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Axios
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Axios
Axios Miami reporter looks back on six months of concerts
This weekend marks the halfway point of 2025 — wild! — and I've spent a lot of money on concerts. Why it matters: In this economy? When Miami rent requires a salary over six figures? Crazy behavior. But I love live music. And when I'm not prioritizing time with family and friends, I'm likely at a show. I most often go with friends, but I've been known to go alone. The big picture: When I moved back to Miami three and a half years ago, I struggled with what I perceived to be a lack of accessible, low-key shows. I did see Soccer Mommy at Gramps in early 2022 and Lucy Dacus at the Miami Bach Bandshell later that year. Both shows gave me hope. Between the lines: I love that Miami attracts stadium-filler acts and my favorite Latin artists (shoutout to Bad Bunny's 2022 show, and seeing Pitbull and Ricky Martin last year with my brother and sister-in-law!). But I craved those smaller, intimate shows I got used to after living in cities like Washington, D.C. and Austin. Yes, but: Miami's scene has grown recently — and new (ZeyZey) and older (Bandshell, Fillmore) venues alike continue announcing acts that surprise me. So as we hit the midyear mark, I thought it'd be fun to look back at some of my favorite shows I've attended so far this year — and look ahead to the ones I'm most excited for. Leisure, ZeyZey Groovy. Maybe not the best word, but that's what comes to mind when I think back on it. And I got right up to the stage for this one. Tops, ZeyZey Unexpectedly great. I've liked the Montreal band for a bit, but they were so fun to see live. Khruangbin, FPL Solar Amphitheater Seeing them live for the first time with close friends was beautiful. But my goodness, was I annoyed. Miamians need to learn a bit of concert etiquette (Read: Please shut up during the show). Hermanos Gutierrez, The Fillmore Miami Beach Perfect show. Gilsons, Miami Beach Bandshell So fun. I didn't know the Brazilian trio before attending, but went with friends anyway. We danced the night away. The group is now on heavy rotation at home. One regret: I skipped Wilco at the Fillmore. But I'm more upset about missing Waxahatchee, who opened for them. I've seen the band before, but I loved the latest album, "Tigers Blood," and regret not taking the chance to see it performed live. What's next: In June, I'm seeing Vampire Weekend at FPL Amphitheater (with Martin!) and Buscabulla at ZeyZey. I'm also eyeing Yot Club (August), Bandalos Chinos (September) and Saint Motel (October). Bottom line: A concert is always a good idea in my mind — regardless of whether you know the band or not. You may walk away with a new favorite artist.
Irish Times
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
The Guide: Tate McRae, International Literature Festival Dublin and other events to see, shows to book and ones to catch before they end
Event of the week Tate McRae Friday-Saturday, May 16th-17th, 3Arena, Dublin, 6.30pm, €81.90/€49.90, It didn't take long for the Canadian singer-songwriter Tate McRae to return to Ireland. A year after she performed two shows at the 3Olympia Theatre, in Dublin, the surge in her popularity – down in no small part to the quality of So Close to What, her most recent album – has opened the doors for a show at Ireland's largest indoor venue. Fans can expect songs culled from all three of McRae's hugely successful albums and from her early EPs (notably Too Young to Be Sad, from 2021, which has amassed more than a billion streams on Spotify). The show will also feature arena-theatre additions such as expertly drilled choreography and (checks notes) crane technology. Gigs Soccer Mommy Sunday, May 11th, Vicar Street, Dublin, 8pm, €30, Sophia Allison is slowly but surely gaining ground on her contemporaries, and it's all because the Switzerland-born songwriter and singer has perfected the art of making her confessional lyrics come across as hesitant yet vital conversations between friends. Gritty bedroom pop is at the heart of Allison's songs: over