The ACA opened up the night at Zebulon. It was the final residency night for Primitive Ring (you can read a 2024 review I wrote of the band here) and The ACA was a heart pumping way to start off the night. By the end of the set, the crowd was chanting "ACA! ACA! ACA!" If you're wondering what exactly is the meaning behind their band name, the song title of the final song is "The Affordable Care Act."
The ACA at Zebulon
Jake Manzi dropped by The Airliner Bar on a recent Rocknite showcase night. He's an Americana musician from Western Massachusetts who now lives in Los Angeles and he recently released a new album titled Getting Somewhere. His official record release party was scheduled for the following week at The Kibitz Room, but it did feel like this was a sneak preview set as he played the first six tracks from the album. I think one can also call a practice run on his part as he had a full backing band of 5 musicians that included keyboards, steel guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, and drums.
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| Jake Manzi at The Airliner Bar |
When I noticed that Gaptooth (moniker for Margaret Haesler) was playing a Ryan Pollie and Make Out Music collaboration night at The Fable, I was eager to catch the set. Though this was my first time seeing her, the moniker did ring a bell as she had shared a bill with Adriana McCassim earlier in the year and I had mentioned the night on my Show Alert post for that week.
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| Gaptooth at The Fable |
The self described heavy metal, punk rock band Zig Zags shook the foundations of the Zebulon throughout their 13 song set - that being from the stage to the floor to the back step benches. As the band said, "Not bad for a Tuesday night." It was a free night, but they didn't treat it as one. They obliterated the more than willing crowd with a 45 minute set.
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| Zig Zags at Zebulon |
Tender Misfit (the moniker for Ariel Beesley) recently concluded her first headliner tour that took her across California to celebrate the release of her Stargirl album. I got to catch her at the Los Angeles Oblivion stop. It was my first time catching a set since seeing her twice in 2024 -- a close to two year gap. During that time frame, she was busy writing up new songs. I did a setlist check and the only song that was similar between 2026 and the previous time I crossed paths with her was "Dirt."
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| Tender Misfit at Oblivion |
A Handful (bucketful) of Show Alerts
It was a special night at Bar Lubitsch. Grant Owens of WFNM was celebrating his birthday. Opening up was the recently formed Laguna Hill. The band is the husband-wife team of Ryan and Lena Doyle. They mentioned during the set that they formed the band on the inauspicious date of April 1st, 2026. Also, the recently married couple moved from New York to Laguna Beach. The folk-pop band has Lena on violin and Ryan on guitar. They share vocal duties. Their Spotify bio has this detail about their music, "their music reflects real-life experiences and a shared creative chemistry."
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| Laguna Hill at Bar Lubitsch |
I came across OP ED at Echo Park Rising last year. Megan Tracy suggested that I catch them as one of the members of the band is Marlon Rabenreither. He fronts the band Gold Star and both of us are fans of the band. The rock-punk set was so dynamic and awesome that I put them on my list of favorite new bands of 2025 (see link here).
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| OP ED at Gold-Diggers |
I was trying to figure out how I was going to plan out a recent week of music. I knew I had two days locked down towards the end of the week. I had a random day to plan out. On Monday, I checked out Ryan Pollie's Instagram page to see what he had scheduled for his showcase at The Fable. One of the bands playing was Small Forward and I knew I was going to do the short drive from Glendale to Eagle Rock.
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| Small Forward at The Fable |
Grant Owens, founder of WFNM, was celebrating his birthday at Bar Lubitsch. One of the artists performing was vocal talent Sāde Frame. Back in 2021, she got an American Idol golden ticket. A year later, she won one of the the weekly "Love Song" contests held by the John Lennon Songwriting Contest for her song "Dating Isn't Fun," which was the first song she performed for the birthday party festivities.
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| Sāde Frame at Bar Lubitsch |
When I saw that Maudlin Strangers was on the schedule at Hotel Ziggy for a WFNM showcase, I immediately recognized the band name. It was a flashback to 2014 when I went off to the Bootleg Theatre (the current location of 2220 Arts) to catch their August Residency. What's a residency, some Los Angeles music fans might ask? Back in the day, local venues across Los Angeles would set aside Monday nights as a free night of music and a specific band would play each of those nights. It was always free entrance. Zebulon still carries on that tradition off and on.
