pop

Yoko Ono Heats Up Dancefloors Once Again With Her Latest Summer Smash "Talking to the Universe"

Following the overwhelming success of her eighth #1 BILLBOARD HOT DANCE CLUB PLAY charting remix single “MOVE ON FAST”, YOKO ONO heats up dancefloors once again with her latest summer smash "TALKING TO THE UNIVERSE”.

Since bursting onto BILLBOARD’S HOT DANCE CLUB PLAY SINGLES CHART as the Hot Shot Debut at #36* (with a bullet) (Issue date: 07/16/2011), "TALKING TO THE UNIVERSE" has proved to be a fiery confection and one of Yoko’s most feverish and dynamic reinventions. Throughout its eight week stint on the chart, the single has quickly gained momentum claiming "the #25* spot (with a bullet)" as that week’s Power Pick (Issue date: 07/23/2011) before leaping into the "Top 20 at #17* (with a bullet)" (Issue date: 07/30/2011). It’s currently at #3* (with a bullet) (Issue date: 09/3/2011) nestled among contemporary pop and electronic music stalwarts BEYONCE, KYLIE MINOGUE, BRITNEY SPEARS, RIHANNA and DEPECHE MODE.

Originally taken from the 1995 YOKO ONO / IMA collaborative album RISING, the lean, funk-fueled rocker finds ONO tuning in to the universe as our as our celestial medium and ambassador to the cosmos urging listeners to purge all the preconceived notions, pretenses and fears that confine us in order to bask in a freer state of being. It’s an inspiring message of self actualization and empowerment that has become hallmark themes throughout her vast career.

ONO has long been credited with igniting the punk-rock fire years before its official explosion and her work continues to be relevant and generation-inspiring decades later.  Meticulously reinventing her material for 21st-century dancefloors has given the vanguard artist a greater platform and visibility of which many contemporaries and present-day contenders can be envious.

"TALKING TO THE UNIVERSE" marks  the latest chapter in ONO's staggering body of remixed works which, to date, has yielded  eight #1 BILLBOARD CLUB PLAY chart hits ("MOVE ON FAST", "WOULDNIT' (I'M A STAR)", "GIVE ME SOMETHING", "I'M NOT GETTING ENOUGH", "GIVE PEACE A CHANCE", "NO NO NO", "EVERYMAN / EVERYWOMAN" and the timeless "WALKING ON THIN ICE") and two critically-acclaimed remix anthologies:  YES, I'M A WITCH and its companion release OPEN YOUR BOX, an incredibly impressive feat for an artist who has spent her life on the cutting edge of music, art and pop culture.

“TALKING TO THE UNIVERSE” is available as three separate digital green releases (no materials used or abused) on MIND TRAIN / TWISTED Records issued July 5th, August 2nd and September 6th, respectively, on  iTunes.

Frank Sinatra/Count Basie Reprise recordings coming from Concord

By the early 1960s, Frank Sinatra and Count Basie had already cemented their respective reputations as two of the most versatile and enduring entertainers of the 20th century. When these two titans united in the studio for recordings on Reprise — Sinatra’s own label, which he’d launched at the start of the decade — the results were historic. The first album was simply titled Sinatra-Basie: An Historical Musical First, a 1963 release that climbed to the top five on Billboard’s pop album charts over the course of a 42-week run. A year later, It Might As Well Be Swing rose to #13 during a 31-week stretch on the same charts.

On September 6, 2011, Concord Records will reissue both of these recordings in a single collection, Frank Sinatra & Count Basie: The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings. Under license from Frank Sinatra Enterprises (FSE), the 20-song compilation is enhanced via digital restoration and remastering, and includes brand new liner notes from music journalist and historian Bill Dahl that provide historical context for these pivotal recordings. Also included are original anecdotes from Quincy Jones, who produced It Might As Well Be Swing.

