A new local-centric radio program, Close To Home (C2H) debuted last night at 11:00 on 98.7 FM. The show will air every Monday from 11:00 p.m.-Midnight. more ›

As mentioned previously, the 12th Annual Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival (aka "LobsterFest") was held last weekend at the Ports O'Call Village in San Pedro. For Kevin Bronson from Buzz Bands, the highlight of Sunday's musical lineup -- consisting of Devon Eisenbarger, Tijuana Panthers, Walking Sleep, Miss Derringer, The Section Quartet, and John Doe and Exene Cervenka of X -- was "...when [the headliners] -- in the middle of 'Give Me Flowers While I'm Living' -- were interrupted by the horn of a departing cruise ship. See what happens 1:04 into the song." more ›

Last weekend, the 12th Annual Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival (aka "LobsterFest") was held at the Ports O'Call Village in San Pedro. As Losanjealous noted, this festival is the only one of the three held this month that has programmed their live musical entertainment beyond tribute bands, and this year's edition, curated by Mr. Shovel from the late-Indie 103.1, produced what was arguably one of its strongest yet most diverse lineups yet. more ›

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Tonight, the month-long "Also I Like to Rock" free concert series kicks off at the Hammer Museum. Curated by Buzz Bands' Kevin Bronson and KCRW, the scheduled lineup is as follows: more ›

Local indie band (and LAist favorite) Castledoor tweeted yesterday that "No easy way to say this... tomorrow at Spaceland will be the last show for Castledoor as we know it. Spread the word." Once branded in 2008 by Buzz Bands' Kevin Bronson as a "Band to Watch" alongside The Airborne Toxic Event and The Deadly Syndrome, the band self-released a full-length album last year ( in 2008). more ›

With advance tickets selling out two weeks ago and people lined up yesterday before noontime (and in the rain no less!) to buy the remainder, interest in last night's edition of First Fridays at the Natural History Museum, with performances by Warpaint and Yeasayer, was at a near-record pace. It was the most ambitious project yet for Spaceland Productions, who set up a whopping 14 videocameras, four of which were also used for the live webcast via Stickam, and two RED ONEs converted for shooting in 3D. more ›

As you may have heard, the 29th annual Sunset Junction Street Festival is this weekend. "I've only attended the last three years, and never knew the festival back in [its] free days," says Brad Roberts from Radio Free Silver Lake. "So, frankly, the cost isn't as much of an issue for me as it is for others. The days of expecting a bankrupt state and federal government to provide something as ephemeral as a music festival, are, unfortunately, relics of the past. I have thoroughly enjoyed myself at the last three, all of which introduced me to many of the local bands who are regular favorites of mine. The cultural mix is a Los Angeles specialty and in spite of occasionally resembling a frying pan, everyone seems to really enjoy themselves, the variety of food available is impressive and the atmosphere remains laid back and So Cal." more ›

LAist first met Long Beach/Los Alamitos-natives Avi Buffalo last March at an LA-Underground-presented showcase that included local rising stars The Sweet Hurt, Ema and the Ghosts, Amnion, and Cobra Lilies. more ›

LetIndieLive.com, an unadorned and particularly self-aware website, acts as the conduit for transmitting the input of the public. The slate gray site, emblazoned with the Tennysonian maxim "It is better to do something, rather than nothing," is an extraordinary mixture of harsh reality and lofty ideals. more ›

New Year's Eve was a raucous, booze-filled celebration at Spaceland (MySpace) in Silver Lake, with triple headliners The Happy Hollows (MySpace), The Pity Party (MySpace), and The Henry Clay People (MySpace) -- all of whom have been previously mentioned here -- kicking off 2009 with a show that will undoubtedly wind up on many "Best Of" lists at the end of this year. more ›

Earlier this month, the 2nd Annual Christmas Sweater Festival took place at The Echoplex (MySpace). The fundraiser, with proceeds benefiting Doctors Without Borders, featured a stellar lineup of rising stars from the local indie scene, including Amnion (MySpace), Castledoor (MySpace), The Pity Party (MySpace), The Deadly Syndrome (MySpace), The Happy Hollows (MySpace), and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (MySpace). more ›

Earlier this month was "Ho-Ho-Tel 2008" at the Hotel Cafe (MySpace) in Hollywood. The three night fundraiser, with proceeds benefiting the LAFD's "Spark of Love" Toy Drive, featured a "very good" all-star lineup of singer-songwriters and bands that included The Abdomen (MySpace), Sweet Talk Radio (MySpace), Alvin Stewart (MySpace), Holly Conlan (MySpace), Laura Jansen (MySpace), AM (MySpace), The Paper Raincoat (MySpace), Meiko (MySpace), Buddy (MySpace), Gary Jules (MySpace), Brian Wright (MySpace), Joe Firstman (MySpace), Greg Laswell (MySpace), Cary Brothers (MySpace), and Butch Walker (MySpace) for Friday, while Sunday included Jenni Alpert (MySpace), Rob Giles (MySpace), Shane Alexander (MySpace), Charley Turner (MySpace), Lissie (MySpace), Austin Hartley-Leonard (MySpace), Jay Nash (MySpace), Brother Sal (MySpace), Chris Pierce (MySpace), Jim Bianco (MySpace), Pedestrian (MySpace), Andy Clockwise (MySpace), Foster Timms, Tim Jones (MySpace), and Truth and Salvage Co. (MySpace). more ›

