Spring has sprung! Sure, we have to wake up earlier, but now it gets darker later and the spring isn't just in our step but maybe in our music taste as well. Some of us got to go to SXSW and others have been enjoying live music in other capacities. So, if there's a theme for this edition of Pandora Picks, it just might be the celebration of our love for live music, and how going out to shows is maybe the best way to kick off spring and discover the music that you love.
Listen to Pandora Picks – March 2024
The Creator Services team and I were at SXSW a couple weeks ago in Austin, Texas and we had a booth at the Artist Lounge and I met a group called Spyres. They have a new EP out called Karaoke Sellouts and I checked it out and I really liked it. They do a lot of anthem pop, headed by their two frontwomen who also play guitar and they have a bassist and drummer. I went to go check them out at the Shiner Saloon down on Congress and just really enjoyed them. I love women on guitars, and singing harmony, and they're from Scotland to boot. So, three things I love. Hope you enjoy.
-Jamie
Before praising my pandora pick for March, I just have to say that there is currently a lot of “big dumb hat” energy coming from an ever-growing pocket of outlaw country revivalists, many of whom seemed to swap out last season’s beard-oiled, stomp-clap-hey! flavor of Americana for warbling, Waylon phaser pedals and faux Nudie Suits. What a relief then, when the real deal comes along with memorable songs, amazing singing, stellar musicianship, and years honed raising hell in honky-tonks, singing on festival stages, and paying dive-bar dues even when those dues have been paid in full a long time ago. Noelle & The Deserters are the real deal and over the years they’ve become one of my favorite bands to see live. And you know, she’s sung for Shannon & The Clams, Tim Cohen’s Magic Trick, Anna Hillburg, and countless others. But I’ve been waiting with beer-baited breath for Noelle Fiore to release her debut single and here it is. If you’re into traditional twang-goddess recordings by Emmylou Harris, Jessi Colter, Margo Price, and Emily Nenni, then you owe it to yourself to dime the volume on “Born in the Morning.”
-Eric S
I'm here to share a track from an upcoming historical album release from the Jazzanians, who were a multi-racial jazz ensemble spearheaded by Darius and Cathy Brubeck (Darius, the son of jazz legend Dave Brubeck), formed in South Africa under apartheid. Their 1988 album, We Have Waited Too Long has been restored and remastered and is set to be released in April. And let it be emphasized – they were the first multi-racial student jazz ensemble from South Africa to tour outside the country, even appearing on US television. Their compositions like “Bayete” represent the quintessential catchy sound of South African jazz.
-Michelle
I am so delighted with my pick for the month of March: “Lightning Drunk” by Oh He Dead. This is a contemporary funk and soul band from Washington, DC, hot off their SXSW appearance. And this song must have brought the house down.
-Eric D
I recently saw Anna Hillburg playing tunes from her latest release, Tired Girls, and loved her unpretentiously good songwriting. Each track on this album is like a small universe, so it was hard to pick just one to represent it. But the song "Holdin' On" was memorable from the live show, so that's what I chose.
-Diego
My Pandora Pick from March 2024 is Broadcast’s forthcoming compilation of unreleased unheard demos for what would have been their fifth album. The song? “Follow the Light.”
Follow the Light.
Follow the Light.
Follow the Light.
-Chris D
I recently got to see Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real live in concert and they were fantastic, just an amazing band. And Lucas is a great singer-songwriter and guitarist… just amazing. My Pick for March is going to be a song he did with his dad, Willie Nelson. The song is called “Just Breathe.” Hope You like it.
-John
My pick for this month is a band I did get to see live recently at SXSW. This band Tramhaus played at about 1:00 AM in a small club called the Chess Club on Red River in Austin. They had the entire venue on their feet. The singer was in the crowd and the energy was palpable. They're from the Netherlands and hopefully they'll come back to the United States and you'll get to check them out in your town. Enjoy “Minus 20” by Tramhaus
-Noel
My pick for this month is a song called “Minus 20” by the Dutch post-punk band, Tramhaus. I was fortunate enough to stumble upon their set at SXSW this month in a tiny venue called the Chess Club and was completely blown away. I felt like I was watching Wire in their early years. I was buzzing so much after the set that I completely forgot that it was 2:00 AM. They're not to be missed!
-Chris N
None of the material by Love Child has ever made it on to streaming until now. This is a collection of all their work, Never Meant to Be : 1988-1993. Alan Licht and Rebecca Odes are the main songwriters in this group. I don't know, I kind of think of it as like Television filtered through Beat Happening. It's got that New York cool minimalism with a little bit of a sloppy naivete but also a little bit of rage in there. So yeah. Check out Love Child. This is a song I like called “Something Cruel.”
My pick for this month is a song called “Know” from the French band Pærish. They play a mix of alternative, indie, pop-punk, shoegaze rock, and they just started their very first US tour. Alternative music has always been heavily influenced by American bands, and it’s every French band’s wildest dream to play in the US. It’s just so hard and rare for that to happen. Pærish worked tirelessly for the past 10 years, they got us three amazing records on SideOneDummy records, and they finally get to play these songs across the US. As a kid growing up in France into that kind of music, this is a very special moment. I am so proud of them and on the influence this will have on the next generation of French bands. I can’t wait to catch them on this tour and I hope you will too!
-Julien
