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Serving The University of Alabama since 1894.

The Crimson White

Serving The University of Alabama since 1894.

The Crimson White

Serving The University of Alabama since 1894.

The Crimson White

All content by Ellen Johnson
SENIOR COLUMN: Appreciating Tuscaloosa's creations

SENIOR COLUMN: Appreciating Tuscaloosa’s creations

Katie Huff May 2, 2018

I constantly have a widespread stomach-turning feeling from the inevitable fact that I will never hear every song, or even every musician. I live in non stop fear that there is a song or band that I’ll...

SENIOR COLUMN: Invest in Tuscaloosa's culture

SENIOR COLUMN: Invest in Tuscaloosa’s culture

Ellen Johnson April 29, 2018

I’m unapologetically obsessed with every single track on Kacey Musgraves’ new album “Golden Hour,” but one song in particular is striking in a heavier way, both evoking and challenging my anxieties...

Review: Kevin Morby crafts immersive show at Saturn

Review: Kevin Morby crafts immersive show at Saturn

Katie Huff April 27, 2018

In November, Katie Crutchfield and Allison Crutchfield were given permanent residence at Birmingham’s Saturn, curator of unmatchable line-ups consisting of increasingly on-the-cusp artists unseen by...

Adderall abuse still widespread among students

Ellen Johnson April 23, 2018

All-nighters can often feel unavoidable in college and, at times, like rites of passage. These sleepless evenings, products of severe procrastination or just a busy schedule, are  fraught with vats of...

Here are the best chicken and waffle dishes in Tuscaloosa

Here are the best chicken and waffle dishes in Tuscaloosa

Ellen Johnson April 16, 2018

Chicken and waffles is a classic, if unusual, Southern dish, but some theorists trace its origins back to distinctly Northern and foreign locales. The recipe is believed to have dawned with the creativity...

Q&A: Forest Fire Gospel Choir talk influences, changing Nashville scene

Q&A: Forest Fire Gospel Choir talk influences, changing Nashville scene

Katie Huff April 12, 2018

Four hours away in Nashville, Tennessee, students at Belmont University, a liberal arts college that is home to the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, are immersed in crafting music and...

Review: Japanese Breakfast and co. bring energetic garage rock to Saturn

Review: Japanese Breakfast and co. bring energetic garage rock to Saturn

Katie Huff April 10, 2018

Not until the year 2022 are we promised a 50/50 gender balance at 45 music festivals. While this is a thrilling, and warranted, future promise to music consumers and makers, what’s difficult to swallow...

Review: CBDB solidify themselves among jam band ranks

Review: CBDB solidify themselves among jam band ranks

Ellen Johnson April 9, 2018

CBDB have unearthed a combination shared by only a handful of popular jam bands: lyrical mastery coupled with equally impressive jamming techniques. Most bands of this nature have obviously achieved a...

Hometown heroes of jam CBDB return to Tuscaloosa

Hometown heroes of jam CBDB return to Tuscaloosa

Ellen Johnson April 6, 2018

A season of shows at Druid City Music Hall isn't really complete unless CBDB's on the marquee.  Tonight, Friday April 6, the Tuscaloosa-based CBDB will once again return to Druid City Music Hall. The...

Track by Track series: UA Theatre & Dance stage manager crafts diverse playlist

Track by Track series: UA Theatre & Dance stage manager crafts diverse playlist

Ellen Johnson April 5, 2018

"Track by Track" is a series where students share their daily musical diets in a Spotify playlist. Katelyn Worsham has broad tastes in music. The sophomore majoring in theatre and English with a Russian...

The Golden Hour: Graduation photography businesses boom

The Golden Hour: Graduation photography businesses boom

Ellen Johnson April 5, 2018

The Walk of Champions is sticky. The plaques celebrating Alabama football’s national and SEC titles, which fall in a neat row stretching from the base of Bryant-Denny Stadium down to University Boulevard,...

Green Bar an expanding niche for original music

Green Bar an expanding niche for original music

Katie Huff April 2, 2018

Green Bar is in the business of repurposing, changing a seemingly ordinary space into a distinctive locale. They're switching to a can-only beer list, allowing for an entirely recyclable bar service and...

