Terminal West

Fusing old school string band instrumentation with rock and roll exuberance, The Brothers Comatose cement their status as standard bearers of a thriving, innovative West Coast roots movement on their intoxicating new album, Golden Grass. Recorded with co-producers Greg Holden and Tim Bluhm, the collection is as diverse and enthralling as the California landscape itself—at times carefree and breezy, at times wild and rugged—with lush, organic arrangements full of rich vocal harmonies and driving guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, and upright bass. While the record marks the group’s first release with newest member Addie Levy, the result is quintessential Brothers Comatose: a warm, joyful reflection on identity and the ties that bind from a band that knows exactly who they are (and exactly where they come from). Founded by Ben and Alex Morrison in 2008, The Brothers Comatose first emerged from San Francisco with their 2010 debut, Songs From The Stoop, which helped earn dates with the likes of Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Greensky Bluegrass, and Trampled By Turtles. In the decade-and-a-half that followed, the critically acclaimed quintet would go on to release five more full-length LPs, rack up nearly 50 million streams, land festival slots at Outside Lands, High Sierra, and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, tour with Lake Street Dive, The Devil Makes Three, and Yonder Mountain String Band, and build up a devoted following thanks to their raucous live shows and relentless schedule.

For Tank and the Bangas, music is a vessel for unbridled joy and transcendent connection—forces as integral to their essence as their wildly original sound. On their new album The Last Balloon, the New Orleans-bred outfit channel those impulses into something celebratory yet profoundly human, exploring themes of frustration, resilience, and self-realization with equal parts raw emotionality and playful exuberance. A shapeshifting collective helmed by lead singer Tarriona “Tank” Ball and multi-instrumentalist Norman Spence II, the globally beloved group completed the LP after winning a GRAMMY for 2024’s spoken-word powerhouse The Heart, The Mind, The Soul, moving from incendiary poetry to a euphoric collision of soul and hip-hop and forward-thinking R&B. As the final installment in a trilogy of albums that began with 2019’s Green Balloon (a critical triumph that earned them a GRAMMY nomination for Best New Artist), The Last Balloon ultimately solidifies Tank and the Bangas’ legacy as one of modern music’s most steadfast voices of sublime exhilaration. Executive-produced by their frequent collaborator Austin Brown (Jamila Woods, Masego), The Last Balloon offers up a suite of songs designed to thrive in Tank and the Bangas’ rapturous live set, where unified movement becomes crucial to the show itself. “We’re known for a very interactive experience, so I wanted to get the fans more involved and have even more fun with the crowd,” says Ball. “There’s lots of gang vocals, handclaps, all these intentional moments to let everyone know, ‘This is my part, but your part’s coming up next—so get ready.’” A highly collaborative band whose past work has featured luminaries like Big Freedia, Questlove, and Jill Scott, Tank and the Bangas created The Last Balloon with the help of Iman Omari (a multifaceted musician who’s worked with Kendrick Lamar and Mac Miller), pianist/producer Tane Runo (Brittany Howard, JID), esteemed soul singers Ledisi and Jelly Joseph, and many more. The result: a party-ready extravaganza that provides both ecstatic catharsis and communal elevation. Mainly recorded at The Complex Studios (an iconic L.A. spot once home to Earth, Wind & Fire), The Last Balloon unfolds in a loosely woven storyline charting a journey from self-doubt and erasure to empowered self-reclamation. On “Ain’t That Deep,” Tank and the Bangas deliver a defiant refusal to let negativity penetrate their world, setting Ball’s larger-than-life vocals against a potent backdrop of hypnotic beats and velvety horns. Sprung from a punchy piano riff spontaneously composed by Spence, “No Invite” arrives as a fantastically explosive