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| Maudlin Strangers at Hotel Ziggy |
Healing Force of the Universe opened up in late 2023 and it only took me a little over a year and a half to make it out there. What's my problem? I'm an unfortunate creature of habit these days, rotating around specific venues / promotors. In Sonic Dreams gave me a necessary push as the promotor was putting on a show at the record store-venue. The venue is located in Pasadena and I would say that most of my visits to the city is driven by a trip to Samy's Camera. Off I went with a good idea of where the venue was located and ended up accidentally driving past Walnut St. Pasadena is the city of one way streets and so I ended up with a couple failed attempts to get one block north. I do have a tendency to drive past spots. The next day, I drove over to a restaurant and instead of turning into the parking lot of the restaurant, I drove past it and turned into the parking lot of an auto service business.
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| Sisters of Black Mountain at Healing Force of the Universe |
A Handful (Massive) of Show Alerts
Sunday, Jul 12th: El Colmo and OP ED at Alex's Bar. Doors at 2 p.m.Aden Black has been a fixture at the WFNM showcase over the last couple years. Back in 2024, I covered Hailey Wild and she was a backup singer (click on this link for a photo that has Aden Black in it). She's also done a couple of WFNM sets. I was finally able to catch one of those sets at Hotel Ziggy. It was a rare Tuesday night event and the venue was packed. In fact, I might say it was an over flow situation as people were standing out in the lounge area of the hotel. Those fans ranged from their twenties to their sixties.
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| Aden Black at Hotel Ziggy |
I'm not certain when I first came across The Mormons. A possible date was in 2007 when they played the Eagle Rock Music Festival. If that was my first encounter, it was very appropriate. I've always associated The Mormons with Los Angeles music festivals. In 2010, I shot the FYF Festival and as I left the festival (exhausted from a full day of shooting), one of my hopes was to run across the band playing somewhere outside the festival grounds. I was not disappointed.
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| The Mormons outside FYF in 2010 |
It was a Friday night so why not enjoy a full night of music. I did a rare venue jump (for me, maybe not for others) by starting out at Zebulon where I caught the full line-up. Then I went off to the Bigfoot Lodge to end the night at just past the stroke of midnight. Stephanie Wittmer was playing the Americana Joy showcase and was celebrating the release of her "Texas Is Haunted" single.
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| Stephanie Wittmer at the Bigfoot Lodge |
Jana Horn let fate decide the outcome of her set at Zebulon. But the question should be: did fate push back and argue for free will? Before that answer, if there is one, she grew up in Glen Rose, Texas but has since moved to New York. I decided to see where Glen Rose is located and just went down a small rabbit hole. As of the 2020 census, the population was only 2,659. It doesn't seem to be a boom to bust type of city. Since 1880, it has always been a small town. Yet, I was thinking this has to be a deserted town in the middle of nowhere like Niland, California (last year, I wrote about that city, which is where Katie Ward's parents grew up). Glen Rose is sort of away from it all, about 44 miles from Fort Worth, but then I checked out Zillow and got a shock. There are multiple million dollar listings. A number of other homes were in the $300,000 to $400,000 range. Small town living can be more expensive than you think.
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| Jana Horn at Zebulon |
I happened to notice that the ModPods were playing a show at The Smell. Interesting note is that Danbert Nobacon (former singer for Chumbawamba) was also on the night's bill. According to my band catalog list that I keep, I've only seen the band perform live once and that would have likely been only for a song or two as my records indicate that I saw them in 2018 at Echo Park Rising (I was shooting for Buzzbands so I would have been jumping from one band to the next).
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| ModPods at The Smell |
Alexander Biggs took to The Fable stage where he played a number of new songs that will likely end up on a new album. It was a Ryan Pollie showcase night and his set was a sublime way to begin the night. He started off the set on guitar, letting his tender vocals shine.
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| Alexander Biggs at The Fable |
For those who are unaware of Alexander Biggs, he comes to Los Angeles via Australia. Per Concord, his debut album Hit or Miss "was written and recorded in many places — from blanket fort hideaways in a noisy city to a suburban kitchen . . . " That is a true DIY effort.
His sophomore album is titled Stay with the Horses. It is possible that his second album will also stick with the animal theme. Before launching into his song "Greyhound," he told the audience, "I'm playing a bunch of songs and most of them mention dogs. Don't worry about, don't think about it. Think about how it makes you feel." It is a song that has you relaxing in a bar that often times has people talking loudly during a set, but during this particular set there was not a word spoken. Later in the set, he even brought up the topic of the rapt attention from the audience as he joked about using AI to write his song "Motorbike." "I wrote it on ChatGPT. I stole in from Small Forward [the band that was playing next]. Why don't you sit in silence and think about that?"
