Here’s a quick look at the best shows happening in Atlanta this weekend Thursday, March 28th through Sunday, March 31st!
North Trolls/ The Sal Show/ Deep State and Moonshield at the Earl
Thursday, March 28th at 8:30pm
The North Trolls as we know them today started out in a house on Manigault Street in Reynoldstown, Atlanta, Ga, USA back in 2006. Left-handed Drummer and Vocalist Gus Fernandez learned to play right-handed acoustic guitar upside-down and wrote some songs with guitarist Mike Morgan in their living room. Soon thereafter Fernandez recruited former bandmates (Fox Trotsky’s) Mason Turner and Charlie Mills to play bass and lead guitar respectively, to form the North Trolls Band. They played their first show ever on New Years Eve of that year and swore they would only play house shows from that night on.
CHEW / Fun Isn’t Fair / Challenger Deep / Dark Room at Star Bar
Friday, March 29th at 9:00pm
“For the uninitiated, CHEW describes their sound as “fuzz-laden psych” and their shows are anything but ordinary, evoking Tim-and-Eric style visuals and an energetic sound that will have you on your feet.” –InWeekly
Challenger Deep is an instrumental rock four-piece boy band out of Atlanta, Georgia. Born of a passion for music and a light-hearted camaraderie, they continue to push their creative limits to create music that is both technically interesting and fun to listen to. Drawing on different inspirations, the band’s members incorporate their individual styles cultivated over years of playing into the boundless possibilities that instrumental music has to offer. Immersive Atlanta had this to say about their recently released single: “I first heard Challenger Deep’s single “Immersive” and was immediately drawn in by the way the band was able to pair their technical virtuosity with a discerning ear for melody. Sleek and propulsive, the track sprints along with a mix of high-wire daring and effortless grace. It felt fresh and distinctly modern – a welcome start for a band that hopes to make major moves in 2019.”
Toast & Jam: 2 Year Anniversary Show at The Masquerade (Purgatory)
Saturday, March 30th at 6:00pm
Lineup: Stay Here, Antarcticats, Challenger Deep, King of Summer, and Fox Wound
Toast and Jam Studios is an independent recording studio in Buford, GA and are very involved with the music community by providing live sessions and affordable recordings for bands around the state and some out out state. They recently had an electrical fire completely out of their control and lost a lot of equipment (luckily the hard drive with all of the recordings were not damaged). A portion of proceeds will be donated to Toast and Jam for recovery.
https://www.gofundme.com/toast-and-jam-studio-fire-recovery
Band of Friends A Celebration of Rory Gallagher Ft. Davy Knowles at The Vista Room
Saturday, March 30th at 8:30pm
Rory Gallagher’s music reached a massive audience from Norway to Spain, from Japan to the USA, covering all parts of the globe and producing some of the greatest rock/blues albums of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Sadly we lost Rory on June 14th, 1995. To his devoted fans and followers, this was the ultimate tragedy. The BAND OF FRIENDS is not a tribute to Rory, But more a celebration of his life and music. The band consists of musicians who played with Rory as his rhythm section for years and is fronted by the incomparable Davy Knowles!
Moaning w/ Shepherds & Warm Red at the EARL
Sunday, March 31st at 8:00pm
Moaning is a band defined by its duality. The abrasive, post punk trio comprised of Sean Solomon, Pascal Stevenson, and Andrew MacKelvie, began nearly a decade after the three met in L.A.’s DIY music scene. Their impassioned debut album comes born out of the member’s experiences with love and distress, creating a sound uniquely dark and sincere. Although the band is just breaking out of their infancy, Moaning’s sleek and cavernous tone emphasizes the turmoil of the era they were born into. One where the endless possibility for art and creation is met with the fear and doubt of an uncertain future.
Since their 2011 EP Holy Stain, Shepherds have received accolades for their taut analyses of social ills and the resulting strain on body and mind, but even the skeletal no-wave that defined their early sound was bound with, in the broadest sense of the word, soul. The band’s ability to confront their deepest insecurities and doubts is more than simple catharsis, it serves to illuminate deeper questions of existence and identity, and frame them in context of systemic oppression, discrimination, and isolation. The band’s expansive new LP “Insignificant Whip” will be released on Arrowhawk Records in 2019.
Van Hunt w/ Okcello at Vinyl – Atlanta
Sunday, March 30th at 7:00pm
Van Hunt, a Dayton, Ohio-born musician, made his way to Atlanta where he drew acclaim for his production efforts and crafty songwriting, featured on recordings by such diverse artists as Dionne Farris, Rahsaan Patterson, and Cree Summer as well as the platinum-selling soundtrack, Love Jones. His own self-titled debut album arrived in 2004, instantly establishing Hunt as a distinctive and original talent with its idiosyncratic melding of R&B, soul, funk, pop, and rock ‘n’ roll. Hunt received a 2005 “Best Urban/Alternative Performance” Grammy nomination for his breakthrough hit single, Dust that was featured on his debut album. Van Hunt’s fifth album, The Fun Rises, The Fun Sets., was released on May 5, 2015. Inspired by the music of The Delfonics, Parliament-Funkadelic, Pink Floyd, and Billie Holiday, the album chronicles love, loss, and nostalgia through the sounds of original funk and old soul. The Boston Globe says Hunt “…achieves the kind of heated, raw sound that has virtually disappeared in too much of today’s overly manicured R&B.” and, “…Hunt, never loses sight of the past as he progressively forges his own way forward.”
