The Black Keys

Released to widespread critical acclaim in December, El Camino debuted at # 2 on the Billboard Top 200 and has already been certified Platinum in Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand, and Gold in France, the UK and US amongst others.  Produced by Danger Mouse and The Black Keys, the 11-track album was recorded in the band’s new hometown of Nashville during the spring of 2011.  El Camino includes the hit single Lonely Boy, the video for which has been viewed 17 million times on YouTube and nominated for an MTV Music Video Award, as well as Gold On The Ceiling, which the band recently performed with Johnny Depp at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards.  The new single, Little Black Submarines, was released on October 8. Describing the sound of the album, drummer Patrick Carney told Rolling Stone, “Every record, we figure out the mood and stick with that. With Brothers, we were listening to a lot of hip-hop and old R&B and drawing from that. This is the first record we’ve made where it’s all rock & roll.” And in an interview with Spin Magazine Auerbach said: “I’ve never been into guitar solos. I really like when every instrument in the band is a rhythm instrument. This record has a lot of that going on - guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards all working together as a rhythm instrument. But unlike Brothers, which has more of these slower songs with an open feeling, [the new LP] is definitely fast.” The Black Keys - Akron, OH natives Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney - released their debut album, The Big Come Up, in 2002, followed by Thickfreakness (2003) and Rubber Factory (2004). In 2006 they signed to Nonesuch Records in the US and released their fourth album, Magic Potion, which was followed by the Danger Mouse-produced Attack & Release in 2008. El Camino is the first Black Keys album Nonesuch released worldwide.

North 2 Shore Presents Motion City Soundtrack

Motion City Soundtrack

"You know who the fuck we are…"

North 2 Shore Presents: Steel Pulse - 50th Anniversary Tour

Steel Pulse

STEEL PULSE may have explored various styles of music since they started out in 1975, but when it comes to the message, theUK’s Grammy – Winning reggae band has remained close to their roots. The Group have continued their commitment to fighting injustice, educating the masses, and promoting positive messages through spiritually uplifting music. “We just can’t ignore the politics, because every life and soul that’s born on this earth is a political manoeuvre for someone, at some stage”, Hinds explains. “From a spiritual aspect, it’s really an upliftment through facing reality – what’s out there. We deal with positive spirits. It means putting aside the guns, the drugs and all of the things that are ailments of society – especially the black communities right now”. STEEL PULSE have always taken their causes to heart, filing a $1 million class action lawsuit againstNew York City’s Taxi & Limousine Commission. The group charged that cabbies refused to pick up blacks and Rastafarians throughout the streets ofNew York.

North 2 Shore Presents:Crumb

Crumb

Crumb’s second album, Ice Melt, takes its name from the coarse blend of salts that you can buyfrom your local hardware store for $9.99. When sprinkled on your wintry steps, this mixtureabsorbs water and gives off heat, transforming the ice into a viscous, briney slush and,eventually, nothing at all. Beginning with the dynamic chaos of “Up & Down,” and ending withCrumb’s closest thing to a lullaby, Ice Melt’s ten tracks combine, like ice sculptures melting intoa glistening puddle.   From the start, the group knew that cohesion was best achieved through plumbing theirindividual strengths— frontwoman Lila Ramani’s earliest songwriting, which catalyzed thegroup’s first two EPs; Bri Aronow’s knack for building (dis)affecting soundscapes; the hypnoticgrounding of Jonathan Gilad’s drums, a Crumb mainstay; and Jesse Brotter’s distinctive bassplaying, which subtly traces Ramani’s vocal melodies while providing an unrelenting pulse.These collective skills make Crumb a project of independent self-discovery, four creative mindsconverging around an idea that is always shifting and reforming.   Convening in Los Angeles to work with producer Jonathan Rado, Crumb tapped intoatmosphere-creation like never before, building experimental compositions that are at turnshead-nodding and surrealist, energetic and euphoric. Ramani characterizes the album as a“return back down to earth,” a deeply felt examination of “real substances and beings that liveon this planet.” It is also the cultivation of road-worn musicians exploring brand-new sounds andthematic concepts, pushing themselves into territory they could never have anticipated fiveyears ago.

