The latest edition of our Key Studio Sessions compilations is out today – now streamable and downloadable from Soundcloud!  Check out this year’s in-studio appearances with The Key Studio Sessions Vol. 7, including the down-tempo folk stylings of Waxahatchee, the thrashing punk of Pissed Jeans and the all-out rock jams of Ruby the Hatchet.  Thanks to production assistants Fred Knittel, Madeleine Lesperance, and Dan Malloy as well as photographers Rachel Del Sordo and Kate McCann, and videographers The Angry Mountain, HotBox Studios and Out of Town Films for sharing their work.

Still riding high from the release of their debut full-length a few weeks ago, Philly’s Bleeding Rainbow headline Johnny Brenda’s tonight.  The duo-turned-quartet signed to Kanine Records last fall and though the release date was pushed back several months, the noise-punk band put out their gloriously shoe-gazey Yeah Right LP in January.  Yeah Right is The Key’s featured album for this week’s Unlocked series, which means you can dig into it with a review here (and an interview later today).  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show at Johnny Brenda’s with Pet Milk and Ghost Light can be found here.  Watch a new video for “Waking Dream” from Yeah Right below.

On the other Kung Fu Necktie stage tonight, you’ll find local harpist Mary Lattimore performing with Jeff Zeigler. This collaboration is but one on each musician’s long list of projects, Lattimore’s including work with Thurston Moore, Kurt Vile and Meg Baird and Zeigler’s expanding with his band Arc in Round and production work for The War on Drugs, Ape School and others.  When the two pair up for nights like tonight, though, the result is about as far away from those other projects as possible.  Lattimore’s dreamy harp compositions and Zeigler’s warpy but gentle synth layers froth with emotion and understanding.  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Trummors, Fred Thomas and Morning River Band can be found here.  Stream Mary Lattimore and Jeff Zeigler’s improvised Folkadelphia session below and learn more about Lattimore’s debut full-length The Withdrawing Room here.

Philebrity and BITBY.TV have teamed up to bring you the hoppin-est Valentine’s Day variety show in town at Underground Arts tonight.  WIth love-themed sets by Juston Stens & The Get Real Gang, Blayer Pointdujour, Katie Frank & The Pheromones, J.M.M. Sweeney Jr. (Mr. Philebrity himself) and others, the event lays claim to being “the city’s only destination for old school-style slow dancing,” with the groove being set by DJ Langor.  More information for the 21+ show can be found on the Facebook event page here.  Stream and download “Strange Love” by Juston Stens & Jessica Lea Mayfield (part of the With Love, From WXPN Philly Local sampler).

Also happening:

XPN welcomes New Jersey rockers The Smithereens to World Cafe Live in support of their 2011 self-titled record.  At The Sellersville Theater, XPN welcomes long-standing rock ‘n’ roll act Soul Asylum.  And finally at The Fire, XPN welcomes the Northern Liberties Winter Music Fest with American Babies, The Fleeting Ends, Ross Bellenoit, Joe D’Amico Band and Miz.  Tickets and information for all shows can be found here.

This week’s Key Studio Session spotlighted the soulful rock and roll of Juston Stens and the Get Real Gang, who have a slate of regional dates lined up this winter – from Lancaster to Wilmington to right here in Philly. The band played selections from their 2012 LP Trash or Treasure, and dropped a spirited new one called “Blink of an Eye.” Steam or download it below, and get the entire session here.

• Blink of an EyeInsert caption hereDownload

Speaking of Key Studio Sessions, our latest compilation – The Key Studio Sessions Vol. 6 - was released last week. It features 17 tracks recorded last fall, from Ape School and Ethel Cee, to Aspiga and Arctic Splash. Download the entire compilation for free at Soundcloud, and get a taste below with “Witnessed” by Gracie.

Philly’s Brian Christinzio, aka B.C. Camplight, has been living in Manchester, UK, for the better part of the past year, working on his latest LP Grim Cinema. Last week he appeared on BBC Radio 6 Music for an interview and performance of two brand new songs – “Thieves in Antigua” and “Atom Bomb.” Stream and download the session below.