six albums, from For Young Hearts, her 2016 debut, to Evergreen, from 2024, she has skilfully meshed lo-fi music with an alt-rock sensibility that, as Pitchfork magazine puts it, 'evokes a coffee-house open-mic gig with an edge to it'. Bernard Butler Sunday, May 11th, First Presbyterian Church, Belfast, 7.30pm, £20 (sold out), ; Wednesday, May 14th, Dolan's, Limerick, 8pm, €25, ; Thursday, May 15th, Whelan's, Dublin, 8pm, €25, It's more than 30 years since Bernard Butler, whose parents are from Dún Laoghaire, left Suede, one of Britain's most durable rock bands. Since then his career has zigzagged between solo work, studio production, and cross-genre collaborations, including with the Irish indie rock band The Clockworks and with the Irish actor Jessie Buckley , on For All Our Days that Tear the Heart , their Mercury Prize-nominated album from 2022. The focus of these solo shows is Good Grief , Butler's reflective recent solo album. Who knows who might join him on stage for a song or two? Spoken word Mike Garry and the Cassia String Quartet Wednesday, May 14th, Pearse Street Library, 6pm, free, ; Thursday, May 15th, Crane Lane Theatre, Cork, 7.30pm, €22, ; Friday, May 16th, Levis Corner House, Ballydehob, Co Cork, 8pm, €26.50, Fans of John Cooper Clarke will know of his fellow Mancunian poet, Mike Garry, who has form not only as an admired solo wordsmith but also as a collaborator with New Order, Philip Glass, David Holmes and the Cassia String Quartet. With the latter, Garry has released the album Handwritten Miracles, which forms the basis of this tour. (Also, Saturday, May 17th, Seamus Heaney HomePlace, Bellaghy, Co Derry, 7.30pm, £17, ; Monday, May 19th, Workman's Club, Dublin, 7pm, €22, ). READ MORE Literature International Literature Festival Dublin From Friday, May 16th, until Sunday, May 25th, Merrion Square Park, Dublin, various times and prices, 'One Park. Ten Days. A World of Stories,' is the teaser for one of Ireland's primary literary events, which has been spreading the word about words since 1998. There is a wealth of events to choose from; highlights include the authors Wendy Erskine and Lisa Harding in conversation (Saturday, May 17th, 4pm, €12), the launch of Erin Fornoff's epic poem We Are an Archipelago (Saturday, May 17th, 6pm, €15) and Rebecca Solnit talking about her new essay collection, No Straight Road Takes You There (Friday, May 23rd, 8pm, €14). Stage Lovesong From Wednesday, May 14th, until Sunday, June 15th, Gate Theatre, Dublin, 7.30pm, €38/€33/€28, Inspired by TS Eliot's poem The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock, Abi Morgan's achingly sad time-slipping play revolves around a couple's 40-year marriage. As past and present fuse, Ingrid Craigie and Zara Devlin (the older and younger Maggie) and Nick Dunning and Naoise Dunbar (the older and younger Billy) share the stage with elegant physicality. Our advice? Bring tissues. Dance Dublin Dance Festival From Tuesday, May 13th, until Saturday, May 24th, various venues, times and prices, It's happy 21st birthday to Dublin Dance Festival , which presents a range of innovative work that spans Chora, a triple bill from Luail, Ireland's new national dance company (May 13th, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre), to Oona Doherty's Specky Clarke (May 14th until May 17th, Abbey Theatre). The festival also includes a 30th-anniversary reimagining of Matthew Bourne's potent Swan Lake (May 20th until May 24th, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre). Arts festival Cavan Arts Festival From Thursday, May 15th, until Sunday, May 18th, Cavan town, various times and prices, This year's festival, which has an earlier slot in the calendar, is as eclectic as ever. The headline event is the Blindboy Podcast (Sunday, May 18th, Townhall Arts Centre, 8pm, €32), but there are other must-see events, too. These include the first Irish preview of the comedian Alison Spittle's work-in-progress Fat Bitch (Saturday, May 17th, Townhall Arts Centre, 8pm, €15) and the writer Pat McCabe's multicultural presentation Radio Butty (Saturday, May 17th, Con Smith Park, 2.30pm, free). Still running