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Blackberry Smoke to Shoot Live DVD at Re-opening of Georgia Theatre

Critically acclaimed band Blackberry Smoke will perform August 5, 2011 during the 14 day Grand Re-opening of the famous Georgia Theatre in Athens, GA . The Southern rock group will film the concert for fans that have not yet experienced the thrill of Blackberry Smoke live. The eighteen and up show will be a ninety minute full throttle ride with Nic Cowan opening and appearances by other special guests . This monumental performance is one stop on the group's rigorous summer tour schedule where they not only open for the Zac Brown Band but recently signed to Zac’s new label, Southern Ground Artists.  To purchase tickets for this event please visit: www.georgiatheatre.com/calendar1.html

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About Blackberry Smoke:

Atlanta-based Blackberry Smoke continues to grow into the premiere Southern Rock band of America. Over the last two years the band has shared the stage with kindred spirits ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Shooter Jennings, Cross Canadian Ragweed and continue tour as the opening act on the Zac Brown Band’s summer tour. The band is currently recording their highly anticipated third studio album under Southern Ground Artists where they will bring their signature sound forward with tracks reminiscent of Marshall Tucker Band and Allman Brothers. For more information about Blackberry Smoke please visit www.blackberrysmoke.com

About Georgia Theatre

While Orvold and Greene worked to preserve the setup and overall feel of the original Theatre, they also welcomed the opportunity to make numerous improvements including building a larger stage, adding a third viewing level, bigger dressing rooms and bathrooms, and upping its capacity to hold over 1000 guests. Patrons will be greeted by the original marquee and brick walls and may also spot an impressive support beam that withstood the fire. The enhanced venue also features reclaimed wood from the original venue that will be used for the bars and as decorative pieces throughout the building. Old breaker boxes that no longer work and part of a historic underground coal tunnel will be in public view in the basement. The new building was also designed in a way that the duo coined, industrial deco, creating a modern feel with industrial elements and sweeping curves.

Jam Stampede @ Brooklyn Bowl w/ Mark & Kenny

The Jam Stampede will perform at their ongoing Dead Center event at Brooklyn Bowl on April 19, 2011. We were too excited to wait another day until 4/20 for this show so we are performing on 4/19.

For the first time Mark Karan (Jemimah Puddleduck, Ratdog) will be joining us for the festivities and Kenny Brooks (Alphabet Soup, Ratdog) will join us again after having such a good time last October.

With the help of our good friends Mark and Kenny we will again revisit some of the Grateful Dead lore and explore some new ground with the tunes through the expression of these two great instrumentalists who played together in RatDog and have put their own historic stamp on the music.

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Brooklyn Bowl

61 Wythe Avenue

Brooklyn, NU

4/19/2011 @ 8PM

Rubber Soulive Tour Kicks Off This Weekend

Soulive has announced U.S. tour dates for the remainder of 2010 in support of their ninth studio album, Rubber Soulive. The 27-show run kicks off this weekend with a New York City hometown blow out dubbed The Royal Family Ball at Terminal 5, featuring special guests John Scofield, Talib Kweli, Christian Scott, Big Sam and Maurice Brown, as well as Royal Family crew Nigel Hall, Lettuce and The Shady Horns. Other highlights include festival appearances at Bear Creek Festival and Clearwater Jazz Festival, stops throughout the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest and West Coast and a handful of two-night stands, including Port City Music Hall in Portland, Higher Ground in Burlington, The Independent in San Francisco, Cervante's in Denver and a New Year's Eve celebration at Paradise in Boston.

The Brooklyn-based soul-funk trio just released Rubber Soulive, a tribute to The Beatles, which went to no. 1 on the iTunes jazz chart. The 11-track collection features Soulive's inimitable interpretations of Fab Four classics like "In My Life," "Eleanor Rigby" and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)." The band cut the album at their recording facility, Playonbrother Studios, and will release the effort through their own label, Royal Family Records. After a series of albums on major labels that experimented with guest vocalists, DJs and horn sections, Rubber Soulive signals a return to the band's roots with founding members Eric Krasno, Neal Evans and Alan Evans front and center and all operations under their own roof.

