Bluegrass quintet the Punch Brothers have been playing together for six years, but their intensely collaborative instrumental interplay and seasoned songwriting suggest a far longer period of growth.

You may know Erik Tasa as a member of The Rockford Mules, a more raucous project compared to the quiet, contemplative tones of his newest solo release "Ballad Of A Winter Beard."

When Andrew Bird's mind is allowed to roam - and his violin and looping-pedals allowed to follow wherever he might lead them - beautiful music is simply the end product, be it in the form of a finely-burnished pop song or a more wistful sonic rumination.

The demise of popular indie band The Unicorns at the beginning of the aughts left many fans feeling a void. Prolific pioneers of lo-fi indie pop, frontman Nick Thorburn would of course not be gone for long. In 2006, the music world was rocked by the critically acclaimed debut album by Islands, "Return To The Sea," an experimental, long-form record that would go on to inspire countless musicians, especially in the Canadian music scene.

Local music notes from the week of February 27-March 2

Read about and download his new track "Sunny Miles"

Sunday's JabbyFest will also feature cameo by Laurie Lindeen

I had really hoped to make this a trend piece. When I first surveyed the vast pool of entries for this year’s Are You Local? best-new-band contest over on Vita.mn’s site, I made a somewhat stubborn decision to listen to them all, track by track. At first there were 128 entries, and then, by the…

One promo gives a shout out to The Current's own Mark Wheat

She says she's "attracted to songs that are a little more tragic"