It's stating the obvious, but...cultural background goes completely and utterly unappreciated until later on in life - particularly when it comes to music. This is why I'm grateful for bands like Y La Bamba who, at the very least, introduce fans to traditional folk musical styles through a modern folk-rock palette. The Portland, OR-based sextet embraces those styles while exploring new ways of using them (songwriter and vocalist Luz Elena Mendoza has roots in Michoacán, Mexico in addition to California and Oregon). You can hear it in touches like the accordion, or the classic mariachi rhythms, or even Mendoza's savory vocals throughout Court the Storm, the band's third full-length release produced by Grammy Award-winner Steve Berlin of Los Lobos. Yet this is an intricate mixture of...
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Last year, local favorites the Bright Light Social Hour rocked out the space that would become Studio 1A as it was still under construction. Fast forward a few months later: KUT's Studio 1A is up and running, and we invited Bright Light back to kick it off in style....
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