A last minute slot opened up at the WFNM's Almost Acoustic Showcase and Nashville based-Sara Jean Kelley jumped in to play the opening set. Bar Lubitsch was filled with friends and family, many hanging out with her dad in the corner of the venue. I overheard that she wasn't sure if he would be able to show up or not, but show up he did.
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| Sara Jean Kelley at Bar Lubitsch |
I got to attend a recent underground / secret Basement set. It was held outdoors at Milky's and presented by Sound and Fury. You can read my official US Rocker Music review here.
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| Basement at Milky's |
Alexia Rev (moniker for Rebecca Alexia Tobaly) took part in the second WFNM's Almost Acoustic Showcase at Bar Lubitsch. As can be surmised by "second," this is a recent new music series. In the debut night, I had seen most of the curated singers. I knew I was going to love all those singers. This time around, there was only one singer on the list that I had seen before. That fact gave the night a feeling of discovery. Of course, Alexia Rey was one of those newly discovered singers.
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| Alexia Rev at Bar Lubitsch |
Operelly (moniker for Olivia Rose Austin) stopped by El Cid as part of a 10 stop tour to promote her recently released EP called *FLUTTERS AWAY*. Ground Control Touring has this tidbit about their client, "Operelly’s music weaves together delicate electronic and acoustic elements into a form that Olivia calls 'tiptoe music.'” That combination of electronic and acoustic could be heard at the start of the set. She started off playing an intro on her electric organ / synth before shifting over to her acoustic guitar for "Cozy."
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| Operelly at El Cid |
Okay, sometimes my brain gets tossed for a loop. That is what happened when Theo Moss (moniker for Sam Valdez) took to the stage at the It's A School Night (hosted by KCRW and Make Out Music) showcase at The Airliner Bar. I remembered the name Theo Moss as I saw a snippet of a set at last year's Echo Park Rising (I was an official photographer so was just rushing around shooting as many bands as possible). If I recall correctly, she was playing the final chords of her last song and at that time I just didn't think about connecting the dots to the past. At The Airliner Bar, I finally got more than a few seconds of a song and my brain was telling me that I'd seen Theo Moss way before 2025. But how was that possible? Then as I was doing some research for this article, I had to slap my forehead. Theo Moss is Sam Valdez's new project. Duh.
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| Theo Moss at The Airliner Bar |
I think a general conclusion can be made when heading out to your local venue such as El Cid: if the opening act has people packing the front of the stage way before the set time, you're in for a special set. That is what I experienced prior to Ella Woolsey (the moniker for Ella Carlson) taking to the stage. Her fans packed the front of the stage and I could feel the buzz of excitement. A number of people had already bought her merchandise.
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| Ella Woolsey at El Cid |
A Handful of Show Alerts
Singer-songwriter Ben Krieger was the highlight of the WFNM Almost Acoustic Showcase at Bar Lubitsch. To start off the set, he played with upbeat "rockstar!" He was initially going to play that song later in his set, but he must have noticed that the crowd was distracted in their conversations. He wanted to catch their attention and he definitely did. After finishing the song, he said he figured "it would be super cool if I just started playing a riff and then everyone just looked up."
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| Ben Krieger at Bar Lubitsch |
Charlie Havenick was the opening band at a recent Permanent Records Roadhouse night. This was my first time coming across her fronting her own band, but not my first time crossing paths with the musician. Back in 2024, she was playing drums for My Veronica (at the same venue), which made my list of favorite new finds of the year (you can check out that list here and look for her on the drums). I didn't make that connection until writing up this review, but it does explain why I enjoyed her set. Her Spotify bio describes her music as "indie rock and slowcore aesthetics rage against folky, orchestral sincerity." I think that description could apply to My Veronica, as well.