“It’s virtually impossible to imagine a more swinging combination than Frank Sinatra — the premier pop vocalist of an adoring generation — and the mighty orchestra of Count Basie,” says Dahl in his liner notes. “Such a scintillating summit meeting actually unfolded not once but twice in the studio. This collection brings together both of these historic album-length collaborations, first out on the label Sinatra founded, Reprise. It’s a thoroughly satisfying soiree.”

Dahl provides background information about the history of Basie’s orchestra in the decades leading up to the two recordings. He also discusses Sinatra’s transition from Capitol to Reprise and the artistic freedom that came with it, as well as Neal Hefti’s arrangements for both albums, Quincy Jones’ production of the latter, and brief annotations of every song in the collection.

“Another memorable collection between the Chairman and the Count would soon be recorded for posterity by Reprise, [with Jones] arranging and conducting 1966’s Sinatra at the Sands,” says Dahl. “But even performing for those hip high rollers in Vegas couldn’t top what Sinatra and Basie accomplished during these two studio collaborations. This was musical history in the making, as fabulously fresh and frisky now as it was back then. Let the swinging commence.”
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TRACK LIST
Pennies from Heaven
Please Be Kind
(Love Is) The Tender Trap
Looking at the World Thru Rose Colored Glasses
My Kind of Girl
I Only Have Eyes for You
Nice Work If You Can Get It
Learnin’ the Blues
I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter
I Won’t Dance
Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)
I Wish You Love
I Believe in You
More [Theme from Mondo Cane]
I Can’t Stop Loving You
Hello, Dolly! (from Hello, Dolly!)
I Wanna Be Around
The Best Is Yet To Come
The Good Life
Wives and Lovers

2011 Outside Lands Festival Part II

Bragging of Friday night’s extensive substance abuse while exposing their bare midriffs to the golden, mellow California sunshine, throngs of eager fans poured into Golden Gate Park for a Saturday morning encore.  Attendees threw back booze with gusto all throughout the day, padding promoters’ profit margins with $7 glasses of Heineken.

The Belle Brigade Announce Fall Tour Dates

Having just wrapped a summer-long tour with k.d. lang, Los Angeles' The Belle Brigade have announced that they will hit the road this fall for a series of dates with Groupe Love, followed by a tour with Blitzen Trapper and Dawes. Please see below for more details.

Fronted by siblings Barbara and Ethan Gruska, and backed by their talented band (bassist Keith Karmen, keyboardist, electric guitarist Ben Cassorla, electric guitarist Harlan Silverman and drummer Mike Green), The Belle Brigade are touring in support of their self-titled debut album, which has been critically praised by Spin, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, Nylon, and the LA Weekly. The group has performed on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! and TBS's Conan, bringing their "winsome SoCal folk-rock and big, sunny Americana-infused pop songs" (as Nylon put it) to a national television audience. Watch clips of their performances, as well as the video for their first single "Losers," at http://www.thebellebrigade.com/.

Inspired by Barbara and Ethan's love for Fleetwood Mac, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, and Stevie Wonder, The Belle Brigade's debut album is chock-full of artfully arranged, freewheeling songs that brim with breezy, California melodies and bracing pop harmonies, fueled by the driving rhythms Barbara plays on drums. A longtime fixture on the Los Angeles music scene, Barbara is a sought-after live drummer who toured with Inara George and Jenny Lewis before she picked up a guitar and formed the band with her singer-songwriter younger brother Ethan two years ago. Raised in a musical family (their father is songwriter/composer Jay Gruska and their maternal grandfather is renowned film composer John Williams), Barbara and Ethan have a strong familial chemistry, which, along with their obvious songwriting gifts, has resulted in one of the most thrilling debut albums of the year.

