PUREHONEY 85

BUMBLEFEST 2018: LUMERIANS, scott yoder, santoros, gustaf

Where do you go today for that — to support the insurgents whose first big step up would have been from creaky vans to back-ofthe-pack tour buses? Who showcases, as their mission, the offbeat emerging talent that used to be the festivals’ forte?

Here in South Florida, there’s BUMBLEFEST, a block party of great indie performers assembled at a quintet of West Palm Beach venues on one downtown street, in a sort of scavenger hunt of fun. Voltaire and Respectable Street anchor this year’s Bumblefestivities, with Hullabaloo, Kismet Vintage and Subculture Coffee rounding out the Clematis Street circuit — nothing so far apart that one can’t wander on foot to take in all the sights and sounds.

Bumblefest belongs to a breed of hometown festival such as Fun Fun Fun in Austin, Texas and III Points in Miami that absolutely wants your freak flag flying. They’re here to connect you with the new, exciting and sometimes strange music you didn’t know you needed. Sure, you could pile into Sunfest to see the Pixies or Ice Cube or whichever legacy act is playing a waterfront jammed full of people who aren’t really interested in music. Or you could head farther west to the 500 Block of Clematis Street to see the bands that everyone else will be talking about one, five or ten years out. More than two dozen acts will play. Here are a few of the highlights: — Hailing from Oakland, California, LUMERIANS are what Silver Apples and Kraftwerk would sound like collaborating on a psychedelic space rock opera. The group, formed in 2006 with a name that references “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” is known for incredible live shows with trippy visuals to enhance the equally out-there sounds. A Lumerians audience is basically lulled into a trancelike state that is captivating to behold and insane to be a part of — a full frontal-cortex assault that is part cult of personality and part alien abduction. Listening to albums such as “Transmalinnia,” their slowto-gestate 2011 debut, or 2013’s “The High Frontier,” is like a Marshall Applewhite ascension ritual that you actually get to live through. ”I guess we live in a spaceship that bends the universe around it rather than flying,” a Lumerian explained to Dangerous Minds in 2012, “or maybe it’s a beach house, except instead of sand and water outside, it’s got taco trucks and human trafficking.”

SANTOROS (Los Angeles)

Veterans of bills with the Butthole Surfers and more recently My Bloody Valentine, the band is presently touring in support of “Call of the Void,” an album exhibiting shades of John Carpenter movie music and the Tangerine Dreamchanneling Survive — they of the “Stranger Things” theme. It seems fitting that an act from Oakland, one bridge over from the birthpod of hippie culture, would be the new ambassadors of envelopepushing, audiovisual sex, drugs and space travel.

— SANTOROS is a pure Mexican garage-rock, psychedelic-surf act straight from Los Angeles. The group is currently touring in support of “Bad Habits,” a four-song EP that’s all jangly, beach-kissed fun in the sun. “When You Cry at Night” starts off as an instrumental throwback to the Ventures and evolves into a keyboard-driven pop song about forlorn love on a sand dune someplace.

Santoros embrace both their Mexican and Southern California roots. Mostly raised in the San Fernando Valley, the band members cut their teeth on L.A.’s Echo Park music scene, starting out as drinking buddies who decided to jam and liked what they heard. The brotherhood that is Santoros was raised around music, surfing and the west coast lifestyle. It doesn’t hurt to have oldies stations and the mighty KROQ-FM to nurture bourgeoning musical passions, and it’s no surprise that this combination of SCOTT YODER (Seattle) surf, sun and fun would translate into the sounds the band is making; it’s been the West Coast rock muse since forever. PureHoney booked Santoros for an amazing Delray play almost four years ago when they tripped through town with Psychomagic. @littlemisskasey

Kristin Cofer

The halcyon ’90s saw the rise of touring music festivals that paired iconic headliners and cult powerhouses with their re sp ective scenes’ upand-comers.

Lollapalooza, Warped, Ozzfest, H.O.R.D.E., and the less genrebound, more LUMERIANS (Oakland) gender-powered Lilith Fair — before they all dwindled down from cutting-edge to “meh,” discontinued or stopped traveling, they formed a movable ecosystem that broke major musical groups in their infancy and connected audiences with many acts they otherwise would never have seen.