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| Charlie Havenick at Permanent Records Roadhouse |
Back in March, Gravity Bookings sent me an Instagram message with an invite to head out to The Cat's Crawl to catch a showcase he was hosting. I wasn't able to make it as I was shooting a show in DTLA, but I kept the invite in mind. On Mother's Day night (I did take my mother out to lunch, I didn't ignore her), I noticed that he was hosting another showcase at the venue that include three bands I had previously seen before (Dreyted, Finnish Postcard, and Starling) and another band that was new to me (Total Wife). I knew this was going to be a good night of music.
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| Starling at The Cat's Crawl |
I'll show you magic (moniker for Eva Smittle) was the opening band for the Rocknite showcase at Zebulon. When Smittle took to the stage, my mind immediate did a two decade flashback. Her look (especially her hair style) had me immediately writing down on my phone's docs app: Monsters are Waiting. That was a band fronted by Annalee Fery. I believe I only saw the band 2 or 3 times, but I continued to follow Fery via her next project Lonely Trees. Where is Fery currently? I did an Internet search and the last info I could find dates back 7 years when she posted a music video under the band name King Lee.
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| I'll show you magic at Zebulon |
Looking as if she was more than eager for a summer Sunday to arrive, Katrina Weissman closed out the night at the Ryan Pollie showcase at The Fable. For me, this was my first time crossing paths with her. One thing I like to do when writing up a blog post about someone I'm crossings paths with for the first time is to see who they've played with in the past. I like to see if there are any six (two) degrees of separation type situations. There are definitely connections here. Over the years, she's shared the stage with Brookelen, LINNEA, and Sarah Once Was. And as I'm writing this and before this article goes to press, she was going to share the stage with Sharon Silva (all four hyperlinks are to articles I've written about those artists).
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| Katrina Weissman at The Fable |
Mingko (moniker for Abigail Zachko) played before a packed Zebulon crowd. And why not, it was a Rocknite showcase night. Zachko mentioned during the set that this was only their second time playing in Los Angeles. Prior to their move to Los Angeles, they attended the Berklee College of Music. Their website bio has some additional background. In Boston, they used to be in the band Ski Club and there is this quote associated with the band, "As a songwriter for the band, Abigail’s intricate and innovative compositions have helped define the group’s unique sound."
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| Mingko at Zebulon |
I say this often, but I've tried to put limits on how often I catch live music each week. On this particular week, I hit my limit by Wednesday. Each day out was magical so no regrets there. I decided to go over my limit on Friday as I thought I was going to get a press pass to catch an artist at a local DIY venue (I'll leave out the name of the venue as someone might be able to figure out who the artist was). Anyways, I never got any response back from my contact, but in my mind I had to do something on Friday night, because I was planning to go out anyways. I was putting together my weekly show alerts for the upcoming week and took a look at what Harvard & Stone had on their schedule. I noticed that on Friday night they had Chalk Teeth as their headliner and Nail Polish in support. I had recently seen Nail Polish (you can read my song spotlight review here). Then I noticed that Chalk Teeth was part of Buzzbands' latest playlist. It was also a free night. Put that all together and the result was a strong GO replacement signal.
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| Chalk Teeth at Harvard & Stone |
With a full backing band, Declan Palmer took to the WFNM showcase at Bar Lubitsch to perform his recently released EP, Scarred/Shining. On a recent Cal State Northridge Music Industry Studies Instagram post, he described his music as, "Alt pop, singer-songwriter type stuff. I love cool chords and cool production."
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| Declan Palmer at Bar Lubitsch |
Playing the last set of the WFNM night at Bar Lubitsch was JAMMA (moniker for Marianna Vitale). She mentioned that she moved to Los Angeles from Italy a year ago. There was also mention that her name is pronounced with a sharp Y versus a J. I was thinking this has to be an Italian accent. I did an Internet search and in the Neapolitan (Naples) region the J (at least for this specific word) is pronounced like an English Y.
