Sydney Wayser, 23, grew up in Los Angeles and spent her summers in Paris. This bilingual, bicoastal, bilateral upbringing has given her music a very distinct feel. Wayser is a multi-instrumentalist and while recording her sophomore album, she utilized toy instruments to add even more dimensions to her music. She plays three shows at SXSW before ...

Tabi Bonney, originally from Togo, West Africa, is "old enough to date ya mama and young enough to date ya sister." He's part of the indie hip-hop group Organized Rhyme, and is son to afro-funk superstar Itadi Bonney. Not surprisingly, Bonney has opened for Outkast, LL Cool J and Cam'ron. He'll be performing five times at SXSW before hitting the ...

The Allman Brothers did what they do best Thursday night at the United Palace Theater in New York City: they enabled every member of the audience to feel like they were traveling through time. It was as though the '80s and '90s had never happened. But that's why the Allman Brothers have endured -- their music is timeless blues-influenced rock. By ...

There are more than 10 people in the San Francisco-based art-pop band Still Flyin.' Signed to Moshi Moshi Records, their music has a definite Talking Heads vibe. Sean Rawls, 31, is the singer and songwriter for the band and took some time out to talk with Spinner about how the band formed and about his preference for the Stones over the Rolling ...

It was the perfect, if unlikely, setting for a Vampire Weekend concert, but it wasn't a traditional venue -- it was a Barnes and Noble in New York's Union Square. The band known for their roots at Columbia University and songs about grammar played among books and throngs of adoring teens too young for rock clubs. It wasn't just a Vampire Weekend ...

Beatles fever just will not stop. But this time, instead of a video game or news of Paul McCartney teaming up with MGMT, it's all about the little old ukulele. After 9/11, producer Roger Greenawalt took a vacation to the West. In San Francisco, he picked up a ukulele and couldn't put it down. A few years later, he had downloaded every Beatles song ...

For an artist like Amanda Blank, influences are everything. The Philadelphia rapper/singer says she's been influenced by everyone from her producers, Diplo and Switch, to her mom. She also says that friend, colleague and partner in dance-music crime Santigold, is a huge influence. "Santi was really instrumental to my growth," tells Spinner. "We're ...