2015 – Downtown Auroran

DTA List: Top 10 Albums of 2015

Editor — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 03:05:20 +0000

This year was an amazing music year for me. So much indie goodness. Sometimes the timing is just right and all of your favorite bands put out albums, like Belle and Sebastian – who I also saw live this year and got to get up on stage and dance in Milwaukee. Alas, Belle and Sebastian’s Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance didn’t make the Top 10 cut.

Coming up with a Top 10 list has taken me many days. It’s so tough when you love all the music. The Spotify song lists below are very representative of what I enjoyed this year and am still listening to. But I guess the challenge of a Top 10 list is the fun of it. So here you go. I hope you’ll check out all the music.

My Top 10*

1. Pale Honey – Pale Honey
2. Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear
3. EL VY – Return to the Moon
4. Lady Lamb – After
5. San Fermin – Jackrabbit
6. Lower Dens – Escape from Evil
7. Beach House – Thank Your Lucky Stars
8. Seth Avett and Jessica Lea Mayfield – Seth Avett and Jessica Lea Mayfield Sing Elliot Smith
9. Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
10. Matt & Kim – New Glow

*in no particular order

Now that the list is out of the way, here are some other mentions.

Live albums:
Phosphorescent – Live at the Music Hall
Ryan Adams – Ten Songs from Live at Carnegie Hall

International finds:
Amason – Sky City
The Dø – Shake, Shook, Shaken

Bluegrass love:
Mandolin Orange – Such Jubilee
Dave Rawlings Machine – Nashville Obsolete

Best live performance of new album:
John Grant – Grey Tickles, Black Pressure

Album most likely to stand the test of time:
Brandi Carlile – The Firewatcher’s Daughter

First Half (2015)

Second Half (2015)

Contributed by Marissa Amoni

Free Things to Do in Aurora: Visit Santa at Phillips Park

Editor — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 21:46:40 +0000

Santa Claus will make special visits to the City of Lights prior to Christmas. Children who want to give their holiday wish list to Santa Claus can do so in person at the Phillips Park Stover Visitors Center, 1000 Ray Moses Drive.

Santa Claus will be available from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on the following weekends:

Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13
Saturday, December 19 and Sunday, December 20

He will also return for last minute requests from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on:

Monday, December 21
Tuesday, December 22
Wednesday, December 23

Parents are encouraged to bring their cameras and share photos on the City of Aurora Facebook page: www.facebook.com/CityofAuroraIL

The free event is sponsored by the Friends of Phillips Park, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping preserve, restore and promote Phillips Park since 1985.

DTA List: Albums You Should Listen to Right Now (January – June)

Editor — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 17:22:55 +0000

Local shout out: Kevin Trudo released “Water Bears Vol. 1” this June. It’s a stellar collection of some of the tunes the Aurora singer-songwriter has put together over the last dozen years.

Are you always trying to catch up on new music? We did the work for you. Here are some of the best indie albums to come out so far this year. Here is our list for the first half of 2015:

Amason: Sky City
Brandi Carlile: The Firewatcher’s Daughter
Pale Honey: Pale Honey
Courtney Barnett: Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
The Do: Shake, Shook, Shaken
Bitter’s Kiss: Bitter’s Kiss
Jose Gonzalez: Vestiges & Claws
Father John Misty: I Love You, Honeybear
The Tallest Man on Earth: Dark Bird is Home
Seth Avett and Jessica Lea Mayfield Sing Elliott Smith
Belle and Sebastian: Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance
Dawes: All Your Favorite Bands

Listen to some of our favorite tunes from the list on our Spotify playlist.

What are your favorite albums from 2015? Comment below.