Sharon Van Etten

Pickwick Abandons Folk for Gritty R&B

The debut album from Seattle's Pickwick is a shot of gritty, soulful rock 'n' roll, with sharp guitar stabs, light organ fills and a groovin' rhythm section, all hung out on the line of Galen Disston's passionate vocals. But it wasn't always so for the band. Pickwick's first incarnation was as a ... More >>

Top Five Must-See Shows This Week

Yeah, yeah, yeah...we get it Mondays suck (we've read Garfield). But it means the start of a new week, which means a bunch of killer shows in and around Phoenix. And here are a few of the coolest, our top five must-see shows this week.

Sharon Van Etten @ Crescent Ballroom

Ten Favorite Playlists at Metro Phoenix Restaurants

See Also: 10 Favorite Drive-Thrus in Metro Phoenix Let's face it, the music that streams through the speakers of a restaurant has the ability to make or break your dining experience. We know of a sushi shop that only plays religious music, a Mexican food joint that can't turn down the top 40 banger ... More >>

Sharon Van Etten: Personal, But Not Too Personal

Sharon Van Etten's Tramp is a study in directness. Beyond Van Etten's voice, a clear, present, hum, there's the sounds -- sparse, and focused, produced by of Aaron Dessner of The National. The record is centered on the idea of clarity, illustrated by song titles like "I'm Wrong," "We Are Fine," an ... More >>

Incoming: The Black Keys, El-P, Sharon Van Etten

Blues rock masters The Black Keys have been on top of the world lately. They've toured the globe, sold out Madison Square Garden twice, and headlined every music festival under the sun (including this year's Coachella fest, where they teamed up with Creedence Clearwater Revival's John Fogerty during ... More >>

The Worst Moments from SXSW 2012

The last few days, Village Voice Media's indefatigable music staff has been regaling you with stories of the best from SXSW 2012. In the midst of these discoveries, we've been culling another list: the worst shit. The acts that ranged from huge bore-fests to downright lame. Below, you'll find our cr ... More >>

The Best of SXSW Music: Wednesday 3/14/2012

​If you're familiar with chaos theory, which in its basic form is the attempt to find patterns in the random acts of shit on Earth, then you may understand the difficulty that comes with describing a full day at SXSW. To break down the bright, scintillating chaos, Village Voice Media's roving musi ... More >>

What's Selling: Stinkweeds Top 10 Selling Albums of the Week

First Aid Kit​Want to know what new release discs and platters are moving across the Valley at local record stores? We've got you covered with another installment of What's Selling. Stinkweed's shoppers are kicking it folk-style, listening intently to First Aid Kit's new release, The Lion's R ... More >>

Nightlands at The Sail Inn, 07-03-11

Ade KassimNightlandsThe Sail InnSunday, July 3, 2011My very first thought when Nightlands took the stage last night and began cranking out lush harmonies was "Oh man, this band needs to open up for Fleet Foxes", and I couldn't be any more sincere about that statement. It might seem a bit far-fetche ... More >>

Sharon Van Etten on Meeting Musicians in Bars, Dating Guys in Bands, and Going Platinum

Chantal Anderson​Indie music's new sweetheart Sharon Van Etten is making a big splash in the music scene. She's been touring around the country endlessly, making awesome stops including this great performance she did for NPR's Tiny Desk Concert series. Plus she's been playing gigs intern ... More >>

March 23 In Blogs: Arizona Boycott, Kate Benjamin, Sharon Van Etten, Payton Curry, and Conservatives

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

Sharon Van Etten @ The Rhythm Room

St. Patrick's Day Celtic Punk Cash-In's, Foster The People, Toro Y Moi, Girl Talk and More in This Week's Issue

Flogging Molly will play a green-themed show at Tempe Town Lake today.​Top o' the mornin' to ya! It's Ireland's national holiday, and this year it's a splendid day to spend in church, praying to ol' Patrick, the mighty saint who cured our isle of snakes ages ago. What's that, you plan to take off ... More >>

Eminem, Arcade Fire, Widespread Panic, The Black Keys Headlining Bonnaroo

Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival​ Eminem, Arcade Fire, Widespread Panic, and The Black Keys will be headlining the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival for its 10th year, according to the Bonnaroo website.The good people who run Bonnaroo have put together a bomb-ass lineup. Other artists confir ... More >>

