The hottest Live Music Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Music Topics

What's Past is Prologue

Dada Drummer Almanach • 62 implied HN points • 06 Mar 26
🎶 Music Live Music
  1. Longstanding venues like Café Oto give adventurous and song-based musicians a rare, sophisticated audience, but such places are disappearing because of rising rents and the loss of independent ownership.
  2. A multi-night residency lets musicians live in a neighborhood and build local relationships. Exploring Stoke Newington’s hidden histories showed how generations of nonconformists feed creative life there.
  3. The encore recordings from those nights feature unexpected cover versions shaped by this particular group of collaborators, and they’re being released as a Bandcamp exclusive.

“Fire moves away”

Justin E. H. Smith's Hinternet • 570 implied HN points • 01 Jan 26
🎶 Music Live Music
  1. A personal roundup of music from 2025 that shares highlights and reflections on the year’s sounds.
  2. The publisher is moving new pieces behind a paywall starting January 2, and a large discount offer expires on January 1.
  3. This post is available free for now as a courtesy, but future content will generally require a paid subscription.

An Open Letter to Taylor Swift

The Honest Broker • 38632 implied HN points • 14 Sep 23
🎶 Music Live Music
  1. The music ecosystem faces various challenges like declining artist incomes, corporatized platforms, and struggling live music venues.
  2. Big players like streaming platforms, record labels, and technocrats may not provide solutions for these challenges.
  3. Taylor Swift is encouraged to lead a new initiative to empower musicians, create fair music distribution, and revitalize the music industry.

What is the Artist to Fascism?

Dada Drummer Almanach • 360 implied HN points • 29 Dec 25
🎶 Music Live Music
  1. Some leaders treat artists as mere service providers who must perform regardless of politics, stripping artists of agency and turning art into propaganda or kitsch.
  2. Political figures sitting on corporate and nonprofit boards reveal a pattern of corporate-government entanglement that protects corporate interests and weakens regulation.
  3. Artists who speak out or withdraw from gigs can face financial threats, public shaming, and being labeled disloyal, and ticket-sales arguments are often used to silence their dissent.
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Giving Up Spotify Premium Gave Me Back My Sanity

Default Wisdom • 303 implied HN points • 28 Nov 25
🎶 Music Live Music
  1. Giving up Spotify Premium cut down my anxiety and freed me from the pressure to endlessly curate, making me feel calmer and less driven by fleeting whims.
  2. Using ad-supported services and analog radio reintroduced serendipity — ads, DJs, and call-ins exposed me to new music, ideas, and cultural moments I wouldn’t have found on curated playlists.
  3. Accepting limits instead of unlimited options made me more patient and less entitled, and helped me appreciate shared, uncurated experiences with other people.

So, how's music journalism faring in Australia?

Boiler Room • 98 implied HN points • 30 Jan 24
🎶 Music Live Music
  1. Music journalism in Australia is facing significant challenges and decline.
  2. Journalists in the industry are struggling to find work and many have had to supplement their income in other ways.
  3. The heyday of music journalism in Australia was in the 70s and 80s when it was taken seriously as an art form.

Gig Review: Death To All But Death Metal, But Also Smiles All Around - Obituary Delivers The Goods, Looks Fucking Stoked About It And Everyone Generally Has A Very Good Time

Sounds Good! • 78 implied HN points • 08 Jan 24
🎶 Music Live Music
  1. The gig review highlighted Obituary's strong performance in delivering death metal music with enthusiasm and connection to the audience.
  2. The review emphasized the band's authenticity and energy on stage, creating a symbiotic relationship with the audience.
  3. The writer expressed a nostalgic appreciation for Obituary's music and performance style, describing it as a full night of glorious death metal.

Gig Review: I Might Be Alone Again (In Thinking This), Or Calexico Is The Best Live Band You Can Still Regularly See

Sounds Good! • 39 implied HN points • 09 Feb 24
🎶 Music Live Music
  1. Calexico is an incredible live band that you should not miss if given the chance
  2. Their music vibe and sustained energy distinguish them, especially highlighted in performances like 'Feast of Wire'
  3. Calexico's dynamic sound ranges from alt-country to psychedelic, showcasing their musical versatility and brilliance

After Bandcamp, What?

Dada Drummer Almanach • 336 implied HN points • 24 Oct 23
🎶 Music Live Music
  1. Music industry facing financial challenges for artists despite quality music
  2. Bandcamp's direct artist to audience communication is valued over algorithm-run platforms
  3. New ownership of Bandcamp raises concerns about the future of this direct exchange model

On Tour!

Dada Drummer Almanach • 67 implied HN points • 22 Aug 23
🎶 Music Live Music
  1. The Dada Drummer Almanach is taking a break for a tour featuring shows in the UK, Iceland, and France.
  2. The author is excited to perform in London and Glasgow with friend Richard Youngs.
  3. The newsletter's continued support is appreciated, with paid subscriptions helping sustain the author's analog life.