On March 20, April Harper Gray, better known as underscores, released her third studio album, U, with Mom and Pop Music. While her last project, Wallsocket, was a genre-bending concept album exploring the fictional town of Wallsocket, Indiana, and what it means to grow into womanhood, U is a digitalized simplification of Gray’s trademark take… Continue reading U album review: underscores ventures into the mainstream
Category: Reviews
b7lanket & Luko M Keep It Short & Sweet With Home team
Bedroom indie producers b7lanket and Luko M have joined up for Home team, an EP-sized mixtape self-released on April 6 and available on SoundCloud and Nina Protocol. Their first collaboration is steeped in childhood nostalgia, creating a miniature world that revolves around sports practice and a carefree curiosity for the world around you. This is… Continue reading b7lanket & Luko M Keep It Short & Sweet With Home team
Spring Awakening Review
Oberlin Musical Theatre took campus by storm in the fall of 2025, introducing a third department to the conservatory. Having transferred across Northeast Ohio from Baldwin Wallace, they found a new home in Conservatory East. Oberlin students are spoiled with high standards of music and art on campus. The prospect of a new department of… Continue reading Spring Awakening Review
Hope Runs Through My Veins – THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE Review
During a recent interview with Zane Lowe, Creative Director for Apple Music, singer-songwriter Rachel Keen (a.k.a. RAYE) said, “In this record I’ve embraced maximalism and expressing and exploring in any genre that I felt I wanted to.” When listening to her sophomore album THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE, released on March 27, 2026 through Human… Continue reading Hope Runs Through My Veins – THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE Review
George Rogers Senior Recital
On the evening of April 4, dozens of students, professors and music enthusiasts gathered in Oberlin's David H. Stull recital hall as George Rogers presented his senior recital. Rogers, a 4th year jazz saxophone major, had the room completely crowded. Not an empty chair in sight, folks were overflowing into the back of the performance… Continue reading George Rogers Senior Recital
A Contemporary Showcase: Later the Same Evening and Bastianello
From Thursday, March 5 through Sunday, March 8, Oberlin Opera Theater presented two one-act operas, Later the Same Evening and Bastianello, in Hall Auditorium. Both composed by John Musto with libretto by Mark Campbell, the distinctly contemporary production was a departure from the more traditional works that the Opera department typically produces. I saw the… Continue reading A Contemporary Showcase: Later the Same Evening and Bastianello
The Greatness of Our Peers – Emmy Irvine and Dempsey Miller Concert Review
On March 13, jazz vocalist Emmy Irvine and jazz drummer Dempsey Miller showed why Oberlin is home to one of the greatest conservatories in the world. They presented their junior recital to a packed audience in Birenbaum Performance Space with an ever-changing band. From arrangements to their own original music, it is hard to not… Continue reading The Greatness of Our Peers – Emmy Irvine and Dempsey Miller Concert Review
TAKAAT Brings History Lesson and Live Demo to Oberlin
On Tuesday, March 10, two members of the trio TAKAAT — American bassist Mikey Coltun and Nigerien guitarist-singer Ahmoudou Madassane — held a workshop in Oberlin Conservatory’s TIMARA Gallery prior to their Modern Music Guild-sponsored show at the Dionysus Disco. TAKAAT was formed by the rhythm section of famed Nigerien guitarist, singer and songwriter Mdou… Continue reading TAKAAT Brings History Lesson and Live Demo to Oberlin
Lou Phelps – The Bounciest Show on Campus
Photo by: Sam Kennedy On February 20, DJ, producer, rapper, and songwriter Lou Phelps came to Oberlin and delivered one of the bounciest ‘Sco shows the campus has seen. He makes music under the subgenre of rap-house and has often worked in collaboration with his brother KAYTRANADA. Rap-house combines the danceable instrumental of house music… Continue reading Lou Phelps – The Bounciest Show on Campus
From Reykjavik to Oberlin: Sibbi Bernhardsson’s faculty recital
On the evening of February 21, an audience of College and conservatory students, faculty, and community members braved freezing conditions for an Icelandic- and Oberlin-themed solo violin program in Stull Recital Hall. Sibbi Bernhardsson, professor of violin, director of Oberlin’s string department, and a native Icelander, greeted the room with a permanent smile, ever-moving eyebrows,… Continue reading From Reykjavik to Oberlin: Sibbi Bernhardsson’s faculty recital