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Westside Cowboy's ramshackle Americana – plus the week's best new tracks
Westside Cowboy's ramshackle Americana – plus the week's best new tracks

The Guardian

time6 days ago

  • Entertainment
  • The Guardian

Westside Cowboy's ramshackle Americana – plus the week's best new tracks

From ManchesterRecommended if you like Pavement, Ezra Furman, Guided By Voices Up next Debut EP out 8 August Westside Cowboy describe their sound as Britainicana. You get what they mean. The winners of this year's Glastonbury Emerging Talent competition are the product of a burgeoning new Manchester underground scene but started out performing Hank Williams and Bob Dylan covers in drummer Paddy Murphy's bedroom. While the vocals locate them firmly in the UK, there's a distinct country/rockabilly undertow to their sound. But equally, Britainicana feels like a slightly ungainly term for music that seems so natural and spontaneous. Recent single Alright Alright Alright rattles along at high speed, its influences buried under a layer of fuzz and feedback and punky vigour, the guitar lurching from the central riff into bursts of noisy abstraction: it sounds like a snatched recording of a band playing live, complete with the thrilling sense that their performance is seconds away from collapsing. The quartet's debut EP is forthcoming, and the first tastes of This Better Be Something Great are more sedate. I've Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love (Until I Met You) lopes in time-honoured slacker style; Shells starts out as a hushed ballad before unexpectedly bursting into life 90 seconds in. But they're equally marked by a mood of ramshackle invention at odds with the studied, polished air of a lot of current alt-rock. The name, incidentally, comes from the horse riders employed to ensure trains didn't exceed a certain speed in 19th century America: another weird choice, given the velocity Westside Cowboy currently seem to be travelling at. Alexis Petridis Flock of Dimes – Long After Midnight'People say it's not my problem / They say that actions have a consequence,' Bon Iver collaborator Jenn Wasner sings on a beautiful acoustic meditation about offering help against your better judgement. Kieran Hebden + William Tyler – Spider BalladFour Tet shatters the Nashville guitarist's arid playing into kaleidoscopic fragments, creating a tense, near-breathless strobing effect that evokes glimpsing horror in half light. Confidence Man x Jade – GossipGossip's delicious, destructive power is brandished like a weapon on this icy double threat, decorated with enjoyably unexpected acoustic guitar and Jade spitting a very rude word in pure South Shields. Joanne Robertson – GownThe sometime-Dean Blunt collaborator leads her new album with a song that evokes Sinéad O'Connor's Celtic hymnals heard through Grouper's damp-forest haze – with stirring cello by Oliver Coates. John Also Bennett – Ston ElaiónaFar from his formative years in the Ohio noise scene, Bennett channels the stillness and swoop of the view from his new Athens home, in gorgeous, consciousness-tweaking ambient bass flute oscillations. Daniel Avery – Rapture in Blue ft Cecile BelieveThe wildly underrated Canadian singer – and former Sophie collaborator – gets a deserved showcase leading this anguished, expansive and surprisingly pop turn by the British producer. Chuquimamani-Condori – LRC with Pueblo De Dios Capo E DJ edit One half of one of 2025's best records – Los Thuthanaka – blesses us with a 24-track collection of edits. On this highlight, whistles and heartfelt chanted vocals fight against hypnotic pile-driver production. [Not on Spotify: listen here] Subscribe to the Guardian's rolling Add to Playlist selections on Spotify.

Matt Daniel: A Rising Voice in Country Music
Matt Daniel: A Rising Voice in Country Music

Epoch Times

time30-06-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Epoch Times

Matt Daniel: A Rising Voice in Country Music

By day, you can find country singer-songwriter Matt Daniel riding horseback across sprawling Texas fields. By night, he can be seen performing in a dimly lit music venue for a captivated audience, cheering on his unmistakably country sound. His music channels some of the genre's defining elements, like rich storytelling and soulful vocals that soar with a yodel-like tone during choruses. His mix of country-western and classic country stylings are accentuated by the polished Lonestar flare. While listening to his work, comparisons to some of country's earliest and most influential musicians come to mind, from Hank Williams to Patsy Cline.

