Antibalas Stories

Friday Reviews | The Seven Best Albums Out February 7

Khruangbin & Leon Bridges - Texas Sun EPTwo of recent years best Texas artists, psych-rock trio Khruangbin and retro-soul singer Leon Bridges, have collaborated on the fittingly titled Texas Sun EP. The four-song album combines Bridges crooning vocals with the spacious, Middle-Eastern influenced musical backing, settling on a sound that modernizes classic gospel influences. Its...

Watch: JRAD Gets Horny January 1st at The Cap "Not Fade Away"

New Year's weekend was kind of a landmark for the JRAD crew. Not only did they play an acoustic set on NYE, they welcomed a horn section for a large portion of the set on New Year's Day at Port Chester, NY's Capitol Theater.As long as they keep sharing awesome, mulit-cam videos of these...

Free Live Music & Movies in Millenium Park - The Downtown Sound

While many big cities bring bands to their free concert series, Chicago is booking musical artists, worthy of the incredible space in which they are allowed to perform: the futuristic looking and technically perfect Jay Pritzker pavilion in Millenium Park.  This years crop have a rarefied air about them and there are no...

Review / Photos / Video / Setlist | Antibalas & Zap Mama @ Park West 2/14/15

Valen-Times Two: Zap Mama & AntibalasWords: @312mrg | Photos: PhilamonjaroThis was our best show of this tour Martin Perna said at the end of an exuberant, energized dance filled 2-hour non-stop set.It was a statement that justified the trance that had taken over my body -- really the entirety of the Park West -- on...

Antibalas: Unification Through Diversification | The Martin Perna Interview

Antibalas: Unification Through DiversificationBy: @312mrgI didnt realize what March 10, 2001 would hold when I bought tickets for Mike Clarks Prescription Renewal Tour.I signed up to see Skerik, Charlie Hunter, Robert Walters, and DJ Logic accompanying Headhunter drummer Mike Clark playing...well...Headhunter tunes. However, two opening acts by the name of the Sugarman 3 and Antibalas...

These Are My Jams, Volume Three

This is the third edition of the The Barns These Are My Jams series. To see what this is all about, check out Volume One and for more jams, check out Volume Two.1. It was just a few weeks prior to getting to see The Boss at Wrigley field, when "Rocky Ground" from his superb...

A-Freak-A: An Afrobeat Playlist For A Sound and a Movement

Contributed by Gee Forjay (@312mrg)Afrobeat is a sound and a movement, music and a state of mind. It's the joyous awakening of a continent from a colonial nightmare and the crushing realization that the nightmare isn't over yet. It's anguish and happiness whipped together with traditional drums, cheap guitars, and even...