In early reviews of Rubber Soulive, All Music Guide declared "Like the Liverpool lads who intuitively meshed together, Soulive's members interlock to yield results greater than the sum of its parts on this successful tribute that combines the Beatles sense of excitement, imagination and musical exploration with a funky, down home, R&B/jazz groove." While Something Else blog wrote, "In bringing back some of the great tunes of The Beatles, Soulive brought themselves back to their no-frills, greasy early days when they were busting their collective tails to make a name for themselves."

Soulive's upcoming fall tour dates are:

October 1 | Maritime Magic | Baltimore, MD
October 2 | Terminal 5 | New York, NY
October 7 | Northern Lights | Albany, NY
October 8 | Port City Music Hall | Portland, ME
October 9 | Port City Music Hall | Portland, ME
October 16 | Clearwater Jazz Festival | Clearwater, FL
October 29 | Higher Ground | Burlington, VT
October 30 | Higher Ground | Burlington, VT
November 4 | The Rex | Pittsburgh, PA
November 5 | The State Theater | Falls Church, VA
November 6 | World Cafe Live | Philadelphia, PA
November 7 | Capital Ale House | Richmond, VA
November 8 | Pisgah | Asheville, NC
November 9 | The Poor House | Charleston, SC
November 10 | Neighborhood Theater | Charlotte, NC
November 11 | Masquerade | Atlanta, GA
November 13 | Bear Creek Music & Art Festival | Live Oak, FL
November 19 | Double Door | Chicago, IL
November 20 | Orpheum Theater | Madison, WI
December 10 | The Independent | San Francisco, CA *w/ special guest Karl Denson
December 11 | The Independent | San Francisco, CA *w/ special guest Karl Denson
December 12 | Humbolt Brews | Arcata, CA *w/ special guest Karl Denson
December 14 | Harlow's | Sacramento, CA
December 15 | Moe's Alley | Santa Cruz, CA
December 16 | The Roxy | Los Angeles, CA
December 17 | Cervante's Masterpiece Ballroom | Denver, CO
December 18 | Cervante's Masterpiece Ballroom | Denver, CO
December 30 | Paradise | Boston, MA
December 31 | Paradise | Boston, MA

An Evening with Hapa @ Boulder Theater

Like the Hawaiian Islands themselves, Hapa's Pan-Polynesian music is an amalgam of influences ranging from ancient genealogical chants to the strummed ballads of Portuguese fisherman, Spanish cowboys, and the inspired melodies and harmonies of the traditional church choirs of the early missionaries. Add to this a dose of American acoustic folk/rock, and you have what has been described as the “most exciting and beautiful contemporary Hawaiian music the world knows!”… (Maui Times).

These disparate ingredients blended together musically in the Pacific emotes the unique flavor of what Hawaii and Hapa music is: “beautiful, fragile, spiritual, powerful”… (L.A. Times). Often encapsulated as the “Sound of Maui”, HAPA’s music evokes a place that many people at different times have referred to as heavenly. Hapa’s self entitled debut cd released in 1993, swept the 1994 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards (Hawaii’s equivalent of the Grammy’s), becoming the biggest selling CD by a group or duo in the history of recorded Hawaiian music. The group’s ground breaking music has established them as the most recognized name in Hawaiian music internationally since their debut release, with sold-out shows from Tokyo to New York.

AN EVENING WITH HAPA | Wednesday July 7

Tickets will be on sale through the Boulder Theater box office
Internet 24-7 at www.bouldertheater.com
Phone: During box office hours 303-786-7030

Toots & The Maytals Release New Album, US Tour & MP3!

Reggae legends Toots and The Maytals are happy to announce the release of the band’s latest record Flip & Twist, released today digitally and in stores May 18. In honor of today’s national holiday, Toots is releasing a special, 4/20-themed limited edition package, which includes a joint-shaped USB drive loaded with Flip & Twist, a Toots Stash Box, the physical CD of the album, and a variety of other gifts. The package is available via the band’s website along with digital copies of the album. Lucky fans will also be able to purchase a limited special bundle for $500 that includes a dinner and private acoustic performance by Toots on May 17.

For a taste of what the full album holds, the band is offering a FREE MP3 download of the song “Perfect Lover” available for download HERE.

