Northlands lacks the infrastructure, diversity, and history of some of New England’s finest music fests, but its two-day debut provided a rustic oasis for jambands.
Popular Music
Album Review: “Hurray for the Riff Raff” — Making Art Out of American Angst
Life on Earth aches with the sadness of the human condition, touching on personal trauma and reaching into the malaise of a week of national bad news.
Concert Review: Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway Dazzle at The Sinclair in Cambridge
The brilliant set was a celebratory exploration of Molly Tuttle’s bluegrass roots, albeit with a fresh perspective.
Festival Review: Solid Sound 2022 — Fun For All
Solid Sound is like a family picnic for stylistically open-minded musicians and fans alike within the brick-mill infrastructure of MASS MoCA.
Album Review: Drummer Bill Bruford’s “Making a Song and Dance” — Adventures Galore
Legendary percussionist Bill Bruford’s recorded output reveals him to be a restless innovator who went from one band to another so he could learn more about his instrument and about himself as a musician.
Rock Album Review: The Tedeschi Trucks Band’s “I Am The Moon” — Nothing If Not Ambitious
Crescent gives us the first five songs of the I Am The Moon suite and runs about 35 minutes. Let me rephrase that: it runs about 35 perfect minutes of music.
Concert Review: The 2022 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — The Blessed Return of Musical Serendipity
We’d returned to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. We’d ridden a paddle-wheeler on the Mississippi River. It was good to be back, and why we’ll go back every chance we get: to life.
Album Review: Keb’ Mo’s “Good to Be…” — Too Contented
At his best — and there are indeed moments of that here — Keb’ Mo’ is a genre-bender who brings new listeners to blues, folk, and smooth soul music.
Album Review: Omar Apollo’s “Ivory” — Making Good on His Promise
Ivory is at its best when Omar Apollo fully commits to taking adventures into different sonic spaces.
Pop Album Review: Charli XCX’s “Crash” — Loud, Reckless, and Messy
Charli packages existential angst and heartache in sly, self aware pop performances that manage to deftly fuse self-conscious artificiality with earnest passion.