Tedeschi Trucks & Mad Dogs, Drop Kick Murphys, All Time Low, James and the Cold Gun, Big Thief

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Tedeschi Trucks Band: The Letter (Live at Lockn' 2015)

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Ten years ago at a festival in Virginia, TTB and Leon Russell celebrated the 45th anniversary of the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour with a tribute concert. The 12-member band and the iconic blues-rock pianist (who passed away the following year) were joined by some original members of the Mad Dogs ensemble, such as Rita Coolidge, Claudia Lennear, and Chris Stainton, plus guests including Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes, Warren Haynes, Anders Osborne, and Dave Mason. This track is the first taste of an album compiled from that show, to be released in September. What took so long?

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Drop Kick Murphys: Who'll Stand With Us?

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This single from the Boston band's new album, For The People, is a protest anthem that ties the current socio-political situation in the U.S. to historic inequality and exploitation. "The working people fuel the engine / While you yank the chain." The song's video depicts immigrant workers being abducted, and then uses the same imagery for people being cut off from health and other benefits. Lead singer Ken Casey says, “We’ve always had the same message and haven’t been afraid to speak out about what’s important to us.." (Photo credit: @Chezphoto / Riley Vecchione)

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All Time Low: The Weather

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It's been 20 years since this band, formed by high school classmates in Towson, Maryland, released its first album - and now it's rolling out its tenth studio LP, Everyone's Talking!, due in October. This track is billed as "Ramones-toasting pop-rock." Lead singer Alex Gaskarth calls it a "a cynical but playful" song about running into an ex and, rather than delving into the past, talking about trivial matters. "I won't ask you how you've been / 'Cause we might just fall back in / So we talk about the weather."

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James and the Cold Gun: Above The Lake

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This group from Cardiff calls itself "the loudest in South Wales" (which seems to have confused some people into thinking they're from Australia's New South Wales instead of the U.K.). This track is from the band's second LP, Face In The Mirror. Frontman James Joseph says: "We’re massive rock fans. If you look at 90 per cent of the bands on rock playlists right now, though, they don’t always sound like rock. You can barely hear a guitar, and everything is super polished. We found ourselves wanting to hear new music that had the guts to keep things messy and as real as possible, so we made it ourselves.” (Photo credit: Luke Shadrick)

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Big Thief: All Night All Day

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Here's the second single to emerge from Double Infinity, the sixth album by the Brooklyn band featuring the tremulous voice of Adrianne Lenker and bandmates Buck Meek and James Krivchenia. "Swallow poison, swallow sugar / Sometimes they taste thе same / But I know your love is neithеr / And love is just a name."

New music in our mix: Turnstile, Splitsville, Kathleen Edwards, Sunflower Bean, Royel Otis

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Turnstile: Seein' Stars

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When we picked up "I Care" from the new LP, Never Enough, we wrote that Brendan Yates's lead vocal reminded us a bit of Sting. And we find ourselves agreeing with those who say this track sounds like it could be a lost Police recording. Which is fine by us. Paramore’s Hayley Williams and Dev Hynes (a.k.a. Blood Orange) contribute vocals on this track, although they don't stand out in the mix.

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Splitsville: A Glorious Lie

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Here's another group that, like Turnstile, hails from Baltimore. But they haven't released new music in a couple of decades. Now they're out with Mobtown, which includes this song whose intriguing lyrics relate (we are told) to a 1926 visit to Baltimore by Queen Marie of Romania.

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Kathleen Edwards: Say Goodbye, Tell No One

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We pull another track from Billionaire, the Canadian singer-songwriter's album due next month. This is a not-very-gentle break-up song: "People change, people grow," it starts out, "You can take it in stride or slam a door."

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Sunflower Bean: Waiting For The Rain

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Yes we're choosing to feature another track from Mortal Primetime, following "Champagne Taste," "Nothing Romantic" and "Take Out Your Insides." Got a problem with that?

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Royel Otis: Moody

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This duo from Sydney is getting some backlash for the lyric, which has a guy complaining that his girl is "a bitch when she's moody," while also singing that "she's my everything, she's all that I need." Is he being sexist - or is she being emotionally abusive? Discuss.