Tony Kevin Jr. may not have shown up on your radar yet, but he should have. He's got a powerful voice and a way with words that draws a picture in your mind. An emotional picture, whether it be about lost love or loneliness, that inevitably takes you to a time of heartbreak. He empathizes and shares those times, which seems to make it a little easier to bare. He's a regular at Conor Byrne open mics and is quickly becoming a mainstay in the folk-rock scene in Seattle. more ›

Songwriter Shannon Stephens began her career in the early 90s as the lead singer in Sufjan Stevens (no relation, obviously) now-defunct folk band, Marzuki. After moving to Seattle in 1999, Stephens released a self-titled album, and proceeded to take a nine-year break in which she "read copius amounts of books, had a daughter, and did lots of hippie stuff like grow potatoes, can preserves, and make kombucha." Since re-emerging as a public musician in 2009, Stephens has released The Breadwinner, and in July of 2010 Asthmatic Kitty Records reissued her self-titled record. We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to ask Stephens about her songwriting, the music community in Seattle, and her favorite flowers. more ›

Before the seasons changed and our rain-induced pseudo-hibernation began, we were able to gather up many fond musical memories during festival season. During one such venture we were able to talk to Hey Marseilles and Fences as part of our Better Know a CHBP Band series. As luck has it the two bands will be playing the Vera Project this Saturday. (Tickets $10, all ages, 7:30 PM) more ›

FROM THE PAGE: This season's Book-It Repertory Theatre production is an adaption of Dinaw Mengestu's The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, which was the 2008 Seattle Reads pick. Tonight, the good Book-It people are hosting their regular forum, From The Page To The Stage, to give Seattleites a free preview of and background for the upcoming production. The show itself opens on April 14. more ›

Portland-based Blind Pilot were not only chosen as Starbucks' "Pick of the Week" for the week of January 3rd, they're also loved by NPR and KEXP, and now, by us. more ›

Kathleen Edwards is a Canadian singer-songwriter who claims her primary influences are Neil Young, Bob Dylan, and Tom Petty. She spent some of her youth in Korea and Switzerland and she studied classical violin for twelve years. more ›

Idly we wondered, "Move on up where?" as we listened to Velella Velella shake the Sunset Tavern into percussed splinters of funk. But it seemed better not to ask questions. Velella Velella (named for a jellyfish) are Andrew Means, Michael Burton, Jeremy Hadley, Bethany Petersen, and Johanna Kunin, and we'd been meaning to check them out ever since we ran into Andrew at a party and he knew what Zork was. "Gonna move on up," the chant from "Do Not Fold / Do Not Bend," could be a band mantra. Up tempo, upbeat, they took us up where we belong--their enthusiasm is as infectious as the Santa's sack of hooks they're carrying around. They have a whole two albums out now: their Flight Cub EP and Bay of Biscay LP, but they played until they were short on material. The encore was just one song. Imagine a crowd of white Seattle hipsters wanting more dancetime. It could have gotten ugly, but Velella Velella is not about ugly--they are about a profusion of happy non sequiturs and a rock flute and a bunch of piledriving beats on an recalcitrant iPod. (Andrew was fiddling with it, Jeremy said, "iPods! What are ya gonna do?" and either new member Bethany or new member Johanna piped up with, "Buy a Zune!") If you're into it, you can jump down the rabbit hole of musical sources and influences (Curtis Mayfield, DJ Shadow, Timbaland), but the band's appeal is equally the five live people beaming with sweaty pleasure and the keyboards, bass lines, and that classic Fender sound, all producing a (mostly) irony-free, joy-filled groove that you're an equally sweaty party to. Crazy kids. more ›

Part of the reason we Zipcar-ed out to Ballard was to see the space that The Space (aka the 608 Club, at 608 NW 65th) is in. We found a door that said 608 on it and walked into a foyer crammed with electric organs and keyboards and a couch. People glanced up at us, but we kept on, down a hall to a small merch table that also contained a paper bag filled with small brownie squares. To the right was a larger room with instruments at one end, a few chairs at the other. We ended up sitting on the floor for the shows (Faun Fables sat next to us during Estradasphere's set). People--mainly Estradasphere, we think--live upstairs. more ›

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This folk-music-related post is about participation, not performance. Shapenote singing (aka Sacred Harp) has been part of American life for well over 250 years, and has been sung in Seattle for 30 or 40. A sizeable group of people will gather in Ballard this weekend, at the Pacific Northwest Sacred Harp Convention, to sing it again. more ›