Cash was inspired to write this song after viewing Crane Wilbur’s film Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison which documents the lives and poor treatment of inmates at Folsom State Prison. Following the release of “Folsom Prison Blues” the song became a massive hit, and was wildly popular among inmates. The success of this song led to Cash receiving countless letters from inmates requesting that he come perform at their prison.

Cash was a fan of the idea, but decided to take it a step further and made the decision to record a live album inside of Folsom State Prison. On January 13, 1968 Johnny Cash, accompanied by June Carter, the Statler brothers and the Tennessee Three, visited Folsom prison for the first time. He performed two shows for the inmates that day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Live recordings of various songs from both of these performances were used to create his first live album At Folsom Prison.

This Folsom State Prison visit wasn’t Cash’s first prison performance. His San Quentin State performance on January 1, 1959 was the start of a long line of shows for inmates throughout his career. Merle Haggard, who was serving time for burglary, was in the audience that day at San Quentin State. He recalls “[Cash] had the right attitude. He chewed gum, looked arrogant and flipped the bird to the guards — he did everything the prisoners wanted to do. He was a mean mother from the South who was there because he loved us. When he walked away, everyone in that place had become a Johnny Cash fan.”

Haggard was correct, Johnny Cash did love them. That’s why Cash’s support of the inmates did not stop at his free performances. At this time in history prisons were facing massive issues. Many prisons offered minimal to no recovery programs to their

inmates, instead they turned to means of violence and torture to ‘control’ the inmates. Cash, like many others, were shocked by the treatment these inmates received. They believed that prisons should be offering treatment programs to these inmates so that upon their release, they are better equipped to become productive members of society. Cash became a huge advocate for the rights of prisoners and worked tirelessly to ensure that they received fair treatment. Cash who was known for his rough outlaw image, was evident in having a soft spot for the underdog.

Looking back on Johnny Cash’s career he is considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century and one of the best selling music artists of all time. With that much influence and fame, Cash was able to spread his concern with prison reform to hundreds of thousands of people. While the United State’s prison system is still no where near perfect, we can thank Cash for using his status to shed light on an issue that many often overlook.

For aspiring musicians, Cash’s legacy serves as a beacon of inspiration and a testament to the power of authenticity in music. At LVL Music Academy, where aspiring artists hone their craft, Cash’s fearless approach to blending genres and pushing boundaries serves as a guiding principle. Students learn not only the technical aspects of music but also the importance of storytelling, emotion, and connection with their audience.

Music and Muse is a column used primarily as a platform to discuss all aspects of music and the music industry. The column will also delve into other topics like photography, fashion, travel and whatever else happens to spark my interest.

The post Music and Muse: Lessons in Music History #2 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

When I first walked in the back of Blue Moose around 10 the crowd was nearly non existent, with just a few groups milling around the area. At 10:15, Owen Bones began. I was a little confused at first because Bones set up his stage in a way I had never seen from a DJ before. He had a screen placed in front of him that covered floor to ceiling, and displayed visuals of a man dancing and/or djing. At the beginning of his set he was only playing cliche hip hop and rap songs so I

wasn’t even sure if he had come on stage yet. It didn’t take long to figure out that he had, and that he would be remaining behind this screen for the entirety of his set.

Bone’s entire set consisted mainly of various popular hip hop and rap songs from Chance the Rapper’s “Mixtape” to Sage the Gemini’s “Gas Pedal” and Kendrick Lamar’s “M.A.A.D City”. While these are of course jams that the whole crowd can get down to, it seemed a bit boring to me. Bone’s did not play any of his own music until the last two songs of his set. He has a very differentiated, calm electronic that coupled very well with his visuals.

The Cool Kids took the stage at 11:10 and started the night with their song “Connect Four”. I couldn’t help but instantly notice their sense of fashion. Mikey Rocks was dressed in a half zip sweatshirt and blue jeans, while Chuck Inglish was wearing a black Death Row Records jacket coupled with gray sweatpants and a camouflage bucket hat. The casual fits matched well with their chill personalities and vibes they projected.

