The Hold Steady

Latest Articles

Craig Finn | Clear Heart, Full Eyes

Vagrant
In the near-decade he's spent as frontman-lyricist of bar-rock saviors the Hold Steady, Craig Finn has hardly been labeled a happy camper.
By RYAN REED | February 14, 2012

The Fortune Healers, Broadcaster, and Makeupbreakup

Terrific triple play
The Homegrown inbox here at 150 Chestnut never ceases to amaze, with quality submissions coming down the pipe on a weekly basis.
By CHRIS CONTI | October 11, 2011

Port City now 18+, all the time

Venue Watch
After something of a long, strange trip, Port City Music Hall's quest to be an 18+ venue has come to fruition.
By SAM PFEIFLE | April 20, 2011

Franz Nicolay reboots

Lone troubadour
I’m a little worried that this interview could kill Franz Nicolay.
By BARRY THOMPSON | November 30, 2010

Thrice as nice: A busy weekend for Six Star General

Off the Couch
The weekend starts early on THURSDAY (the 21st) with a busy SIX STAR GENERAL (three shows in three days) performing an early (7 pm) opening set opening for TWO COW GARAGE at Club Hell (401.709.3923).
By PROVIDENCE PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | October 19, 2010

By | January 01, 0001

Fall Music Preview: Sounds abound

It's the busiest fall ever !
As the autumnal equinox fast approaches, there’s plenty of action statewide and no genre left behind from Downcity to down south to the highly-anticipated return of a local live landmark — the Met Café, now located in the Hope Artiste Village in Pawtucket.
By CHRIS CONTI | September 16, 2010

Legacy act

Mean Creek look forward to a long road
What does it say about the current scene when the standard full rock band of two guitars, bass, and drums can seem novel?
By P. NICK CURRAN | June 11, 2010

Holy rollers

Ten pounds of rock in a six-song Boo Box
This record grabs you by the throat from measure one.
By SAM PFEIFLE | March 10, 2010

Is 2010 the Year of the Girl?

Music of the Future
Many have argued that the descriptor "indie music" means nothing more or less than "bands Pitchfork reviews" these days, and the claim was never more true than last year
By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | January 06, 2010

Blues summit

Off the Couch
All-stars at Lupo’s, and more!
By PROVIDENCE PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | December 08, 2009

Interview: Sarah Rainone

Welcome to Galestown, RI
Sarah Rainone on growing up in Cranston and getting in touch with her inner author.
By LOU PAPINEAU | May 21, 2009

Please please me

The Leftovers are ready and eager
For pure output, not many local bands can top the Leftovers, who next week drop their fourth full-length album, Eager to Please , with Oglio/Crappy Records, since 2005's debut, Stop Drop Rock & Roll (and they had an EP before that). And we won't even take away points because "full-length," for them, doesn't quite reach 40 minutes.
By SAM PFEIFLE | May 13, 2009

Unextinct

Dinosaur Jr. will roam the earth forever
The convo is already off to a bumpy start with one Lou Barlow of Dinosaur Jr., phoning in from his Los Angeles residence at 10:30 am PST.
By CHRIS CONTI | March 31, 2009

Raising the Bar (Rock)

The Hold Steady + The Drive-By Truckers at the Orpheum, November 9, 2008
On the "Rock and Roll Means Well" tour, Drive-By Truckers and the Hold Steady upgraded their respective brands of quintessential American bar rock with a number of arena-rock trimmings.
By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | November 14, 2008

Call it a comeback

The Drive-By Truckers veer from the brink
Alabama offspring Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley have been making raucous rock and roll together in one band or another for the past 23 years, about the same time it takes most offspring to grow up and get real jobs.
By FRANKLIN SOULTS | November 03, 2008

Going on sale: August 22, 2008

Breaking news from the concert ticket trade
Kaki King, The Hold Steady, N.E.R.D., Dungen, Deerhunter and more.
By GOING ON SALE | August 19, 2008

By | January 01, 0001

Towns on the edge of darkness

The Hold Steady explore the shadows on Stay Positive
If 2006’s Boys and Girls in America was the Hold Steady’s Born to Run, Stay Positive is their Darkness On the Edge of Town , where the cocksure auteur grows older and less certain of his place in the world.
By MICHAEL ATCHISON | July 14, 2008

Diminishing returns

The Hold Steady make it hard to Stay Positive
For a while, Hold Steady lead singer Craig Finn wrote terrific stories.
By RICHARD BECK | July 09, 2008

Portland scene report: February 22, 2008

Sibilance starts now
If you’re jonesing for some new Sara Cox, check out her Valentine’s Day present to the world, “White Dress and All.”
By PORTLAND PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | February 20, 2008

The top 20 local albums of 2007

Here’s to the cream of a very impressive crop
Whatever you may think of Portland’s live-music scene nowadays — I’d argue it’s improving.
By SAM PFEIFLE | December 19, 2007

Craig’s list

It’s hard for me in almost every moment not be aware of how good things are for us.
By LOU PAPINEAU | October 17, 2007

We're all the Hold Steady

Fans’ notes on the band that’s sharing joy and changing lives, one gig at a time
When’s the last time you fell so hard for a band you drove 339 miles — alone — to see them?
By LOU PAPINEAU | October 17, 2007

Holding steady

Craig Finn returns to BC
When you think about it, the Hold Steady are the perfect Boston band.
By MIKE MILIARD | September 19, 2007

Post-punk pantheon

Daydream Nation tops our list of 10 landmark albums that made indie rock
They were, by definition, misfits.
By PHOENIX STAFF | July 16, 2007

In the Black

Twisted Roots return to prominence with their first full-length since 1999
Twisted Roots transformed their “reunion” into a forward-looking intent to bestride Portland once again and develop a new crop of fans who dig terrifying guitar solos and teeth-rattling vocals.
By SAM PFEIFLE | June 20, 2007

Not better off dead

Art Brut find their way in the post-punk world
Three years ago, London’s Art Brut debuted with a punk-rock song called “Formed a Band.”
By NICK SYLVESTER | June 12, 2007