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| JAMMA at Bar Lubitsch |
It was a hot minute since I last went to Hotel Cafe (April 2025). Since learning that they were moving locations, I had long wanted to head out to the venue one last time. I kept taking a look at what Monday Monday at Hotel Cafe offered up. I saw an Instagram post that mentioned that long time supporter of the showcase, John Skoog, passed away in November. The post has this tidbit, "John loved music and the artists that create it. He would say that Monday Monday was his church and would often explain how he felt that it was more of a pure example of what church represents to so many people. The community, the music, the messages and the human connection resonated so much for him as it does with the rest of us."
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| John Skoog Table at Hotel Cafe |
A Handful of Show Alerts
Sunday, May 3rd: Jawdropped at The Echo. Doors at 7 p.m.Janelane (fronted by Sophie Negrini) recently headlined at Permanent Records Roadhouse. It was a night to introduce a trio of recently released songs to her loving fans. That fan base includes me as I've followed the band since running across them at Echo Park Rising in 2017. She mentioned that she hadn't played a set since 2024, which shocked me. I knew I had written up two blog posts about Janelane and it all felt so recent. Time just flies by. In early 2024, I wrote up a review of her Love Letters album release party at Zebulon for US Rocker Music (you can read that article here). I actually caught three sets that year and none in 2025 (for obviously stated reason). When I noticed a couple months back that she was playing a set at Permanent Records Roadhouse, I circled the date.
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| Janelane at Permanent Records Roadhouse |
The Silverados closed out a recent night at The Smell. It looks like this band started up around March of 2025. In just over a year, it seems like they've played every possible venue in Los Angeles. Okay, that's an over-exaggeration, but not by much. Scanning through their Instagram page, they started off at Harvard & Stone and The Offbeat. Soon thereafter they were playing Permanent Records Roadhouse and The Escondite. Mercy, they even got to play Resident DTLA before it shut down. Viper Room. Moroccan Lounge. DiPizza's. Call me impressed. I found this Instagram post from their lead singer, Patrick Silvers, that mentions 26 gigs in 7 months.
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| The Silverados at The Smell |
I am embarrassed to say that my last time hanging out at The Smell was a very long time ago. My excuse is that I've been putting limits on how often I go out and so the venue fell out of my rotation. Starting in late 2025, I started to realize that I needed to head out to The Smell again. Recently I took a look at their schedule with the intension that I was going to head out to The Smell on either a Friday or Saturday night no matter what. The Anti Groupies were playing Friday night and I looked them up on Instagram. The first thing I noticed was this post, which is a Rocknite Long Beach interview with the band. If you've glanced through this blog site, you know I have a lot of respect for Rocknite's ability to find talented bands and singers. (My familiarity is Rocknite LA vs Rocknite Long Beach.) The decision was made: I was off finally off to The Smell.
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| The Anti Groupies at The Smell |
I first crossed paths with Taylor Sackson in 2023 at a WFNM night. Flash forward to 2026 and she was collaborating with WFNM at a recent Thursday night at Bar Lubitsch. The night was advertised as We Found New Music Presents Sackson and Friends. For me, there is a rather unique commonality between me and a couple of those on her list of friends. In 2023, I ran across both Sackson and two of her friends and all three made my list of favorite new finds of the year. Sackson made the list along with Maddi Fraser via her old band Fresh Hot Waffles (who performed after Sackson) and Gal Musette (aka Grace Freeman who was doing backup vocals during part of Sackson's set). What are the chances? I should add that I saw all three on different nights -- though Fraser was singing backup vocals when I first came across Sackson.
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| Taylor Sackson at Bar Lubitsch |
I ran across Maddi Fraser in 2023 via the band Fresh Hot Waffles. I loved the band's harmonies so much that I listed them as one of my favorite new finds of the year. The band appears to have ended their run in 2024 (or maybe just taking an extended break). Fraser continues to sing across Los Angeles and I got to catch her recent set at Bar Lubitsch, which was hosted by both WFNM and Taylor Sackson. Interestingly enough, I also crossed paths with Taylor Sackson for the first time in 2023 and she made my list of favorite new finds of the year -- saw both Fresh Hot Waffles and Taylor Sackson at a WFNM night. Fraser took part in Season 16 (2019) of The Voice. Sackson took part in Season 19 (2021) of American Idol.