— SCOTT YODER could easily be mistaken for the 21st century version of Marc Bolan. He’s a glam rock-inspired folk fella based in Seattle who spent his formative years playing in the Pharmacy for Burger Records, and a self-described “glitter-folk elf prince … touring the world with his backing band of glammy freaks and misfits.”

Yoder’s specialty is the dreamy, spell-casting ode to impossible love.

Think Big Star and Donovan at their most turned-up sharing a cloud with Nick Drake in a dreary sky and you’re starting to get the picture.

All pomp and circumstance that’s simultaneously way too much, but never enough, the music is psych-pop and punk raised on the promises of T-Rex and Ziggy Stardust, and filtered through a lo-fi dreamscape.

Check out Yoder’s “Goodbye Lady Day,“ and be prepared for the possibility of numerous in-concert romantic breakups, with people so transported by the experience of Yoder in person they ditch their significant others to go live among elven royalty. The band snuck into town on a Tuesday night three months ago and performed an intimate super secret surprise pop up for us at Kismet Vintage. If you were there… you know;) GUSTAF (New York) — GUSTAF, the nom de plume of New York-based artist Lydia Gammill is, in the band’s own estimation, an irresistibly danceable combination of ESG, Jonathan Richman and Alan Vega. Dropping those names in an official bio sets the cool bar very high, but Gustaf sounds confident enough to deliver. A debut album is due this summer, in time for Gustaf’s Bumblefest debut.

The group itself — Gammill with Tine Hill, Tarra Thiessen, Angela Tornello and Vramshabouh — hasn’t been around for long. But Gammill is a veteran player and has put the work into making people sit up and take notice in a place, Brooklyn, where you can’t swing a cat without hitting a musician.

— PLEASURES are our local (Saint Petersburg) heroes dabbling in experimental psych rock and dark noise abstractions that wouldn’t be entirely out of place in a David Lynch film. The band describes itself as dark and stormy space rock from the Swamplands of Southwest Florida and quite frankly it would be hard to argue against that description. They’re part BATTLES, part Tame Impala, PLEASURES (St. Pete) with a dose of Grizzly Bear, but completely original in their stage presence and sound Bumblefest (33 bands on 6 stages) takes place on September 8 on the 500 block of Clematis Street in downtown West Palm Beach. facebook.com/bumblefest Limited $5 advance tickets go on sale Friday July 27 at Ticketfly ~ Tim Moffatt

LOVELORN TO MELT VOLTAIRE

LOVELORN

Ah … unrequited love. It’s the driving force behind humanity’s most heartfelt arts and, sometimes, the safest way to sigh over bygone affections that never completely fade. It was the breakup this past winter of beloved psych-punkers Creepoid, from Philadelphia, that has given rise to a new band, Lovelorn, and a glimpse of the old flame. Husband and wife Anna and Patrick Troxell, joined by fellow Creepoid alumnus Peter Urban, have reset their musical focus without losing their ardor for fringe-y psychedelia or their DIY spirit.

“We hope people dig it, but we’re not aiming to simply be Creepoid Part II,” Anna Troxell told Philly music journalist Megan Matuzak earlier this year.

Creepoid’s demise, though ritualized with a final show that let fans say goodbye, was nevertheless a shock to the city’s tight-knit punk and indie scene. But in the short time since, these friends since childhood have managed to give their admirers hope for the future. As Philly’s The Deli observed in a Lovelorn review, “Anna’s vocals serve as the candle light leading the way through a labyrinth, as the backend marches in line and the guitar stirs, doubling down on the menacing atmospherics.” Indeed, the new(erish) outfit would be a perfect sonic fit for a fully-gonzoed Alex Cox rock ’n’ roll noir western.

The band operates with the comfort of a built-in base and an almostmythological backstory. What could possibly go wrong? Exploring sound a bit farther away from the center? Rededicating themselves to those explosive disruptions of quiet that make awkward people dance? Oh lord, these linguistic tangles … and how the lovelorn Lovelorn can cause the requisite derangement for a flight of poesy.

Make no mistake, in the same space where they go alt-weird, they’re also comforting and warming — the familiarity of an old friend you trust. How perfect, then, that the band’s actual biography has played out as it has. To call them Creepoid Part II wouldn’t be right, but it wouldn’t be wrong, either.

If you miss the former, you’ll love the latter. If you never knew what was, you’ll appreciate how they’ll make you feel for it.