Summer fun at no cost: Eight free things to do in Montgomery
Summer fun at no cost: Eight free things to do in Montgomery

Yahoo

time11-06-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Yahoo

Summer fun at no cost: Eight free things to do in Montgomery

Does the idea of a fun day out and about sound great, right up until it hits your wallet? Worry not. The Montgomery Advertiser is offering eight free or cheap fun things for adults to do in the Montgomery area this summer. Where: 1 Museum Drive Hours: Open Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Info: The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, located in Blount Cultural Park, is absolutely free to get in and view a variety of masterpieces — though they'll gladly accept a donation. The museum's permanent collection includes 19th- and 20th-century American paintings and sculptures, Southern regional art, Old Master prints and decorative arts. The museum offers tours, has a cafe, and frequently hosts live performances. Summer months ahead include several workshops and camps. Online: Contact: 334-625-4333 More: Summer festivals & fun in Montgomery that you've got to experience While you're at MMFA, there's a gorgeous spot to enjoy a picnic lunch outdoor in the John and Joyce Caddell Sculpture Garden. Blount Cultural Park, including the area around nearby Alabama Shakespeare Festival, is also bursting with scenic picnic opportunities. There are many more beautiful locations across the city as well where it's free to set up and enjoy a meal. You can see a big list of park areas online at Montgomery is just packed with outdoor art displays, many of which reflect the people and history of the city. One must-see is the Civil Rights Memorial, a granite fountain with the names of people who were killed during the Civil Rights Movement. It's in downtown Montgomery at 400 Washington Ave. There are at least 24 murals to be seen downtown, midtown, and on the west side. A map to them is available at There are statues across the city, including life size versions of Hank Williams, Rosa Parks, and many more. If nature's your thing, Montgomery has. lot to offer on walking trails. There are at least 22 trails available to walkers in Montgomery's public parks. You can find them online at Another amazing venue for this is Montgomery Whitewater. It's free to visit, and has multi-use trails set up for walking, running, and mountain biking. On the not-free side, if you want, you can book whitewater rafting adventures there or take to the trees in the ropes and zipline course. See more online at More: Summer pool hours: Splash pads and swimming spots in the Montgomery area Country legend Hank Williams was a young man on Montgomery's streets. He died at age 29 on New Year's Day 1953 in the back seat of his 1952 Cadillac while headed from Tennessee to a scheduled concert in Canton, Ohio. His all-too-short life created a legacy of country western music. The city will celebrate what would have been Hank's 102nd birthday this summer with a music celebration on Sept. 13, 3 p.m. at the Davis Theatre, 251 Montgomery St. Tickets are on sale through the Hank Williams Museum — $35 for general admission, and $45 for VIP. Hank Williams Museum, 118 Commerce St.: This museum is dedicated to all things Hank, and along with a lot of memorabilia and imagery, it even has his blue Cadillac. You do have to get tickets to get in here: $15 for ages 18 and up, $5 for ages 15-17, $3 for ages 5-14, and ages 4 and younger are free. But Montgomery is full of places you can visit to see where and how Hank lived — and most are free to go look at. How many places can you visit in a day? Hank Williams statue, 216 Commerce St.: The 6-foot-2 bronze statue of Hank Williams stands at the intersection with Tallapoosa Street in front of the tunnel to Riverfront Park. Empire Theater, 234 Montgomery St.: This is where a young Hank won a singing contest in 1937. The Empire is gone, and the Rosa Park Library and Museum sits where the theater once stood. Jefferson Davis Hotel, WSFA radio, 344 Montgomery St.: When Hank was just a "singing kid" of around 13, he landed a gig singing live on WSFA radio (With the South's Finest Airport). It's a job he and his Drifting Cowboys would have there for several years, Sidney Lanier High School, 1756 S. Court St.: This school, which closed down in 2024, is where 16-year-old Hank dropped out of school in October 1939 after a brief enrollment, opting to focus on his blossoming music career with the Drifting Cowboys. Chris' Hot Dogs, 138 Dexter Ave.: This famous downtown hotdog and burger restaurant — which opened in 1917 and still operates today — is where Williams was known to frequent on late nights after gigs to sober up in a back booth. Elite Café, 121 Montgomery St.: This is where Hank sang publicly for the last time on Dec. 28, 1952, while attending an American Federation of Musicians holiday party. Municipal auditorium, 103 N. Perry St.: Where the City Council meets now is where thousands paid their final respects Sunday, Jan. 4, 1953, to Hank. They were inside and outside what was then called Municipal Auditorium. Hank Williams Memorial & Gravesite, 1304 Upper Wetumpka Road in Oakwood Cemetery Annex: Hank's gravesite is a must-see for visiting Hank Fans. It's also the gravesite of Hank's first wife, Audrey − the mother of Hank Williams Jr. Take a tour of the State Capitol at 600 Dexter Ave. It's a working museum of state history and politics, with offices for the governor and executive branch officers. Areas open to the public include the House of Representatives, Senate Chamber, Old Supreme Court Chamber and Library, and the Rotunda. When: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost: Free Just across Adams Avenue at the Department of Archives and History you can dig into the state's past at the Museum of Alabama. When: The museum is open Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Cost: Admission for self-guided tours is free. There's music playing nightly at spots across Montgomery. One of the most active places is The Exchange at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel and Spa, 201 Tallapoosa St. They have music going 7 days a week, and most nights feature two music acts on their outdoor stage. There are many bars, restaurants and other venues that host live music — though some may have a door charge. You can find them at Another amazing source for live music that's absolutely free is Montgomery Whitewater, 1100 Maxwell Boulevard, which frequently hosts live music concerts. See what music is ahead this summer online at One of the jewels of Montgomery is the stretch of the Alabama River at Riverfront Park, 355 Commerce St. The area includes Riverwalk Amphitheater, and hosts concerts and other events throughout the year. It's also home to the Harriott II Riverboat. It's a great place to visit toward the evening to watch a stunning sunset reflected on the water. Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel covers things to do in the River Region. Contact him at sheupel@ This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: See our picks for eight free things to do in Montgomery this summer

