Best Of 2018: Women Sound Off on the womxn making waves in Bay Area music
2018 was an instrumental year for womxn-identifying musical artists in the Bay Area and beyond. As an intersectional platform celebrating creative women from all industries and walks of life, Women Sound Off (formerly known as Women in Music Festival) is honored to have worked and collaborated with a variety of Bay Area talent since its founding in 2016. In the spirit of reflection and in celebration of phenomenal womxn in music, we bring you just a few notable artists who made waves in the Bay Area music scene in 2018. These are the ones to watch. FR333 Comprised of producer [...]
Mixtape: The Bay Area’s Standout Hip Hop and R&B Producers
This episode first ran on KQED.org. Download: Mixtape: The Bay Area's Standout Hip Hop and R&B Producers (Podcast #426) The Bay Area's vibrant hip hop and R&B scenes include a wealth of talented MCs and singers, but it's often easy to forget the important behind-the-scenes role that music producers play in crafting great songs. A skilled producer doesn't just provide a instrumental backdrop for an artist to showcase their craft; instead, the best producers elevate their artists, adding emphasis that highlights a song's melodic immediacy or depth that demands repeat listens. This mixtape showcases a dozen songs from local hip [...]
Rayana Jay drops Valentine’s Day EP, ‘Love, Rayana’
Richmond's Rayana Jay released a semi-surprise EP today: Love, Rayana. Rayana has been dropping hints on her social channels for the last few days that a new EP was due today. Thematically appropriate for Valentine's Day, Love, Rayana deals with loving others, lusting after others, and, the games we play with each other when we're in the grips of either. It's all told through the expressive vocals and intimate storytelling she does so well, and enlists the help of names like like Kev Choice and ESTA. Take a listen below. Then buy yourself one of those big-ass heart-shaped trays of [...]
Phono Del Sol: Rayana Jay is the new Bay Area sound
In the past eight months, Richmond singer Rayana Jay has seen her career trajectory go from strictly local to national — and even international — recognition. Her latest EP, “Sorry About Last Night” is an expose of an all-too familiar millennial scenario: Once the wine hits the lips, the fingers reach for the smartphone. Feelings pour out via text, chaos ensues. It’s a personal record reflecting messy breakups and the emotional roller coaster associated with them. Jay pens raw, unfiltered honesty in her lyrics, pinned against backdrops of slinky R&B undertones and jazzy, smooth instrumentals courtesy of Bay Area producers [...]
Live This Month: June 2017 — an audio guide to upcoming Bay Area concerts
http://media.libsyn.com/media/thebaybridged/LTM_June_2017.mp3 Download: Live This Month: June 2017 (Podcast #408) In Live This Month, we sample some of the great local and out-of-town bands performing in the coming month in the San Francisco Bay Area. Richmond's Rayana Jay -- performing at our 2017 Phono del Sol Music & Food Festival with a ton of other great artists -- is one of a number of amazing singer-songwriters included this month's mix. Girl in a Coma frontwoman Nina Diaz battled through addiction to craft a musically diverse solo debut, and she's coming to Cafe du Nord later this month. Tim Darcy's first solo [...]
What’s Happening This Weekend? A Guide To Shows Around The Bay, April 21 – 23
Between Record Store Day, Pop-Up Shop, and some choice DJ sets, this weekend's all about wax. Friday, April 21 Emily King @ The Chapel The Grammy-nominated soul singer is presenting a special acoustic set just for San Francisco fans. Rayana Jay @ The New Parish One of our recent faves (and Phono Del Sol 2017 performer) Rayana Jay brings her smooth, smart grooves to the New Parish. Egyptian Lover, Peanut Butter Wolf, Diamond Ortiz @ The Ritz Presented by San Jose's premier providers of wax, Needle to the Groove, prodigal son and architect of Stones Throw returns home. Prince Tribute [...]
Hear Rayana Jay’s new single “Everything”
Words by Nina Tabios Richmond, CA’s own singer-songwriter Rayana Jay pens another letter to another would-be lover in her latest track, “Everything.” Produced by fellow Richmond native Gabriel Lambirth (Ryan Leslie’s former guitarist), Rayana’s sing-songy raps on “Everything” tell of the perfect romance coming in at the wrong time. The track is bouncy yet airy, and Rayana’s smoky timbre turns sugary with each “You’re everything I need,” she breathes out — only to be flipped into little less than a sweet nothing when she reveals, “but I don’t want that right now.” Take a listen here. https://soundcloud.com/rayanajay/rayana-jay-everything-prod-by-gabriel-lambirth When you're done, [...]
Announcing the 2017 Phono del Sol Music and Food Festival: Thee Oh Sees, The Coathangers, Jay Som lead an amazing musical lineup!
https://vimeo.com/208258788 Phono del Sol — the Bay’s beloved community-centered nonprofit music and food festival — is back for amazing seventh year in Potrero del Sol Park. Come hang with music fans of all ages on Saturday, June 17, and take in the summer vibes with an incredible lineup of indie rock, punk and hip-hop sounds that’s sure to keep your ears happy all day long. Phono del Sol 2017 features a ton of national and local heavy hitters, including the return of garage-punk giants Thee Oh Sees, Atlanta noise-punks The Coathangers, Oakland-based indie favorite Jay Som, acclaimed SF singer-songster Sean [...]
What’s Happening This Week? A Guide To Shows Around The Bay, Feb 20 ― Feb 23
Diet Cig is set to play Brick & Mortar this Wednesday night. Monday, February 20 Cloud Nothings, Kid Trails @ The Independent Start your Noise Pop week off strong with extraordinarily loud garage punk band Cloud Nothings. Tuesday, February 21 Weyes Blood @ Swedish American Music Hall Weyes Blood: mournful instrumentation, vocals drenched in a blue hue, and a name derived from the Flannery O'Connor novel Wise Blood. Tino Drima, Spooky Mansion @ Bender's Bar and Grill TBB writer Hailey Simposon explains Tino Drima "is a six-piece super-group of sorts, featuring members of O (fka Black Cobra Vibers), French Cassettes, and [...]
Mixtape: Fourteen San Francisco Bay Area Artists to Watch in 2017
http://media.libsyn.com/media/thebaybridged/Artists_to_Watch_2017.mp3 Download: Mixtape: Fourteen San Francisco Bay Area Artists to Watch in 2017 (Podcast #400) This episode first aired on KQED.org. Our first mixtape of 2017 is our annual survey of some of the best new and emerging San Francisco Bay Area performers to watch over the coming year. The fourteen up-and-coming local acts showcased in this mix come from a wide variety of genres, and whether it's the experimental hip hop of Siri, Marbled Eye's urgent post-punk, or the heavy psych of Feral Ohms, to highlight just a few, there's a wealth of talent on display here. As in [...]