Review: Hinds brings new focus to women in rock

Review: Hinds brings new focus to women in rock

Katie Huff March 27, 2018

In a dimly lit, low-ceilinged music venue, a densely packed, impassioned audience slung locally-sourced IPAs through the throngs of fellow active listeners and participants. The atmosphere was entangled...

Music Column: Invest in your regional venues

Music Column: Invest in your regional venues

Katie Huff March 21, 2018

In Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Julie Byrne, the Central Park central ranger who doubles as an enchantingly ethereal folk singer-songwriter, donned a simple sequined dress and no shoes to perform a delicately...

Fusion jam band Flow Tribe to play Green Bar tonight

Fusion jam band Flow Tribe to play Green Bar tonight

Katie Huff March 1, 2018

UA students flocked to the streets of New Orleans following the Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Jan. 1. The celebration continued following the National Championship game on Jan. 8 in Atlanta....

Music Column: Four new singles you need to hear ASAP

Music Column: Four new singles you need to hear ASAP

Katie Huff February 27, 2018

In a seemingly mundane world of time zones and the circumstantial references that place us in said realm of time, there is a gleaming light of pleasure for those not looped into Eastern Standard Time....

Some of the best sex songs aren't overtly sexual

Some of the best sex songs aren’t overtly sexual

Ellen Johnson February 22, 2018

Sex is not a topic underrepresented in music. In fact, just about every corner of modern music is laced with sexual innuendos. Even if sex isn’t mentioned explicitly in the lyrics, songs can feel sexy...

Music Column: Waxahatchee and Kevin Morby encompass Molina's musical imprint

Music Column: Waxahatchee and Kevin Morby encompass Molina’s musical imprint

Katie Huff February 20, 2018

Between Birmingham and Montgomery lies the Waxahatchee River. Twenty-two miles long, it constitutes the unsung border between Shelby and Chilton counties. A waterway typically provides jet-skiing and kayaking...

5 local underrated Mexican spots are some of the best

5 local underrated Mexican spots are some of the best

Ellen Johnson February 19, 2018

You don’t need a lot of money to eat at a great Mexican restaurant in Tuscaloosa. While Taco Mama and Chuy’s are often heralded as being the best places in town to grab Mexican cuisine, they’re just...

Student-run art history profile gains national following

Student-run art history profile gains national following

Ellen Johnson February 15, 2018

Unlike most schools, Taylor Murray’s high school didn’t offer art classes – not even a humanities course. But a lack of art courses at Murray’s Wicksburg, Alabama high school didn’t deter him...

Phoebe Bridgers performs sold out show in Birmingham

Phoebe Bridgers performs sold out show in Birmingham

Ellen Johnson February 14, 2018

The title of Phoebe Bridgers’ 2017 album, “Stranger in the Alps” is a stark contradiction to the record’s contents. The name is derived from a line in the cult comedy film “The Big Lebowski,”...

UA Theatre & Dance opens 'Vinegar Tom' tonight

UA Theatre & Dance opens ‘Vinegar Tom’ tonight

Ellen Johnson February 13, 2018

UA Theatre & Dance is brewing up something entertaining this week through Sunday, Feb. 18. Starting tonight, Tuesday, Feb. 13, they'll present "Vinegar Tom," a play about the witch trials in 17th century...

Music Column: Take a gander at the Phish Phanatics

Music Column: Take a gander at the Phish Phanatics

Katie Huff February 13, 2018

Phish “phans” have an app. It can be phound in the App Store and downloaded to your phone. Through this app, phanatics have, at their phingertips, twenty-phour minute jam sessions that drastically...

Students partner with, promote local entertainers

Students partner with, promote local entertainers

Katie Huff February 12, 2018

Between The Jupiter and Druid City Music Hall, The Strip continuously houses the various musical stylings of local, regional and nationally-recognized artists. From The Avett Brothers at The Jupiter in...

Track by Track Series: Monarch Barista cherishes the comfort in music, shares mix

Track by Track Series: Monarch Barista cherishes the comfort in music, shares mix

Ellen Johnson February 9, 2018

"Track by Track" is a series where students share their daily musical diets in a Spotify playlist. Before working at Monarch Espresso Bar, Kaitlyn Clements, a senior majoring in social work, preferred...

