Authors

Sara Barron

Sara Barron plays and writes about music in Detroit, Michigan. Her work has been featured in the Detroit Metro Times, Audiofemme, Interview Magazine and The Face Magazine.

Interviews

Taiwainese R and B Artist 9M88 Releases Cathartic Jazz-Influenced Sophomore LP 9M88 Radio

On her sophomore record, 9m88 (Joanne Tang) does just this. 9m88 (pronounced “Jo-m-baba”) is a Taiwanese artist who translates...

Chelsea Jade - Soft Spot - cover artwork

Chelsea Jade Makes Enigmatic Pop Music for Outsiders With Soft Spot LP

Chelsea Jade has always felt like an outsider in the music industry. Even after making the voyage to Los Angeles from her isolating home country of New Zealand, Jade’s journey in music has always seemed like something that happened despite her plan, not because of it. She went to art school and...

Playing Detroit

Mbthelight Let Intuition Guide Her Solo Debut, How to Dress Well in the Dark

It seems that Monica Blaire exists in the realm of the blessed few that experience the latter – acting as a vessel for the words, melodies and rhythms that seems...

Playing Detroit

Zilched Rekindles Love for Stevie Nicks With "Stand Back" Cover on New EP

Growing up with a love for the classics and then rejecting them in the name of riot grrrl, Drallos has since found her happy medium in a cover of Nicks’ classic “Stand...

Playing Detroit

ANA Premieres Down-To-Earth Video for New Single "Vertical"

We hear it all the time: Protect your energy. Especially in the last year of crisis after crisis, mastering the art of shielding your heart and mind has been a frequent topic of conversation. But what does that really mean? For Ana Gomulka, a.k.a ANA, this means honoring her artistic output, giving...

Playing Detroit

Detroit R and B Duo Aint Afraid Showcase Latest Singles With Cradle to the Grave Short Film

Even through a Zoom screen, the identical twins light up the room with their magnetic personalities, speaking confidently and swiftly and...

Premieres · Playing Detroit

Wing Vilma Lets Nature Guide Self-Discovery on Spirit Practice LP

Instead, from early on in their life, they found themselves tuning into the complex and ever-present rhythms that nature has to offer - branches of a tree tapping a window, waves crashing to shore, their...

Interviews

Babehoven Keeps Going When the Going Is Tough on Nastavi, Calliope

How do we mourn the living? Maya Bon of Babehoven unpacks this strange, but not uncommon, phenomenon on her new EP, Nastavi, Calliope, out today. The record strings together Bon’s meandering streams of consciousness, connecting moments of apathy to deep swells of emotion. She navigates deeply...

Playing Detroit

Dick Texas Processes Grief With Debut Single "Flies"

Losing someone you love is one of the hardest parts of moving through life, and it often alters the way we see the world and ourselves. Valerie Salerno’s new solo project, Dick Texas, was formed out of a need to process her own grief...

Playing Detroit

Summer Like the Season Makes a Timely Return With Premiere of "Root Mean Square" Video

Summer Like The Season - a.k.a Summer Krinsky, Scott Murphy and Liam McNitt - has a way of creating its own little world. Krinsky, who explains that texture and rhythm serve as the guiding forces of her songwriting, meticulously builds this world, brick by brick, using field recordings she’s...

Playing Detroit

How a Woodsy Retreat Led to Debut EP From Detroit Indie Pop Outfit Lady

Some of the best music happens when you least expect it. Detroit indie pop outfit, Lady (Indira Edwards, Paris from Tokyo, Brian Castillo, Jacob Waymaster, Jojo Diaz-Orsi, Armand Boisvenue IV a.k.a Sleepyboiiii) found this to be true when they went to the woods together with no expectations and...

Premieres

New Chance Blurs Lines Between Digital and Physical Realms With "Two Pictures" Premiere

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Premieres · Playing Detroit

313 Acid Queen and Sickboy Create Soundscapes From Skyscrapers on Buildings EP

Over the last ten years, Rebecca Goldberg - a.k.a 313 Acid Queen - has completely immersed herself in the city of Detroit. Unlike some transplants who come to the city to take, Goldberg, born and raised just outside of Detroit, came to learn, appreciate and contribute when the time felt right....

Playing Detroit

Kelly Jean Caldwell Returns to the Outer Limits Stage to Celebrate Birdie LP

Kelly Jean Caldwell is not dead. The singer, songwriter, and owner-operator of Hamtramck’s Outer Limits Bar and record label laughs as she tells me a rumor of her death has been swirling around town. “The other day, someone at the bar was asking what’s the next show coming up,” she explains, “and...

Premieres

Alexandra Riorden Reflects Noir Pop Transcendence With Premiere of "Dirty Mirror"

It doesn’t come in a specific shape or form and it happens differently for everyone. Santa Barbara-based noir pop artist Alexandra Riorden knows this, and harnesses her own experience with darkness and healing in her new single “Dirty Mirror.” The...

