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As the frontwoman for North Carolina’s Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, singer/songwriter Sarah Shook offers up a full-bodied combination of the sound of vintage outlaw country — with lyrics that waver between defiance and honest introspection — and the fire of punk rock. Having already attached her name to two previous backing bands (the Devil, […]

As the frontman for R.E.M., arguably the most important and influential American rock band of the post-punk era, Michael Stipe transformed himself from enigmatic cult hero into mainstream icon. Famed for his confoundingly opaque lyrics and notoriously mumbled delivery, the once-introverted Stipe translated his growing fame into an outlet to champion his social and political […]

Although they began as an artsy prog rock band, Styx would eventually transform into the virtual arena rock prototype by the late ’70s and early ’80s, due to a fondness for bombastic rockers and soaring power ballads. The seeds for the band were planted in another Chicago band during the late ’60s, the Tradewinds, which […]

From Salt Lake City,  Spirit Machines gained world-wide recognition in 2020 when TOOL shared their mash-up of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” + Tool’s “Sober”. By day Pepper Rose is an MIT graduate chemist. By night, she may be the USA’s hottest up-and-coming independent female rock star of color. The daughter of an elite bassist in the […]

Not to be confused with the Colombian rock en español/Latin pop star Soraya (who had a major hit in Latin America with “Llevame” in 2005), the band profiled here is a Philadelphia-based alternative rock/post-grunge outfit fronted by lead vocalist ZouZou Mansour (an expressive, big-voiced singer with a gutsy, edgy, gritty, forceful style). Loud, hard-rocking and […]

  The Strokes are an American rock band from Manhattan, New York. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of singer Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. They are one of the more prominent bands of the garage rock and post-punk revivals, aiding in the resurgence of indie rock in New York City. After the release of their EP The […]

  A band with a big sound and swagger to spare, the Struts are a British rock group who deliver a pop-infused brand of hard rock that owes a debt of influence to the glory days of U.K. glam. A number of writers have compared lead singer Luke Spiller’s sound and style to that of […]

Cat Stevens grew from being a teen idol of the 1960s into one of the most influential singer-songwriters of all time. In addition to his vast musical achievements, his lifelong spiritual quest has added intrigue and depth to a groundbreaking career. Cat achieved early success in the mid 60s with “I Love My Dog” and […]

Hailing from South Africa and comprising members Shaun Morgan (vocals, guitar), Dale Stewart (bass), and John Humphrey (drums), Seether embrace a brand of heavy metal mostly associated with the post-grunge era of alternative music, complete with crunchy distortion and brooding textures. The band emerged in 1999 as Saron Gas (a name taken from the back […]

Sophie Allison was born in Switzerland in the late 1990s[2] and grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. She attended Nashville School of the Arts, a specialty high school where she studied guitar and played in the swing band. She first picked up a guitar at age six, which prompted her to start making music.[4] She began […]