Ralph McTell Saturday, May 10th, Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny; Sunday, May 11th, Cork Opera House; Wednesday, May 14th, Roscommon Arts Centre; Saturday, May 17th, An Grianán, Letterkenny, Co Donegal; Sunday, May 18th, Hawk's Well Theatre, Sligo; Ralph McTell has more songs in his pocket than the evergreen Streets of London and From Clare to Here. As his extensive nationwide tour draws to a close, expect to hear those songs among a selective back catalogue that began with Eight Frames a Second, his 1968 debut album. Book it this week Get Happy! The Judy Garland Songbook, National Opera House, Wexford, July 18th, Belfast International Arts Festival, various venues, October 15th-November 9th, An Audience with Priscilla Presley, NCH, Dublin, October 1st, Loyle Carner, 3Arena, Dublin, November 9th,
Telegraph
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Clairo: Whispery bedroom pop from a streaming superstar
It seems fitting that Clairo, the American indie-pop singer beloved by Gen Z and hip millennials, should centre her live set on a stage designed to look like a ginormous green velvet sofa. Nothing screams aspiration in the eyes of the houseshare generation – skint and stuck in their tiny flats, forever – more than one day owning luxurious furnishings of their own. The 26-year-old has sneakily become a streaming superstar in recent years, racking up billions of listens on Spotify and regularly selling out tours without ever truly becoming a darling of the mainstream; she broke out, like many of her contemporaries (Beabadoobee, Soccer Mommy, Gracie Abrams) in lockdown, when young people stuck indoors found solace in her blend of hazy, dreamlike lo-fi indie, a sonic reminder of more social times when venturing outside wasn't off-limits. Unlike Abrams, who under the watchful eye of her mentor Taylor Swift has become a commercial juggernaut, Clairo still treads the tightrope between genres, her audience equally split between teenage pop fans and bearded music snobs. It's a savvy move: this year will see her perform at legacy festivals like Coachella and Primavera, as well as two shows supporting glossy star Sabrina Carpenter at BST Hyde Park. At Hammersmith Apollo last night, for the first of two sold-out shows in the capital, Clairo (real name Claire Cottrill) elevated her recorded music – which, while gorgeously melodic, can be repetitive – to something surprisingly vivid, her elfin stature overpowered by the energy fed back to her from the adoring crowd (all decked out in bows and lace, of course, Gen Z's apparent required uniform for any gig these days). There were sexually-charged, jazz-tinged jams (Add Up My Love, Sexy to Someone, both from her Grammy-nominated third album, Charm, released last year) and heartfelt singalongs to her most popular tracks, the 2019 songs Bags (a twinkly, synth-splattered dissection of the dying days of a relationship) and Sofia, an edgy love song hinging on a garage rock riff plucked straight from the glory days of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. A debut performance of Steeeam, a track by her early band Shelly, garnered euphorious screams and even more glaring iPhone flash-lights added to the sea of recording devices, despite the fact she had politely asked at the start of the show for her young fans to, just this one time, live in the moment and keep their phones in their pockets. Clairo's vocals are soft and whispery, an addition to her songs rather than their beating heart. This was certainly the case live, too, as she sometimes faltered when trying to balance hitting the higher notes with prancing around the stage. But her genuinely terrific band lifted any slower, weaker moments, with the five on stage flitting between glorious flutes, rhythmic bass and melodic piano, the latter played by Clairo herself, while the retro, art-deco staging gave it all a wonderfully intimate feel, transforming the capacious Apollo into an underground jazz bar. This tour was in honour of Charm, an impressively stylish, confident record, but it was Clairo's own charisma that left you falling deeply under her spell in London.
