Browsing: Music

At the end of the day, Rodrigo is a very young artist. At 20 years old, she has catapulted herself into the spotlight and made it look effortless. It may just be the workings of the Disney machine behind all of this success, but here’s to hoping that Rodrigo’s third album, whenever we may hear it, taps into something wholly her own. I’d like to see her go for something fresh and unique — and hopefully happier.

Here we are, three weeks into the semester. Whether you’re reeling from being humbled by those first few assignments or you’re riding high from a lucky 86%, there’s plenty of new music to match or boost your mood.

The first week of classes is over. It’s time to take a breather and catch up on some new tunes you may have missed while you navigated the halls to find that one seemingly hidden classroom.

There is just nothing like a Hozier album, and yet “Unreal Unearth” is something incredibly special. Give it a listen and prepare to feel every emotion in the book. If one thing’s for certain, you want to listen beginning to end in one go to give it your proper attention.

Niall Horan has been killing it recently, releasing banger after banger and bringing back simple and fun pop music. “Meltdown” has a backing chorus of singers that is almost operatic, lending a really bright sound to the song. It’s high energy and so happy, almost like the Irish member of One Direction’s answer to Harry Styles’ “As It Was.”

The Atkins Tent Revival & SUNNN | April 29 | 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. | Bridge Street Plaza, 200 E Bridge St. | As part of the 2023 Levitt AMP Waco Music Series, The Atkins Tent Revival and SUNNN, a band of Baylor students, will bring a splash of sound to Bridge Street.

This spring was a much more competitive semester for music. Just over 42% of the chart is taken up by albums with only one or two students choosing them as a favorite. Even the most hotly-anticipated albums are spread more evenly, as Morgan Wallen’s “One Thing at a Time” only claimed 25% of the results.

So, it sounds like Khalid might be making a surprising comeback this summer with “Be The One.” Although he’s just a feature, he really makes this song what it is. When I hear the track, I’m ready to get home for the summer, hit some trails and soak up the sunshine.

Festivities to kick of the reopening of Waco’s iconic bridge will include live music and a drone show. The official ribbon-cutting will take place Saturday, followed by a longhorn cattle-driving across the bridge.

My gripe with this album is partly due to Caesar’s style in general. When you make an album full of mellow, slow songs that are short and meant to flow together, you end up getting an album that is pretty shallow in wavelength, which is to say the whole album is like a depressive episode. It’s just low, low, low.

What would have been a regular Tuesday night was made grand and dynamic by the performance put on by Baylor’s Wayne Fisher Jazz Program during their finale concert of the season at Jones Concert Hall. Commenced with the drums, the heartbeat of the band, and concluded with one triumphant, brassy blast from the ensemble, the concert jazz performance was an eclectic earful throughout.

Hippo Campus is criminally underrated. The band just came out with an EP, “Wasteland,” which leaves you wanting much, much more at a curt 18 minutes. “Moonshine” is perfect, full stop. It’s happy, so pretty and has a whole ecosystem of backing instrumentals that make the very first listen a beautiful surprise.

Daniel Caesar returned with his fourth album, “NEVER ENOUGH,” featuring some collaborations with favorites like Omar Apollo and Ty Dolla $ign. On “Always,” Caesar sings alone, but is nevertheless captivating with his buttery R&B vocals. It’s a sweet song, really romantic in comparison to some of the others on this album, which swing a little bit toxic or just plain sad, like “Valentina” or “Buyer’s Remorse.”

The music you play at your wedding can influence the event all day long, and picking the right songs means you’ll be instantly transported back to that day with each listen. Here are some suggestions for your big day playlist.

Deep in the Heart Film Festival | March 31 | 7 p.m. | See passion projects, short films and more from young, aspiring filmmakers to seasoned professionals, all from here in Waco.