Local Culture Update:

Indie Rock and Pop Come to Philly with Two Intimate Shows

Scarlet Raptors with an interest in music may want to pay attention to this one: in June, two bands will be stopping by Philly for intimate and electrifying shows. The first one, on Wednesday June 12th, is Sheppard, a pop band made of Australian expats whose best known hits may well be the bouncy, wildly catchy, feel-good car radio mainstay “Geronimo” or one of their similar, acclaimed singles like “Coming Home” or “Edge of the Earth.”

Now, ahead of their upcoming album ZORA, the 34x Platinum sibling band are getting ahead of their move from Australia to Nashville by touring the United States in a series of shows that will see them performing in Texas, New York, Boston, Washington… and at MilkBoy in our own Philadelphia. MilkBoy Philadelphia is “a restaurant, bar, cafe and live-music venue all in one, located in Center City Philadelphia at 11th and Chestnut Sts. — the brainchild of music industry’s Tommy Joyner and Jamie Lokoff of MilkBoy Recording Studio” named after the recording studio of the same name. Information about the show can be found at the venue’s website https://milkboyphilly.com/listing/sheppard and Sheppard’s official website https://www.wearesheppard.com. The album’s lead single, Running Straight to You, is available to stream now.

The intimate show will feature songs from their upcoming 4th full-length LP, ZORA, which promises to bridge their trademark anthemic and cheerful pop with themes of hope and resilience, a blend concocted during the recent upheavals of COVID and of sea changes in the music industry. Band front man George Sheppard explains, “the album revolves around the rejuvenating nature of light and that no matter how dark life at times can feel, a new sunrise is just around the corner. Throughout any family ordeal or crisis, we constantly look up to our Croatian Baba (grandma) whose name is Zora. Life has thrown her some monumental curveballs, but the way she’s always kept a smile on her face, shown nothing but love, positivity, and hope for the future in the face of tragedy is something we’ve always admired about her. This led us to consciously focus on gratitude and finding the positive in our own moments of crisis or loss. Instead of writing sad songs of self-pity and despair, we decided to set out to craft an album that was authentic to our emotion and real-life experiences, but could still be fun, uplifting, anthemic, and most importantly – hopeful.”

The second show, on Thursday June 13th at the Brooklyn Bowl in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philly, will see indie folk band Wilderado playing the title track from their upcoming sophomore album Talker. The album’s producers have already seen success with the likes of Sufjan Stevens and The Nationals, so there is a promising resume there for indie music fans. Ahead of their triumphant return to Lollapalooza, fans will be able to bowl and enjoy the atmosphere of Brooklyn Bowl before taking in the sights and sounds of the Wilderado experience. Talker promises more of the Tulsa trio’s signature acoustic, breezy sound. Max Rainer, lead singer and guitarist, shed some light on the process of bringing Talker’s first single, “Somewhere”, to life: “This is a look into coping mechanisms. It’s something I’ve struggled with this year. I convince myself I need help calming down or being social at the right times. The first part of the song is indulgence, the second part is the reality of the situation and the ending is the honest bit.” More info about the show can be found at https://www.brooklynbowl.com/philadelphia, and the band’s website at wilderado.co

Those in attendance are sure to have fun, like they did when crafting the new album: “We came down to Ft. Worth to visit some friends between two consecutive weeks in the studio. The goal is to deliver a bank of songs to be mixed by this coming Friday. When I care for a song, it appears almost sentient and I hate the idea of not making it the way it wants to be. It’s fun, though.”

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