takedown of industry gatekeeping and shameless clout-chasing. “There’s a lot of parties and award ceremonies we don’t get invited to, even though we do a lot for our community and should really be welcomed into those spaces,” explains Ball, who conceptualized “No Invite” as a rock-trap track. Next, on “Move,” two-time GRAMMY-winning R&B phenomenon Lucky Daye joins in for a pleading but powerful anthem lit up in lush grooves and jangly guitar tones. “I wrote that song about wanting my partner at the time to move to New Orleans to be closer to me, but you could interpret it as motivation to get moving in general,” says Ball. “I’ve been around people who let Monday go into Friday real quick, so ‘Move’ could be a way of telling yourself, ‘Let me get up, get my body moving, start making things happen for myself before it’s too late.’” While much of The Last Balloon embodies an electrifying vitality, the album closes out with the spellbinding surrender of “Nighttime”—a slow-burning fever dream where bittersweet reality blurs with the unfettered possibility of imagination. “There’s maybe seven or eight layers of harmonies on that song but there’s still a beautiful simplicity to it,” Spence notes. “It’s one of my favorite songs on the album, because there’s so much space in there.” Elsewhere on the LP, Tank and the Bangas bring their prismatic musicality to tracks like “Honeycomb” (a sensually charged stunner featuring Mississippi-born singer/songwriter Akeem Ali) and “Is It Over?” (an impassioned piece of soul-pop centered on a gorgeously smooth vocal performance from Ball). “It’s a song about getting to a point in a relationship where you don’t know if you should stay or leave, but I put it in the context of people in New Orleans deciding to stay in their homes during a hurricane,” says Ball. “It’s that feeling of knowing something’s coming, something’s in the air, but instead of escaping you make that choice to just hunker down and ride it out.” The conceptual successor to 2022’s Red Balloon (a GRAMMY nominee for Best Progressive R&B Album), The Last Balloon came to life through the deliberately improvisational process Tank and the Bangas have embraced since first connecting through the New Orleans poetry community in the early 2010s. Though their reach has expanded far beyond those beginnings (thanks in part to their viral breakthrough as winners of NPR’s 2017 Tiny Desk Contest), taking home the Best Spoken Word Poetry Album GRAMMY for The Heart, The Mind, The Soul proved to be a glorious full-circle moment. “Poetry has been such an instrumental part of our career, so it felt right that our first award was in that category,” says Ball. “We were so happy to get that nod from our peers, but at the end of the day what matters most is the love we feel from our fans.” To that end, Tank and the Bangas created The Last Balloon with a palpable sense of responsibility to their audience. “We hear from people who travel from city to city to come see us, who tell us that our music helped them get through hard times in their lives,” says Spence. “We all understand that music has real healing properties, so we make sure to put everything out with care in the hopes that it’ll impact everyone in a positive way.” As Ball reveals, The Last Balloon signals both the end of an era and the dawning of a bold new phase for the band. “I called the album The Last Balloon because I didn’t want anyone asking us, ‘When’s Purple Balloon coming?’” she says. “It’s the end of the balloons; we’re moving into a new space now.” And as they step into their next chapter, Tank and the Bangas continue to tap into a creative energy that’s only grown more vibrant over time. “Lately it’s almost like the ideas coming out of thin air, and I’m just excited to keep making more music,” says Spence. “We’re working with new people and cultivating new sounds, and it feels like we’re more open than we’ve ever been,” adds Ball. “What we’ve learned over the years is that even though people can’t always categorize our sound, they’re always able to describe how the music makes them feel. So we’re gonna keep on changing and evolving, but we’re always gonna give you that same feeling of joy. That’s a DNA marker for sure.”