Incoming: Coheed and Cambria, Flosstradamus, Of Montreal, Rick Ross, Toad The Wet Sprocket

Toad The Wet Sprocket - bastion of the 1990s​Clubs editor Benjamin Leatherman describes this week's just announced shows thusly: "huge fucking week."Things are so fucking huge that Martin Cizmar went ahead and already announced the Janet Jackson show slated for this April -- yet there are still pl ... More >>

15 Good Songs You Might've Missed in 2010

Peter Storch​I listened to more than 3,000 songs in 2010, so I was asked to come up with a list of the best of the year. But you've probably heard "Swim" by Surfer Blood and "Boyfriend" by Best Coast and "Helicopter" by Deerhunter and "Hustle and Cuss" by the Dead Weather, so I came up with a ... More >>

Top 25 Lists of 13 New Times Contributors

Neil Young: Le Noise

​Artist: Neil Young Title: Le Noise Release date: September 28 Label: Reprise Neil Young is a first-rate iconoclast and one of the few successful rock artists who has remained truly uncompromising throughout his long and storied career. Of course, uncompromising can result in inconsistency, ... More >>

Girl Talk: All Day

​Artist: Girl Talk Title: All Day Release date: November 15 Label: Illegal Art Whether sample-happy mash-up act Girl Talk is "good" or "not good" and whether you "like" or "dislike" Girl Talk are completely irrelevant to any discussion regarding Girl Talk. The only things I care about when it ... More >>

Tierra del Fuego: Queen of the Rendezvous

​Artist: Tierra del Fuego Title: Queen of the Rendezvous Release date: December 11 Label: Scapular Winging Through pure happenstance, I witnessed this local band, Tierra del Fuego, on Saturday night play as they played to a small but appreciative crowd at Trunk Space. It just happened to be t ... More >>

Odds 'n' Sods: Helmet, Michael Franti & Spearhead, The Charlatans, Small Black, and more

​It's amazing how much music is released in a year. I've listened to nearly 270 records in their entirety this year, yet I still have a huge stack of unlistened CDs on my desk, several unlistened digital downloads in my iTunes, and a lengthy list of high-profile stuff I never got a chance to h ... More >>

Mini Mansions: Mini Mansions

​Artist: Mini Mansions Title: Mini Mansions Release date: November 2 Label: Ipecac One of the biggest musical curveballs of the year has to be the debut record by the Southern California trio Mini Mansions. I say it's a curveball because I wouldn't have guessed such a Beatles-esque display o ... More >>

Sun City Girls: Funeral Mariachi

​Artist: Sun City Girls Title: Funeral Mariachi Release date: October 26 Label: Abduction Sun City Girls' last-ever record -- they've made dozens since forming in Phoenix way back in the early days of West Coast punk -- comes off as a more somber affair. And some of it is downright -- odd to ... More >>

Daft Punk: Tron Legacy (Original Soundtrack)

​Artist: Daft Punk Title: Tron Legacy (Original Soundtrack) Release date: December 7 Label: Walt Disney Records I'm a little surprised by the buzz surrounding the release of a soundtrack to a Disney movie. I understand that the kids love the helmeted French house duo Daft Punk and that said ... More >>

The Parting Gifts: Strychnine Dandelions

​Artist: The Parting Gifts Title: Strychnine Dandelions Release date: November 9 Label: In the Red Last week, I didn't have many good things to say about the new record from Kanye West. This morning, a white co-worker walked into my office and said, "I read what you said about Kanye West. Whe ... More >>

Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

​Artist: Kanye West Title: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Release date: November 22 Label: Roc-A-Fella Fitting, perhaps, that Kanye West's new record, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, is one of the final 15 or so new records that I'll be listening to before this Nothing Not New project t ... More >>

Sharon Van Etten: Epic

​Artist: Sharon Van Etten Title: Epic Release date: September 21 Label: Ba Da Bing! If you're relatively unknown as a musical artist, as is Sharon Van Etten, and you name your record Epic, you'd better be damn sure your record doesn't suck. The good news for Van Etten is that her seven-song r ... More >>