Your Next Favorite Band

When you hear the sonic bath of an Alysha Brilla song, you are immediately tuned in to something special.  And if that is during a live performance, you are spellbound.  She writes such incredible melodies combined with lyrics that inspire and emote, and then set to instruments that open us up to all that is possible, and delivered with a gorgeous vocal. I was honored to be able to invite Alysha o...

I heard Eph See's song "Malachi the Uber Driver" listening to the NPR All Songs Considered podcast while i was mowing my lawn.  And just like Robin Hilton said as he set-up the song before playing it, I was struck by it so much that I stopped what I was doing and just ... listened. Most often, our guests are musicians that I've seen play live, met them at the merch table, and i...

I learned of Lydia von Hof this summer and was able to catch her performance at Musikfest - and she lit the stage on fire!  This songstress spans all the genres with a powerhouse voice and killer guitar chops.  And her songs are written so well with lyrics that are clever and powerful.   You're gonna wanna for the ride on this episode, because in addition to the great music and the inspiring...

On Sun 9/20, we've curated an incredible show along with The Fallser Club in East Falls, PA: This IS America: with liberty & music for all!   Featuring phenomenal performances by Gangstagrass , Eljuri , and The Flying Vees . This is a celebration of our 250th year with some of the most American music around, as well as a time to urge people to ensure they are registered to vote, they know...

Be sure to tune in for our #BestoftheFest episode where we share our top highlights and nextfavbands we discovered from Musikfest 2026 Featured (chronologically) from Musikfest 2026 00:08:22 - Amelia Day 00:13:19 - Rae the Band 00:18:51 - The Flying Vees 00:33:44 - Insun Park & the Generals 00:42:33 - John Hollier & the Rêverie 00:51:54 - Joe Edelmann 01:00:35 - Clover Stieve 01:12:54 - KO...

Carbon Leaf has an incredible trajectory to their journey - from forming in college, to exploding on to the scene, to signing with a label, to regaining their independence ... all while building an incredible following of loyal fans who love them. I was introduced to them by my long time live music buddy John Getty, and finally got to see them perform in 2020.  Their music immediately grabs you so...

2026 marks our 5th annual Musikfest Exordium where we preview “must see” bands, weather predictions, enjoy some live music, and kick things off with “the first part”. In this last part, we hear from: EPAWA Chief Meteorologist Bobby Martrich regarding how the weather is looking from a few days out of the start of things.  He's been a pretty good luck charm so far, and he's always got thin...

2026 marks our 5th annual Musikfest Exordium where we preview “must see” bands, weather predictions, enjoy some live music, and kick things off with “the first part”. In this segment, we "get to the music" and hear phenomenal live performances from two bands who'll be performing during this year's Fest: Atlassian and Bren. Atlassian Bio Lehigh Valley local favorites Atlassian f...

2026 marks our 5th annual Musikfest Exordium where we preview “must see” bands, weather predictions, enjoy some live music, and kick things off with “the first part”. In this segment, we spend time with ArtsQuest Chief Programming Officer Patrick Brogan to detail our collective "must see" bands and make our case for Best Day of the Fest. We each individually submit our top 10 bands we ar...

First and foremost, Pepperwine is a groovy, funky, beachy vibe that is producing infectious music and puts on killer live shows. But they are also some of the kindest, funniest and most supportive humans around.  They were the 4th ever interview I did, back when I was co-hosting episodes with George Wacker under Lehigh Valley with Love: Music.  They were also part of the first Holiday Spectacular,...

I've heard tracks from Love? said the Commander consistently on Dan Drago's 25 O'Clock Pod pretty regularly over the years.  And every time it always caught my ear, and tug at my emotions.  I suppose that's where the genre label "emo" truly comes from. At some point, when I heard another one of their brilliant songs, I just said "alright, that's it.  I'...

I was able to see Disterbenz (the moniker of Gabrielle Sterbenz) perform live a few years back when she opened for Wheatus and was majorly impressed.  She has a powerful voice and a performance that includes looping of her vocals and guitar that really impresses.  And the songwriting is stellar - mostly Americana, but really a sound all her own. You may already know that she is a member of Wheatus...

