John and Paige are back, and they're sitting down with Grace Koon of Grace Vonderkuhn. Grace talks about the music community in Wilmington, Delaware, and how being even just a little outside of the greater Philadlephia area can change the whole way you form and flourish as a band. She talks about her bandmates, Brian Bartling and DaveMcGrory, and how they've refined the sound of the band over ten years together. And she takes us all through the long process that it took to release their newest LP, 'In The Morning', out now wherever you get your digital music, and also available on vinyl from the band's website.  Grace is kind enough to play us an acoustic version of "Be Mine" from the new record. The band plays their release show on September 12th at Kelly's Logan House in Wilmington, and will head up to South Philadelphia on September 18th to play at Century.  Dan keeps you all up to speed with his life over in Hong Kong, and some of the upcoming shows he hopes to catch this year (Any of y'all ever heard of the Clockenflap?). Enjoy the beginnings of fall wherever you are. We'll be putting out a new playlist episode at the end of this month, so if you're a Philadelphia artists and have new material that you want to share, send it our way to [email protected].

Episode photo by Paige Walter 

Back at it again with another playlist, featuring 11 tracks of new music from Philadelphia's finest artists. As always, check out the clickable playlist below, and go support the bands and artists you like.

1. Abi Reimold- High Tide

2. Jared Feinman- Bleeding Orange

3. Bel- Canadian Tuxedo

4. Brittany Ann Tranbaugh and Joe Plowman- See What Grows

5. Grace Vonderkuhn- Forever Loved

6. Planette Automatic- Wild Mountain Camp

7. Sug Daniels- Brand New Day

8. Bright Kelly- Playlist

9. The Circus Hearts- Honey Don’t

10. Grocer- El Toro

11. Naked Sun- Make Believe

Welcome our newest guest host, Judah Kim! Judah talks with Blue Barnett of Best Bear, and it's a very open and honest conversation about all the things that go into being an independent musician, a songwriter, and an anxious human. Blue talks about touring, both with Best Bear and as the touring bassist for Hit Like A Girl, and all the logistics and work that goes into making music on the road happen. Judah and Blue both discuss how they deal with being out of step with their peers and family when it comes to having such an unorthodox career in music. 

The latest Best Bear album, 'When', is out now wherever you get your digital music. Judah Kim's latest single, "It's Less Dangerous" is also out now and available on all music platforms. Check out Judah's first appearance on the podcast back on #316 as a guest, it's an outstanding episode. 

July brings us 10 new tracks from Philadelphia artists. Be sure to check out the clickable playlist below and support the ones you like. In the meantime, Dan will let you know about shows, upcoing events, and how he survived a T10 typhoon this last wekeend in Hong Kong (a typhoon is a hurricane in the Pacific). Enjoy the music!

1. The Bret Tobias Set- Happiness Writes White

2. Automatic Love- Heaven You Must Be

3. Erin and Fox and John Faye- Swing And A Miss

4. Caroline Quinn- Lost For Words

5. Nervous Nikki and the Chill Pills- Nerves Of Glass

6. Suzanne Sheer- Me and My Friends

7. Moonroof- Can’t Say No To You

8. Dominic Angelella- Smoking At The Lakehouse

9. Jackson Pines- Evergreen ft Julia DiGrazia

10. Maria Mirenzi- Let It Steep

Dan shares a conversation between The Flying Vees and Phillip Reese of Your Next Favorite Band. Originally airing back in April, the band members Brechyn Chase, Shannon Vasile, Caitlin Ramsey, and Hannah Taylor talk about how they all met and formed the band back in 2018. Even though they can go a while between times they see each other, they're able to dial in quickly when they get chance to rehearse and perform, and their harmonies and stage show are proof of how naturally this all comes to them. 

The Flying Vees have a brand new EP coming out, and they'll be celebrating with a release show on Sunday, July 13th at the Philadelphia Ethical Soceity in Rittenhouse Square (an absolutely gorgeous space to see live music). Show starts at 5pm, so get there early to see the band that long-time Philadelphia music promoter Jesse Lundy prasies as "Cooler than G. G. Allin."

Special thanks to Phillip Reese and the team over at Your Next Favorite Band for graciously letting us give this interview an encore release. Check out Your Next Favorite Band to, appropriately, discover your next favorite band. If you're heading to Musikfest up in Bethlehem, PA this August, let YNFB take the guesswork out of who to go see with their daily coverage of the fest, as well as their Musikfest Exordium on July 29th to get you up to speed before the fest starts. 

Here are another handful of new tracks from Philadelphia artists for your listening pleasure. As always, check out the clickable playlist below, and support the artists.  There's a set of tunes in there that are all bands playing the Jam For Josh at The Fallser Club on July 18th. Josh Craft is the co-founder (along with his wife Jess) of Rock To the Future, a non profit group that brings after school music programs into Philadelphia city schools free of charge to the students. Josh is recovering from multiple surgeries and procedures that were needed due to the sudden onset of pancreatic cancer, and this concert will donate all of its proceeds to Josh and his family. Check out the bands, and support the event. 

Enjoy the playlist, and send me your tracks if you're a Philadelphia area musician!