For Tank and the Bangas, music is a vessel for unbridled joy and transcendent connection—forces as integral to their essence as their wildly original sound. On their new album The Last Balloon, the New Orleans-bred outfit channel those impulses into something celebratory yet profoundly human, exploring themes of frustration, resilience, and self-realization with equal parts raw emotionality and playful exuberance. A shapeshifting collective helmed by lead singer Tarriona “Tank” Ball and multi-instrumentalist Norman Spence II, the globally beloved group completed the LP after winning a GRAMMY for 2024’s spoken-word powerhouse The Heart, The Mind, The Soul, moving from incendiary poetry to a euphoric collision of soul and hip-hop and forward-thinking R&B. As the final installment in a trilogy of albums that began with 2019’s Green Balloon (a critical triumph that earned them a GRAMMY nomination for Best New Artist), The Last Balloon ultimately solidifies Tank and the Bangas’ legacy as one of modern music’s most steadfast voices of sublime exhilaration. Executive-produced by their frequent collaborator Austin Brown (Jamila Woods, Masego), The Last Balloon offers up a suite of songs designed to thrive in Tank and the Bangas’ rapturous live set, where unified movement becomes crucial to the show itself. “We’re known for a very interactive experience, so I wanted to get the fans more involved and have even more fun with the crowd,” says Ball. “There’s lots of gang vocals, handclaps, all these intentional moments to let everyone know, ‘This is my part, but your part’s coming up next—so get ready.’” A highly collaborative band whose past work has featured luminaries like Big Freedia, Questlove, and Jill Scott, Tank and the Bangas created The Last Balloon with the help of Iman Omari (a multifaceted musician who’s worked with Kendrick Lamar and Mac Miller), pianist/producer Tane Runo (Brittany Howard, JID), esteemed soul singers Ledisi and Jelly Joseph, and many more. The result: a party-ready extravaganza that provides both ecstatic catharsis and communal elevation. Mainly recorded at The Complex Studios (an iconic L.A. spot once home to Earth, Wind & Fire), The Last Balloon unfolds in a loosely woven storyline charting a journey from self-doubt and erasure to empowered self-reclamation. On “Ain’t That Deep,” Tank and the Bangas deliver a defiant refusal to let negativity penetrate their world, setting Ball’s larger-than-life vocals against a potent backdrop of hypnotic beats and velvety horns. Sprung from a punchy piano riff spontaneously composed by Spence, “No Invite” arrives as a fantastically explosive takedown of industry gatekeeping and shameless clout-chasing. “There’s a lot of parties and award ceremonies we don’t get invited to, even though we do a lot for our community and should really be welcomed into those spaces,” explains Ball, who conceptualized “No Invite” as a rock-trap track. Next, on “Move,” two-time GRAMMY-winning R&B phenomenon Lucky Daye joins in for a pleading but powerful anthem lit up in lush grooves and jangly guitar tones. “I wrote that song about wanting my partner at the time to move to New Orleans to be closer to me, but you could interpret it as motivation to get moving in general,” says Ball. “I’ve been around people who let Monday go into Friday real quick, so ‘Move’ could be a way of telling yourself, ‘Let me get up, get my body moving, start making things happen for myself before it’s too late.’” While much of The Last Balloon embodies an electrifying vitality, the album closes out with the spellbinding surrender of “Nighttime”—a slow-burning fever dream where bittersweet reality blurs with the unfettered possibility of imagination. “There’s maybe seven or eight layers of harmonies on that song but there’s still a beautiful simplicity to it,” Spence notes. “It’s one of my favorite songs on the album, because there’s so much space in there.” Elsewhere on the LP, Tank and the Bangas bring their prismatic musicality to tracks like “Honeycomb” (a sensually charged stunner featuring Mississippi-born singer/songwriter Akeem Ali) and “Is It Over?” (an impassioned piece of soul-pop centered on a gorgeously smooth vocal performance from Ball). “It’s a song about getting to a point in a relationship where you don’t know if you should stay or leave, but I put it in the context of people in New Orleans deciding to stay in their homes during a hurricane,” says Ball. “It’s that feeling of knowing something’s coming, something’s in the air, but instead of escaping you make that choice to just hunker down and ride it out.” The conceptual successor to 2022’s Red Balloon (a GRAMMY nominee for Best Progressive R&B Album), The Last