Speedy Ortiz with Big Benny Bailey & The Tisburys

Big Benny Bailey is Shamir and Ben Pierce's fresh country-folk collab. Born in Las Vegas, Shamir rocketed to success before his 20ʼs rolled around. Shamir has maintained not only a devoted following, but also a steady stream of critically acclaimed records in a wide range of genres. The Philadelphia-based artist keeps an unshakeable work ethic. For a 29 year-old, Shamir has amassed a huge body of work. His live show and recorded output are more closely aligned than ever, holding close to guitar-bass-drums combos. But itʼs clear with every shapeshifting release that Shamir can master any form he sets his mind to.

“Rabbit rabbit” is a superstitious incantation repeated on the first of each month to bring good fortune—a belief practiced by Sadie Dupuis, the guitarist, singer and songwriter of the Philadelphia rock quartet Speedy Ortiz. As a child with OCD, she followed arbitrary rituals, a coping mechanism commonly triggered by early trauma, and “rabbit rabbit” was one that stuck. When Dupuis began to parse difficult memories for the first time in her songwriting, it felt like kismet to name her bandʼs resultant fourth record after an expression of luck and repetition: Rabbit Rabbit. Instead of re-treading old routines, the record finds Speedy Ortiz interrogating conventions, grappling with cycles of violence and destructive power dynamics with singular wit and riffs. Rabbit Rabbit finds Speedy Ortiz at its most potent: melodically fierce, sonically mountainous, scorching the earth and beginning anew. Speedy Ortiz debuted as Dupuisʼ home-recording outlet in 2011, but the solo project quickly blew up into a full-fledged band beloved around the world for its pointed lyrics, disarmingly hooky choruses, and musical ingenuity—as well as its activism. The group graced festival stages from Bonnaroo to Primavera, supported heroic artists from Foo Fighters to Liz Phair, and brought acts including Mitski and Soccer Mommy on some of their earliest tours. In 2016, the band relocated from Massachusetts to Philadelphia, with the lineup changing shortly thereafter to include sonically inventive guitarist Andy Molholt (Laser Background, Eric Slick), drivingly melodic bassist Audrey Zee Whitesides (Mal Blum, Little Waist), and heavyhitting drummer Joey Doubek (Pinkwash, Downtown Boys). Rabbit Rabbit is the first Speedy album to feature the longtime touring members as full contributors, and Dupuis and her bandmates blaze with unpredictability, their intrepid playing thrusting songs in exhilarating new directions. The gnarled guitars and imagistic lyrics that defined 2013ʼs Major Arcana, 2015ʼs Foil Deer and 2018ʼs Twerp Verse are still present, but Rabbit Rabbitʼs recordings feel as vast as a desert landscape. “As I was channeling scenes and sentiments from decades past, I wanted to honor the bands I loved when I first learned guitar, ones that taught me to get lost in the possibilities of this instrument,” Dupuis recalls. Speedy Ortiz delved into its membersʼ most formative musical favorites—post-hardcore, the Palm Desert scene, alternative metal—pushing the agile complexity of the guitars and forceful rhythmic interplay between the drums and bass to unprecedentedly tricky extremes. “Every voice has a narrative,” offers Doubek of the arrangement process. “There is so much feeling and melody to interpret, and so much room to express it.”

The Tisburys are an indie rock band from Philadelphia, PA led by singer-songwriter Tyler Asay. The band has released three full-length albums, most recently 2022ʼs Exile On Main Street. Their music has received praise and radio play from NPR, Little Steven's Underground Garage, and 88.5 WXPN, where they played the XPoNential Music Festival. They have shared the stage with national acts (Gin Blossoms, Jenny Lewis, Drive-By Truckers) and local Philadelphia heroes such as The War On Drugs, Baroness, and Dave Hause. The band just completed their first East Coast tour in 2023 and have begun recording their fourth LP. (RIYL: Wilco, Bright Eyes, The Hold Steady).