Teddy Swims – The Waikiki Shell, Honolulu, Hawaii Georgia native Teddy Swims recently returned to Honolulu, Hawaii. Eleven months earlier, Swims had played two sold out shows at The Republic. Now, he was opening up two sold out concerts for local reggae band, The Green, at the 8,000 seat Waikiki Shell. The genre busting soul, […]
Continue Reading
Newport Jazz Festival 2023 Once again the Newport Jazz Festival returned to Fort Adams State Park in Rhode Island for three days of music. Jazz icons, up and coming acts, and genre defying artists performed on three stages each jam packed day. Artistic director Christian McBride booked a distinct lineup in which any music fan […]
Continue Reading
Newport Folk Festival 2023 The Newport Folk Festival is one of the first modern music festivals. The festival’s history is deep and storied. Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Earl Scruggs, Odetta, and the Kingston Trio played the inaugural festival. Since then a who’s who of modern music has graced the stage. Mississippi John Hurt, John Lee […]
Continue Reading
Phil Lesh and Friends, Westville Music Bowl, New Haven, Connecticut, July 23, 2023 I first started following the Grateful Dead back in 1983. Myself and a core group of friends traveled throughout New England attending every show possible. By 1995 I had seen the band over 100 times. Since then, I moved to Hawaii and […]
Continue Reading
Billy Strings Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater, Bridgeport, CT, July 21, 2023 In 2014 I began hearing musings about a young bluegrass flat picker named Billy Strings. Stories circulated about his family’s troubled past and String’s own struggles with drugs and alcohol. These anecdotes only elevated the myth. YouTube videos revealed a twenty one year old delivering […]
Continue Reading
Big Thief, July 19, 2023, Ulster Performing Arts Center, Kingston, New York Big Thief was what I like to call one of my “Times of COVID” bands; bands/musicians whose vibe matched my emotions during the throes of the pandemic. The Brooklyn, New York based band’s lo-fi/indie rock/folk/alt-country style and superbly crafted lyrics often gave me […]
Continue Reading
Allen Stone’s Blue Eyed Soul Arrives To The Republik Allen Stone is from the small town of Chewela, in Eastern Washington, and began his singing career when he was just a toddler performing at church. At eighteen, Stone moved to Spokane and finally to Seattle to pursue his musical aspirations. Since 2019 Stone has released […]
Continue Reading
Teddy Swims, Republik, HNL, HI, September 08, 2022 The bearded, tattooed, Georgia native, Teddy Swims was an artist that took off during the COVID lockdown. In June 2019 he first began posting covers on Youtube. After covering Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You,” which has accumulated close to 8 million views, Swims shot covers of Amy […]
Continue Reading
Newport Jazz Festival 2022 A Tribute To The Past With An Eye On The Future This year brought the full return of the Newport Jazz Festival. The festival, which began in 1954, returned to full capacity, and their customary three stage setup. This was also the first festival since the co-founder and producer, George Wein, […]
Continue Reading
Courtney Barnett College Street Music Hall, New Haven, Connecticut I previously had only seen Courtney Barnett in a festival setting. Her exciting debut performance at the 2015 Newport Folk Festival, her return in 2018, and her most recent solo set and guest appearance with Dinosaur Jr. at this year’s festival were all phenomenal. I had […]
Continue Reading