Lovelorn performs Lion Country Ferrari and Beatles Haircut on September 21 at Voltaire in West Palm Beach. lovelornphilly.bandcamp.com ~ Abel Folgar

GIF

TS 17 South J Street Lake Worth, FL 33460

LAKE WORTH’S LARGEST SELECTION OF CRAFT BEERS & WINE

100+ BEERS 40+ WINES /RevelryLakeWorth

@RevelryLakeWorth www.REVELRYBARS.com O P E N 7 D AY S @ 4 P M

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1

VOLTAIRE: Sushi Sessions w Deb Silver Jazz, Saeed Younan, Shayne Pilpel RESPECTABLE STREET: Ohgr, Lead Into Gold, Omniflux REVOLUTION LIVE: Grunge vs Punk, Nirvana & Blink 182 Tribute DADA: Matchstick Johnny ARTS GARAGE: The Chris Thomas Band KILL YOUR IDOL: Immersed Music SEMINOLE HARD ROCK: Jo Koy – Break the Mold Tour BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Markus Hernandez Trio KELSEY THEATER: Rocklicious ROBOT BREWING CO: The Holidazed, Tasty Vibrations

DADA: We Are Monty KILL YOUR IDOL: Breaks Yo! KELSEY THEATER: Frank Bang ARTS GARAGE: Cece Teneal & Soul Kamotion

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9

VOLTAIRE: Ray’s Downtown presents Shack Daddys

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2

VOLTAIRE: Bride of Camp Ray ft TCHAA, Blues Crusaders, Joey George, Medicine Hat RESPECTABLE STREET: 90s Homecoming KILL YOUR IDOL: Game Show Sundays ARTS GARAGE: Randy Stephens & the Groove Makers ROBOT BREWING CO: Poetry & Short Fiction Readings

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3

DADA: Open Mic HULLABALOO: Firemost Jazz Duo

FILLMORE MIAMI: Molotov

VOLTAIRE: Pisco Pop Up w/ Jeff Lloyd

VOLTAIRE: SQUID Tuesdays w Poparazzi

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

PROPAGANDA: 1983, Armageddon Man, Killed by Florida, The Ouchies, Blaklist DADA: Johan Danno KILL YOUR IDOL: Juju Pie SUBCULTURE DELRAY: Supergold BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Ben Child’s Killbillies ROBOT BREWING CO: Good Co. ARTS GARAGE: Art Exhibition Opening, Garage Queens

KISMET VINTAGE: Radio Kismet 9-10 DADA: Electric Red KILL YOUR IDOL: Karaoke with Shelley Novak

KILL YOUR IDOL: Game Show Sundays ROBOT BREWING CO: Storytelling Slam, Dungeons & Drafts VOLTAIRE: SQUID Tuesdays w Sumo, Palomino Blond ARTS GARAGE: Donna Singer Starring in Birdland Breezes DADA: Spoken Word Open Mic MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Mic DADA: Open Mic HULLABALOO: Firemost Jazz Duo WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 KILL YOUR IDOL: Drag Mondays RESPECTABLE STREET: Tilian, Royal Coda, Andres ROBOT BREWING CO: Dark to Light, an Art & Music Event FILLMORE MIAMI: $uicideBoys REVOLUTION LIVE: MC50 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4

DADA: Matt Brown KILL YOUR IDOL: Fat Sun

KISMET VINTAGE: Poparazzi DADA: Comedy Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Mic THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 VOLTAIRE: ChUrch of DUB: Fireside Prophets & Kelly Blanx ARTS GARAGE: All Arts Open Mic NIght KISMET VINTAGE: Radio Kismet 9-10 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 DADA: The Ricca Project VOLTAIRE: SWIMM (LA), Bitter Blue Jays, Thoughts KILL YOUR IDOL: Karaoke with Shelley Novak SEMINOLE HARD ROCK: Scorpions, Queensryche ARTS GARAGE: Poetry Open Mic Night DADA: Ella Herrera ROBOT BREWING CO: Loyal to a Fault KILL YOUR IDOL: The Deadly Blank

VOLTAIRE: Spam Allstars

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8

VOLTAIRE, RESPECTABLE STREET, KISMET, HULLABALOO, SUBCULTURE ALLEY: BUMBLEFEST 2018: Lumerians + Scott Yoder + Santoros + Gustaf + Pleasures + Hurricane Party + King Complex + Boston Marriage + Citizen Badger + Cog Nomen + Donzii + Ella Herrera + Glass Body + Haute Tension + Heller Floor + Humbert + In His Head + Indigo Dreamers + JM & the Sweets + Lion Country Ferrari + Man Made Weather + Matchstick Johnny + Mona Lisa Tribe + Monster Teeth + Mood Swing + Nervous Monks + Pocket of Lollipops + Poparazzi + Raised by Wolves + Seafoam Walls + Sonic Shaman + The Brand + Toledo + Turtle Grenade ROBOT BREWING CO: Grand Awakening Party!

