Song Spotlight: Sofia Ionescu's You Don't Know Me (a night at Hotel Ziggy)

The Romanian-born Sofia Ionescu recently moved to Orange County just two years ago and is now a freshman at USC. In early December, she performed at Hotel Ziggy for the WFNM showcase. Being a USC student, she brought along a contingent of fellow USC Thornton classmates who providing backing vocals and instrumental support. Her Spotify bio mentions that she is a fan Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, and Amy Winehouse. You know what that means, it was a jazz-blues set and, of course, a cover of Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good."

Sofia Ionescu at Hotel Ziggy

Song Spotlight: Darienne Savoy's Frozen In Time (a night at Hotel Ziggy)

Darienne Savoy opened up a December night at Hotel Ziggy the right way for the WFNM crowd. Her R&B vocals were smooth and polished, delighting all. Joining on keys and backing vocals was her producer Noriko Olling while Kaili Sincere and Aaron Junior provided additional backing vocals. And I should not forget that hidden off to the side was guitarist Yohei Nakamura.  

Darienne Savoy at Hotel Ziggy

Song Spotlight: They/Live's Master Melody (a night at Zebulon)

They/Live took the stage at Zebulon on a December night. It was an interesting route to Zebulon on my part, but I'm glad I made it. The previous night, I got a last minute request to cover a set in DTLA. I pinged my contact the next morning (being the night of the They/Live set). I was told that everything was a go with a photo pass and ticket at the box office window. I got to the venue at around 7:30 p.m. I went to the box office booth and was told I had a ticket, but I wasn't on the photo list. I spent the next 45 minutes trying to resolve the situation. I sent texts to my contact. I sent Instagram messages to the two performers that night and even sent a message to someone I know who occasionally works at the venue. It just wasn't meant to be. 

They/Live at Zebulon

Song Spotlight: Sunrose's Chemical Feel (a night at El Cid)

Sunrose (lead vocalist and guitarist Jaxon Rose, bassist Tripp Bowers, and drummer Jax Kemp) had drummer Kemp take to the El Cid stage for a Whiplash solo percussion opening. Got to love it when a band let's the drummer open up the night. On that early December date, the band's aggressive style was the perfect setup for headliner Devon Thompson (you can read that review here). 

Sunrose at El Cid

Notes from Vivace Show Alerts (Los Angeles): Jan 4th - Jan 10th

A Handful of Show Alerts

Monday, Jan 5th: MyVeronica at The Haven. Doors at 6 p.m.

I listed My Veronica as one of my favorite new bands of 2024. You can read that post here.

Tuesday, Jan 6th: MacGregor Burns and Sharon Silva at The Fable. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my song spotlight for MacGregor Bruns' "Paradise Motel" here.

In 2022, I covered Sharon Silva for Buzzbands, which you can read here. 

Tuesday, Jan 6th: The Sea Monks at Hotel Ziggy. Doors at 7 p.m.
In 2025, I wrote a review of their set, which you can read here.

Wednesday, Jan 7th: Giselle at Hotel Ziggy. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my song spotlight for "Skeletons" here.

Wednesday, Jan 7th: Muscle Beach at Zebulon. Doors at 8 p.m.
In 2025, I wrote a review of their set at Zebulon, which you can read here.

Saturday, Jan 10th: MacGregor Burns at Oblivion. Doors at 7 p.m.

Playing twice this week.

Saturday, Jan 10th: The Letter Openers at Old Towne Pub. Doors at 8 p.m.

In 2024, I wrote a review of their set for US Rocker Music, which you can read here.

Song Spotlight: Jesse Detor's Hands (a night at El Cid)

Jesse Detor might have been the opening artist at El Cid in early December, but as soon as the doors opened to let the crowd into the venue, many of them rushed to the front of the stage in anticipation of her set. That enthusiasm for her music was reciprocated with pop-punk energy on her part. The rocker recently moved to Los Angeles, having grown up in Minneapolis and attended the Berklee College of Music. 

