Passion Pit (2025)

One Liner: Synth pop falsetto guy with two big hits from last decade

Wikipedia Genre: Electropop, alternative dance, indietronica, synth-pop, indie pop, neo-psychedelia, art pop (whew, quite a list!)
Home: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 9
Day: Sunday
Both Weekends.

Thoughts:  The name definitely sounded familiar, but before firing this up I did not remember either of their hits.  But here is what I wrote about their 2015 album when I wrote a truly quick hit review in 2015.  "Passion Pit - Kindred.  I've just never been able to get on board with Passion Pit.  The guy who offices next to me loooooooves them, but I just can't get it to click for me.  "Sleepyhead" off of 2009's Manners was an interesting song, kind of like the Avalanches until the singing starts, and "Take a Walk" from 2012's Gossamer was fine until the radio hammered it into everyone's face, but I just can't get behind this new album.  His high pitched singing is part of the issue, it never ever drops down into the normal range, and he cranks up auto-tune some on here as well.  Just not my stuff."

After wandering around in the catalog for a day and a half, I think that is still my feeling.  2009's Manners has some other good tunes on it, "Carried Away" from Gossamer is pretty good, but that is about all the praise I can come up with.  I'm just not that much of a synth pop falsetto-all-the-time guy I guess.  The band formed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2007, taking their name from a slang dictionary's term for drive-in theaters where teenagers could bone in their cars.  Michael Angelakos is the singer, synth player, and mastermind behind the whole thing, and he grabs several other players to come along for live shows.  At first, they gained some notoriety on the campus of Emerson College, where Angelakos was a student and handed out self-produced copies of their debut.  "Sleepyhead" was one of those initial singles, and it is still one of their top two tracks with 230.8 million streams.

Do people even know the Avalanches anymore?  Anyway, the backing tune to that song is significantly better than the annoying ass vocals for me.  That tune was off of 2009's Manners, their debut album, and I guess all they had to play when they were last here in 2009.  Their next album Gossamer has their biggest hit, "Take a Walk" with 315.5 million streams.

Sweet effects with that bouncing raquetball!  Was this the first drone footage ever?  Yeah, that is a good song.  I just remember being very tired of hearing that same synth/guitar riff from the chorus.  Interestingly, no new albums since 2017, just one new single in 2023 and a remix or two more recently.  After digging back into this, I really don't think I'd do this show unless it is a key band for my friends.

honestav

One Liner: Whiny ass half-rap garbage

Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but like rap-rock, trashy hell garbage?
Home: Pierce City, Missouri

Poster Position: Third Quarter - Line 14
Day: Friday
Weekend One Only.

Thoughts:  Dammit.  I was hoping for something I could just let play while I got stuff done around here.  That most popular song is not what I want at all.  Now I need to write this up quickly because I've gotten through the top ten and it is all butt.  Whiny ass half-rap garbage.

No Wikipedia to give me an easy backstory.  His name is apparently Avrey Freeman, and he is from Pierce City, Missouri.  He started with poetry and then songs at 12, and then started posting his music onto Soundcloud at 17.  He described his music thusly: "I would describe my music by saying it’s a good scratch for the brain. An orgasm for your ears maybe. It’s all of everything I’ve ever been influenced by packed into one song. Hip hop – punk – folk I think you can hear a lot of different influences in my music."  [uurrrrkk, vomit sounds, urrrrrrrkkkk]

First singles in 2021 with a pile of singles after that, and then one album with 2024's hara-kiri.  Top song is on that album - "I'd Rather Overdose" with 60.7 million streams.

It's like a bad Post Malone thing?  Or one of those dorks that was here previously who was Travis Barker's little protege?  "Stuck On The Floor" is his second-most streamed with 13 million.

Just whiny ass, boring stuff.  I don't care for it at all.  No thank you.

Anderson East

One Liner: Powerful white boy soul

Wikipedia Genre: Southern soul, R&B, Americana, roots rock, blues rock
Home: Nashville

Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 12
Day: Sunday
Both Weekends.

Thoughts:  I don't know why I expected this to be country, but it is most definitely not country.  Got that blue eyed soul thing going.  There is an artist that plays on KUTX a lot who this makes me think of, but I can't think of his name.  Sorta Marc Broussard, but that's not who I'm thinking of.  Maybe Ray Lamontagne.  

Michael Cameron Anderson is originally from Athens, Alabama, but has been in Nashville for a long time.  He performed an original song at his seventh grade talent show, after teaching himself piano because of an inspiration from Ben Folds.  He moved to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to attend college and study to be a musical engineer, and then moved to Nashville.  I actually drove through Murfreesboro a month or so ago.  What a weird ass name for a place.  That is too many r's around an f.  I don't believe anyone can say that without sounding like Sling Blade.  Anyway, homie originally recorded as Mike Anderson and then realized that name sucks butt.  HIs self-released original album is weird, in that he made two discs - the White disc was apparently progressive soul, while the Red disc was apparently a darker rock sound.  I have to say apparently, because those are not available to me on Spotify.  The first album available there is 2015's Delilah.  Also, random, but he dated Miranda Lambert for a minute.  She was awesome at Two Step Inn.

