Hey, music fans!
I’m back with another cool music find for you to check out! This month I’m spotlighting Daytrotter, a website dedicated to recording and posting live sessions from both up-and-coming and well-known alternative and indie artists.
Started in 2006 by Sean Moeller and headquartered at Horseshack Studio in Rock Island, Illinois, Daytrotter is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to both discover new artists and find recordings from some of my favorites. Daytrotter sessions are basically like sessions recorded on radio stations or NPR, minus the commercials and banter: artists stop by the Rock Island studio (often while passing through on tour), record a few songs, and the sessions are posted on the Daytrotter site a few months later for subscribers to listen to and download. Sessions can also be recorded remotely at other studios or sometimes at concerts, and a few are filmed on video, too. Daytrotter posts several sessions a week, so there’s always new material coming in, and in the 8 years the site’s been around, it’s posted over 4000 sessions. With that many sessions, there’s definitely something for everyone.
You do need to be a paying subscriber to access all the goodies on the Daytrotter site. Free three-day trials are available, but I highly recommend signing up for a one- or two-year subscription ($32 or $60, respectively). A paid subscription gets you unlimited session streaming like the free trial, but it also gets you unlimited session downloads, a free vinyl record of your choice, and 25% off everything in the Daytrotter shop. If you don’t want to commit to a full year, though, you can sign up for a monthly subscription ($4/month). Check out this excellent write-up about Daytrotter’s mission and vision on its Facebook page, and make sure you’re following along on Facebook and Twitter to stay caught up on all the latest Daytrotter news and session postings.
Stay tuned for a special music series on The Write Teacher(s) in April!
Live, Love, Learn (and Listen),