new music Archives - Rock Oracle

To get to know Bonelli is to be immersed in all things’ music. He began playing the guitar at just 5 years old and by age 11 he was jamming at venues across his home city of Buffalo, New York. His smooth style and jazzy rhythms produced a full-length record by 15 years old. The record was called “Lines” and earned him a spot endorsing music gear from manufacturers like Keeley Electronics, J. Rockett Audio Designs, Walrus Audio, and Morley. A couple years later, Bonelli dropped his second album (which he again produced and mixed), titled ‘Vincent Bonelli’ and then the teenager made the decision to head to Nashville and get a music related degree from Belmont University.

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.

FEATURED LIVE REVIEWS

August 22, 2025 Jason Shrum

Arts Fishing Club Drops Lines in Blue Room Waters

Their sound is hard to root down and that’s why I am excited about their future. You can say they are this or that, but their ability to play just about anything is evident in their music. At the core, Arts Fishing Club is branded as an indie-folk rock band, but I am not sure that’s the best descriptor of what they are about, although I am not sure how I would list them if I had to. The music is fun. The band plays tight. It’s fast when it needs to be but slows down with all the right accents tapping directly into all the listeners emotions. They keep it light between songs too, letting the audience know just how much fun they are having. On this Thursday, in the dimly lit architectural aqua-bowl of a room, our guiding light was AFC.

ALBUM REVIEWS FEATURED

August 13, 2025 Jason Shrum

The Staggering Expanse of Man

The song’s beginning challenges the impact of our global footprint with its prose. The band is screaming for us to listen and take heed, but our consumption may be drowning those cries out. So, there is a musical shift that happens and the song structure slows as if to appeal to us with another approach. This is one of those many layers that the trio brings to the forefront of their efforts. With tightknit precision and playing, the group captures their audience in mystical undertones that float beneath rough and metallic surfaces. It is absolutely gorgeous to listen to the transition from heavy to soft without losing the engagement of the audience. It might have been three separate songs if conceptualized differently, but it works as one opus and only for a few seconds are we fluttering in this softened sonic status before being hurled back into a deeper sound. And for all this, we are just :40 seconds into our journey.

FEATURED MUSIC NEWS

June 19, 2025 Contributing Author

meg elsier Returns with New Single “sportscar [scrapped]”spittake Deluxe LP Out July 25

Meg Elsier is one of Rock Oracle’s favorite Nashville artists. Our Editor-In-Chief, Jason Shrum, has written a couple of pieces about Meg and her band. Jason had a chance to chat with Elsier and her bass player, Jashaun Smith atop The Bobby Hotel before a show curated by WNXP and became an even bigger fan. Meg’s music is both soothing and jagged in the best ways. Her sound tends to ebb and flow like the tides and takes the listener on an joltingly emotional exploration. We are here now to share Meg’s newest project. This from her management:

ALBUM REVIEWS FEATURED INTERVIEWS MUSIC NEWS

May 30, 2025 Jason Shrum

The Journey with Inclement Weather Department

I met Cam, Joey, Trevor, Brian, Connor and TJ before even knowing that they were a band. I co-owned a small batch brewery in north Seattle, in a neighborhood know as Ballard (don’t let anyone tell you it was Fremont). About 2 blocks up the road, in Fremont, sat an unmarked building, with no windows and no plaque out front even though it was once the home of Reciprocal Records until the early 1990’s. Why is that important? Well, it is where Nirvana, along with producer Jack Endino laid down the band’s first album, Bleach. Other bands like Soundgarden, Death Cab For Cutie, Green River and Tad, among others, would also record here. I didn’t know this at first and I soon realized that I near a pretty special place in music history.

ALBUM REVIEWS FEATURED INTERVIEWS MUSIC NEWS

April 21, 2025 Jason Shrum

Sweet Mylo Just Got Sweeter

Sweet Mylo was a band I bumped into as I was just starting to check out the local Nashville music scene. I went to see my friend Ian Brice of Loose Bolts play in East Nash and this is where I met the duo. Sweet Mylo is an indie-pop band formed by husband-and-wife Kevin Jones and Grace Melody Jones. I was mesmerized by the group from beginning to end. This week they will be releasing a new album (officially their first, as I would learn). The band will also be playing a live show at the Historic Stonewall to promote the project. Historic Stonewall, in the heart of Gallatin, Tennessee’s downtown district, has been standing iconically since 1831. This architectural wonderment has been a silent spectator to the evolution of the community around it for almost 200 years and serves as an event space and music venue. Almost one year ago to the day I got to ask the band about their formation, their process and the future of Sweet Mylo. Enjoy!