Saxophonist and composer John Coltrane, along with Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, and Charilie Parker, is widely considered one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 21st century and one of the foundational pillars of this uniquely American musical form. 2026 is the 100th anniversary of Coltrane’s birth and the centennial is being marked by the release of recorded music and numerous concerts celebrating his career and his impact on American music. It’s hard to think of a jazz saxophone player who has not been influenced by Coltrane’s legacy, be it stylistically or spiritually. Joe Lovano, who led the band last night during the ‘Coltrane at 100’ performance at the Moore Theatre in Seattle, is a confirmed Coltrane disciple, having recorded a number of albums dedicated to the late, great jazzman’s compositions. It’s hard to imagine anyone more qualified to pay tribute to the legacy of John Coltrane.
Lovano’s band Tuesday night was more than up to the task of tackling Coltrane’s challenging and varied catalog, from the bluesy hard bop of ‘Locomotion’, through the freewheeling improvisation of Coltrane’s ‘Love Supreme’ era material, to the lush romanticism of ‘Naima’, reportedly Coltrane’s favorite of his compositions, titled after and in honor of his first wife.
The band featured Melissa Aldana on second tenor sax (splitting duties with Lovano), bassist Linda May Han Oh, South African pianist Nduduzo Makhathini, and Jeffry ‘Tain’ Watts on drums. While the entire band was stellar, I would single out pianist Nduduzo and Jeffry Watts on drums as being particularly well suited to Coltrane’s compositions and playing style. Nduduzo is clearly inspired by the playing of McCoy Tyner, Coltrane’s pianist in his classic 60’s quartet, along with Elvin Jones and Jimmy Garrison. Nduduzo incorporates Tyner-esque percussive open chords in tandem with fleet melodic runs while somehow maintaining his own Afrocentric voice. I found his playing thrilling and delightful, actually breaking into a chuckle over one particularly witty and well executed passage. Watt’s on drums is another indispensable component in the band, swinging in a bluesy fashion, ala Philly Joe Jones, on the early period Coltrane composition ‘Locomotion’, shifting into unmistakable Elvin Jones type rolling polyrhythms during the ‘Love Supreme Era’ portion of the program, and adopting a suitably ‘free’ Rashied Ali type attack during the more improvisational, exploratory sections of the band’s set. Watts is, for my money, one of the very finest drummers working in jazz today. His playing, especially in conjunction with Linda May Han Oh’s bass stylings, conveys the feeling of dancing. I will confess that my toes were tapping under my seat for the bulk of the set last night, and for that I credit the superb rhythm section.
Artist:NOA‘S “Say Yes” Why You Want to Watch: This video is pretty much all Japanese singer-songwriter NOA. I caught this on the show J-MELO, which highlights Japanese musicians every week or so. You can see that episode here, including an interview with NOA, or watch the video, featuring him singing and dancing in red and black. It happens to be a great song too. ~Dagmar
The fourth day of SXSW coverage includes married couple singer-songwriters Thelma & James. The duo, MacKenzie Porter and Jake Etheridge, will hit more states this summer, and they have a nomination for Academy of Country Music’s Duo of the Year 2026. That event takes place on May 17th, 2026. Other artists featured are two Welsh acts, Hana Lili (thank you for the portrait) and Panic Shack. So much coolness to check out here.
BMI, the American music licensing company, hosted an event called BMI Brunch on the third day of SXSW. A few of the excellent variety of bands, from Ben Ellis to Piao and from Magnolian to Dizzy Fae, took part. Magnolian, who comes from Mongolia, has a new track called “Woods.” It appears on the award-winning game Death Stranding 2: On the Beach! The multimedia thread continues with Nezza, a singer and dancer who garnered attention via her YouTube account.
Lamb of God’s Into Oblivion Tour Tears Through Seattle With a Four-Band Metal Assault That Left No Room for Mercy
SEATTLE (March 31, 2026) — WAMU Theater played host to one of 2026’s most formidable metal touring packages on a rare, sun-soaked spring evening in the city’s SODO district. Lamb of God’s Into Oblivion Tour rolled into town for its 10th stop of a 27-date North American run, and the energy inside and outside the venue reflected every bit of the occasion. Just across the street, a Seattle Mariners home game was simultaneously drawing its own crowd, filling the stadium district with a collision of sports fans and metalheads, food vendors pushing wafts of grilled everything into the cool air, and the kind of sidewalk electricity that only happens when two worlds occupy the same block at the same time. For those who chose the metal path that night, they chose correctly.