O’MALLEY’S: Angra, Scarlet Aura

VOLTAIRE: Flavours w Mood Swing ft. Faith & Majesty RESPECTABLE STREET: Glass Body SUBCULTURE DELRAY: Poetry Slam

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14

RESPECTABLE STREET: Space Coast Ghosts CD Release PROPAGANDA: Seven Serpents CD Release DADA: The State Of HONEY: TKA KILL YOUR IDOL: Bermuda Beach SUBCULTURE DELRAY: Kaleb REVOLUTION LIVE: Dread Mar I BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Damien Louviere KELSEY THEATER: Rebel Scum Burlesque ARTS GARAGE: Jonathan Joseph Quartet ROBOT BREWING CO: Spiral Light: Tribute to Grateful Dead

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15

VOLTAIRE: JR Apollon w Spirit & Soul, , Val Verra, Michael Mayo LOST WEEKEND: The West Palm Beach Record Show

FILLMORE MIAMI: Sting and Shaggy RESPECTABLE STREET: Eco Surf Party DADA: Xotic Yeyo

HULLABALOO: The Ricca Project KILL YOUR IDOL: Keep It Deep SEMINOLE HARD ROCK: Sammy Hagar and The Circle ARTS GARAGE: Lucy Grau THE GROUND: Meat Beat Manifesto, Otto Von Schirach BREWHOUSE GALLERY: TheString Assassins KELSEY THEATER: Rebel Scum Burlesque ROBOT BREWING CO: Robot Comedy Night

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16

VOLTAIRE: Ray’s presents Joey George Blues Band KILL YOUR IDOL: Game Show Sundays ROBOT BREWING CO: Sick Puppies Comedy ARTS GARAGE: The Mighty Flea Circus

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17

DADA: Open Mic HULLABALOO: Firemost Jazz Duo KILL YOUR IDOL: Drag Mondays

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18

DADA: Steve Pomeranz Band ARTS GARAGE: Ghost Town Blues HULLABALOO: Raised By Wolves BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Bryce Allen ROBOT BREWING CO: 807 Band

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23

VOLTAIRE: Ray’s 1st Anniv: Bill Wharton The Sauce Boss KILL YOUR IDOL: Game Show Sundays BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Blues, Family Feud ARTS GARAGE: The Joe Cotton Band ROBOT BREWING CO: Son of Kevin

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24

DADA: Open Mic HULLABALOO: Firemost Jazz Duo KILL YOUR IDOL: Drag Mondays

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

VOLTAIRE: SQUID ft Sun Machine (TX) , Dividends DADA: Comedy Open Mic

VOLTAIRE: SQUID Tuesdays Puerto Rico Benefit ft KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Mic JAIALAI, Coral Canyons, Matchstick Johnny, Heller Floor ARTS GARAGE: Jam Session SEMINOLE HARD ROCK: Christina Aguilera REVOLUTION LIVE: BØRNS, Twin Shadow KISMET VINTAGE: Ella Herrera O’MALLEY’S: Exmortus, Byzantine, Immortal Guardian DADA: Comedy Open Mic KILL YOUR IDOL: Open Mic

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19

REVOLUTION LIVE: Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Sun Seeker DADA: Yazmani Velazquez

VOLTAIRE: Cupcakes &a Cocktails w/ Mona Lisa Tribe KILL YOUR IDOL: Vagrants

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26

VOLTAIRE: Lindsey Mills, Toast the Trees w/Angels Envy REVOLUTION LIVE: Colony House, Tall Heights SEMINOLE HARD ROCK: The Australian Pink Floyd Show O’MALLEY’S: Hunny and Hot Flash DADA: Marker Darke, Jinon Velazquez KILL YOUR IDOL: Miss Michigan

