Music

Saturday
September 9, 2023


Cypress Hill

Cypress Hill shifts culture. The South Gate, California rap group championed cannabis before it before fashionable, ushered in a genre-shifting sonic tapestry, performed thousands of shows at a time when rappers were having a hard time getting booked for live gigs, and helped pave the way for rappers to use Spanish in their rhymes. Along the way, Cypress Hill earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, sold more than 9 million albums, and were nominated for three Grammy Awards.


Action Bronson

A raunchy, cylinder-shaped ginger of Eastern European ancestry might not be the first dude you’d peg for rap stardom, but that’s exactly the mantle Action Bronson is on the verge of possessing. Over the last few years, the 28-year old Queens native has become one of hip-hop’s most charismatic and colorful new characters, thanks to his wicked sense of humor, a buffet of impressive releases and the rare knack for updating cherished East Coast aesthetics into indisputably modern music.In2011, The New York Times hailed Bronson as “one of the most promising prospects in New York hip-hop.” That formidable potential is now being realized. When Bronson gleefully tossed slabs of meat from Peter Luger’s famed steakhouse into a wild-ass crowd atthe Music Hall of Williamsburg, the mosh pit of skaters, knuckleheads, rap purists and young women was evidence of his ever-widening appeal.


Stephen Marley

Beginning his lifelong musical journey at the age of six, Stephen shared historic stages with his legendary father and toured the world with his brother Ziggy and sisters Cedella and Sharon, The Melody Makers. The Tuff Gong instilled in all of his children a strict work ethic and an awareness that “music is way more than just music.” Over the past 45 years, Stephen has won no fewer than eight Grammy Awards—three with The Melody Makers, twice as a producer of his younger brother Damian Marley, and three times as a solo artist. Every one of his solo projects to date has topped the Billboard Reggae charts. Stephen Marley’s place in music history is already secure. He does not really need to push the envelope, to defy expectations, to let the whole world into his world. And yet that is just what he’s decided to do.


DJ Papa G

Sunday
September 10, 2023


Joe Russo’s Almost Dead

Joe Russo's Almost Dead is Marco Benevento, Dave Dreiwitz, Tom Hamilton, Scott Metzger and Joe Russo. We're a Grateful Dead cover band.


Lettuce

“Dealing with the pandemic, being in separate places, trying to survive without our best friends, without touring, not to mention the political divide in this country,” says Lettuce drummer Adam Deitch. “We really needed to unify.” So, here it is, right on time. Unify. The eighth studio album from Lettuce, it’s also a third consecutive record made at Denver’s Colorado Sound Studios, completing a loose trilogy starting with 2019’s Grammy-nominated Elevate, and continuing with 2020’s Resonate.  It’s, as well, a benchmark moment for the sextet: Adam Deitch (drums), Ryan Zoidis (saxophone), Adam Smirnoff (guitar), Erick Coomes (bass), Nigel Hall (keyboards/vocals), Eric ‘Benny’ Bloom (trumpet). Approaching thirty years since its humble Boston beginnings, the relentlessly soulful funk outfit has essentially lived on the road, embodying, night after night, the sly wink of its moniker: Let us play! And now, endorsed on Unify by none other than the legendary icon of funk, Bootsy Collins, singing and playing bass on “Keep That Funk Alive”. “We dreamed this up when we were teenagers, and here we are. We’re doing it,” says Zoidis.


Karina Rykman

Karina Rykman plays bass, sings, jumps around, and laughs a lot. In doing so, she has garnered a rare attention and avid listenership. Straddling the worlds of jam rock and indie pop drenched in psychedelia, Karina’s effervescent presence comes to life in musical form. With only six singles released, Karina has built a reputation as an unmissable live act. Her debut single “Plants” reached over a million streams, with the other singles not far behind. She can hardly contain herself about her yet-to-be-released debut studio record, as the best is truly yet to come.


Mitch Please