Dr. Dog with guests Kyle Craft

The Philadelphia-based Dr. Dog is part of a long tradition of D.I.Y. pop oddballs who blend unapologetic ’60s pop worship with lo-fi recording techniques and an apparent disregard for current trends. The group began as a part-time offshoot of the more traditional indie rock act Raccoon. Over the course of several years, guitarist Toby Leaman and drummer Scott McMicken found enough free time to record the casual, sprawling, 35-track set The Psychedelic Swamp in a basement rehearsal space, finally self-releasing it in 2001. As Raccoon ended, McMicken and Leaman transformed Dr. Dog into a proper band, with McMicken on guitar and Leaman on bass (the two shared songwriting and vocals), as well as guitarist Doug O’Donnell, keyboard player Zach Miller, and drummer Juston Stens. This lineup recorded 2003’s more focused and poppy Toothbrush, which — like The Psychedelic Swamp — received a low-key, self-distributed release.

Fate was smiling upon Sub Pop the day Kyle Craft arrived at the Seattle offices. Fate was smiling upon Sub Pop, not Kyle Craft. Kyle Craft just happened to be there. Now at the age of 28, the Louisiana-originating troubadour is a little wiser to things, but back then he only knew Sub Pop for its links with Nirvana and as the home of Beach House and Fleet Foxes. He’s really not sure that he ever thought of a so-called ‘career in music’. “The whole music thing has been a really strange cinematic sort of journey for me,” he laughs affably. “None of it really makes sense on paper.” Kyle Craft is a Louisiana-bred, Portland, Oregon-based singer/songwriter with a robust, full-throated wail and knack for pairing Stones-ian hooks and Dylan-esque wordplay with glam-kissed pop swagger.

Blending elements of acoustic blues, vintage soul, and conscious hip-hop into a mixture that’s expressive yet deeply personal, Son Little is the alias of Aaron Livingston, a singer, instrumentalist, and songwriter who divides his time between his own music and collaborations with others. In April 2015, he produced an EP for legendary gospel and soul singer Mavis Staples, Your Good Fortune; one track from the EP, an interpretation of “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean,” won a Grammy Award for Best Roots Performance. October 2015 saw the release of his first solo album, simply titled Son Little. Little toured in support of the album, headlining club dates and opening for acts as diverse as Mumford & Sons, Shakey Graves, and Kelis. In 2017, he released New Magic, a more organic-sounding set that was largely written on the road and inspired by the experience of performing his songs with a live band on tour.