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27

VOLTAIRE: SWEET SWEET Songwriter Sessions REVOLUTION LIVE: Thrice, The Bronx, Teenage Wrist

KISMET VINTAGE: Radio Kismet 9-10

DADA: Toledo, Boston Marriage KILL YOUR IDOL: Karaoke with Shelley Novak ROBOT BREWING CO: Math/Prog Rock Night

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28

FILLMORE MIAMI: Father John Misty, King Tuff REVOLUTION LIVE: The Petty Hearts: Tribute

RESPECTABLE STREET: MASS DADA: Fern Street

VOLTAIRE: Nitebox, Rebel Beaches Fashion Show

KILL YOUR IDOL: Shameless Burlesque SUBCULTURE JUPITER: Matchstick Johnny BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Joey Tenuto Band ARTS GARAGE: Davina & The Vagabonds ROBOT BREWING CO: Displace, Guavatron, Lemon City Trio

VOLTAIRE: Funktion hosted by Public Sounds Collective KISMET VINTAGE: Radio Kismet 9-10 DADA: Metropolitan

RESPECTABLE STREET: Twen

SUBCULTURE JUPITER: Game Night ARTS GARAGE: 3rd Thursday – Art Meets Music

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

VOLTAIRE: Lovelorn (ex Creepoid), Beatles Haircut, Lion Country Ferrari, Fetish Party RESPECTABLE STREET: The Little Mermen DADA: Sunslip, Castaways KILL YOUR IDOL: American Grime’s Proper SUBCULTURE DELRAY: Bitter Blue Jays BREWHOUSE GALLERY: News from Bree ARTS GARAGE: Greg Diamond & Nuance Quartet ROBOT BREWING CO: JL Fulks, Jake Walden Band

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22

VOLTAIRE: Ricca Project, DJ Nikitin, Michael Mayo REVOLUTION LIVE: Noah Cyrus

FILLMORE MIAMI: Al Pacino

O’MALLEY’S: Cane Hill, Sharptooth, Afterlife

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29

VOLTAIRE: Matt Joy Trio, Val Verra, Michael Mayo FILLMORE MIAMI: David Byrne DADA: Tasty Vibrations HULLABALOO: Mona Lisa Tribe KILL YOUR IDOL: The Wire

RESPECTABLE STREET: Kismet Anniv Party

ROBOT BREWING CO: Boca Fall Comedy Festival ARTS GARAGE: Vocaldente BREWHOUSE GALLERY: Slip & the Spin Outs, Wheterman Band & Nate Ginnetty KELSEY THEATER: Ghost Hunt, Getdown Custom Car Show

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

VOLTAIRE: Ray’s presents JM & the Sweets REVOLUTION LIVE: Andy Grammer

FILLMORE MIAMI: Dani Martin

ARTS GARAGE: Brothers of Others ROBOT BREWING CO: Son of Kevin

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2

VOLTAIRE: SQUID ft Welzeins (Orlando), Z (Nashville)

Emma Tillman

FATHER JOHN MISTY, KING TUFF Say their names together, and Father John Misty and King Tuff sound like a “Lord of the Rings” tribute. In fact, they’re pseudonymous singer-songwriters and Sub Pop label mates who inhabit a different artistic world than the one J.R.R. Tolkien filled with Hobbits and Orcs.

Father John Misty is the nom de plume of Josh Tillman. From 2008 until 2012 Tillman was the drummer in Fleet Foxes, after which he re-emerged on his own as Father John Misty — whose work has proved to be spacey, folkie and generally a lot of fun, with twists and turns aplenty to keep his loyal audience guessing what might happen next.

Becoming Father John Misty gave Tillman the opportunity to work on several projects at once, on his own and as a collaborator. He released “Fear Fun” in 2012 and followed that with the soundtrack to a 2013 short film, “The History of Caves,” made by his wife, FATHER JOHN MISTY Emma Elizabeth Tillman. It was around this time he also contributed to “Indicud,” a 70-minute cinematic soundscape by hip-hop omnivore Kid Cudi whose other noteworthy collaborators included A$AP Rocky, Kendrick Lamar and even Michael Bolton.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Father John Misty released “I Love You, Honeybear” in 2015 to near-universal acclaim. His newest album, “God’s Favorite Customer,” leads with the single, “Disappointing Diamonds Are the Rarest of Them All,” a psych-pop anthem rendered in shades of Brian Eno — post-Roxy Music, circa “Here Come the Warm Jets.”

