella 2018 Comes Correct With the Rock, Despite What the Haters Say
Dissonant groans among music fans shriek toward a fever pitch annually, in the earliest days of the year grâce à the unveiling of Coachella’s polarizing line up. Lately though, the complaints have taken on somewhat of a theme; the festivals distance from the “Rock ’N Roll” acts that brought the desert event to prominence from […]
Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco & Music Festival Kicks Off Spring in SoCal
The 95.5 KLOS Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco & Music Festival returned to Doheny State Beach in Dana Point this past Saturday, bringing craft beer, mouthwatering tacos, and live entertainment oceanfront, a crowd of over 8,000 who enjoyed a punk rock fueled spring awakening. As the first stop of the festival series (now in its fifth […]
Skull & Roses Festival Returns to Ventura to Celebrate the Grateful Dead
This weekend, the spirit of the Grateful Dead returned to the Ventura County Fairgrounds. Though the Dead had played there multiple times back in the day, this weekend marked the second year the venue held the Skull & Roses Festival, featuring an eclectic variety of Grateful Dead tribute bands. The 20 bands that performed from […]
Long Beach Producer Cavalier Continues the Evolution of G-Funk on His Debut Innate
The city of Long Beach has given the world many great things, not least of which being the G-Funk sound. Pioneered by Long Beach natives Daz Dillinger, Warren G, The Dove Shack, and DJ Battlecat, and popularized by Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, and ultimately Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre, G-Funk articulated the […]
Alice Bag’s Blueprint Teaches the Power of Activism With Attitude
Whenever Alice Bag takes the stage, class is in session. Whether she’s playing in the belly of a dive bar or a large theater, the punk icon from East LA and former schoolteacher looks into a crowd of fans young and old and knows they’ll absorb chaos from the pit as well as the wisdom […]
The Skull & Roses Festival Returns For a New Wave of Deadheads
The Skull & Roses festival has returned for another year of providing young and old Deadheads with the music and the community that they love. Last year, Chris Mitrovich founded and organized the festival at the Ventura County Fairgrounds as a hub for the burgeoning new wave of Grateful Dead fans to come together in […]
The Best Concerts in OC April 6-12
Friday, Apr. 6 Thicker Than Thieves, Rebel Shakedown, Low Budget, 9 p.m., $10-$12, The Wayfarer. 843 W. 19th St., Costa Mesa (949) 764-0039, www.wayfarercm.com. 21+. Crowder–American Prodigal Tour, 6 p.m., $25, House of Blues Anaheim, 400 W. Disney Way, Anaheim (714) 778-2583, www.houseofblues.com/anaheim. All ages. SOB X RBE, 8 p.m., $20, The Observatory, 3503 S. […]
Not Going to Coachella 2018? You Can Still See Some of Your Favorite Artists Perform
Part of the beauty of Coachella being so close to the bustling array of venues in the Southern (and Central and Northern) California music scenes means that you don’t have to shell out $1000+ bucks to see artists on the 2018 lineup! Didn’t manage to score that ticket to Coachella this year? Didn’t care about […]
Long Beach’s Toxic Toast Announces More Shows, Despite City Opposition
A Long Beach record store is chugging on with live music despite hurdles from the city to allow the business to open a proper music venue. Toxic Toast Records will present Epic Beard Men on May 5; PEARS, Fireburn, HIGH and Vultures United on May 19; and MC Chris and Bitforce on May 26 at […]
The Best Acts of Coachella 2018 (A-Z Playlist)
This year the Coachella crew have taken their preparation a step further, by offering not only a handful of Spotify playlists but also Apple Music playlists that cover all types of physical and mental states one might experience leading up to and during the Coachella experience. While my tendencies are to stick with the Spotify […]
Seal Beach Label Awfully Good Records Helps Local Bands Blow Up Again
Eric Walden started going to shows about a decade ago because the Two-For-Tuesdays concerts at the original House of Blues Anaheim were “cheaper than seeing a movie.” Getting his first taste of live music inspired Walden to take it upon himself to help such smaller, local bands flourish. The 23-year-old began his mission by writing reviews […]
KLOS Sabroso Fest Offers OC Festival Flavor With a Kick
There’s nothing more OC than beer, tasty tacos, wrestling and punk rock. Anything less is like trying to talk about Charlie Brown without mentioning Snoopy… that just doesn’t work. Now that Warped Tour’s last run is upon us, Sabroso Craft Beer and Taco Festival may be the next big thing for SoCal. This year’s […]
OC Parks Announces Their 2018 Summer Concert Series
Another summer on the horizon means its almost time to party in some of our best local outdoor spaces. OC Parks Summer Concert Series returns with 10 free outdoor concerts Thursday evenings, June 21 – August 23 from 5 – 8 p.m. Enjoy live music with friends and family under the summer sky at Craig Regional […]
FYF 2018 Lineup Headlined By Janet Jackson and Florence + the Machine
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past 20 minutes, FYF just released its 2018 lineup and its all about strong women at the top. Festivalgoers at Exposition Park this year will witness the return of both Janet Jackson and Florence & The Machine July 21 and 22. The lineup also features a […]
The Best Concerts in OC Mar. 30-Apr.5
Friday, Mar. 30 Kolars, Escondido, Sammy Brue, 8 p.m., $12, The Wayfarer. 843 W. 19th St., Costa Mesa (949) 764-0039, www.wayfarercm.com. 21+. Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dar, 7 p.m., $30, House of Blues Anaheim, 400 W. Disney Way, Anaheim (714) 778-2583, www.houseofblues.com/anaheim. All ages. The Slop Stomp featuring the Premonitions, 9 p.m., Free, Alex’s Bar, […]
Starcrawler Prepare to Write Their Next Chapter After Stealing the Show at SXSW
Starcrawler formed almost three years ago now. They first got some buzz when Sir Elton John played their single “Ants” — their only song out at the time — on his Beats Radio show, Rocket Hour, late November last year. Singer Arrow de Wilde was in high school when that happened. Since then, the group […]
How Drummer Jon Knox Helped Form Rage Against the Machine in Irvine
A week before leaving his hometown of Irvine behind for a new life in Nashville, musician Jon Knox had a parting suggestion for his longtime friend Tim Commerford that proved providential. Knox played drums with Lock Up, a funky Los Angeles rock band that split in 1990, when he paid special mind to its prodigious […]
Desert Daze 2018 Lineup Includes Tame Impala, Mercury Rev, Ty Segall, and War Paint
It’s hard to top Iggy Pop. But the beauty of Desert Daze and its ever-evolving lineup of guitar-toting, experimental rock of all stripes continues to unfold following their sixth landmark installment last year featuring the Godfather of Punk. This year’s festival hosted in a new location in Lake Perris Oct. 12-14 sports another impressive conglomerate […]
OC Festival Producer John Oakes’ Big Move to 117 Live in Dubai Was a Lifetime in the Making
Six months ago, nothing about John Oakes’ career plan included working in Dubai. For 16 years, the St. Louis native-turned-OC transplant was knee deep in his successful entertainment company, Freeze Management, which he started in 2002 and built from the ground up. He was the guy responsible for managing and launching the career of early […]