One of reggae’s founding fathers, Toots Hibbert has been one of the leading figures for over four decades. Rising to prominence in the ’60s alongside greats like Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, Toots’ soulful voice has earned him comparisons to Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and Wilson Pickett making him one of the most respected and versatile artists in these genres. And on Flip & Twist, Toots delves into his soul and R&B influences, creating a record that’s as much Kingston, Jamaica as it is 1960s Detroit. The album’s opener “Almighty Way,” is a modern day gospel-soul classic. “Fool For You” finds Toots at his most vulnerable, creating a soulful ballad a la The Four Tops. Toots also tackles Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground,” turning the song into a contemporary reggae classic. And on “Jungle” and “Maybe Yow” Toots delves into dance music, building catchy melodies catchy hip-hop beats.

This Spring, don’t miss Toots & The Maytals as they tour the US this Spring, and keep an eye out for the band’s upcoming videos!

Toots & The Maytals Spring Tour:

04/29: Orlando, FL @ The Plaza Theatre
04/30: New Port Richey, FL @ Bourbon Street Night Club
05/01: New Orleans, LA @ House Of Blues
05/02: Houston, TX @ House Of Blues
05/02: Houston, TX @ House Of Blues
05/04: Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues
05/05: Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
05/06: Santa Fe, NM @ Brewery
05/07: Fort Collins, CO @ Aggie Theatre
05/08: Colorado Springs, CO @ Colorado College
05/09: Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
05/11: Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
05/12: Flagstaff, AZ @ Orpheum Theater
05/13: San Diego, CA @ SoundWave
05/14: Las Vegas, NV @ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino - Outdoor Pool
05/15: Hermosa Beach, CA @ Saint Rocke
05/16: West Hollywood, CA @ Key Club
05/18: San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
05/19: Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre
05/20: Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
05/21: Seattle, WA @ Showbox At The Market
05/22: Missoula, MT @ Wilma Theater
05/23: Billings, MT @
05/25: Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
05/26: Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
05/27: Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
05/28: Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
05/29: Niagara Falls, NY @ Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel - The Bear’s Den
05/30: Boston, MA @ House of Blues
05/31: South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground - Ballroom
06/02: New York, NY @ B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
06/03: Amagansett, NY @ The Stephen Talkhouse
06/04: Hunter Mountain, NY @ Hunter Mountain
06/05: Hyannis, MA @ Cape Cod Melody Tent

FloydFest 9: Breaking Ground

As is tradition, FloydFest makes deeply discounted tickets (up to 40% off regular gate price) available to their patrons during the month of December. As most returning patrons know, the Holiday season is the best time to purchase festival admission tickets and secure the coveted on-site parking spots. Promoters report ticket sales are up an impressive 65% over last year. The On-site RV parking spots sold out in a record 72 hours since on-sale date. All is not lost for folks wishing to camp in style, as the off-site RV spots, as well as VIP and Souvenir are still available. For those who prefer the comfort of a crisp hotel bed, FloydFest is teaming up with select local lodging partners to offer hotel packages especially for festival patrons - more details can be found on ticketing and lodging pages of the festival website at www.floydfest.com.

FloydFest ‘hurricaned’ onto the music scene, quite literally as those select few thousand folks who were there remember, back in September of 2002 with a goal to provide a unique, safe, family friendly, uplifting experience for music and outdoors lovers of all ages and tastes. “At the time”, recalls Svetlana Nikic VP of Communications for the event, “there were Bluegrass Festivals, there were Rock Festivals, World Music /Reggae Festivals, and there were Jam Festivals… but as hard as I looked at that time, I could not find one that appealed to an audience with an eclectic taste… until FloydFest”.

The beauty and serenity of the FloydFest venue, an 80 acre wooded plateau adjoining the Blue Ridge Parkway, is another draw for the thousands of fans and their families visiting each year. The Blue Cow Pavilion, carefully nurtured and groomed by promoters at Across-the-Way Productions, and their partners Dreaming Creek Timber Frame and Streamline Timber Frames, boasts 7 unique stages, natural amphitheatres, pristine wooded camping, unique landscaping, abounding fresh air and thousands of memories and stories of those who came and left their mark, and their dancing footprints. FloydFest is where friends and families are reunited, where children have their first camping experiences, where new friendships are sparked, new music discovered, and for some lucky festivarians, new love found.