Music Column: Women in music fight back

Music Column: Women in music fight back

Katie Huff January 30, 2018

The year 2017, shockingly, lasted only 365 days. It’s difficult to understand how one year can hold such immense tragedy while simultaneously providing an outpouring of unique art that asks for change,...

Artists from the Hangout lineup to watch for at The Grammys

Artists from the Hangout lineup to watch for at The Grammys

Katie Huff January 26, 2018

While Hangout Music Fest always promises its patrons a sandy setting, the need for sunscreen, a laidback festival vibe and the picturesque landscape of Gulf Shores, this year also comes with the chance...

Q&A: Tuscaloosa band Seismos talk broad scope of sound and T-town scene

Q&A: Tuscaloosa band Seismos talk broad scope of sound and T-town scene

Katie Huff January 25, 2018

“We have to get a fan mail and start it off with ‘Hello Repeat Offenders,’” said RJ Marchand, drummer for the genre-bending, Tuscaloosa-based band Seismos.  Seismos is a quartet of musicians with...

Music Column: Bands show their brightest versatilities via covers

Music Column: Bands show their brightest versatilities via covers

Katie Huff January 23, 2018

This weekend, Jason Isbell did a three-night run at Alabama Theatre starting Thursday and running through Saturday. This marked the beginning of Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s tour following the release...

Review: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit is a country band that plays rock concerts

Review: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit is a country band that plays rock concerts

Ellen Johnson January 22, 2018

Though a self-pronounced denouncer of most modern, country music, I once attended a country show. There, a troop of mostly passé country artists, including singer John Conlee and vocal group The Whites...

Column: Why Tuscaloosa needs a brick and mortar bagel shop

Column: Why Tuscaloosa needs a brick and mortar bagel shop

Katie Huff January 19, 2018

Going to the dentist as a child would incite a strongest sense of panic in my bones. I feared everything, from the smell of the waiting room and the receptionist’s alarmingly too-cheery demeanor, to...

Alumna to showcase collection at February New York Fashion Week

Alumna to showcase collection at February New York Fashion Week

Ellen Johnson January 18, 2018

By Ellen Johnson | Culture Editor  Caroline Ruder's designs are bold: yellow midi dresses studded with sparkly flares, sweeping black gowns with scale-like appliqués, color-blocked capes. Just a few...

Sloss Music & Arts Festival reveals 2018 lineup

Sloss Music & Arts Festival reveals 2018 lineup

Ellen Johnson January 18, 2018

Sloss Music & Arts Festival, which since its incarnation in 2015 has served as Birmingham's signature summer music festival, has announced its lineup for the 2018 event. This year's festival will take...

Music Column: Thundercat, taste and defending your musical preferences

Music Column: Thundercat, taste and defending your musical preferences

Katie Huff January 16, 2018

Thundercat, or Stephen Bruner in less funkified terms, is a bass guitarist that can undeniably envoke feelings of sly coolness on any listener. Listening to his new album “Drunk” feels almost deliriously...

Here are all the 2018 Tuscaloosa Amphitheater shows announced so far

Here are all the 2018 Tuscaloosa Amphitheater shows announced so far

Katie Huff January 11, 2018

Despite the recent frigid weather and ice skating rink still occupying Tuscaloosa Amphitheater’s pit seating, the venue has released a lineup for its upcoming Coca-Cola Concert Series starting in March....

Gorgas House doll exhibit to close this weekend

Gorgas House doll exhibit to close this weekend

Ellen Johnson January 11, 2018

While dolls might be a thing of your childhood, they can be art, too. Tomorrow is the last day to see "A Life With Dolls: The Dolls of Susan Hodgson," an exhibit at the Gorgas House Museum on campus. Hodgson's...

Following Las Vegas, country musicians struggle to find their free speech footing

Following Las Vegas, country musicians struggle to find their free speech footing

Ellen Johnson December 7, 2017

Last month, country artist and southern outcast Sturgill Simpson stood outside the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville as the Country Music Awards roared on inside, lacking one of its not-so-obvious key players. ...

