Today Rocks Off is pleased to announce that we have two special guests for this year's Houston Press Music Awards showcase, all day Saturday, August 7, inside and outside along Washington Avenue. After the locals do their thing, we have indie duo Matt & Kim and Texas boogie-rockers Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights. One more act will be announced soon.
Matt & Kim hail from Brooklyn, and are best known for 2009 hit single "Daylight," which you no doubt heard all last summer and fall. Its three minutes of pop-rock bliss that rightfully has earned its place as one of the catchiest singles in the past five years.
The two-piece, made up of keyboardist Matt Johnson and ferocious drummer Kim Schifino has a reputation for a hella energetic live show. The day before they hit Houston, the duo plays Lollapalooza in Chicago in front of the Black Keys and The Strokes.
More than likely, you also know them from "Lessons Learned," in which they beat Erykah Badu to the naked-video racket by almost a year. No word yet on any naked Washington Avenue antics, but we can always pray.
Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights have been Houston mainstays for the past two years, gigging at House of Blues on the regular in between recording their new album Pardon Me, which just came out in April. The Dallas-based band takes all the best parts of the Black Crowes and Skynyrd and injects them with a blast of metal riffs, making them almost Southern-fried metal. But they also know how to get lowdown and bloozy, as you can see in this clip:
The lineup of local bands playing this year's showcase - there's about 50 of them, so it takes a while to get them sorted - will be announced soon. Tickets go on sale next Friday, July 8, at houstonpress.com.