Lawrence and Allen Stone

As NPR writes, “siblings Clyde and Gracie Lawrence are not your typical pair.” Clyde Lawrence and Gracie Lawrence have been writing songs and listening to countless Stevie Wonder, Randy Newman, and Aretha Franklin records in their family’s New York City apartment since they were little kids. After years of playing together, they officially created Lawrence, an eight-piece soul-pop band comprised of musician friends from childhood and college. The band has since gained a devoted following for its high-energy, keyboard-driven sound, which features tight, energetic horns and explosive lead vocals. In 2024, Lawrence entered a new era with the release of their fourth studio album, Family Business. The album’s opening track, "Whatcha Want", broke into the Top 40 on the US Pop Chart, and Lawrence recently performed it on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Today With Hoda & Jenna, and CBS Saturday Morning. The album was accompanied by their biggest headline tour yet across Europe and North America, which included iconic sold out shows at venues across Europe and North America like Radio City Music Hall in New York City, The Wiltern in Los Angeles, two nights at the Forum in London, and North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam. Live shows and touring continue to be key components of the group’s success; in 2025 Lawrence will be back on the road, taking “The Family Business Tour (Part 2)” to Australia for the first time, as well as returning to Europe, the UK, and the US for another round of their headline show. In previous years, Lawrence opened for The Rolling Stones and the Jonas Brothers. They’ve also toured with acts such as Lake Street Dive, Vulfpeck, Jon Bellion, Jacob Collier, Soulive, O.A.R., and Bernhoft, and appeared at major festivals including Coachella, Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, Firey, Okeechobee, Hangout, and Summerfest. The band released a docuseries from their adventures on the road of their Hotel TV Tour, which is available on YouTube. The series concluded with an episode dedicated to the retirement of their beloved touring van - affectionately named Vandy Newman - marking the shift into the next chapter of their life as a touring band. In July 2021, Lawrence released their album, Hotel TV, and became the first band to release music under Beautiful Mind Records, the label of Grammy-winning producer/songwriter/artist Jon Bellion, who co-produced and co-wrote the songs on the album. The tracks on Hotel TV have garnered tens of millions of streams across all platforms and have had multiple viral moments on Tik Tok and Instagram. The album’s lead single, “Don’t Lose Sight,” was featured in an international Microsoft commercial, which propelled it into the Top 20 on the USA Shazam Pop Charts, and also hit #33 on Top 40. The band performed “Don’t Lose Sight” on Jimmy Kimmel Live, did a performance of it for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and closed both of their sets at Coachella with it (with the entire audience singing along)! The band also played a single “23” o of the Family Business album live during their set at Jingle Ball in 2023. In addition to creating music, in December 2022, Clyde Lawrence wrote an article published by the New York Times regarding the unfair dynamics that artists face in the live music industry as a result of the merging of Ticketmaster and Live Nation. In January 2023, Clyde Lawrence and Jordan Cohen were invited to testify at a U.S. Senate Judiciary hearing in Washington, D.C., on the topic of live event ticketing. They sat alongside other industry professionals, as well as antitrust experts, to deliver testimony about their experiences as a touring band playing in Live Nation-owned venues across the U.S. Lawrence and Cohen continue to spread the word about the challenges in the live event promotion and ticketing space in conversations with outlets like NBC News, Vice News, Politico, and more. Outside of the band, Gracie Lawrence is an accomplished actress. In 2024, she appeared as a series regular in the third season of Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble’s The Sex Lives of College Girls on Max, playing the character of Kacey. Her acting career continues in 2025 with an exciting return to Broadway starring opposite Tony winner Jonathan Gro in Alex Timbers’ “JUST IN TIME”, a new musical that tells the story of legendary singer Bobby Darin. Her other television acting credits include "Billions," a series regular role on "One Dollar," formerly on CBS All Access, as well as roles in films like Amy Poehler’s "Moxie" on Netix, Rhys Ernst’s "Adam," and the Disney+ comedy "Noelle." Meanwhile, Clyde has contributed songs and full instrumental scores to a number of major films and TV shows (often in collaboration with bandmate Jordan Cohen or frequent collaborator Cody Fitzgerald), including Hulu’s Animaniacs, Disney’s Noelle, HBO’s The Jinx, and Amazon’s Landline, among many others. Lastly, a music production team called The Diner, consisting of Clyde, Jordan, and Jonny Koh, have written and produced songs for many artists beyond Lawrence, including Jonas Brothers, Shawn Mendes, Tori Kelly, Jon Bellion, Alec Benjamin, Trousdale and others.