"Falling" is terrible - sometimes he gets deeply cheesy.  When that song just came on it made me want to finish this post and move on to something else.  Yuck.  Sorry.  Maybe that was rude, but that song really broke up my vibe.  I also can't say I love the cover of "Always Be My Baby."

Three albums (that we can see) - 2015's Delilah, 2018's Encore, and 2021's Maybe We Never Die.  Maybe new music is coming, because it seems weird for him to be here with nothing new at all.  HIs top songs, other than the one on the 50 Shades soundtrack, are from that 2018 album.  "This Too Shall Last" is his top track with 45.8 million streams.

That is significant neck beard, Mike.  Maybe clean that shit up for your next cover.  But yeah, nice little tune.  Strong voice.  Speaking of which, a live song popped up as I drove home yesterday, and it honestly sounded like he was struggling a little with the notes.  It was "Hold On, I'm Comin'."  I mean, I'm not selling albums and packing rooms, so far be it from me to be a jerk and criticize, but it was a little loose.  "All On My Mind," also from that album, is his second biggest tune, but I'll reach back to an earlier one and give you "Satisfy Me" from his first disc.  18.3 million streams.

All three versions on YouTube were live, so I guess you get the top one.  Sounds pretty much like the real thing though.  Again, great voice!  Adds that rough edge to it so that it feels like he really cares.  I'm sort of torn on him - in moments I really enjoy it, and then at other moments I really want it to stop.  We'll see how the schedule shakes out.

Good Neighbours

One Liner: Extra poppy indie rock with all of the falsettos and that "Home" song

Wikipedia Genre: Indie rock
Home: London

Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 13
Day: Friday
Both Weekends.

Thoughts:  I really thought that this band had already been here - when I picked them as the next writeup, I went and searched for my prior posts, only to find out I have nothing.  Weird.  I wonder what their name is making me think of.  But hit play on their biggest hit, and you immediately know which one these dudes are - "darling, won't yuou take me hooooooooaaahhhhooooohhhhhme?"  I'm trying to think of what other bands this makes me think of, with the slightly shrill lead singer's voice never giving me a break.  Maybe Foster the People?  MGMT?  Mt. Joy?  I dunno.

Absolute trash of a Wikipedia entry: "Good Neighbours are an English indie rock duo formed in London in 2024, comprising two members: Oli Fox and Scott Verrill. Their debut single, "Home", was released on 17 January 2024 to commercial success; peaking at number 26 in the UK."  That's it.  I gotta say though, Oli Fox is an absolutely banger of a name.  That dude should have been a footballer for City and they could have sung bloody brilliant songs using that name.  Apparently, they each had some minor success on their own before coming together, with Fox supporting Sigrid (still love her!) on her UK tour and Verrill creating a solo band named kwassa after the Vampire Weekend song.  They came together to create indie rock action for the world.  The big hit sort of makes me think it was used in a commercial.  Doesn't this feel like an Apple commercial should be playing?

410.0 million streams so far, massively outperforming any other tune in the catalog.  And deserved - nice little groove and lyrics that make you nostalgic.  That was literally their first single - pretty sweet for your first foray into the world to become a global smash.  I guess it could also be a bummer, if you never see those heights again.  They also released a cover of "Espresso," so they are bound to play that again for the Fest.  No actual albums, closest they have is a 2024 EP  called Good Neighbors.  It, of course, also features "Home" and after counting their Spotify, that song is available eight different times.  Out of 27 total tracks available.  It looks like they want "Ripple" to be the next hit, since it is available seven times out of the 27 songs.  You can see why listening to this feels pretty repetitive because the same songs keep rolling around.  10.3 million streams.

He actually brings his voice down out of the falsetto for that one!  It is glorious!  It is super catchy and fun though.  New single "Starry Eyed" makes me think of MGMT for sure.  This stuff is pretty fun.  A little grating with the falsetto tone all the time, and something about the cuteness of it all grates a smidge too.  But I also think it should be a pretty fun show to go bop around to.

INOHA

One Liner: Bright pop rock fun from San Antonio

Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but rock, pop rock, alternative, surf rock
Home: San Antonio

Poster Position: Third Quarter - Line 19
Day: Saturday
Weekend One Only.

Thoughts:  When I just pulled them up on Spotify and saw their photo, I literally said "Oh Lord" out loud.  Cheesy prom-ish picture of some dudes who look like they are 19 year olds trying to pass off as 22.  And then the first song restored my faith in the world.  Its a little punky, a little indie rock, a little alternative, a sniff of surf rock, and a lot of fun for me.

San Antonio!  It doesn't feel like we end up with many bands from SA!  But I like San Antonio.  I don't love some of the flashy new crap that is popping up there and sort of Austin-izing the scene, but there is kick ass food and good bars all around that town, along with less traffic.

