Uncle Tupelo

'Come Dancing' with Local Bands at Kinks Tribute Show, KDHX Benefit

That's where the big bands Used to come and play My sister went there On a Saturday -- "Come Dancing" Ten local bands hope you'll believe in the power of Ray Davies and "come dancing" during a benefit concert for KDHX 88.1 FM tomorrow, March 30. Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy: A Tribute to the Kinks ... More >>

Ryan Spearman's Pain & Time: Read Our Homespun Review

Ryan Spearman is too nice of a guy to talk dirty. His good-natured drawl and perennially laid-back air make even the obvious double-entendres of Mississippi John Hurt's "Candy Man Blues" sound almost innocent. But as the title suggests, Pain & Time is not lightweight on the lyrical themes (especiall ... More >>

Son Volt's Jay Farrar on Honky Tonk, Ralph Mooney, Bending the Rules and More

In this week's print edition, Senior Writer Roy Kasten interviews Jay Farrar, longtime leader of Son Volt and first-time author, about the band's new album Honky Tonk (due out March 5) and his new book Falling Cars and Junkyard Dogs (due out March 19). "The impetus to write the book was born out of ... More >>

InFest STL Tournament Of Champions: Round One, FIGHT!

This Saturday and Sunday, a few dozen local and regional bands perform at InFest STL, a two-day indie festival at 2720 Cherokee. The event is totally free. This is not a battle of the bands, and the acts are in no way competing with each other, but that's no reason not to pit twenty-five confirmed a ... More >>

Out Every Night: The Best Shows From September 10 to 16

Under normal circumstances I despise inane small talk and "how's the weather" chatter, but for the purposes of filling these show-pick-posts' opening paragraphs with content, its a consistent fallback. That said, I wore a jacket outside this weekend! WHOA HOLY SHIT. Sometimes I think I could write ... More >>

Definitive STL '90s Band the Heebie Jeebies is Back with A Greatest Hits Compilation: Interview and Preview

Whether playing 'American Pop' or 'Alternative Rock' the Heebie Jeebies was one of those legendary local pop bands of the 1990s that managed to survive in the minds and toe taps of those who loved its music. After reforming for the Karate Bikini CD release show at Off Broadway on July 21st, the buz ... More >>

A Comprehensive Guide to Record Store Day 2012

This just in: Vinyl is BACK! Now in its fifth year, Record Store Day has made its international mark, recognized by labels, bands, and collectors worldwide. Celebrating the cultural impact of the independent record store, RSD offers everything from live performances to special discounts to limited e ... More >>

The New fun. Fan's Guide to the Format

Statistically speaking, you or some iTunes user you know has, ton-i-i-i-i-ight, confirmed that he and someone else are both young and proceeded to set the world on fire. fun., America's least search-engine-optimizable band--and, somehow, the first rock band since Nickelback to debut on top of the ... More >>

Wilco and Jay Farrar will Release Woody Guthrie Tribute Albums This Year. Separately.

Photos by Jason StoffIf nothing else, Jay Farrar (left) and Jeff Tweedy (right) agree on Woody Guthrie.​Over the weekend, Billy Bragg announced that he and Wilco would release a third installment in their Mermaid Avenue series. The albums draw inspiration from Woody Guthrie's notebooks of unre ... More >>

Biggest St. Louis Music News Stories of 2011: Part One

Bloodshot Records​The Bottle Rockets' Acoustic Album Finally Sees the Light of Day Not So Loud: An Acoustic Evening With the Bottle Rockets was a long time in coming -- four years in fact. Recorded over two nights in 2007 at the now defunct Lucas School House, the live album was one of this ... More >>

Best St. Louis Shows of 2011: Part Two

Tom LampeJay Farrar on the pedal steel for Colonel Ford​New Year's Eve isn't just amateur hour. It's a night-long, clown-car traffic jam of colossally defeated expectations, a dispiriting exercise in futility, even, or especially, when you're somewhere somewhat less coastal than Rio. In St. L ... More >>

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin and Elsinore At The Firebird, 11/4/11: Review And Setlist

Roy KastenSTL still loves you SSLYBY​ Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin | Elsinore The Firebird November 4, 2011 The perfect pop song is out there, forever out there, and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin may never find it, but on some nights getting to share in the search is more tha ... More >>

Jay Farrar and Bobby Bare Jr. At The Sheldon Concert Hall, 10/21/11: Review And Setlist

Sarah Samples and the SheldonJay Farrar soundcheck at the Sheldon​ Jay Farrar | Bobby Bare Jr. The Sheldon Concert Hall October 21, 2011 The worst thing you can say about any form of popular music, but rock music especially, is that it is polite. Let it be wild and outrageous, energetic and en ... More >>

Those Darlins at Off Broadway, 9/16/11

Those Darlins at the Pageant in February. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.​Those Darlins | Wagons | Bunnygrunt Off Broadway September 16, 2011 Those Darlins loves St. Louis, and St. Louis loves the band right back. The beloved mid-Tennessee quartet was preceded by Bunnygrunt, which played a set full of ... More >>