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| Alexander Biggs at The Fable |
For a couple songs, he switched from guitar to keyboards. His playing of chords focused the mind on an atmospheric reflection where memories rushed in (wonderful and maybe some sad ones, as well).
The song spotlight goes to "Mostly I Feel Nothing." He was on the keyboard on this particular song. He said it was a love song, but is it? A singer songwriter tune with melancholy vocals.
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| Alexander Biggs at The Fable |
Setlist: Baby 2 Bed, Greyhound, Don't Want To But You Will, Big Wave, Mostly I Feel Nothing, Motorbike, Games.
On July 8th (Wednesday), he'll be playing Hotel Ziggy for a WFNM showcase.
I've been hooked on TCM for years now. I just always remember being a fan of Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Errol Flynn, Audrey Hepburn, Katharine Hepburn, James (Jimmy) Steward, John Wayne, and many many more. Around a decade ago, I used to do some reviews of movies I saw on TCM. I figured I'd start it up again. If you're interested, click on through.
In support of her third studio album Enjoy the Clouds, Marika Christine (Marika Christine Stuurman) dropped by The Fable to open up the Ryan Pollie Tuesday night showcase. Since I try to limit how many nights a week I head out to catch live music, I was considering going out on either Monday or Tuesday night. I knew specific artists that were playing on Monday and Tuesday, but there were also artists that were new to me. I decided to go out on the night where I liked the music of the unknown artist the best. I went to Spotify and took a listen. I decided I enjoyed Marika Christine's music the best. It was kind of a coin flip as both were solid, but I leaned towards Tuesday night.
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| Marika Christine at The Fable |
Back in 2024, I wrote up a review of a Sierra Spirit (Sierra Spirit Kihega-Pyrzenski) set for US Rocker Music, which you can read here. I happened to notice that she was playing School Night (a collaboration between Make Out Music and KCRW) at The Airliner Bar and circled the date. I was interested in seeing her progress as a singer.
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| Sierra Spirit at The Airliner Bar |
Marni recently played Permanent Records Roadhouse. The band is fronted by Nicolas Lara and Michaela Gradstein. Can one be blown away by a band when they're just doing their instrumental intro song? I don't know how wise it is to make an immediate judgement call just based on a band jamming together to start off the set, but they sent my heart pumping with adrenaline. I was sold and that feeling lasted throughout their set, which focused on their 2025 EP release fml era (f*ck my life) as well as a trio of unreleased songs.
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| Marni at Permanent Records Roadhouse |
Brookelen (moniker for Brooke Tannehill) recently played The Fable for a Ryan Pollie showcase night. I first crossed paths with her in December 2024. Coincidentally, it was at another Ryan Pollie showcase at The Fable. Since then, I've learned that she's one of the more collaborative musicians in Los Angeles. In 2025, I crossed paths with her via Lower Merion (read about that night here) and We Shrunk. Lower Merion is a project that includes Ryan Pollie. Then in 2026, she popped up as the lead singer for Host Family for an El Cid set (read about that night here).
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| Brookelen at The Fable |
This past Friday night, Livingmore came into town to celebrate the upcoming release of their fifth studio album, the eponymous named album Livingmore at LAX. The band formed back in 2014 as a collaboration between Los Angeles based singer-songwriters Alex Moore and Spencer Livingston. I say came into town as the now married couple has since moved to Japan (though based on their bio, they still spend time in Los Angeles). If you're interested in how expats live or spend time scanning Zillow listings (both apply to me), you can see a reel of the home they purchased here.
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| Livingmore at LAX |
A Handful (Massive) of Show Alerts
Sunday, Jun 28th: Dreyted and I'll show you magic at Old Towne Pub. Doors at 8 p.m.Back around the 2018 time frame, Play Like a Girl (no longer around) and Purple Bite joined forces to put on Friday night events at Stories Books and Cafe. They called the nights Commune. It was an evening where singer-songwriters would both sing and discuss their tunes. On a recent adventure out to the Airliner Bar, I had a sense of déjà vu to those nights at Commune. This time, instead of Commune, it was School Night (a collaboration between Make Out Music and KCRW). Closing out the night was Ella Hunt who was doing a west coast release party celebration of her debut album Blindspot (a few days earlier, she had one in New York).
