music news Archives - Rock Oracle

The current tour is built around a new album called The Charmer. It was released on May 1, 2026, via Spaceflight Records, and it is their first full-length studio release in nearly a decade. Produced by the late Steve Albini in 2024, the 13-track album features a raw, fast-paced sound born from “pandemic-era introspection”. Frontman Vaden Lewis had said in a statement, “This album has been a long time in the works, and it’s such a joy to see it come together, we went back to basics for this session: all analogue, live takes, high energy.” Drummer Mark Reznicek added, “I’ve been a fan of Steve Albini’s since I first heard the albums he recorded with the Pixies and PJ Harvey, so being able to record with him is really a dream come true. In fact, when we first signed with a major label, they asked us who we would like to work with and we all said “Albini!” Well, for whatever reason, the label didn’t go for it. And now 30 years later, it finally happened!”

B Sides LIVE REVIEWS MUSIC NEWS

May 6, 2026 Jason Shrum

Music City Madness, Dee’s Lounge & Everything Local | Vendors, musicians & community came together to create a space filled with harmony

This month’s event was hosted by Dee’s Lounge in Madison, Tennessee. Owner, Amy Dee says of her place, “I couldn’t find a classic country venue around Nashville when I moved here, so I opened one”. Since 2016 it has grown to so much more than just a hub for country music, as the venue host all types of genres with just three simple rules: Pay Your Tab, Don’t Be an Asshole and You Must be 21 to Enter. It remains a classic “dive-bar” with lovely locals and a fantastic staff that want to make your experience a great one. The decor is straight out of the 1970’s (think Urban Cowboy) and you feel like you’vefound a second home when you walk through the doors. Not only is there a space to play music inside with nice sound quality, but there is a space out back with a large stage and plenty of seating and room for dancing on those sunny days. This was one of those days.

FEATURED LIVE REVIEWS

May 2, 2026 Jason Shrum

Rock and Roll in East Nashville

If you are looking for some good old rock and roll music in Nashville, then The Cobra on the east side of town is definitely a spot that you’re going to want to check out. The Cobra is a great venue to hear anything from punk to country and everything in between. They have a kick ass staff, and the smaller space creates great sound and a stellar vibe. The show we are talking about now fell right into that classic sound with three artists lending something, each a little different. The bill on Thursday, April 30th, 2026, was Leilani Kilgore, Catchfire and Cordell Winter.

FEATURED INTERVIEWS

April 29, 2026 Melinoe Macaria Mourningstar

Artist Spotlight on Dolly Cash

I grew up in Abingdon, VA. It was a small historic town in South-Western Virginia, in the Appalachians. But after graduating High School, I bounced around the US in the army. Maryland, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Afghanistan. It was in North Carolina, more specifically Fayetteville, that I began to hone my music skills. The community within the city was very rooted in the arts. I’d crash on my friend’s couch and cut songs with like 5 or 6 different people. They would put on cool local shows and really push each other to create. I got out of the Army in 2016 and moved back to Abingdon. After a year of couch surfing and job hopping, I applied to go to The University of Tennessee. That’s how I ended up in Knoxville. While here, I met my wife, and realized Tennessee was now home. While here, I got back to my mountain roots, fell in love with mountain music, as well as the Goth culture. I believe traveling to the US and war-torn countries has given me an appreciation of where I live.

FEATURED INTERVIEWS MUSIC NEWS

April 28, 2026 Melinoe Macaria Mourningstar

TreeHouse Nash Queen, Mar Lamar has an Album in the Works

This leads into the Sol purpose Artist Spotlight. Not only do I want our readers to know more about her and TreeHouse Nash, Mar Lamar is Crowd Funding her next Album. A solo project that is near and dear to her heart. Listening to her passion, and witnessing her vulnerability within her content humbled me to say the least. I have found a new awareness within how much of my own passion and vulnerability I have kept buried beneath my surface. A fear that continues to lurk within my young/naive phase of life. A commonality for Aquarian folks. Often priding myself at how open I can be, not realizing that there could be so much more of myself I could offer to the world. Not for myself. Not solely for humanity. But for the Circle of Life. The give and take that is required for evolution, progression and harmony within society, civilization, and more intimate communities. Mar Lamar has granted me a gift of evolution spiritually, astrologically and creatively.

ALBUM REVIEWS B Sides MUSIC NEWS

April 27, 2026 Jason Shrum

The Weird Sisters Have a New Single Out

When you see them play live, it is a cavalcade of foot pedals and knobs turning, all while playing their instruments and singing melodic harmonies that match the tonality of lasers and humming spaceships. They are wildly mesmerizing and talented as all get out. So, when a new song comes from the depths of the minds from this dynamic duo, you know that the work has been put in and sonically it will be different from anything you typically hear in the mainstream.

FEATURED LIVE REVIEWS

April 25, 2026 Jason Shrum

A Night at the Popera

An evening of beautiful music happened as The Vinyl Lounge played host to what was dubbed “A Night at the Popera”. Four classically trained opera singers gathered for a genre-bending, theatrical live show. Powerful women with formidable voices brought pop, folk, synth-pop, hyperpop, and pop-punk to the stage and mashed it up with definitive sounds that you don’t normally hear together. What happened was a gorgeous moment in time. Meghan Pulles, Arily Michelle, Sunshine Scott and Cassandra Pinataro electrified the space with a magnificent showcase of unbridled force. Armed with their voices and the will to be heard these women grasped the attention of their onlookers to deliver messages of courage, femineity and individuality. A Night at the Popera grew out of music but created and curated a likeminded community that thrived in the mantras of these fabulous musicians.