Category Archives: live music

Moving with Intention, Dancing with Fear (ft. Adam Lawrence of The Mad Sugars)

A calling card of The Mad Sugars‘ chief songsmith Adam Lawrence is intention. His diligence and attention to detail comes through in every facet of the band’s platform — including the concepts behind their infectious garage rock dance pop hits.

Today, we welcome Adam back to the show for the first time since early in our OG run in 2013. We discuss the band’s evolution, and the personal and professional growth comes with it.

This episode of The Quinn Spinn was recorded and produced at Helping Our Music Evolve, Nashville, TN.

Opening theme: REVEL 9 – All I’ve Become

The Mad Sugars
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PHOTOS: Nashville Meets Bethlehem at SteelStacks

Friday night was an experience more than five years in the making.

We had the honor of teaming with our friends at ArtsQuest and the Your Next Favorite Band podcast to return to Bethlehem, PA for our first hometown event in a half-decade. Titled Nashville Meets Bethlehem, this songwriter showcase featured a mostly-local lineup, featured in a traditional Nashville writers round format. This empowered our eight performers to share their original songs — and the stories behind them — in an intimate setting.

Round 1 featured the high-energy rock and roll of Roi and the Secret People; the velvet-voiced alt-rock stylings of TIOGA’s Greg Adams; the heavy, emotive pop of Slingshot Dakota’s Carly Comando; and the phenomenal Americana storytelling of Dirty Dollhouse’s Chelsea Mitchell.

As for Round 2, we were treated to the intricate, melodic work of Bethlehem-based hard rockers The Beautiful Distortion; the indie folk-pop of Nashville’s own Bronte Fall; the ever-soulful R&B of Chasing Daylight’s Bobby Siegfried; and the poignant jam-rock of Billy Bauer.

This diverse lineup — presented to a room filled with upwards of 130 people — delighted the crowd with every lyric and chord, while creating an engaging atmosphere in the shadow of the iconic Bethlehem Steel blast furnaces.

On behalf of UMC, a huge thank you goes out to everyone who made this event a team effort worth remembering. We can’t wait to see you again, Bethlehem — and it certainly won’t take us another five years!

Nashville Meets Bethlehem with Brontë Fall

The last time we checked in with Teri Bracken of Brontë Fall was 2020. Touring had come to a halt, and Teri had begun working on the songs that would become her latest EP, Winter, informed by life in transition during the pandemic.

We’ve come full circle, and Teri is hitting the road to join us in Bethlehem, PA at our Nashville Meets Bethlehem songwriter night at SteelStacks. For Teri, this full circle moment brings her back to her college town as an alumna of Lehigh University, whose musical beginnings took place just a few blocks up the street. Check in to learn about the journey that has led here!

This episode of The Quinn Spinn was recorded and produced at Helping Our Music Evolve, Nashville, TN.

Opening theme: REVEL 9 – All I’ve Become

Bronte Fall

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WATCH: All Eight #NashXBeth Artists Check In

Our first hometown show in five years is coming to Bethlehem, PA this Friday, November 17. That’s when we’ll team up with Your Next Favorite Band to present Nashville Meets Bethlehem: An All-Local, Nashville-Style Songwriter Night at SteelStacks, sponsored by Tuk Business & Entertainment Law.

As the big night approaches, we teamed up with Your Next Favorite Band over the past few weeks to interview ALL EIGHT artists on the lineup — Roi and the Secret People, Greg Adams of TIOGA, Carly Comando of Slingshot Dakota, Chelsea Mitchell of Dirty Dollhouse, The Beautiful Distortion, Bronte Fall, Bobby Siegfried of Chasing Daylight, and Billy Bauer of Billy Bauer Band.

Below, we present you with clips from all of those interviews. And, if you still need tickets for this Friday night at SteelStacks, we have what you need right over here!

Nashville Meets Bethlehem: The Playlist

You may have heard us talking about this thing we’re doing back home in Bethlehem, PA next week. The concept: take eight local (or locally-tied) songwriters, and put on a mega-event in the form of a Nashville-style writers round.

The event? It’s Nashville Meets Bethlehem, taking place on Bethlehem’s iconic SteelStacks campus on Friday, November 17. And — as we’re known to do — we’re so excited that we decided to make a playlist about it!

Nashville Meets Bethlehem: The Playlist features a total of 16 tracks — two each from our lineup of The Beautiful Distortion, Billy Bauer (of Billy Bauer Band), Bobby Siegfried (Chasing Daylight), Bronte Fall, Carly Comando (Slingshot Dakota), Chelsea Mitchell (Dirty Dollhouse), Roi and the Secret People, and TIOGA.

In other words, we’ve given you 16 good reasons to get your tickets to the show — and we’re sure you’ll find many more good reasons to be in the building when the big night arrives!

Give yourself the ultimate preview below, and make sure you get yourself to Bethlehem next Friday!

Picks of the Platzes: Let’s Close it Out!

We hope you’ve enjoyed our Musikfest Picks of the Platzes, in conjunction with Your Next Favorite Band. Phillip and I have had a great time sharing our picks and making our way throughout the festival.

This is it: our final picks for 2023. See you out there one more time, Bethlehem!

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Picks of the Platzes: Entering the Home Stretch

The second weekend of Musikfest is officially underway and, for as hard as it is to believe, we’re coming up on the tail end of the festival’s 40th anniversary.

As we’ve done the whole way, Phillip from Your Next Favorite Band and I are here to give you our can’t-miss selections for this beautiful Friday night.

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Picks of the Platzes: The Rain Will Go Away

We’re off to a soggy start for Day 7 of Musikfest. Still, that isn’t stopping us from getting things rolling (and keeping things dry) under the big tents.

Also, the rain won’t last forever, and we expect it to be gone by the time tonight’s Picks of the Platzes take their respective stages.

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Picks of the Platzes: Start Your Second Half Up North

It feels like Musikfest just started. And yet, the 2023 edition of the nation’s largest free, non-gated music festival is past the halfway point.

Your legs may be hurting a bit by now, so we’ll keep your travel to a minimum by giving you a pair of selections on the North Side of the ‘Fest.

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