Sunday’s lineup at the Belly Up boasted not one but two noteworthy bands: North Carolina’s The Love Language and LA’s fast-rising Local Natives. The Love Language and Local Natives aren’t exactly kindred spirits; the former is known for brittle tavern rock, the latter for catchy, world music-inspired compositions. Despite these differences, both bands suffered from excessively uniform sets. Continue reading…
The Love Language‘s first album is a fantastic record, but you were never supposed to hear it.
Stuart McLamb wrote and recorded The Love Language in a Chapel Hill, North Carolina storage space after splitting from his girlfriend. Its nine songs were alternately heartbreaking and manic, propelled by McLamb’s vocals which, despite — or perhaps because of — their rough and unpolished sound, cut straight to the bone. Continue reading…
Let me paint a picture for you: it’s at Friday 7:10 a.m., you’re sleeping in your tent, face buried in an air mattress. The sun is screaming at you to wake up or suffocate. You went to bed three hours ago while hardcore techno music throbbed in the distance. You consumed about ten beers the day before — that’s a low ballpark estimate — and you’re already sweating profusely. You smell the way you feel. Continue reading
There are over one hundred bands playing at this year’s Bonnaroo festival, so you might as well face it — you’re not going to see everyone you like. Instead, you’re inevitably going to be faced with a choice that could very well make or break your musical experience.
No one wants to be on the wrong end of the “Oh man, did you see so-and-so’s set? It was mind-blowing!” conversation, silently steaming over why you chose to watch Gaslight Anthem over Edward Sharpe. But don’t despair — after hours of intensive, scientific research, we here at Owl and Bear have come up with a list that guarantees your satisfaction. Continue reading…
As it does every year, the Coachella Music Festival is about to descend upon Indio, California. From April 16 – 18, the one-horse town will be transformed into an indie music mecca, with hipsters converging from far and wide to soak up the tunes and 115-degree heat.
Coachella can be a terrific time but also a taxing one, so you’ll want to get your mandatory three-day ticket’s worth. To help ensure that you don’t risk all that dehydration and sunstroke for nothing, your friendly neighborhood Owl and Bear have compiled a list of this year’s must-see bands. Continue reading