Sounds Of O+ Festival 2013 #3: Dead Leaf Echo

Y'all know I love a festival. Being around well-curated music for days at a time is nigh on heavenly to me. But sometimes, festivals can go above and beyond even that personal experience and not only provide miles and miles of glorious music and art, but a worthwhile cause to boot. Witness the O+ Festival, held this coming weekend in scenic Kingston, NY (with Left Coast activities too). O+ not only brings together some seriously great bands but seeks to provide health services for musicians. It's a darned noble cause, worthy of much attention and heaps of praise. I'm highlighting a selection of bands on this year's O+ roster that definitely merit a closer look.

I really, really, really, really enjoy Dead Leaf Echo (though perhaps that's not quite enough reallys). Their heady, dark and stormy moodgaze really hits the spot for me. There's a beauty in their voluminous darkness, and they are especially good when you put them on a stage. A band you should most assuredly be checking out live whenever possible.