Jesse Detor at El Cid

Song Spotlight: Child Seat's Stress (a night at The Goldfish)

Child Seat (the duo of Madeleine Mathews and Josiah Mazzaschi) kicked off the night at The Goldfish in a celebration of girlish figure's music video release for "Please Her For Pleasure." You can read that review here. I've followed the band since 2022, but I've known about both Mathews and Mazzaschi for much longer. I came across Mathews via MAWD in 2019 and I've followed Mazzaschi since 2011 (oh yeah, I've been hanging out in the Los Angeles music scene for way too long) via Light FM and then in 2018 via Bizou. Interesting fun fact about Bizou, bassist Nicole Fiorentino is known for playing with Garbage and The Smashing Pumpkins. Circling back to Child Seat, I've always loved the band and in 2024 I covered their record release show for their sophomore album Dancing at The Disco, which you can read here. 

Child Seat at The Goldfish

Song Spotlight: Font's Looking at Engines (a night at Zebulon)

I've been hanging out in the Los Angeles music scene long enough that when I saw the band Font was playing Zebulon, I immediately flashbacked to a band called LA Font. That was a band that played the Los Angeles music scene from around 2008 to 2018. I believe I saw that band band four different times between 2011 and 2014. 

Font at Zebulon

2025 List of Favorite New Bands and Singers (new to me, but maybe not to you)

2025 List of Favorite New Bands and Singers: new to me, but maybe not to you (alphabetical):

20. Adrian Bourgeois (seen August 4th). A band that I had seen before called Wynn was playing a rare set. I was thinking of just doing a hit and run, but then decided to check out who else was playing that night. I happened to notice that Adrian Bourgeois follows me on Instagram so off I went to catch his set, as well. Killer tenor vocals that float through the clouds. 

Check out the song: Nothing Can Hurt Me. 

Adrian Bourgeois at Harvard & Stone

Random thoughts: Echo Park Rising was bursting at the seams. Time to expand to two days.

Song Spotlight: Dutch Interior's I'll Be Damned (a night at Zebulon)

On the Monday before Thanksgiving, I decided to head out to Zebulon for a free show that featured Dutch Interior. I will admit that I had never heard of this 6 piece band (Hayden Barton, Shane Barton, Noah Kurtz, Jack Nugent, Conner Reeves, Davis Stewart) and had no clue about their music genre. It was a situation where I wanted to catch some random bands and so off I went. For their set, the venue was packed deep with fans. That, of course, just made me realize once again that no matter how often I head out to catch live music, there are always Los Angeles bands out there that have a devoted following and are not on my radar. If this band had just started performing, I would just think I was one of the first people to find a hidden gem, but this band has been putting out music since 2021.  

Dutch Interior at Zebulon

Song Spotlight: Jay Som's What You Need (a night at The Roxy)

I recently covered Jay Som (the moniker for Melina Duterte) at The Roxy for US Rocker Music. You can read that coverage here. Like similar times when I've covered a band or artist for US Rocker Music, this Jay Som blog post is a more personalized write-up that focuses on a specific song. (Here are a couple other similar personalized posts: you can read my Sasami post here and my Dove Armitage post here.) 

Jay Som at The Roxy

Notes from Vivace Show Alerts (Los Angeles): Dec 28th - Jan 3rd

A Handful (only two) of Show Alerts

Tuesday, Dec 30th: Rocco Deluca at Zebulon. Doors at 8 p.m.
You can read my review of a recent set here.

Friday, Jan 2nd: Devon Williams, Lily Waters, and Sean Solomon at The Smell. 

Read my song spotlight for Devon Williams' "Futility" here.

Read my song spotlight for Lily Waters' "Big Star" here. 

I reference Sean Solomon in my Fashion Club blog post, which you can read here.

Two Movies seen on TCM: Champion (1949) and Hard Times (1975)

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. The following two movies: Champion and Hard Times follow the lives of boxers.