For FloydFest it has always been about more than just music. But like the invisible string, music ties the experience for all. This year’s preliminary lineup again spans genres and generations, including some old favorites and lots of emerging talent. At the helm of the line-up is, well, quite appropriately, The Levon Helm Band, featuring that iconic drummer, song-writer and frequent vocalist from legendary The Band. Also on the bill are the hard-hitting Australian Urban Roots band Blue King Brown, funk masters Soulive, as well as Eric Krasno & Chapter2,  the uniquely percussive Konono No 1, Alaska-based Bearfoot bringing their own unique style of Americana, Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba, a West African lute virtuoso, and Cornmeal, an energetic alt-Bluegrass band recently taking that scene by storm.  Renowned for its uniquely varied artist roster, the 2010 event will also feature Joe Pug, The Low Anthem, Pimps of Joytime, Mountain Heart, the Wiyos, Soulhound, the Two Gentlemen Band, Holy Ghost Tent Revival, Boulder Acoustic Society, and last year’s Under the Radar Series winner, The Mantras.

The Under-the-Radar (UtR) Series was an inspired addition to recent FloydFests, and grants stage time to lesser known but often impressively talented up-and-coming performers. The UtR series gives audience members the opportunity to vote, at the end of the festival, on their favorite performing UtR band, with the winner receiving a main stage slot at the following year’s event. In addition to last year’s winning act, the 2008 UtR winner, William Walter & Company, will also return to FloydFest this year.  As a special gift, ALL early purchasers, patrons who get their tickets by December 31st, will receive nine FREE mp3 downloads featuring Under-the-Radar performers Diane Durrett, Ralph Roddenbery Band, Electric Codpiece, The Atkinsons, Jason SpoonerLefty Williams Band, Funkuponya, Lingo, and Pedro Arevalo.

FloydFest will take place on July 22-25 2010 at mile post 170.5 on the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway in Floyd County, VA. For tickets and more information visit www.floydfest.com

GOV. RITTER HELPS BREAK GROUND ON 2 VESTAS PLANTS; 1,350 NEW JOBS

Gov. Bill Ritter today joined Vestas executives, the crown prince and princess of Denmark and local leaders at a ground-breaking ceremony for two Vestas manufacturing facilities here that will create 1,350 new jobs.

“Today marks the third straight day of new-job announcements this week, resulting in 1,650 new jobs for Colorado,” Gov. Ritter said. “Vestas was one of Colorado’s earliest visionaries and pioneers in our New Energy Economy. Thank you, Vestas, for helping to lead Colorado forward and for working with us to develop a sustainable energy future and a sustainable economic future.”

The Brighton factories will be part of the significant manufacturing and research base Vestas – the Denmark-based wind system manufacturer – is establishing in the United States. One of the Brighton plants will produce giant wind blades and the other will make nacelle assemblies.

Vestas is spending about $290 million to build the two facilities, which will produce 1,800 blades and 1,400 nacelles a year. Brighton also will be home to a technology and production engineering office as well as a division of the Vestas Business Academy for employee training and development.

Vestas currently operates a wind blade manufacturing plant in Windsor and is building the world’s largest wind tower manufacturing facility in Pueblo. When all four plants are fully operational by the end of 2010, they will employ nearly 2,500 Coloradans.

Other job announcements Gov. Ritter took part in this week:

·         Monday: The Water Company of Pueblo, a high-tech water-purification company, announced it is moving into a bigger facility and adding more than 100 jobs.

·         Tuesday:  Ribbon-cutting and grand opening of Ascent Solar’s new world headquarters and manufacturing facility in Thornton, which will result in 200 new jobs over the next couple of years

The Duo | W.E.S.T. | The Higher Ground | 10.16.08

In 2002, I remember walking down the street that lead to the back of one of the smaller stages at the High Sierra Music Festival late one afternoon and being amazed by the sheet of sound that was slowly encompassing me with every step forward.

Mason Jennings & Zach Gill | The Higher Ground | Burlington, VT

I have to admit, I like to take an angle when I write. Often times, I will have a phrase or concept thought out, which may be developed into an introduction, even before I go to see a band. How can that be, you may be asking. Well, most of the bands I review I have seen before and I can figure out what to expect. But, last Sunday night's show left me dumbfounded.

Sonya Kitchell with The Slip | The Higher Ground | 9.25.08

"The show is tonight, not tomorrow." A statement like this one can upend your day and, for me, it did. Mere inches away from walking onto the ferry that would take me back to New York; I fielded a call from my incredibly observant wife.