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| Ella Hunt at The Airliner Bar |
It was a Tuesday night and I decided it was going to be spent at the The Fable. It was a Ryan Pollie showcase night and there was going to be a secret headliner. This is when my hunch came out correct. If someone had asked me for a guess on who the secret headliner would be, I would have said Tyler Ballgame. At the previous showcase in May, I noticed Tyler Ballgame and Ryan Pollie huddling together. I felt something was up. I was proven correct three weeks later when I noticed an Instagram story where it was mentioned he was playing a set, but it did not mention where. I knew where that was going to be.
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| Tyler Ballgame at The Fable |
I will say I didn't know what to expect when Pablo Lynn (moniker for lead singer Ilan Eskenazi) hit the stage at Bar Lubitsch during a recent WFNM showcase. All I knew was that the band had only 26 followers on Instagram. That just led me to believe they were a super new band that Grant Owens (WFNM founder) had uncovered. As the band was setting up their gear, I was hanging at the front of the stage, at one of my two normal spots. I was likely on my phone, reading a random article from the Internet, because I didn't realize that a crowd had followed the band into the venue (for those who don't know, Bar Lubitsch has two rooms: a bar and a venue area).
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| Pablo Lynn at Bar Lubitsch |
Folk singer Stella Prince brought her talents to the WFNM showcase at Bar Lubitsch. She describes her music as Gen Z folk. The generation is making their cultural mark on America. As those who follow movie box offices, you know that Gen Z made a big splash in May. Obsession was directed by 26 year old Curry Barker. It is the rare movie that saw it's wide release (not a platform release) box office increase in the second weekend. Then Backrooms came out, which was directed by 20 year old Kane Parsons. It rather immediately became A24's biggest domestic box office movie. When it comes to folk music, Stella Prince is wanting to have a similar impact.
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| Stella Prince at Bar Lubitsch |
Jady (the Ohio due of vocalist Jarrett Doherty and drummer Ashton Bergdorf) took to the stage at The Fonda Theatre as one of the opening acts for The Cab. I got to review the night for US Rocker Music. You can read that review here. Bergdorf was the first to walk out onto the stage and take a seat behind his drum kit. What I immediately noticed was that he had a chain necklace circling his head. Being a fan of both the Dune books and Dune movies, my mind went directly to the Bene Gesserit sisterhood.
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| Jady at The Fonda Theatre |
CARR (the moniker for Carly McClellan) dance-bounced her way across the stage throughout her set at The Fonda Theatre. She was one of the opening acts for The Cab. You can read my US Rocker Music review of the night here. In many ways, she reminds me of a favorite band The Dollyrots.
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| CARR at The Fonda Theatre |
A Handful (Bucketful) of Show Alerts
Sunday, Jun 21st: Dave Harrington at the Zebulon. Doors at 7 p.m.I got the opportunity to catch The Cab at the The Fonda Theatre. I covered the night for US Rocker Music. You can read the article here. Below are just some miscellaneous additional observations and my Song Spotlight.
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| The Cab at The Fonda Theatre |
Drauve closed out a recent Rocknite showcase night at The Airliner Bar. They were the primary reason why I decided to drive down to the venue on this particular Wednesday night. A couple days prior, I went to Spotify and took a listen to their 2025 EP Timeline while tapping away at my work computer. The first two songs off the EP ("Wool" and "Sink In") got me hooked. If interested, I found this Atwood Magazine article (link here) where they discuss the songs from the EP.
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| Drauve at The Airliner Bar |
Ryan Raines took out all the stops for his set at The Fable (a Ryan Pollie showcase night). His backing band included the standard bass, drums, and guitar setup; but he also added on a saxophone, and for the last two songs of the set a harmonium. Along with vocal duties, he added to the instrumental orchestral sound by switching between guitar and keyboard. His alt-rock sound had me thinking retro indie Los Angeles from back in the day when Spaceland (link here for some music history) was the center of the Los Angeles music scene. It was a night of dreamy music, highlighted by Raines' bass vocals.
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| Ryan Raines at The Fable |
Electric Guest had The Airliner Bar packed for their It's A School Night set (hosted by KCRW and Make Out Music). This was my first time at The Airliner Bar since 2022 when I covered a Jenny O set for Buzzbands (see link for the review and photos). I know that after that point in time, the bar venue went through an ownership change. When I noticed that they were once again putting on shows, I knew I wanted to head there again. I actually wanted to go in January, but something popped up that prevented me from going. Jump to April and I noticed that Electric Guest (as well as Theo Moss) were playing School Night and off I went. What did I notice when I first got to the venue (which is above the bar)? The hole-in-the-wall vibes are now replaced with a sleek modern touch that is similar to The Peppermint Club.
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| Electric Guest at The Airliner Bar |
