Throughout the 1970s and ’80s, Fela Kuti pioneered the Afrobeat movement, a fusion of jazz, funk, hi-life, rock, and traditional West African music. Thanks to...
Author: Dylan Metrano
For Julien Baker, less is more
A conversation with Tennessee-based singer-songwriter Julien Baker. The 20-year-old is on her way to 3S Artspace in Portsmouth with her latest album, Sprained Ankle.
Gems and roses
Christopher Barnes formed Gem Club in Boston about five years ago, inspired by the RPM Challenge to write and record an album in a month....
Get up, get down
For a decade, San Francisco’s Thao Nguyen has been making idiosyncratic, emotional pop music that doesn’t sound like anyone else. Her rich, expressive voice blends...
Have guitar, will travel
In March, 22-year-old Mike Dunbar, frontman of the Portsmouth-based band Black Agnes, was awarded a grant from College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.,...
In pursuit
In January 2014, Sasheer Zamata joined the cast of “Saturday Night Live” halfway through its 39th season. Her addition was a long time coming for...
Margo Price is the new voice of country
Nashville’s Margo Price is one of those singers who grabs you immediately upon first listen. While her voice harkens back to country legends like Tammy Wynette or Loretta Lynn, her bare, confessional lyrics place her at the forefront of today’s most poignant songwriters. The Sound caught up with her in advance of her sold-out show at The Music Hall Loft in Portsmouth.
Postcards and cassette tapes
Aly Spaltro started recording and performing as Lady Lamb the Beekeeper in Brunswick, Maine in 2007. Her self-released albums quickly garnered a lot of attention...
Slow and low
Baltimore’s Lower Dens released its third album in March. The band’s leader, Jana Hunter, has been a fixture in the independent music community for years,...
Sometimes It Snows in April
Seacoast writer, artist, and musician Dylan Metrano shares his thoughts and memories about Prince.
Taking notes, making jokes
Paula Poundstone talks about Twitter, comedy, and being employed by 16 cats Words and illustration by Dylan Metrano Since the 1980s, Paula Poundstone’s brand of...
Thresholds and borderlines
Above: a detail from “Through Dangers Untold” by Jocelyn Toffic Jocelyn Toffic’s art takes her from the Seacoast to Iceland and beyond by Dylan Metrano...
Unplugged
no John McCauley formed Deer Tick some 12 years ago in Providence, R.I., and the band quickly gained a reputation for their raucous, free-spirited live...