The Independent
09-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Sharon Van Etten: ‘You have to find ways to be a good person – even when you don't think other people are'
Sharon Van Etten is concerned that people will make fun of her next career move: fronting a goth rock band. 'Maybe it's my insecurity that people will see, 'Oh, someone in their forties decided to have a band – whatever, who cares,'' she says, looking to the floor and imagining the sarcastic jab to follow: 'No one's ever heard of that.' I'm not sure how she turned up to interviews before, but today every indie rock musician's favourite musician looks the part in a black hoodie, surrounded by instruments, sitting in her home studio in Los Angeles. Most fortysomethings suspected of having a midlife crisis, though, are not Grammy-nominated artists who made a male newscaster cry with a simple on-air live performance. Nor do they have their own heroes, Nick Cave and The National, offering up praise. This is a woman who has managed to bottle her very own bittersweet flavour of nostalgia; just thinking about her duet with Angel Olsen 'Like I Used To' reminds me of a summer I spent feeling yearningly, tragically hopeful. I'm not the first critic to suggest that the current generation of women in indie rock – boygenius, Snail Mail and Soccer Mommy included – wouldn't have created work as textured and well-received without the influence of Van Etten's emotional complexity on albums such as Are We There and Remind Me Tomorrow. At first glance, her gothic turn feels like a rogue decision, yet her music can often linger hauntingly in gloom. Just listen to her voice descend in Siouxsie Sioux swoops on the chorus of the single 'Southern Life (What It Must Be Like)'. It's a match made in some dark heaven. The name of this band – Sharon Van Etten and the Attachment Theory – is something of a nod to one of her many side-projects: the long and winding road to becoming a therapist. 'My goal for myself was having a degree by the time I hit 50 and I'll be 44 in February,' she says wistfully, over a video call. Initially, Van Etten was inspired by a period of therapy she undertook to process an abusive relationship she had in her twenties. Once she was ready to retire from being a musician, she'd thought she might work with vulnerable women who had been traumatised or abused. Her interests have evolved, she says: 'As I get older and my parents are aging, I'm considering elderly therapy and grief counselling.' It would be the perfect final act to her career, I think. We have such comfortable silences that I don't get to the questions I'd planned. It's down to Van Etten being one hypnotic half of the conversation: her dark hair is pulled back from her elvish face and her almond-shaped brown eyes hold you with a steady presence. It's calming to sit with her, and much like a therapist, she's difficult to read. Her expressions hide most signs of tension or conflict – she's gentle, almost neutral, but thorough and contemplative in her replies. Even, apparently, when well-meaning people keep asking her about her new band. She lists out their questions: 'What made you want to do this now? Why were you solo for so long?' And then, when it's clear how weighty this transition is for her, 'Why is being in a band such a big deal?' For Van Etten, the answer is simple – she didn't feel emotionally safe enough before, now she does. 'When I started writing music I was in that very controlling and abusive relationship; I had to hide the fact that I played from him,' she says. 'So, from my late teens through my early twenties, my roots in music were it being my survival and just what I did for myself.' Once she was out of the relationship, friends encouraged her to perform at open mic nights and she started to share 'very fragile songs' she was protecting like they were baby birds. 'I was still solo for four years before I even let people just play with me in a live setting,' she explains. Only after surrounding herself with trusted people did she begin to accept small forms of help. A little aid with touring plans, then some colluding over musical arrangements for the creation of Remind Me Tomorrow and her most recent album, We've Been Going About This All Wrong. A major step in letting go of control was the creation of her most beloved song, the wistful 'Seventeen', with co-writer Kate Davis. That track's articulation of faded heartbreak by way of an ever-changing city has given psychological depth to pivotal scenes in hit TV shows such as Sex Education, Big Mouth and The Bear. 'It's my song but when I hear it now, I still tear up,' she says. 'I cry because it's about how looking back, you learn way more than when you were in that moment. Just be easy on yourself and live more in the moment because you won't understand until later.' After the COVID-19 pandemic, she had the fortitude to ask her touring bandmates – who now make up the Attachment Theory – to collaborate in a formal sense. 'I make a joke about our band being like a sonic trust fall but it's deeper than that,' she says (referring to when someone leans back and allows themselves to fall, knowing that others will catch them). 