Photos by Dan Schenker Photography

When you go to a rock show on a special holiday, you never know what to expect from the crowd. When that special holiday is Cinco de Mayo, you really don’t know what to expect from the crowd. An uneasiness settled in when I first arrived at The Wellmont Theater, located in the heart of Montclair, New Jersey, for that very reason. Were attendants there to support the bands and have a good time or get drunk out of their minds? I was in no mood to deal with a shitty crowd. Luckily, when I got inside I realized I was in good company. And the night only got better from there.

STREAM: Silversun Pickups - ”The Pit”

STREAM: Bad Books - ”The After Party”

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The Sweetlife Festival will cement itself as a District music tradition this Saturday as it returns to Merriweather Post Pavilion for its third annual run. To get you excited we’ve teamed up with the fine folks at Sweetlife to bring you the official kick-off party this Thursday, May 10th at U Street Music Hall. Headlining the night will be MS MR — who will also be playing on Saturday — along with support from Sir Sly and Magic Man. Three of our favorite artists together in one place — it doesn’t get much better than this. Advance tickets are available now at the link below for $12 (or $15 at the door). Grab yours now!

STREAM: Sir Sly – “Ghost”

DOWNLOAD: Magic Man – “Texas”

As the resident New Orleansologist here at ATG, I’m delighted to write about Generationals. The band formed in 2009 as an indie take on shimmering 60s pop, and their debut album, Con Law, more or less broke the NOLA indie scene when it was released four years ago. (You probably heard the infectious single “When They Fight, They Fight” that summer.)

Heza, out now on Polyvinyl Records, is an updated sound, building on what the band does so well. Replacing the 60s girl group harmonies of Con Law are the jangly guitars and hopped up tempo of beach pop, at times recalling The Beach Boys, other times sounding like The Kinks. If modern analogs are more your thing, the new album has a lot of The Drums going on. On top of all this, the album features the exceptional song “Durga II,” which I think is the best song for slowly spinning in your empty apartment to since The The’s “This is the Day.” No one else spins around slowly to songs in their apartment? Just me? Alright then. Good talk.

They’re playing tonight at Rock N Roll Hotel with UK rockers Splashh, who sound like if Oasis’ kids formed a band. Doors are at 8:30., and tickets are still available here. There’ll be an ATG crew there so come by and say what’s up.

STREAM: Generationals – “Spinoza”

I’m an old man at heart. It’s true. I own a pair of slippers I wear unironically when my feet get cold. I recently complained “about the kids these days, with their haircuts and their complicated shoes.” I’ve briefly lectured to a friend about the benefits of yogurt. Because of this old-man-ness, I have never been able to dive fully into the electronic music scene. I know that’s tantamount to treason here on the pages of ATG, but for whatever reason, I’ve never been able to connect fully with the bass drops and oontz oontz oontzes you all love so well.

And then I heard Flume. Flume is Harley Streten, a producer from Sydney, Australia who looks like he’s about 14 years old. Last year he released the excellent self-titled LP, Flume, which you can find on Spotify and iTunes. Flume is electronic music. But it’s also got huge soul and hip hop elements. He isn’t afraid of melody, and he’s got a great ear for it. He also isn’t afraid of a bass drop every once in a while, so no fear, young people of DC. He makes electronic music even us old ones can love.

He’s playing tonight at U Street Music Hall. It’s $10 ahead of time and $12 at the door, and you can snag tickets now. Doors are at 9 pm. There will be a crew from ATG there, and we hope to see all you crazy kids. I’ll be the guy in the slippers.

STREAM: Flume — “Holdin’ On”

STREAM: Flume — “Left Alone (Ft. Chet Faker)”

Before I headed down to Austin for a week of chaos, buzzbands and #coolranchDLT’s, I made a short list of bands I would make sure I saw live. At the very top of that list was the UK’s hottest young commodity, Dan Croll. The 22-year-old Newcastle-based Croll first piqued my interest with his first single, “From Nowhere,” and he moved his way up to #1 on my must-see list after his release of “Compliment Your Soul,” one of the most cleverly-crafted and downright beautiful singles in recent memory.

After being thwarted a few times by long lines and insatiable hunger pangs, I was finally able to catch the Croll Show live on Friday at Cedar Door for the ASOS showcase. His set was brief, but his unbridled talent shone through, as he crooned his way through his two hits and a bevy of new tracks. Afterward, Croll stuck around to sign autographs and take pictures with fans, including yours truly, who was completely blown away by his modesty, affability, and genuine appreciation for new listeners. Needless to say, the future is quite bright for Mr. Croll.