John Henry & the Engine

Sad Face of Yours EP
www.johnhenryandtheengine.com

Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo Part of a new Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Exhibit

Annie ZaleskiJeff Tweedy at the Pageant, 2008​Over the weekend, A to Z was in Cleveland and headed to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. To her delight, there was a new exhibit on display called Kick Out the Jams, which focused exclusively on music from the Midwest. Our fair region was w ... More >>

Tullycraft and Bunnygrunt = BFFs Forever

courtesy of Mike AppelsteinA single released on the Texas label Kittyboo Records, circa 1997​No one's really sure anymore when the word "twee" entered the musical vernacular, although it was probably right around the time that NME's fabled C86 compilation came out in the UK. What's certain, ho ... More >>

LouFest, Day Two: Jeff Tweedy, A Review and a Setlist

Unsurprisingly, Jeff Tweedy's solo appearance was what many LouFesters came to see. Wilco's frontman obliged fans with an 85-minute acoustic set featuring both obscurities and familiar songs. The night's first tune, "Sunken Treasure," conjured chills - from its wavering harmonica and understated aco ... More >>

An older and wiser Blue Rodeo finally returns to St. Louis

Over the Weekend: Leonard Cohen at the Fox Theatre and Son Volt at the Pageant

A great weekend to be outside and that's what how many of us spent it -- but on Friday and Saturday night there were two great shows to check out, if you could get a ticket. Here's a recap of our weekend coverage:Son Volt at the PageantSun Volt played the Pageant on Friday night. Read the concert re ... More >>

Chef's Choice: Jeffrey Constance, Hanley's Grille and Tap

Robin WheelerChef Jeffrey Constance of Hanley's Grille and Tap​What do you mean, you haven't heard of Hanley's Grille and Tap? Chef Jeff Constance took over the former J.Buck's locations at St. Clair Square in Fairview Heights, Illinois, and West County Center in Des Peres a few months ago. Though ... More >>

Readers weigh in on Mississippi Nights as a nightclub name and an editor's "smarmy" apology

Homespun: May Day Orchestra, May Day, or Songs for Lucy Parsons

In this week's paper, Christian Schaeffer reviews the May Day Orchestra's May Day, or Songs for Lucy Parsons. He had this to say: Despite the presence of some of the local rock and folk scenes' most inventive musicians, the arrangements on the vinyl-only May Day, or Songs for Lucy Parsons are mostl ... More >>

MP3 Cover Bonanza: "Save It for Later" by Centro-matic, Harvey Danger

Show Review: KDHX's Midwest Mayhem at the City Museum, Thursday, May 22

Fifteen things you might not know about the Bottle Rockets, on their fifteenth birthday

The Ween Abides

Ten reasons Ween's better than your favorite band.

Blue, Fish

B-Sides squares off in a debate about Wilco's new Sky Blue Sky, and compares children's-music faves Trout Fishing in America with, well, the real thing.

R.I.P. Mississippi Nights

The lights go out at a fabled club — but only after one hell of a party.

Emo-tional Breakdown

B-Sides issues emo bands an important memo, weighs in on Pandora's St. Louis band assessment and blings out with the Loop Underground and "Yo! RFT Raps"

Lucero

Thursday, July 7; Creepy Crawl (412 North Tucker Boulevard)

Terror Blues

Radar Station chats with Jay Farrar on the most depressing day of the year

The Son Also Rises

Jay Farrar's band is reborn, Nelly sells, and some guys from the 'burbs get signed

Damn Tall

Unreal chats with some lovely ladies and gets the scoop from Jay Farrar-endorsed candidate Mark Smith (who's perfectly lovely too); plus, Bill Haas gets a love letter and Unreal heads to court

A Touch of Gray

The jam-band community pulls together for one heck of a funeral

Expat Alert!

The exodus of the creative class continues apace

The Terroirist

Jay Farrar calls Terroir Blues a "back to basics" album. It's not.

Porter Hall, Tennessee

Friday, May 30; Frederick's Music Lounge

Corey Saathoff and the Brain Regiment with Anamude and Melody Den

Friday, February 28; Commonspace (615 North Grand)

Bedazzled

A devoted fanboy produces an homage to one of St. Louis' most beloved bands

Festus Tornadoes

The Bottle Rockets rediscover themselves -- by covering their longtime idol, Doug Sahm

Doing Our Best

Our intrepid columnist weighs in with her faves for the year that was

Farrar and Away

With Sebastopol, Jay Farrar has made one of the finest and most unusual records of his storied career

Cue Up the Tunes

KDHX-FM's "Celebrity Barbecue" promises a smorgasbord of music

Collection Plates

Chuck Warner's Hyped to Death label celebrates unsung punk-rock heroes by compiling their music on recordable CDs

Letters to the Editor

Published the week of August 9-15, 2000

16 Deluxe

The local-music compilation Suite 16 has womanly charms to please almost any listener

Wilco

Sunday, July 23; Blue Note (Columbia, Mo.)

Torch and Twang

The fourth annual Twangfest, the biggest and the best so far, celebrates some of the country's best roots artists

Listening Post