Cine Local comes to life with videos from Stephonne, Radkey, Samantha Fish, and more

Illustrated by Katelyn Betz

Memorial Day, having come and gone, means that it’s unofficially summer, and that means it’s summer concert season. It’s three months of shows under the sun and stars, sweaty beers on patios and in amphitheaters, and basically our favorite time of the year. With that in mind, we’ve a themed Cine Local for this installment, taking a look at some of the best live videos of local and regional acts to get you hyped to hop in the car and head out to dance and sing along at a show.

Stephonne, “Bloody Mary” (live) 

Yes, yes, yes. We know Stephonne has a brand-new single, “Papa John,” currently making everyone who hears it blush like they got caught reading a smutty novel. It’s a sweaty, dancefloor-packing gem, but the way “Bloody Mary” transforms here in a performance from the Black American Music Summit at Folk Alliance just shows you how much Stephonne can do with just their voice and a pair of guitars. Shot by fellow KC musician Mikal Shapiro, this might be the most concise summation of that which Stephonne is capable we’ve thus seen.

Samantha Fish feat. The Colvin Sisters, “Don’t Say It” (live) 

Recorded at the Bijou Theatre in Knoxville, Paper Doll Live (due out Friday, June 12) marks Samantha Fish’s first live album release, which is kind of a big surprise. One would’ve thought that, prolific as the KC-born blues sensation has been over the course of her career, we would’ve seen something before now. That said, this live version of the final song from 2025’s Paper Doll has us champing at the bit to hear the full live album, especially given what the track listing says we have in store from the Rounder Records release.

You can pre-order Paper Doll Live on Bandcamp.

The Swallowtails, “The Giving Tree” (live) 

The Swallowtails’ new album, Perspective, is — as one familiar with the pop duo’s history of creative, catchy, clever chamber pop might suspect—amazing, but there’s something about the way singer-songwriter Miki P and bassoonist bandmate Rachel Lovelace sound when performing live that’s impossible to capture unless you can watch them while you hear them. Many musicians pour themselves into live performance, but when the Swallowtails play, you can see the joy at performing, and it becomes so much more.

You can get Perspective on Bandcamp.

Brian Gerald Bulger, “2007 Ice Storm” (live) 

This full band, live version of the first song on Bulgers’ Thank God I’m Far From Heaven demonstrates just why it’s one of our favorite songs of the year so far. It’s a heartbreaking ode to loss and memory that opens up as it goes along like an unfolding puzzle box of emotion, and I cannot understand how Bulger himself isn’t openly weeping as he performs. This is part of a larger set shot at Hillsiders for a Flew the Coop Sessions performance, which you can find more info about here.

You can get Thank God I’m Far From Heaven on Bandcamp.

Teri Quinn & the Coyotes, “Grave of Fear” (live)

The Swallowtails’ Miki P shot this footage of a stripped-down performance of Teri Quinn & the Coyotes’ forthcoming single, “Grave of Fear,” a beautiful gothic and folky rock ‘n roller which really digs into the way anxiety can sabotage everything you enjoy. It’s also the song the band uses to kick off their 105 Live session over at Kansas Public Radio, if you’d like to see them in more of a controlled environment, along with four other songs. We’ll have the premiere of the official video and the studio version of the single on Friday, June 12, so keep an eye out for that.

Ryan Manuel, “Not Drunk Anymore” (live)

The Sedalia-born, Lawrence-based red dirt troubadour Ryan Manuel just celebrated 21 months sober, and brought us a stripped-down version of a song he wrote long before he quit drinking. We love the fact that even though it’s just Manuel and his guitar, you can absolutely two-step to this. There’s a vibrancy to the live version not found on the studio version, recorded all the way back in 2018 for the album On the Run, recorded with his full band, The Getaway. There might just be something a little more fun about playing drinking songs when you’re not reeling from the night before.

Radkey, “Ready to Burn” 

This one’s a little technical, as it’s studio audio, but all the footage was shot at Radkey’s recent RadFest at Lemonade Park, so we’re counting it. Plus, who doesn’t want to hear the band trying out some new sounds? “Ready to Burn” sounds like something that hearkens back to the ’90s Kansas City and Lawrence sound, with that guitar sound and the last minute’s big build. Also, not for nothing, but they definitely reference frequent tourmates Local H with that “bound for the floor” lyric. We are now super-hyped for the band’s next album, Bedroom Sand, out July 14.

Are you a local musician with a new video to share? Email nicholas.spacek@gmail.com