King Tuff, born Kyle Thomas, has said that he didn’t take all of this professional musician stuff seriously. His biography bears this out: He released his first record, “Was Dead,” in 2008 to seemingly little fanfare and decided to quit the field — unaware of the cult of adoration coalescing around his debut. Slowly and quietly, the right people were hearing King Tuff even as Kyle Thomas had moved on.

Olivia Bee

Tillman has also worked with Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Lana Del Rey, proving that a strong indie voice can also summon up major-chord pop greatness when called upon. Not that he expects to be asked back after telling Pitchfork last year, “If you think that pop stars are anything other than prisoners, then you are fucking kidding yourself. I know them. They are crying for help in their music.”

KING TUFF

Eventually, Thomas was confronted with an artist’s dilemma: Use the unexpected interest and attention to try something completely new, or return to the well to see if there’s anything left. Thomas gave the King Tuff persona another try, and it worked. If the first album was a sleeper, the self-titled follow-up in 2012 knocked Jack White’s “Blunderbuss” off the charts. Not bad for a dude who didn’t think he had it in him to stay with music. Nowadays, Thomas is celebrated for his place in a thriving musical family tree whose branches connect him to Dinosaur Jr., Witch, Ty Segall, The Go and fellow Sub Pop signees Happy Birthday — heavy hitters one and all.

2014 saw the release of “Black Moon Spell,” an acid-drenched blast of garage-punk swagger, with Segall on drums and all the sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll excess one would expect from a guy named King Tuff. It’s an album that Thomas has spoken of less than fondly in retrospect. “I think I was maybe hanging onto a younger version of myself,” he told The Stranger this year. “I made the record I thought people wanted me to make.”

His new album, “The Other,” is a less bombastic affair and marks a decade of sometimes halting but undeniable progress. This onetime hawker of music on CD-Rs is now Sub Pop royalty.

So we have a King and a Father coming to town. The former will rock your pants off, steal your smokes and beers, and fog out your car. The latter will lull you into a sense of wanderlust and tranquility all at once. You can try to imagine how far-flung it will sound to have on one stage, for one night, two contributors to the collected works of Dinosaur Jr. and Beyoncé. Or you can just come out in person and hear for yourself. I mean, why not go hang with fun beardy dudes in Miami? It’s going to be a strange night of sights and sounds.

Father John Misty and special guest King Tuff perform Sept. 28 at the Fillmore Miami Beach. fillmoremb.com ~ Tim Moffatt

DAVID BYRNE Before Eddie Vedder, before Radiohead, before Local Natives, there was Talking Heads, and, essentially, there was David Byrne.

Leader of the powerhouse group that influenced countless modern musicians, Byrne defined — and redefined — New Wave, incorporating world music, art rock and punk into the Talking Heads’ expansive works. As that band’s frontman, and then on his own, he perpetuated a clean-cut image of sharp suits and programmed movement — an automaton dressed and directed by outside forces.

At age 66, Byrne is still flaunting his quirky style with “American Utopia,” his first solo album in 14 years. And in a season of political conflict, social upheaval and environmental turmoil, Byrne’s new collection gives off hope and optimism. The album is in turn part of a larger project called “Reasons to be Cheerful,” an Ian Dury-inspired catalog of good news and uplifting community initiatives — undertaken “as a kind of remedy and possibly as a kind of therapy,” Byrne has said.

DAVID BYRNE

One such story was jumpstarted by Byrne himself, with his invitation to voice students and their teacher at the Detroit School of Arts to reinterpret one of his new songs, “Everybody’s Coming to My House.” The students’ version, filmed for YouTube by the school’s broadcast students, is a high school social — part gospel, glee club and show tune. The album version is a straight-up party track, with Byrne as a soulful emcee declaring, “Everybody’s Coming to My House/I’m never gonna be alone.” His longtime collaborator and producer Brian Eno is present, too, as the author of the robotic guitar riff that dots the song’s insistent groove.

The album often celebrates the pleasures of escape and of basking in the present moment. On “I Dance Like This,” a carefree Byrne sings, “I dance like this because it feels so damn good / Can’t think of tomorrow, when it seems so far away.”

