Manchester Academy 1

Hoodie Allen

Boyce Avenue
Formed in 2004, the Sarasota, FL's Boyce Avenue are a part of the new wave of artists who have used the internet, rather than extensive touring, to get their music out to the people. Consisting of brothers Alejandro, Fabian, and Daniel Manzano, the trio started making music together after Daniel returned to Florida from Massachusetts....

Nas
Acclaimed debut album, Illmatic (1994), spawned several hit singles and established him as a rising hip-hop star. Made his big-screen debut opposite rapper DMX in the 1998 crime drama Belly. Scored his biggest commercial hits with the back-to-back double-platinum albums It Was Written (1996) and I Am....

Killing Joke
Heavy and slow, Killing Joke (at least early in their career) were a quasi-metal band dancing to a tune of doom and gloom. They eventually became less heavy and more arty (the latter seems almost impossible) -- more danceable even -- but early on they made some urgent slabs of molten dynamite that oozed with the power of thick guitars, thudding drums, and over the top singing....

Lacuna Coil
With the debut of their self-titled 1998 EP, Lacuna Coil (which translates to "empty spiral" in English) turned a lot of heads in Italy's ambient/goth scene thanks in part to Cristina Scabbia's haunting but mesmerizing vocals....