For a city of its size, Morgantown has an absolutely cracked music scene. With both established venues like 123 Pleasant Street, Morgantown Art Bar, and more ephemeral house venues, Morgantown supports a variety of artists of all kinds of genres. Here are four of my personal favorite bands:

Wizards Is Crazy

Morgantown, W.Va. - The West Virginia Mountaineers men’s soccer team will face the
Kentucky Wildcats on Friday, September 27, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in
Morgantown, WV.

Last Saturday on September 21, West Virginia narrowly defeated the Old Dominion
Monarchs by a score of 1-0 on the road. It was the first win for the Mountaineers after
two straight draws against Loyola Marymount and UNC Greensboro. The Mountaineers
have yet to lose a game this season.

It is often said that when it comes to innovation and discovery, it doesn’t happen in a vacuum but by standing on the shoulders of giants. That is to say most creations in the present wouldn’t happen without the presence of some prior creation. The progressive rock genre, known for its incorporation of unrelated musical genres and experimental soundscapes, is a prime example of this process in action. However, despite this sentiment, all genres have to start somewhere. There must be one album, one artist, that lights the metaphorical match and ignites the entire keg, leading to that explosion. In the case of prog rock, this crown ironically goes to the debut album of King Crimson: In the Court of the Crimson King. But how did this album come to be and what came as a result of it? That’s what we’re here to talk about today. 

The history of this album starts all the way back in July of 1969, approximately 55 years ago from this year. At this point, King Crimson had formed only 9 months beforehand, not having a single studio album to their name yet. In terms of the greater rock scene, they were truly an unknown. No one had any idea of just what their career trajectory would be. The band was originally formed as a group called Giles, Giles and Fripp, consisting of brothers Michael and Peter Giles, along with guitarist Robert Fripp. After their initial band dissolved, Fripp and drummer Michael Giles teamed up with multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, lyricist Peter Sinfield, and bassist/vocalist Greg Lake (who would later go on to co-found Emerson, Lake & Palmer). They eventually settled on the name King Crimson, though there were some internal debates between whether that name was a reference to Beelzebub, prince of demons, or if it was a reference to tyrannical monarchies, but regardless the band had finally been formed. All they needed now was an album.  

Underdressed at the Symphony is the fifth studio album from indie pop, alt-country FayeWebster. She released this album back on March 1, 2024, featuring ten rich, immersing tracks detailing a recent break up in a new light, as well as how she struggles to move through daily existence from tttttime to tttttime, something we surely can all relate to. She is currently still touring the U.S. and will be until Nov. 15th.

The album starts off with the hit track “Thinking About You”, which subtly fades into melodic vocals and “sleepy” instrumentals, featuring southern slide guitar and whimsical lyrics. Fun fact, the pedal steel player Matt “Pistol” Stoessel, happens to be my second cousin. The album then moves into tracks like “Lego Ring” that use synth, R&B tones, featuring Lil Yachty, to convey a sensation of floating through the track. Faye talks about her childlike tendencies and desires, as mentioned in the track “Feeling Good Today”, where she says “I got paid yesterday, I’ll probably buy something dumb because I am pretty childish.” She manages to relate to her audience and listeners through her description of everyday life and human desire. The album rounds out with the truly folky, laid-back track “Tttttime”, featuring symphonic sounds with gentle piano notes embedded thoughtfully throughout.

Morgantown W.Va. - The West Virginia Mountaineers will open up Big XII conference play at home on Saturday, Sep. 21, 2024 against the visiting Kansas Jayhawks. 

Saturday's contest will mark the 13 game between KU and WVU, of which West Virginia leads the series 10-2. 

Spotify’s algorithms are unreliable and strange, seemingly willing to conjure new genresout of the mist and disjointed adjectives. It was through this I discovered the work of WilburnBurchette (1939-2024), an obscure artist appearing on a playlist described as “outsider”,“magical”, and “psychedelic rock”. I first the opening to his second album, 1972’s Opens theSeven Gates of Transcendental Consciousness, and was immediately struck by the album cover,a red star with a single giant eye, as much as by the music itself. While well described byadjectives Spotify had provided, the music itself also reminded me of a spaced out, surf-rock ifit was delivered by the Spaceman 3.

Recently released by Numero Group, a label that specializes in the long out-of-print,Master Wilburn Burchette’s albums were originally released by mail-order to the discerningreaders of Fate Magazine, Beyond Reality, and Gnostica News, who noticed his advertisements.Each album was not merely a collection of songs, but a religious experience based on sometheory of vibrations being able to transcend time and existence through his hand-built ImproGuitar. Religious mysticism in song was certainly not new at the time of his first album, 1970’sOccult Concert. Overtly religious rock music had emerged on the scene with the Jesus freaks ofthe ’60s, and quite a few literal cult records exist of the time, including infamous records by theManson family. Unlike these, Master Wilburn Burchette was no cult leader, isn’t electrifying oldgospel songs, nor does he sing hymns to a modern messiah claimant. His early music is purelyinstrumental guitar rock with some occasional white noise mixed in for your transcendentalstudies, with instructions, and paintings illustrating concepts like the Gates of Consciousness.It’s slow and meditative, a weird joining of the psychedelic scene and New Age music, and it’scertainly not spa music. It’s also produced and released almost entirely in-house, with all but hisfirst two albums, released on the Burchette Brothers label which he ran with his brother.

Stay Golden is the second studio album from Baltimore emo/punk band Combat, following their 2022 album Text Me When You Get Back and a slew of previous lofi EPs and other releases (including the hardest Christmas album of the 21st century). Stay Golden builds on the catchy hooks and witty, confessional lyricism of the band’s previous work, while bringing in “sharper claws and leitmotifs” and ska-adjacent rhythms, resulting in a fresh-sounding earworm of an album.

The album starts with a little bitty piano intro track before going into the title track and lead single, “Stay Golden.” This song doesn’t even hit 2 minutes, yet shows off much of the band’s musical chops, with catchy melodies and hooks on guitar and vocals, witty lyrics, and absurdly good drumming. The melodic guitar lines from this song show up again and again throughout the record, tying all the songs together, while not feeling cheap or repetitive. Thematically, the album includes a lot of heavy subject matters like depression and burnout, but always ends on a positive, hopeful note, as shown on the final single “Full Speed Ahead.” Other notable tracks include “Weird Ending Explained, Pt. 1,” an almost eight minute song filled with self-aware lyrics and catchy hooks, and the fast-paced, minute-long “Put Me In, Coach” that sounds almost like a Jeff Rosenstock side project.

Morgantown, W.Va - The West Virginia Mountaineers men’s soccer team will face the UNC
Greensboro Spartans on Tuesday, September 17, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in
Morgantown, WV.

This will be the first time since August 30 that the Mountaineers will be back playing at Dick Dlesk soccer stadium after two back to back trips in California playing against California Baptist University and Loyola Marymount University.

Morgantown, W.Va - The West Virginia Mountaineers are set to face off against arch rival Pitt Panthers for the 107 time on Saturday Sep. 14, 2024 at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa. 

The last time these two teams brawled, Nicco Marchiol led the 1-1 Mountaineers to a 17-6 win over the Panthers in front of a sold out Mylan Puskar Stadium on Sep. 16, 2023. 

How do you know when an album changes your life? 

Would you call it a gut feeling? Is it something intrinsic? Or is it a cultural moment?