If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Alysse Gafkjen I had assumed that I'm With Her was going to be a one-off project. The folk supergroup of Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O'Donovan, and Sara Watkins formed in 2015, released an album ( See You Around ) in 2018, and won a Grammy for Best American Roots song in 2020 for "Call My Name"). Now it's 2025 and the group has reformed. "Ancient Light" is exactly what we want from I'm With Her. It's laid back folk pop with strong roots in traditional folk music. Jarosz, O'Donovan, and Watkins have perfectly merged their individual styles into this project, so if you're a fan of any of these artists, you're going to love "Ancient Light." The song even meanders off into unexpected directions, making this one of the most interesting folk pop compositions we've heard in a long time. We're thrilled to welcome back I'm With Her, and we know you'll be as well. I'm With Her say of their latest single: “We start...

Photo by Ken Sears Freshgrass definitely has changed since the last time I made it back in 2012. The courtyard where the main stage was is now the smallest stage and the main stage is now in a large field. Well, large compared to a courtyard. As far as an outdoor festival is concerned, it's still relatively small giving the entire fest an intimate feel. The food choices have definitely improved, too. In 2012 we only had the museum cafeteria which quickly ran out of a lot of choices. Now we could choose from a variety of food trucks and caterers spread through the grounds of MASS MoCA.  I was unable to attend Friday evening, so this will be a Trampled By Turtles free review. I'm going to focus on my favorite aspects of Saturday and Sunday, with plenty of pleasant surprises and new discoveries. Rhiannon Giddens Having seen Caroline Chocolate Drops a few times in the past, I fully expected Rhiannon Giddens to be good, even great. Somehow I didn't expect her performanc...

As we prepare for this weekend's Freshgrass 2018 (checking the weather report every hour, repeatedly listening to the festival's Spotify playlist ...), we thought we'd share what we're most looking forward to this weekend. Of course, these could be dropped instantly for another set or by getting lost in the galleries of MASS MoCA, but as of right now, these are our top 5... Rhiannon Giddens, Saturday, 5:00 pm, Courtyard D My first trip to Freshgrass included seeing the Carolina Chocolate Drops in 2014. I've been obsessed with them since then, which has included following each member's solo careers. I still haven't seen Rhiannon Giddens solo live, but that will change on Saturday. Her solo work has been a bit more mainstream than Carolina Chocolate Drops and I'm very curious to see how that plays out live. Seeing how Carolina Chocolate Drops stole the entire festival in 2014, this could be the must see of 2018. Flogging Molly, Saturday, 9:00 pm, ...

The Green River Festival has slowly shed it's identity as being one of New England's best kept secret and is now a truly great festival. Gone are the years when the hot air balloons were the main focus and the music was just a bonus. 2018 might boast its greatest line up yet, and given the history of the festival, that's saying a lot. Michael Franti & Spearhead, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Josh Ritter had been announced last month, but today Green River announced most of their 2018 line up, and... just... wow. They've added Dr. Dog, folk supergroup I'm With Her, Deer Tick, Robert Earl Keen, Femi Kuti and the Positive Force, Lucy Dacus (!!!!), Chuck Prophet and the Mission Express, Birds of Chicago, The Ballroom Thieves, Bella's Bartok, and more!  The 2018 Green River Festival will run July 13-15 on the campus of the Greenfield Community College in Greenfield, MA. For more on the festival including tickets, head on over to their website .

Regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, I think we can all agree that this election cycle has been an absolute shit show. Most people seem to despise one or both main candidates, and there isn't a whole lot to get excited about politically. That might change, since at least this election has inspired the first new Le Tigre song in over a decade. Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of Kathleen Hanna can probably guess that she's not exactly the world's biggest Donald Trump fan. Le Tigre have chosen to throw their support totally behind Hillary Clinton with the song "I'm With Her." It's an upbeat dance track, exactly what you'd expect from Le Tigre. If this election brings us nothing else, at least we have a new song from Le Tigre. Maybe this whole year has been worth it.  For everything Le Tigre, be sure to check out their website . Also, check out Kathleen Hanna's more current band, The Julie Ruin, on their website , too. The ...