The Cool Kids were unbelievably skilled at interacting with the crowd, specifically Chuck Inglish. As a typical Iowa City show, majority of the conversation focused on beer and weed, according to Inglish “Iowa has the best weed” which brought a good laugh from the crowd. Inglish also shared several cans of beer with people in the front row who he “didn’t like seeing without a beer in their hand”.  I’m not sure if it was due to me being close to the stage, or due to their incredible personas but the set made you feel as if The Cool Kid’s were your friends and you were just there hanging out with them.

Among the many songs they played my favorites were their newest single “TV Dinner” and a single from 2016 “Running Man”.

Both members of The Cool Kids and Owen Bones are Chicago natives. I didn’t know this going into the show but once I discovered this it was an ‘ah that makes sense’ moment. I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Chicago native artists, especially ones that are in the hip hop scene. I have found that Chicago artists across the board bring a sound and passion that can only be formed in Chicago. Not to mention, Chicago artists always have a killer fashion sense.

I came into the night only knowing a few of The Cool Kid’s most popular tunes. Here it is the next day and I have already added many of their songs to my playlist. Overall, the show was great and I look forward to see where The Cool Kids go from here.

Want to hear these artist’s for yourself? Check out The Cool Kid’s Soundcloud and Owen Bone’s Soundcloud.

The post Mission Creek: The Cool Kids @ Blue Moose Tap House 4/7/2017 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

As this was my first time attending a literature reading, I was quite unsure what to expect. I arrived at Prairie Lights (one of my favorite bookstores) around 5:30pm. I then headed up stairs to catch a few pictures and grab a coffee before the reading started.

By 5:55 all of the chairs were full, with a group of overflow sitting on the floor in the back. I was pleasantly surprised to see this large of a turnout.

After a lovely introduction that gave the crowd an idea of the presenting author’s writing style, Kristen Radtke took the floor. She began by starting the night with the unfortunate news that her good friend who was set to do the reading with her, Lina Maria Ferreira Cabeza-Vanegas, was not going to be in attendance due to being caught in a flight delay in Charlotte.

She then began reading, accompanied by various art from Imagine Wanting Only This projected across the large screen next to her. While we only got a short bit of the book, and she jumped around quite a lot I was able to gather that the story was focused around a young adult girl and all of the trials and tribulations she faces throughout the course of these years. Radtke mentioned at one point that the young girl depicted throughout the book was in the crowd at Prairie Lights.

Many of the scenes took place in Iowa City, as the main character was a student at the University of Iowa for part of the book. This character states that she appreciates Iowa City as it is “an easy place to feel you have conquered.”

Throughout these depictions Radtke mentioned various aspects of daily Iowa City life from the ‘cobblestone road leading to her front porch at her apartment’ to ‘looking through bar windows downtown’. It was very interesting to see the author’s view of Iowa City presented in this form.

Other parts of the story were a bit darker. Including the loss of one of her friends, Seth, who was a photographer that she seemed to have a high level of admiration for. She also brings in strange post apocalyptic fantasies which I found to be the most intriguing aspect. Radtke has a fascination with ruins throughout the world and you can see certainly see that in her writing.

A few of my favorite quotes from Radtke and her novel were “I wanted to tell someone how much I loved this, so I wrote it down instead” and “We all fantasize disaster”. She not only has a way with creating art, but also an exceptionally beautiful way with words.

The reading was quite short, she began a little after 6pm and finished up prior to 6:30pm. Her reading was followed up by opening the floor to the audience to ask questions.

Through listening to her answer these questions I learned several interesting details about her life and career as a writer. She confessed to not being much a comic book fan as a child, like many graphic novelist tend to be, she even admitted feeling quite overwhelmed by the idea of doing a graphic novel before starting her first. She credits being fired from her high school newspaper staff her senior year, as her motivation for going to art school which I found quite humorous.

My first literature reading experience was eye opening and ensured me that it will not be my last. Being able to see an author present their work in real life brings the book and meaning to life in a whole new way.

In addition to copies available at Prairie Lights, Kristen Radtke’s brand new book Imagine Wanting Only This can be purchased here.

The post Mission Creek: Kristen Radtke @ Prairie Lights 4/6/2017 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

This Clean Energy Plan was put in place with help from electrical contractors here as an attempt to cut carbon emissions from electricity generation by a third in the next fifteen years. As carbon emissions are the leading cause for a climate change, a cut in these emissions would have been a huge step forward in helping the environment. The unwinding of the Clean Energy Plan won’t happen overnight but as of today, Trump has offered no replacement for the plan.