We had the great honor of spending time with Wheatus to learn all about how they achieve their iconic sound. We had this awesome group of humans on 3 years ago to dive in to their backstory, and we did that on the sidewalk during Wayne Music Fest.  One of our fav episodes for sure! We then hatched the idea to get back together during one of their concerts in Bethlehem to capture their load-in, sou...

When we had Lia Menaker on back in October, we had out traditional episode format planned and ready, but a combination of some things going on in her life that were connected to her recent release "I'm Still Here" and a perfect synergy with guest co-host Galen Deery, we ended up just talking about things like heartbreak and hurt, and processing things.   At about 32 mins in to that...

One of the things we love the most on this show is when an artist grabs two (or more) genres and brings them together brilliantly and just turns your preconceived notions of what to expect in music on it's ear.  When we took a listen to Orillia for the first time, we knew we were on a ride down a new road and were going to enjoy every turn. We're joined by frontman and songwriter Andrew...

There's a good chance you've seen Jacob Givens have a hilarious reaction to a killer track from the 90s, and if you haven't ... you should. He's developed a series of videos that attempt to express what it was like to hear some of the iconic grunge music of the 1990s for the first time and how mind-blowing it was, and we'd never listen to music the same way after. He also...

We've been enjoying the music of KOSER for quite some time now, via Musikfest discovery and the Philly music scene.  Koser is the namesake of the band and is the frontwoman with powerhouse performance chops, and a brilliant flair for melody and finding that hook that has you coming back for more. During last year's Musikfest Daily LIvestreams, the universe did its magic, by having the sc...

Sometimes you just come across music that makes you feel good.  Perfect for those summertime feelz - let's roll in Julez & the Rollerz! I recently discovered this band and their music and know you will love them.  And their videos are amazing!  Can't wait to share it all, and to dive in to their backstory. Don't miss this one! Band Bio After spending years cultivating a distinct...

Early in the year 1976, a young musician was seeking a place to perform where people wanted to listen.  Frustrated by the spaces where you'd play to a crowd that was otherwise distracted, he sought to find and create an environment where the musician and the audience shared the room and the exchange of energy would be something special. The owner of what was then the Lehigh Tavern (nowadays k...

A songstress from the moment she entered the world, Sadie Gust is the type of musician that was born to do it.  And while she's only at the beginning of her journey, she's already garnering praise and earning accolades for her songwriting and performing. Sadie has won the XPN 24-hour songwriting contest, made it to Hollywood on American Idol, and has released 2 EPs and several singles, w...

I became a fan of Weakened Friends straight off of the first listen of their iconic hit "Blue Again" back in 2019 in preparation of Musikfest that summer.  This many years later, and now hosting a podcast, the opportunity came up to be able to interview Sonia Sturino and Annie Hoffman and I jumped at the opportunity. They've just released brand new music, and it is there best stuff...

I had the honor of attending the first Sustainability Summit hosted by Martin Guitar last October and was so inspired by the speakers, the panels, the information and the people I met while I was there. One of the speakers and tabling organizations was Sustain Music & Nature, and met co-founders CEO Betsy Mortensen and Board Chair Harrison Goodale.  I was amazed by their vision and offerings t...

I had the honor of attending the first Sustainability Summit hosted by Martin Guitar last October and was so inspired by the speakers, the panels, the information and the people I met while I was there. One of the speakers and tabling organizations was Symmetry Wood, and met co-founders CEO Gabe Tavas and CSO Tim Keating.  I was so impressed with their inventive approach to replacing the precious...

Check this ep out for all things No Planet B Jamboree this year and then some.  This is our 4th annual event centered around sustainability and conservation within the music industry and beyond. I'll be joined by special guest co-host Aimee Kohler of The Running Kind , who's helping host the 5k Fun Run prior to the music starting for the 2nd year in a row. Together we'll explore the...

I attended a Sustainability Summit for the music industry hosted by Martin Guitar back in the fall of 2025.  It was a great day of panels, Q&A and networking that includes musicians, manufacturers and support organizations all seeking to make the industry a bit more green, sustainable and less negative impact to the earth. While there, I was able to listen to Ben Kogan speak on one of the pane...