Folkadelphia dug into its archives for a bonus session this week featuring Sacramento singer-songwriter Jules Ann Bee, aka Sea of Bees. Listen to it below, download it at Folkadelphia’s bandcamp.

Download B.C. Camplight‘s BBC Radio 6 session featuring two new songs [link]

Juston Stens and the Get Real Gang bring rock and soul to their Key Session [link]

Listen to Free Energy‘s new album Love Sign at Consequence of Sound [link]

Thrash out with a new Surgeon track; they play Kung Fu Necktie next month [link]

The collaboration between Ground Up and The Lawsuits continues in a HotBox session [link]

David Bowie releases a new single for his birthday [link]

Chill Moody releases his latest album, RFM [link]

Get psyched for Zilla Rocca‘s Tuesday Tune-Out with his new Wrecking Crew video [link]

Download The Key Studio Sessions Vol. 6, our new 17-song compilation [link]

Stream the new album from The Lone Bellow, a Georgia-bred close harmony trio [link]

Stream a new EP from Philly’s Acres of Diamonds, who play PhilaMOCA next week [link]

Plow United announces the details of their all-ages album-release show at The Barbary [link]

Download Anais Mitchell‘s Folkadelphia session [link]

The WXPN Philly Local Show expands to three hours [link]

Once upon a time, Juston Stens was drummer for Philadelphia’s Dr. Dog, before striking out on his own with The Get Real Gang a few years back. His solo songwriting, and the band in general, is also rooted in Abbey Road-esque classic rock tradition – though a bit more smooth and soulful – and last year it released a great LP called Trash or Treasure. We got a nice sampling of that record in the Key Session the band recorded, as well as an unreleased rocker called “Blink of an Eye.” Listen and download the set below, and catch Juston Stens and the Get Real Gang in concert at one of the shows they have coming up this winter – January 18 at the Elks Lodge Ballroom in Lancaster with The Districts, February 9 at World Cafe Live at The Queen with Can You Canoe, or March 1 at Johnny Brenda’s with Daniel Ryan Belski.

• Lonely, Lonely Nightby Juston Stens and the Get Real Gang, from The Key Studio Sessions, Jan. 9, 2013Download

• Colliderby Juston Stens and the Get Real Gang, from The Key Studio Sessions, Jan. 9, 2013Download

• Don't Let Goby Juston Stens and the Get Real Gang, from The Key Studio Sessions, Jan. 9, 2013Download

• Blink Of An Eyeby Juston Stens and the Get Real Gang, from The Key Studio Sessions, Jan. 9, 2013Download

Acclaimed banjo player Tony Trischka will be performing at The Psalm Salon tonight. Trischka, whose career has included stints in Skyline and Breakfast Special, as well as flourishing solo releases, is perhaps best known for his involvement with several NPR shows like A Prairie Home Companion and From Our Front Porch. His 2008 album Territory won the Best Americana Album category for the Independent Music Awards, one of dozens of achievements Trischka has accumulated over his career. Grab tickets to tonight’s all-ages show here, and watch Trischka’s collaborative performance at RockyGrass 2011 with Mike Marshall, Bryan Sutton, Darol Anger and Missy Raines.

Rising local folk duo Norwegian Arms returns to Johnny Brenda’s tonight. The pair, Eric Slick and Brendan Mulvihill, have caught our attention as one of this year’s best emerging acts; read our review of their upcoming full-length, Wolf Like A Stray Dog, which you can stream in its entirety here. Their psych experimentation brings to life the motif of personal growth with refreshing energy on the album. Tickets for tonight’s 21+ are available on our calendar here; check out their video for “Easy a Lover Goes West” from Choice/Cuts below.

Back in Philly celebrating the September release of their phenomenal sophomore record Call Me Sylvia, Low Cut Connie are performing tonight at North Star Bar. The band’s jagged retro rock sound and lively “bar band” reputation have proven them to be a guaranteed good time; check out their XPN2 session here and pick up tickets to tonight’s show here. Below, watch Low Cut Connie’s video for the first single from Call Me Sylvia, “Scoliosis in Secaucus.”