'I wanted to challenge myself, but also show the band how invested I am with them as not just musicians, but friends.' She generously implies that they had some shared ownership over her solo songs anyway, by putting their own DNA into them night after night on tour; 'they add so much, interpreting my music and instilling their voice into it.' When I went to watch the band's recording sessions at the Church Studios in north London a few months ago, Van Etten struck an understated figure, no more a main player than drummer Jorge Balbi, bassist Devra Hoff and Teeny Lieberson on synths, piano, guitar and backing vocals. I wondered if she felt the pressure to hold back, be overly deferential. She says not. 'I was still directing to some degree but there wasn't anything combative,' she says. 'There were a couple of tense moments in the studio when just our gear wasn't working or when someone didn't feel heard.' She smiles at the memory of trying to over-direct Lieberson's vocals, only for her bandmate to kindly but firmly reject her suggestion: that she try a melody that to Lieberson's ears sounded like a classic 'Sharon Van Etten' tune rather than a Teeny Lieberson one. Sharon Van Etten After writing the songs out in the Californian desert, Van Etten decided they would record in London because it was clear their shared influences were English post-punk bands of the late 1970s and Eighties: Joy Division, The Cure, and for Van Etten, vocally and dramatically, Kate Bush and PJ Harvey. Conveniently, given those macabre musical references, death and the destructive passing of time had been very much on Van Etten's mind. 'We're all late thirties into early fifties and in that time of our lives that a person learns how to talk about death,' she says. Her father-in-law had dementia and she was watching him fold into that process; sometimes witnessing the man she knew and other times not recognising him. Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 4 month free trial (3 months for non-Prime members) Sign up One day, Van Etten and Hoff had a conversation about an article on an elixir that reverses aging in mice. It's possible, the article said, that it could be used on people – if the person was older than 50, they'd likely become younger. 'We got into this philosophical, really dark conversation of: if you could live forever, would you? And why would you?' she remembers. This discussion inspired the sombre, mystical opening song, 'Live Forever'. The music that followed blended angular post-punk with lush reverb, creating an ethereal atmosphere ideal for exploring the fragile boundary between life and death. Van Etten fans will be grateful that multiple tracks have the driving instrumental build and poignant Springsteen-like euphoria she's known for. During the writing process, philosophical discussions became practical. Van Etten's father-in-law died. Hoff lost a close friend, Ariel, someone they considered their chosen family. 'I found myself in the most intense grief of my life, a grief that consumed me almost entirely for months,' Hoff recalls. 'Songs that we had written or begun writing took on an intensity for me that made it literally hard to play. I had to duck out of the recording room crying on more than one occasion. These songs and Sharon's words were and are direct reflections of my feelings and what I wanted to communicate to Ariel.' Those losses cemented the themes of the self-titled record: mortality, what we leave behind, and questioning if we ever go anywhere ('All of that fun stuff,' Van Etten says). Her interest in the afterlife reminds me of her role as Rachel in The OA, a prisoner who, after a near-death experience, develops an angelic singing voice. 'That role spoke to me because music has been my superpower throughout my life as I've learned how to hone it and control it and turn it into a career that has helped other people,' she says. Her other prominent TV appearance involved a 'very psychedelic experience' filming for Twin Peaks: The Return, the cult show created by fellow Los Angelino David Lynch, who passed away a few days before we spoke. 'He lived his life fully and he lived it the way he wanted to,' she says of Lynch. 'I don't know him enough to speak to every part about his life, but he seemed like a very enlightened person. And left a lot of beauty and mystery behind. Thank you for that, David Lynch.' A different side-project has recently taken precedence: being a mother to her seven-year-old son, Jack. On election day in 2016, pregnant and alone, she cried at the thought of bringing a child into a world that felt increasingly scary with Trump as president. Now, with Trump beginning a second term, she struggles to balance being honest with Jack while protecting his childlike innocence. The day before our conversation, which fell on both inauguration day and Martin Luther King Jr Day, her husband (and ex-bandmate-turned-manager) Zeke Hutchins wanted to watch the inauguration, but Van Etten chose to focus on MLK Day instead. She watched footage of the 1963 March on Washington and talked to Jack about why she struggles with Trump's presidency: 'I told him how I wish things were different. But that you have to find ways to be a good person even when you don't think other people are.' She simplifies politics for him by comparing differing allegiances to how not everyone likes the same movies. 