In fact, the distinctive woodwind quintet was founded on the ideal of breaking new ground, both in its makeup %uFFFD all five members are musicians of color %uFFFD and in its programming, which joins traditional European concert music with music from other cultures, especially African-American and Latin American.]]> Sometimes all you can do is marvel at someone’s dumb luck, blessed fortune, or whatever you want to call it. Like the guy who wins the lottery because he picked one or two of the right numbers by mistake, the woman who hits the jackpot on her first pull on a slot machine after you spend three hours losing money on it, or the unknown actor who lands a highly coveted role in a film just because some producer happened to see him at the right place at the right time. Joy Williams is one half of the popular band The Civil Wars, and the story of how she came to be in the band — as well as that of bandmate John Paul White — is one of those stories.]]> Our rationale goes something like this: Hey, The New York Times, Rolling Stone and USA Today have already lauded Todd Snider’s Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables, the songwriter’s none-too-subtle screed against the current trickledown angst consuming an American public being prepped for four years as Mitt Romney’s pool boy, so we took the opportunity to quiz the songwriter instead on his soon-to-be-released Jerry Jeff Walker tribute CD, Time As We Know It.]]> Zach DePue wants to break down walls. Not everyone can accomplish that with a violin, but DePue is a member of Time for Three. Known as a “classically trained garage band,” the trio of two violins and bass (DePue, Nicolas Kendall and Ranaan Meyer) has already earned a reputation for breaking barriers.]]> Cirque de la Symphonie adds visuals to orchestral performance Everyone loves a circus. Even at the symphony %uFFFD in the temple of high culture?]]> Moments like this are proof that Laswell is in a good place, both personally and musically. For someone who has made a name for himself in the indie music scene with his prowess as a songwriter and his ability to create cathartic experiences by writing about sadness and heartbreak, it is nice to see that he is anything but a rain cloud these days.]]> "I remember someone told us that they thought our first record was perfect driving music," Batmanglij says. "I think part of the reason for that was we were obsessed with keeping the momentum alive, and having just like a simple bass drum thumping, like four-on-the-floor or just like not having any kind of quiet moments or small moments.]]> %uFFFDWhen I found out I was a regional finalist, I had one day to make a music video. All these people helped out: There were climbing videographers who were psyched about the shoot, and I got people to cover my shift at work,%uFFFD she says with a laugh. %uFFFDEverything just came together; it was crazy how it worked out so perfectly.]]> It had been a few years — well, more like eight years — since we had last caught up to William Topley, and prior to our transatlantic chat, we thought we’d have a look at the British singer’s upcoming gigs. We noticed a monthly gig for the ex-Blessing frontman at Arcangel, a decidedly upscale bistro/pub located on Kensington High Street in west London, deep in one of the city’s busiest shopping zones and not far from the Royal College of Art, which counts Ian Dury, Ridley Scott and Adam Ant among its alumni.]]> Anthony B is a reggae artist loved for his righteous lyrics and positive attitude. A defender of the poor and a believer in the strength and beauty of Jamaican culture, his dancehall style is rich, powerful and uplifting.]]> When you combine the prestige of being a headlining MC, the ego of a smartass working stiff, a career that has only grown over two decades and a show at the Fox that immediately sold out months in advance, one might assume that Sean Daley (aka Slug), the voice of hip-hop duo Atmosphere,.]]> Savoy has been in existence, in a sense, ever since its three members moved into Williams Village together as dorm-mates, long before they were able to think of a band name or open up a laptop on stage. Producers Ben Eberdt, Gray Smith and percussionist Mike Kelly have since graduated from the University of Colorado, but the group's Oct. 24 CD release will be just as momentous as turning a tassel — and is surely more satisfying for the die-hard musicians.]]> Before long, The Atlantic writer Andrew Sullivan had embedded the video in his %uFFFDDaily Dish%uFFFD blog, with a bonus link to Gizmodo%uFFFDs behind-the-scenes column. Huffington Post linked it off its secondary sidebar by mid-afternoon. In a day or two, it was front and center at CNN.]]> Saless holds a doctorate in theoretical physics from the University of Colorado Boulder. He taught physics at CU and at the Colorado School of Mines. He was a research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Center and, yes, at Jet Propulsion Laboratory.]]> She punctuates the sentence with a laugh, which is a good sign considering all the problems the band has endured recently. She says their upcoming full-length record ("We're looking at releasing it in early spring, perhaps March") focuses on these struggles.]]> Early performances of a work still not finished are obviously beneficial to composers. They serve much the same purpose as out-of-town tryouts for Broadway shows: a chance to evaluate the opera's effectiveness and make any necessary changes before it is considered finished.]]> Well, we suppose a real day off for Gordon wouldn%uFFFDt include doing any interviews, but Phish had just wrapped up its early fall tour with a Halloween gig in Atlantic City, N.J., and it was a day or two before he headed back out for a stretch with his own band.]]> So inflammatory was the language that in 2000, New York Times writer Neil Strauss felt compelled to call them "among the most racist, misogynist, homophobic and obscene songs recorded by a popular songwriter." A wave of accusations followed, pegging Coe as a white supremacist, a label he still defiantly rejects.]]> Ross Godfrey was ready to relax. So was his brother, Paul, for that matter. The two brothers behind Morcheeba spent the better part of 15 years experimenting with electronic and trip-hop elements, recording six albums and touring the globe to make a living. As Ross states, it was time for a break.]]> For more than 25 years, Bon Jovi has been cranking out hit albums and playing arenas and stadiums, while establishing a level of enduring popularity that only a handful of acts have ever achieved.]]>