Arts, Entertainment, and Media

In the Galleries - Contemporary German Art: Selections from the Permanent Collection

Homespun: Max Load

Max Load
rerunrecordsstl.com

The Six Worst Hybrids Of Country Music and Rap

There is absolutely nothing wrong with cross-genre collaboration. Anything that widens an artist or listener's musical scope is encouraged. Rap and country, as disparate as they can seem, can coexist peacefully within a single track (ie. most of Odelay). But when it's bad, good God almighty it's bad ... More >>

Deep Covers: Bhi Bhiman re-imagines rock favorites on Substitute Preacher

The Cover of the May 9 Print Edition

Dance Through the World

Enter the Chamber

Is Killer Mike Is the Best Rapper Alive in 2013?

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis city. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

RFT Spring Arts Guide 2013: Dance

Catch Him While You Can: Broadway star Norbert Leo Butz returns to St. Louis next week for a good cause

Victim of Love: Charles Bradley has no time to dream

The Best St. Louis Metal Shows in May

Looking for a good place to see flashy and exciting music played at high volume, have your mind blown by dark and powerful sounds, or just stomp around like a drunken goon with your shirt off? Then a heavy metal concert might be just the place for you. Each month I'll be offering my top picks of the ... More >>

RIP Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman: Does This Mean the End of Slayer?

As a lifetime die-hard Slayer fan, I had to do a double-take when I got a text from RFT Music editor Daniel Hill asking if I'd like to write a piece on the passing of Jeff Hanneman. "Fuck yeah I'd like to write something about Slayer," I thought. But wait a minute... WHAT? I had not yet heard of h ... More >>

Smut Puppets

Death Grips, the Angry Samoans, Slash, UZ and More in This Week's Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>

The Music Business: We're Surrounded By Some Seriously Sadistic, Self-Centered Bastards

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis city. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

Saint Louis Zoo Announces Birth of 251-Pound Baby Elephant (PHOTOS)

It's a girl! A 251-pound baby girl. The Saint Louis Zoo announced this weekend that Ellie, the zoo's 42-year-old Asian elephant, has successfully given birth to a baby. The calf is 38 inches tall, weighs 251 pounds -- and is healthy and adorable. "Mother and baby are both doing very well," Marth ... More >>

Rock & Roll Whirlwind: Nikki Hill never phones it in

Listen to "Right on the Brink"

Words Alive

The Ten Best Shows in St. Louis This Weekend: April 19 to 21

Stacked. That's what this weekend is -- stacks of records, stacks of bands, stacks and stacks of shows. There's so much going on lately that its a surprise RFT Music hasn't toppled over like a teetering Jenga tower (or has it? Google Chrome has trouble loading the website lately. Quit it!). Let's tr ... More >>

Photos: Neon Trees and Grouplove Last Night at the Touhill, 4/17/13

Neon Trees and Grouplove made the trek to St. Louis to play UMSL's annual "Mirthday" show at the Touhill Performing Arts Center (1 University Boulevard) on Wednesday, April 17, 2013. Photos by Jon Gitchoff for the Riverfront Times. See Also: - Neon Trees & Grouplove at the Touhill (slideshow) - Gro ... More >>

One Night in China

Eagles of Death Metal to Play at the Arch on May 18

Tongue-in-cheek boogie rockers Eagles of Death Metal announced that the band will be playing a concert in the shadow of the arch on May 18. The show is part of sponsor Jack Daniel's new Live at the Landmark show series, where as you might guess, bands play famous landmarks across the United States. ... More >>

St. Louis Actors' Studio to Launch "LaBute New Theater Festival" in July

Eight professional playwrights and five high school students will have their one-act plays performed during the St. Louis Actors' Studio's first annual LaBute New Theater Festival this summer at the Gaslight Theater. As its title suggests, the festival pays homage to playwright Neil LaBute, best kno ... More >>

The Six Indie Rock Songs That Sound Most Like Ska Songs

Indie rock is the vaguest of all genres, sort of the "none of the above" of rock and roll. There are no hard and fast rules. In rare cases, the result sounds an awful lot like ska. Here are the six indie rock songs that sound most like ska songs. Let us know your favorites in the comments. Oi.