Philly five-piece folk group Black Horse Motel and Wilmington’s New Sweden are playing as part of the line-up at Milkboy Philly tonight. Black Horse Motel is currently in the process of recording their debut full-length, but you can hear their warm Americana harmonies on their recent four-track EP (available on their Bandcamp page here). New Sweden, whose spirited folk sound has earned them a second nomination for the Tri-State Indie’s Best Delaware Indie Band of the Year award, is working on their second album, but their first album and EP can be downloaded here. Tickets for tonight’s 21+ show are available here; doors open at 8:30. Below, watch New Sweden’s performance of “A Poor Man’s Song” at World Cafe Live Wilmington from last St. Patrick’s Day.

[BITBY BKSTG] PURPLES at XPN’s THE KEY STUDIO SESSIONS from BITBY on Vimeo.

The Denton, Texas progressive polka band Brave Combo plays World Cafe Live upstairs tonight. The group, active for over thirty years, has appeared on the Musikfest and Philadelphia Folk Fest stages, collaborated with David Byrne, and appeared on an episode of The Simpsons in 2004. For tickets and more information, visit the WXPN concert calendar here. Below, watch the band reworking “Louie, Louie” in Austin back in 2007.

Young Statues are a five-piece band from Philly who makes acoustic sounding beats that sound like early pop punk rounded off with a softer, gentler side. Their self-titled debut album came out in late 2011, hefty with sweet rock vibes honing in their truthful and simplistic lyrics. They venture to The Barbary tonight for an all ages performance along with Turnover and PJ Bond. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased here. The night starts out early at 6:30 p.m. Below you can listen to an acoustic EP they released in February.

Starting out as the frontman for the  alt-country rock band Vigilantes of Love, and continuing as a solo artist after their disbandment, Bill Mallonee has always enjoyed writing and singing. The band has since reconvened but Bill still continues to write and record his own music. He will be playing the early show tonight at 7:30 at the Tin Angel. The 21+ show is $12, snag your tickets here.

The non-profit art and culture space, Little Berlin hosts a music series entitled ‘Dream Oven’ and the series continues tonight with a performs from Juston Stens & The get Real Gang. Juston, former drummer of Dr. Dog, always had a head full of songs, and he was finally able to extract them with the creation of his band The Get Real Gang. Their debut album Trash or Treasure was released in March of this year, an eclectic combination of rock genre similar to dreamy 60′s rock bands like Zeppelin or Jefferson Airplane. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. and there is a $5-7 donation.

The dream pop duo, Lockets will be performing a 21+ show this evening at Kung Fu Necktie. Although Lockets is a duo they do live performances as a full band featuring drums, bass, synthesizer, and guitar. You can catch them along with Attia Dancers and Language Problems at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are only $10.

Last but not least, XPN welcomes the Philadelphia-based ensemble mewithoutYou back home for the last stop on their tour at the TLA. They released their fifth studio album, Ten Stories this past May. They have been touring along with Kevin Devine and Buried Beds, you can buy tickets to the 7:30 p.m. show here.

French electronic band M83 are bringing their ambient vibes to the Electric Factory before they head to Lollapalooza and then continue their extensive three month-long U.S. tour. The all-ages show starts at 8PM and features support from Big Black Delta. Tickets are $40.40 and can be purchased here. Watch the official music video for the band’s infectious single “Midnight City” from their latest album, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming in the player below.

Toronto band Zeus are headlining a show at the North Star Bar tonight along with Juston Stens & The Get Real Gang (featuring Juston Stens formerly of Dr. Dog) and Megan Reilly. The 21+ show starts at 8PM and tickets are available here for $10.

Finally, Philadelphia natives/married couple/musical duo Fatin Dantzler and Aja Graydon (AKA Kindred the Family Soul) are bringing their soulful sound to World Cafe at the Queen in Wilmington tonight at 8PM. Reserved seats for are sold out, but general admission tickets are still available for $29 here.

Juston Stens “When Fire Burns Out” by 230MP3