Author: Kari McElroy

Fun forties-style classics and covers. If you’re like me and spending a concerning amount of time in quarantine pretending to be Sissy Spacek in Blast from the Past (including but not limited to lounging dramatically in the yard in petticoats and swing dresses), The Puppini Sisters will be a great addition to your quarantine musical…

Ever-evolving and driving indie rock, a sound for every mood. This is one of those bands that you can turn on in any given situation and it works. A real listen-all-the-way-through anytime sort of vibe. I’m a pretty notorious music changer – I have to have the right soundtrack at all times to the movie…

Picture it: NYC, the summer between my freshman and sophomore year of college. I stumbled upon tickets to Letterman, so, you know: I went. I didn’t have any real plans other than to wander around anyway. It was an adventure-having kind of day. . . Plus I’d made the massive mistake of wearing a dress…

Pretend for a minute that you go on an epic quest, a Very Noble Search for Truth. You traverse mountains and valleys and bogs and deserts and finally you reach the oracle you’ve been seeking. Breathless from the journey, you pant out the question you’ve worked so hard to ask: “What is humanity?” Instead of…

Sweet and soulful, this duo’s voices twine together in uniquely beautiful bluegrass. I can’t exactly explain the specificity of this, but I love to put on their music while I cook. I can fall into it, close my eyes while I stir and find myself swaying despite having no discernible rhythm of my own.

Quiet power through and through. Lilting, haunting bluegrass/folk/Americana. This woman is phenomenal.

Josh Ritter is brilliant. And I misspelled “brilliant” the first time I wrote that, so clearly I know what I’m talking about. He’s another artist whose show I will never miss if he’s anywhere near. It’s rare to see someone so perfectly and consistently happy to be doing what he’s doing. His joy positively radiates. …

J is a twofer because I couldn’t decide between two favorites, so. . . I didn’t. First up is Joe Pug. This guy’s songwriting is out of this world. I can’t emphasize that enough. His sound is gorgeous, his voice is beautifully mournful, but his lyrics are the kind that make you want to do…

A pure pop-punk delight. I can’t say I’ve gotten to see her in concert, but it looks like she puts on a great show. If you need a pick-me-up, I’d definitely pop on some of her music. One day, I was driving my niece somewhere. I don’t remember where. She was about 4 at the…

There is an urgency and passion to The Hold Steady’s music that starts my heart like nothing else, an ache and longing and intensity that manifests deep inside and I feel propelled by it. It’s a kind of nostalgia, a chaos that was and, in a way, I miss.