Inside the WAMU Theater, fans were already deep into the ritual: merch lines stretched across the floor, drinks were being secured, and the anticipation of a heavy night was palpable before a single note was struck. The show started promptly at 7 p.m. and wasted no time establishing its tone.
Columbus, Ohio death metal outfit Sanguisugabogg opened the evening with the kind of set that makes newcomers question their life choices and devotees pump their fists in vindication. Formed in 2019, the band has built a reputation for unapologetically grotesque, riff-forward death metal across three studio albums. Worth noting heading into this tour: the band arrived with a reshuffled lineup. Producer and longtime drummer Cody Davidson made the move to guitar, joining Drew Arnold on the low end, while Eric Morotti took over behind the kit. Vocalist Devin Swank held things down up front, as always. It was the same configuration the band used throughout their recent European run, so by the time they arrived in Seattle, the lineup was locked in and battle-tested. They opened their set with “Rotted Entanglement” and the pit opened immediately. As they tore through cuts like “Face Ripped Off” and “Felony Abuse of a Corpse,” pulling from albums including “Homicidal Ecstasy” and “Tortured Whole,” the pit never stopped moving and bodies never stopped coming over the barrier. They wrapped up their set with a title that perfectly fit how this evening would end, “Dead as Shit.”
Fit for an Autopsy followed, bringing the weight of nearly two decades of deathcore credibility to the stage. The Jersey City, New Jersey outfit, currently signed to Nuclear Blast and seven studio albums deep, plays with the confidence of a group that knows exactly what it is and exactly how to deliver it. Vocalist Joe Badolato led the charge from the jump, opening with “Lower Purpose” and driving the crowd through a set that drew from albums “The Sea of Tragic Beasts” and “Oh What the Future Holds.” “Warfare” and “Pandora” hit with particular force mid-set, and “Far From Heaven” closed things out leaving the floor in a state of controlled chaos.
Then came Kublai Khan TX, the Sherman, Texas metalcore outfit that has quietly become one of the most viscerally compelling live acts in the genre. Vocalist Matt Honeycutt’s stage presence is not merely commanding; it is confrontational in the best possible way, and Seattle responded in kind. The band opened with “Darwinism” and built relentlessly, drawing from “Absolute” and their most recent album “Exhibition of Prowess” throughout the set. “The Mountain of Corsicana,” their 2025 single, landed hard, and “Self-Destruct” whipped the crowd into a fever pitch. They closed on “Theory of Mind,” handing off a room primed to the point of combustion.
By the time Lamb of God took the stage, there was nowhere left for the energy to go but up. The Richmond, Virginia heavy metal institution arrived with their 12th studio album, “Into Oblivion,” released in March 2026, and a career’s worth of ammunition to back it up. A surprise twist had a number of VIP fans getting the opportunity to join photographers in the pit for the first three songs to experience the action up close and personal. The stage was draped with a giant black curtain, a projector casting the Lamb of God name across it. As the curtain dropped, Lamb of God opened with “Ruin” and the room erupted. “Laid to Rest” hit like a freight train, “Blood Junkie” drew one of the loudest crowd responses of the night, and the title track “Into Oblivion” sat comfortably alongside the classics without apology. “512,” vocalist Randy Blythe’s unflinching reflection on his 2012 imprisonment in the Czech Republic, an experience that profoundly changed him, briefly silenced the room in the way only truly serious art can. The set drew from across their catalog, touching on landmarks from “Ashes of the Wake” and “Sacrament” through “Wrath” and beyond. They closed out the night on “Sepsis” and “Redneck,” and the floor became complete chaos, everything a metal floor is supposed to be.
Throughout the night, security staff worked to ensure the well-being of the crowd, passing water to those in need as hundreds of crowd surfers spilled over the barrier across the full span of the show. It was a reminder that a heavy show and a safe show are not mutually exclusive, and the production reflected a level of professionalism that matched the caliber of the artists on stage.
Seattle was the 10th stop on a 27-date North American run that also includes two festival appearances at the tail end of the tour. The bands carried the energy of a touring unit that has hit its stride, every set delivered with the precision of seasoned professionals and the hunger of something still being proven. Each act passed the baton to the next seamlessly, building the night into something greater than the sum of its parts.
As the last notes rang out, fans filed into the cool Seattle night exhausted, exhilarated and fully satisfied. The bands, meanwhile, packed up and pointed toward Vancouver, British Columbia, for the next night’s performance. The Into Oblivion Tour continues to make its way across North America, with remaining dates running through May 17. If this stop is any indication of what the rest of the run looks like, do not sleep on a ticket.
