Read Music Coast articles—news, features, and commentary on independent music—plus updates from our indie-first music streaming app, now live on iOS and Android.
For more than a decade, Windy City Smokeout has been bringing together two things that just belong together: country music and incredible barbecue. Since launching in 2013, the festival has grown from a weekend event into one of Chicago's signature summer traditions, and this year marked its biggest evolution yet with an expanded five-day format.
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Music Coast recaps Cali Roots 2026 in Monterey: its sponsor debut, new app launch, Ice Cube, Rebelution, Kash'd Out and the All Stars finale.
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Jubba White’s second solo album A Better World arrives May 22 via White Stone Productions and Tuff Gong International. In a full Music Coast interview, Jubba reflects on rhythm, truth, simplicity, and why Goals and Dreams and Sunrise help define the album’s emotional core.
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Portland punks Triple Lutz return with "Don't Wake Daddy," the second single from their debut LP In the Hands of an Angry Mob. In a full Music Coast interview, frontman Asher Weinbaum talks Portland, punishment, DIY survival, and why this is the version of the band worth freezing in time. Photo Credit Photo by KC Jonze @thelonius_punk
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The Scratch's new album Pull Like A Dog pushes past the easy "trad metal" label and into something more physical, communal, and alive. In a full Music Coast interview, Daniel Lang talks instinct, live energy, space, pressure, and why the band's music works best when it makes bodies move.
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Bloodywood’s System of a Brown Tour hit Portland’s Crystal Ballroom with a stacked lineup from start to finish: ANKOR, Ladrones, The Pretty Wild, and Bloodywood. Built with on-site notes from Eileen Crawford for Music Coast.
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Victory Kid's new single "You're Alright" previews Catalyst, their May 24 sophomore album via SBAM Records. In a Music Coast interview, Harrison Nida and Carlo Ribaux discuss anxiety, long-distance chemistry, horns, strings, and turning personal collapse into growth.
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The Maine brought their green era to Chicago on April 10th and the Salt Shed was ready for it. A sold-out crowd, green balloons in the air and a city that literally lit up the Willis Tower green to celebrate album number 10. Joy Next Door is here and it showed up in a big way.
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Masayoshi Takanaka turned his sold-out Aragon Ballroom stop in Chicago into a two-hour city pop masterclass, with soaring guitar leads, dual percussion, keytar theatrics, and the AMAZONS guiding the crowd through a mostly instrumental set that still felt like a singalong.
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Sticky Fingers brought their first North American tour since 2019 to Portland's Crystal Ballroom, with Ruby Waters opening and Claude Bailey handling vocals on a night that felt less like a comeback and more like unfinished business finally getting settled.
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Bryce Vine leans into guitars, instinct, and pop-punk chaos on LET'S DO SOMETHING STUPID!, a John Feldmann-produced album featuring Tony Hawk, Goldfinger, State Champs, The Home Team, and more. Photo by Micala Austin.
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After a 2022 Ohio home raid led to songs like "Lemon Pound Cake" and "Will You Help Me Repair My Door," Afroman beat the deputies' lawsuit. A Music Coast look at the verdict, the three-day trial, and why the case mattered for free speech and artistic expression.
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