Black James

Your Guide to the Bands of RFT's Music Showcase

Electronic/Dance: Meet the 2013 RFT Music Award Nominees

The 2013 Riverfront Times Music Showcase is this weekend! Think of it as St. Louis music's own official holiday and consider this the season. Throughout May we at RFT Music have been working hard to make our cases for all 130 bands and artists nominated for an RFT Music Award this year in 26 categor ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows in St. Louis This Memorial Day Weekend: May 24 to 27

Wow -- where to begin? Here, we wrote a quick guide for you. Step one: Eat some barbecue. Step two: See a show or two. Step three: Repeat. This extended weekend's offerings are slightly overwhelming. In addition to these ten picks, plenty of other events covered in the past week present themselves a ... More >>

The 2013 RFT Music Showcase Schedule

The 2013 RFT Music Showcase is a week and a half away! Mark your calendar and save the date; on June 1 it all goes down on Washington Avenue. Sixty bands and artists, ten stages, ten bucks -- all the excellent St. Louis music you can absorb in one twelve hour span. Be sure to check out our ongoing ... More >>

The Luminary Returns with the Post Performance Series This Summer, Featuring Local Art and Music Collaborations

Luminary Center for the Arts makes a comeback on the show scene this summer -- well, not at its pending new physical space on Cherokee Street, but with the return of the Post Performance Series, featuring live music and one-day-only art installations at the Old Post Office Plaza (Ninth and Locust s ... More >>

Nelly, Cold War Kids, Michael Bublé, Adam Ant 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 >>

Out Every Night: The Best Shows in St. Louis from April 29 to May 5

Serenity now, serenity now!! What better way to start the week than with a series of nearby ground-shaking, Earth shattering construction noises to accompany a morning cup of joe? Luckily, headphones exist and a series of bookmarked live performances take me back to my quiet place. Music soothes all ... More >>

Big Boi, The Mountain Goats, Steely Dan, Twangfest 17 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 >>

St. Louis Record Store Day 2013: A Comprehensive Guide

Mark your calendar and prepare your wallet: This Saturday, April 20, marks the sixth annual Record Store Day. Originally begun in 2008 as a way to pull music fans away from their computers and back into the already-dwindling brick-and-mortar shops, Record Store Day has grown larger with each passing ... 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 >>

Public Enemy, Har Mar Superstar, Water Liars, Pink 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: February 22 to 24

All those poor Thursday shows had a run-in with a winter storm, and few made it out alive. Avenge their would-be good times by living out the glory with these shows -- there's way too much cool stuff (no pun intended) happening to skip out on account of a little bit of snow. See Also: -Son Volt, D ... More >>

The Best Concerts in St. Louis This Week: February 18 to 24

Here at RFT Music, so many shows come across our desks on a regular basis in the form of announcements, previews and reviews that things can get pretty darn redundant. So when we come across fun coincidences, like the photo of Man Man sporting some homemade D.R.I. swag above, we're a little too easi ... More >>

The Best Concerts in St. Louis This Week: February 11 to 17

Perhaps one of the greatest joys of this here job is seeing what bands come up with for press photos. They range from strange and deranged to just plain silly (as shown above in string form). In case you missed it last year, my predecessor and now music editor Daniel Hill compiled a list of the 15 m ... More >>

Last Night Blowfly Stole My Girlfriend and Called My Dick Puny

The Firebird. 2/6/2013. "Yo, this is fucked up. Listen." Blowfly shuffled on stage last night to spit his piece on pussy hell, incredible fucks and the real first rap. In a world with justice, it would have been shoulder-to-shoulder and cramped, but the Firebird was only half full, with enough roo ... More >>

The Best Concerts in St. Louis this Week: February 4 to 10

Between the Superbowl, Mardi Gras and Valentine's Day, there's no shortage of excuses to celebrate something somewhere sometime soon lately, or even retroactively. Find a place to party this week from a varying list of tasty shows -- just choose your flavor. This week's recommendations await after t ... More >>

The Slackers, Major Lazer, Mac Lethal 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: Jan. 4 to 6

Whoa, it's a new year, and change is weird. I'm still getting used to working at this office. This week, I've been strategically re-adjusting the angle of this side view mirror set up on my soon-to-be desk, which Daniel apparently kicked off of his car one day and brought up here "to prevent people ... More >>

A Very Mayan Christmas

7 p.m. Friday, December 21. St. Louis Skatium, 120 Catalan Street.

