Click an artist name to listen to the session.

Check out the archives from previous years: 2010 | 2009

KDHX kicked off a summer of independence from mainstream media with Midwest Mayhem. The City Museum was home to four floors and several stages of musical acts and entertainment spread out over five hours on Thursday evening.

Several area theatre companies are staging works by acclaimed playwrights to illuminate the turbulence of today's political climate. While some author's reference current events to push an agenda or present alternate points of view; others, such as Argentina's Lucia Laragione, weave political overtones within more fanciful contexts to raise awareness of historical events and social injustices.

Click an artist name to listen to the session.

Not all rock shows are soul-rocking experiences. Though all the necessary components were there at the Wolf Parade show this Saturday at the Pageant—the punctuated lights, the sheer volume of the music, the gathered masses and group drunkenness -- but the performance while solid seemed forced and it wasn’t fixed by a light show. It was a valiant effort by the entire band, but unfortunately, at least for me, it was just, well, mediocre.

Some consider playwright Joan MacLeod to be a champion of the underdog, producing plays that give voice to those typically silenced or underrepresented within Western society. And while MacLeod develops characters who share vivid and powerful stories, she creates some of the most authentic, engaging theatrical experiences for those fortunate enough to partake.

The current project of songwriter, singer, guitarist and jack-of-many-trades David Beeman, Old Lights aims for the scraped-up romanticism of American Music Club or the sunny folk pop of Fruit Bats and hits the elusive targets squarely. Hear the band's debut KDHX performance on the Space Parlour.

The reggae community suffered an incalculable loss on July 10, 2010, when Sugar Minott died of a heart condition in Kingston, Jamaica, at the age of 54. The grief and the outpouring of love and tributes attest to the affection and respect that so many people in the reggae community have for the artist. May his example never be forgotten.

William Elliott Whitmore and Muscle Worship in concert at Off Broadway. All photos by Kate McDaniel.

Celia isn't just a kid's entertainer -- she's fronted rock bands big and small, and also performed solo, acoustic for adult audiences -- but she has a special knack for making a never-condescending connection with children.

With a recent fall tour announcement of arenas, St. Louis was in for a treat Monday night as Phoenix played to a sold-out crowd at the Pageant. Coming out with guns blazing, frantic strobes lit the fuse for Phoenix’s set opener "Lisztomania" and thus, the dance party was on, for at the least the next 30 minutes anyway. After the high-energy start, a curtain dropped and faded into the 7-plus-minute interlude, "Love like A Sunset," which left the crowd in a befuddled state and basically killed the momentum of both band and audience.

Very, very sad news came across the wire today. Annie Zaleski at the A to Z blog reports:

Like a swirled ice cream cone, Joe Stickley and Sean Canan's music melts together two unique tastes to create one sweet combination. The charming melodies featured during this live session for the Other One sample flavors of both the Irish folk and American roots music used to make the duo's new foot-tapping CD, Loaded to the Gunwales.

With nods to the Dillards and the Dead, Alabaster Brown plays country rock with some curling banjo, smooth harmonies and even honky tonk piano, all jamming together but somehow staying focused on the song.

The Winners have been announced for the St. Louis 48 Hour Film Project 2010 Competition.

This year's best film award went to Maginot by Redundant Redundant Films. Maginot received the Glass Award from 48 Hour Headquaters and will screen at Filmapalooza as part of the 2011 NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) show in Las Vegas.

Reaching younger festival audiences and hardcore traditional bluegrass fans alike, the Steep Canyon Rangers bring a contemporary songwriting sensibility to their gospel harmonies and churning acoustic sound.

The Conformists are anything but. The St. Louis experimental punks destroy rock conventions, from back beat to guitar solos to choruses to melody. Not for the faint of heart, but the fearless will rock to the live session on Spazztick.

What do the Grateful Dead and Don Ho have in common? Not much, with the exception of the Whole Earth Nuclear Ukulele Orchestra. This army of St. Louis pickers put down their guitars and picked up their ukes for some surprisingly groovy renditions of Grateful Dead songs in the KDHX studios.

Click an artist name to listen to the session.

A leading member of the legendary Grandpa's Ghost and the mysterious space-rock band N. Nomurai, Eric Hall also works with scores of other St. Louis-area experimental groups, as well as venturing into solo electronic improvisations.

Featuring vocalist/percussionist/kazooist Kari Liston and guitarist/harmonica player Jeremy Segel-Moss, the Bottoms Up Blues Gang have become one St. Louis' most reliably soulful and frequently acoustic blues band's in town.

St. Louis band Fyah Enagy plays reggae with a soulful, back-to-roots feel, with striking vocals, piano and keyboards over the rock steady beat.

Like coveted bootlegs from yet another great lost Brian Wilson album, the sound of Girls is dreamy, lo-fi, entrancing, and a little neurotic.

"Heavy metal harp solo" is not a phrase used on a regular basis, but Harptallica bridges the worlds of classical and metal, acoustic refinement and head banging, with an idiosyncratic instrumental approach.

In Wayne's world, classic rock artist Wayne Givens rules the earth. Channeling bands like the Beatles and Pink Floyd, he does it all -- writing, producing, singing, and playing every instrument -- on the new CD, Forces of Nature. Givens performed live on Pop! the Beat Bubble Burst.