Rising Indie Artist Josiah Mann Shares His First Single “Angel”

Ford Photographs – Nashville Architectural Photographer

Missouri born and raised indie artist Josiah Mann has released his new acoustic indie pop single, “Angel”, released September 1, 2022 from his debut album Grace

“I wrote the song “Angel” 16 years ago after falling in love for the first time. Prior to that relationship, I had never been in a serious relationship as an adult and really struggled with low self worth. To the outside world, I seemed to be accomplishing a lot with my life but I was super lonely. The song recounts our first night together and the feelings of elation and disbelief that someone so amazing and beautiful would actually want to be with me.” 

“Angel” is a love ballad with introspective lyrics and a warm, melodic guitar and piano melody. The song tells a story of love, and the life journey with a vocal strength and vulnerability similar to the likes of John Meyer and Ed Sheeran. 

Listen here:

Mann grew up in a family that was always struggling financially, and Josiah was bankrupt at the age of only 25. He was so determined to turn his life around, that he taught himself how to code and began earning a 6 figure salary. By the age of 35, he sold his software company for 7 figures. 

After having established himself financially, Mann was then able to develop more of his musical talents and sought to release an album. His debut, “Grace” is a 10 song, self produced collection of songs that reflect on his upbringing and life journey so far. 

With an authenticity and fresh talent on the indie pop scene, Joshua Mann is sure to attract a growing fanbase around the world. 

Stay current with Josiah Mann on his Website and social media channels Instagram , Facebook and  TikTok. Stream music on YouTube , Spotify and Soundcloud

Erika Olson’s “Mamma Ain’t Got No Time” Shines a Light on Her Unique Life of Motherhood

Singer/songwriter Erika Olson has a new single out called “Mamma Ain´t Got No Time,” a folksy pop ballad on the life of a mother. It is a rich and intricate song with descriptive and emotional lyrics and an overall light energy. This song is one you will want to play again and again, with it´s unique folk and country vibes:

“‘Momma Ain’t Got No Time’ was born from a conversation with a dear friend.  I’d just started songwriting and was struggling with not having any time to do it.  My friend so wisely suggested that I write that song.  And so, it began.  This was not the first song that I wrote, but it was the first song I wrote in my own voice.  I felt like this song revealed who I was and how I saw the world.  Yes, life is hard, motherhood is a huge transition, and also it is magical, transformative, and I don’t regret it for a second.

Erika is an American expat currently living in East Sussex, England. She grew up living all over the United States, from New Mexico to Utah, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and North Carolina. 

Having left a busy law career on becoming a mother, and realising she needed to explore her musical and creative talents more, Erika dug deep and started taking guitar lessons. It was then that she could take some reflection time away from raising her three young children, and revel in her creative passions. 

“Mamma Ain´t Got No Time” is all about motherhood and its sea of chaos, the ups and the downs. Rooted in the everyday things, Olson is sure to be a witness to her own journey of becoming a mother as well as use her music as a vessel to wake us up to our own precious and unique lives. 

Just about to self-release her debut album, Erika has learned that change is her constant and her power. 

Listen here:

Stay current with Erika Olson on her website and social media channels Instagram, Facebook and Twitter 

Stream music on  YouTube and Soundcloud

“One Last Kiss” is the Folk Pop Melody We Want

Emily + Shawn release a new single called “One Last Kiss” and we will play it one thousand times over! It’s a song that celebrates the freedom that comes with putting your foot down and just moving on. It’s reminiscent of the sounds of Gwen Stefani married with Sara Bareillis and The Lumineers, putting their own spin on folk-pop. “One Last Kiss” is infectious and hypnotic. You’ll find yourself singing along in no time.

“This song started out as a slow acoustic ballad, reflecting on our frustrations with the drag of the 9-5 workday. Making music is what we love, but our day jobs are a “necessary evil” in order to put food on the table while we shift our careers from typical corporate and government jobs into the music industry.”

Listen here:

The journey of Emily + Shawn started in college, where they met and fell in love with each other. While Emily began her career in music theater and took vocal lessons throughout high school and college, Shawn was writing and performing his own original music. In college, they were both in a cappella groups, where they started singing covers and making their own music together.

After college, Shawn moved out west for his day job, but he still performed regularly in and around the southern California scene. Once Shawn moved back east, he performed at the Bethlehem MusikFest and had a jingle he co-wrote used for a national Target ad campaign.

After they got married, they started making original music together – our sound and style combines Emily’s love for indie pop with Shawn’s love for classic folk & blues. We have performed in a variety of venues, from small cafes to crowds of over 5,000 people. In 2019, we began working with renowned vocal coach Wendy Parr, and our recently-recorded debut EP is produced by David Baron (Lumineers, Meghan Trainor, Shawn Mendes).

