Debut single “Broken” captured the attention of millions for lovelytheband. About four years later and still riding that high, the group is back with its sophomore album, Conversations With Myself About You. Rich in indie pop sounds that at times venture into the ’80s techno sound vault, this offering demonstrates that…

Yoke Lore photographed at BottleRock Napa Valley at the Napa Valley Expo on May 24, 2019. Photos: Norm deVeyra. One-time Walk the Moon drummer Adrian Galvin, who now performs and writes music as Yoke Lore, once spent a year living as Buddhist in a monastery in India. While there,…

Chvrches perform at Sonoma Harvest Music Festival in Glen Ellen, Calif. on Sept. 21, 2019. Photos: Martin Lacey. GLEN ELLEN, Calif. — Alternative rock was the order of the day Saturday at B.R. Cohn Winery on the second weekend of the expanded Sonoma Harvest Festival. The second weekend had…

Chvrches performs at Golden Gate Park during Outside Lands on Aug. 11, 2018. Photo: Joaquin Cabello. Sonoma Harvest Music Festival producers Monday announced the lineup for the second annual event at Glen Ellen’s BR Cohn Winery. This year’s festival will take place on four days over two weekends in…

Muse performs at Oracle Arena in Oakland on March 9, 2019. Photos: Alessio Neri. OAKLAND — It’s not exactly a trade secret that nearly 25 years into its career that Muse is one of the best live acts in modern rock. The band’s ‘all in’ attitude toward its live…

Thirty Seconds to Mars at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in Rogers, Ark., on July 8, 2018. Photos: Troy Jackson ROGERS, ARK. — Ominous sounds pierced through the darkness that filled the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in Rogers, a venue in the northwest corner of the state, a few miles away from…

Photos: Alessio Neri (all but The Killers, which are courtesy of Rob Loud) OAKLAND — Do you think that the Killers‘ frontman Brandon Flowers stood in front of the mirror while his band was writing its new album, Wonderful Wonderful, and asked himself how he could be more of…

This is the second in a five-part series. Read how I’m scoring my list and find out about my “special consideration” acts HERE. I call these next three shows the runner’s-up because I didn’t want to have a “Top 18.” That would mean that nearly one-fourth of the shows I…

Photos: Roman Gokhman See other Walk the Moon videos, and check out my interview with the band two years ago, here.

Royal Teeth are going places. When I first saw them play in February, their opening set stole the show. (Here’s a video). I spoke to vocalist Nora Patterson and guitarist-vocalist Gary Larsen recently, because I’m writing about the band for the SF Examiner. Their first headlining set in San…