Milwaukee is currently experiencing a new wave of talented musicians and artists throughout the city, one that Chicago’s little brother to the North has not seen in quite some time. Of the most talented artists emerging out of Milwaukee right now is New Age Narcissism, a collective comprised of rapper WebsterX, singers Lex Allen and Siren and more. Recently Milwaukee’s 88Nine Radio invited NAN’s Lex Allen and Siren to a local recording studio to lay down their own reinterpretations of two big records from The Weeknd. Covering Abel’s ‘Earned It’, from The Weeknd’s latest LP and the “Fifty Shades of Grey” soundtrack, Lex Allen performed a James Bond inspired rendition of the Beauty Behind The Madness track. And deciding to take a darker spin on the otherwise upbeat and poppy ‘Can’t Feel My Face’, Siren covered the song of the summer and Weeknd’s biggest single to date.
Watch Lex Allen’s rendition of ‘Earned It’ by The Weeknd below, as well as Siren’s ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ cover.
Childish Gambino and the lovely Jhene Aiko have paired up again, for another amazing record. This time teaming up with Long Beach rapper, Vince Staples, the trio combined talents for Ryan Coogler’s new film “Creed”, a sequel to the Rocky franchise. Co-written by Gambino’s friend and producer Ludwig Goransson, everything from the instrumentals to the lyrics and vocals for this new track, titled ‘Waiting For My Moment’, will give you chills. This is the first new track from Gambino and Aiko both, in quite some time, so stream it now and cross your fingers as the record has been submitted for the “Best Original Song” category of the Oscars. This may lead to an Oscar nomination (or more) to follow Bino’s first set of Grammy nominations from last year.
Last night Chicago was welcome by German rockers, AudioDamn!. With opening performances from We Or Me and Minor Characters, the Windy City’s Schuba’s Tavern saw a number of great sets. While many were first introduced to AudioDamn! last night, the Epic Records signees have gathered a couple big wins in the past month alone. Last week the guys made their U.S. television debut on NBC’s “Today Show”, performing their new single ‘Radar’. AudioDamn! was also named Elvis Duran’s “Artist of the Month”, just days ago. Another group who used the internet to gather attention from a major label, AudioDamn! is definitely one of groups to watch in 2016.
Comprised of Oli Wimmer, Daniel Mudrack (“Mudi”) and Ali Grumeth, the guys have a very likeable appeal. Last night the guys drew an intimate crowd of about 50 fans. Despite being new on the scene and on their first U.S. tour, there were certainly some very dedicated fans in the building. A crowd that can only be described as “hipstery” (for lack of better words), some of the best “Movember” beards in Chicago, complemented by a plethora of boots and beanies, were in attendance. No matter the attire, everyone came to have fun.
Although with a sound of their own, AudioDamn!’s sound will resonate well with any Maroon 5 fan. Oli can hit the high notes like only Adam Levine can, but with the energy of Dave Grohl and as likeable as Justin Timberlake. The group’s stage presence wasn’t shadowed by their sound or anything else though. AudioDamn! had a lot of interaction with their audience, as well as a good banter between members. The guys are funny and light hearted, and you could tell that they were more than excited to be on their tour.
Currently you’ll only be able to find a few AudioDamn! tracks online, until the release of their forthcoming self-titled EP on January 8th (via Epic), but that doesn’t mean their setlist is anything but full. The German rockers of course played their singles ‘Lights Out’ and ‘Radar’, but they also payed homage to Jimi Hendrix with their rendition of ‘Fire’, and around six other tracks, some which we will hear on their upcoming 4-track EP.
They didn’t care about putting on a “polished” or “perfect” performance, but that’s not to their fault. The guys came to Chicago to rock out, and that’s just what they did, and they did that perfectly. Everyone at Schubas (Oli, Mudi and Ali included) had a great time. The intimate performance can best be compared to your local rock band, inviting their friends to their garage and just messing around and rocking out. The only thing is, AudioDamn! is doing things on a much bigger scale. They have the appeal of being just a few average guys, but they are touring the country, appearing on network TV, have a sound that will succeed in the mainstream, and are less than two months away from their major label debut.
If you get a chance, definitely catch these guys on tour. AudioDamn! is stopping in St. Paul, MN tonight and will have stops in Davenport, IA and Kansas City when the tour concludes this month. While no additional dates have been announced, after the 2016 release of AudioDamn!, don’t be surprised if a huge tour soon follows.
Stay up to date on all things AudioDamn! at their official website and download their single ‘Lights Out’now on iTunes.
Chicago’s SAVEMONEY is killing it right now! Chance The Rapper will be the first independent artist to perform on Saturday Night Live. Vic Mensa is preparing for his album release, while still performing all over the country. And now, not long after his Leather Corduroys album Season, the Chicago collective’s, rapper Joey Purp, has released a new solo record. Titled ‘Run It Up’, this is one of Joey’s first solo tracks since his 2012 project, The Purple Tape . Although it’s been years since The Purple Tape, his rapping definitely isn’t rusty. Whether he is rapping as 1/2 of Leather Corduroys or by himself, Purp is one of Chicago’s most talented young MCs right now.