The accompanying tour finds Byrne and his band in matching gray suits executing multiple formations on stage, and playing both solo and Talking Heads’ songs. The reviews have been glowing. Byrne, it seems, is still burning down the house, and he hasn’t stopped making sense.

David Byrne and special guest tune-yards perform Sept. 29 at The Fillmore Miami Beach. davidbyrne.com ~ Olivia Feldman

HONEY CONCERT SERIES

I WANT MY

80/90’S BACK - LI VE IN CONCERT FRIDAY, JULY 20

2 LIVE CREW

“ME SO HORNY” “HOOCHIE MAMA” “GET IT GIRL”

FRIDAY, AUGUST 10

STACEY Q

“TWO OF HEARTS” “WE CONNECT”

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 FRI

TKA / K7

“MARIA” “COME BABY COME” “LOUDER THAN LOVE”

SPAM ALLSTARS: SEP 7 @ VOLTAIRE Say what you will about South Florida’s flighty reputation, the flux created by this region’s migratory habits — its status as a hub of the Antilles and the Americas — is a huge driver of cultural exchange.

It’s also why no distinct musical identity has ever completely taken root. Rumba, pop, rap, punk, disco and even country — many genres are represented. It is that variety and resiliency that stands in for the idea of a unified “Miami sound.”

So it’s no surprise that when asked

by PureHoney how his Miami band has reflected its surroundings over two decades-plus, Andrew “DJ Le Spam” Yeomanson exclaims “like one of those crazy funhouse mirrors!” The band is Spam Allstars and like the name implies, they’re an aggregate — a supergroup in a can that you crack open for body-moving beats and eclectic, intelligent sound.

SPAM ALLSTARS

Yeomanson began as a solo DJ but gradually added players, and the project evolved into an ensemble that cross-wires turntablism and the power of the descarga — the jam. Spam Allstars have issued six albums. The latest, 2017’s “Trans-Oceanic,” boasts a beautiful Francesco Lo Castro cover and six fullyrealized, funkified Afro-Cuban acid-jazz bangers. It’s an amazing feat of output given Yeomanson’s prodigious work as a collector, restorer and reissuer of classic recordings, and as a producer of various acts, through his City of Progress studio in North Miami.

“The past few years I have spent a lot of time working with other artists on their music,” he says, “so it’s easy for the band to get sidelined.” But he’s quick to reassure that at least another album’s worth of Spam Allstars material is already recorded.

The rest of current lineup is a veritable murderer’s row of South Florida talent: Chad Bernstein on trombone, Jose Elias and Aaron Lebos on guitars, AJ Hill on saxophone, Tomas Diaz on percussion and vocals, Ted Zimmerman on trumpet and Tony Smurphio on synthesizer. Whenever they hit a stage, they get right to work on a Miami sound that is constantly evolving and accessible to all.

“Playing music is sacred to me,” Yeomanson says. “It’s always going to be part of my life.”

Spam Allstars perform on September 7 at Voltaire in West Palm Beach. spamallstarsbiz.com ~ Abel Folgar

IN RTA

YN A D N U S

SHO

NUF

IG

N TS

E K O A R HT KA

M

ES E

R AC F

BY Z TED HOS PM 0 AT 1

TE F EN

PR ENT

ANC I S CU S

3232

, INE , & D, W S FOO M TAIL A L L , CO C K E R 1 0 P T R B E E I TOS A F MO J

0561-33

E N AV N TO O M SWI .C 52 N DELRAY A DAD

FF O F L HA OUSE! Y A UND IN OUR H S S L L O C AR Y T H I N G EVE

SEPTEMBER 1 SKINNY JIMMY & THE STINGRAYS SEPTEMBER 7 J.L. FULKS BAND SEPTEMBER 8 BRYCE ALLYN BAND TRIO SEPTEMBER 9 432 DUO SEPTEMBER 14 TASTY VIBRATIONS

SEPTEMBER 15 SPRED THE DUB

SEPTEMBER 16 marcus amaya SEPTEMBER 20 PERIPHYTON SEPTEMBER 21 PUBLIC SOUNDS COLLECTIVE SEPTEMBER 22 BOBBY LEE RODGERS SEPTEMBER 28 FUTURE PREZIDENTS SEPTEMBER 29 MITCH HERRICK AND THE HOMEGROWN SINNERS

Chuck Grant

BØrns The received wisdom in audiovisual arts used to be that experimentation grew out of experience: You had to understand continuity in film editing before you tried jump cuts; or know sound recording basics before making musique concrete. But as the analog era recedes — its innovations prepackaged in content creation software — the mentality that mastery comes first and then fosters radical advances is less accepted.

