When was your last summer festival?

I've been to three summer festivals in my life: the first was a one-day fest in Ulm in 1990, Germany, with David Bowie headlining. The second one was Southside Festival in Munich nine years later with an incredible lineup over two days. Let's just say Muse played on the small side-stage in the early afternoon. Unfortunately, it was brought to a borderline violent end when Marlyn Manson – for unknown reasons – refused to continue his set after two songs.

The third festival was last Saturday in Pleasantville, NY. It was smaller than the first two and catered more to local families. While the focus was on nostalgia, some new artists played too, and the headliner were X Ambassadors, a current top act. Was it fun? Yes! The weather was perfect, the site not too crowded, and walking between the three stages and seeing some bands for the first time was a pleasant, inspiring experience.

But Pleasantville will probably be my last summer festival for a while. For indie music and smaller acts, showcase festivals like SXSW or The New Colossus work better, because dedicated music venues in a city are more of a natural environment for that kind of music.

But either way, immersing yourself wholly into music for one or more days can be very rewarding. There is the energy on stage, the display of the human creative spirit, and the fantastic effort of all the helpers who work hard to put such an event together.

So go out, enjoy the season and listen to a lot of music.

Song Picks of the Day

Beau - Even If You're Gone

Breakups are rarely equal, and when one side quickly moves on with somebody else, the other suffers even more. If such a situation touches a personal memory, the emotional intensity of "Even If You're Gone" will give you serious chills. The New York City musicians Heather Goldin and Emma Jenney aka Beau do not hold back here: the way the song builds around Heather's expressive vocals it is hard to stay unmoved.

Beau say about the song:

"'Even If You're Gone' is a song about losing the one you love to someone else. The song is about holding on and that even if the love of your life has found someone else, you can't help but stay connected. This song is that connection."

Listen to "Even If You're Gone," our Song Pick of the Day on your favorite streaming service or below on YouTube:

Tacono Gate - Goner

"Goner" by Brooklyn-based synth-pop artist Tacono Gate demands your attention instantly but in a very good and charming way. Looking at Tacono Gate's press shot, his influences become apparent -at least to those of us who include Kraftwerk and the likes of our fav bands. Tacono Gate names the German 70s/80s legends as one of his influences together with the New Wave movement as a whole. Asked about "Goner" he says:

There's an obvious darkwave influence. But I was also inspired by the big synth sounds and some of the wilder emancipatory energy of Queen a la ‘Radio Ga Ga,’ ‘I Want to Break Free,’ etc. and an Argentinian new-wave band called Virus.

He explains further:

It's definitely heavy on the ‘80s, but I think I made something new. I never want it to be derivative even when I'm wearing my influences on my sleeve.

We agree! The nods to our fav music decades are definitely there, but also something beautifully fresh and irresistible. Listen to "Goner," our Song Pick of the Day:

Connect with Tacono Gate here.

Liz Cass - Shaken

The new song by London-based musician Liz Cass is about overcoming tough times. The track has great urgency and energy, and Liz does not think of giving up – she just needs "needs a minute here to breathe" before she can move on.

Liz says about the song:

"'Shaken' is about trying to find a way back to yourself after experiencing something that has had a profound effect on your wellbeing and shaken the fabric of who you are. You're never quite the same and it can take time. But after you heal, you can get back to a happier, stronger version of what was there before."

"Shaken" will be on Liz Cass' upcoming album "The Words," scheduled for later this year. Listen to our Song Pick of the Day below:

James Paul Mitchell - Tokyo

Nashville-based singer/songwriter James Paul Mitchell  is about to release his new album Breakup Record this Friday and offers beautifully wistful and atmospheric visuals for his gorgeous single "Tokyo." Mitchell says about the song:

"Tokyo" represents the pain of letting go of a lover, of the future that you had painted in your mind with them, of an abandoned proposal. It's a deeply personal song for me, but I think the pain and ultimately the acceptance of this sort of heartbreak is universal.

The universal appeal is undeniable, and it's always interesting to see how artists deal with heartbreak creatively. We are excited to premiere the lovely, moving video today and can't wait for the album to drop. The quiet "Tokyo" marks the fifth track on Breakup Record (pre-save), following an intriguing yet ambitious concept: each song is produced by a different person!