Inoha on Wikipedia takes me to Japanese people - soccer players, aristocrats, and whatnot.  Apparently, one member of the band was still at Trinity University when their debut, Aloha, came out last year.  The tunes on there remind me of other folks who have come through the festival - thinking of Two Door Cinema Club and Backseat Lovers right now - but with a slightly different tweak to things.  But bright guitars and a kind of playful vocal-style make it seem fun.  The big single appears to have been "Seventh Heaven," with a whopping 52.7 million streams (way more than any other tune on here).

You hear those Two Door guitars starting that sucker off?  And then they just jam out for a bit as the singer goes on about falling apart around age 30.  Wait until you're closer to 50, kid.  "Saturday Nights" is also fun and bright, but it fell behind "GESHUOU" in the streams war.  6.2 million.

Another one that makes me grin is "Papaya Man," where the guitars sort of remind me of Turnstile's "Underwater Boi" but the lyrics about trying to find the Papaya Man cracks me up. I catch a sniff of Weezer in some of these tunes too, like in "Biggest Salmon."  The band has done some goofy YouTube stuff as well, so that when you search their name you get several entries talking about the Inoha Band Controversy!  But it appears to be a stunt and not an actual controversy with them.  Oh, those crazy kids!  I can't actually watch any of them, or many of the other pieces of media about these dudes, because I can't access TikTok or Instagram from my work computer.  Just have to assume they are as wholesome and wonderful as these tunes.  

As an indication of my pleasure here, I finished this post a while back but just kept the music rolling.  Fun stuff, I'd go watch it happen.

Clover County

One Liner: Country that veers into a folky pop at times, but sounds great in either

Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but country, Americana, folky pop
Home: Athens, GA (via Orlando and many other spots)

Poster Position: Third Quarter - Line 20
Day: Saturday
Weekend One Only.

Thoughts:  The first song kind of came at me like a Dayglow vibe, and then she kicks in the singing and it is alluring.  I've been through the whole catalog (not a huge feat, relatively limited) and that holds throughout.  Walks a fine line between country and folky pop, that sort of brings to mind people like Sierra Ferrell at times.

No Wikipedia, so I have to piece together a background from elsewhere.  Her website bio says she was raised in Central Florida.  According to Wikipedia, that is usually defined as Tampa to Orlando.  Sounds like a deliciously trashy section of the world.  She began songwriting at the age of 13, teaching herself to play on her dad's "collection of 1980's songbooks."  The idea of a songbook today is hilarious.  I had (maybe still have) one of Robert Earl Keen songs from when I thought I would play guitar.  Until I tried playing the dang F chord.  That one broke me.

A.G. Schiano is her real name.  The name Clover County is an homage to the places she has lived.  Orlando to Denver to Atlanta to Birmingham to Athens (to attend UGA).  Thats a fun string of towns to me.  But they don't seem especially prone to clovers?  Ah, no, this is metaphorical: "“Clover County'' represents a state of mind, no matter where you’re planted you have the choice to grow."  Are clovers especially hearty?  Feels like weeds would be the heartiest and able to grow no matter what.  I guess Weed County brings to mind a different vibe.

A couple of singles and then one 2024 EP called Porch Lights.  To track is "Ultraviolet" from the EP, with 383k streams.

That bright and sunny start is cool, and her voice comes in with a lilt of country but joins in on the bopping of the beat.  By the chorus, she just sounds like she's singing a pop song.  I like it.  "Under These Conditions" is also on the new EP, and is her second-most streamed with 268k.

A little more stripped down, but the steel on the chorus and that piano joining in makes the song for me.  That is a really nice song.  I am going to share it with the wife right now.

I'd go watch this for sure.  I don't know if she will be in the noon area of the schedule where I'll miss out on it, but I really enjoy what she has going on.

T-Pain (2025)

One Liner: The King of Auto-Tune.

Wikipedia Genre: hip hop, R&B
Home: Tallahassee

Poster Position: Top Quarter - Line 2
Day: Sunday
Both Weekends.

Thoughts:  Fascinating.  I don't know squat about T-Pain.  Like at all.  He's more of a punch line to me, just anytime someone has their Auto-Tune cranked to a million, then it's a T-Pain thing.  Which is sort of too bad, because he seems like a nice dude who is kind of funny.  Like, check out his Tiny Desk show!

Wonderful voice - why does he always shaft it up with the effects???  But I could not name you a single song.  I remember his parts on other people's songs, like Lonely Island's "I'm on a Boat!" but just not any of his own.  And now that I actually listen to him for a while, it dawns on me that he's actually not really a rapper.  He's just an auto-tuned R&B singer.  