Slightly Stoopid (21+ Event)

The story of Slightly Stoopid, at its core, is one of brotherhood. It’s the story of Miles Doughty and Kyle McDonald, two musicians determined to succeed on their own terms, creating a multi-genre fusion of rock, reggae and blues with hip-hop, funk, American folk, metal, and punk. It’s the story of a duo that has not just survived, but thrived, as “brothers from other mothers”- keeping true to their authenticity, throughout two decades of relentless touring, and evolved songwriting. The duo has repeatedly created lasting artistic statements despite a music industry that too often prioritizes style over substance. Doughty and McDonald grew up together in the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego. By age 11 they had their first acoustic guitars, bonding over Metallica, Megadeth, and Mötley Crüe. In the mid1990s they attended Point Loma High School and formed Slightly Stoopid, playing their first gig- a punky and subversive lunchtime set on the quad- that earned them a trip to the vice-principal’s office and a reprimand for the trio’s explicit lyrics. As ambitious high school students, they played house parties and small clubs, and met Sublime’s Bradley Nowell after attending one of his band’s shows. Nowell quickly became a champion of the group’s precocious talents, inviting them to play, and signing Slightly Stoopid to his label, Skunk Records. He endorsed them to Michael “Miguel” Happoldt, co-founder of Skunk, who agreed to record the band at Sublime’s Fake Nightclub studio in Long Beach. In 1996, they released their debut studio album, the punk-inflected, eponymously titled Slightly Stoopid. Though Nowell had passed away shortly before the record’s release, fittingly he appeared, posthumously, on the song, “Prophet.” The surf-inspired follow-up, The Longest Barrel Ride, came in 1998, also on Skunk. The band’s first two albums generated regional buzz and motivated the three-piece to load up the van and hit the road. Persistently they ticked off the miles up and down the West Coast, venturing east to Colorado ski towns, playing a circuit of small clubs to small but enthusiastic crowds slowly increasing in size each time around. “Brad and Miguel would always tell us that, to make a name for yourself, you have to get in the van 200-plus days a year,” said Doughty in a December 2018 interview. “They would tell us: ‘Don’t be scared, keep grinding, and build that organic fanbase.’” An early breakthrough came in 2001, Doughty and McDonald issued Acoustic Roots: Live and Direct, selfreleased on their own newly formed indie label, Stoopid Records. A 40-minute acoustic, one-take, liveradio set captured at San Diego’s Rock 105.3 studio, the album demonstrated a profound strength of songwriting and vocals that inspired favorable comparisons to Dave Matthews Band and Jack Johnson. Subsequently, the band expanded, welcoming drummer Ryan Moran, as well as percussionist Oguer “OG” Ocon from The B-Side Players and a horn section from John Brown’s Body of C-Money on trumpet and Daniel “Dela” Delacruz on saxophone. The ensemble’s diversity and repertoire encouraged charmed collaborations in the studio, such as with reggae legend Barrington Levy, G. Love (Garrett Dutton) and onstage, with the Marley family, Snoop Dogg, and Cypress Hill. Between 2003 and 2008, the band released four studio albums- Everything You Need, Closer To The Sun, Chronchitis, and Slightly Not Stoned Enough To Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid- and two live collections: Winter Tour ’05-’06 and Live in San Diego, routinely charting on Billboard’s Top 100. Their touring expanded, as well, both domestically and internationally, including sold-out dates in locales from Australia to the Caribbean, Denmark to Japan, Germany to Guam, and the famed festivals of Coachella, Lollapalooza, and New Orleans Jazz Fest, among others. In 2011, the band taped a performance with the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir, Live at Roberto’s TRI Studios, performing alongside Weir, reggae icon Don Carlos (Black Uhuru), and Ivan and Ian Neville (Dumpstaphunk), as well as frequent band contributor and saxophonist Karl Denson (Greyboy All Stars/The Rolling Stones). The TRI appearance echoed the band’s longstanding roster of guests that serve, in some ways, as honorary members of Slightly Stoopid, including Carlos, Denson, Chali 2na, and Rashawn Ross (Dave Matthews Band). They released their seventh studio effort, Top of the World, in 2012, peaking in the top five of several Billboard charts. In 2014, the band hosted its first Closer to the Sun destination event, for what would become an annual multi-day, multi-act festival in Mexico. 2015 saw the release of Meanwhile…Back At The Lab, which embodied instant Stoopid classics “The Prophet”, “Rolling Stone” and “Life Rolls On” followed in 2018 with the reggae chart topper Everyday Life, Everyday People that featured guest appearances by Chali 2na, Ali Campbell (UB40), Alborosie, G. Love, Don Carlos, Yellowman, and Sly Dunbar, among others. Throughout the band’s career, Slightly Stoopid has also made a conscious effort to parallel their creative output with charitable work. Doughty and McDonald have often recognized their fortunate positions as an opportunity to give back, proving to be a constant source of inspiration. Perhaps two of the better examples of their philanthropic commitment are their involvement in the fight against pediatric cancer with Candlelighters NYC and Ronald McDonald House- visiting with and hosting affected families at shows, as well as contributing financially to the cause- and the auction of original art used in the “One Bright Day” video; the proceeds from which enabled Global BrightLight Foundation to provide solar installations for electricity in five Third World villages. Slightly Stoopid is and continues to be a musical brotherhood that always welcomes guest musicians and the art of collaboration. Doughty and McDonald remain unwavering in their principles of independence, honoring their diversity of influences and mentors, and furthering their inherited legacy of the Southern California sound. “Once we found music as a form of expression, as an outlet, we did whatever it took to survive,” said McDonald in a 2018 interview. “We are who we are- a product of Southern California. And, we are where we are in life because of how passionate we are about the music.

