Reviews

Rob Thomas and Counting Crows Wow Coney Island Crowd

September 13, 2016 by B.L. Howard

The capacity crowd at the Ford Amphitheater in Coney Island witnessed a rousing performance by Rob Thomas and Counting Crows, as their North American tour... read article

Nicole Atkins Bares Her Soul at The Rubin Museum

August 9, 2016 by David K. Moseder

Friday, August 5, 2016 marked Nicole Atkins’ fifth visit to The Rubin Museum’s Naked Soul Series. As much as Brooklyn Roads enjoyed her December 2014... read article

Barbés Lounge Goers Admire The Michael Sheridan Quartet

August 2, 2016 by Dominique M. Carson

On Sunday, July 24, 2016, Brooklynites were able to have Tequilas, Slivovitz, Pastis cocktails, or beer and also listen to an exquisite jazz group, The... read article

Raging Fyah_Brooklyn Bowl-07-13-16_photo by Ray Fontaine

MUSICAL FYAH RAGES IN BROOKLYN!

July 28, 2016 by Ray Fontaine

Spiritual Rez and Raging Fyah, two wildly different reggae bands, made their double billing a night to remember at Brooklyn Bowl on July 13, 2016.... read article

Hard to Pronounce…But Easy on the Ears

June 21, 2016 by Rob Rinderman

Editor’s Note: Dan Haedicke’s first-ever CD, In All the Ways, officially releases June 24, 2016 on Kwality Records (also not the assumed or conventional spelling)... read article

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings Celebrate Brooklyn! 2016

June 14, 2016 by Ray Fontaine

Despite the rain and a bit of a chill, the summer finally arrived in time for the kick off of the 2016 Celebrate Brooklyn! season.... read article

Lake Street Dive – Crooning, Grooving & Moving in Chicago

March 25, 2016 by Mandy Pichler

Whether they’re playing a concert at a venue off the L line in Brooklyn or at a venue off an L train in Chicago, Lake... read article

Victoria Reed’s ‘Chariot’ Ride at Rockwood Music Hall

March 7, 2016 by David K. Moseder

Detroit native and Williamsburg resident Victoria Reed’s performance at Rockwood Music Hall’s Stage 3 on March 3rd was an impressive one. A de facto release... read article

Wilco / Jim Campilongo -The Kings Theatre

February 16, 2016 by B.L. Howard

Wilco’s new Star Wars album release and tour was perfectly timed as far as the landmark Kings Theatre was concerned. It enabled Jeff Tweedy and... read article

Charles Bradley , The Lone Bellow and The Lighthouse & The Whaler Light Up The Brooklyn Bowl

January 1, 2016 by Whitney Forbes

In celebration of the launch of Paste Cloud, a new video and audio sharing platform entry, Paste founder Josh Jackson hosted a free night of... read article

« Previous 1 … 12 13 14 15 Next »

Artists on our Radar

Brayden Baird Is Asking the Big Questions – And Making You Laugh Through the Pain

Brayden Baird -photo courtesy of Mix-Tape Media

After decades of producing and releasing music under various aliases, Brooklyn’s own Brayden Baird is stepping into the spotlight with his most raw and refined work yet. Backed by the Once in a Lifetime Band, Baird’s upcoming LP Lord, why do you do these things to me? is a heartfelt and even satirical exploration of grief, identity, and faith that refuses to follow conventional sounds before its time. Across the ten-track album, Baird weaves catchy humor with emotional vulnerability, building a soundscape that feels intimate and extravagant all at once. His lyrics are clever without being cynical and full of sincerity; this delicate balance places him alongside emerging alt-folk figures like Cameron Winter and Nate Amos. The album kicks off with its title track, a sharp, stomping folk-rock number that wrestles with clever anecdotes and the chaos of unanswered prayers. From there, the songs unravel like chapters in a personal essay. The blending of stories of loss, family, addiction, and self-discovery comes about in just about every track. “Light in the Tunnel” turns a daily subway ride into an anthem of personal awakening. At the same time, “When Will the Sun Rise Again?” delivers a haunting, piano-led meditation on mourning and artistic authenticity. Other tracks showcase Baird’s gift for finding light in unlikely places. “Blue for the Body” is a lively reflection on coping mechanisms based on Gatorade flavors, which Baird says “is intended as a fun jam that people can sing and play along to and make light of the weight of addictions.”. “Pelican” draws on childhood lore amid his father’s mythical stories that untangle complex family bonds. With the accompanying music video for this track, Baird draws on whimsical elements of his father’s storytelling, saying, “In life, it is so easy to hate somebody based on the things they’ve done and so hard to forgive. After all, we are just working with the things we’ve got.” One of the album’s most affecting moments, which comes halfway through “It Kills Me to See You Sick,” channels rage and helplessness into a hushed piano ballad that’s both deeply personal and widely relatable, with Baird recounting the pain and sadness behind the song’s creation as his mom was diagnosed with Cancer as other family members were simultaneously hospitalized. On the last track of the album, “When You Were Castrated,” Baird confronts mortality and estrangement with brutal honesty about his father’s passing, delivering a final note that is at once heartbreaking and cathartic. Baird’s musical world is one of contradictions: funny and tragic, sarcastic and sincere, spiritual and grounded. With Lord, why do you do these things to me?* he’s created an album that doesn’t just tell stories but invites listeners to sit with them, question them, and sing along anyway. Catch Brayden Baird and the Once in a Lifetime Band at their album release show at The Rabbit Hole in Brooklyn on June 26 and stream the whole record on June 20.

... read article