If you know Tim and I well you know we love travel, seeing live music, and digging for records more than most anything else in the world. Whether we are checking out an unknown band, watching one of our favorite Chicago groups or seeking out cool venues overseas we always love getting to share our music finds with friends, especially if we are able to pick it up on vinyl!

We spent the first weekend in August in Appleton, Wisconsin attending the Mile of Music Festival and came back with some amazing new records. Tim and Alex were playing horns all weekend at various venues with Mike Maimone (who put on some unparalleled shows that weekend) so I was free to explore all the record shops and venues around town.  Truth be told, the real reason I wanted to visit Appleton that weekend was to see The Go Rounds play. We saw them a few years back at Meadow Fest in Michigan and both of us were hooked. And yes, sometimes you should drive three hours to see your favorite band play!

The song writing of Graham Parsons brings goosebumps to my skin and tears to my eyes every damn time.  The melodies create a textured landscape that makes me forget where I am, with layered vocals contributing to the ethereal spaces between the sounds. To quote the Kalamazoo natives directly,  The Go Rounds are bits of all your favorite bands exploded into rock n roll confetti. One fan in particular (me) was lucky enough to talk to Graham after their second show that night and although they didn’t have any vinyl for sale (yet) we hope we can host them at Esquina for a release party when they do! We kinda love these guys!

Also that weekend, we discovered Asumaya who might be the first person I have seen play a finger piano in the way he did, combining it with beats and loops he created and recorded on stage as he slid from side to side in an amazing one-man-show. Madison-based Luke Bassenuer describes himself as a polyrhythmic, mono-member musical entity, and we grabbed a copy of his record The Euphemist and will put it on at BYOVinyl for sure. Take a listen here. 

Later that day we stumbled on an outdoor stage behind the main drag and found Terra Lightfoot who hails from Canada and who will be playing a show in Chicago this October at Schuba’s. She embodies a perfect mix of roots rocker, soul singer and badass guitar player with a sultry voice that will forever haunt you. We got to talk to her after the show and picked up her record too. Hope we can catch her in Chicago this fall.

Another surprise was a duo from Austin called The Ghost Wolves who deliver a high-energy show that always included lead singer Carley Wolf doing some body surfing in the crowd as Jonny Wolf wailed on the drums until she and her one string guitar were gently returned to the stage. One of my personal favorites was a song where Carley asked if there were any grandmas in the house. She would persuade one lucky grandma to get on the stage and have her wear a wolf mask and rock out alongside her as she sang Grandma’s A Rebel (raised by the devil) with that raw stomp n’ roll sound that never disappoints the crowd. I got some really cool t-shits and patches from The Ghost Wolves that Carley makes herself and she signed her album for me after the show at Deja Vu Martini Lounge. Wow, what a badass she is! Who else sings about biting back mosquitos AND hates cry babies?

Hope to see everyone August 31 to celebrate music, summer, vinyl and all the good energy that comes to you when you support local music!