Welcome back to my column! We are back to usual habits at ASU and this semester is off to a busy start. This is, of course, completely contradictory to what my winter break was like. I focused hard on doing as little as possible, unless it required Netflix or couch time. I did manage to make it down to Tucson’s Rialto Theater to check out Alt-J and was far from disappointed. I’ve been mildly obsessed since.
I recently had the chance to visit Austin, Texas and was blown away by the local music scene. It’s now on my list of a city I need to go back to see more of. It’s a music lover’s heaven.
Now is the time of year when festival lineups are announced, and concert season gets into full swing. There are a few shows and fests that I’m looking forward to in 2015. Notably, and I cannot believe I’m about to say this, are Country Thunder and Taylor Swift.
Honestly, I never thought I’d be excited for either of these, but a goal of mine this year is to open myself up to music I normally would overlook. On the other hand, I’ll definitely be checking out Dave Matthews Band’s tour closer here in Phoenix, which will put me somewhere around the nearly-80 show mark (yikes).McDowell Mountain Music Festival, a great local weekend-long event in March, has a solid lineup this year while I feel like a more well-known festival, Coachella, is a bit subpar.
Here’s to a year of new music, new bands and new experiences. Cheers!
Reach the columnist at Katie.Self@asu.edu or on Twitter @rallykate. You can also find her on Spotify at Katie Self.
Katie Self is a fan of all things music-related. Having spent many years traveling to see bands all over the country, she has been fortunate enough to visit venues such as Madison Square Garden, Alpine Valley, Red Rocks and The Gorge. Katie has essentially put Dave Matthew's children through college with the amount of money spent on DMB shows (78 and counting), and has recently gone on a country kick. She also enjoys carbs and her munchkin kitty, Buster.
