The annual CMJ Marathon ended last night after four days of music. The Marathon which took place all over New York City and took over most venues featuring over 1,300 artist performances. The artists featured on the Marathon roster varied across all genres with many labels having showcases celebrating the talent of their bands, DJs and singers.
Since the Marathon is so expansive and seeing every band became a nearly impossible feat we have compiled a short list of five bands we saw live and really enjoyed.
Hey Marseilles: A band so good we saw them twice in one day. Reigning from Seattle, Hey Marseilles consists of seven members including a violinist and cellist. Their songs are honest and well crafted, with smart and sincere lyrics. Their performance was passionate and even though it was 10:30 AM they were able to deliver a standout showcase.
DIIV One of the venues that was highly disregarded during the CMJ Marathon was the CMJ Union at Union Square. It was here that we saw DIIV, who was one of the most buzzed about bands performing during the week. The performance at the CMJ Union was quite intimate featuring the quartet playing various tracks from their latest album Oshin.
Levek: Levek brought out some very chill vibes with its performance of its psych-rock tracks that were new and refreshing to hear.
Port St. Willow: With only three members in the band, Port St. Willow were able to provide in its music layers usually only produced by bands of bigger sizes. The main vocalist’s voice was heartfelt and their music celebrated noise as a moment of greatness that became spine-chilling.
You Won’t: Playing a total of nine showcases during the week the duo that is You Won’t took CMJ by storm with their smart lyrics and well crafted folk-rock sound.
You Won’t – Who Knew (OFFICIAL VIDEO) from Ewen Wright on Vimeo.