Playing Detroit

Jacob Sigman Delivers Existential Power Pop on Latest EP

In six songs, the Detroit-based pop artist and producer...

Profiles

Erika De Casier Sharpens Signature Sound on Sophomore LP Sensational

But the other part was spent doing something most people struggle to do - putting...

Playing Detroit

Tiny Jag Keeps Her Circle Small and Her Spirit Rich in New Single "How It Was"

Ever since her first EP Polly debuted in 2018, Jag has been known for her no-bullshit lyricism and cutting delivery. Though her sound has grown and shifted since then, the heart of it remains the same: an...

Playing Detroit

The Stools Press Energy of In-Person Shows to 12" Vinyl on Live at Outer Limits

Somebody in the audience passed out after their first song and I left because it was stressing me out. People were freaking out, but turns out the guy just had low blood...

Playing Detroit

Decliner Set Expectations Ablaze on Debut EP Remember

“I don’t consider decliner punk,” says bassist and beat-maker Steve Stravropoulous. “I think there’s a difference between Tim and I because Tim thinks it’s a punk band and I don’t......

Interviews · Premieres

Lipstick Jodi Gives the Gift of Catharsis in New Single "Take Me Seriously"

” Or, if you’re Karli Morehouse of Grand Rapids indie-pop outfit Lipstick Jodi, the “gay” one. The non-binary songwriter and artist has spent years being labeled and...

Babygirl Speaks to the Angsty Teen in All of Us on Debut EP Losers Weepers

Millennials long for the days of screaming “Love Story” with the windows down on the way to soccer practice or crying into their diary to “You Belong With...

Playing Detroit

Vespre Breathes Life Into Spring on New Single "Back to Me"

For others, it presented a debilitating pit of emotional and physical quicksand, making it nearly impossible to get...

Playing Detroit

Mario Sulaksana Showcases Detroit Artists and Friends on Debut LP Conclusion

I met Mario Sulaksana four years ago, in a Wayne State University practice room. He was the band leader of a fundraiser for the Artist Residency I was living in, and the residency coordinator suggested he accompany me for a song or two. When we first spoke on the phone, I remember preparing to meet...

Playing Detroit

Harpist Ahya Simone Highlights Humor and Joy in Her Black Trans-Centered Webseries Femme Queen Chronicles

From the minute her high school counselor added the novel elective to her schedule in ninth grade, she wanted nothing to do with the class or the instrument. But, like many impactful experiences in her life, this opportunity...

Playing Detroit · Regionals

Reginald Hawkins Celebrates Queer Liberation With "Tricks in the City" Video

As far back as he can recall, he remembers going by “Popstar Reg” to anyone who knew him and performing at any chance he could. However, it wasn’t until February of 2019 that Popstar Reg was introduced to the...

Playing Detroit

Tammy Lakkis Puts Listeners on 'Notice' With House Beats and Poetic Lyrics

The longer you’re in an environment, the more likely you are to soak in its sounds, energy and rhythms. At least that’s what happened to Tammy Lakkis. On her debut EP, Notice (out Friday, March 26 via Portage Garage Sounds),...

Playing Detroit · Regionals

Madelyn Grant Finds Her "Purpose" on Motown-Indebted Debut EP

From being featured on tracks with huge EDM artists like Odesza and FKJ to a short stint on NBC’s The Voice back in 2019, Grant has been dipping her toes into the...

Interviews

Mel Chanté Constructs Debut EP Flo From Poetic Self-Love Affirmations

It takes years of re-teaching yourself and connecting with and discovering the person that you truly are. On Flo, the debut EP from Mel Chanté, the Brooklyn-based...

Interviews

IAN SWEET Unfolds Roadmap to Recovery on Show Me How You Disappear

k.a. Jillian Medford - on the internet, what you would see is a free-spirited, hilarious and talented artist who has recently taken up the hobby of hat-making. This, however, is not the Jillian that we meet on IAN SWEET’s sophomore...

Playing Detroit

Blow Pop Finds Escape in '80S Sounds With "Friendly" Premiere

Before the pandemic, Keaton Butler and Avery Reidy were just friends. They were also living the hodge-podge lifestyles that most working musicians end up scraping together to make ends meet. Butler was bartending, engineering sound for live shows, and performing in three different bands. Reidy was...

Interviews · Profiles

Toronto's Bernice Mix Mindfulness and Imagination on New LP Eau De Bonjourno

On Eau De Bonjourno, Bernice covers themes of isolation, disconnecting self-worth...

Port Lucian Uses Twitter to Curate 'Trans Musicians and Allies for Change' Compilation

But sometimes, it can also be a catalyst for beautiful projects that inspire change. Twenty-one year old college junior Portia Maidment (of Port Lucian) harnessed the power of the internet and used it to create a...

Playing Detroit

Ally Evenson Talks Back to Trauma on New Single "Bite My Tongue"

Like a bad sunburn in the shower, trauma is often one of those things that doesn’t present its full pain until something seemingly ordinary magnifies it. On her newest...

