CMJ is upon us and there are dozens of shows happening over the next few days. We chatted with four bands and artists who are performing in the festival. Take a listen—you may want to add one, or all of them to your next playlist.
Au Revoir Simone Photo: Ben Pier
Au Revoir Simone plays a free show today, Oct. 17 at Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South, at 2pm.
With the exception of maybe Kraftwerk and Hot Chip, there aren’t many bands whose members all play keyboards. Add the Brooklyn trio Au Revoir Simone to that list. Each of the musicians in the band, Erika Forster, Heather D’Angelo and Annie Hart, performs on the synthesizer and sings.
Even Erika admits that the configuration was weird at first when they started the band almost 10 years ago. Continue reading>>>
Brooklyn band Firehorse, fronted by Leah Siegel, plays the McKittrick Hotel on Thursday night. Photo: Will O’Hare.
Firehorse plays at the McKittrick Hotel, 530 W. 27th St., today, Oct. 17 at 9pm.
Leah Siegel doesn’t sit still. Even on a Skype chat, she shifted from lounging on her side, head propped on her palm to sitting upright, computer in lap with her feet tucked beneath her. It’s no surprise then that Siegel, singer, songwriter and creative force behind Brooklyn band Firehorse, has her hands in a few different projects.
The latest Firehorse release, Pills From Strangers, a seven-song “mini-LP” full of bouncy, syncopated electro-beats and Siegel’s deep, pensive vocals, came out in June, but she is already working on something new. Leisure Cruise, her collaboration with Broken Social Scene’s Dave Hodge, will release an album in 2014, with a full-sized tour to go with it. Continue reading>>>
Nashville’s Lindi Ortega, in town for CMJ during her national tour in support of her new record, “Tin Star.” Photo: Julie Moe.
Lindi Ortega plays at Subculture, 45 Bleeker St., on Friday, Oct. 18 and Saturday, Oct. 19 at 9pm.
The title track off country singer Lindi Ortega’s new record Tin Star finds her crooning about playing for “a few pennies” in her adopted hometown of Nashville, a city so rich with music that it’s easy for even talented musicians to barely busk by.
“Nashville is a difficult place to get a draw because there’s so much happening all the time,” Ortega says.
But after playing herself on an episode of last season’s ABC drama Nashville, the Toronto transplant turned Nashville fixture is selling herself short. Continue reading>>>
Australian rock band The Delta Riggs are making their inaugural trip to the states for CMJ.
The Delta Riggs play The Delancey, 168 Delancey St., on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 9:30 pm.
“America,” the bass and organ-driven single off Australian band The Delta Riggs’ full-length debut album, Hex. Lover. Killer, catches lead singer Elliott Hammond singing about longing for America, which is something he knows about first hand.
“I was having a dream last night as I was falling asleep about San Francisco,” Hammond said over Skype recently. “I was walking through the streets and thinking, this is legit.”
Now, Hammond’s dreams are coming true. Continue reading>>>
