“Doesn’t it feel good to be back?!,” frontman Jay Rapp bellowed to the crowd as they forged through their hour-plus long set at Grape Street Bar on Friday, March 12. After the socially distanced crowd’s enthusiastic response to Rapp’s question, the night carried on with the band plowing through their

Voted “Bestie” band in the Messenger’s last survey of our readers favorites—the very last print issue we were able to produce in March 2020 before shutting down presses for a year—The Brothers Reed are an active and beloved group of, yes, family members.  Half of the duo, Aaron Reed talked

Jen Ambrose has been a part of the Southern Oregon music scene for at least 20 years now. She studied flute, oboe, and piano in her early years. Then, she picked up the guitar and is now known for six and twelve string stylings ranging from intricate picking to fast

Slow Corpse got its start in Ashland and they have been actively involved in the Rogue Valley music community for six years. They signed with indie label Tender Loving Empire in 2017 and released their first studio album Fables the following year. Composed of lead vocalist Mitchell Winters and Brenton

When I first heard about the Brothers Reed, I remember seeing them everywhere. They booked gigs at every winery, bar, and club, seeming to be tireless. Their website (thebrothersreed.com) tells people that they do almost 300 shows per year, which is more than impressive. That hustle has made quite a

The Rogue Suspects truly are local celebrities for this region; they’ve been going strong for more than two decades, and they’re not bashful when it comes to listing their many credits and accolades. They’ve won several awards for their talents, opened for big names in the business such as James

I once knew some teenagers that admired my appreciation for hard rock or metal at loud volume levels despite my middle aged status. When one of my snarky colleagues at the time caught wind of this admiration, he told the teenagers, “That’s only because Alan is getting so old he’s

Calling Ashland their home, Impulse Control had a strong debut album in 2016 entitled Welcome to the Fold, which was straightforward guitar rock/power pop based. Now their upcoming release, Thanks for Oversharing, which will have all of its proceeds going toward a fire relief fundraiser, might prove to be their

Vikki Gilmore’s latest release “Doubt of My Mind” was written, recorded, and produced remotely in collaboration with Mathieu LeGuerrier, as a creative byproduct of the COVID-19 lockdown. This endearing indie-folk reverie was inspired by the hardship and universal loneliness of a global pandemic, mixed with the anxiety of self-doubt that

Oh, how glorious it is to be writing about a live music event after all these months! It’s a beautiful evening in Ashland as I enter the Bayberry Inn’s enchanting outdoor space on September 6 (pre-fires). Just as there is a certain insider acumen associated with the “dirty” martini, Southern