Music Column: The year's best albums, as reviewed via haikus

Music Column: The year’s best albums, as reviewed via haikus

Katie Huff December 5, 2017

This is an arbitrary list. Every list like this is. These opinions are formed from a wide range of conflicting, correlated experiences and opinions that have formed my personal preferences and opinions....

Music Column: Genres often a barrier to musical exploration

Music Column: Genres often a barrier to musical exploration

Katie Huff November 28, 2017

I share a dark past with the year 2010: this is the time when I listened to, and pretended to enjoy, the music of Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney, but not ironically. In order to comfort my shame surrounding...

Auburn vs. Alabama 'The Price Is Right' episode to air tomorrow

Auburn vs. Alabama ‘The Price Is Right’ episode to air tomorrow

Ellen Johnson November 21, 2017

A special college rivalry episode of game show "The Price Is Right" will air tomorrow, and just like Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium, Alabama will take on Auburn in the program.  The episode, titled "Thanksgiving...

Kendrick Lamar, The Killers to headline 2018 Hangout Music Fest

Kendrick Lamar, The Killers to headline 2018 Hangout Music Fest

Ellen Johnson November 14, 2017

Hangout Music Fest announced this morning their 2018 lineup, which features headliners Kendrick Lamar, The Killers and The Chainsmokers. Three-day tickets for the festival, which will take over Gulf Shores...

Music Column: In the marriage of funk and jazz, Vulfpeck are savvy orchestrators

Music Column: In the marriage of funk and jazz, Vulfpeck are savvy orchestrators

Katie Huff November 14, 2017

My infatuation with drummers stems from an incredible, almost unreasonable, overindulgence of the movie “Whiplash.” Andrew Neiman, Whiplash’s main character, is an underappreciated jazz drummer under...

Theatre Tuscaloosa hosts community theatre festival

Theatre Tuscaloosa hosts community theatre festival

Ellen Johnson November 10, 2017

Four Alabama community theatre companies, including Theatre Tuscaloosa, will compete in a festival this weekend.  The "ACTFest" is the Alabama Conference of Theatre's Community Theatre Festival, and this...

Music Column: The forgotten art of album listening

Music Column: The forgotten art of album listening

Katie Huff November 7, 2017

This summer, I listened to “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” on vinyl for the first time.  On Fridays, each intern was given the stomach-turning, impossible task of selecting a record from the label...

Printmaker and alumnus William Hall to lead gallery event today

Printmaker and alumnus William Hall to lead gallery event today

Ellen Johnson November 7, 2017

A master printmaker is coming to campus today. This morning at 10 a.m., artist and alumnus William Hall will lead a walkthrough and talk pertaining to the current exhibition at the Sarah Moody Gallery...

Loosa and UPerk host joint block party tonight

Loosa and UPerk host joint block party tonight

Ellen Johnson November 3, 2017

Two downtown spots are coming together tonight to host a community block party. Local beer hub Loosa and coffee-infused gathering place UPerk are collaborating to put on Beans & Brews Block Party, which...

Students collaborate on short film set in a bowling alley

Students collaborate on short film set in a bowling alley

Ellen Johnson November 2, 2017

By Ellen Johnson | Culture Editor There are few stories as relatable as the coming-of-age tale.  Movies like the moody "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and the more quirky "Juno" embody all the characteristics...

Athens band to share their country psychedelic sounds with Alabama tonight

Athens band to share their country psychedelic sounds with Alabama tonight

Katie Huff November 2, 2017

On Thursday night, a mere two days following Halloween, Saturn, a favorite Birmingham music venue, will be full to the brim of concert-goers donning their All Hallow’s Eve best if Futurebirds get their...

Music Column: Finally, a Halloween playlist free of "Thriller"

Music Column: Finally, a Halloween playlist free of “Thriller”

Katie Huff October 31, 2017

In 2016, just a year ago, an album was released that will forever alter my view of themed Halloween music. Made famous by infomercials circulating through what could only be described as children’s television...