The Belle Brigade's fall tour dates are as follows:

08/28/11         Los Angeles, CA      Sunset Junction Street Fair

09/01/11         Jacksonville, OR      Britt Pavilion

09/02/11         George, WA            The Gorge Amphitheatre

09/17/11         Austin, TX               Austin City Limits

With Groupe Love:

10/05 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theater

10/06 Madison, WI The Frequency

10/11 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge

10/13 Atlanta, GA Masquerade - Purgatory Stage

10/17 New Orleans, LA One Eyed Jacks

10/20 Austin, TX Emo's Alternative Lounge

10/21 Dallas, TX The Prophet Bar

10/22 Houston, TX Fitzgerald's

With Blitzen Trapper and Dawes:

10/27 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of the Living Arts

10/28 Boston, MA Royale Nightclub

10/30 Toronto, ON The Opera House

11/01 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

11/02 Grand Rapids, MI Calvin College Fine Arts Center

11/03 Chicago, IL Metro

11/05 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall

11/07 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre

11/10 Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theatre

11/11 Seattle, WA Showbox at the Market

11/13 Eugene, OR McDonald Theatre

11/15 San Francisco, CA Fillmore

Pop Montreal News : Free Arcade Fire Show

We are happy to announce a very special BIG SHOW we have planned for the 10th anniversary of the POP Montreal festival. SiriusXM Canada will present and broadcast a free outdoor show by The Arcade Fire on Thursday, September 22nd, at the place des Festivals of Quartier des Spectacles in downtown Montreal. The show is a grand thank you by The Arcade Fire to Montreal, Quebec and Canada and will celebrate an amazing year for the band where they toured the world in support of their outstanding record, The Suburbs, and won awards for album of the year at The Junos, The Brits, and The Grammys. "Our band couldn't exist without Montreal. After having had the chance to tour extensively around the world, we're very excited to finally come home. And to do so the Montreal way, we hoped to play a free outside show, on the very last day of summer as a big 'Thank you' to the beautiful city we love so much", says Régine Chassagne, member of The Arcade Fire, "We're happy to be a part of the 10th anniversary of POP Montreal. And we're proud to play a role in the French release of Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains, (Soulever les montagnes) -a book that has influenced our lives and our careers. Hoping to see you at the show… we're crossing our fingers for great weather." Montreal's own Karkwa, 2010 Polaris Prize winners, will open up the event.

We would like to thank our production partner evenko for helping us mount this amazing concert as well as all our funders, partners and sponsors that are helping make this possible. SiriusXM Canada, Quartier des Spectacles Partnership, Agence Métropolitaine de Transport (AMT), ALDO, McAuslan, La Ville de Montréal, le ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire (MAMROT), SODEC, Tourism Quebec and Tourism Montreal, who all have been integral in putting this event together. We thank them for supporting and continuing to support Canadian Independent Music.

SiriusXM Canada will broadcast the live concert exclusively for Sirius and XM subscribers throughout Canada and the U.S. on Sirius channels 152 and 161 and XM channel 151. This live broadcast is the latest opportunity for SiriusXM subscribers to experience unique and exclusive live musical performances from some of Canada's most influential artists.

The show will take place during the In Town, Without my Car ! event in Montreal organised by the Agence métropolitaine de transport and CAM, an amazing initiative we are pleased to support with a concert that will animate the downtown core. We are pleased to work with the great local company ALDO who, like the band and the festival, is a company that has sprung from Montreal to planet-wide fame. In keeping with the themes of environmental responsibility, ALDO is proud to by an official partner and will provide free eco-responsible water stations for concert attendees.

The show will coincide with the French release of Tracy Kidder's book Mountains Beyond Mountains (Soulever les montagnes), which documents the story of Paul Farmer, one of the founders of Partners In Health. For this show, the band is offering a special deal: as of today the first 100 people to make a 200$ + donation to KANPE will receive 2 passes to the VIP area at the show and a copy of the book. To participate visit kanpe.org. KANPE is a Montreal-based partner organization of Partners In Health dear to the band's heart. KANPE's work seeks to reverse the cycle of poverty in Haiti by encouraging financial independence, and enabling every person to live healthy and with dignity. VIP access for the show can also be acquired by purchasing a Super Pass on POP Montreal's website, where an option to donate to KANPE will be available to all.

