Just got back from Saint Rocke where we experienced a most excellent evening of music. Justin Hopkins lead a mildly chaotic yet thoroughly enjoyable songwriters in the round featuring several artists (whose names I’ve sadly mostly forgotten). Justin himself played only a few songs, although I wish he could have done more. At one point, he brought up a 10-year-old girl who was an incredibly talented guitar player and songwriter. Keaton Simons also made an appearance and took part in several impromptu jam sessions after singing a few of his own tunes including a brand new one he claimed he just wrote yesterday.

The headliner of the evening was the incredibly entertaining Wakey!Wakey! Between the fun tunes and the funny banter, my cheeks still hurt from all the smiling and laughing. Seriously, if you’ve never been in a “conversation” with Wakey!Wakey! frontman, Mike Grubbs, you cannot fully appreciate the full spectrum of his talent. And speaking of talent, I should mention the violinist whose accompaniment elevated each song to a level of mesmerizing despite the fact that she had a cut on her finger.

It was a fantastic way to begin the week. Hopefully the rest of my schedule this week will be equally or more enjoyable. Check out my list:

Monday: Honeyhoney at Bootleg Theater (10:30)
ALSO: Sabrosa Purr at The Viper Room (10:15)
ALSO: Chris Robinson Brotherhood at The Echoplex (8:30)
ALSO: Songwriters in the Round at Room 5 (9pm)

Tuesday: Brian Wright at The Hotel Cafe (9pm)…record release show…and after what I heard at SXSW this would be my top pick of the week!
ALSO: The Canyons and Satellite at Molly Malone’s (8,9)
ALSO: Stop Motion Poetry at Room 5 (9pm)

Weds: Queen Caveat and Imagine Dragons at The Viper Room (8,9)
ALSO: Semi Precious Weapons at On the Rox (10pm)…the last of their Empire residency shows before they head off to re-join Lady Gaga
ALSO: Laura Jansen at The Hotel Cafe (10:30)

Thursday: Ringside at The Roxy (10pm)
ALSO: Ari Hest at The Hotel Cafe (9:30)

Friday: Bird by Bird at The Roxy (8pm)
ALSO: Viza at The Troubadour (11:30)
ALSO: Brendan James and Matt White at The Hotel Cafe (8,9)
ALSO: J. Scott Bergman at Molly Malone’s (8pm)

Saturday: Tyler Hilton at The Hotel Cafe (10pm)
ALSO: Northstar Session at Molly Malone’s (10pm)…album release

Sunday: day of rest…until something inevitably comes along…

To Keep in Mind:
April 6th: Andy Clockwise and The Silent Comedy at The Troubadour
April 10th: Milk Carton Kids at The Hotel Cafe
April 11th: Chris Robinson Brotherhood at The Echoplex
April 15th: Scarlet Grey at The Roxy
April 16th: Matt Wertz and Ben Rector at The Troubadour
April 20th: Ellie Goulding at The Music Box
April 22nd: Purple Melon at The Roxy
April 25th: Airborne Toxic Event at The Satellite
April 25th: The Head & The Heart at The Troubadour
May 4th: The Pipettes at The Satellite
May 7th: The Silent Comedy at The Roxy
May 15th: Eisley at The Troubadour
May 27th: The Script at Club Nokia
June 2nd: Manchester Orchestra at The Music Box
June 9-12: Bonnaroo!!!
June 13th: Florence and The Machine at The Greek Theater
September 22-24: Hotel Carolina
June 29th: Brooke Fraser at The Music Box

~ Kristen