Bands On Fire! Spring 2022
(Nitro Nitra)
Spring has sprung and gone. We’ve decided to give some of the local musicians their flowers before we get knees deep into wave after wave of summer outdoor music festivals and big tour announcements. Countless musical artists and entertainers in the community have been consistently working and advancing in the music industry but here are several we feel really deserve a tip of the cap.
Nitro Nitra for American Song Contest
In March of 2022, NBC introduced the American public to something they had never seen before, The American Song Contest. The American Song Contest was modeled after Europe's incredibly successful and loved television show Eurovision, where music artists from each country would compete in a song writing contest. Here in the USA contestants from each of the 50 states, five territories and Washington D.C. competed in a song writing competition. The artist would be judged on their performances, artistic expression, originality, and the hit potential of their songs. Nitro Nitra represented Delaware in her funky fun fashion and high energy performance with her song Train. She was eliminated after heat 3 but her song and performance is enough to make any Delawarian proud.
Nitro Nitra - Train (From “American Song Contest”) (Official Audio)
Grace Vonderkuhn and Cosmic Guilt played NON-COMM
NON-COMM is an annual industry conference for non-commercial triple-A radio station programmers from across the country to gather to discuss who’s who in the industry and enjoy music showcases. After two years, due to Covid-19 restrictions, the convention returned this year as an in-person gathering that ran May 3-6 at World Cafe Live. The line up of musical guests included Father John Misty, Sharon Van Etten and Delaware natives Grace Vonderkuhn and Cosmic Guilt. Both bands had released either albums or singles throughout 2021, which were all well received from local station WXPN, so it’s no surprise they were thrown into the mix.
Richard Raw debuts short film Orisa Soul
If you’ve lived in New Castle county for any amount of time then you’re more than likely familiar with community leader, activist, rapper and world class entertainer Richard Raw. You’ve seen him leading a peaceful protest through the streets of Wilmington, rocking the stage with his Word Warrior band, and now you get to see him captured on film with his debut short film which he starred, created the music for, and co-produced, Orisa Soul. Beautifully shot and directed by fellow Delaware native Jet Phynx and written by Lashorne Croom, the trailer depicts a man on a spiritual and mystical journey, leaning on ancestors and signs from the past to guide him into a brighter future. It debuted at Theater N on May 13. Catch him and his Word Warrior Band opening for legendary Femi Kuti at The Queen in Wilmington on July 15.
SnackTime Philly plays at 76er’s halftime show
There are bands that no matter what genre an audience is into, know how to engage and entice a crowd. SnackTime Philly has been that band for the last several years and have been moving large festival crowds with their big sound and great energy. The band is led by horns in lieu of the usual guitars and rock and roll lead singer. They’ve played a slew of the regional festivals as well as block parties, really seem to be ‘the band of the people’. and recently had the amazing opportunity to play the 76’s halftime show in May. They’ll be playing the XPonential Festival in Camden, New Jersey and The Adultswim Block Party this year.
