Film and Music Reviews and Suggestions
Tour: Kinda Hard l
Venue: MGM Music Hall
Date: Sunday, May 17th
Set list: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/bilmuri/2026/mgm-music-hall-at-fenway-boston-ma-3b4b1cf4.html
Band members:
Opener: Gang!, The Home Team
Review:
Upcoming Tour Dates: https://www.bilmuri.com/tour
Pictures and Videos:
TV Show or Movie: Movie
Where to Watch: Theaters
Genre: Horror, super natural
Writer: Curry Barker
Director: Ccurry Barker
Cast: Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, Andy Richter
Synopsis: After breaking the mysterious “One Wish Willow” to win his crush’s heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.
Review:
Trailer:
Tour: The 15th Anniversary Tour
Venue: Wang Theater
Date: Thursday, May 14th
Set list: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-head-and-the-heart/2026/wang-theatre-boston-ma-2b490486.html
Band members:
Opener: The Brudi Brothers
Review:
The Head and the Heart have been one of my favorite bands for a long time now. Back when I lived in Colorado, I saw them at Red Rocks Amphitheatre a few summers in a row. I even caught one of their super intimate pop-up shows at a small venue in Denver with maybe 1,000 people packed in.
Since moving back east, I’ve seen them at Leader Bank Pavilion, but I was especially excited when I saw they were coming to Boston’s Theater District and playing their first album in its entirety. I honestly have no idea how that album is already 15 years old.
The whole night felt incredibly intimate. Everyone was seated in this beautiful theater, and the stage was set up like a living room.
For the first song or two, the crowd mostly stayed seated, probably just because of the theater setting. But the second “Lost in My Mind” started, the entire crowd stood up almost in unison, and most people stayed on their feet the rest of the night.
The band played through their debut album before jumping into a second half packed with songs from the albums that followed. You could feel the energy increase even more when “All We Ever Knew,” “Aperture,” “Missed Connection,” and “Shake” kicked in.
Between songs, the band shared stories, danced around the stage, and even lounged on the couch set up behind them.
There were nonstop sing-alongs, clapping, and those big crowd “ohs” and “ahs” bouncing back and forth between the band and an incredibly receptive audience.
This stop was the end of this leg of the tour, but they will be doing more anniversary shows, so get tickets for one of those!
Upcoming Tour Dates: https://theheadandtheheart.com/tour
Pictures and Videos:
Tour: If You Go There, I Hope You Find It
Venue: Royale
Date: Thursday, May 7th
Set list: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-paper-kites/2026/royale-boston-ma-53749731.html
Opener: Donovan Woods
Review: I got really into The Paper Kites last year. I had heard their hits, “Bloom” and “Paint” but really dove into their discography. Twelvefour has my favorite song, “Electric Indigo,” Roses has my second favorite, “Climb Up Your Tears” and a beautiful song, Walk Above the City” featuring Maró. At The Roadhouse has the Fleetwood Mac inspired “Black & Thunder.” And their latest album,
“It You Go There, I Hope You Find It has some favorites like “Change of the Wind,” “Deep (In the Plans We Made),” and “When the Lavender Blooms.”
I almost caught them on tour last fall, opening for The Teskwy Brothers, but didn’t wind up making it out. While I wish I did, I am glad I got to see them on their own headlining tour in such an intimate venue like Royale in Boston.
I also was really sold on this show for the opener, Donovan Woods. I had favorited his track “Portland, Me,” a year or so back on Spotify and then he recently showed up again. His song, “I Talk About You,” from his latest release is a stunning, beautiful, and depressing song with a heavy Celtic funereal inspiration.
The show was one of the best ones I have been to in a while. Donovan Woods is just as funny as he is talented in the singer-songwriter department. He told some fun stories and was self deprecating. He had the crowd cracking up when he told them, sarcastically, how back in the day it was an honor to try on the radio and the equivalent of that today is being added to a Spotify playlist.
The Paper Kites started off their set with eveyone around one microphone, singing in unison. Usually, band saves this for later on in their set, but the Australian folk band was opening the show with the vibe of the next hour and a half. Not to say that the band doesn’t have some great rock songs up their sleeves. They played my favorite song, “Electric Indigo” and the Fleetwood Mac inspired “Black & Thunder.”
Upcoming Tour Dates: https://www.thepaperkites.com.au/tour
Pictures and Videos:
TV Show or Movie: Movie
Where to Watch: Theaters
Genre: Action-comedy, horror, super natural
Writer: Kirill Sokolov, Alex Litvak
Director: Kirill Sokolov
Cast: Zazie Beetz, Myha’la, Paterson Joseph, Tom Felton, Heather Graham, Patricia Arquette
Synopsis: A woman takes a job as a housekeeper in a NYC high-rise, unaware of the building’s history of disappearances. She soon realizes the community is shrouded in mystery.