Music Column: You don't know LCD Soundsystem until it's right in front of your face

Music Column: You don’t know LCD Soundsystem until it’s right in front of your face

Katie Huff October 24, 2017

Here marks the beginning of another consistent trite Brooklyn-indie-rock music scene saga. This results in an end of close examination of LCD Soundsystem, James Murphy and the band’s fans. This brief...

Dawes to open for Kings of Leon tonight at the Amphitheater

Dawes to open for Kings of Leon tonight at the Amphitheater

Ellen Johnson October 23, 2017

If you watch "Alternate Theories of Physics," a documentary detailing the making of Dawes' most recent album, "We're All Gonna Die," you'll witness band members Taylor Goldsmith, Griffin Goldsmith, Wylie...

Festival regulars Rainbow Kitten Surprise to play Druid City tonight

Festival regulars Rainbow Kitten Surprise to play Druid City tonight

Ellen Johnson October 19, 2017

Boone, N.C., whose population peaks at about 18,000, is a cozy college town nestled in the stacks of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s home to Appalachian State University, and it’s where, literally in...

Student musician a key player in burgeoning campus band scene

Student musician a key player in burgeoning campus band scene

Katie Huff October 19, 2017

The blue, three-way divided plate rests against the checkered tablecloth with mashed potatoes, fried okra, buttermilk chicken and, hopefully, a square of cornbread. While pleasantries bounce around the...

Music Column: Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile converse, share mutual affection in new record

Music Column: Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile converse, share mutual affection in new record

Katie Huff October 17, 2017

Clashing and thrashing through an indispensable relationship that seems essential and almost too obvious, if only because of similarly scruffy hair, Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett make music about making...

Music Column: Male superiority in music dialogue should be combatted

Music Column: Male superiority in music dialogue should be combatted

Katie Huff October 10, 2017

In 30 minutes and ten tracks, Whitney’s two frontmen, Julien Ehrlich and Max Kakacek, take the listener through a brutal, bitter winter, made more depressing by two devastating break-ups. They shut themselves...

Track by Track Series: Jared Hunter shares his favorite jams

Track by Track Series: Jared Hunter shares his favorite jams

Ellen Johnson October 4, 2017

"Track by Track" is a new series where students share their daily musical diets in a Spotify playlist. Jared Hunter likes to start his days with Calvin Harris' slick beats and see the hours through with...

Music Column: Sharing music should be intimate

Music Column: Sharing music should be intimate

Katie Huff October 3, 2017

Finding personal interactions can become pretty fruitless in most cases. The ability to say we are connected to others because of our phones is redundant and seems to be a substitute for connection. To...

Band of Horses rock Druid City in Sunday night show

Band of Horses rock Druid City in Sunday night show

Ellen Johnson September 26, 2017

Sunday night rocked.  While the first night of the week is classically reserved for catching up on homework assignments and observing NFL games, this Sunday, Sept. 24, ushered the week in with a hollering...

St. Paul & the Broken Bones, with Hall & Oates return home to Alabama

St. Paul & the Broken Bones, with Hall & Oates return home to Alabama

Ellen Johnson September 21, 2017

Paul Janeway, lead singer of St. Paul & the Broken Bones and a Birmingham native, is known for his boisterous on-stage antics. He’s been known to run amok – twirling around and hopping over and under...

Track by Track series: Stadium songs round out Capstone Woman's list

Track by Track series: Stadium songs round out Capstone Woman’s list

Ellen Johnson September 20, 2017

"Track by Track" is a new series where students share their daily musical diets in a Spotify playlist. This is the second in the series.  Oftentimes, it's the music we've known the best and the longest...

Music Column: Digging deep into the black hole of genres

Music Column: Digging deep into the black hole of genres

Katie Huff September 19, 2017

The endless void of music and genres is immense and feels like a black hole. I’ll never know it all. I don’t think it would be possible to make even a microscopic dent. This year, I’ve listened to...

Tuscaloosa escape room offers thrills and chills

Tuscaloosa escape room offers thrills and chills

Ellen Johnson September 18, 2017

By Ellen Johnson | Culture Editor The thrill of escaping is one many of us will not actually experience, but maybe we seek that certain adrenaline rush and a chance to put our skills and critical thinking...

Deer Tick, and comedian Chris Crofton, slated for Sunday show at Saturn

Deer Tick, and comedian Chris Crofton, slated for Sunday show at Saturn

Ellen Johnson September 15, 2017

Outside of the humorous antics between band members, a band tour isn't the usual hangout for a comedian. For Americana rock outfit Deer Tick, however, welcoming stand-up comedians into their tour was an...

Track by Track series: The Strokes, The Velvet Underground among SGA Attorney General's picks

Track by Track series: The Strokes, The Velvet Underground among SGA Attorney General’s picks

Ellen Johnson September 13, 2017

"Track by Track" is a new series where students share their daily musical diets in a Spotify playlist. This is the first feature in the series.  For Lance McCaskey, Attorney General of the SGA and a senior...

Musicians to cover Grateful Dead at Bama Theatre

Musicians to cover Grateful Dead at Bama Theatre

Ellen Johnson September 12, 2017

The Grateful Dead once treated Tuscaloosans to a show at the Memorial Coliseum (now Coleman), in May of 1977. Forty years later, Bob Weir probably won't be breezing through Tuscaloosa any time soon. But...

Music Column: Recent releases to please your ears

Music Column: Recent releases to please your ears

Katie Huff September 12, 2017

In the past few weeks, my Release Radar playlist on Spotify has been full of depressing remixes to Haim songs or tracks that came out three weeks ago that I've already delved into. Things have changed...

Judah & the Lion take Druid City tonight

Judah & the Lion take Druid City tonight

Katie Huff September 6, 2017

The four-piece Nashville band Judah & The Lion takes the stage at Druid City Music Hall tonight with a unique alternative, folk rock sound. Touring their new album, “Folk Hop N’ Roll,” the band provides...

Music Column: Lorde's "Melodrama" isn't worth the hype

Music Column: Lorde’s “Melodrama” isn’t worth the hype

Katie Huff September 5, 2017

The most controversial opinion that I find true is that Lorde’s “Melodrama” is devastatingly awful and that Arcade Fire’s “Everything Now” is brilliant. Both albums consumed music news this...

Upcoming Birmingham music you won't want to miss

Upcoming Birmingham music you won’t want to miss

Ellen Johnson August 29, 2017

By Ellen Johnson | Culture Editor  While Tuscaloosa is perfectly capable of holding its own when it comes to live music this fall, Birmingham also boasts a superb lineup of artists and bands heading to...

Music Column: A stellar back-to-school playlist

Music Column: A stellar back-to-school playlist

Katie Huff August 29, 2017

Syllabus week is over. The joy of walking to class and seeing familiar faces will soon diminish. Earbuds will run rampant and angsty music will be in full force as we fill our days with trips to the Gorgas...

Moon Taxi to perform back-to-back nights at Druid City

Moon Taxi to perform back-to-back nights at Druid City

Ellen Johnson August 24, 2017

For the third year in a row, Moon Taxi is is back in Tuscaloosa to kick off another school year, taking another two-night residency at Druid City Music Hall. The Nashville-based band returns to Druid City...

The top four albums of the summer

The top four albums of the summer

Katie Huff July 24, 2017

Music has had a pretty good summer in my opinion; actually it’s been incredible. I’m utterly impressed by the truly unique and inventive albums that have finally become available during these last...

Music Column: Closing time

Music Column: Closing time

Katie Huff April 28, 2017

Six words have been floating across the Quad for the past month: “What are you doing this summer?” Some confidently tell their class acquaintances that they have accepted an internship with one of...

Six years later, UA professors remember 2011 tornados

Six years later, UA professors remember 2011 tornados

Ellen Johnson April 27, 2017

About three blocks behind Tuscaloosa's Central High School, right off Hargrove Road, is a neighborhood that Lydia Avant has called home for 11 years now. There's a park across the street from her house...

A passion for jamming: How three college bands were born in Tuscaloosa

A passion for jamming: How three college bands were born in Tuscaloosa

Katie Huff April 24, 2017

Throughout four years of college, 
students are expected to memorize various formulas in order to excel in 
understanding certain topics. While these formulas lead to success in the academic realm...