Balloon came to life through the deliberately improvisational process Tank and the Bangas have embraced since first connecting through the New Orleans poetry community in the early 2010s. Though their reach has expanded far beyond those beginnings (thanks in part to their viral breakthrough as winners of NPR’s 2017 Tiny Desk Contest), taking home the Best Spoken Word Poetry Album GRAMMY for The Heart, The Mind, The Soul proved to be a glorious full-circle moment. “Poetry has been such an instrumental part of our career, so it felt right that our first award was in that category,” says Ball. “We were so happy to get that nod from our peers, but at the end of the day what matters most is the love we feel from our fans.” To that end, Tank and the Bangas created The Last Balloon with a palpable sense of responsibility to their audience. “We hear from people who travel from city to city to come see us, who tell us that our music helped them get through hard times in their lives,” says Spence. “We all understand that music has real healing properties, so we make sure to put everything out with care in the hopes that it’ll impact everyone in a positive way.” As Ball reveals, The Last Balloon signals both the end of an era and the dawning of a bold new phase for the band. “I called the album The Last Balloon because I didn’t want anyone asking us, ‘When’s Purple Balloon coming?’” she says. “It’s the end of the balloons; we’re moving into a new space now.” And as they step into their next chapter, Tank and the Bangas continue to tap into a creative energy that’s only grown more vibrant over time. “Lately it’s almost like the ideas coming out of thin air, and I’m just excited to keep making more music,” says Spence. “We’re working with new people and cultivating new sounds, and it feels like we’re more open than we’ve ever been,” adds Ball. “What we’ve learned over the years is that even though people can’t always categorize our sound, they’re always able to describe how the music makes them feel. So we’re gonna keep on changing and evolving, but we’re always gonna give you that same feeling of joy. That’s a DNA marker for sure.”

Evolution. It's what keeps the best bands afloat — song after song, show after show, record after record. Mike Harmeier was still in his early 20s when he formed Mike and the Moonpies. From the start, they were the definition of a workingman's country band, cutting their teeth with five-hour sets on Austin's dancehall circuit before spreading their music to the rest of America. By the early 2020s, they'd become global ambassadors of homegrown Texas music, flying their flag everywhere from Abbey Road Studios (where they recorded 2019's Cheap Silver & Solid Country Gold with help from the London Symphony Orchestra) to the Grand Ole Opry. The growth was remarkable, but all that momentum left Harmeier and his four bandmates — drummer Taylor Englert, guitarist Catlin Rutherford, bassist Omar Oyoque, and steel guitarist Zachary Moulton — looking for something new. After all, their music had decidedly changed. Why shouldn't their name do the same? Silverada marks a new chapter in the band's history. It's not just the title of the boldest release of the group's critically-acclaimed career; it's also the name of the reinvigorated band itself. "Back in the day, all we wanted to do was play the Broken Spoke," says Harmeier, nodding to the hometown honky-tonk in Austin, TX, where Silverada began sowing the seeds for a sound that mixed timeless twang with modern-day dynamics. "We had different aspirations back then. We were still figuring out what kind of band we were gonna be, and that took a lot of time and a lot of records." A lot of records, indeed. Silverada marks the group's ninth release, and it balances the strengths they've accumulated along the way — sharp, detailed songwriting that bounces between autobiographical sketches and character studies; gorgeous swells of pedal steel that drift through the songs like weather; a rhythm section capable of country shuffles, hard-charging rock & roll tempos, and everything in between — with a willingness to break old rules and open new doors. "Radio Wave" is a roots-rock anthem for the highway and the heartland, peppered with Springsteen-worthy hooks and War On Drugs-inspired atmospherics. "Eagle Rare" launches the band into outer space during its explosive middle section, which the band improvised in the recording studio. "Stay By My Side" showcases Silverada's road-warrior credentials — the band recorded the track live during a tour across the American Southeast, capturing it in a single take at Capricorn Sound Studios in Macon, Georgia — while "Wallflower" blends the organic with the