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POP Montreal presents:
HEPPNER DOES ZAPPA w/ guest Mahogany Frog
Friday, September 23, 2011
Cinéma L'Amour, 4015 St-Laurent blvd
doors 11pm, show 11:30pm
Tickets 12$ av / 15$ door

POP Montreal presents:
Gary Lucas' Captain Beefheart Symposium
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Cinéma L'Amour, 4015 St-Laurent
doors 11pm, show 12am
Tickets 12$ av/ 15$ door

Pop Montreal and Tee Pee Records present:
Quest for Fire + Burning Love + Naam + ELKS
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Le Divan Orange, 4234 Saint-Laurent blvd
doors 9pm, show 10pm
Tickets 10$ av/ 12$ door

Pop Montreal and Passovah present:
Miracle Fortress + Gobble Gobble + Mozart's Sister + Cotton Mouth + Cousins + DJ Thomas Carlo Promise
Friday, September 23, 2011
Mission Santa Cruz, 60 Rachel West
doors 7pm, show 8pm
Tickets 12$ av/ 15$ door

POP Montreal and Blue Skies Turn Black present:
Dirty Beaches + Frankie Rose + guests
Friday, September 23, 2011
Il Motore, 179 Jean-Talon West
doors 9pm, show 10pm
Tickets 11$ av/ 13$ door

POP Montreal, Out of This Spark and Rempire present:
Oh Bijou + Forest City Lovers + Evening Hymns + Snowblink + Tasseomancy
Friday. September 23, 2011
O Patro Vys, 356 Mont-Royal East
doors 8:30pm, show 9:30pm
Tickets 12$ av/ 15$ door

POP Montreal presents
Philémon Chante + Lindi Ortega + Charlotte Cornfield
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Ukrainian Federation, 5213 Hutchison
doors 7pm, show 8pm
Tickets 15$ av/ 17$ door

POP Montreal and ELAN present:
"THE SEASON", a Musical by Socalled
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Théâtre Outremont, 1248 Bernard West
doors 7:30pm, show 8:30pm
Tickets 20$ available on admission.com

POP Montreal and evenko/Greenland present:
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks + guests
Friday, September 23, 2011
Corona Theatre, 2490 Notre-Dame East
doors 7pm, show 8pm
Tickets 25.50$ av/ 27.15$ door

Neon & Highfood and POP Montreal present:
"Peter Hook & The Light perform Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures"
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Club Soda, 1225 St-Laurent blvd
doors 7pm, show 8pm
Tickets 30$ av/ 35$ door

Pop Montreal and Tee Pee Records present:
Quest for Fire + Burning Love + Naam + ELKS
Thursday, september 22 2011
Le Divan Orange, 4234 St-Laurent blvd
doors 9pm, show 10pm
Tickets 10$ av/ 12$ door

Pop Montreal et Passovah présentent :
Miracle Fortress + Gobble Gobble + Mozart's Sister + Cotton Mouth + Cousins + DJ Thomas Carlo Promise
Friday, September 23, 2011
Mission Santa Cruz, 60 Rachel West
doors 7pm, show 8pm
Tickets 12$ av/ 15$ door

POP Montreal presents:
Jean Leloup & The Last Assassins + guests - ALBUM LAUNCH!!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Rialto Theatre, 5723 Parc ave
doors 8pm, show 9pm
Tickets 49$

POP Montreal and evenko/Greenland present:
Girls + guests
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Corona Theatre, 2490 Notre-Dame West
doors 7pm, show 8pm
Tickets 18$ av/ 23.15$ door

POP Montreal presents:
REDD KROSS + Les Breastfeeders
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Rialto Theatre, 5723 Parc ave
doors 8pm, show 9pm
Tickets 20$ av/ 22$ door

POP Montreal presents:
Marie-Jo Thério’s "Laboratoire" + guests
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Ukrainian Federation, 5213 Hutchison
doors 7pm, show 8pm
Tickets 20$ av/ 24$ door

POP Montreal and evenko present:
YUCK + guests
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Cabaret du Mile End, 5240 Parc ave
doors 8:30pm, show 9:30pm
Tickets 18$ av/ 20$ door

POP Montreal presents:
The Raincoats + guests
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Cabaret du Mile End, 5240 Parc ave
doors 8pm, show 9pm
Tickets 25$