“We like the real stuff – the good stuff. The stuff that takes time and effort and attention to detail. Artisanship. Handwritten notes. Home made cocktails. Listening to records from start to finish. Finding and creating music that brings us in and takes us somewhere.”

Find Emily + Shawn via:
Website // Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // TikTok // Spotify // Soundcloud

Kick and the Hug’s Video for their Single “Born Too Late” is an Embrace of Live Music Experience of the Past and Present

The up and coming four-piece indie pop band, Kick and the Hug, grew up with a live music experience that, simply put, is slowly going out of style. The era of taking in the music by feeling it is now gone. While the music listeners and concert goers of today still take in the music, though in a new and different way, what they have that Kick and the Hug didn’t is the internet. Smartphones and social media have changed the landscape of concerts and live music, therefore changing the way music is experienced. The generation of Woodstock attendees and Dead Heads are replaced with the new generation of P!nk and Arianna Grande concerts, which is usually posted about the next day. Kick and the Hug’s most recent single, “Born Too Late” is a pop rock song about seeing a concert through the phone.

The video for “Born Too Late” takes the idea of being born into a generation of music that enjoys a concert through posting about being there on Instagram and turns it on it’s head. The normal thing to do now is to post a photo and/or video of the concert you went to. Members of the Kick and the Hug, who would enjoy music like the Dead Heads, were now experiencing music through their phones. They had changed with the time and realized that they were no longer experiencing music the same way either. Their use of baby dolls in the video is a visualization of the older members of the band both embracing social media and a reminder that they don’t need their phones to have an experience.

“It’s a song about watching shows through your phone…being a camera person instead of just being fully immersed in the show,” shares Doug Murray, lead singer and guitar player of Kick and the Hug. “It’s nice to show everyone on social media that you’re having a great time at this awesome show…but you know what’s better? Actually having the great time, not thinking about a post, or tomorrow or even five minutes into the future. It’s a little preachy, cause I catch myself posting clips all the time, but after releasing this song it’s a pretty good reminder to just get the damn shot, stick the phone in my pocket and connect with what’s going on around me.“

Watch the video:

You can find Kick and the Hug via:
Website // Instagram // Facebook // YouTube // Spotify // Soundcloud 

Buffalo Tom on Tour, Hits Up NYC Next Week!


Indie legends Buffalo Tom are making the rounds on a short tour in the next few weeks, and if you missed their Record Store Day performance last weekend, you still have the chance to catch them in New York City amongst other places. The group will be hitting NYC by storm a week from today, Thursday, April 18th at the infamous Bowery Ballroom. The
trio is still supporting their newest release, Skins that hit stores early last month. You do not want to miss out on the chance to catch your new and old favorites on the road.

There are still some tickets left for the Bowery show so snatch them up while you can. You can get them HERE.

Check out the other tour dates below!

APRIL

Thu 28 New York, NY, USA – Bowery Ballroom

Fri 29 Philadelphia, PA, USA – M Room

Sat 30 Washington, D.C., USA – The Black Cat

MAY 2011
Tue 17 San Francisco, CA, USA – Slim’s

Wed 18 Los Angeles, CA, USA – Troubadour

Thu 19 Portland, OR, USA – Doug Fir

Fri 20 Seattle, WA, USA – Chop Suey

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin/Two Door Cinema Club/Tokyo Police Club @ Terminal 5, NYC – January 21st, 2011


Our Modern Mystery favorites, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin took the stage on Friday night at Terminal 5 which was their first time being an opening band in a long time. They knew they had something to prove and they did it well. Starting with Phil Dickey on vocals for the night, the band blew the crowd away and really got the show started. Performing tracks off their new album Let It Sway their catchy indie pop hooks filled the room and had everyone in good spirits. This is a major tour for the boys and we’re proud of them!
-MM

It’s going to sound highly smug of me to say but it has to be said: I was the first person to say Two Door Cinema Club and Tokyo Police Club should tour together. In all honesty I’m not. After seeing Tokyo perform past summer with Passion Pit I (drunkenly) cornered their guitarist/keyboardist Graham Wright and demanded that they toured with Two Door Cinema Club to which he replied “Fuck! You’re the 8th person who’s told me that today!”

Fast forward to January 21st and what would you know? It actually has happened! The two acts are going on a lengthy co-headlining tour around the US and selling out shows effortlessly. To celebrate they even released a mash up of two of their tracks which can be downloaded here

The venue was packed! People of all ages and varieties. A grand highlight of the night was being in the photographers pit and looking at all the young faces. When I was younger I remember music was something you’d use as an escape and the fact these kids would call Two Door Cinema Club an escape was quite something. I personally love Northern Irish music and seeing this band do so well here in the states hit a chord with me (no pun intended). Everyone danced the night away and the band received the most cheer when they played their latest single “What You Know”

For a whole gallery of photos from the entire show be sure to go here