1. Dan Pell- fouNNt

2. The Indestructible Water Bear- Missing You

Jam For Josh Spotlight: July 19th at The Fallser Club

3. The Blackburns- Video Den

4. Plastic Soldiers- Borrowed Time

5. Roberta Faceplant- Big Dark Town

6. UPHOLSTERY- Somerset

7. Crossed Keys- Lucky Stars

8. DelCobras- Untied (She’s The One)

9. Justin Kerecz- Don’t Forget The Porterman

10. t-minus- Sonder

11. The Honey Badgers- Summer Skin

Sweet Juice Fest has been featured on this show since its inception in 2022, and this is the first year we get an in depth look at not just some of the artists that are playing, but the foundation and philosophy of the festival itself. John and Paige sit down with Shona Carr and Mel Harris, two of the festival's founders, to talk about this year's fest, the growth over previous years, and how Sweet Juice seeks to build and strengthen community and create a more audience-focused approach to music and art festivals.  Dan takes a look at some of the artists playing this year's festival, check out the clickable playlist:

1) ShyGodwin- American Circus

2) Little Hag- Show Me Your Head

3) KulfiGirls- Red Light Full lineup includes: Speedy Ortiz, Little Hag, Kulfi Girls, Sovei, Kai Davis, Ollie Goss, Cyrus K Stratton, and line dancing featuring Fist City and the Sweet Juice Fest House Band.

Sweet Juice Fest is Saturday, June 28 at Awbury Arboretum in Germantown, and runs from 1:30pm to 9pm. Go to the festival's site for all information and ticketing, and be sure to follow them on IG for all the up-to-the-minute info. 

As promised, here's the playlist episode for the month of May, just under the wire. Twelve new tunes from twelve Philadelphia artists, and you can go right to their sites and support them below on the clickable playlist. 

1. The Tisburys- Here Comes The Lonesome Dove

2. The Describers- Home On Time (Sunrise)

3. Kat Rivers and the Second Sight- Broken Promised Land

4. Red Desert Motel- Cowgirl & Ramona

5. Lo Priestess- Faker

6. Love? Said the Commander- Leslie

7. Lowercoaster- Five Rooms

8. Rob Rapp- Spells

9. Naked Sun- Witches

10. Night Windows- Baseball Cards

11. Plans To Sand feat Lia Menaker- Meredith Street

12. Galactic Prism Sounds- Ode To An Adventure

We'll be doing these each month, so send your music submissions to us at [email protected]. Please send DL links or attach an mp3, and don't forget to link your EPK or press info so we have something to say about you. Enjoy these tunes, and if you like em, share em. 

John and Paige talk with photographer/tour manager/many-hat-wearer Ashley Gellman about life on the road and at home. Ashley has worked with artists like Bartees Strange, Jamie xx, Jonas Brothers, boygenius, and is currently on the road with Lucy Daucus. She's a larger-than-life personality, and she breaks down her life on the road, her upbringing as an independent kid doing her own thing, her relationships with the early artists she worked with, found family amidst her touring peers, and how to capture the best shot without being in the way. Amidst a whirlwind of travel and work, Ashley talks in depth about how she's grown to embrace being home, and how she balances the "all-in" touring lifestyle with the calmer vibes of being back in Philadelphia. If you can manage to pin her down, Ashley does do photo shoots for hire when she can, so follow her on IG.  On Sunday, May 18th, the 12th annual Brain Fest is happening at Fringe Bar in Philadelphia from 5pm to midnight. Brain Fest raises money and awareess for treatment of brain tumor, with all the proceeds going to the American Brain Tumor Association. Performers include Adventure Lost, The Lunar Year, Alright Junior, Trash Boy, Erin Fox and the Hounds, Annalise Curtim, and more. More info available at their event posting and at the ABTA donation site. 

In Philadelphia, John and Paige talk with Sovei, an artists no matter what they choose to apply their talent to. Whether it's singing and songwriting, sound experiments, visual collage, poetry, fashion, Sovei brings their spirit and experimentation to it all. Sovei talks about singing from an early age, their original incarnation as Justmadnice, being one of the founders of the Sweet Juice Festival, and how they bring creativity to any artistic endeavor they're working on. They discuss their collaborations with poet/musician Moor Mother, their Philadelphia circle of musicians featuring folk like Martronimous and Erik Kramer, and even tease a song from their upcoming EP.  From his new apartment on Ma Wan Island in Hong Kong, Dan compiles a mini playlist of music that's coming out of Philadelphia now. Check out the clickable playlist below, and support the artists you love.

1) Long Spells- Fill My Mind

2) Polaroid Fade- Cotton Candy Skies

3) Penny Death- Cleaver Soul Spit

4) Kobika- Stalactites

Note: 3 & 4 come from Impetus Records’ newest compilation of 14 bands from their Wilmington, DE based record label

5) Taylor Kelly- Take Me (remix) feat. Tennishu

6) Moor Mother- STORIES feat. Soviet

7) Sovei- Big World 25 O'Clock is produced by Dan Drago (currently living in Hong Kong), with John Vettese and Paige Walter in Philadelphia.