Archives for October 2020

These are the stars you’ll see tonight, with the perfect rooftop POV. 3rd and Lamar Media crushes it again with their virtual event, 3rd and Lamar’s Rooftop Live. The crew brings the rooftop party directly to you with electro-pop artist DOSSEY, Jonathan Horstmann’s electro/synthwave project Urban Heat (featured on today’s AMM), and electronic composer and musician No Nostalgia.

The roof’s where it’s at. See them perform on Rooftop Live, starting at 8 p.m. (Central) tonight, Saturday October 17, on 3rd and Lamar’s website, Facebook and YouTube channel.

-DOSSEY photo by Moyo Oyelota; Urban Heat courtesy of the band; photo of No Nostalgia by Jacob Stern.

It is a full-on crisis. And, in no uncertain terms, it’s the rapid dismantling of the “Live Music Capital of the World” as we know it.

Similarly to many cities across the country, Austin has lost music venues as a result of the financial strains due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though Austin City Council recently allocated $5 million for venue preservation, many local venues continue to lose revenue at a rapid rate, and will most likely close permanently unless assistance is provided.

This weekend, the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) is hosting the three-day virtual music festival Save Our Stages to raise donations in support of venues across the country, and to raise awareness of the calamitous losses that these venue closures lead to. And to further drive the point home, S.O.S. is featuring incredible talent on each line-up in a huge call to action, including the artists mentioned on today’s AMM: Cautious Clay, Phoebe Bridgers, Brittany Howard (featured on today’s AMM), Foo Fighters, Leon Bridges, Black Pumas, Nathaniel Rateliff, Portugal the Man and many more.

The bill also includes Rise Against, The Roots, Miley Cyrus, and Reba McEntire rallying to the cause. Something here should give one an idea of the magnitude and urgency of this situation.

S.O.S. kicks off at 7 p.m. (Central) tonight, Friday October 16, on the NIVA YouTube channel. And here in the ATX, Empire Control Room, 606 E. 7th, will host a Save Our Stages outdoor watch party in support of its own reopening efforts.

You can find details and this weekend’s set times at the Save Our Stages website.

Two massive, badass bands in one night, and for a good cause? Let’s do this.

It’s The Lounge Series at ACL Live, continuing this week with a spectacular double-header including nine-piece psych-funk outfit Brownout and R&B/soul group Nané. It’s a benefit show supporting local non-profit Black Fret, which raises funds for local musicians.

You can catch The Lounge Series tomorrow night, Friday October 16, at ACL Live at The Moody Theater, 310 Willie Nelson Blvd. Please note that seating is very limited for your safety, and masks are mandatory. Find all the show details, safety protocol and ticket information on ACL’s website.

-Photo of Brownout courtesy of the artist.

The glitz, the glamour, the insanity – your AMM host says that in a good way – is the stuff your senses are treated to with the spectacular Sweet Spirit livestream series, every Thursday night in October.

On the latest edition of your livestream of livestreams, Austin-based songwriter/vocalist Alesia Lani (the track “Love You” is featured on today’s AMM) is one of the featured special guests. And if you know, you know – keep your ears and eyes peeled for the latest from the recent Project ATX6 nominee. Lani shares the bill with eternally badass Austin post-punk outfit Pleasure Venom, and guest host bringing a country twist to the table, songwriter Roky Moon.

It’s all on the next Sweet Spirit livestream show, 8 p.m. (Central) tomorrow night, Thursday October 15, at Hotel Free TV. You can also watch the livestream in person at Hotel Vegas, 1502 E. 6th St., on the patio. Don’t forget your mask for safe social distancing.

-Photo of Alesia Lani courtesy of the artist.

Austin-based songwriter and vocalist Micah Motenko knew it immediately at the ripe old age 7. It was instant love. The Motown sound struck a chord (several chords) within him in ways that still influence him today. And years later, as a musician himself, Motenko gathered a few like minds to keep that resonance vibing with his band Motenko.

The quartet recently released a new self-titled EP, which instantly gives you a sense of that mad love they have for the classic piano-driven R&B, boogie, funk and soul inspiring their own sound. Or, as Motenko’s front man once described it, through the lens of he and his bandmates’ day jobs as session musicians: “…the stuff we listen to between gigs—like the music we all first fell in love with and made us want to play in the first place.”

Catch Motenko in a special afternoon performance on Bud’s Live and Direct, starting at 4 p.m. (Central) Friday, October 16, on Bud’s YouTube channel.

-Photo courtesy of Noisy Ghost PR.

It took Jonathan Terrell nearly three years to make Westward. It wasn’t easy going to the studio to record his third LP. Only weeks before, Terrell lost his brother Emmanuel to PTSD.

Terrell will be the first to tell you his brother was his biggest fan, and deep down, the Austin songwriter knew his album really had to speak. All the emotional narratives emerging from the darkest corners of the heart had to come through without pretension, no holding back.

After various changes, rearrangements, rerecording, fine-tuning tracks while on the road, and indispensable contributions from friends in the local music community, Westward was ready to go. Noted by reviewers as some of Terrell’s strongest work to date, the album takes its cues from the rawest heartbreak in country to the most seductive fire in rock – with room for folk, pop, and extra heat from pedal steel.

Terrell continues his weekly musical residency this month at Trace at The W Hotel, Wednesday evenings 6 to 8 p.m. The next performance is this Wednesday night, October 14. This is a socially-distanced show. Please don’t forget your mask.

-Photo courtesy of the artist.