Good Old War | Photo by Cameron Pollack for WXPN | cameronpollackphotography.com
Good Old War, Gabriel Garzón-Montano and The Morelings will play WXPN’s Red Bull SoundSelect show on 3/17
It’s been a minute since we’ve thrown a proper party with the Red Bull Sound Select folks, and we’re super excited to return to their series of gigs this winter with the XPN-curated showcase on Thursday, March 17th, featuring an acoustic set from folk-pop faves Good Old War, the stirring electronic soul of Gabriel Garzón-Montano and blissed-out psychedelia from Philadelphia’s The Morelings.
The show takes place in The Foundry at The Fillmore Philly and is $3 when you RSVP here, so do that right now, and read more about the artists below.
We’ve had our eyes on Philadelphia’s Good Old War for the better part of the last decade, ever since they emerged from lauded local acts Days Away (a pop-punk group) and Unlikely Cowboy (a roots / Americana band). The band has built up a loyal national fanbase from innumerable tour outings that criss-cross the country, and the 2015 LP Broken Into Better Shape is its most refined and confident studio outing to date, mixing the acoustic-pop they’ve become known for with stratospheric production that launches it into another universe entirely. Good Old War will perform acoustic for in their headlining set at this Red Bull Sound Select show, and it might be from the stage, or it might be in the middle of the crowd, as they have a penchant for doing. Check out video of them mixing it up with fans at the House of Blues in Cleveland below.
New York downbeat electro pop artist Gabriel Garzón-Montano has been crafting away at his unique songwriting sound for a few years now, and got a big boost last year when Drake sampled his song “6 8” on “The Jungle” from If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. Free of the self-effacing melodic rhymes of Drizzy, Gabriel’s music is grippingly paced in a very James Blake kind of way, but that’s just a surface comparison, since Blake feels cold and distant in his arty soundscapes, whereas Garzón-Montano is warm and inviting. He’s also toured with Lenny Kravitz and collab’d with Eliza Dolittle; get to know him in this Spin profile and listen to the Bishouné: Alma del Huila EP below.
We’re big fans of the vibes that The Morelings are laying down. Last fall the Philly band dropped the No Sign EP on Bandcamp and proceeded to make a trilogy of music videos for each of its songs. As recorded by Kedra Caroline and Matthew William, the music is spectral and dream-like, with a wash ofilluminating psychedelic sounds cascading out of your earbuds. Live, the project has expanded into a six-piece band that brims with energy and adds a fervent pulse to the music that’s only hinted at in the recordings. We just recorded a Key Studio Session with the band, and will release that before the Red Bull Show. In the meantime, get a sense of what they’re all about in the Bob Sweeney-directed video for “No Sign” below.
WXPN’s Red Bull Sound Select showcase with Good Old War,Gabriel Garzón-Montano and The Morelings takes place on Thursday, March 17th at The Foundry of the Fillmore Philly. RSVP here for $3 admission to the show.