ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
There are some things that don’t need to be over complicated, and a Black Keys album is one of them. For more than twenty years, childhood friends Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney have come together in settings ranging from musty midwestern cement basements to expensive Hollywood multitrack facilities to the kind of tasty custom-built space where their remarkable new album, Dropout Boogie, was recorded, and there has been one constant: When these two musicians get in a room together with no distractions besides their instruments, the songs instantly emerge. We’re talking about going in with nothing written and leaving ten days later with a nearly finished album, as with the Grammy nominated, Dropout Boogie. Recorded last year at Auerbach’s Nashville studio, Easy Eye Sound, it is the best execution yet of all of The Black Keys’ finest instincts: a ten-track testament to the enduring power of their signature brand of elemental blues rock.
A three-time GRAMMY® Award winner, Gwen Stefani has achieved global success as a songwriter, performer, charismatic frontwoman of No Doubt, and as a multi-platinum solo artist. Throughout it all, Stefani has remained a trend-setting music and fashion icon with an impressive array of honors – four MTV Video Music Awards, two Billboard Awards, an American Music Award, and a Brit Award. To date, she’s sold more than 60 million units worldwide, including her four-times platinum debut solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. – that delivered the hit singles “Rich Girl,” “What You Waiting For?” and the Pharrell Williams produced No. 1 hit “Hollaback Girl.” Her sophomore album, The Sweet Escape, featured the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 single “Wind It Up” and the unforgettable anthem “The Sweet Escape.” Her critically praised latest album, This Is What the Truth Feels Like, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart and includes her powerful No. 1 single “Used To Love You.” In 2020, Stefani had two No. 1 hits on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart with husband Blake Shelton, “Nobody But You” and “Happy Anywhere.”
In 1990, when journalists were lamenting the death of rock, as cheesy pop and hair metal dominated the charts, Atlanta’s Black Crowes gave the genre a swift and much needed kick in the ass with Shake Your Money Maker. Fueled by singles “Jealous Again,” “Twice As Hard,” “She Talks To Angels,” and the break-through cover of Otis Redding’s “Hard To Handle,” the band immediately took the rock world by storm, topping Rolling Stone’s “Best New American Band Readers Poll” in late 1990. The Black Crowes went on to release eight studio and four live albums, selling in the tens of millions along the way; they sold out shows around the world; had legendary guitarist Jimmy Page join as a member; got kicked off a tour with ZZ Top for insulting the sponsor; got screwed by bad record deals; got married and divorced, fought amongst themselves and against the rest of the world. In other words, they’ve done everything a legendary rock group should do.
Pixies
Pixies have been acclaimed as the most influential, pioneering band of the late 80s alt/rock movement, having served as a major influence for artists like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, the Strokes, Weezer, and many more. Today, a whole new generation of music fans have been discovering and embracing the band’s “loudquietloud” signature sound. Sell-out crowds all over the globe, Pixies’ live shows are unadulterated magic, simultaneously electrifying and lo-fi. The band plays each show by feel—there are no pre-planned setlists or soundchecks before they walk onto the stage to play. Seventy-five minutes of the band playing anything they want, in whatever order they want, the classics and the new gems. And no two Pixies shows are ever the same.
John Fogerty
John Fogerty is a true American treasure who has celebrated over 50 years in music. As leader of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Fogerty forged a distinctive, groundbreaking sound all his own, equal parts blues, country, pop, rockabilly, R&B, swamp boogie, and Southern fried rock ‘n’ roll, all united by his uniquely evocative lyrical perspective. Fogerty is a Grammy winner and has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as well as the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is the only musician to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame for his song, “Centerfield,” a staple at baseball stadiums across the country. Among Fogerty’s many hit songs, both as a solo artist and as leader of CCR, highlights include “Centerfield,” “Proud Mary,” “Susie Q,” “Fortunate Son,” “Born on the Bayou,” “Bad Moon Rising,” and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” among many others.
Sublime With Rome, the ska alternative rock group from California, was formed in 2010 by Rome Ramirez and Eric Wilson. With fan-favorite hits such as “Wrong Way”, “Santeria”, “Badfish”, “What I Got”, “Caress Me Down”, “40oz to Freedom”, and many more, the band's concerts are pure sing along enjoyment from beginning to end. The band released its debut album, Yours Truly, on July 12, 2011, and broke the top ten on the Billboard 200. The band previously toured in support of their hit 2019 album, Blessings, with singles “Wicked Heart” and “Light On” making a splash at alternative radio. Blessings is the band's third studio album, and it was helmed by Rob Cavallo, the producer behind Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Linkin Park and more. In 2020, Sublime With Rome dominated the rock and alternative music charts as well as headlining shows in sheds, amphitheaters, and major festivals worldwide. This year, Sublime with Rome had an incredible tour with Incubus. Currently, Sublime with Rome has almost 122 million all-time streams, and over 562 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify. This is in addition to the legacy statistics which include 6,353,189 monthly listeners. “Santeria” remains the top song with 540,730,265 streams. This is followed by “What I Got” with 357,493,251 streams and “Badfish” with 135,434,139 streams (stats via Spotify). Sublime with Rome’s loyal audience can anticipate a new album coming in 2023 as they will return to Sonic Ranch to record their fourth studio album.