The only playlist you'll need for A-Day

The only playlist you'll need for A-Day

Katie Huff April 21, 2017

This Saturday, the Crimson Tide will be playing the Crimson Tide, a spring semester tradition entitled A-Day. No spring semester is complete without the brief glance into the excitement and joy felt by...

Music Column: Most recent memorable SNL musical guests

Music Column: Most recent memorable SNL musical guests

Katie Huff April 18, 2017

On Saturday nights at 11:30 p.m. eastern time, the Studio 8H stage in Rockefeller Center is transformed from a Grand Central Station terminal to a different performance venue depending on the performer....

King's German Legion a three-piece power trio in Tuscaloosa to perform at Oz Music

King's German Legion a three-piece power trio in Tuscaloosa to perform at Oz Music

Katie Huff April 17, 2017

Standing a few rows back at Alcove, you may catch brief glances of the three-piece rock band performing eye level with the audience. The band members are dressed in Napoleonic-era garb, with white shirts...

Five newsletters (besides the Skimm) you should be getting in your inbox

Five newsletters (besides the Skimm) you should be getting in your inbox

Ellen Johnson April 13, 2017

With all the “fake news” and “alternative facts” swirling around out there on the ever-mind-boggling Internet, it can be a tricky game trying to sort through it all. It’s always good to follow...

The Weeks talk southern music and life, will perform at Druid City tonight

The Weeks talk southern music and life, will perform at Druid City tonight

Ellen Johnson April 12, 2017

"Be stubborn."That's Sam Williams' advice to any young band just starting out. A lot of good opportunities will come your way early, he said, but you have to know which ones are the right ones to take."It's...

Music Column: Standout tracks for the week

Music Column: Standout tracks for the week

Katie Huff April 11, 2017

On Jan. 1, I created a playlist. It’s the fruition of a wild idea: to place all the music that I listen to and enjoy throughout 2017 in one place. In the past, I created playlists with specific sounds,...

T-Town trivia nights: Seven places to play trivia in Tuscaloosa

T-Town trivia nights: Seven places to play trivia in Tuscaloosa

Katie Huff April 10, 2017

Finding entertainment in Tuscaloosa is not a difficult task, but finding entertainment that increases intellectual prowess is a more difficult search. Luckily, a variety of restaurants, bars and breweries...

Music Column: My Morning Jacket's resurgence with Jim James at the head

Music Column: My Morning Jacket's resurgence with Jim James at the head

Katie Huff April 4, 2017

Very rarely do people go through the same music interests at the same time. My friends and I will typically discuss music with each other and introduce new artists, but recently I have noticed a trend...

Music Column: My Morning Jacket's resurgence with Jim James at the head

Music Column: My Morning Jacket's resurgence with Jim James at the head

Katie Huff April 4, 2017

Very rarely do people go through the same music interests at the same time. My friends and I will typically discuss music with each other and introduce new artists, but recently I have noticed a trend...

Q&A with Chris Hornbrook: drummer talks style, influences

Q&A with Chris Hornbrook: drummer talks style, influences

Katie Huff April 3, 2017

Chris Hornbrook marches to the beat of many drums. The spectrum of genres in his musical repertoire varies from punk to electronic. Hornbrook plays with Big Black Delta and Senses Fail, but he continues...

From makers of 'Serial' and 'This American Life' comes 'S-town,' based on Alabama town

From makers of 'Serial' and 'This American Life' comes 'S-town,' based on Alabama town

Ellen Johnson March 28, 2017

The massively popular "Serial" has ushered podcasts into mainstream entertainment since its debut in 2014. Now, creators Julie Snyder and Sarah Koenig are back with "S-Town," which is hosted by Brian...

The seasoned Chris Robinson Brotherhood takes Druid City Music Hall tonight

The seasoned Chris Robinson Brotherhood takes Druid City Music Hall tonight

Katie Huff March 28, 2017

When five musicians with over 100 years of experience in the music industry through various projects, solo careers and involvement in other bands come together, one wouldn't assume a specific group of...