While this cut of the Clean Energy Plan is the most recent, it is most certainly not the first dangerous move Trump has made in terms of the future of our environment. Trump quite notoriously does not care about the environment, he seems to only care about instant gratification of money and job creation (neither of which will matter if the environment is destroyed but I won’t get into that). Below I offer a short list of a few other environmental downfalls of the Trump administration.

1. He is currently the only world leader to deny climate change

Yes, you read that right. The leader of the United States does not believe in climate change. Let’s not forget his famous tweet on the topic.

And a few other questionable tweets about the ‘hoax’ of global warming that have been often overlooked.

     2. He made the worst head of EPA selection probably ever

His name is Scott Pruitt and he might be just as terrible as Trump. He is a climate change skeptic, no surprise. Therefore Pruitt has offered no plans for how he intends to mitigate climate change during his time as the head of EPA. Which is you know, only like the most important aspect of that position. He has long standing ties in the oil and gas industry, again no surprise. Pruitt also has a long history of being opposed to the EPA, the exact agency he is now running. His opposition to the agency is so strong that during Obama’s administration Pruitt filed fourteen lawsuits against the EPA, including suits attempting to block the efforts of clearing smog from national parks and cutting carbon emissions in energy production. He has even mentioned his desire to have the entire agency dismantled. 

3. He doesn’t care about endangered species

The endangered species act created in 1973 is defined as “ an act aimed to provide a framework to conserve and protect endangered and threatened species and their habitats”. The Endangered Species List for the United States currently has over 1600 different species on the list that they are aiming to protect from complete extinction. Last month, a Senate hearing was held on the topic of “modernizing the Endangered Species Act”. In short, Trump and his administration are not a fan of the ESA for two reasons, it cost money to protect these species (money that Trump would rather spend on anything other than helping the environment) and secondly because they believe it “overreaches and harms the drilling, logging and mining industries”. Which is their way of saying “the regulations put in place to save these animals from being gone forever are preventing us from making money, which is more important”. Not to mention these are the exact industries that are to blame for a majority of these species being placed on the endangered species list in the first place… You really can’t make this stuff up folks. 

Fortunately, the Endangered Species Act is widely supported and it will be tough for Trump and his administration to make changes to the act, but this does not mean they will not attempt to. Species expected to be heavily targeted by Trump’s administration are gray wolves and grizzly bear as they both pose a threat to the farming and ranching industry.

4. He has highly considered withdrawing the US from the Paris Agreement

The Paris agreement is an agreement signed by over 190 countries stating they will work together to lower their carbon emissions and limit global warming to within 2 degrees celsius of pre-industrial levels. While Trump hasn’t done anything in terms of the Paris Agreement yet and many remain unsure if he ever will, in his campaign he vowed to ‘cancel’ the United State’s participation in the agreement. The Paris Agreement would take a big hit if the United States were to withdraw, as we are one of the top polluting countries in the world. 

5. He’s a huge supporter of oil pipelines

From the get go Trump has shown his support of the highly controversial Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines. The Dakota Access and Keystone pipelines have been highly protested and talked about in recent months as many fear that these pipelines will cause water quality issues, among a host of other environmental issues. Within days of being in office Trump signed executive orders to revive the creation and continuation of these pipelines. He did this less than one month after a pipeline in North Dakota spilled 530,000 gallons of oil into a small creek that feeds into the Missouri River. This topic portrays Trump’s complete disregard for caring about anything other than making money.

While much of these outrageous laws and ideas are still in the works and under heavy debate, it is pertinent information I believe everybody should be aware of. This has all taken place within two months of Trump’s presidency. If Trump succeeds in his plans I can only imagine the damage it will have on our already struggling environment.

I can’t begin to scratch the surface of major environmental topics in this article, therefore I urge all readers to take this base knowledge and use it for further research and self education. As I believe one of the biggest threats to our environment is society as a whole simply being unaware of the issues.

For more information on these topics and ideas of what you can do to help the environment during Trump’s presidency check out these websites.

What Causes Climate Change 

Endangered Species Act

Petition in support of saving the ESA

Four Things You Can Do To Stop Trump from Making Climate Change Worse

5 Reasons Trump’s Administration Should Scare the Shit Out of You

The post Trump is the Environment’s Worst Nightmare appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The night started with Oakland, California native, Sayer, whose performance I was unfortunately only able to catch part of. For the part of the set I did see I was in awe of the way his soundscapes seemed to completely fill the space around you. The crowd also seemed to be quite into it, which isn’t always the case for openers in the Iowa EDM scene.