POP Montreal presents:
The Ponderosa Stomp Revue
w/ The Velvelettes + Ralph Soul Jackson + Lil' Buck & The Buckaroos + Bobby Allen
Friday, September 23, 2011
Cabaret du Mile End, 5240 Parc ave
doors 8:30pm, show 9:30pm
Tickets 30$ av/ 35$ porte

POP Montreal and Neon & Highfood present:
Hippos in Tanks showcase
w/ Ford & Lopatin + D'eon + CFCF
Saturday, September 24, 2011
SAT, 1220 St-Laurent blvd
doors 8pm, show 9pm
Tickets 14$ av/ 16$ door

POP Montreal and Blue Skies Turn Black present:
Liam Finn + Marques Toliver + guests
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
O Patro Vys, 356 Mont-Royal East
doors 8pm, show 9pm
Tickets 15$

POP Montreal and Blue Skies Turn Black present:
Liturgy + CAVE + PC Worship
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Il Motore, 179 Jean-Talon West
doors 8pm, show 9pm
Tickets 12$ av/ 15$ door

Rubblebucket 2011 Summer/Fall U.S. Tour!

Brooklyn-based art-pop band Rubblebucket is heading out on an expansive summer/fall tour. Hitting New York, Los Angeles, SF, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Portland, Atlanta and a series of other cities, the eight-piece art pop group is happy to take their infectious, genre spanning music out on the road.

In honor of the new tour, Rubblebucket is happy to announce Paste Magazine’s premiere of the band’s latest single, “Came Out of a Lady.” Listen to the track HERE. Writing on the site, Paste noted that “As one of the LP’s standouts, “Came Out of a Lady’s” hilarious lyrics perfectly showcase Traver’s buttery vocals, while allowing for the group’s soulful instrumentation to highlight the song’s silly tone.” In conjunction, the band has also premiered their latest video for their “L’homme” with Consequence of Sound this morning. Watch the video HERE and read CoS’ premiere HERE.

2011 has been a breakout year for Rubblebucket. Releasing Omega La La this summer, Rubblebucket has earned praise from across the spectrum, with critics at Paste MagazineBlurt, Stereogum, and more hailing the band as one of most promising up-and-coming bands in the U.S. Some critics have even gone as far as labeling the band’s upbeat, multifaceted sound “Yes Wave,” in opposition to the nihilistic, late-70s New York genre. Recorded last year at Plantain/DFA Studios with Producer Eric Broucek (LCD Soundsystem, Cut Copy, Hercules and Love Affair) at the helm, Omega La la is the Brooklyn eight piece’s most adventurous record yet, with the band dipping into everything from the dancey indie-pop arrangements to Fela-Kuti inspired afro-beat stomps.

For Rubblebucket, it’s been a long journey to make Omega La La. Led by the musical couple of bandleader/trumpeter Alex Toth and frontwoman Kalmia Traver, Rubblebucket has spent the last four years building a reputation as a band that blurs the lines between psychedelic indie rock, upbeat dance, and radiant, left-field arrangements. In 2009, Rubblebucket released a self-titled album that turned heads. SPIN hailed the band as a "must-hear artist from the CMJ Festival” in 2009 and the band won that year’s Boston Music Award for Live Act of the Year.  The band then relocated to Brooklyn and released the Triangular Daises EP in 2010. A stylistic precursor to Omega La La, the Triangular Daises EP was hailed by The Wall Street Journal, NYLON, Paste, and a host of others.