Faheem Rashad Najm is originally from Tallahassee, Florida.  He first popped off in 2005 with his debut album Rappa Ternt Sanga.  Since then, he has released five more albums, but his main source of fame and success has been as a feature on others' songs.  FloRida's "Low" has been certified diamond.  Grammy Awards for Kanye's "Good Life" and Jamie Foxx's "Blame It."  Wikipedia says that for a time in 2007, he was featured on four of the top ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.  Impressive.  His stage name is short for Tallahassee Pain, and he apparently chose that because of his hard upbringing in that town.  He was raised in a Muslim household, but apparently didn't care much about religion.  For a short while he was in the group Nappy Headz, but by the time of his first album he was back to being solo.

His top two songs are both from 2007's Epiphany - "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" (780.5 million) and "Bartender" (479.5 million).  Here is that top track, featuring Yung Joc.

Really weird.  I 100% don't know that tune.  For being a huge hit, it just passed me by.  His face looks as Auto-tuned as his voice.  Nothing special to me, but as I have established in the past, I am not an R&B guy.  

He has been married to his wife since 2003, and they have three kids, named: Lyriq, Muziq, and Kaydnz Kodah.  Why do the first two get names derived from Daddy's occupation and the third gets whatever the hell that was?  He is a big gamer, and I've seen some of his most popular stuff from Twitch streams on YouTube, and they are pretty funny.

And his hot ones episode is cracking me up too.

He truly seems like a sweet and likeable guy.  Please don't tell me that he has been cancelled or whatever.

Not his second-most streamed, but I want to give you this other one because the name rules.  "I'm N Luv (Wit a Stripper)" features Mike Jones and has 208.7 million streams.

Kinda funny, but just really not a good song.  "get her over to my crib and do the night thing."  Haha, Mike Jones and his dumb phone number thing.  That is a weak verse.  After plowing through a lot of the most popular songs and those old top albums, I just realize that this is not really my thing!  Just hearing purely Auto-Tune squawking, it really gets painful.  I spent a chunk of today listening, and I need to pull the plug and move on. 

However, I have to recommend the experience of his covers album.  He has two albums of covers that are so fun!  2023's On Top of The Covers includes "War Pigs" "Tennessee Whiskey" and "Don't Stop Believin'" while 2023's live version adds even more goodness like "Shout," "This is How We Do It," and "American Woman."  Haha - "War Pig" freaking jams and while it's not as hard here as I want it to be (compared to the original), it's still a good time.  He almost sounds like Ozzy!  Also, related, dude can freaking SING!  Check out "Don't Stop Believin'" and bask in the lack of Autotune.

His final album is something with Young Cash called Bluez Brothaz, from 2024.  Honestly?  "The Introduction" was kinda awesome and sucked me in.  And then "Biggest Booty" hit with another overload of the damn Auto-Tune.  And even though I rag on it, I can pretty much guarantee you that this show will be freaking fun.  I doubt I'll do it, but the dance party vibes will be very real.

Wild Rivers

One Liner: Folky Canadians who have come around to a poppier, cleaner sound

Wikipedia Genre: Indie folk
Home: Toronto

Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 11
Day: Sunday
Weekend One Only.

Thoughts: I literally just said to myself - I just want to find something new that I can listen to for a while and enjoy as I get some work done.  No disrespect to the folks I just finished reviewing, but this is a welcome find here.  I also just needed to grind on something for like 4 straight hours, so I have definitely given them a fair amount of my time.  It's very nice!

And why wouldn't it be nice to listen to a band of Canadian people who have named their band after a lovely feature of their beautiful country?  The members met at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and formed the band in 2013.  At first, it was just two of them - Devan Glover on vocals and Khalid Yassein on vocals and guitar - that went into the studio to make some magic.  But later they hooked up with Andrew Oliver to add more guitar and some synths to the sound.  By 2023, they were opening for the Chicks for part of their world tour.

Four albums of nice little folky tunes that every once in a while can fire up.  2016's Wild Rivers, 2022's Sidelines, 2024's Never Better, and 2024's Better Now.  "Thinking 'Bout Love" is one of only two with more than 100 million streams, at 174.5 million.  Not even on one of the albums, on a 2020 EP called Songs to Break Up To.

That one feels less like indie folk and more like an R&B-ish pop thing.  I'm sure it was a TikTok tune.  Almost has a John Mayer vibe to it, but without any guitar fireworks in the middle.  One of their two 2024 albums received a Juno nomination for Adult Alternative Album of the Year.  Their second-biggest tune was on their debut - "Speak Too Soon" has 115.5 million streams.

Now that is a little more like the Indie Folk I was expecting.  Like that Caamp band, but with a lady cranking the harmonies.  The newest album has a more polished sound than either of those - the title track has an insistent beat to it that is a little bit jittery and forward, as opposed to the lazy feel of that first disc.  "Cave" could be like a Nashville duet.  Actually, same with "Anyways, I Love You."  I could easily see that being like a Maren Morris/Brothers Osborne tune.  Not a bad thing, just a definite shift.

I'd go watch this.

Fujii Kaze

One Liner: Japanese R&B and pop with a huge TikTok hit and then some other catchy bits

Wikipedia Genre: J-Pop, R&B, pop
Home: Satosho, Okayama, Japan

Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 8
Day: Saturday
Weekend Two Only.