Sayer was followed up by the legendary Yheti, who is just an odd dude that you can’t help but love. Not to mention he makes bad ass music. On the night of the show G Jones sent out a tweet in regards to Yheti stating

“Yheti is the truth. Carving his own lane is an understatement”

After watching his set, I must agree. There is something about the way Yheti sculpts his sound that seems incredibly unique. At some points during his set he would be playing a slower, experimental tune but was able to transition so effortlessly into heavy, grimy dub. The guy is incredible. I was nearly on the rail for his set so I had a great view of him and the passion he puts into his music was very apparent. I went into the night excited to see him, but I left with a whole new appreciation for him and his music.

G Jones came on just after midnight. He performed multiple tracks from his recently released EP Visions. He also of course played one of my personal favorites Mind Tricks, his track with Bassnectar. Throughout his set he talked on the mic a minimal amount of times and also played hardly any remixes of over played songs, both of which were appreciated.

I also was impressed with his consistently high energy throughout the set, he was constantly bouncing around and getting into his music. In another tweet G Jones sent out the night of this show he stated

“imo [in my opinion] challenging an audience with something unfamiliar is important in ways that aren’t immediately apparent”.

His dystopian like tunes and conceptual beats did just that. This wasn’t just like any typical heavy bass set, it was one of a kind.

I will be seeing G Jones again this summer when he headlines Thursday night at Bonnaroo. I’ve been told G Jones is a master at keeping all of his sets one of a kind, so hopefully this will hold true. I’m also looking forward to experiencing one of his performances in a festival atmosphere versus a small venue. If given the chance everyone should attend a G Jones show, after his show at Blue Moose I can confidently say he will not disappoint.

Music by these artists can be found here: G Jones – Yheti – Sayer

The post Show Review: G Jones @ The Blue Moose Tap House 3/02/2017 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The day of the famous New York City blackout.

A day that is typically remembered for the 1,600 stores that were robbed, the 1,000+ fires reported and the 3,000+ citizens that were arrested (Source: https://www.checkpeople.com/arrest-records). A day that is not so often remembered for its significance in helping to expand hip hop during its early years.

In the year of 1977 hip hop was still in its very early stages. This type of music was generally only being created, performed and spread by a few of the hip hop originals such as DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Caz. This changed following the night New York City lost power.

The blackout began around 8:37 pm on July 13th when lightning struck a substation at Buchanan South. As the hour passed, more and more lightning struck the city, knocking out numerous transmission lines. This resulted in the overloading of the transmission lines that were still operating, which led to an eventual collapse and shut down of the entire power system by 9:36 pm.

The power was not fully restored until the following day, July 14th, at 10:39 pm, over 24 hours later.

This left all businesses in the city in a highly vulnerable position during those 24 hours, as the police were preoccupied and no alarm systems would be operating without power. The residents of the area were well aware of this, and took advantage to the fullest extent.

Hundreds of stores were broken into, with looters stealing products until the shelves were bare. The only form of protection business owners could have against these looters was protecting the stores themselves, which proved to be ineffective against the large and rowdy crowds. This was an unbelievable opportunity, if you will, for these New Yorkers to get their hands on countless items that they normally would not have the funds to purchase.

So, how did this troublesome night in New York City help spur the growth of hip hop?

Much of the youth in the New York City area at the time had a growing passion for hip hop, combined with a desire to make music of their own. Unfortunately, being in an economically disadvantaged area they typically didn’t have the equipment to start creating hip hop music nor the money to purchase equipment, and how everybody knows a good audio equipment promotes various benefits in recording Latin American sounds, you can get more information in this website, blog, click here.

That all changed the night of the blackout when hundreds of aspiring DJs and MCs got their hands on expensive turntables and various other pieces of equipment. Good quality equipment is essential for producing music as it significantly impacts the audio quality. Poor-quality equipment can distort sounds and lead to muddled audio signals, compromising the final output.

