Singer-songwriter Matt Hectorne was raised in the South but now calls Northeast Ohio home. His latest album, “Work,” explores the challenges of living as a married musician often on the road. The album’s direct, one-word title refers to Hectorne’s own efforts to build a career and improve himself. Hectorne was born in Memphis and raised in Mississippi, but he grew weary of small-town life and eventually ended up in the Cleveland area. “There wasn’t too much modern stuff going on,” Hectorne said

Two northeast Ohio songwriters who spent years on their own are starting a new band, as a couple. For this week’s Shuffle, WKSU contributor Brittany Nader talked with Dan Socha and Bethany Svoboda about finding a new role for men and women in musical spaces. Harmonizing old tunes Making beautiful music isn’t just a well-worn euphemism for romance. Dan Socha and Bethany Svoboda are both musicians who, until recently, worked separately. They started bumping into each other at open mic nights in

An Akron heavy metal band that broke onto the national scene in the early 2000's is trying to help other local bands get out of their parents’ basements and into other cities.

Music is being used as a healing tool for some Northeast Ohio veterans. For this week’s Shuffle, we hear about a new project that pairs songwriters with soldiers. On a recent Sunday afternoon in Avon Lake, a handful of veterans and their families gathered for a concert -- just for them. The performance was the culmination of a weekend workshop called Project D.R.E.W., Delivering Restorative Energy to our Warriors . A veteran shares his or her journey with a musician, who writes a song about

Composer Evan Fein studied piano with Gerardo Teissonnière at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Fein now lives in New York and teaches at the Juilliard School. But he and his former teacher share a lifelong love of Schubert’s music that recently brought them back together as collaborators. A shared love of Schubert Teissonnière’s relationship with Schubert’s music goes back to his student days. Even though Schubert wrote plenty of music for solo piano, Teissonnière especially fell in love with

A group of DIY musicians is coming together to help Akron’s homeless tent community. In this week’s Shuffle, WKSU's Amanda Rabinowitz talked to organizers of the Out of the Shadows concert series.

A young band is introducing a new sound to Northeast Ohio. The Sonder Bombs’ ukulele-driven rock songs are attracting a growing fan base in the Cleveland area. For this week’s Shuffle, WKSU's Amanda Rabinowitz talked to lead singer and ukulele player, Willow Hawks.

Musicians have certain nightclubs and concert halls where they love to play. Sometimes it’s the look, the feel and the history. But what’s even more essential is the sound. WKSU’s Kabir Bhatia finds out more in this week’s “Shuffle.” Groups like Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band , The Cars and Badfinger loved Cleveland’s old Agora . The dark, crowded, low-ceilinged club was once one of the most famous music venues in Northeast Ohio. But the Agora burned down in 1984. Twenty years later,

This year was full of new local music, from Akron’s underground DIY scene to bands that specialize in performance art and heavy guitars. For this week’s Shuffle, WKSU’s Amanda Rabinowitz talked with contributor Brittany Nader about the year’s best albums.

A Cleveland band that mixes funk, reggae and hip hop is hoping to grow its loyal following this coming year. In this week’s Shuffle, WKSU's Amanda Rabinowitz talked with Tropidelic lead singer Matt Roads about their sound, their fans and their big goals. Matt Roads started Tropidelic in 2008 while he was a student at Kent State University. He famously gave away 10,000 free copies of the six-piece band’s self-produced EP, Rebirth of the Dope . Devoted fans Tropidelic plays about 150 shows each