Jason Shrum, Author at Rock Oracle

October 14, 2025 Jason Shrum

Tyler Childers Brought Us Together

When you go see Tyler Childers live you will find out that he is multifaceted. This article is more than just music because Childers is a preacher, a carnival barker, a comedian, a motivational speaker, and oh yeah, a wonderful singer and songwriter. In between songs he can make you laugh or rile you up or make you sink into deep reflective thought… and when he plays… you are completely engaged. That’s exactly what he did on Saturday night in Nashville at Geodis Park. Tyler was in town supporting his “On The Road” tour both Friday and Saturday nights on October 11th and 12th. This tour comes in the wake of Childers’ Rustin’ in the Rain album, which debuted at #10 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. Childers was there along with special guests Charley Crockett and Cory Branan.

October 10, 2025 Jason Shrum

Standout Guitarist Leilani Kilgore Releases Her Debut Album

Leilani Kilgore has already been praised by Guitar World magazine for her “killer vibe and chops to back it up.” Kilgore, touted as a “must-see live performer” by Loud Hailer Magazine, has hundreds of live shows and festivals notched in her belt, both in the U.S. and overseas, including headlining slots on legendary stages like Sturgis Buffalo Chip and Summerfest, and she has opened for such renowned acts as Buddy Guy, Lita Ford, 38 Special, The Dead Daisies (feat. Glenn Hughes and Doug Aldrich) and Tommy Castro. So yeah, she is doing her thing, and we need to all listen. Her sound is certainly engrained in rock and roll, but this bluesy underbelly pads the backbone of the blistering and raucous forefront.

FEATURED LIVE REVIEWS

September 26, 2025 Jason Shrum

We Caught Those Fists in Nashville

This was the third cultivated show by Rolling Stone Magazine monikered as the Gather No Moss Tour. Fans knew exactly when to clap and clamor back with audio responses provoked by the group. It was as if we were watching a classic rock band we had seen for years, yet this is fresh and new and certainly exciting. If you are not listening to Wet Leg, then you are doing yourself a disservice. With just the two records out in only a few years as a collective the band has a ceiling that currently is way above the peer of human eyes.

FEATURED MUSIC NEWS

September 23, 2025 Jason Shrum

Whitney Phillips is Listening

Whitney Phillips is one of those people that sees an opportunity to get back to our roots and build, rather than tear down. Oh, who is Whitney Phillips? Lemme spin the record back for a minute. I met Whitney years ago when she was a singer/songwriter from Seattle and a good friend of my now ex-wife’s. I knew she was good and that she was starting to scratch her name into the ledgers of the industry, however, she has become more than just the background voice that she used to provide to mega-stars.

FEATURED LIVE REVIEWS

September 8, 2025 Jason Shrum

NIN Peels It Back in Nashville

The setlist drew from The Downward Spiral more than any other album, although they played from various records. The group was now gaining momentum with rising fury and ripped one expeditious track after another; this included ‘March of the Pigs’, ‘Repitle’ and “Heresy” (all from The Downward Spiral); then ‘Copy of A’ (from 2013’s Hesitation Marks) and ‘Gave Up’ (also from Broken). They then began their rapid trek onto the more intimate setup where it got more electronic with Boys Noize joining in for all four of the songs. These were essentially remixes as Boys Noise shifted the tonality a bit with his additional soundscape. It was ‘Vessel’ (Year Zero), ‘Closer’ (The Downward Spiral), ‘As Alive as you Need Me To Be’ (from the new TRON:Ares soundtrack) and ‘Came Back Haunted’ (Hesitation Marks). I would love to hear a proper recording of the joint they prepared on ‘Closer’ (I’ll include that clip too).

FEATURED LIVE REVIEWS MUSIC NEWS

September 1, 2025 Jason Shrum

I Believe in a Thing Called The Darkness

My passion for the British rock group began back in 2003 when I first heard the single ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’, off their debut album Permission to Land. Now singer/guitarist Justin Hawkins, his brother guitarist Dan Hawkins, bassist Frankie Poullain, and drummer Rufus Taylor (son of Queen drummer Roger Taylor) are back with their eighth studio album. If you know anything about The Darkness, then you know about a high level of intensity when playing live gigs. As the band first emerged on the scene there was this inkling that they were some kind of joke band. That they were spoofing the 1970’s hard and glam rock scene, but those ribbings were quickly left by the side of musicality road. This band is absolutely enthralling. Listeners and critics alike fastly found themselves realizing the technical fortitude of this sonically reverent band.

FEATURED LIVE REVIEWS

August 25, 2025 Jason Shrum

Bully Packs A Punch at The Blue Room

I was back at The Blue Room again in Nashville to cover the Bully show with Jawdropped supporting on the second evening of a two-show engagement. You know you spend a lot of time at a venue when you walk up to the ticket person and they say, “Oh, it’s you again”. I laughed. Live music venues are my happy place, so I was certainly glad to be there again. This would be my third time seeing Alicia Bognanno and her band. “Bully” refers to her “inner bully” or the “inner demons” she confronts in her music and life. The name Bully also represents the initial band she fronted a decade ago but later became synonymous with Bognanno herself as the sole member.