Thoughts: Damn.  I was really hoping that I was about to get something that matched up to the idea of a Kamikaze - like angry ass Japanese Fugazi.  Instead, the top song is like if Harry Connick Jr. used trap beats and only sang in Japanese.  Pretty catchy.  Pretty weird!  And much like my statements about Feid, I don't know what to do with all of this.

That is apparently his real name, which is interesting on its own.  He began by posting piano covers of pop songs to YouTube when he was 12, and then he signed to a Universal imprint after more than 30 million views.  His first album was big in Japan, 2020's Help Ever Hurt Never. reaching #1 and being certified gold.  But it wasn't until "Shinunoga E-Wa" became a viral hit on social media that he made waves outside of Japan.  That song is, for sure, his biggest hit.  682.7 million streams.

Nice voice.  Pretty piano.  I have no clue why this would go viral - have my girls done weird TikTok dances to this?  But catchy, even if I have no clue what he is going on about.  As I have kept this one going, I actually just had the thought that I needed to put some music on while I work.  But this was already playing.  Not a good sign for your music when my brain just registers it as silence.  It means I need to get this over with.  The song I am in now is R&B, but with Japanese lyrics.  Strange thing to hear.

In 2021, he won Best Breakthrough Artist as something called Space Shower Music Awards.  Way to go!  He also won Popular New Artist at the Music Pen Club Music Awards and the Grand Prize <Blue> at the CD Shop Awards.  I feel like this was all translated from Japanese like the words that would come on the screen in old school Nintendo games.

His second biggest streamer has a title that I don't know how to type because it is in Japanese characters.  "まつり" is maybe it?  Whatever.  261 million streams though.

Weird that YouTube calls that "Kirari," while Spotify just uses the Japanese characters.  Again, sounds kind of fun and catchy, and he's a good-looking fun bro.  But none of this was made for me.  I am good to let other people enjoy this adventure.  I need to find a Japanese Fugazi now.

Feid

One Liner: Reggaeton/Urbano in Spanish
Wikipedia Genre: Urbano 
Home: Medellin, Columbia

Poster Position: Top Line - Line 2
Day: Sunday
Both Weekends.

Thoughts:  Always a fascinating thing to realize how limited your musical scope is.  I think I listen to an absolute ton of music, and yet I've never even heard the name of this guy who has FIVE billion stream songs in his top ten on Spotify.  But have I ever heard anyone say the word "Feid" before?  No, dear reader, I have not.  In fact, I need to figure out how you pronounce it.  Actually fascinating.  Not like feed, and not like the end of Bonafide.  You pronounce it like the word "faith," but with a Spanish emphasis.  Sort of like "fade," but with a little faiid to it.  There you go.  Faiide.

Salomon Villada Hoyos is from Medellin, Columbia, and also performs under the name Ferxxo.  To my extremely untrained ear, this just sounds like Bad Bunny.  Wikipedia calls this style of music "urbano," but also mentions that he got into reggaeton after he stopped playing the clarinet.  His background on Wikipedia is pretty limited - his dad is a university professor in "arts" and his mom is a preschool teacher and psychologist.  He got to work with other reggaeton artists like J Balvin, which helped him get bigger.  He is also apparently a partner to Karol G, who was here previously.

I winded about this last year when Carin Leon took this exact same spot on the poster.  Annoying to have an artist I can't understand at all take over a top tier spot in the lineup.  Yes, I know he is insanely popular.  But also, for me personally, this is just something I won't go watch.

His first singles popped out in 2014, but he didn't start getting serious streams until 2016 singles, about the time he partnered with J Balvin.  9 albums - 2017's Asi Como Suena, 2019's 19, 2020's FERXXO (VOL 1:M.O.R.), 2020's BAHIA DUCATI, 2021's INTER SHIBUYA - LA MAFIA, 2022's FELIZ CUMPLEANOS FERXXO TE PIRATEAMOS EL ALBUM (wtf is up with these album titles?), 2023's MOR, No Le Temas a La Obscuridad, 2023's FERXXOCALIPSIS, 2024's LOS 9 DE FERXXO Y SKY ROMPIENDO.  Typing all of that out truly sucked ass.  He has a million singles as well.

Top track is from FERXXOCALIPSIS, called "LUNA" and with 1.25 billion streams.  Also features something called ATL Jacob.

Sure.  No clue what he is saying, and the beat really gets me nothing.  I know that a lot of people disagree with me on that, which is fine, but I just don't get the appeal.  We'll do one more just to give you the flavor.  Second biggest is "Feliz Cumpleanos Ferxxo" with 1.20 billion streams.

I never want to come off as dismissing of these sorts of artists, and I'm sure someone from Columbia thinks that every Pearl Jam song sounds just the same, but ...  I think that maybe because I don't know the words, those just sound like another noise in the song, so that it just feels like the same beat with the same vocal noise over and over again.  I'll find something else to check out during this hour and leave it to the fun people to go dance their asses off.

