more by Christopher John Treacy
[POP] Mariah Carey fans are serious about their devotion. It’s not casual. They are more than willing to overlook the nonsense, the strangeness, the grandiosity, the cancellations—willing to overlook all of it—to hear her nail a few notes.
[ROCK] When rootsy Canadian-American quintet The Band organized their farewell show for Thanksgiving Day, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom, few would have imagined the concert’s enduring legacy.
[FOLK] An unlikely success, Rodrigo y Gabriela are touring to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of their beloved self-titled debut, which has sold over 750,000 copies—quite a feat in this day and age for an acoustic Mexican duo.
[PUNK] Punky Ottawans Hollerado released their third full length, Born Yesterday (Royal Mountain Records) earlier this year and surprised fans and critics alike with its versatility.
Attention spans are shorter than ever.
[POP] Janet Jackson made a bold move, releasing Unbreakable on her own two years ago. Other aging pop stars have threatened to go it alone and release new music without a major label deal, but few (have any?) actually followed through.
[COUNTRY] I’m not a fan of modern commercial country, but credit where it’s due: these two have a formula that speaks to more than just auto-tuned twang.
[ROCK] Guitar lessons at age 3, an appearance on Ellen at age 6, playing with Buddy Guy by age 8—you might call Quinn Sullivan a prodigy. Now 18, the New Bedford, Massachusetts native has gone on to jam with the late B.B.
[ROCK] Peter Case may be thought of as a California-based musician, but he’s originally from right here in Western New York. Having dropped out of high school at 15, he traveled for several years and eventually landed in San Francisco in the early 1970s.