Weekend Band Scene: March 24-26

Weekend Band Scene: March 24-26

Katie Huff March 24, 2017

While the weather improves and the end of the semester feels imminent, Tuscaloosa’s live music scene also begins to pick up. Venues, like Green Bar, have back-to-back nights of good music. Make sure...

Lean Green Music Machine: A look at Green Bar's history, influences on T-Town scene

Lean Green Music Machine: A look at Green Bar's history, influences on T-Town scene

Katie Huff March 23, 2017

Any given weekend night, Thursdays included, the all-too-familiar chorus of ‘Wagon Wheel” echoes through Tuscaloosa's downtown bars. A cover band strums away as a most-likely-intoxicated audience...

Music Column: Interview with Athens band Futurebirds

Music Column: Interview with Athens band Futurebirds

Katie Huff March 21, 2017

There’s this band from Athens, Georgia, (I know what you’re thinking – of course they’re from Athens) with the ability to combine a broad array of genres into a unique southern psychedelic rock...

Feed Your Feed: UA foodies take over Instagram

Feed Your Feed: UA foodies take over Instagram

Ellen Johnson March 9, 2017

A pepperoni pizza pic so cheesy you could take a bite out of your phone screen. A donut snapshot so 
scrumptious you find yourself driving to the nearest Krispy Kreme. Endless ice cream images. Etchings...

Music Column: Music changes rapidly, and that's OK

Music Column: Music changes rapidly, and that's OK

Katie Huff March 7, 2017

There are 37,665 students at The University of Alabama. When I walk the Quad, a favorite pastime of mine, I encounter my fellow students, but I will never have the opportunity to know them all. They may...

Weekend Band Scene: March 3-5

Weekend Band Scene: March 3-5

Katie Huff March 3, 2017

Just like any other weekend, Tuscaloosa’s music scene will be in full-swing with a wide variety of live music options.VCTRE w/ Illvis at Green Bar: On Friday night, UA student Aaron Pugh, will take...

Dawes takes Iron City tonight

Dawes takes Iron City tonight

Ellen Johnson March 3, 2017

The phrase "Roll Tide" can be heard anywhere in Alabama at almost any time, and has been used as an exclamation, greeting and remark, just to name a few. But thanks to the band Dawes, it's also found...

Music Column: John Mayer's "Wave Two"

Music Column: John Mayer's “Wave Two”

Katie Huff February 28, 2017

If you happen to look at my previous columns, you might notice a single strand found throughout: John Mayer. I know that liking Mayer and his music is fairly commonplace these days, but since this is an...

Music Column: The best covers of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," ranked

Music Column: The best covers of Bob Dylan's “All Along the Watchtower,” ranked

Katie Huff February 21, 2017

Every wildly successful rock band, or musician, with the capable skills must cover one specific song to receive utmost respect. This song has been covered by many of your favorite bands. My personal opinion...

Whitney's "Light Upon the Lake" is one of 2016's top albums

Whitney's “Light Upon the Lake” is one of 2016's top albums

Katie Huff February 16, 2017

The name “Whitney” typically makes a list of popular girl names, but in 2016, this name was seen on another type of list: Best Albums of 2016. The alternative band from Chicago is the union of talented...

Music Column: Not to be dramatic, but Bon Iver has another band you've never heard of

Music Column: Not to be dramatic, but Bon Iver has another band you've never heard of

Katie Huff February 14, 2017

Bon Iver’s newest album, “22, A Million,” was released after a five-year hiatus for the band following the release of the self-titled “Bon Iver.” Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, however, did not take...

CBDB rocks Druid City in hometown performance

CBDB rocks Druid City in hometown performance

Ellen Johnson February 13, 2017

If you’ve never before heard of the music genre “joyfunk,” you’ve probably never heard of Tuscaloosa-founded band CBDB either.The CBDB members – Cy Simonton on guitar, Kris Gottlieb on guitar/vocals,...

Music Column: Tame Impala's essential tracks

Music Column: Tame Impala's essential tracks

Katie Huff November 1, 2016

On July 29, 2016, John Mayer posted an Instagram of an album cover. The caption read, “This is the best record of the past two or three years. Proven many times over in my head. Think Radiohead 1996....