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| Maddi Fraser at Bar Lubitsch |
With the backing of a pedal steel guitar, Los Angeles-born Ali Angel's set at Bar Lubitsch took on a country tone. Her denim skirt and boots gave the impression that she would be totally at ease on a Texas cattle ranch helped set the mood. The set was part of a WFNM and Taylor Sackson collaboration on a recent Thursday night.
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| Ali Angel at Bar Lubitsch |
A Handful (Over-Load) of Show Alerts
Sunday, Apr 26th: Annabelle Freedman at Permanent Records Roadhouse. Doors at 9 p.m.WFNM and Taylor Sackson put on a joint showcase at Bar Lubitsch on a recent Thursday night. Up first for the night was crooner Eli Pafumi. The band gave a jazz-lite performance that stood out among the remaining performers that explored the Americana-folk-country genres.
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| Eli Pafumi at Bar Lubitsch |
Joey Nebulous (fronted by Joseph Farago) took to the Ryan Pollie showcase stage at The Fable and there was something vaguely familiar about the night. It was like Rocknite had transported itself to The Fable (the band had played that showcase on Mar 11th). In the audience were baby fischgrund (you can read a Rocknite write-up here) and Marcus Buser (you can read another Rocknite write-up here). Even Ryan Pollie (once again you can read another Rocknite write-up here about his side project Lower Merion) is an alum of Rocknite. Others from the Los Angeles music scene were also represent via Sharon Silva and Shannon Lay. I'm sure there were additional artists I've seen that were also hanging out to catch Joey Nebulous -- I apologize for not mentioning you all in this above list.
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| Joey Nebulous at The Fable |
It was Ryan Pollie showcase night at The Fable. A very unique set was performed by Ricky Berger. As the set progressed, some in the bar started to edge closer to the stage area (I would exactly call it a stage stage) with a look of fascination. How could they not find the set fascinating. She started off the set playing the flute. Then it was on to the guitar. The keyboard was next - she played the keyboards with such classical skill that she later got a call out by the final performer of the night. What other instrument could she possible use during the performance? She added a xylophone for a song. She performed the final song of the night, "I Want a Cowboy," with a guitar capo. During the song, she shifted the capo down a notch. After she accomplished this task flawlessly, the crowd erupted with cheers.
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| Ricky Berger at The Fable |
Telescreens's PR firm reached out to US Rocker Music about covering the band at the Regent Theater. I had never heard of the band before. I did notice that they were opening for Quarters. Since the days when there were residencies in Los Angeles, I've always had a soft spot for catching the opening band. I decided to say yes without thinking about it (other than making sure I had no work issues interfering with making it to the venue). You can read my US Rocker Music review of the night here.
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| Telescreens at the Regent Theater |
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| talker at The Moroccan Lounge |
Unfortunately, Rocknite is searching for new home as The Goldfish is ending (mostly) live music. They're off searching for a new home via a Rocknite tour across various Los Angeles venues. They started off on April 1st at the Moroccan Lounge. It was a line-up to remember. This Song Spotlight post is dedicated to Luna Aura, but I should make mention of opener Katy Kenny. It was April Fool's day and as she said the joke was on her. She mentioned that she's a punk rocker, but had to turn her set into an acoustic one because both her bassist and drummer had to bail due to totally legit reasons (illness and car problems). She said that she also had to make a couple trips back and forth from the Moroccan Lounge, because she had forgotten her merch at home.