'We have family and friends in the South who are Trump supporters, so we've had hard conversations,' she says. 'I'm talking a lot about the idea of coexistence.' Meanwhile their hometown has been on fire; the Van Etten residence is just three miles from Pasadena and a block from the Glendale border. Both Pasadena and Glendale were evacuated during the recent forest fires in LA but the Van Ettens tentatively decided to stick around. Not everyone on her team was so lucky: Josh Block, who engineered the band's demo sessions in the desert, lost his house to the fires. Her guitar tech lives four blocks from the fires and has to water his house every day to clear it from the airborne soot and pieces of debris that land on its walls. The band's drummer Balbi has been displaced and is staying with friends. Sharon Van Etten Van Etten is wary of a global conversation that assumes only rich people were badly affected by the fires because of publicised celebrity house losses. 'Yes, the Pacific Palisades [fire] is awful, but a lot of the creative community – and a very diverse community – has been displaced,' she says, suddenly stern for the first and only time in our conversation. 'People are returning to their neighbourhoods being the only house standing.' Now that she is surrounded by such chaos, does that change her answer to the album's central question: would she want to live forever? She gives a restrained sigh at the state of things, a 'to be determined'. 'I wanna see my kid get older, to see how he makes himself in this world. And my partner, who I love – I don't ever want to think about losing each other, he's the love of my life,' she says and then laughs shyly at what she's said. 'But I'm not interested in seeing what happens to the world, with where things stand. I don't think I want to live on Mars. I don't want to escape the planet that we've destroyed and live in another area that is just going to be wrecked.' The strange promise of living through our uncertain future ultimately can't compare to the natural order for Van Etten. 'We live in a society where everyone's afraid of ageing. We're supposed to age. It's OK,' she says. 'I think, at this moment, I just want to get old and eventually die.' 'Sharon Van Etten and the Attachment Theory' is out now
Chicago Tribune
07-02-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Afternoon Briefing: Thornton Township trustees fire allies of Tiffany Henyard
Good afternoon, Chicago. Just over a week after a Thornton Township meeting broke out in brawl involving Supervisor Tiffany Henyard, anti-Henyard activists and others, township trustees met yesterday to discuss their budget proposal and fire two employees. Trustees Christopher Gonzalez, Stephanie Wiedeman and Carmen Carlisle required members of the public watch yesterday's special meeting from the township basement while the board convened upstairs 'to ensure a safe and orderly board meeting' following last week's chaos. Gonzalez was appointed supervisor pro tem in Henyard's absence. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Illinois SEIU passes resolution declaring itself 'under attack' by CTU The teachers union has been negotiating its contract with Chicago Public Schools since April, and as part of its proposals has pitched language that SEIU 73 said would allow certain classroom assistants who are CTU members to do work that is currently done by special education classroom assistants. Read more here. On 8th day of deliberations, Madigan jury gets deep in the legal weeds 3 buildings catch fire overnight on Northwest Side in Belmont Cragin Illinois braces for impact of new and potential tariffs: 'Who will feel the consequences? Everyday Americans.' The new tariff on China will take a toll on trade between Illinois and China. It could really complicate matters for farmers in the state, who worry more retaliatory tariffs could be placed on the agricultural products they export if the nations' trade war escalates. Read more here. More top business stories: Column: Chicago Bulls remain in their comfort zone of mediocrity after another underwhelming trade deadline Another NBA trade deadline passed Thursday with a familiar sense of dissatisfaction in Chicago. Is that … it? Read more here. Review: Soccer Mommy delivers a heartfelt if occasionally muffled concert at Thalia Hall Soccer Mommy's music is easy to fall in love with. It's poignant and piercing — the kind of music you'd listen to during your most vulnerable moments as a teen or young adult. Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: In 'Fool for Love' at Steppenwolf, Caroline Neff takes on an iconic role Here's your Super Bowl celebrity lineup, from Taylor Swift's (possible) guests to hometown stars The International Criminal Court called on its member states to stand up against sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump, saying that the move was an attempt to 'harm its independent and impartial judicial work.' Read more here.
