If It's Too Loud...

The Green River Festival is one of our favorites of the year. It always seemed to slide under the radar no matter how great their line up has been, but the past few years have seen it get national attention. They've announced the initial line up of their 2025 edition, and this one is certain to make Green River a destination festival. Headlining the 2025 Green River Festival are indie rockers Mt. Joy, Australian phenom Courtney Barnett, and the already legendary Waxatacheee! They also have current indie favorite MJ Lenderman and the intriguing pairing of Julien Baker and TORRES! Aside from that are other If It's Too Loud... favorites such as Kathleen Edwards, AJ Lee & Blue Summit, and Merce Lemon. As always there are bands we're not as familiar with, but we have seven months to do our research and become enamored with new favorites! The Green River Festival will take place June 20-22 at Franklin County Fairgrounds in Greenfield, MA. "Plan Ahead" packages are n...

Artist : John Davis Album : JINX Quick Thoughts : "Sucked Out" by Superdrag is basically the quintessential alt-rock song of my high school years. I associate it with the station tag for WBCN, I probably sing the opening verse once a week, and so on. The band had a few great albums before breaking up, and have done the requisite reunion stuff, but lead singer and songwriter John Davis has kept busy throughout it all. JINX was apparently meant to be a new Superdrag record, but it's released under his name and it's honestly and truly an amazing throwback. Loved everything about this, it's power pop the way it's meant to be, and I'm really looking forward to more time with it. Songs of Note : "The Future," "Please Be My Love," "Already Drowned," "Free to Fall," "In Between the Waves," "I'm Sorry" Artist : JD McPherson Album : Nite Owls Quick Thoughts : I don't always gel with blu...

Photo by Justin Gordon Pittsburgh's Merce Lemon has released what could be the song of the year. "Backyard Lover" starts off with a miniature burst of feedback, but in a quiet, almost lovely way. The song then evolves into a folk/country song heavy on steel guitar. Lemon's vocals are what truly shine in "Backyard Lover." She doesn't exactly have a traditional folk or country voice, but that's what makes the song so compelling. The song builds in intensity and becomes a little more rock based as it goes on, while still staying in the same style. The build is so slow that you almost don't notice until the guitar solo brings the entire thing to life. This is a great one that you aren't going to want to miss. Merce Lemon says of her latest single: “So many of my songs are touched by and explore death specifically in relation to the loss I experienced of my best friend when I was fifteen years old. That loss has forever changed me and who I am in ...