Root Down in the Shadow

A year after the first Communion show in Philadelphia, they returned again with a selection of touring and local acts at Underground Arts.  No longer festival-ish marathon of 6 bands a night, the touring club night keeps getting closer to a smashing success. Marian Hill Good electronic music is like a chemistry experiment, screw up a few ingredients and you've got an explosion and everything bubbling over.  It might seem cool for a minute, but it's really just a mess.  When it goes well, you've got something amazing.  Duo Jeremy Lloyd and Samantha Gongol of Marian Hill had everything go right at Communion last Thursday night!  The first ingredient gone right is the "club environment", a natural habitat for the band.   The diminutive, but delightful Samantha impressed with her vocals, while her style was focal in the Underground Arts lighting.   Jeremy was spot on with his beats, but the impressive part was the live sampling played through the keyboards,

Friday night at Connie's Ric Rac the folks of Yes! And... CAMP are making dreams come true.  For me, it's a chance to see Johnny Showcase and the Lefty Lucy Cabaret , with guests Chris Kasper (solo acoustic) and Birdie Busch on one line-up.   For the kids of low-income neighborhoods in and around the Philadelphia area, it's a chance to make dreams of summer camp come true.  As a kid who never had a chance to go to summer camp, but get to see the excitement in my daughter when I signed her up for camp this summer, I'll gladly spend my concert funds on an event like this!!! So here's the details:  Inner Monologues: A Benefit Concert featuring Johnny Showcase & The Lefty Lucy Cabaret with special guests Chris Kasper (solo acoustic) and Birdie Busch Friday May 2nd , 8pm (Door opens at 7pm). Connie's Ric Rac, 1132 South 9th St. Phila PA 19147 Get your tickets here Not sold? here's more: Sensual Pts 1 & 2 by Johnny Showcase Birdie Busch

It's January 31st.. hardly the time to look back at the year prior.  But ripe with the awards season, Grammy's, Golden Globes, Tri State Indie Awards, etc it seems like the perfect time to share some thoughts about the year before.   2013 was a pretty damn good year for new music.  When compiling the year end list, it was remarkable how many outstanding Philadelphia based releases there were each month.  As with all things here at Root Down In The Shadow, we're going to skip retelling what you've read every where else.  Here we are going to do a Philly only year-end review!  Sorry to those of you who may be expecting Bastille , Aoife O'Donovan , J. Roddy Walston & The Business , or Phosphorescent on a year end list, like most things here at Root Down In The Shadow, this list will be Philly-centric!   Finally, apologies to Dr. Dog and Amos Lee, but I think everyone is aware already of B Room and Mountans of Sorrow, Rivers of Song.  Although I will add, the

Earlier this year here at the indie Philly blog, Root Down In The Shadow, we started the fun series #Philly Presents ...bands writing about other bands. The most common reaction from bands to this project: "Wait? Are we covering other bands?" And so #CoverClub was born!   The first sessions for #CoverClub were recorded in October, at the intimate Break Neck Studio under the sonic helm of Peter Joseph!   With the excitement over the series we couldn't contain ourselves, but couldn't continuously steal Peter.  Nomad Recording Studio graciously offered to be our alternate studio for the series and we quickly lined up more bands.  With Rob Swift and Tom Williamson of Nomad Recording Studio, the Session 1.0 includes Aaron Brown of Aaron & The Spell, Ron Gallo of Toy Soldiers, The Rivals and the Fleeting Ends!  The posts here at Root Down In The Shadow have been a blast to do, featuring the excellent videos by director Bob Sweeney assisted by Paul Lo

Earlier this year here at the indie Philly blog, Root Down In The Shadow, we started the fun series #Philly Presents ...bands writing about other bands. The most common reaction from bands to this project: "Wait? Are we covering other bands?" And so #CoverClub was born!  We started the series on with an acoustic focus, taking on four local bands at Break Neck Studio and we caught up with national recording artist, Joe Fletcher before his sound check at MilkBoy!   The newest installment of the series takes us to a new location, our second featured studio, Nomad Recording Studio.  Tucked in the University City section of Philadelphia, Nomad was our host for the session recorded just over a week ago.  This session features a full band for the first time in the series, with the Rivals taking the helm.  With the wide open spaces of the Victorian home that houses Nomad, it was time to switch things up and plug in! When Wayne Gallagher , Rob Swift , and Tom W

NEW LIVE INITIATIVE THIS OCTOBER IN NORTH AMERICA On the heels of the success of the 2012 “Austin to Boston Tour” (featuring Ben Howard, Nathaniel Rateliff, The Staves and Bear’s Den ) and ongoing residencies in New York City and Nashville, Communion will launch a new platform for developing, emerging and established bands to tour. Operating as a string of monthly club nights—modeled on the legendary Communion night in Notting Hill, London where the company was born—the new initiative will bring different artists to nine cities each month: New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Bloomington, Louisville, Nashville, Minneapolis, Madison and Rock Island. The first series, beginning in October, will feature Rubblebucket, Roadkill Ghost Choir, Willy Mason, Australian duo Yacht Club DJs and additional support from local artists. The second series will return the next month with a new lineup to be announced .  Taking a look at Communion Philadelphia, of course I thought to focus on o

From time to time, there comes a need to bring fans up to speed with all the goings on with a band.  Hence the "Catching Up With...." series here at Root Down In The Shadow 'Fold' Single Lots of big things are happening for Kwesi K.   First and foremost, a new Pronouns EP is weeks away from release.  Funded last fall in 37 days of crowd sourcing via a Kickstarter project , Pronouns EP has been a constant part of Kwesi's life since it was conceived.  There were many occasions, where he came straight from the studio to a gig, such as the June Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia show.  If Kwesi thinks life might slow down a little now that the album is done, he's dead wrong. After getting a sneak peak on the single 'Fold', it is clear Kwesi K will be a busy man.  Affectionately referred to as " Graceland 's cousin", 'Fold' is a vibrant tune that brings his talents emphatically to the forefront.   So many melodious sounds en