Root Down in the Shadow

Somehow Sofar Sounds : Philadelphia is hitting their 4th Anniversary. The now world-wide phenomenon was a few shy of twenty cities world-wide when Philadelphia joined the ranks. These days, the shows are all over the globe and it seems like there are just shy of twenty dates in NYC alone each month. It all started in London, back in 2009, and slowly spread during the next two years to New York, Paris, DC, Los Angeles, Pune India, Houston, Brighton, Seattle, New Dehli, Sydney, Madrid, Berlin, Toronto, Dallas-Forth Worth, and Glasgow before hitting the City of Brotherly Love.  During the next 10 days I'm going to look back at four years of Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia trying to give my version of the best videos. Please comment and share what were your favorites. 16.Justin Pellecchia (Satellite Hearts) - Meet the Greens For #16 we're back at the same show as #19.  Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia just encapsulates what is great about seeing music in Philly.  If...

Welcome to Season Two of Philly-centric video series, Cover Club.  Cover Club is best conceptualized as “A special brand of Philly covers”, akin to The Onion’s AV Undercover series but with one caveat: the song being covered must originally be from a Philly artist. Ali Wadsworth - Photo by Bob Sweeney Satellite Hearts - Photo by Bob Sweeney Ali Wadsworth + Satellite Hearts are two names that were all over the Philly map in recent years.  Ali Wadsworth most recently put out an album ( Ali Wadsworth ) of songs written by her friends and has contributed vocals for countless others including Kalob Griffin Band , Aaron & the Spell , Kuf Knotz , and Small House.  Satellite Hearts just dropped a new single to tease their upcoming album, but spent most of 2014 backing Kuf Knotz, Ali Wadsworth, Ron Gallo & others.  Meanwhile they're up for the Indie Rock Band of the Year and will be a featured performer for the 4th Annual TriState Indie Awards ....

Today the new Satellite Hearts single "Doing Things Right" was released via Bandcamp .  To get the fans pumped and ready for their brand new song, the band has been releasing bits of their past. Doing Things Right by Satellite Hearts To join in the excitement, here are all the tidbits and videos that the band shared today! 1st Show To coincide with the release "DOING THINGS RIGHT", tomorrow night at 7PM, we'd like to share where we've been and how we've led up to where we are now! We'll be posting a bit about our history leading up to tomorrow night....here's a pic from our first show at Mcguinn's Place in Lawrenceville, NJ, way back in February 2010. First Show at Walla Fest Here's "IMPERIAL GREEN" for you folks from our first show at Walla Fest!!! From 2010 -2012 we played extensively in Philly and throughout the Northeast. In Philly we've played at the Mill Creek Tavern , Connie's Ric Rac , Adobe C...

Sofar Sounds is based on the idea "Songs for a Room".  A "room": meaning not a warehouse, not an amphitheater, not a club.  These intimate shows are built around fans having a premier experience without the normal trappings of lines, cover charges, overly loud P.A. systems, and uncomfortable venues.  Instead you have bands intermingled with fans in comfortable homes and unique places.  In the case of the June '14 Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia the room is " The Rivals House " aka Nomad Recording Studios aka, home of SwiftLessons .  Whatever you want to call it, it's a cozy place to listen to live music. In fact, it's comfortable enough that we find ourselves back at The Rivals House for the third time in the last year.  Coincidentally enough each time at the Rivals house, the show has involved the Satellite Hearts.   They played the show in September '13 with The Unlikely Candidates , Penrose , and Murchant .  Lead singer Justin Pelle...

After dinner and a beer at Boot & Saddle recently, crossing the threshold of the venue was more than going to a concert; it was a chance to go back in time.  For the evening, the talented outfits of Foxhound, Hezekiah Jones , and Ali Wadsworth transformed themselves into Nirvana , the Lemonheads , and Pearl Jam .  On any ordinary night, this would be a stellar line-up without any covers, but just talent alone.  But for this Saturday night, it stood to be an incredible night; recreating a night that many music fans wish they would have ever been a part of. First up was Foxhound.  Normally the duo of Chris Kasper and Kylie Ryan , they recruited some friends to make Nirvana MTV Unplugged in New York happen.  Sean Hoots, complete with ripped jeans and a tied on flannel, played an acoustic bass and Tom Bendel was on drums.  Just as Nirvana took some liberties for the live recording, Foxhound made this their own as well as they played the wh...

by guest contributer Emily Southerton If you had been walking down the streets of a Philadelphia fall on the evening of September 15 th , as the sun set on West Philly’s painted gables, you might have stopped momentarily at the doorstep of Nomad Studios. Outside, the autumn air is crisp and dropping like an apple from a tree, but looking through the glass, you’d have seen a living room scattered with warm folks, drinks in hand and smiling, eyes fixed on a September Sofar Sounds show. Murchant opened the evening. A Pennsylvania girl relocating to Joshua Tree, CA, Murchant sang a solo set, and backed herself with guitar and ukulele. Her voice is rich, and in “Credit Card,” rises quickly with complex melodies, supported by swells but gentle enough to warble with an enchanting vibrato. Eyes closed, bones and feathers tied around her neck, she taps her boot and smiles, which elicits a similar response from her audience. Her set was sweet well received, but it left me curious abou...