Health aspect of “Good quality audio”

Audio quality is crucial as it determines how the listener perceives and enjoys the music, affecting immersion, emotional response, and overall experience. Hearing is one of the most important senses for humans, that is why it is necessary to take care of our hearing to be able to enjoy music in the best way, the advantage is that nowadays there are natural supplement like cortexi scam that can help with hearing loss, and other ear issues such as ear infections that can affect the way we listen to music .

In an article on Slate, they spoke with Grandmaster Caz who was a part of the looting, he recalled that “During the looting, everybody stole turntables and stuff. Every electronics store imaginable got hit. Every record store. That sprung a whole new set of D.J.’s.” Grandmaster Caz even admits stealing a mixer for himself. 

As he put it “After the blackout, all this new wealth was found by people and they just—opportunity sprang from that. And you could see the differences before the blackout and after.” Following this night there was a wealth of turntables and DJing equipment in the NYC neighborhoods. With such a huge amount of hip hop style music being created and heard, word of this new genre was able to spread much more rapidly. 

While this obviously was not the biggest contributor to the growth of hip hop, it had an undeniable impact. An anonymous quote found on Reddit does an excellent job of summing up the effects the blackout had on the genre, “Hip hop enthusiasts know the blackout in 1977 allowed producers to acquire expensive equipment. Equipment they otherwise would have had a difficult time getting their hands on. So, the blackout helped, however, powerful forces such as poverty, creativity and an urban environment played the biggest role in the rise of hip hop.”

Hip hop would be nothing without the creative and passionate artists behind the music, but every great artist needs the proper equipment to reach their full potential.

When looking at today’s wildly successful, influential and world wide hip hop industry it’s hard to believe less than forty years ago the genre was non existent in most people’s lives. All hip hop enthusiasts of today should be thankful for the power outage that occurred all those years ago, because without it, who knows where the hip hop industry would be. 

Music and Muse is a column used primarily as a platform to discuss all aspects of music and the music industry. The column will also delve into other topics like photography, fashion, travel and whatever else happens to spark my interest.

The post Music and Muse: Lessons in Music History #1 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The first track, “Stardust”, a collaboration with Twin Peaks, was released as a single in early October. As expected of a collaboration with Twin Peaks, this track offers an upbeat opening song that sets the listener up for the unique soundscapes that they can expect throughout the album.

It is followed up by another single, “Blame” ft. Diplo and Elliphant, a song which was an instant success and has been the most popular song off the album. The combination of Diplo and Zeds Dead years of producing coupled with strong female vocals from Elliphant makes for a very clean sound that makes you want to listen again and again.

Next up, “Lights Out” ft. Atlas, is a personal favorite from the album. The progression of this track is stunning. The heavily reverbed vocals create a beautiful and eerie sound. This is the ideal song to listen to while driving down the interstate at night. “Lights Out” is nothing short of hypnotic.

“Too Young”, the shortest track on the album, is an upbeat 70’s sounding tune. The track is a collaboration with Pusha T, who does the rapping for the track, and Rivers Cuomo (vocalist and guitarist of the ever famous rock band Weezer) who sings the hook. This pop tune is followed up by “DNA” a hip hop influenced track that’s heavy enough to please the bass fans.

But if “DNA” wasn’t bass driven enough, the next track “Me No Care” is the heaviest track that the album offers. This drumstep track has a ‘grinding metallic bass-line’, that makes for another one of my favorites on the album. The song seems to be a big hit among long time Zeds Dead fans that love the duos heavier sounds.

“Frontlines” is another single from the Northern Lights. This track features NGHTMRE and GG Magree and offers an upbeat melodic sound. This happy tune is an easy listen and seems to be favored by the less bass driven fans.

“Already Done” ft. Ghetts is a gritty dubstep and rap combination. The song didn’t spark much interest for me, but I do think the song is well done and offers a unique sound for fans of both genres.

“Dismemories” serves as a bit of a reflective interlude for the album. The guitar chords make for a spacey, melodic sound that give the listeners a moment to process the album. The ominous four minute and thirty-four second long track isn’t a track I would personally want to listen to over and over again, although I do find the track beautiful, and I think it is a great demonstration of the deep artistic talent and passion that goes into all of Zeds Dead’s creations.

“Where Did That Go” starts off with a generic reverb covered beat as it works its way into a ghostly, upbeat female vocal hook. This is another track off the album, like “Frontlines”, that seems to be taking a more mainstream approach that appeals to many listeners.