King Princess (2025)

One Liner: Gritty pop music reminds me of cleaner Billie Eilish, dirtier Maggie Rogers.

Wikipedia Genre: Pop
Home: Brooklyn

Poster Position: Top Quarter - Line 4
Day: Friday
Both Weekends.

Thoughts: Last here in 2019, but I don't think I did the show.  Or at least I don't recall it!  High position on the poster for something that doesn't feel like it has a big footprint in the world, but that also shows you how well I travel in the circles of pop music.  Also surprising?  It's really good.  Her name makes me think of Super Mario Brothers for some reason, despite there not being a character in that game named King Princess.  When you could play with Princess Peach though, in like Mario 2 or 3, and her ass could fly for a lil' bit?  That ruled.  I'm sure she is in Super Smash Bros as well, but that game is annoying because I always get my ass whipped.

Real name is Mikaela Mullaney Straus and she was born in Brooklyn.  Not one of these carpetbaggers coming to town for the cool, she was born there.  Weird factoid from her Wikipedia - her grandparents (maybe great-great grandparents or something, this is not clear) died in the sinking of the Titanic.  He may have also co-owned Macy's, although Mikaela says she didn't inherit a fortune.

Anyway, her dad was a sound engineer at Mission Studio.  She spent years with her dad in the studio, watching him work as a recording engineer.  She also learned bass, guitar, piano, and drums in the studio, as well as production techniques.  Pretty handy way to grow up!  Her initial single, "1950," is by far her most popular, due in part to Harry Styles tweeting a lyric from it.  591.4 million streams for that one.

Freaking beautiful song.  Although, I have to admit that the first few listens, I thought her cut off phrasing of "for you" in the chorus was a kiss off of "fuck you" instead.  Which big time changes the message of the song.  Not a kiss off at all, just a lovely love song.  Also, though the extended phrasing on "tell me why my guuyuuuuyuuuuuyyuuuu-ods look like you" was actually "guys look like you," which is also another message.

She has a cover of "Femme Fatale" among her songs available on Spotify, and while most will obviously identify that as the Velvet Underground, that song is still an R.E.M. song to me because of the cover I heard off of Chronic Town/Dead Letter Office long before I knew who Velvet Underground even was.  It's a nice cover here too.  She covered "Dirty Work" for Hacks too, which is a great tune.

She also has a song called "Pussy Is God," so there's that.

Her second most streamed is one called "Talia," released in 2018 after "1950."  Both of these also made it onto her EP from 2018, called "Make My Bed."  "Talia" has 132.4 million streams.

She's super in love with that doll!  That song is OK - not nearly as good as the first one.  Also, kind of sad, with the need to drink enough to see her friend.  Can definitely see the crowd at ACL learning when to yell "BUT FOUR DRINKS I'M WASTED!"

Two albums - 2019's Cheap Queen and 2022's Hold On Baby.  I must have published my 2019 review prior to Cheap Queen being released, because I don't mention it and never reviewed it otherwise.  The top track on there is "Ain't Together" with 40.2 million streams.

Okay, that has a Japanese Breakfast/soccer mommy kinda vibe.  Nice.  Her cover for that album was doing the Chappell Roan freaky makeup thing long before Chappell Roan was playing state fairs.  "Isabel's Moment" and "Hit the Back" kind of remind me of Adele for bits, although the latter turns into a dance party after the slow intro.  She got another boost from Harry when he named her to be the opener for a chunk of his 2020 tour, and then got named to play Saturday Night Live at the end of 2019.  Since then, she's continued to open for kick ass things - Kacey Musgraves, Chili Peppers - and do her own tours as well.

2022's Hold On Baby - when this one started, I legitimately thought that it was a new St. Vincent song.  "I Hate Myself, I Want to Party" and "For My Friends" are the two tracks that stick out to me as being really solid here.  But "Little Bother" has slightly more streams than "For My Friends," so I'll let you try that one on.  9.3 million streams.

Nice harmonies, kind of makes me think of Lucius.  "Let Us Die," the final song, is also a good one.  While it is always surprising for me to dig on pop, I really enjoy this one.

The tunes kind of make me think of this current moment in pop, with stars like the 1975 and Maggie Rogers making this sort of rock-feeling pop that doesn't actually lean on guitars but has the heft of a rock style.  I'm shocked to like this one so much, but I actually do.  I might go try this one out.

Maggie Antone (2025)

One Liner: Varied selection of cover tunes turned into a nice little country set
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but I'd call this Country
Home: Richmond, VA

Poster Position: Bottom Quarter - Line 23
Friday.
Weekend Two Only.

Thoughts:  Well, I already like her name because Antone's is a dope old club.  And I've already heard her because she came to Two Step Inn this year, and is also featured on fellow poster dweller Willow Avalon's hit.  She has a distinctive voice for sure.

