Jelani Aryeh, courtesy Silken Weinberg. Welcome to The Sweater Club by Jelani Aryeh. It’s a club the San Diego native created to heal the things that have been forgotten and un-nurtured, and an album made for the inner child. The Sweater Club Jelani Aryeh Imperial, June 21 Get the album…

Mike Malinin performs with the Goo Goo Dolls at Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island in Chicago, on July 20, 2010. Photo By Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images. Mike Malinin was working his day job at a friend’s Nashville liquor store in early 2023 when a singer in her…

Violinist Mia Asano and bagpiper Ally Crowley-Duncan (Mia x Ally), courtesy Hitesh Joshi. Classically trained violinist Mia Asano and bagpiper Ally Crowley-Duncan getting together to perform in front of your music fans may seem improbably, but it makes perfect sense. Both take traditional instruments to new places, often via…

Jon Muq, courtesy Larry Niehues For Ugandan musician and songwriter Jon Muq, “flying away” carries hopeful connotations. The title of his debut album, Flying Away is the story of a young man from a village, learning English and music by listening to old records—starting with a CD of “We Are…

Producer and musician Narada Michael Walden has updated his San Francisco Super Bowl anthem, “We’re the 49ers.” You’d be hard-pressed to get Narada Michael Walden to pick a favorite between writing and producing hits for Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston, or sneaking members of the San Francisco 49ers into…

Fame On Fire, courtesy. If you’ve spent any time perusing the rabbit hole of hard rock content on TikTok or YouTube, you’ve likely come across the hard rock takes on pop hits by Fame on Fire. The group has taken on everyone from boy bands to Ed Sheeran and…

Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, courtesy Kristin Burns In conversation, Dave Stewart can spontaneously time-travel from where he sits in his home in Nashville to his 30s, his early childhood growing up in his parents’ row house in northwest England, to the early days of the Eurythmics or his…

UMI photographed at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Dec. 2, 2023. Matt Pang/STAFF. OAKLAND — “I feel very accomplished right now,” Tierra Umi Wilson says shortly after her December performance at Oakland Arena, where she opened for one of her biggest role models, Jhené Aiko. The 24-year-old Seattle native,…

Chris Daughtry photographed at Aftershock Festival in Sacramento on Oct. 8, 2023. Mike DeWald/STAFF. SACRAMENTO — Chris Daughtry is all smiles as he and his band walk off stage at Aftershock Festival. It’s a sweltering day, testing the limits of the performers and gear alike. The band’s latest single, “Artificial”—from…

Letdown. (Blake Coddington), courtesy Joseph Ross. Shortly after Blake Coddington (Letdown.) moved from Chicago to Indiana in early 2020 and starting a new job, he became isolated when the pandemic made its entrance and lockdowns emptied the streets. Crying In the Shower Letdown. Big Loud Rock, out now Get…