By “This Is Me” ft. Lips, the theme of ghostly sounding female vocals throughout the album has become apparent. All of the female artists chosen to feature on this album have beautiful, strong vocals that I believe play a huge part in making the album what it is.

“Symphony” ft. Charlie OC is undeniably catchy. The vocals of Charlie OC work perfectly with the electronic sound that incorporates drums, piano and violin.

The album closes with “Slow Down” ft. Jenna Pemkowski, one last female vocal filled track. The stunning vocals and bass line make for another one of my favorites from the album.

While some fans view Northern Lights as a bit out of character for Zeds Dead, I think the album demonstrated their full range of musical talent by incorporating everything from drum and bass to rap to hip hop to future bass and beyond. The album as a whole is a work of art, filled with fresh and original sounds that take the listener on a journey from the first song to the very last note.

You can listen to the album on Spotify and SoundCloud. To keep up to date with Zeds Dead follow them on Twitter.

The post Album Review: “Northern Lights” by Zeds Dead appeared first on KRUI Radio.

They began the night by saying that their set would be “ALL NEW MUSIC”. Which I thought was a very bold and creative move. I have been to many shows and that was the first time I have seen a band perform only new music. At the beginning of one of their songs Drew even stated “This song is so new that it doesn’t even have a name yet!”

This was all in typical Jack Lion fashion as they are known for sampling things on stage and making up new renditions to their songs on the fly. This creates a very spontaneous atmosphere and keeps the audience interested as every show is different than the last.

The one thing that was instantly obvious to me was how talented Brian, Drew and Justin all were on their instruments. They all seemed very comfortable on stage and were all quite engrossed in their instrument. I think this passion is what makes the trio work so well together and enables them to continue making new sounds.

Undoubtedly the most impressive factor about Jack Lion is their fusion of jazz and electronic. Two genres that could not be much more different from one another. Jazz is a genre rooted in improvisation and spontaneity while electronic is based on the ability to pinpoint and control every aspect of the song. Smith has described this process as “trying to marry two worlds even though they are very disparate.” The blend of these genres makes for an fascinating and inspiring sound and also brings out an interesting audience as there are fans from both sides of the spectrum.

I felt like the music of Jack Lion and the venue itself were made for each other. The combination of electronic and jazz music mixed with plenty of down tempo beats played off of the dark/grunge feel of the upstairs at Gabe’s perfectly (this may be bias as Gabe’s is one of my favorite venues). Not to mention the sparkling lights that cover the ceiling enhanced the atmospheric feel of Jack Lion’s sound.

Overall, this show was admittedly a difficult show to write about for several reasons. One, the whole set itself was about forty minutes long which didn’t leave me with an ample amount of content to cover. Two, all the songs were new and completely instrumental which made it a bit more difficult to discuss the content of the music. And three, the stage presence of the band was somewhat uneventful with minimal movement of the members and only a small amount of interaction with the crowd.

With all that being said I am incredibly happy I chose to review Jack Lion and looking back I would not have picked a different show if given the opportunity. The music they create is truly its own thing that does not to be combined with any extra factors to make for a moving show. I have never been to a show that is more, for lack of a better word, inspiring. Jack Lion demonstrates that the possibilities in music are only limited by you, arguably the most beautiful aspect of music. They are an incredible band to see live, and I encourage everyone to attend a Jack Lion show.

For more on Jack Lion check out their Soundcloud, Facebook and Twitter.

The post Witching Hour: Jack Lion @ Gabe’s 11/05/16 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Psalm One performed at The Mill on November 4th, the first night of Iowa City’s Witching Hour festival. The night started off when a young man, possibly an employee of The Mill, came on stage to introduce Psalm One. He closed with “Psalm One is an amazing person, who is full of nothing but love for everyone. Please give her a warm welcome.” As soon as she entered

the stage I think the whole audience understood where he was coming from. With a banner behind her that read “Psalm One Loves You” and a huge smile on her face, Psalm One began her performance.

Within moments another woman came to the stage, Psalm One introduced her as her friend Angelenah who would be performing with her.

The first three songs of the night were bangers, and by this time nearly everyone had left their seats and were now in front of the stage and dancing. My personal favorite of these songs was Angelenah’s “Psycho Pussy,” which of course got the whole crowd singing (or screaming) along. She noted that we “are definitely a college crowd, and were quick to sing along with that song”.

