Photo | Agatha Donkar Well folks – another Hopscotch Music Festival has come and gone, and like always, it’s taken us a week to recover from the madness. In short – it was awesome. Unplanned day shows, followed by a meticulous schedule we derived after months of research for our evenings. Below, check out what … Read more
Way back in 2008, Fleet Foxes sneaked into our lives, unexpectedly dropping the list-topping, self-titled debut LP on all of our asses and shaking up the indie music world in the process. No one realized the band’s level of crossover potential until it was upon us, and looking from these 2011 eyes, it could be … Read more
Photo by Louis Kwok Last Saturday, downtown Saint Louis played host to one of the biggest displays and celebrations of local music: The Riverfront Times Music Showcase. While it’s a fantastic way to dive headfirst into the deep end of our city’s immense local talent, the showcase itself presents a little bit of a conundrum. … Read more
Tomorrow we’re hitting the road to Louisville, Kentucky to cover Forecastle, a three-day music festival taking place on 85-acre Waterfront Park. The lineup, as you might have seen, is terrific and deep, led by headliners OutKast, Jack White, and Beck. The festival also features a Bourbon Lodge, Kentucky Landing featuring craft beer, and is augmented … Read more
Photo by Bryan Sheffield If you attended LouFest in 2013, you already know that Local Natives are a legit live band, fully capable of putting on your favorite show of the year. If you missed out on last year’s show at Forest Park in St. Louis, you have another chance at making things right as … Read more
All photos by Tim Bottchen A hummingbird crashed right in front of me, And I understood all you did for us You gave, and gave, and gave, and gave Los Angeles’ Local Natives gave plenty on Thursday night at The Pageant, and the most stunning moment was when Kelcey Ayer basically left part of his heart … Read more
Album cover for Local Natives’ Hummingbird As we hang on to the last days of 2013, let’s have a look back at some of the words that were by spoken by artists we’ve interviewed this year. From talking to Pegi Young on her tour bus, to speaking with Local Natives’ Ryan Hahn via phone while … Read more
“We were always strong” 2013 has been a good year to be Local Natives. They’ve been touring non-stop since the release of their much anticipated sophomore record, Hummingbird, and with slots at the top festivals this fall (Lolla’, LouFest, and Hopscotch just to mention two), they show no sign of slowing down. Most recently, the band … Read more
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros | All photos by Louis Kwok unless otherwise noted Another LouFest has concluded, but not without making considerable waves. Day one attendance was announced at 15,000, which surpassed the combined total of 12,000 people during both days last year. “Year one, we brought in a magician, if you recall,” … Read more
Frightened Rabbit | All Photos by Jason Gonulsen You’ve heard it before: that Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a place you need to visit before you die. I can tell you it’s more than legit, a pure gem of a venue, offering natural beauty everywhere you turn. Experience it more than once if you can — … Read more
Photo by Bryan Sheffield We’re now just a day away from the opening of the LouFest gates, and yes, that means the arrival of Local Natives, who will be playing on Sunday from 4:30 to 5:30 on the Bud Light Stage. Their 2013 release, Hummingbird, is a standout for us here at Speakers in Code. … Read more
The much loved Local Natives debuted the video for “Airplanes” today. Local Natives | MySpace Music Videos On top of that goodness, Broken Bells (the collabo between Danger Mouse and The Shins‘ frontman, James Mercer) debuted its video for “The High Road.” Broken Bells | MySpace Music Videos To complete the trifecta, we bring you … Read more
Well, it’s September, folks, and the SIC gang here in North Carolina have been busy preparing ourselves to traverse the annual Hopscotch Music Festival, which amazingly, is now in it’s fourth year of existence! We’ve been consecutively staying up 30 minutes later each week for a month now, to get our bodies used to the … Read more
Este Haim | All photos by Jason Gonulsen Day Two of Lollapalooza delivered as promised with engaging sets by The National, Local Natives, Charles Bradley, Haim, and Blondfire, to just name a few. The National’s Matt Berninger let out a wail during “Squalor Victoria” that was manic and suggested he was in the wild hunting … Read more
I am letting you know I am ready to feel you There are emotional songs, and then there’s “Three Months” by Local Natives. I can relate with the sadness, with the urge to break free, the conviction, and the willingness to feel alive again. Songs and voices and words like these keep me going — … Read more
Well y’all, Hopscotch just announced their lineup for the 2013 festival, and we are beyond excited. Uber-excited if you will. True to form, they’ve handpicked new and old (more seasoned) performers across pretty much every musical genre in existence. From rap to bluegrass, they molded a festival this year that in my opinion, will be … Read more
Well, look who’s all grown up. LouFest (September 7th and 8th) has hit a grand slam with its amazing 2013 lineup, one that features headliners The Killers, Wilco, The National, and Alabama Shakes. This year’s event will feature three stages in St. Louis’ Forest Park, with one stage “tucked into the trees.” Previously, the fest … Read more
Artwork credit: Alyssa Shapkoff Click here to see the entire list, from 100 – 1. 25 Sufjan Stevens – From the Mouth of Gabriel The most classic Sufjan song of the 2010 onslaught of Sufjan songs, “From the Mouth of Gabriel” is haunting and just plain beautiful. Flutes and clarinets, plucking guitars and lyrics that … Read more
Photo credit: Katie Guymon I trekked to Chicago last weekend to attend the Pitchfork Music Fest for the first time ever. Knowing that I’m simply not as quick and nimble as I once was, coupled with the fact that my “bounce back capabilities” aren’t completely intact, I only bought tickets for Sunday’s line-up (what I … Read more
If you are a Local Natives fan, you must give U.S. Royalty a listen. The band combines the same kind of southern, sweet tea harmonies with gobs of beautiful nature imagery a la Fleet Foxes. In fact, the vocals on the intro of “Equestrian” quite remind me of a hooting owl. And that’s a good … Read more
I first stumbled upon Local Natives when that fantastic video of the guys covering Simon and Garfunkel’s “Cecilia” went buzzing around the Interwebs. Even doing someone else’s (very famous) stuff, the band adds its own unique spin and is easy to love. Since that first glimpse of the Silverlake, California five-piece, I’ve been eagerly anticipating … Read more