2012: The Year in St. Louis Music

Full Circle with The Flaming Lips: 2012 In Review

Editor's Note: The end of 2012 is upon us (also the end of the world, if you believe in that sort of thing), so we thought we'd put a cap on things by sharing some of our personal favorite shows, albums, events and general shenanigans. Join us as we indulge in some navel-gazing! When I write articl ... More >>

The Six Best Beats By St. Louis Artists In 2012

In this unprecedented edition of Nitpick Six, we narrow the scope and focus on the stellar work of local musicians this year. Here are the six best beats by local artists in 2012. Let us know your favorites in the comments, and we'll sample them, chop them up and throw down some 808 drops. See also ... More >>

Out Every Night: The Best Shows From December 17 to 23

Plenty of excellent shows this week; particularly as we enter the weekend -- local releases galore. We'll get into that in more detail on the weekend post though. Supposedly, the world is ending this weekend as well. I know what you are thinking, and I don't really buy it either, but then again the ... More >>

Out Every Night: The Best Shows From December 3 to December 9

Noted R&B heartthrob Trey Songz will be at the Fox this Sunday, but the show will absolutely not be worth killing a person and then yourself over. I just wanted to make that clear from the get-go since I suppose there has been some very heartbreaking confusion lately. Just to be clear, again: Trey ... More >>

Homespun: Black James

im A mirAcle
soundcloud.com/blackjamesmusic

Taylor Swift, Weird Al Yankovic, Fatlip and More in This Week's New 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 >>

Black James will Make you Dance and Haunt Your Dreams

That Jennifer McDaniel dropped the im A mirAcle cassette/digital release on Halloween is no accident. Her Black James project trafficks in otherworldliness and disorientation that is, at times, spooky, unhinged and detached. Even the opening moments of the tape recall those Halloween sound-effects r ... More >>

The FarFetched Collective's big, weird welcome party

Do It Together: Aaron Stovall Talks About This Weekend's SLAP Conference and Current -- Preview the Mixtape Here

This weekend, the St. Louis Arts Project will hold its second annual conference. Its aim is to reach the far-flung corners of the art world, regional or not, for an exchange of ideas and expression. There is a suggested $10 donation for entry -- check in starts tonight at 6 p.m. at the Contemporary ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows In St. Louis This Weekend: June 29 to July 1

This weekend (Friday, to be specific) St. Louis will play host to the record releases of three of its finer bands: CaveofswordS release its debut offering on Friday at Heavy Anchor (click here for a profile of the band by Christian Shaeffer), Aquataine (formerly Supermoon, then Super Maroon) release ... More >>

The 2012 RFT Music Award Winners

And this officially ends the 2012 RFT Music Awards and Showcase. Look in this week's print edition for the complete list of winners and a few thoughts on the whole thing from me, but in the meantime you can see who won each of the 25 categories below. They've been bolded.

Solo: Meet the 2012 Music Award Nominees

The 2012 Riverfront Times Music Showcase is two weeks away. And if that is our own St. Louis Music holiday, then consider this the season: Throughout May, we've been making our cases for all 125 bands and artists nominated for an RFT Music Award this year, introducing the nominees from one or more o ... More >>

The 2012 RFT Music Showcase Schedule

The 2012 RFT Music Showcase is two weeks away, on June 2. And here it is: 5 blocks, 14 stages, 74 bands and artists. Ten bucks gets you all the excellent St. Louis music you can absorb in one twelve hour span. And hey: At least for now, the forecast calls for an incredibly pleasant high of 89 degree ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows In St. Louis This Weekend: May 11 to 13

Local music fans in the know spent last night at KDHX's massive party at the City Museum, Midwest Mayhem -- I myself had to wash my eyeballs this morning to try and purge them of the things I saw at the skatepark burlesque show. The whole event was huge, weird, fun and extremely exhausting, but ther ... More >>

