Enjoy new music from the record-breaking worship music collective Maverick City Music, Perth indie-pop quartet Dulcie, and renowned Dominican musician Juan Luis Guerra.
Maverick City Music – Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition (TRIBL)
The community of songwriting worshippers, Maverick City Music, continues to venture past the boundaries of traditional Contemporary Christian Music with their newest project: The Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition (TRIBL). Maverick City Music attributes their unique sound and groundbreaking success to their focus on collaboration, as well as their commitment to breaking the unspoken rules of the Church Music genre when creating music. Recorded live at Grace Midtown Church in Atlanta, The Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition Maverick includes performances of Maverick’s greatest hits such as “Jireh” (which received over 13M streams on YouTube), and features collaborations with some of music’s biggest names – from Ciara, Diddy, and more. The group originated in Atlanta, Georgia when musicians Tony Brown and Jonathan Jay began hosting writing camps in an effort to bring both successful music veterans and new talent together, with an emphasis on amplifying marginalized voices. Brown explains, “There was something so special, so powerful, so provocative about hearing the people who wrote this music sing it right then and there in the moment. So we set up a couple microphones, got a few cameras rolling, and Maverick City Music was born.” Since their debut in 2019, Maverick City have made headlines and broken records, winning the Top Gospel Album Billboard Music Award in April 2020 for their release of Maverick City Vol. 3 Part 1, and setting the new worldwide record for most first-day streams for a Christian and Gospel album. Maverick City Music is set to embark on their first tour this coming Fall, with electrifying 90 minute performances in venues ranging from 3,000-8,000 capacity, most of which are already completely sold out.
Dulcie – Sake of Sound (Lapis Lazuli)
The Australian indie-pop quartet, Dulcie, presents their debut EP, Sake of Sound on June 18th via their own label imprint, Lapis Lazuli. This four-woman group from Perth defies norms in their choice of genre and refuses the traditional group dynamic that identifies only one lead singer, interchanging between three vocalists and creating a unique, idiosyncratic sound. Produced by Eskimo Joe, the EP Sake of Sound includes four songs, two of which––“Dust” and “Ethereal”––have already been released as singles, and two new additions to their discography, “Sake of Sound” and “Level Head.” According to the AU Review, Dulcie’s single “Dust” is a “wonderful pop sensibility and hooks aplenty… oozes charm and personality.” “Ethereal” is accompanied by a video that captures the song’s effortless beauty as well as Dulcie’s aesthetic that the group themselves describes as “summery colors and that Woodstock kind of vibe.” Dulcie member Ash recalls how their melodic track, “Ethereal,” originated as a poem she wrote when observing the harmonious lives of fish she observed while snorkeling: “It made me think about us as people and all our differences, and the hope that we can see past these and accept people for who they are with no judgement.” Dulcie has been turning heads since the release of their debut single “Fall” in 2019. Since then, the group has received praise from media outlets and nominations from the Western Australia Music Awards for Most Popular Act and Most Popular Live Act. In support of Sake of Sound, Dulcie is set to tour extensively throughout Australia in June with Tyne James-Organ, and again as the opener for Ocean Alley in August.
Juan Luis Guerra 4.40 – Entre Mar y Palmeras (Rimas Entertainment)
Renowned Dominican singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra presents his video concert special, Entre Mar y Palmeras (Between the Sea and the Palm Trees) via Rimas Entertainment. Available for streaming on HBO Max, Guerra, and his legendary band, Los 4.40, perform an audience-free concert staged on one of the Dominican Republic’s beautiful beaches of Miches. Entre Mar y Palmeras was produced by Loud and Live Studios and directed by the artist’s eldest son, Jean Guerra, who has been involved in his father’s latest audiovisual projects. In this one-of-a-kind visual experience, Guerra performs a mix of his classic and recent hits such as “La Bilirrubina,” “Burbujas de amor,” and new arrangements of pieces like “Ojalá que llueva café en el campo.” The unique concert provides an intimate look into his arrangements, with the lush visual back-drop coupled with energetic merengues, salsas, and classic bachatas bringing to life Guerra’s songs of hope, love, happiness, and joy. “It’s a different type of show, but the palm trees, sand and ocean breeze was our stage, and it gave us a special happiness,” says Guerra. Since graduating from Berklee College of Music in the 1980s, Guerra has risen to global fame and become a best-selling Latin musician, receiving numerous awards––from Latin Grammy Awards to Billboard Music Awards––popularizing bachata music on a global level. However, Guerra never limits himself to one music genre, exploring aspects of Merengue, Bolero, Bachata, Afro-Pop, and Gospel.