But it’s not dead. “I still have a record player and an old Wurlitzer keyboard,” the singer/ songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Garrett Borns told Indie magazine earlier this year.

“My space is in an industrial building, and it naturally evokes a sense of nostalgia.”

Borns, who goes by the stylized BØRNS, embodies the dichotomy of modernity and past. As a young academic prodigy from BØRNS Muskegon, Michigan, he blazed through a formal education in the arts and music before moving on to New York and then his current home of Los Angeles. His forte may be electronic music, but his work is also telling of a deep-seated appreciation and understanding of jazz and improvisation.

Couple that with a gender-bending persona that is somehow both cosmopolitan and in touch with Borns’ small-city beginnings — a heartlander’s eye view through Gucci frames — and you have a recipe for pop success.

In a world of overt glitz and Instagram eye candy, BØRNS is the rare talent to gain access to the mainstream hive mind surreptitiously. After his “Candy” EP put him into focus, his 2015 debut LP, “Dopamine” satisfied critic and fan ears alike with the sexy chemical pleasure its title promised. His sophomore effort, “Blue Madonna,” bowed to critical acclaim this spring. Featuring Lana Del Rey on a pair of tracks, the album shows maturity and progression and higher appreciation of ’60s chic and rock ’n’ roll hooks.

If all of the above calls to mind David Bowie, it would not be time wasted to watch what BØRNS might glean from the Thin White Duke’s ceaseless selftransformations. Bowie had the advantage of decades in which to keep reinventing and refining, but it’s not far-fetched to imagine this young American having a chance at similar greatness.

FillmoreMB

Fillmore MB

FillmoreMB

Purchase at FillmoreMB.com

BØRNS performs with Twin Shadow on September 18 at Revolution Live in Ft. Lauderdale. bornsmusic.com ~ Abel Folgar

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT WWW.TICKETMASTER.COM

100 SW 3RD AVE. FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33312 WWW.JOINTHEREVOLUTION.NET

Matthew Salacue

RAINBOW KITTEN SURPRISE With a band name like Rainbow Kitten Surprise, you’re bound to get some attention, as well as questions like, “Were you high?” (The name was actually born in a hospital room where they were visiting a friend being treated for bacterial meningitis.)

Hailing from Boone, North Carolina, this alternative rock quintet founded in 2013 has already performed at Bonnaroo in Manchester, RAINBOW KITTEN SURPRISE Tennessee, and Outside Lands in San Francisco, while their cowboy-themed music video for “Fever Pitch” has reached more than 1.5 million views on YouTube. To top that off, they have seven sold-out shows (three of them consecutive) on their current world tour for the album, “How to: Friend, Love, Freefall.” What exactly has made them so huge in just a few years?

Their wide appeal is most likely due to their diverse range of influences, from ScHoolboy Q and Frank Ocean to Kings of Leon and Modest Mouse. Tie those in with lush instrumentation and raucous guitars, and you get a somewhat r&b-tinged Avett Brothers sound that is accessible to everyone. Frontman Sam Melo’s occasional penchant for dressing in drag probably doesn’t hurt, either.

The band’s jam-like live performances have Melo dancing around the stage in colorful jackets and pants, getting audiences excited and wanting more after each song.

“How to: Friend, Love, Freefall” is full of emotion and kitsch while still maintaining a chill vibe that’s also too catchy to ignore. “Hide” was written while Melo was struggling with his feelings of coming out as gay, and in “Fever Pitch,” Melo is rapping the lyrics in a fashion that many fans have compared to Ocean: “I think I might make you smile after dinner / Kick me under the table / I think that’s my in / And I think I came for that, what comes with it?”

In a May interview with Ones to Watch, Melo explained that the album title of “How to” is “a reflection of the past few years living together and managing the internal dynamics — five people adjusting to adult life and the pressures that come with it.” Rainbow Kitten Surprise are showing musical maturity beyond their years.

Rainbow Kitten Surprise and special guest Sun Seeker perform Sept. 19 at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale. rksband.com ~ Olivia Feldman