It’s been a great month in San Francisco music. Right from week one, September kept us on our toes; on the 6th, Lillie Mae with her sweeter-than-sugar voice and stellar musical skill drew crowds to the newly renovated Café du Nord. And from the following day, it began raining singles.
Tove Lo dropped her new track “Disco Tits,” which is the first bit of new music from Blue Lips (that’s due later in the year). Speaking about the track, Tove Lo explained, “Disco Tits is about losing yourself with your new-found love. Naive, excited, no consequences. The happiness in the haze I’m feeling right now.” On the same day, Chelsea Wolfe also released her new song, “The Culling”, the final single from Wolfe’s sixth album, Hiss Spun, which came out on the 22nd of last month – she’ll be playing the Regency Ballroom next month, on November 4th.
Continuing to test what comes after you earn the name ‘veteran rockers’, U2 came out with the sweetly-titled “You’re the Best Thing About Me”, from their upcoming album Songs of Experience. Actor and musician Hailee Steinfeld followed suit with her new single “Let Me Go,” which features Florida Georgia Line, one of country music’s most-loved acts. Fergie came out with the video for her track “You Already Know”, from her album Double Dutchess, which was also released on the 22nd of last month. Being her second full-length album, and her very first visual album, the video created a lot of buzz
Mid-month, the world of music once again mourned the tragic loss of Amy Winehouse, who would have turned 34 this year. Musicians across the world paid tribute in memory of the English singer and songwriter, including Gallant and Dua Lipa, who came together to perform a duet of Amy’s song “Tears Dry on Their Own” as part of Gallant’s ongoing YouTube series, “In The Room”.
EDM duo Krewella’s new single, “New World” was released on September 21st, ahead of their show at the Warfield last Saturday, and Jessie J shared her new song “Think About That” from her upcoming album R.O.S.E., which is set to release sometime next year. Jessie announced that the album’s title is an acronym for “Realizations, Obsessions, Sex, and Empowerment.”
Among other new releases last month was Madonna’s long-awaited Rebel Heart Tour concert film, and then, on the 19th, Café du Nord got lucky once more, with Canadian-American singer Martha Wainwright’s powerful live performance. Also, last month, the KAABOO Del Mar festival, having drawn in people from all 50 states and from 30 different countries, came to a close. Among the defining moments of the finale was P!nk’s aerial performance (where she introduced songs from her forthcoming album Beautiful Trauma) and the first live performance of Ke$ha’s brand new single, “Praying.”
And finally, towards the very end, with the release of the schedule for the sixth annual Monster Energy Aftershock, September left music-lovers in San Francisco with great news for the future. The festival is scheduled for Saturday, October 21 and Sunday, October 22 at Discovery Park, near downtown Sacramento. October in music already looks likely to be a classic!