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Rubblebucket Summer/Fall Tour Dates:
08/13: Burlington, VT @ Grand Point North
08/18: Stephentown, NY @ Bella Terra
08/19: Brooklyn, NY  @ Brooklyn Bowl * 
08/20: Sheldon, VT @ Liberate Festival
09/03: Chicago, IL @ North Coast Festival
09/04: Mohawk, NY @ Moe.Down
09/10: Peru, NY @ Backwoods Pondfest
09/30: Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
10/01: Syracuse, NY @ The Westcott Theater
10/05: Philadelphia, PA @ The Blockley
10/06: Baltimore, MD @ Sound Stage
10/08: Roseland, VA @ The Festy
10/10: Lexington, KY @ Cosmic Charlie's
10/13: Urbana, IL @ The Canopy Club
10/14: Chicago, IL @ Double Door
10/15: Grand Rapids, MI @ Founders
10/16: Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
10/17: Iowa City, IA @ Gabe's Oasis
10/18: St. Louis, MO @ The Old Rock House **
10/21: Denver, CO @ Cervantes' Other Side
10/23: Aspen, CO @ Belly Up
10/25: Salt Lake City - UT @ Kilby Court
10/27: Seattle, WA @ Crocodile, Cafe
10/29: Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
11/02: San Francisco, CA @ TBA
11/04: Los Angeles, CA @ TBA
11/05: San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
11/06: Flagstaff, AZ @ Green Room
11/08: Austin TX @ Beauty Bar
11/10: Mobile, AL @ Alabama Music Box
11/11: Live Oak, FL @ Bear Creek Music & Arts Fest
11/12: Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn

* Janka Nabay & Diamond Doves support
** Trombone Shorty co-headline

Jonathan Coulton Set to Release Artificial Heart

Jonathan Coulton speaks to the outcast in all of us, in the voices of characters we know from our own sad little lives. Some of them may be monsters - mad scientists, giant squids, zombies - but his talent is in turning offbeat subjects into deliciously hooky pop songs that move us in surprisingly personal ways.

His upcoming album, Artificial Heart, produced by John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants, is due out this Fall. It's a new direction for Coulton - he leaves behind the home recording gear for a studio filled with talented musicians and guest vocalists including Suzanne Vega, John Roderick of The Long Winters and Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara.

The album opens with “Sticking to Myself”, a blistering, high-energy song about finding success, and then tearing it all down. “Nemeses” is a duet between Coulton and The Long Winters’ John Roderick that suggests the only real way to bring meaning into your life is to find your own worst enemy. “Good Morning Tucson” is a highly singable pop song about an aging morning news anchor who one day finally loses it. The album’s title track, “Artificial Heart," has a bouncy, joyful melody that can't quite mask the feeling that drastic measures are sometimes worse than the problems they are trying to solve.

Artificial Heart is Jonathan Coulton’s first album of all new material since his infamous 2006 “Thing A Week” series, during which he created 52 musical pieces in 52 weeks. It's a strong addition to an already impressive discography that spans a decade. His song “Still Alive” is the closing soundtrack to the video game “Portal," and was awarded “Best Original Vocal Pop Song” in 2008 by the Game Audio Network Guild. This year, Coulton was asked back to write “Want You Gone," a song for Portal’s long awaited sequel.

Nashville's Coolest Cat Kenny Vaughan to release V - 9/13

Sugar Hill Records is proud to announce the September 13th release of V, the long-awaited solo debut from Nashville’s not-so-secret weapon: Kenny Vaughan. Since first arriving in Music City in the late ‘80s from his home state of Colorado, Vaughan quickly set himself apart as a different breed of guitar-slinger—technically assured and, more importantly, armed with a deeply felt reverence for a wide range of musical traditions encompassing vintage country, classic pop, hard bop, and beyond. The ten tracks that comprise V dip toes in all of these waters, forming a handy crash course in the trademark wit, flash, and unfailing musicality that has kept Kenny Vaughan so in-demand for the past quarter-century.

Starting in 2001, Vaughan has been a member of Marty Stuart’s Fabulous Superlatives, a multi-faceted outfit capable of delivering anything from rollicking bluegrass to classic honky tonk to simmering gospel soul. Aside from one track featuring Vaughan’s Nashville-based organ trio, the Fabulous Superlatives back him throughout V, which opens with the show-stopping Superlatives rave-up “Country Music Got a Hold On Me” and continues through an eclectic program that touches upon western swing (“Hot Like That”), evocative low-twanging instrumentals (“Minuit Sur La Plage,” “Mysterium”), Rockpile-inflected country-pop (“Things I Do”), and even a bit of gutbucket swamp-funk featuring the Oak Ridge Boys (“Okolona, Tennessee”), before concluding with a righteous gospel shuffle, “Don’t Leave Home Without Jesus.”