Is it festival season already? Well… not quite yet, we still have winter to come, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start getting excited for the great musical festivals that 2016 will have to offer. And today fans in Delaware can be that much more excited as Firefly has released its 2016 lineup. The Dover, Delaware’s lineup this year doesn’t look too different from some major festival lineups from 2015, but it certainly sets the tone for what fans will likely see when Coachella, Lollapalooza, & Bonnarro begin to make their own announcements.
Taking place from June 16-19 this year, fans will see some great headlining sets from Mumford & Sons, Kings of Leon, Florence & the Machine, deadmau5 and more. The strength of this festival isn’t just on the top row, as Firefly is inviting a number of great acts irregardless of what set-time and stage they play on. With performances from Ellie Goulding, Blink-182, Tame Impala, A$AP Rocky, Major Lazer, Ludacris, Earth Wind & Fire, Fetty Wap, Vince Staples and many more, Firefly will have something for everyone.
Check out official lineup poster for Firefly 2016 below and be sure to get your passes when they go on sale this Friday (November 20th) at 11AM EST.
In the past month, Milwaukee’s WebsterXhas been dropping local hints around the city, before the reveal of his big announcement with fellow New Age Narcissism member, Q the Sun. After his #whoiskidx art campaign, WebsterX announced that he and Q the Sun were releasing a new 3-track EP, titled KidX, inspired by Radiohead’s 2000 album KidA. While some fans got to hear the project early this past weekend at the “KidX Listening Disco”, today marks the official release of the project, as well as it’s debut on Noisey. This is the first project that WebsterX has attached his name to since his notoriety has consistently risen through his ‘doomsday’ and ‘Latley’ visuals, as well as his big collaboration with the Kanye West-affiliated, Allan Kingdom.
We were more than excitedlast month when rapper Dirt Nasty (Simon Rex) and Mickey Avalon squashed their beef after the break-up of the Dyslexic Speedreaders, known best for their hilarious record ‘My Dick’. The two put out a very topical track, titled ‘Netflix and Chill’, but no one knew if that would be the last we hear from the two together. Luckily it was not, as Dirt Nasty took to hisInstagram today to announce a huge 28-date tour with Avalon, as well a new free album that’s coming out in just a few days!
Kicking off the “Married to the Game” tour next year on January 13th, and hitting a number of stops throughout the U.S. until the tour concludes in San Antonio, Dirt and Avalon will be making stops in Chicago, Milwaukee, the East Coast, West Coast, and probably a city near you. Hit the link at Dirt’s official website to get your tickets now!
Check out the “Married to the Game” tour dates below!
Singer Alessia Cara is our favorite emerging artist right now, and our next favorite is not even close. Earlier this year we interviewed the Canada native, and in only a few month’s time her single ‘Here’ has sky rocketed up the charts and she released her debut project Four Pink Walls and her debut album Know-It-All, two of our favorite projects of 2015. An LP and EP later, fans could not wait for their first chance to see Alessia on her own tour and now they finally have the chance as Alessia will be kicking off a North American headlining tour in 2016.
Supported by the talented Kevin Garrett for the tour’s U.S. dates, Alessia will be kicking off her tour in her Montreal on January 15th, will hit a number of stops throughout the United States, and then ends her tour back in Canada on April 1st. Pre-sale for the tour begins this Wednesday (11/18) and you can check out Alessia’swebsite for more info!
We love the Based God, and so does Odd Future and A$AP Rocky, so when A$AP and Tyler The Creator’s “Rocky and Tyler Tour” finished off it’s current leg in San Francisco, it was only destined that the Bay’s own, rapper Lil B, make a surprise appearance. During A$AP Rocky’s headlining set last night, the At. Long. Last. ASAP rapper brought out Lil B the Based God for a very rare and based surprise performance. #TYBG
Watch fan clips from Lil B’s surprise appearance below.
Earlier this week, Vic Mensa took to social media to tease a forthcoming collaboration with producer Young Chop, known most for his production on Chief Keef’s Chi-town banger ‘I Don’t Like’, which was later remixed by Kanye West and played a huge role in shaping Chicago’s drill sound. Now today we have the Chicago collab, as Chop recruited Vic and King100James for his ‘Around My Way’ track from his new Finally Rich Too project, which released a few hours ago via iTunes and Soundcloud.
“I don’t where ya’ll from, I’m right here. From them South Side of Chicago streets turn dreams to a nightmare,” raps Mensa on ‘Around My Way’.
Stream ‘Around My Way’ below and download Finally Rich Too now on iTunes.
The Early Registration 