On some tracks, Mitchell is the one who plays acoustic guitar and sings and lets a producer take over all other parts. Then there are tracks where he does everything himself and outsources only chore-producing tasks. To help Mitchell realize his vision, he turned to a slew of producers: Dan Knobler (Lake Street Dive), Jake Finch and Collin Pastore (Lucy Dacus), Louis Johnson (Lonas), Graham Bechler (Russell Dickerson), Kramer Kelling, Aaron Shafer-Haiss (Wilderwater), Paul Babe (Rossonian), and guest musicians including Anthony da Costa (Sarah Jaroz), Maya De Vitry (The Stray Birds), and Caley Conway.

About the album's lyrical concept, Mitchel says:

What can be said about love and breakups that hasn’t been said before by so many others? There’s both a uniqueness and universality in any heartbreak. To me, making this record felt more like therapy than anything.

We are excited to exclusively premiere the beautiful video for "Tokyo" as our Song Pick of the Day. Kramer Kelling produced the song, Mary Mitchell filmed the performance, and Mitchell filmed & edited the clip. The juxtaposition of troubadouring and big city impressions is brilliant, and the result is a music video to enjoy watching more than once.

Let yourself transport to "Tokyo" now:

Connect with James Paul Mitchell here.

Claude - roses

Claude is the stage name of Chicago-based musician Claudia Ferme. Her new song "roses" is a gently flowing and swirling dream-pop piece about being too hard to yourself. The track will be on Claude's beautiful debut album "a lot's gonna change," out on August 12 on American Dreams Records.

Claude tells us about the inspiration behind the song:

"'roses' was inspired by a line in Love in the Time of Cholera where the protagonist starts eating flowers and roses because of how obsessed with someone he is. I think in the novel it's supposed to symbolize how his obsession became all-consuming but I thought about a rose and the thorns on its stem and how someone eating a rose was a perfect metaphor for how as humans we're so self-torturous, mentally and emotionally, and very unforgiving of ourselves. In the video, we wanted to show this imagery in a more abstract way while still including actual roses - I made the purple top and gray dress and am wearing other pieces that have peaks and spikes and that play with the making and release of tension to show the back and forth we have with ourselves in certain situations."

Watch the video for "roses," directed by Reilly Drew:

Glass Violet - A View From The Vale

Get ready to enjoy a track for a few more than just three or so minutes. Bristol-based indie-rockers Glass Violet just released the gorgeous "A View From The Vale" which clocks in a little over six minutes, but they pass by sooner than you think, leaving a little void and the desire to instantly start again. Alex John (songwriting, producing, guitar) and Tom Hurdiss (lead vocals, songwriting, guitar) say about their new single:

The long-form song isn’t something that we’ll doing too frequently, but we tapped into something whilst making the track that felt different to anything we’d made previously, it felt much grander, unique, and more thrilling than ever before. Once it became clear that we had a slightly longer form song on our hands, the goal then became to make a 6 minute track feel like 3 minutes, we spent a long time trying to execute this and making sure that each section of the song flowed to the next as if it was a film gliding between scenes, slowly building to the dramatic finale.

Live, the two are joined by Matt West (drums), Josh Walsh (bass), and Declan Pollard (synth, keys), and here's hope that they'll make it over to New York one day too. With its wistful yet beautifully vibrant vibe, the track touches lyrically upon the past, about which Glass Violet say:

The song is about drawing old memories out from the vaults of the past and reflecting on them with acceptance years later.

Listen to "A View From The Vale," our Song Pick of the Day:

Connect with Glass Violet here.

LonelyTwin - More Than On My Mind

Swedish singer, songwriter, and producer Madelene Eliasson aka LonelyTwin has just released a fantastic debut album, "This End Had No Beginning," which manages to be both a throwback to classic pop music and a very current blend of electronic folk music. The latest single, the wistful "More Than On My Mind," is a tale of not letting go, as Madelene explains:

"It's about being stuck in a loop of thinking that things might be better next time. I think most people end up there after a breakup and it can take a really long time to get out of that headspace. I wrote this song about romanticizing getting back together, even though you might know deep down that it's never gonna happen."

Listen to our Song Pick of the Day, "More Than On My Mind," on your favorite streaming service or watch the video directed by C&J below:

We are listening to these new albums

• LonelyTwin - This End Had No Beginning
• James Paul Mitchell - Breakup Record
• Katy J Pearson - Sound Of The Morning
• Laura Veirs - Found Light

This Video Should Have a Million Views: Katy J Pearson - Miracle

Katy J Pearson has just released her second album, but the price for the most creative video goes to “Miracle” from her first. The song is super-catchy and upbeat, and the Joe Lycett-directed video tells a story that will make you smile. Watch here: