Though summertime is associated with heady road trips on the open highway, it's right about now that everyone really wants to get away. In August, Philly-based The War On Drugs released their sophomore album Slave Ambient and quickly became our unofficial soundtrack for dreaming of somewhere else. more ›

Philadelphia-based singer-songwriter Kurt Vile excels live in a low-key, quiet environment. We saw Vile open up solo for Matador Records labelmates Fucked Up at the Viaduct Theater (itself a warm-up to a later show at the Empty Bottle) and were incredibly impressed. We've been huge fans ever since, and we're absolutely certain that Vile's latest album, Smoke Ring For My Halo will be in our top ten albums of the year. So imagine our excitement when Matador announced formally that Vile would be playing solo, acoustic in-stores at Cleveland-based Music Saves and at Chicago's own Reckless Records. more ›

New Year's Day typically consists of sleeping in as late as humanly possible, but we're planning to be up and at 'em Friday for Philly lo-fi rocker Kurt Vile's intimate in-store performance at Permanent Records. If you haven't had a chance to check out Kurt Vile's 2009 release, Childish Prodigy, we highly recommend the album of reverb-soaked outsider Americana. more ›

We're just as guilty as the rest of you when it comes to living for the weekend. We have a habit of working hard for the pleasure of playing hard come Friday night. All routines get old after awhile and lately we've found ourselves venturing away from our desks and outside our living rooms on weeknights to partake in the shows that grace our favorite venues on the off evenings. Here's our picks for the week ahead in weeknights. more ›