New Music Alert: Mars Rodriguez' "Black Summer"

Mars Rodriguez has a new video out for her song "Black Summer." The video was shot across Los Angeles and has a red-pink hue to it. For a brief moment you get a glimpse of her symbolic skeleton. As she walks across Los Angeles, she is alone, often with cars speeding pass. All the drivers, perhaps tuning in to their own favorite music, are unaware that Mars Rodriguez is suffering through a "Broken Heart." For her; however, maybe she wants to suffer alone through her broken heart. As the video comes to a close, a metro train comes by, filled with people. Instead of getting on it, she allows it to pass her by.

Take a listen and let Mars Rodriguez take you on a rock journey through a broken heart.

Photo taken at the Six at Six series

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 58

Okay, so this wasn't a quarantine online set for me. I got to see Mars Rodriguez perform live. But for those who missed the set and would like to catch it online, you can see it on The Satellite's Instagram page. I first came across Mars back in 2019 when I got a random invite to catch a set at Hotel Café. She is a one person powerhouse and so listening to her at the Hotel Cafe or in The Satellite's backyard were very similar experiences -- though her The Satellite set was restricted to just a guitar. With a couple stars under her eyes and a great big smile, she rocked through her 6 song set with songs such as "Despertar" and "Black Summer." What made for the perfect setting for me is how the set started out under the waning sunlight and by the time the set ended it was night. If you happen to decide to catch the online set, that clicking sound you hear is my camera.

Hotel Cafe: Mars Rodriguez with Me an Di

I get invited to catch sets by various musicians and bands that are new to me. I do my best to go when invited or ask that I get kept in the loop for any future sets. This is how I came across Mars Rodriguez. I’m not going to lie, what initially got me intrigued was the name: Mars. Then the fact that the set was at Hotel Cafe, which is one of the venues I like to hit up on occasion. What sold me 100% was that I decided to look up her music on YouTube. The first song I came across was “No Estas.” I was hooked with the rock beats and screaming vocals. As a solo live performer, Mars Rodriguez will hit you like a stick of dynamite, in a good way. One can tell she’s having a great time on stage and so did the audience, which demanded an encore. She obliged with a cover of Kinky’s “A Donde Van Los Muertos.”

Mars Rodriguez

Since I got to Hotel Cafe early, I got to catch Me an Di. There were some compelling duets there.

Me an Di