No Wikipedia.  Her bio that is repeated in multiple places says that she won her parents over from a young age by singing along to the radio from her carseat, enough that they supported her through voice lessons, musical theater, and National Anthem gigs around their hometown of Richmond, VA.  She put out a cover of a Tyler Childers song that went viral, and after an album of covers, she fired out a real album of her own tunes, with a bunch of top tier collaborators in the writing room.

2022's Interpretations features two Childers tracks ("Lady May" and "Feathered Indians"), Dolly's "Jolene," Prine's "Spanish Pipe Dream," Blink 182's "Adam's Song," and then two I had to look up - Beyonce with "Daddy Lessons" and David Gray with "This Year's Love."  That is an extremely varied little jukebox!  The two Childers tunes are the top streamers, this is "Lady May" with 2.7 million.

The album version she did for that 2022 thing is better - cleaner, with better vocals for sure.  One album, other than the covers disc, 2024's Rhinestoned.  It has two songs that seem to have clicked, some are as low as 135k streams, but the top one is "Johnny Moonshine" with 8.3 million streamarooos.

MAGOOOOGGIE is for lovers?  Mmmmkay.  Catchy for sure, and her voice has a classic lilt to it that is really nice.  The lyrics to "suburban outlaw" are even better, with her taking down some dickhead guy.  Nothing new released since.  None of this is going to change my life, but it's nice, legitimate country music.

ACL 2025: The Lineup!

Happy Lineup Announce Day!

My seventeen year old actually wished me a happy ACL eve yesterday, which made me laugh.  The initial four announcements yesterday - Hozier, Sabrina Carpenter, Empire of the Sun, and Latin Kings - left a lot to be desired for my personal tastes, but there will always be good things to find on the poster.

I am going to allow myself exactly eight minutes of pity party real quick, before I dig in to this thing.  I know that I am on the older end of the demographic that they are seeking to please with this Festival.  Even though I have more money than the youths who they are seeking to please, those youths are morons and spend their money more freely, and so aiming at their eyeballs is a solid strategy.  Also, they get super hyped about things and help spread the message to the rest of the world in a way us old people (well, maybe excepting me and this weird blog) want to do.  So, woe is me.  Where is my Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails, Dave Matthews Band, Bruce Springsteen, etc. megashow?!?!  So sad.  Waaaaa waaaaaaah.

NOW, shake it off and let's talk about what we have here.

Headliners:

• Sabrina Carpenter.  I can't believe she gets top billing, and I super do not want to see this at all.
• Hozier.  I can't believe he is #2.  That being said, he sounds amazing and has some huge hits, so I'll probably go see him again.  But wasn't he just here?  Does he even have a new album?
• Doja Cat.  Lame.  BREAKING NEWS: old white guy doesn't want two bad pop stars in the top three!
• Luke Combs.  I dunno man.  A friend just saw his Jazz Fest set and said it was awesome, but I don't care too much about Nashville formula country.  Better than Doja, I suppose?
• The Strokes.  Are still apparently alive?  Okay.   I guess I should be pleased to have a rock act?
• John Summit.  Never heard of him, so I expect that means he is techno.
• Doechii.  I heard the name when I saw that it won a Grammy this year, but I've never heard a song.  For that to be the top rapper on the list is pretty whack.

How about the rest?

• Cage the Elephant are fun.  I feel like they were just here, but maybe I'm conflating them with someone else.
• Rainbow Kitten Surprise were good ten years ago, but I haven't checked back in on them.
• Okay, there is a great little pocket next: Modest Mouse, Wet Leg, Backseat Lovers, Dr. Dog, Japanese Breakfast, Car Seat Headrest, Sam Barber, and MJ Lenderman.  ALL eight of those bands or artists are really good.
• Briscoe finally made it to ACL!
• Tanner Usrey is great.
• I probably just don't know the rapper names on here, but it would appear that it is Doechii and T-Pain.  Brutal for the folks who love rap.  And weird, a little bit, after other years with tons of fun rap for the kids to rage along to.  I wonder if this is still the Astroworld fallout...

Things I am now sad about - yesterday there were rumors about Green Day and Goose.  I knew better than to expect Green Day, but I had still gotten geeked up about the idea of getting Goose back in the park.  pffffffffffffttttttt.

Okay, folks, time to get to discovering!

Quick Hits, Vol. 370 (Turnpike Troubadours, Valerie June, Perfume Genius, )

One last Quick Hits before the ACL onslaught.  I couldn't quite give the new Goose enough time to really write about it, so it will just have to wait!

Turnpike Troubadours - The Price of Admission.  I have come around to really liking these dudes.  Nothing especially flashy on this album, but if you like country music, it would be hard to find a more pleasant combination of lyrics, instrumental skill (I especially think the banjo player is great), and twang.  Not in a cheesy Nashvillian package, but this sounds like a group of friends having a really good time making tunes together.  I am honestly surprised at the stream counts for this disc, after seeing the rabidly large crowd at 2024's Two Step Inn for these dudes.  I thought this was going to be a coming out party here, but the stream count is definitely low.  Opening track "On the Red River" is the top streamer with 2.2 million.