Homespun: Adult Fur

RÁN
adultfur.bandcamp.com

Bill Streeter Unleashes Lo-Fi Cherokee: Fourteen Bands, Fourteen Videos, One Day

Bill Streeter's acclaimed Lo-Fi St. Louis unveiled an ambitious new project earlier this week: A collaboration with Tower Groove Records that showcases fourteen artists playing at Cherokee Street businesses. Even more impressive? Streeter's crew managed to film fourteen different musical acts in on ... More >>

The 2012 RFT Music Awards Nominees

That's right, sports fans, it's once again time for the big ol' love letter to St. Louis music known as the RFT Music Awards and Showcase. The nominating committee has made its arguments and to show for it we have five of the best bands and artists in 25 categories. Many of these fine musicians wil ... More >>

A Very Bert Dax Christmas, Volume Nine: All Twelve Tracks, Streaming with Commentary

Roughly what we will look like after attending four Bert Dax Xmas release shows.​A Very Bert Dax Christmas, Volume Nine has now officially been released. The ninth annual X-Mas compilation, a joint release by Rob Severson from Pancake Productions (subject of a recent music feature) and Matt Ha ... More >>

A Very Bert Dax Christmas, Volume Nine is Coming

Christmas was almost cancelled this year. Or, at least, the Bert Dax Christmas Compilation almost didn't happen, which as far as St. Louis music goes is just as bad. But Matt Harnish and Rob Severson found a way to continue the tradition into its ninth year. The artwork, which you see here, was done ... More >>

The Party's Never Over

The Ten Best Things to do in St. Louis This Weekend: June 24-26

​You made it through another week, and you should reward yourself with some live musical entertainment: Tonight it's the kings of Southern rock at the Family Arena, a strong local bill at Off Broadway and another Homegrown deal at the Pageant. STL Loud showcases an eclectic bill at the Firebi ... More >>

RFT Showcase 2011: Highlights (Part One)

Sleepy Kitty's Paige Brubeck. Photo by Jon Gitchoff​There was no shortage of music to be had this weekend--the Float Yr Face fest was a sweaty success, Oberhofer played the Old Post Office Plaza, a shitload of cicadas serenaded the county, and oh yeah, the RFT Music Showcase was a smash. Amid ... More >>

Some of St. Louis' biggest music fans submit itineraries for the showcase

The Ten Best Things To Do This Weekend In St. Louis: May 21 to 22

Theodore's Blood Signs EP, which gets a release tonight at Off Broadway​It's a huge weekend for St. Louis music, with Theodore releasing its latest EP at Off Broadway tonight and Fister doing much the same up at the Firebird. No one's releasing anything at the Pageant, but you can see four of ... More >>

Ten Best Things to Do in St. Louis This Weekend: April 29-May 1

Bunnygrunt​After last weekend's total insanity, things are a little calmer in the 'Lou. As usual, however it wasn't hard to find ten things you could be doing with your time: Kinky Friedman plays tonight at Off Broadway, the Incurables are releasing an EP at the same place tomorrow and Bunnygr ... More >>

The Ten Best Things To Do This Weekend in St. Louis: April 22 to 24

Joy Formidible (Wikimedia Commons)​Flip a coin: there's no other way to choose which of the excellent shows to attend this weekend. Whether your betting tastes lean toward the Joy Formidable's melodic fuzz from across the pond, or Ha Ha Tonka's Bible-Belt punk from St. Louis' backyard, odds ar ... More >>

Here Are Your 2011 RFT Music Awards Nominees

Wikimedia Commons​Without fanfare, here are the 2011 RFT Music Awards nominees. Bands performing at this year's RFT Music Showcase, which takes place on Saturday, June 4, on Washington Avenue, will be taken from this list. Like they are every year, the nominations are cobbled together from fan ... More >>

Eleven local bands and artists to watch in 2011

2010: The Year In Music

Eleven Local Artists You Need to Know in 2011

​The life cycle of a local music community goes something like this: Bands form, play out, record music, play out more and (eventually) break up. There's plenty of variation in this sequence of events, of course, but in St. Louis, the local-band turnover tends to be rather high. Keeping track ... More >>