Stephen Bruner has had a love for the bass for as long as he can remember. He says that he always gravitated towards stringed instruments as a kid, and has countless family photos of himself as a young boy holding a bass to prove it. Bruner—who’s now 31 years old and better known as Thundercat—hasn’t […]
Cultural Festivals
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It’s the summer of Reeny Smith
Reeny Smith has a secret and she doesn’t want to share. Chatting by phone one recent morning, she drops succulent clues and small details, but politely declines to say too much, no matter which way the question is rephrased. As the North Preston performer gracefully changes the topic to her recently hectic schedule, she seems […]
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The up-and-coming Keonté Beals
Keonté Beals is a North Preston native with an angelic voice and a knack for R&B. This year, at age 19, Beals received the 2016 Rising Star Award from the African Nova Scotian Music Association. Since then, Beals released his debut single “Man Down,” with DJ Kin Crew. The song is personal for Beals. “I’ve […]
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Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld
Colin Stetson, saxophonist and multi-reedist, and Sarah Neufeld, violinist, are bringing their dreamy instrumental duet album, The Sun Roars Into View, to St. Matthew’s Church on Saturday. The two musicians (who also happen to be married) have collaborated before, but never as an exclusive duo until 2015. Stetson, who’s well known for his work with […]
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Adam Baldwin’s rock revelation
On a recent Thursday night at a sold-out Seahorse Tavern, Dartmouth native Adam Baldwin began an earnest serenade to the throng of fans before him. When the audience joined in the singing, lamenting what Baldwin describes as “the dangers of complacency,” the June 23 concert became something more than the official release party of his sophomore […]
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Partner is aiming high
Partner’s core women are inspired by lesbian female icons (or dykons, as they call them), and artists who don’t restrict themselves. The two don’t like to define the genre of their music, because the freedom to make whatever the hell they feel like is exactly why they started the band. “I like to say it’s […]
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American Football’s long road to stardom
The first time Steve Lamos found out his college band, American Football, was popular was about 15 years after its album was released. Lamos is a professor at the University of Colorado, and one of his students off-handedly asked him if he knew that the song “Never Meant” had over 2 million plays online. “That […]
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Wintersleep comes home
Wintersleep is back, with a new album that’s proving to be its most popular release yet. The Great Detachment brought a return to Halifax’s Sonic Temple studio, where the group recorded its 2007 release Welcome to the Night Sky. “There’s something about that room that you want to try and capture,” says guitarist Tim D’Eon. […]
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James Ehnes wants to play for you
James Ehnes’ virtuosic talent feels like a force of nature. Making sounds that are sometimes bombastic and often impressively nuanced, he plays the violin with a confidence and an elegance that are nearly unparalleled. Now, on the occasion of his 40th birthday—celebrated in January—Ehnes has been hitting the road to play compositions both new and […]
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Welcome to OBEY Convention
In 2007, OBEY Convention started “as a small happening aimed at celebrating weird and sometimes subversive music,” says founder and organizer Darcy Spidle. “From day one, it caught on.” In the last eight years, intimate meetings of contemporary art and music have grown to epic proportions. OBEY reinvents itself every year and still maintains its […]
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Check out Alienation bringing punk to the library
Libraries are usually quiet spaces for reading, but Dartmouth hardcore band Alienation will blow the books off the shelves for an all-ages show on Friday at the Memorial North Library with their loud, fast D-beat punk. “The location is funny,” says vocalist and author Dylan Jewers. “Poverty, crime and deep-rooted community on one side, then […]
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Mykki Blanco, Coast cover grrl
In contemporary art and culture, we are constantly striving to challenge and renegotiate accepted conventions and expectations. But Mykki Blanco, the Orange County rapper, poet, activist and actor—also queer, non-binary, HIV-positive and influenced by Riot Grrls—is the supreme being of artistic change in 2016. In her ascent as the most prominent figure in underground rap, […]