"Death doesn't leave with the best part of you" is a great, simple line.  Like I said, nothing flashy or new, but as far as a classic country sound checking all the right boxes for a nice album to listen to, this thing is right on.  I was reading something the other day that asked the question or what actually defines country music as country music.  I have no clue anymore, because to say it needs to have fiddle and banjo would leave out a large swatch of current artists, but however you define it with words, this is what it actually sounds like.

Valerie June - Owls, Omens, & Oracles.  I can't remember why this one came into my queue, but I'm glad it did.  This album is fun.  Her voice is odd, a little quirky and different, and I just love the pure happiness I hear in the opening track, fittingly called "Joy, Joy!"  Comes on like one of those Dan Auerbach creations trying to help some artist find some classic rock funkiness, and then she just rips it up.  Lot of that feeling on here, where the tunes are just fun and she sounds great over the top of them.  Sort of throwback bluesy rock thing.  Unsurprisingly, the stream count for this is very low - these are not terrible pop songs created by Max Martin or mumbly rap songs - so the top track is that album opener with 364k.  Only two other tunes crack 100k.

I don't know quite how to name the oddity about her voice - it's not really nasal, it's definitely not monotone, but both of those pop into my head.  Just has a different tone that is all her own.  Some of the tunes are a little more spare, almost like spirituals or something, but they still bring a neat contrast to the narrative of the album.  A disc with some bright spots and some forgettable bits, at the end of the day.  But I really like the highs!

Perfume Genius - Glory.  I read a blurb about this album in this annoying little magazine that my father subscribed me to at Christmas.  It is called The Week, and I think 20 years ago it probably would have been indispensable because it coherently collects all of the most important news stories and bits and pieces into one quick to read package.  The problem now is that most of the news in there is old and crusty by the time I read it, because there is an Internet now.  But I still flip through it because they also collect other fun things like music reviews, show reviews, fun facts, and some strange real estate spread like last week's secluded prepper cabin spread.  Anywhoo, they mentioned R.E.M. guitars in their review blub about this album, and so I was absolutely forced to add it to my list.  I still have yet to find that moment in here, but it is an enjoyable little indie rock record anyway.  Maybe when the rock kicks in on "No Front Teeth," but even those bring someone like Matthew Sweet to my mind before Peter Buck and friends.  Funny that every album so far in this post seems to be something that people have come to check out, and then immediately given up on.  Yet again, the first song on the album has the most streams.  "It's a Mirror" with 2.5 million.

I red head!  My man!  I did not enjoy whatever they were doing to him in that bed, so it made me really like the alien blast and subsequent motorcycle ride.  But then with the gasoline, my skin was crawling again.  Well done with the discomfort levers! Lovely tune though!  "Me & Angel" has a Jet-Trying-to-Sound-Like-The-Beatles vibe to it.  "Dion" sounds like a Manchester Orchestra song that removed the build up and release that usually comes in those.  I think my overall vibe though, after a few more listens, is unfortunately disinterest.  I think the first three songs create a vibe I'm ready to relish, and then the tracks become less and less engaging as the disc rolls along.  They can get loud for a sec, but they seem less likely to keep my attention.  I'll let it go.

ACL 2025: I need one more prediction post before May 6

I am SLACKING on the prediction posts.  Normally I put in so much more work, but I think it has become increasingly difficult to figure out who could be here, as music has become more splintered and ACL has become more welcoming to all sorts of genres and styles who previously would have been sent to other Festivals.  So maybe it is less rewarding to work through that.  I dunno.  Or I'm just busy!

But, I just saw that Wet Leg announced their new tour, and it has some intriguing dates.  Pheonix on 10/3 (Friday of Weekend One), OKC on October 7, and El Paso on October 14.  Weekend two is 10th-12th.  That for sure looks like a band who wants to be around the Texas area during the ACL weekends and has multiple nights of the Festival free to go.  Would be awesome - their first album jams.

Nine Inch Nails still shows Houston and Fort Worth in mid-September, with no dates in October at all.  Sounds like the right sized tour that is itching to get to Austin and F me like an animal.

I have been bummed to see some tour announcements recently that make it clear we will not get some bands, like HAIM, Drive-By Truckers, Black Keys, Father John Misty, Wu Tang, Phish, Fitz and the Tantrums, Pantera, Alabama Shakes, Pixies, Lumineers, The Hives, Ice Cube, and, of course, The Beths.  Oh, and thank GOD Mumford is coming to town in October.

I don't have time to work through all of this right now, but I am going to publish this as a post right now and then come back to it when I have some time in the next few days.

Well, never got around to anymore.  Looks like we get Sabrina Carpenter, Hozier, Empire of the Sun, and Latin Kings for sure, as those were the initial leaks on the postcard that we didn't get.  Not feeling especially jazzed about those early reveals, but fingers crossed for what comes out in 14 minutes!