So many variables determine what makes an artist or band “essential” — longevity, impact, influence, history. On-air and online, we celebrate the musicians who have shaped our cultural soundtrack for the past fifty years. Let’s love these FUV Essential artists while they’re here, and honor those who have departed too soon.
As Lucinda Williams' groundbreaking album, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, marks its 20th anniversary — it was released on June 30, 1998 — Margo Price gets ready for her third straight appearance at Willie Nelson's 2018 Fourth of July Picnic.
Margo Price (photo by Danielle Holbert, PR)
Jim James has released an eclectic third solo album, Uniform Distortion, and announced a solo acoustic autumn tour. And he's an avid student of Neil Young's music.
Jim James (Photo by Tyler Close, PR)
The "U2 Experience + Innocence Tour" is bound for the New York area for four shows, playing Madison Square Garden on June 25, June 26 and July 1 and Newark's Prudential Center on June 29, as the Irish rockers support their latest album, Songs of Experience.
The Lumineers (photo by Scarlet Page, PR)
Ahead of performing two concerts at Bard College's Fisher Center of nothing but Aimee Mann covers, called "All the Presidents Mann," on June 29, actress, activist, and singer Martha Plimpton chooses her "Five Essential Aimee Mann Songs" for FUV Essentials.
Martha Plimpton (photo courtesy of the artist)
WFUV will broadcast Aimee Mann's sett from the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival, live from the Prospect Park Bandshell, on Thursday, June 21, beginning just after 9 p.m. EDT.
Aimee Mann at Manchester Academy (original photo by Andy Roo, courtesy of Creative Commons)
[Update for June 7, 2018: On what would have been Prince's 60th birthday, the much-missed musician is being remembered via a panoply of events, ran
Prince (photo courtesy of Warner Brothers)
In early 2018, Brian Fallon and bandmates of The Gaslight Anthem reunited temporarily to mark the 10th anniversary of their second album, The '59 Sound, with a worldwide tour, playing the record in its entirety. As any fan of the band knows, there's a lyrical nod or two to Bruce Springsteen on that album — and Brian Fallon considers "The Boss" to be a major inspiration.
The Gaslight Anthem, Brian Fallon in the foreground (photo by Danny Clinch, PR)
[May 2018 update: The FUV Boat, the station's dance party cruise, sets sails on June 1 with a night of non-stop d
Dancing (photo courtesy of Pixabay)
The songs of Manchester's The Smiths reflected both politics and personal despair — the resounding damage of Thatcherism on the working class, bullying, abandonment, romantic isolation and estrangement — and the quartet cast that pain against luminous, shimmering melodies. The boys with the thorns in their side will always be FUV Essentials.
The Smiths (an assortment of album and singles art)
Middle Kids drummer Harry Day cites Damon Albarn as one of his "favorite musicans in life" and chose his "Five Essential Damon Albarn Songs."
Middle Kids' Harry Day, Hannah Joy, and Tim Fitz (photo courtesy of Domino Records, PR)
