Rick Valentin (vocals and guitar) and Rose Marshback (bass and vocals) met more than 30 years ago while attending University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and immediately began making music together in several different bands. But the one that stuck was the energetic pop-punk group Poster Children. The four-piece—the married couple Valentin and Marshback, eventually joined by Valentin’s brother Jim Valentin (guitar) and Matt Friscia (drums)—put out eight well-received studio albums... Read More

Effortlessly blending folk, rock, reggae and funk, Boston trio Dispatch have been firmly in the middle of the Venn diagram overlap of jam band and indie rock since Chad Stokes (vocals, guitar and bass), Pete Francis (vocals, bass and guitar) and Brad “Braddigan” Corrigan (vocals, drums and percussion) met at Middlebury College in Vermont more than two decades ago. In addition to their recorded output, Dispatch (above, doing “Only the Wild Ones”) quickly became known for their energe... Read More

Two pairs of brothers and sisters—Michele Stodart (bass, vocals and keys) and Romeo Stodart (guitar and vocals) with Angela Gannon (melodica, percussion and vocals) and Sean Gannon (drums)—formed the Magic Numbers sixteen years ago in London, blending “the melodic experimentation of artists like the Flaming Lips and David Axelrod with the sweet harmonies of ’60s pop groups like the Lovin’ Spoonful and the Mamas & the Papas,” per AllMusic. Their first album, an eponymous release... Read More

Hear some of the bands you can see this week. Read More

English singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist Colin Newman is perhaps most known for fronting the post-punk outfit Wire, while most know Israeli musician and visual artist Malka Spigel for founding the influential European band Minimal Compact. The two met—and then married—in the mid-’80s, settling down in London and eventually starting their own record label. A decade later, they formed the experimental-instrumental duo Immersion, mining Krautrock, techno and ambient sounds to... Read More

Sometimes the toughest decision to make on a hot summer night is whether to see a great movie or check out a host of terrific bands. But thanks to the people who’ve brought you fun-loving events like Rex Manning Day three years ago at Rough Trade NYC, you won’t have to choose this Friday at Music Hall of Williamsburg because BBQ Films host Garthapalooza. Wayne and Garth’s favorite Aurora, Ill., club, Gasworks, will come back to life for a night of music, comedy and full-on ’90s... Read More

Hear some of the bands you can see this week. Read More