Judy, you’re just trying to find and keep the dream of horses
And the song she wrote was Judy and the Dream of Horses
Dream of Horses, you dream of horses

— Belle & Sebastian

HORSEGIRL
horsegirlmusic.com

Chicago rock band Horsegirl recently released their debut album Versions of Modern Performance, available now on Matador Records.

The all-girls trio, featuring singer/guitarist Penelope Lowenstein, guitarist/singer Nora Cheng, and drummer Gigi Reece, is currently touring in support of the debut album.

We caught the band early in post-pandemic concerts on July 8, 2021, and wrote, “So, the funny thing is that this was an 18+ show, meaning that members of Chicago’s Horsegirl could not legally attend the show on their own. However, as performers, it’s perfectly fine. This was Horsegirl’s first tour, but you wouldn’t know, seeing as how seasoned they seem on stage. We’ve seen old, established bands screwing up and goofing around, so it was nice to see such a young band taking their shows seriously.”

Tour dates:

Jun. 17 – Paris, FR @ Pop Up Du Label
Jun. 19 – London, UK @ Paper Dress Vintage
Jun. 19 – London, UK @ Paper Dress Vintage
Jun. 21 – Manchester, UK @ YES (Basement)
Jun. 22 – London, UK @ Bermondsey Social Club
Jun 23 – London, UK @ The Dome
Jun. 26 – Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade Bristol
Jun. 28 – Cologne, DE @ Bumann & Sohn
Jun. 29 – Berlin, DE @ Monarch
Jul. 1 – Denmark, DE @ Roskilde Festival 2022
Jul. 2 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow Upstairs
Jul. 15 – Vancouver, BC @ Wise Hall *
Jul. 16 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos *
Jul. 17 – Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall *
Jul. 19 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
Jul. 21 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon *
Jul. 22 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo *
Jul. 23 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room *
Jul. 26 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line *
Jul. 27 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon *
July 28 – Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club *
Jul. 30 – Sat. Jul. 31 – Detroit, MI @ Mo Pop Festival
July 31 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza Music Festival
Aug. 2 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe *
Aug. 3 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop *
Aug. 5 – Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground *
Aug. 6 – Montreal, QC @ Petit Campus *
Aug. 10 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom *

* w/ Dummy

NINA NASTASIA
twitter.com/ninanastasia

American folk singer/songwriter Nina Nastasia will be releasing her first album in 12 years, called Riderless Horse, on July 22th, via Temporary Residence. The vinyl will be released in November.

Nastasia wrote:

Riderless Horse is my first solo record, and it’s the first record my former partner, Kennan Gudjonsson, didn’t produce.I haven’t made an album since 2010. I decided to stop pursuing music several years after my sixth record, Outlaster, because of unhappiness, overwhelming chaos, mental illness, and my tragically dysfunctional relationship with Kennan. Creating music had always been a positive outlet during difficult times, but eventually it became a source of absolute misery.Kennan, a cat and I lived in a studio apartment in NYC for 25 years, finding ways to survive while making records and going on tours. Our apartment was the place where people would come stay, eat, drink, play music, and use our tub. It was quite a home we had created, but it was decaying steadily from the moment we moved in, and in the end, it was as if black mold was growing beneath the surface, undetected, and the two of us were dying and getting too weak to ever leave. We loved each other. We were each other’s family, but there was ongoing abuse, control and manipulation. We hid. We didn’t want anyone to see how ugly things could get, so we increasingly isolated from our friends and family. We were lost.On January 26, 2020, I made the decision to separate and live apart, and on January 27, Kennan died by suicide. What a thing, suicide. I can only feel sadness and guilt about it. Maybe I’ll have other reactions to it later on.Riderless Horse documents the grief, but it also marks moments of empowerment and a real happiness in discovering my own capability. Steve Albini produced this record with me, and Greg Norman assisted. The three of us are old friends, and we did a field recording in a guesthouse built like a lighthouse that two very dear friends of mine have in Esopus, NY. It was exactly the right environment to work on this record. We all had meals together, cried, laughed, and told stories. It was perfect. It made me realize how much I love writing, playing and recording music.Terrible things happen. These were some terrible things. So, what to do – learn something valuable, connect with people, move the f**k out of that apartment, remember the humor, find the humor, tell the truth, and make a record. I made a record.

PONY GIRL
ponygirl.ca

Ottawa-Hull-based indie-rock band Pony Girl will be releasing Enny One Wil Love You on October 14th, via Paper Bag Records. The group recently shared their first single “Age of Anxious”.

Tour dates:

Jun
24
Barrie, ON, Canada
Troubadour Festival
Jul
12
Ottawa, ON, Canada
Club SAW
Jul
13
Montreal, QC, Canada
Bar le Ritz PDB
Jul
14
Cambridge, MA, US
The Sinclair
Jul
15
Brooklyn, NY, US
Brooklyn Made
Jul
16
Brooklyn, NY, US
Brooklyn Made
Jul
17
Philadelphia, PA, US
Underground Arts
Jul
18
Washington, DC, US
Union Stage
Jul
19
Pittsburgh, PA, US
Mr Smalls Theater
Jul
20
Columbus, OH, US
Ace of Cups