State In The Real – Penn State Music Scene

Author - Emily Martin

The Locals: Philly Edition

Philadelphia, known for its role in the development of R&B, jazz, and soul, is home to a wide variety of musical artist and bands.  Thanks to the diversity of genres, many quality venues, and dedicated fans, Philadelphia launches countless artists’ careers.

 

The Bar Band

One band that hails from Philadelphia that you might not know is Black Horse Motel.  They are a Folk Americana band consisting of four core members that play a variety of instruments like the mandolin, cello, banjo, and more.  Their music comes together with smooth vocal harmonies and killer strings.   The band put out their first full album last spring sponsored by a kickstarter campaign and have been playing Philadelphia venues on and off ever since.  This is a home-grown Philly band that you definitely need to check out.

 

The Opener

The next singer may not be from center city Philly but is certainly worth the stretch.  Anthony Green, lead singer of Circa Survive and solo artist, grew up north of Philadelphia in Holland, PA.  After being part of several bands, he formed Circa Survive.  As Circa became more popular Green branched out into a solo career while maintaining his role in the band.  His solo music has developed into a beautiful mix of experimental, folk, and alternative.  Anthony Green is someone that has the talent to rock out in a band and make it out on his own.  Whether you are already a fan of Circa Survive or have never heard of them, you should check out his solo albums.

 

The Headliner

Another Philly suburb singer is someone most people know.  Pink, from Abington, started playing Philadelphia clubs when she was only 14.  She continued her passion for music as she got older, briefly joining a band before launching her successful longer-term solo career.  Pink has been a widely known artist since the early 2000’s and continued into the present music scene.  Her songs tend to turn into Pop Rock anthems that can be constantly heard on the radio.  You cannot help but to rock out to them.  If for some reason you have not listened to Pink then you should give the multiple Grammy winner a chance. If you have heard Pink before then put on one of her songs and rock out for a few minutes.

 

The Pretty Reckless Releases New Single

Lost are the days of Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl.  Taylor Momsen has taken on the role of Rock Goddess as frontwoman for The Pretty Reckless.

Fresh off their national headline tour, The Pretty Reckless isn’t taking any breaks.  They just premiered the single “Heaven Knows” on Sirius XM Octane channel.  This killer song is the second single off their upcoming sophomore album, Going to Hell, that is set to be released in March of 2014.  As a follow up to their heavy rock lead single and album title track, “Going to Hell”, this song slows it down a bit and has more of a classic rock feel.  “Heaven Knows” adds to the diversity of The Pretty Reckless’ music while staying true to their dark lyrics and rock-centric vibe.  The band plans on releasing a video for the track but a release date has not been announced yet.

The song will be available for purchase on ITunes on November 19th.

 

Click on the track below to listen to it before it is officially released. This is definitely a track you need to check out!

The Pretty Reckless – Heaven Knows