Playing Detroit

Lily Talmers Chooses Her Words Carefully on Remember Me As Holy EP

Coming of age: we all do it. But a very select few of us do it with as much grace, self-awareness and poetry as Lily Talmers. The Birmingham, Michigan native and recent University of Michigan grad combines her stunning mastery of the English language with her unorthodox classical music training to...

Playing Detroit

Supercoolwicked Subverts Pop Paradigm With Shakespearean Self-Love Jam "Juliet"

In her new video for “Juliet,” Detroit multidisciplinary artist, singer, and songwriter Morgan Hutson (aka Supercoolwicked) creates a fantasy world of her own - an Afrocentric, baroque daydream that meshes the Shakespearian with the contemporary, the traditional with the subversive. Those who've...

Playing Detroit

Ohtis and Stef Chura Team up to Take Down Toxic Dudes With "Schatze"

Alt-country outfit Ohtis enlist the voice (and production skills) of beloved Detroit artist Stef Chura for their audio-visual fuckboy call-out “Schatze,” released digitally at the end of January (a 7" vinyl is available for pre-order ahead of its February 26 release via Saddle Creek). Starting out...

Playing Detroit

Rowan Niemisto Returns With Relatable Sadboy Anthems on Once Again EP

It’s been three and a half years since Rowan Niemisto released his electro R and B masterpiece Gradient. In those three years, Niemisto says he was preoccupied with his first “big boy” job at Detroit’s NPR station, WDET, where he works as a sound engineer and the occasional cameo as a voice actor for...

Playing Detroit

Lynn the Singer Breaks up With the Worst Year Ever on New EP '2020Sucked'

Like many women, Lynn the Singer had to make her way through countless roadblocks and gatekeepers on her journey to finding her sound. Playing harp and singing from a young age, Lynn remembers recording her first single - which she describes as “way ahead of its time” - only to have it deleted from...

Playing Detroit

Kesswa Collabs With Shigeto on MOCAD-Commissioned Short Film "Is My Mind a Machine Gun?"

k.a Shigeto. The audio/visual experience...

Playing Detroit

Salakastar Pays Homage to Basquiat and Honors Her Own Voice With "December 22 (for Jean-Michel)"

After a slew of studio sessions where she was undermined, gaslit, and, as she puts it, “artistically abused,” she decided it wasn’t worth the grief. The problem was, she...

Playing Detroit

A Year in Review

With this absolute dumpster fire of a year coming to a close, the next few weeks are a time for reflection, rest and recuperation. That means a lot of things for a lot of people, but in the music world, it means year-end lists. I usually tend to stay away from this sort of thing because I don’t...

Playing Detroit

White Bee Releases Debut LP Psychedelic Flight Attendant

Detroit singer-songwriter Shannon Barnes blends her love for future-soul and psychedelic-folk on her debut record, Psychedelic Flight Attendant. Released under the moniker of White Bee, PFA is a labor of love that took Barnes over two years to complete, and survived many peaks and valleys along the...

Playing Detroit

Detroit Artist Billionaire Sophia Defies Genre on Ootgoat EP

Detroit-based artist Billionaire Sophia melds pop, R and B, trap and hip hop on her new EP, Ootgoat. Written, produced and mixed entirely by herself, the project is a testament to Sophia’s growth as a producer and artist. She explains that her journey with production started about eight years ago and...

Interviews

Anya Baghina Explores Non-Linear Stages of Grief With "to Be Alone"

With her last four singles, Brooklyn-based songwriter Anya Baghina (also of Soviet Girls) has uncoiled an intimate vignette into the past three years of her life. The songs encapsulate a time period characterized by grief, longing, change, and growth and are capped off with her recent video for the...

Playing Detroit

Detroit Artists Keep the Music Coming During Quarantine

While most things are still up in the air, it is a simple comfort to know that there will always be a steady stream of more music. From Saajtak’s...

Playing Detroit

Double Winter Release Earnest Debut LP It's About Our Hearts

There aren’t many bands that can cultivate a loyal and almost cult following before even releasing a full record, but Detroit psych/surf-rock outfit Double Winter is one such band. After years of playing around the city, the band finally self- released its debut LP, It's About Our Hearts, on March...

Playing Detroit

Detroit's Local Artist Community Responds to Quarantine

Curtis Roach Photo Credit: Myron Watkins It’s been a week since the “Shelter in Place” mandate was issued by Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, but many Detroiters have been self-quarantined for much longer. Most businesses have closed their doors, thousands are out of jobs, and you’re likely to...

Avery Leigh's Night Palace Pairs Opera and Dream Pop on Debut Single

Avery Leigh’s Night Palace gives us that on “Into the Wake, Mystified,” a lushly arranged meditation on the “gossamer thread that...

Playing Detroit

Curtis Roach Shines on Sophomore Lp, 'Lellow'

Like any 20-year-old, Curtis Roach has gone through some major changes in the last year: moving out of his mom’s house, entering and exiting college, trying out veganism. However, navigating life as an up-and-coming, critically acclaimed hip hop artist has proved to be the most difficult....

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