Nick Spacek

1 week ago | thepitchkc.com | Nick Spacek

There is something truly mind-bending about seeing bluegrass guitar virtuoso Billy Strings in concert that goes beyond just seeing the musician and his four bandmates perform with astonishing proficiency. The brain-melting light and video projections are part of the whole getting your jaw dropped to the ground aspect of it all, but what I kept coming back to time and time again was the fact that this was a five-piece roots music band playing bluegrass, mostly acoustically, in an arena.

2 weeks ago | thepitchkc.com | Nick Spacek

Regardless of whether you know the name of Choctaw singer-songwriter Samantha Crain, you've likely heard her music, especially if you're fan of Oklahoma-set must-watch series like Hulu's Reservation Dogs or Disney+'s Echo. In addition to Crain's own compositions, both series saw her cover songs from other artists in her own inimitable style.

2 weeks ago | thepitchkc.com | Nick Spacek

It's a gorgeous Thursday evening in May. I'm sitting next to a stage as Lawrence musicians Melvin Litton and Mando Dan Hermreck warm up the crowd spread out on the lawn in front of them.There's a light breeze as the sun begins heading down, giving the stage that golden hour lighting. You couldn't ask for a better setting for a couple hours of roots music, which will also include sets from singer-songwriter Megan Luttrell and country troubadour Outlaw Jake Mandrell.

4 weeks ago | thepitchkc.com | Nick Spacek

Y'know that scene in The Blue Brothers, where they walk into Bob's Country Bunker, and the band is told, "We got both kinds: country AND western"? Last night at Lucia was like that, but for heavy rock 'n' roll. You had Kansas City's Hossferatu opening with their stoner doom, with slow, big riffs and guttural vocals from a frontman who paced the area in front of the stage like a caged animal.

4 weeks ago | thepitchkc.com | Nick Spacek

When I hop on the phone with Katerina Jae, singer for KC-based indie rock band Ramona Clay, we are both on speaker-me because I am recording our conversation, and Jae because she is bedazzling a guitar to give away at the band's show this Saturday, May 31, at Harrah's VooDoo Lounge. "I don't even know if I'm doing it right 'cause I've never bedazzled anything in my entire life," jokes Jae of what she's doing to the Guitar Center-donated acoustic.