Jacks Mannequin

Led by veteran indie-pop singer-songwriter-pianist Andrew McMahon, Jack’s Mannequin launched in 2005 as McMahon’s more personal solo project following the success of his pop-punk band Something Corporate in the early 2000s.  Jack’s Mannequin – McMahon (vocals, piano), Bobby “Raw” Anderson (guitar), Jay McMillan (drums) and Mikey Wagner (bass, keys) – debuted with their Gold-certified album, Everything In Transit, which includes the Gold-certified single “Dark Blue.” The alternative pop rock group released a total of three acclaimed studio albums, with both their sophomore LP The Glass Passenger (2008) and third and final album People and Things (2011) entering the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart. During its tenure, Jack’s Mannequin also performed multiple times on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, received major media support, and were featured in the hit TV series One Tree Hill. Throughout the recording and release of Everything In Transit, McMahon was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) at the age of 22. After making a full recovery following a stem cell transplant from his sister, Andrew founded the Dear Jack Foundation in 2006, a nonprofit which provides impactful programming that directly benefits adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer in order to improve quality of life and create positive health outcomes from treatment to survivorship for patients and their families. Though Jack’s Mannequin officially went on hiatus in 2012, leading to McMahon launching his current moniker Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness in 2014, the highly adored SoCal band has reunited on a handful of special occasions over the years. As they prepare to celebrate their 20th anniversary, Jack’s Mannequin is back and returning to the road throughout 2025 for a headlining tour and festival appearances.