Bo and the Locomotive are standing beneath a neighbor's blossoming tree, playing a new song behind their Dogtown home.

Before Paste Magazine told the nation so, it wasn't presumptuous to say Bo and the Locomotive is one of the best reasons to get excited about St. Louis music.

Bo and the Locomotive started the night off at the Gramophone with a swinging, mostly instrumental tune. From song one, I realized that the tall, guitar-wielding Bo Bulawsky and his band aren't into rushing a melody.

Friday night of An Under Cover Weekend 5 at the Firebird was soulful, funky and most exceptionally hard-rocking.

The idea behind An Under Cover Weekend is simple: Local bands transform themselves into their favorite artists to pay tribute to them for 30 minutes. The result of months of hard work culminates in two nights of rock celebration at the Firebird that captures the essence of rock 'n' roll.

Bo and the Locomotive's swirling melodies project the warmth of genial summer daze. Discover the sound on the band's in-studio debut at KDHX.

Three St. Louis local favorites plus one from Texas filled the Firebird to capacity with hungry fans Saturday night. 

High fives and raised drinks abounded at the Firebird on Saturday night. The occasion for the celebratory conduct was the dual album release show for St. Louis indie rock bands, Bo and the Locomotive and Union Tree Review.

Local favorites Union Tree Review and Bo and the Locomotive announced they will be playing a show together in July to celebrate their new album releases. 

The St. Louis music scene can at times seem anemic, stubbornly hanging onto the past. I used to hate the sheer preponderance of classic rock stations, the mass illusion that all great music was recorded and waxed in the '70s, and that everything else was pop, rap or worse.