Craig Outhier

If you listen to one of Tim Kasher's breathless indie-rock ballads and think to yourself, "That reminds me a little of Bright Eyes," well, no shit. Like Bright Eyes chief emoter Conor Oberst, Kasher grew up in Omaha and attended Catholic boys school while honing his musical chops. Later, he...

Not quite the Dropkick Murphys-style fiddle jockeys their name vaguely suggests, Reckless Kelly has been making twangy alt-country roots-rock since they formed in Bend, Oregon, in the mid-'90s. Named after Australian bank robber Ned Kelly, the band later relocated to Austin and released a string of well-received country-charting albums, including...

Norwegian pop-punk damsel Ida Maria is making a serious run at American stardom, and that's awesome. We love, love, love Scandinavian pop stars, with their plump cheeks, slick sounds and oh-so-slightly fractured English. But Ida Maria's rise is welcome for another reason, though: It puts a positive capstone on what,...