Photo by Pete Troshak | flickr.com/photos/petryfrompa/sets | twitter.com/shak74

The lineup for the 6th Annual Roots Picnic includes Gary Clark Jr., Lushlife and more [link]

Dave Hartley‘s Top of the Key returns to tell you why the NBA should #LetBonnerShoot [link]

Folk-inspired Philly songwriter Gretchen Lohse records a stunning Key Studio Session [link]

The latest album from Joe D’Amico gets the Unlocked treatment [link]

Portland dance-rock artist ONUINU chats about his upcoming show at Kung Fu Necktie [link]

Get your vote on in The Deli and Tri-State Indie‘s year-in-review polls [link]

Pitchfork gave Bleeding Rainbow‘s new LP a bad review, then premiered it anyway [link]

UK pop singer Jessie Ware played Union Transfer, reminisced about World Cafe [link]

Listen to Simian Mobie Disco recorded live on Making Time RADio [link]

Elder grunge statesmen Soundgarden brought their reunion tour to The Tower Theater [link]

Listen to Yo La Tengo cover The Spinners’ classic “I’ll Be There” from Free at Noon [link]

Ohio singer-songwriter Dolfish is spotlighted in this week’s Folkadelphia session [link]

Photo by Fred Knittel (RIP Elena's Soul)

I don’t immediately spring for musicians that opt for the humorous over the serious. I might be in the minority here, but musicians that sing about the weighty questions in life, the BIG questions, always tend to catch my ear quicker. But truly it’s a balancing act; you can only appreciate the darkness with the light, the heavy with the insubstantial.

That’s why Cleveland/Columbus, OH’s Dolfish (aka Max Sollisch) and his quirky sort-of brash songs and attitude mean a lot to me. He’s just so damned refreshingly honest in his approach to songwriting and playing that his record I’d Rather Disappear Than Stay The Same has not left my computer’s CD drive (yeah, I don’t have a  real CD player, sue me). He creates these clever little worlds in song form. They’re unobtrusive and intimate in scope – qualities that draw you in – but also universal for anyone caught up in the Age of the Internet. His tongue-in-cheek lyrics about Dashboard Confessional or PDA (public displays of affection) have a joke quality to them, but he’s singing about loneliness, isolation, separation, and not knowing who you are or who you should be. I feel it; it’s relatable, realistic, and adventurous in a way that makes me think that Sollisch is writing the folk songs of the 21^st Century. Let’s stay tuned in.

Dolfish stopped by the WXPN Studio before his concert in Philadelphia at Elena’s Soul (RIP) on November 10^th, 2012. He quickly laid down some tracks for us to share with you. We know that we’ll see him soon and we’re looking forward to it.