Artists we play: Gracie And Rachel

Gracie And Rachel at Fanwood Performance Series

Live shows are always the best way to discover an artist. We caught another one in our home state of New Jersey recently (part of the Fanwood Performance Series) and had the pleasure of hearing and meeting Gracie And Rachel.

With Gracie on piano lead vocals and Rachel on violin and vocals, this duo creates "orchestral pop" music that's both lovely and intense. As their website says, their songs deal with "questioning realities, anxious introspection, and self-exploration" - and they convey those themes through the tension and energy in their playing as much as through their lyrics.

We've added two songs from their forthcoming album - the title track, "Go," and "Tiptoe" -- to the Marvelous Mix on Birch Street Radio.

Originally from Berkeley, Calif., Gracie And Rachel are now based in Brooklyn. They've toured on their own and with artists such as Julien Baker, Holly Miranda and Emmy The Great, and have a show this week (Thursday, April 14) at The Gateway in Brooklyn. See more at www.gracieandrachel.com

Artists we play: Gracie And Rachel

Gracie And Rachel at Fanwood Performance Series

Live shows are always the best way to discover an artist. We caught another one in our home state of New Jersey recently (part of the Fanwood Performance Series) and had the pleasure of hearing and meeting Gracie And Rachel.

With Gracie on piano lead vocals and Rachel on violin and vocals, this duo creates "orchestral pop" music that's both lovely and intense. As their website says, their songs deal with "questioning realities, anxious introspection, and self-exploration" - and they convey those themes through the tension and energy in their playing as much as through their lyrics.

We've added two songs from their forthcoming album - the title track, "Go," and "Tiptoe" -- to the Marvelous Mix on Birch Street Radio.

Originally from Berkeley, Calif., Gracie And Rachel are now based in Brooklyn. They've toured on their own and with artists such as Julien Baker, Holly Miranda and Emmy The Great, and have a show this week (Thursday, April 14) at The Gateway in Brooklyn. See more at www.gracieandrachel.com

Bands we play: The Defending Champions

We've had several tracks from The Defending Champions' 2013 album "Breakfast of the Defending Champions" in our rotation for a few years now, and just last week got a chance to see them live. We were not disappointed. This seven-piece band puts on a tight, high-energy show, playing jazz- and ska-infused rock.

The Defending Champions (in poor-quality cellphone pic)

They've been playing together since 2007. And in fact, lead singer/trombonist Matt Ryan, guitarist Dean Nevolis and saxophonist Matthew Schoenebaum have been in bands together since their teens. They're joined by drummer Shawn Fichtner, bassist Eric Swiontkowski, trumpeter Jovan Alvarez and percussionist Dave DeRiso in the current lineup of The Defending Champions. (A slightly different lineup recorded the band's debut album in 2010. We're playing a couple of tracks from that one, too.)

The band is currently working on its third album. They previewed a couple of the new songs at the show we caught. We will definitely need that album!

By the way, the show was at a new venue in their home town of Montclair, N.J. -- an auditorium in a 1910-vintage building that's been revitalized by a local group as a performance space called The Old Mogul Theatre.

Bands we play: The Defending Champions

We've had several tracks from The Defending Champions' 2013 album "Breakfast of the Defending Champions" in our rotation for a few years now, and just last week got a chance to see them live. We were not disappointed. This seven-piece band puts on a tight, high-energy show, playing jazz- and ska-infused rock.

The Defending Champions (in poor-quality cellphone pic)

They've been playing together since 2007. And in fact, lead singer/trombonist Matt Ryan, guitarist Dean Nevolis and saxophonist Matthew Schoenebaum have been in bands together since their teens. They're joined by drummer Shawn Fichtner, bassist Eric Swiontkowski, trumpeter Jovan Alvarez and percussionist Dave DeRiso in the current lineup of The Defending Champions. (A slightly different lineup recorded the band's debut album in 2010. We're playing a couple of tracks from that one, too.)

The band is currently working on its third album. They previewed a couple of the new songs at the show we caught. We will definitely need that album!

By the way, the show was at a new venue in their home town of Montclair, N.J. -- an auditorium in a 1910-vintage building that's been revitalized by a local group as a performance space called The Old Mogul Theatre.

We catch an Amy Helm show and it's lightning-hot

We were lucky enough to get to Irvington, N.Y., this weekend and see Amy Helm and the Handsome Strangers put on a terrific show at the Irvington Town Hall Theater.

Listeners to Birch Street Radio know we've been giving Amy's debut album, "Didn't It Rain," plenty of spins. Performed on stage with this terrific 3-piece band, powerful songs like the title track, "Heat Lightning" and "Rescue Me" swept up the packed house in a musical tornado.

Helm has put together a top-notch band: Basist Byron Isaacs, who produced her album and co-wrote many of the songs; masterful guitarist Daniel Littleton; and full-throttle drummer David Berger.

This is a show to go out of your way to catch. Find upcoming dates at amyhelm.com and explore the rest of that site to learn more.

We catch an Amy Helm show and it's lightning-hot

We were lucky enough to get to Irvington, N.Y., this weekend and see Amy Helm and the Handsome Strangers put on a terrific show at the Irvington Town Hall Theater.

Listeners to Birch Street Radio know we've been giving Amy's debut album, "Didn't It Rain," plenty of spins. Performed on stage with this terrific 3-piece band, powerful songs like the title track, "Heat Lightning" and "Rescue Me" swept up the packed house in a musical tornado.

Helm has put together a top-notch band: Basist Byron Isaacs, who produced her album and co-wrote many of the songs; masterful guitarist Daniel Littleton; and full-throttle drummer David Berger.

This is a show to go out of your way to catch. Find upcoming dates at amyhelm.com and explore the rest of that site to learn more.

Bands we play: Dirty Purple

It's always exciting to discover a really good band that we haven't heard before.

We recently caught a show where Dirty Purple, a group of five young women from suburban Philadelphia, opened for veteran prog-rockers Crack the Sky.

Dirty Purple describes itself as alternative rock, or (in a recent tweet) "ladyemo." Their music has an intricate quality that puts it a cut above a lot of other alt/rock/emo outfits.

We've added "No Explanation" from their latest EP, Settle, to our New Music Bin this week, and you'll hear other tracks from them now and then in our Marvelous Mixture of Music.

Bands we play: Dirty Purple

It's always exciting to discover a really good band that we haven't heard before.

We recently caught a show where Dirty Purple, a group of five young women from suburban Philadelphia, opened for veteran prog-rockers Crack the Sky.

Dirty Purple describes itself as alternative rock, or (in a recent tweet) "ladyemo." Their music has an intricate quality that puts it a cut above a lot of other alt/rock/emo outfits.

We've added "No Explanation" from their latest EP, Settle, to our New Music Bin this week, and you'll hear other tracks from them now and then in our Marvelous Mixture of Music.