J Balvin, “RAYO.” Colombian reggaeton star J Balvin morphs once again on RAYO, latest collection of dance bangers and melodramatic lyricism. RAYO J Balvin Capitol, Aug. 9 7/10 Get the album on Amazon Music. But unlike his last album, 2021’s kaleidoscopic, vibrant and family-centered Jose, RAYO is dark, sleek…

DARUMAS; L to R: Ceci Leon, Vedala Vilmond and Aldana Aguirre. Courtesy Lucía Olmos. The musical backgrounds of the members of DARUMAS are as diverse as their roots and upbringing. The Latin-American funk and pop trio consists of Cuban American guitarist Ceci Leon, bassist Aldana Aguirre, who is from Argentina but…

Orville Peck, “Stampede.” Vol. 1 was just the introduction. Queer country troubadour Orville Peck introduced a new direction with his first EP on Warner Records in May, duetting with artists as varied as Willie Nelson, Bu Cuaron and Elton John back in May. We say Peck experimented with pop, Banda…

Hootie & The Blowfish perform at Fenway Park in Boston on June 21, 2024. Photo by Eddie Monigan/Boston Red Sox. MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Hootie & the Blowfish topped a rock bill at Shoreline Amphitheatre that included Collective Soul and Edwin McCain. While it wasn’t the highest-profile concert in…

Megan Moroney, courtesy CeCe Dawson. When Georgian Megan Moroney moved to Nashville in 2020 to pursue a music industry career, she wasn’t completely sure what that would mean. So the University of Georgia grad, who hadn’t written her first song until three years earlier in her freshman year, set…

Lindsey Stirling, courtesy. Fans of Lindsey Stirling get to see different versions of the violinist and dancer in the video for “Eye of the Untold Her,” a single from her new album, Duality. There’s the young Stirling mocked by judges of “America’s Got Talent” in 2010 and at various…

Akira Galaxy performs during BottleRock Napa Valley at the Napa Valley Expo on May 24, 2024. Courtesy. NAPA, Calif. — Akira Galaxy Ament had moved to Los Angeles to pursue her music career, but it wasn’t until the pandemic had struck in 2020 and she went back home to…

Hootie and The Blowfish perform at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, Calif. on June 29, 2019. Steve Carlson/STAFF. Back when Hootie and the Blowfish were first blowing up, after the release of their 1994 debut album, Cracked Rear View, their big tours consisted of crisscrossing the country on a…

Mat Kearney, courtesy Michelle Baldwin. Singer-songwriter Mat Kearney was in San Francisco a couple weeks back, performing a private show at Great American Music Hall. The Oregon-born, Nashville-based artist used the opportunity to re-supply his stash of tea from Chinatown’s Red Blossom Tea Company, “the greatest tea I got…

ITZY performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland, Calif. on June 8, 2024. Photos: Chris Tuite. OAKLAND — More K-pop groups need to tour the U.S. with bands. The costs likely make that prohibitive to many, but a few acts with deep enough pockets have brought musicians with them over…