Recipient of the 2006 Instrumentalist of the Year award from the Americana Music Association, Vaughan is one of the most prominent guitarists of today’s ongoing roots music renaissance. An early pupil of fellow Coloradoan (and fellow eclectic roots alchemist) Bill Frisell, Vaughan has since performed and recorded with an array acclaimed artists, including Lucinda Williams, Kim Richey, Rodney Crowell, Tim O’Brien, Jim Lauderdale, Elizabeth Cook, Greg Garing, and too many more to list. Equally comfortable on stage or in the studio, Vaughan can be relied upon for hot, twitchy country leads, bittersweet melodic jangle, and everything in between—all dispatched with the utmost taste and subtlety.

And, as V so aptly demonstrates, Kenny Vaughan is no slouch as a frontman, either. His songs and singing are charmingly conversational, with no shortage of memorable hooks and clever verbal volleys. His cohorts in the Fabulous Superlatives (including bossman Marty Stuart on guitar and mandolin) offer honest, road-tightened support that is honest and heartfelt. Sterling confirmation of the potential implied by each sideman gig, session, and walk-on, V may have been a little too long in arriving…but, after all, Kenny’s a busy guy.

ANR Get Remixed by Memory Tapes, Release Stay Kids Deluxe Edition

Miami duo ANR will release the deluxe edition of their post-apocalyptic pop album Stay Kids on September 13th through 10K Islands. In the meantime the prolific group will be releasing videos, remixes, and other goodies. Most recently, they enlisted Memory Tapes to remix “Stay Kids,” their blissed-out, nostalgic anthem about growing older. Click HERE to stream/download Memory Tapes’ take on the track, and click HERE to watch the video for ANR’s original version of the song.

ANR consists of merely two members – Brian Robertson (Keys, Vocals) and Michael-John Hanock (Vocals, Drums) – but they create a powerful sound filled with layered melodies and bountiful hooks. It has already earned the duo praise from RCRD LBL, The Fader, and Nylon, among others, and have landed them shows with bands like Animal Collective, Neon Indian, No Age, and Fucked Up.

Stay Kids is a rhythmically propulsive, psychedelic trip that was inspired largely by recent floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, and other environmental disasters. Much of the album’s lyrics meditate on how such ‘natural’ disasters affect individuals and humanity at large. However, sonically-speaking the album is by no means morose. Instead, the synth-heavy and often danceable material feels triumphant. Each song is a journey through carefully sculpted, dream-pop soundscapes with frequent, unexpected and exciting detours

ANR’s live show highlights a different aspect of the band, bringing out their punk influences as well as their penchant for German progressive acts of the 70’s. The group will tour throughout the US this Fall, with dates to be announced soon.

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Click HERE to Watch the Video for “Stay Kids”

Click HERE for Memory Tapes’ Remix of “Stay Kids”

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Tour Dates:

8/29: Philadelphia, PA Kung-Fu Necktie
8/30: New York, NY Milk Studios
8/31: New York, NY Mercury Lounge
9/1: Boston, MA Brighton Music Hall
9/2: Montreal, QC Casa Del Popolo
9/3: Toronto, ONT The Drake
9/5: Detroit, MI Lager House
9/6: Grand Rapids, MI Pyramid Scheme
9/7: Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
9/9: Urbana, IL Canopy Club
9/10: Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry
9/12: Seattle, WA Crocodile Lounge
9/13: Portland, OR Doug Fir
9/15: San Francisco, CA Bottom Of The Hill
9/16: Fresno, CA Audie’s Olympic
9/17: Los Angeles, CA The Satellite
9/20: San Diego, CA Soda Bar

AgesandAges | Bluebird Theater | 7/20/11

AgesandAges have been described as “big tent revivalists.” Some lump them into the cult category, alongside Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, as they have a sev