otherworldly, finding room for harmonized guitar solos, driving disco beats, and 808 percussion. "Going into the studio, everybody in the band felt inspired to do something bigger than what they'd done before," Harmeier explains. "We all knew we were at a precipice, and we wanted to jump. I brought in some songs that were metaphorical and not always straightforward, and that showed the guys that I wanted to take this music somewhere new… so they threw their own rulebooks out the window, too." Harmeier wrote the bulk of Silverada in his backyard studio, surrounded by dozens of books he'd picked up at a local Goodwill. "We'd been on tour for so long, playing the same set for almost two years, and I wanted to write something that was a departure," he remembers. Jeff Tweedy's books on songwriting were a big help, but Harmeier pushed himself to get weird, too, finding inspiration in everything from astronomy texts to sci-fi novels. "I would read some, work a little bit, read some more, and work a little more," he says of the creative process. "I spent a full month in that studio, going there every night, making word ladders and highlighting lines and learning to free write." Recorded at Yellow Dog Studios with longtime producer/collaborator Adam Odor, Silverada propels the band forward without losing sight of their roots. "Stubborn Son" — a loving, unsparing sketch of the family patriarch who set Harmeier's creativity in motion — unfolds like a close cousin to Steak Night at the Prairie Rose's title track, laced with fiddle solos from longtime George Strait collaborator Gene Elders. "Doing It Right" channels the same throwback, slow-dance ambiance that informed 2019's "You Look Good in Neon." "Load Out," which chronicles the grind of blue-collar jobs both on and off the road, could've found a home on 2021's One To Grow On. There's a smart sense of history here — a celebration not only of where the band is headed, where they've been, too. Even so, Silverada doesn't spend much time looking in the rearview mirror. Instead, it keeps its gaze focused on the road ahead. This is a snapshot of a band in motion, chasing down the next horizon, writing the soundtrack to some new discovery. It's the sound of alchemy, of some new metal being forged. And like silver itself, Silverada shines brightly. "We spent the first part of our career figuring out who we are and what we're good at," says Harmeier. "Now we want to evolve not only the sound of the band, but the dynamic of the live show, too. We're all lifers here. We're in this for the long haul. Silverada is us setting the stage for the next leg of the journey."

Hiss Golden Messenger is the long-running musical project led by North Carolina-based singer, songwriter, and producer M.C. Taylor. The project has evolved over the last decade into one of the most respected and celebrated in contemporary Americana, blending folk, country, soul and gospel influences with deeply introspective, poetic, and conscious songwriting. Across multiple critically acclaimed, Grammy nominated albums, Hiss Golden Messenger has become known for its warmth and emotional clarity, as well as Taylor’s ability to connect the personal and poetic with the political without losing intimacy or musical grace. The forthcoming I’m People continues this trajectory, offering a reflective collection of songs that speaks to resilience, community, radical hopefulness, and the quiet human moments that animate and illuminate the everyday. It is among Taylor’s greatest and most profound work. Hiss Golden Messenger sits naturally alongside artists and releases that value craft, storytelling, and authenticity, and aligns well with audiences attuned to indie, folk, Americana, roots, and contemporary country music.

Evoking the ocean and guided by the spirit of travel, The Hip Abduction pilot a sonic expedition past genre barriers. The band is the moniker for singer/songwriter David New who writes and produces music in between travel excursions and touring. Live shows morph into a versatile musical ensemble consisting of Matt Poynter (drums), Chris Powers (bass), Justino Walker (guitar, vocals, ngoni), and Cody Moore (keys, sax); each of whom have a mutual appreciation for African (Afrobeat/Soukous/Malian Blues), Reggae, and American (jam/electronic/indie) music. Since 2012, the band has played almost every noteworthy music festival in the country, has landed major TV/Movie syncs and Sirius Xm radio spins, have 750k+ mo listeners on Spotify, have provided direct cross country tour support for artists like Dirty Heads, Galactic, Slightly Stoopid, The Revivalists, and who’s highly energized live show have landed the 5-piece a sizable fanbase across the US and Canada.