Robert Dean

Glen Hansard by Andy Witchger Palace Theatre St Paul via Wikimedia commons

Music News: Rest in Peace to the Irish Troubadour Glen Hansard

July 30, 2026 Robert Dean 403 Views Dublin, Glen Hansard, Music, music news, obituary, Once film, opinion, rock n roll, singer songwriter, The Commitments, The Frames, The Swell Season

The world lost a real, dyed-in-the-wool character of the streets with the unfortunate loss of Glen Hansard. Hansard died in a motorcycle crash outside Dublin on July 29, 2026, at just 56 years old.

Hansard made music for the lost, the broken-hearted, but also the hopeful. Getting his start as a busker playing around Dublin, Hansard gained the kind of wisdom only allowed for those willing to give themselves over to the songs, and through his trials and tribulations, the world got something beautiful in return.

By Frank Schwichtenberg - Own work This file was uploaded with Commonist., CC BY-SA 4.0,

Opinion Robert Dean

Thank you Lou Koller and Sick of It All

July 27, 2026 Robert Dean 702 Views Agnostic Front, deceased, hardcore, hardcore music, Lou Koller, obituary, opinion, punk rock, RIP, rock n roll, Sick of It All

Unfortunately, that September, it was back. He kept going anyway, through what would have been the band’s 40th year together, the band he’d started with his brother in Queens back in 1986. He died on July 24, 2026, at 59, the disease finally outrunning him after two years of him refusing to let it define the band or the music. His bandmates put it simply: his fight was over, and he could finally rest.

Hatebreed 1 The Rumble 2026 Brian Martinez

Live Music Review Robert Dean

Live music review: Hardcore music festival The Rumble featured Hatebreed, Turmoil and more

July 20, 2026 Robert Dean 627 Views Chicago, concert, D Block, Gridiron, hardcore, Hatebreed, Hold My Own, Hoods, live music, metal, music festival, No Idols, Outta Pocket, punk, punk rock, Review, Ringworm, Turmoil, underground

On Friday, July 17 as part of the annual festival The Rumble, Turmoil made their way back to Chicago for a triumphant return, playing songs from The Process Of and giving it everything they had in the process. I felt like a kid again, bobbing to the riffs of “Let It Die” while screaming along to the opening salvo of the hardest intro of all time, yelling “what the fuck?” alongside frontman John Gula.

Live Music Review Robert Dean

Live music review: Lisbon shared Fado, Patrick Sweany and incredible food

July 7, 2026 Robert Dean 1045 Views BLues, concert, culture, Fado, food, Lisbon, live music, Patrick Sweany, Portugal, Review, singer, song, travel

Lisbon, Portugal, is a complex, strange place. It’s somewhere else — a city of hills that murder your legs and drug dealers on every tourist block asking if you want to buy a bag of blow, and then, around the corner, the most amazing views and pastel de nata bubbling out of half the storefronts. The city moves uphill, so by nature it forces you to slow down, to stop, to have a drink, to think, to make your people wait just a moment. The food is incredible and the Portuguese are charming. After my first rip into a bifana pork sandwich among chattering locals who yelled for more beers, Add magical Fado performances and an unexpected Patrick Sweany gig and I realized Lisbon was a place I’d think about for the rest of my life.

Culture Opinion Robert Dean

Restaurant review: Frank and Margie’s hit target with new Round Rock spot by Michelin starred chef

May 20, 2026 Robert Dean 3079 Views Austin, chefs, fine dining, food, food scene, Frank and Margie's, Margarita Kallas-Lee, opinion, Philip Frankland Lee, restaurant, Review

You’ve gotta give it up to the chef duo of Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee. When it comes to empire building, they can’t be beat. Their flagship Sushi By Scratch has a Michelin star and the man has been on Top Chef among other cooking shows. He and his wife are rockstars of the restaurant industry without a doubt. If you’ve not had the decadence of their East Austin spot, NADC’s double Waygu cheeseburgers, you’re missing out. There’s nothing that these folks don’t do well.

