The Shivas have been called “the hardest working band in show business”. While that is
impossible to measure, it’s also not far from the truth.
Since their humble beginnings as high-school best friends almost two decades ago (the band
formed in 2006), they have been grinding away tour after tour – visiting over 25 countries – and
album after album – this is their 10th LP. Their sound has always evolved as they have grown,
and worked with different labels and producers, but it has always stayed true to the psychedelic
vision those kids had years ago at the very beginning.
They say their new album Can’t Stop Coming Around (Tender Loving Empire Records) is their
favorite, and represents their sound the best of any in their discography. It makes sense
considering they recorded it themselves at their home studio ‘FFF’ in Portland, Oregon. Teaming
up with Collin Hegna (Brian Jonestown Massacre, Federale – someone the band has worked
with on and off since 2010), they say this is the closest they’ve ever come to hitting the bullseye
in the studio.
Now with Can’t Stop Coming Around slated for release this summer, the band will embark on
tours of Europe (one in June and another in September), then in the USA hitting the West Coast
in July and August, and the East Coast later this fall.
As a group that has always tried to lead with honesty and to shake off any airs of pretense, The
Shivas have come into their own. They know who they are, and here they are showing us
clearly that they’re not slowing down any time soon.
Family Worship Center
Family Worship Center is a rock-and-soul commune born in Nashville, Tennessee and reborn in Portland, Oregon. Fronted by visionary songwriter and keyboardist Andy Krissberg, the group draws its name from a strange, cult-leaning text unearthed during a cross-country field recording journey. An omen they’ve since transformed into a full-blown, groove-powered spiritual revival.
Their debut EP Sunday A.M. (produced by Grammy-winner Eddie Spear) introduced a lineup of heavy hitters with ties to The Band, Ringo Starr, and Deer Tick. Their 2023 full-length Kicked Out of the Garden, recorded across Portland, Philly, and Ukraine with producer Cameron Spies, spent eight weeks on the NACC 200 and landed the band on NPR’s Live Wire Radio and multiple year-end best-of lists. With a sound rooted in 1970s swagger, Leon Russell-style piano gospel, Southern rock, and communal soul, Family Worship Center brings their own throwback gospel to the people – complete with horns, harmonies, and secular salvation. Troy Nelson of KEXP called them “truly the best live band I have seen in years,” while The Portland Mercury described their show as “taking your ass to church” -and that’s exactly what they intend to do.
Aka Belle
“People ask us all the time if we are a family band or a cult,” says AKA BELLE. “The truth is somewhere in between, depending on what you think a family or a cult looks like.”
AKA BELLE was formed by married songwriters Catherine and Sam Merrick, alongside longtime friends Anthony Mulparry and Jake Stigers. Christine Nygard first saw the band when she was 17 and manifested the dream to join them by the time she was 19.
So…cult/family band…sort of. Together, AKA BELLE have become known for their immersive performances filled with layered harmonies, percussion, theremin, vibraphone and swirling psychedelic textures – fusing together psych-rock, garage rock, folk, blues, and tropicalia inspired sounds into a vibrant, theatrical and sometimes ceremonial, aural and visual experience.
AKA BELLE released their new double album “All Time is Now/Now is All You Have + The Time For Love is Always Now” through Moon Ruins Records in April 2026. Described as “Whimsically Defiant” the album “plays like a technicolor dispatch from a commune that discovered both a fuzz pedal and a philosophy book at the same yard sale…” –addtowantlist.com
(oh…there’s the cult/commune theme popping up again)
Exploring themes of identity, connection, uncertainty and the natural world through dreamy imagery and protest minded songwriting, four tracks have dropped as official singles – “Fittin’ In,” “Six Severed Feet!” “Envy of Venus,” and “Radiant” along with corresponding music videos, and these tracks – as well as others from the album – have received airplay across over 251 US and international stations, often landing in the Top Ten charts for new releases.
“…a positive fusion of pop melodies, psychedelic vibes and 70’s glam rock…catchy, quirky and surprising…” – Loud Enough? Magazine
“Commune-core psych jams for the end times (and the after party)” – Dennis, addtowantlist.com
“(Aka Belle)…continue to sharpen their distinct blend of cosmic psych-rock and experimental pop…” bloodmakesnoise.com
“Aka Belle makes the most inspirational, life affirming music. They’ll change whatever mood you’re in to the happiest and best side of you that exists. It’s all miracle-like, really,” Daniel ‘Kid’ Yoshida, DJ/Radio Boise
Their passionate calls for love, resistance and soul-lifting energy serve as reminders that we are all part of this beautiful Universe and the Earth we call home.
Cult? Commune? Family? You decide