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| Luna Aura at the Moroccan Lounge |
I recently got to cover a night at the El Rey Theatre for US Rocker Music (you can read my article here) and the band that perhaps impressed me the most was the opening band Velvet Chains. Why? They've a hard rock band that just took me back to the days when Def Leppard and Poison ruled the airwaves. As I mentioned in my review, their song "Dead Inside" reminded me of Evanescence.
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| Velvet Chains at the El Rey Theatre |
Bar Lubitsch was the place to be on a recent night for a WFNM showcase. WFNM was testing out a new concept called the Almost Acoustic Showcase. There will be a second round on April 27th. It is similar in nature to the long running Monday Monday at Hotel Cafe series. WFNM starts earlier than Monday Monday so performers got to play 5 songs as compared to 3 songs at Monday Monday. This debut Almost Acoustic Showcase culled performers from the WFNM family. Of the ten performers, I had already seen 7 of them at a WFNM showcase. Of those 7, I've written up articles on 3 of them (you can read those articles by clicking on the following links: Dama Blake, Nikki Hahn, Yagki).
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| Molly Bergman at Bar Lubitsch |
I missed the first trio of songs of EZ Tiger's set at Frogtown Brewery. I misjudged how long it would take to do my Friday evening exercising. Others did not make the same mistake as the outdoor venue (that is walking distance from Zebulon) was packed. It was potentially the most packed crowd I've seen at the venue. The impetus for the crowd was twofold. First, the band was celebrating the single release of "Outside Your Sun." Second, it was the birthday celebration for drummer Kristy McInnis. I was told that McInnis used to be in one of my favorite "back in the day" bands called The Randies. I think her time as their drums ended after I crossed paths with the band. My first photos of The Randies are from Dec 2006, at which time they had a different drummer. Though I saw them once prior to that -- maybe she was on drums for that show, but I can't recall.
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| EZ Tiger at Frogtown Brewery |
The last time I crossed paths with Honeychain was in 2017. I actually saw them 4 times within about a 1 year's timeframe that stretched between 2016 - 2017. Three of those four moments occurred at a Los Angeles river location called The Frog Spot, which I'm rather sure no longer exists. Let's just say that I was waiting for them to play another set in the Frogtown area in order to break my Honeychain drought. That opportunity arose in late March at Frogtown Brewery.
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| Honeychain at Frogtown Brewery |
The three-piece band includes vocalist-guitarist Hillary Burton, backing vocalist-bassist Andre Tusques, and drummer Loye Aubrey Jr. I've known Tusques for years via the band Silver Needle. So even if I first came across the band in 2016, my connections with the band dates back much further.
The set started off with Tusques wanting to put the foot to the pedal, but he had to go into neutral as drummer Aubrey was getting his gear settled, which included putting on his Ahead drummer gloves (which looked like race driver gloves). Once the gloves were put on, the band kicked off the set, led by Burton's Kay Hanley-like vocals.
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| Honeychain at Frogtown Brewery |
For this old-timer Los Angeles music junky, the first two songs of the set had me in flash back heaven. "Bombs Away" took me back to the Kiss or Kill Club days of The Randies and Bang Sugar Bang while "Crushed" had that Letters to Cleo (Kay Hanley's band) touch.
The band put on an entertaining stage show with headbutts and instrumental battles. When they were particularly pleased with certain aspects of their set, smiles were broad. In his band Silver Needle, Tusques has guitar duties while John Arakaki plays the bass. For Honeychain, he took on the spirit of Arakaki and the showmanship of a bassist by taking a stand on the beer barrels at the front of the stage.
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| Honeychain at Frogtown Brewery |
What did I notice: there were some young adults off to the side who were supporting their elder family members.
Song spotlight goes to "Easy to Forget" which "starts on G." A song about a two-timing guy.
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| Honeychain at Frogtown Brewery |
Setlist: Bombs Away, Crushed, Easy to Forget, Let's Get Pretty, Pocket Full of Good Luck, Little Sin, Go Away, Z89, Ready for the World to End, Going Thru Your Purse, Lucky One.
