Music Features

Operation Ivy only existed for two years, from May 1987 through May 1989, but in that time, the Berkeley, California, band forever altered the future of both punk and ska. They weren’t the first to mix these genres, but the band — made up of singer Jesse Michaels, drummer Dave …

A few years ago, the British-born singer-songwriter Yola was watching her country’s then–prime minister, Theresa May, announce service cutbacks while wearing some of her trademark swanky footwear. “She was talking about austerity and that they didn’t have enough money to feed starving children, so they were going to make cuts …

On February 25th, 2020, just days before Covid-19 shut down the global concert industry, Mick Fleetwood teamed up with Pete Townshend, David Gilmour, Noel Gallagher, Steven Tyler, Kirk Hammett, Billy Gibbons, Christine McVie, and many others to honor the legacy of Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green with a special concert …

Rolling Stone interview series Unknown Legends features long-form conversations between senior writer Andy Greene and veteran musicians who have toured and recorded alongside icons for years, if not decades. All are renowned in the business, but some are less well known to the general public. Here, these artists tell their …

Last year, Dawes met producer Dave Cobb at his Nashville studio. The producer — who has made hit albums with Chris Stapleton, John Prine, and more —told the California band what he thought of their sound. “He’s like, ‘You know what I think Dawes needs?’” recalls Taylor Goldsmith, the band’s …

In the summer of 2003, Neil Young hit the road with Crazy Horse for a run of North American amphitheater shows where they played their new rock opera, Greendale, straight through, complete with crudely built stage sets and actors playing all the parts. The only problem: Greendale wasn’t even out …

Chances are, you’ve never heard a boast track quite like “Exuma, the Obeah Man,” the opening song off Exuma’s self-titled 1970 album. A wolf howls, frogs count off a ramshackle symphony, bells jingle, drums palpitate, a zombie exhales, all by way of introducing the one-of-a-kind Bahamian performer, born Tony Mackey: …

Polo G has a record deal, a hit song, and two critically acclaimed albums, but he considers one of his greatest accomplishments to be simply making it to age 21. Surviving a violent childhood in Chicago is a persistent theme across the versatile rapper’s catalog. “You can be as young …

I’m a sucker for a good scary song. Just throw in some eerie wind effects, a creature howling, a zombie or two gibbering, and you’ve got my attention. Halloween is to me what Christmas is to Mariah Carey fans: an excuse to listen to thematic songs all month long. (Oh, …

If you’re looking for indie-pop thrills this quarantined fall, you won’t find many better than the ones onMy Favorite Shrine, the debut EP from New York City trio Ribbon Stage. Jamming five songs into eight minutes — the longest, “Personal Hell,” maxes out at a lean 2:21 — the EP …