Live Music Review Robert Dean

Live music review: Eyehategod at Little Darlin 10th Anniversary

April 28, 2026 Robert Dean 1315 Views 10th Anniversary, concert, Eyehategod, glam metal, hard rock, hardcore, hardcore metal, Little Darlin, live music, Mean Mistreater, metal, Review, rock n roll

Thanks to the power of social media, bands like Crowbar and Eyehategod are drawing bigger crowds than they have in years—and honestly, good for them. Get that bag, dudes. You earned it. Somehow, the algorithm has decided the ultra-heavy hardcore riffs of the two New Orleans kingpins are worth worshiping, and the clips are endless; people talking about how chaotic EHG is and how gnarly Crowbar riffs are. And it’s not just old head nostalgia. The kids are showing up. And they’re selling venues out. The two bands went out on the road together, and if the show Sunday, April 26 at The Little Darlin’ is any indication, those rooms are filling up fast. Radio-friendly Metallica these bands are not.

Live Music Review Robert Dean

Live music review: Lamb of God played Moody Amp for Into Oblivion Tour despite storm

April 24, 2026 Robert Dean 1438 Views concert, Fit For An Autopsy, hardcore metal, heavy metal, Kublai Khan, Lamb of God, live music, Moody Amp, Review, rock n roll, Sanguisugabogg

One thing I love about metalheads is their undying love for the music and its culture. They wear old band T-shirts from twenty years ago like a talisman against the world, they tattoo band logos on themselves to show devotion, rock patch-covered battle vests, and will stand in the middle of a rainstorm without considering moving because the band is about to go on. That’s serious commitment.

Culture Live Preview

Live event preview: Fairy Fest 420 or No Tech Bros at the Altar of Frankie G

April 17, 2026 Robert Dean 1349 Views Austin, Austin event, Coven Nightlife, culture, Fairy Fest, femme, Frankie G, LBGTQA+, live event, Pease Park, preview

And at the altar of groove, with her candles burning bright, is Frankie G, Austin’s Grand Madame of the Night. She’s a little bit Elysium — our beloved goth institution — but also lurid, international, mysterious, and a girl’s girl who wants to upend the system. Her parties go viral because she curates them for energy, for women to feel like goddesses and the algorithm is noticing. Monday’s upcoming Fairy Fest at Pease Park is a good example. The 420 themed party has this description on their ticketing page:

Live Music Review Robert Dean

Live music review: Punk rockers Touché Amoré celebrated ten years of Stage Four at Mohawk

April 14, 2026 Robert Dean 1218 Views concert, Jerome's Dream, live music, mohawk, Porcelain, punk rock, Review, rock n roll, Touché Amoré

One of the greatest joys of live music is when you can tell the band is having a blast. There’s an explosive connection when the music and the people collide. And for Touché Amoré, they came out swinging at the Mohawk, celebrating their masterpiece Stage Four turning ten.

Live Music Review Robert Dean

SXSW review: Robots, driverless cars and rad bands (Lime Scooter not included)

March 23, 2026 Robert Dean 1728 Views Digjits, live music, Osees, Pink Fuzz, Play to the Plants, Review, Rocket From the Crypt, Sean Barna, SIMS Foundation, South by Southwest, Sun Atlas, SXSW, Tear Dungeon, Tropa Magica

This SXSW was the year of the Lime scooter for me. I also took a driverless Waymo and saw a robot bartender at Faregrounds on Congress Avenue. Kicking off SXSW this year, I was not optimistic about what the festival had become in its ever-quaking need to feed the techno-masses. I did not enjoy being waved at by a clanker. Nor did I love taking a driverless car. Seeing so many robots delivering food, taking people to and from, it was not for me. Big no.

Live Music Opinion Robert Dean

In memoriam: We lost Adam Morehead of The Cavalier so we’re having a block party

March 5, 2026 Robert Dean 1426 Views Adam Morehead, BENefit, Chadwick Legar, Eulogy, Fleet Coffee, in memoriam, live music, music venue, Rachelle Fox, SIMS Foundation, SXSW, SXSW 2026, The Cavalier, Webberville Block Party

I think when a person passes, how those in their wake tell their stories is an important, but telling way to show how much that person impacted their lives. Recently, Adam Morehead, one of the owners of The Cavalier, moved onto the next dimension and that’s one that stings. The Cavalier has served as the unofficial headquarters of The Cosmic Clash and anyone who’s snapped a photo, written a word, or had a quick meeting likely did so sitting out on the Webberville patio.

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