STREAM: Dan Croll – “Compliment Your Soul”

As you may have gathered from the hundreds of tweets that poured out of our Twitter last Saturday, All Things Go teamed up with Indie Shuffle to put on a showcase for this year’s SXSW Festival. And man, did it pop off. From the morning onwards the line-up, which featured The Neighbourhood, MØ, Ghost Beach, Darwin Deez, Youngblood Hawke, The 1975, HAERTS and Trails & Ways, played to an energetic full house at Club De Ville. You can experience it all in photos after the jump.

Big thanks to Wes Della Volla (Kick Kick Snare) and Chloe Raynes (BuzzChips) for the photos.

STREAM: The Neighbourhood – “Sweater Weather”

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Of Monsters And Men will be graduating to the Merriweather Post Pavilion when they stop through the DC area with All Things Gold alums Haim on Tuesday, June 11th. We’re giving away a pair of lawn tickets to go see Iceland’s finest before they go on sale this Friday, March 1st. What do you have to do to win?

Of Monsters And Men’s debut album, My Head Is An Animal has launched them to international stardom. In a quite literal celebration of that, we want to know what animal head you would replace yours with. Mega bonus points go to whoever includes a photoshopped image in their answer. A winner will be picked this Friday at 10am. The rest of you can grab your tickets here that same morning. Have at it.

STREAM: Of Monsters And Men – “Little Talks”

STREAM: Haim – “Falling”

All Things Gold will be returning to U Street Music Hall next month on Thursday, March 21st with yet another line-up to reckon with. This time around we’re proud to be welcoming Breakbot to the U Hall stage. One of Ed Banger’s finest, the artist né Thibaut Berland released his phenomenal debut album, By Your Side, late last year and will be returning to the District for the first time since then for an incredible set. Kicking off the night will be HAERTS, who absolutely stunned us with their debut live performance at New Noise last December. Chances are they’ll do the same with their second DC play.

This all goes down Thursday, March 21st at U Street Music Hall. Tickets are available for $15. Grab yours now before they run out.

STREAM: Pnau – “Baby (Breakbot Remix)”

STREAM: HAERTS – “Wings”

Go ahead and dump that significant other of yours; you’re going to want to keep your calendar clear this Valentine’s Day. All Things Gold is returning to U Street Music Hall on Thursday, February 14th with a line-up sure to mend any broken heart. This all-live roster features three of our favorites artists as of late: HAIM, The Virgins and Robert Delong.

The HAIM sisters three require little introduction. The LA trio is already off to a great year having just finished atop the BBC’s Sound of 2013 and are gearing up to release a debut LP later this year. Co-headlining the night will be indie veterans The Virgins, who made their big return to the scene at our CMJ showcase and are once again ready to take the world by storm with their new album, Strike Gently, this March. Kicking things off on the stage this night will be Robert Delong, who’s mind-bending mix of all things electronic brought our jaws to the floor last October.

This all goes down Thursday, February 14th at U Street Music Hall. Tickets for the night are $12 advance or $15 at the door. Grab yours now before they run out.

STREAM: HAIM – “Don’t Save Me”

STREAM: The Virgins – “Rich Girls (The Twelves Remix)”

STREAM: Robert Delong – “Global Concepts”

HAIM‘s knack for quality control is getting borderline unnerving. Fresh on the heels of being named the BBC’s Sound of 2013, the girls unveiled another piece of next-level indiepop in a live studio performance, extending an unbroken streak of awesome that began last summer with their debut single “Forever.” The video for “Falling,” shot in Maida Vale studios, showcases the group’s “live energy, tight sound, and badass guitar work.” It also deftly captures the unique interplay between Dash Hutton’s propulsive drumming and the sisters’ melodic handiwork. The Haims, all drummers themselves, bring a rhythmic approach to their instrumental and vocal parts, weaving harmonies into Hutton’s continuous cascade of muffled drumrolls to produce a mosaic of percussive pop. It’s a weird wall of sound assembled from minimal, understated parts that tickles the brain in a funny way, helping to keep the band’s forays into retro genres from devolving into kitsch. Considering “Falling” is HAIM’s sixth consecutive single-quality song, I think we can safely expect a debut album that’s short on filler.

In the meantime, you can grab HAIM’s Forever EP and “Don’t Save Me” single, both out now on Columbia.