One of Melbourne's favourite falafel crosses the river to get to this southside bar
One of Melbourne's favourite falafel crosses the river to get to this southside bar

The Age

time30-05-2025

  • Entertainment
  • The Age

One of Melbourne's favourite falafel crosses the river to get to this southside bar

It's worth coming to cocktail bar Nobody's Baby for the crunchy-fluffy falafel alone. Previous SlideNext Slide 14/20How we score It's mid-evening, dark outside, the trams sound like applause and flash like fireworks. People – young, older, shiny, expensively rumpled – are at new bar Nobody's Baby before dinner, after dinner, for dinner or just for drinks. Speaking of, our next round of cocktails arrives: they're called Fat Bottomed Girls, after the Queen song, or maybe after me. Shaken vodka drinks in long-stemmed coupe glasses, they taste of pepper, honey and lemon with the sesame richness of tahini picking up the Middle Eastern flavours of the food menu. It's all timber and curves in here, the components built off-site in Torquay and installed in three days. Arches separate the bar area from the lounge's booths and banquettes, and the bar itself makes a broad sweep to a DJ set-up, where a cruisy guy mixes in a record by The Police (later, there's Khruangbin, and was that Hank Williams?). It's medium-loud: you're not whispering, nor are you needing to shout. My friends and I are full of falafel and love, at that leaning-all-over-one-another stage of the night. Annalisa pulls my hair back into a ponytail. 'Why don't you wear it like this more?' she asks, taking photo after photo. Emma walks in from the toilet out the back. 'There's a tattoo parlour in the yard,' she tells us, presenting un-inked arms in enquiry. Indeed, when the previous bar tenant Raindancer was here, a patron once finished a drink and followed up with a tatt. Not us, not tonight. I pick up a piece of pickled cabbage and swipe it through zhoug, a Yemeni green chilli relish. A small dog – hitherto hidden under the next table – lets out a polite bark. 'The falafel have a thick, crunchy shell that gives way to a herby, fluffy interior: it's worth coming for these alone.' What is a bar anyway? Restaurants have cocktails, bars serve food, so what actually is the difference between a bar and a restaurant (especially when the bar serves food as good as this)? For me, it's the feeling and the flexibility, rolling from drinks to eats and back again, having people join you later or peel off, the possibility of perching on a stool to ponder life with patrons and pourers alike. The team here knows all that stuff. Tim Badura and Gustavo Prince met at retro bar Joe's Shoe Store in Northcote, which Prince founded (he also owns neighbouring Pizza Meine Liebe). When they landed this place, they invited Shuki Rosenboim and Louisa Allan from Brunswick's Very Good Falafel to bring their pulse-fuelled joy southside. What a move. The falafel here, handmade using a metal press, have a thick, crunchy shell that gives way to a herby, fluffy interior: it's worth coming for these alone. But you may also fall for sumac-cured sardines on challah, roasted Brussels sprouts with pilpelchuma, a Libyan-Jewish chilli and garlic paste, or grilled whiting with harissa and latkes, a perfect assembly of sea, spice and starch. Chicken skewers and lamb meatballs are cooked over charcoal; the chicken is interspersed with plump green olives; the lamb is squished in pita with roasted onion, tahini and amba, an Iraqi-Jewish pickled mango condiment. It's simple and excellent: big flavours, sauces you'll want to swipe your fingers through, and sharp and salty enough to keep you drinking. The obvious nightcap is Baby Brulee, a whisky, Baileys and vanilla concoction with a bruleed top. Ask for it to be torched at the table, making your cocktail an event for the whole room and turning Nobody's Baby into everybody's wondrous child. Good Food Guide.

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