Killer Blues to Install Headstones at the Graves of Stagger Lee, Milton Sparks This Weekend

All too often we read stories about aging, sometimes-forgotten music legends that slowly wallow away into obscurity. Highly influential music pioneers get left in the pits of financial hell when -- if there was any justice in the music business (spoiler alert: there truly isn't) -- these legends' e ... More >>

Out Every Night: The Best Shows in St. Louis from April 8 to 13

Warning: show-going can be bad for your health. I type this with watery eyes, a sore head and throat, and a forever-runny, impossible-to-breathe-out-of nose. I suppose all that putzing around in the rain between breaking a sweat at shows over the weekend really exacerbated things quickly. Bah! Worth ... More >>

Iron Maiden and Megadeth are Coming to Verizon Wireless Amphitheater on September 8

British heavy metal legend Iron Maiden is coming to St. Louis, and bringing one of thrash's "Big Four," Megadeth, along for the ride. Verizon Wireless Amphitheater has yet to make the announcement official, but we saw it listed today on the metal news website Blabbermouth.com. We will update this po ... More >>

The Best St. Louis Punk/Hardcore Shows in April

Are you sick of being responsible? Does it annoy you to have to follow rules or be pro-social? Do you like basements? Well, if you are a goofy, degenerate weirdo who doesn't quite fit in anywhere else, you might consider our city's DIY hardcore/punk shows.Your underlying anger problems can be brough ... More >>

Attention Musicians: Stop Spamming and Start Showing Some Personality

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

Bad Religion's Greg Graffin Challenges Authority Through Science

For more than 30 years, Bad Religion has carved out a niche as the thinking man's punk-rock band. When BR formed in Los Angeles in 1980, the inspiration for lyrics came from the topic of corporate greed and the conflicts between philosophy, science and religion. Bad Religion's sixteenth full-length ... More >>

The Best St. Louis Metal Shows in April

Looking for a good place to see flashy and exciting music played at high volume, have your mind blown by dark and powerful sounds, or just stomp around like a drunken goon with your shirt off? Then a heavy metal concert might be just the place for you. Each month I'll be offering my top picks of the ... More >>

Second-Hand Laughs

Justin Timberlake's 20/20 Experience: Don't Feel Guilty About "Guilty Pleasures"

Fuck me, I am going to overdose on this new Justin Timberlake album. I know that I'm supposed to be ashamed of certain selections in my album collection. I know this from all of the times that people have looked through my CDs or records or iTunes and been all "Hey, what's this doing here?" before ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows in St. Louis This Weekend: March 29 to 31

Welcome to the weekend! I'm operating from a strategic satellite location out of town at the moment, so I can't tell if it's spring in St. Louis yet. Regardless, I am bummed to be missing out on some awesome shows this weekend. For starters, Fister, Old Salt Union, Great Isaac and Tear Out the Heart ... More >>

Party People

Lil Wayne, John Mayer, Animal Collective, Pokey LaFarge and More in This Week's Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows in St. Louis This Weekend: March 22 to 24

Bunnygrunt turns 20 this weekend! Not many bands live long enough to celebrate two decades, so be sure to prepare some spankings. Besides that, there's of other bands to see in a wide variety of shape and size. Read on for our recommendations.

She Flies Through the Air with the Greatest of Ease: Meet St. Louis' own Elliana Grace, Human Cannonball

MADCO About Dance

I'm a Musician: What Do I Do About Health Insurance?

Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Ask Fan Landers! Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls' Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to help you ... More >>

Homespun: Pain & Time
www.ryanspearman.net

Black Flag to Play Fubar on June 21

Legendary hardcore punk band Black Flag will be playing Fubar on Friday, June 21. Tickets will be $25 in advance, $30 on the day of the show. This will be the Greg Ginn/Ron Reyes incarnation of the band, not to be confused with the Keith Morris/Chuck Dukowski/ Bill Stevenson reunion, which is curren ... More >>

The Cirque Thing

Salem Library Told to Stop Wiccan Censorship: "We Are Pleased This Matter is Behind Us"

Public library officials in Salem are pleased with a court order against them this week that says they cannot block Wiccan and Native American websites -- after the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri accused them of refusing to allow a patron to conduct online research on certain rel ... More >>

All the Right Moves

Venus Dominates the Stage

Patti Smith, Toots and the Maytals, Shooter Jennings, Ghostface Killah and More in This Week's Show Announcements

Here again: every newly announced show for the week! On page one you'll find a quick list of shows that particularly caught our attention, followed by embedded YouTube videos; there, you can check out some of the artists you may not be familiar with. Page two contains our complete listing of new sho ... More >>

Ten Bands You Never Would Have Thought Used to Be Good

It's a common cliché by now: Some snobby, balding guy with glasses in every bar across America rants and raves about how he only likes "the old stuff" by every band. "I liked the first record," is his creed. This character floats around, bumming everyone out and sucking all the fun out of a karaoke ... More >>

South By South City Fest to Overtake Off Broadway This Weekend

This weekend, Off Broadway is hosting the very first South By South City festival, a celebration of the St. Louis music scene inspired by SXSW fest in Texas. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night, $5 gets you in to see 5-6 native musical delights, plus samples of beer from the finest breweries in town. ... More >>