Last Wednesday, local indie band Obi Best (MySpace) -- previously mentioned here -- performed at the Hotel Cafe (MySpace) in Hollywood. Opening were Miami-based singer-songwriter Rachel Goodrich (MySpace) and the Rio de Janeiro-based Kassin +2 (MySpace). more ›

There is a noticeable shortage of shows tonight in LA. Weave! are closing out their residency at the Echo with Fool's Gold and We Are the World. The Colour Turning will be performing at the Silverlake Lounge. But the only place to be tonight is Spaceland, where the the Movies (LAist Review, #2) will be kicking off their month-long residency. Local music journalist Kevin Bronson will be DJing. And, of course, it's free! more ›

Today, former LA Times music columnist Kevin Bronson began blogging at his new website, buzzbands.la: "Here I am, digging Buzz Bands out of the trash bin at 2nd and Broadway, where my former employer, the Los Angeles Times, deposited it a few months ago," he wrote in his second introduction to the site. "Either out of obstinacy, or passion, or vanity, or a weird cocktail of the three, I will undertake sharing my thoughts and findings on emerging music and the stories behind it." His first music post is about the Radar Bros. music video. more ›

It was a sad day back in July when Buzz Bands columnist Kevin Bronson was let go from his near six-year LA Times post amid massive cutbacks. He wrote one of the LA Times' more notable blogs called Buzz Bands before it was folded into the paper's Soundboard blog. more ›

Last Sunday, Little Radio's Summer Camp series Downtown continued with performances by local bands Bloodcat Love (MySpace), Le Switch (MySpace), and The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra (MySpace). more ›

Last night in a MySpace bulletin, recently cut LA Times Buzz Bands writer, Kevin Bronson gave an update. "Because I have been laid off by the Los Angeles Times, the Buzz Bands column in this Thursday's newspaper will be the final installment [yet to be posted online], after almost 6 years. My first column appeared in October 2002, and there have been more than 250 installments of Buzz Bands in print since then. Thanks to all the musicians and fans that helped make Buzz Bands great." more ›

Last night, the frontpeople for five of the best bands in the local indie music scene, Evan Way from The Parson Redheads (MySpace), Sarah Negahdari from The Happy Hollows (MySpace), Timothy James from The Movies (MySpace), Andrew Spitser from Radars To The Sky (MySpace), and Mikel Jollett from The Airborne Toxic Event (MySpace), participated in the inaugural edition of My Little Underground at Bordello (MySpace) in Downtown LA. more ›

Yesterday, Little Radio's Summer Camp series Downtown continued with performances from local bands The Parson Redheads (MySpace), The Henry Clay People (MySpace), and Film School (MySpace). more ›

Two weeks ago, local bands Castledoor (MySpace) and The Watson Twins (MySpace) performed for First Fridays (MySpace) at The Natural History Museum in Exposition Park. more ›

Three weeks ago, The Airborne Toxic Event (MySpace) concluded their January residency at Spaceland (MySpace) in Silver Lake with a show that included The Deadly Syndrome (MySpace) and Castledoor (MySpace). It was a chance to see all three of Kevin Bronson's bands to watch on the same stage in a single night. more ›

Two weeks ago, local singer/songwriter Inara George (MySpace) and her band The Bird And The Bee performed as the headliner at Detroit Bar (MySpace) in Costa Mesa. more ›

Two weeks ago, local band Rocket (MySpace), recently profiled by The LA Times' Kevin Bronson, performed at The Viper Room in West Hollywood. more ›

Two weeks ago, locals The Airborne Toxic Event (MySpace), declared one of three bands to watch by The LA Times' Kevin Bronson, performed the first of five shows for their January residency at Spaceland (MySpace) in Silver Lake. more ›

LA Times staffer and Buzz Bands blogger Kevin Bronson's story "Taking the L.A. indie rock scene personally" hit stands last Thursday. By means of an intimate portrayal, Bronson set forth his pick of indie rock up-and-comers for L.A.'s indie rock scene in 2008. While I completely admire that he would put his neck out there for three rather small, entirely worthy bands (The Airborne Toxic Event, Castledoor, and The Deadly Syndrome) at the forefront of... more ›

Signal Hill opened the show with an impassioned instrumental set. Lush layering of clean plucking driven by busy bass lines and punchy drums comprise Signal Hill's sound. Crowd pleasers like 'This New Year's Absence' exuded unbearable pangs of passion. I haven't felt this moved by an instrumental band since Explosions In The Sky and the mere comparison speaks volumes about their worthiness. Signal Hill performs remarkably poignant instrumental rock that grasps your attention and never ceases to let go. more ›

What a relief to watch the E! red carpet coverage. It feels so clean...so professional. Oh, for a little while, at least. more ›