Nola Live Music Letter: The summer playlist

Editor’s Note: There is so much live music in New Orleans, and sometimes it can be rather overwhelming to know what to hear, where to go, or what to do. Writer and music lover Wesley Hodges is giving weekly previews of the live music happening in New Orleans as well as some sneak previews into what is coming up and his favorite music picks. For a full view of Wesley’s suggestions, check out his facebook page. 

(Art by David Hockney)

School’s out for summer and people are starting to look towards lakes, rivers, oceans and pools for refuge from the heat. Therefore, I’m sharing my annual summertime playlist (LINK) + a schedule of notable record releases on the horizon (scroll down). Plus, I’ve added FIVE grab bag link-lists you might want to peruse down below.

I will be rolling out a quarterly email thinger in a few weeks similar to this for those interested in receiving these (and whatever that project becomes). Still working on the concept/name but you can add your name to the as-yet-titled list here: http://eepurl.com/cO0qpv – there will be no spam, ever.

Hope this finds you better than well wherever you are and that our paths cross very soon. As they used to write in your yearbook:

H.A.G.S.,

Here’s my top 5’s for your ears:

Five albums I can’t get enough of recently: 

• Pond – The Weather // RIYL: Classic Flaming Lips, early Tame Impala, Outer Space
• Sinkane – Life and Livin’ It // RIYL: William Onyeabor, afrofunk, Talking Heads, desert-infused psychedelia
• Ron Gallo – HEAVY META // RIYL: Delta Spirit, Bob Dylan, Car Seat Headrest
• Los Angeles Police Department – s/t // RIYL: Grizzly Bear, Jay Som, classy/orchestral bedroom pop
• Woods – Love Is Love // RIYL: Devendra Banhart, Grateful Dead, Real Estate

Five Rare-to-Quite-Rare Acts touring the US this summer: 

• Sigur Ros
• Roger Waters
• AIR
• Gorillaz
• Avalanches
• Bonus: Phish doing their thirteen show “Baker’s Dozen” residency at the Garden
• Still Lacking: Jamiroquai US dates

Five Live Sessions Worth a Gander

• Andy Shauf – Audiotree
• Sinkane Tiny Desk Concert
• Ween Live at Sweetwater 420 Fest
• Sigur Ros Live with the LA Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall
• Twin Peaks – Audiotree (BONUS: Their recent live record Urbs in Horto is )

Five 2017 Festivals worthy of your consideration

• Monterey Pop Festival 50  – Monterey, CA (June 16-18) – Phil Lesh and the Terrapin Band, Jim James, Norah Jones, Father John Misty, Leon Bridges, Kurt Vile
• Pickathon – Happy Valley, OR (August 3-6) – Drive By Truckers, A-WA, Dinosaur Jr., Dungen, Andy Shauf, Tank and the Bangas, Hiss Golden Messenger
• Lockn – Arrington, VA (August 24-27) – Widespread Panic, The String Cheese Incident, moe., Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Sinkane, phil.moe., John Fogerty
• Hopscotch – Raleigh, NC (Sept 7-10) – Solange, Run The Jewels, Future Islands, Thee Oh Sees, Preoccupations, Pallbearer, Ne-Hi
• Day For Night – Houston, TX (Dec 16-17) – Unannounced but 2016 looked incredible by all accounts – check out “The future of music festivals“

Five More Things

• Vulture’s oral history of The Strokes is an excellent read.
• Check out the Song Exploder breakdown of Bonobo’s (featuring Rhye) “Break Apart” here. If you are new to that podcast, they are composed of artists deconstructing one of their tunes, piece-by-piece and describing how the tune was conceived and ultimately recorded. Episodes are usually 10-20 minutes. (SONG EXPLODER)
• Summer Reading List: Steven Hyden’s Your Favorite Band is Killing Me: What Pop Music Rivalries Reveal About the Meaning of Life is a quick, humorous and accessible read exploring 19 music rivalries (some real, some largely created out of thin air by pop culture) and what they mean in a broader context.
• Alternate History of Third Eye Blind (The Ringer) – Whether or not you knew they still exist is immaterial. They do, and I saw it with my own eyes on Sunday in Atlanta.
• Five smaller stage acts from Shaky Knees 2017 that left a big impression: (i) Preoccupations; (ii) Ron Gallo; (iii) Hamilton Leithauser; (iv) Twin Peaks; (v) POND /// +++fwiw, LCD still ruled and Phoenix has one of the most impressive visual productions out there in 2017. Check out CoS’s coverage here.