Review:
Trailer:
Genre: Folk, acoustic, indie
Who They Remind Me Of: The Head and the Heart, Caamp
Band Members:
Sam Bentley – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards
Christina Lacy – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Josh Bentley – drums, percussion
David Powys – guitars, banjo, lap steel, backing vocals
Sam Rasmussen – bass guitar, synthesizers
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Tour: https://www.thepaperkites.com.au/tour
Where to Find Them:
https://www.instagram.com/thepaperkites/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/79hrYiudVcFyyxyJW0ipTy
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/the-paper-kites/454316567
https://www.instagram.com/thepaperkites/
https://twitter.com/thepaperkites
https://www.facebook.com/thepaperkitesband/
https://www.tiktok.com/@thepaperkitesband
https://www.thepaperkites.com.au/
What To Listen To:
Spotify playlist to follow along: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2FjfLYiJ7IknsPhwo2cjXM?si=4y4IQ85TTEC1kh3mZS2ZpA&pi=rum_Fq_qTjatc
TV Show or Movie: Movie
Where to Watch: Theaters
Genre: Horror, supernatural, folklore
Writer: Damian McCarthy
Director: Damian McCarthy
Cast: Adam Scott, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Florence Ordesh, Michael Patric, Will O’Connell, Brendan Conroy, Austin Amelio
Synopsis: A horror writer visits an Irish inn to scatter his parents’ ashes, unaware the property is said to be haunted by a witch.
Review:
Trailer:
Genre: Folk, folk rock, country, country pop
Who They Remind Me Of: Joshua Radin, Damien Rice, City and Colour
Band Members: Donovan Woods
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tour: https://www.donovanwoods.net/tour
Where to Find Them: https://linktr.ee/donovanwoods
What To Listen To:
Why:
Spotify playlist to follow along: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2FjfLYiJ7IknsPhwo2cjXM?si=4y4IQ85TTEC1kh3mZS2ZpA&pi=rum_Fq_qTjatc
TV Show or Movie: Movie
Where to Watch: Theaters
Genre: Horror, supernatural, body horror
Writer: Lee Cronin
Director: Lee Cronin
Based on the Video Game:
Cast: Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace, Verónica Falcón
Synopsis: The young daughter of a journalist disappears into the desert without a trace. Eight years later, the broken family is shocked when she is returned to them, as what should be a joyful turns into a living nightmare.
Review:
Lee Ronin’s The Mummy was a fun ride. I read the hype for it and I really hoped that it was as gross and disturbing as it said. And it was just about there.
The movie introduces some new things in horror and I thought the last scene was really cool and original.
We are all waiting for a new Mummy movie with Brendan Frazier. This feels like The Mummy and also its own standalone thing. Universal Monsters has not had a lot of luck recently with its films, but hopefully this can help it out.
I am a Lee Cronin fan. He knows how to use blood, gore, scares.
Check it out in theaters!
Trailer:
Genre: Country, Rock, Emo, Metal
Who They Remind Me Of: They are their own sound. A combination of so many things that you grew up loving.
Band Members:
Johnny Franck: – Vocals, guitar.
Gabi Rose – Saxophone, vocals.
Reese Maslen – Guitar, vocals
Josh Manuel: Drums
Aino Muruaishi – Bass
Location: Westerville, OH
Tour: https://www.bilmuri.com/tour
Where to Find Them: https://linktr.ee/bilmuriband
What To Listen To: They just released their latest album, “Kinda Hard.” The album, like many of their tracks, is an innuendo, but it also represents how this album goes a little bit harder than the previous.
Some of my favorite tracks include: “The End,” “Better Hell (Thicc boi),” “Miss Me,” “Boutta Cashew,” “Livin’ Laughin’ Lovin,” “2026 Cavaliers (Ohio,” “Blindsided,” “Corn-Fed Yetis,” “Anabolic Spudsman,” “A Hogman’s Delight,” “ACowboysHeavyLoad,” “ABSOLUTELYCRANKINMYMF’INHOG,” “FLOURIDEINTHEHARDSELTZERWATER,”
Why: I discovered the brilliance of Johnny Franck last year. He became my number one artist and four songs from “American Motorsports” were in my top five.
The music is so unique, blending multiple genres. The lyrics and sounds are nostalgic. The track titles are funny.
I caught him last year on tour in Boston and have a review of it here!
Spotify playlist to follow along: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2FjfLYiJ7IknsPhwo2cjXM?si=4y4IQ85TTEC1kh3mZS2ZpA&pi=rum_Fq_qTjatc