This was the first of many songs throughout the night that felt empowering for all women. Along with other songs like “Impatient” and “Don’t Touch My Hair.” Both Angelenah and Psalm One radiated confidence throughout their performance and lyrics. I think they are, and will continue to be, good role models for girls.

Psalm One and Angelenah continued to impress me throughout the night with their smooth rapping abilities and utter passion for hip hop that shined through in their performance. At one point Psalm One cut the music and rapped a new verse for us that she had recently written. She nailed the verse and I think it did an excellent job of showing the audience just how talented she is.

I also couldn’t help but notice the variations in musical styles as Psalm One performed songs off of multiple different albums. It seems as if she finds a bit of a new style every time she drops an album, and executes every style almost perfectly.

The duo closed with “Rules and Regulations,” a song off of their Shitty Punk album. It was definitely my favorite song of the night. They then stated they’d being sticking around after the show to meet people and closed out with a speech about just how much they love and appreciate all of us.

I think I can speak for everyone there in saying we love and appreciate Psalm One and Angelenah too. They put on an amazing performance that most definitely exceeded my expectations.

Keep up to date with Psalm One on Twitter, Soundcloud and Facebook.

Keep up to date with Angelenah on Twitter and Soundcloud.

The post Witching Hour: Psalm One @ The Mill 11/04/2016 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Accompanied by Kill OG and Ricky Remedy, the trio put on an electrifying, bass-filled performance.

As this was my first time seeing a dubstep show in Iowa City, I was not sure what to expect. I arrived to the show at around 10 o’clock and was instantly greeted with bass heavy enough to shake the building. Kill OG, an Iowa native, had just taken the stage and was doing an excellent job of amping up the crowd with a dubstep driven set.  As I took in my surroundings, I was immediately surprised by the large turnout. Secondly, I was ecstatic to see people wearing merch from many of my favorite artists from GRiZ to Excision. The Iowa City EDM scene appeared to be thriving more than I thought it would be.

Following Kill OG with no intermission, was Rick Remedy, an up and coming artist in the electronic trap genre who has collaborated with many big name artists including Diplo and LOUDPVCK. For someone like me, who admittedly isn’t always into trap, it was not my ideal set but he didn’t disappoint. He was able to use a combination of trap and remixes to multiple popular songs to keep the crowd intrigued and dancing throughout his set. My favorite part of his performance was when he dropped “Supernova”, a song he made with Big Makk, who recently passed. It gave me chills as he shouted “Let’s do it for my brother” and the whole place raged in his honor.

Bear Grillz was set to start at 11:45 and the crowd seemed to be getting more excited with every minute that passed.

Finally, it was 11:45. As Bear Grillz came out on stage in the dimly lit venue, the illuminated eyes and mouth on his newly redesigned bear head shone brightly throughout the room. Wasting no time at all in getting to the heavy songs, Bear Grillz opened his set with a remix of Phiso’s “Jotaro” There was a surprising lack of ‘wow, another “Jotaro” remix, who would’ve guessed?’ type of fans like I’m use to seeing at shows. “Jotaro” got the majority of the crowd head banging and warmed up for the rest of the set.

Next up was a new song by Funtcase, this seemed to be a crowd pleaser and set the bar high for the rest of his set. Throughout the night he continued dropping new songs from many notable artists including Jauz, Bro Safari and Kayzo. Not to mention, a heavy rendition of “Don’t Let Me Down”, because what set would be complete without a Chainsmokers remix? 

He played all of his classics as well, such as; “EDM” and “F*ck Off”, which were both greeted with lots of enthusiasm from the audience. Bear Grillz did an excellent job of choosing the right songs that kept the audience interested and excited. Through the combination of his classic songs, plenty of heavy drops and music from many different popular artists in the scene, he was able to create a memorable mix of music from start to finish.

Bear Grillz spent much of summer 2016 making stops at music festivals all over the country, from Dancefestopia in Kansas City, MO to Moonrise in Baltimore, MD. This was very apparent as he was able to easily bring the hype and atmosphere of a large festival, and project those vibes all throughout the Blue Moose making for one incredible performance and night.

For music from these artists, click here: Bear Grillz, Kill OG and Ricky Remedy.
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