New recordings by the country music legend Connie Smith, long acclaimed as one of the greatest singers in the history of the genre have been as rare as the voice and knowing singing she brings to them.  Long Line of Heartaches, her first full album of new material since 1998 (and only her second since 1978) is an event in the making. That’s not just for the rarity, or because her legions of fans have so long awaited this news, but because in its range of undiluted traditional country moods, themes, rhythms and sound, this new Sugar Hill release is simply, unmistakably a new Connie Smith masterpiece, offering the pleasures of the very best that saw release during her remarkable run of recordings during the 1960s and ‘70s.

“And that,” she says. “is exactly what I wanted to accomplish.  I’ve had people ask me what this album was going to be like, since it’s been a long time since they’ve heard me on record, but my musical tastes have remained the same. I wanted this to be traditional country, and it is.”

“One of the reasons that I wanted to do this recording, and it’s a personal reason, is that I have such a deep love for traditional country music. We can talk about the music slipping away, or we can do something about it.  The only way I know to do something about it is to keep singing what I’ve always loved.”

San Diego based, award-winning reggae band Tribal Seeds announced today the dates for their upcoming fall 2011 tour.  The shows will span over 25 dates in two months, kicking off in Tucson, Arizona at The Rock on October 12, 2011.  Tribal Seeds have become known for their spiritually driven, refreshing rock vibe, that they have intertwined with the roots style of reggae music.

Of the tour, the band shares, “We look forward to bringing a new show with songs from our latest EP ‘Soundwaves’ and new twists to some of our older fan favorite songs. Fans might get sneak peak of some brand new unreleased stuff as well! Have to come out and see for yourself!”

On July 19, 2011, Tribal Seeds gave listeners a brand new EP entitled “Soundwaves,” which peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Reggae Charts. Their previous efforts,  their debut, self titled album, “Tribal Seeds” was released in 2008, and their second album “The Harvest” was released in June of 2009. iTunes named both albums the “Best Of” in the Reggae genre, for their respected years. Their debut album helped garner them the “Best World Music” title at the San Diego Music Awards in 2008, and “The Harvest,” which contained fourteen new and original songs, debuted at the number 5 spot on the Billboard Reggae Charts.

Tribal Seeds have toured throughout the United States, and have also performed in Mexico, Guam, Aruba, and Hawaii. They have shared the stage with artists such as Matisyahu, MGMT, Cee Lo Green, Jason Mraz, Sublime with Rome, Taking Back Sunday, O.A.R., Pretty Lights, Pepper, Collie Buddz, The Wailers, Stephen Marley, Gregory Isaacs, SOJA, Rebelution, and many more.

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Queen will be named BMI Icons at the organization’s annual London Awards. The ceremony is slated for Tuesday, October 4 at London’s Dorchester Hotel, Park Lane.

BMI honors songwriters who have had “a unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers” as Icons. Queen’s Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon join a list of past honorees that includes 2010 recipient Don Black, Van Morrison, Donovan, the Bee Gees, James Brown, Willie Nelson, and more.

Outsized. Operatic. Magisterial. Queen defined a new type of rock superstardom. Vocalist Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bassist John Deacon delivered drama, precision and, perhaps most of all, timeless songs. There are numerous BMI Awards between the four members, who are all songwriters with contributions to Queen’s repertoire, and consequently, the world’s collective pop culture. Mercury penned “We Are the Champions,” “Somebody to Love” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”; May composed “We Will Rock You” and “Fat Bottomed Girls”; Deacon wrote “Another One Bites the Dust”; and along with friend David Bowie, they all came together to write “Under Pressure.” Queen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2003, they became the first band ever to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame as a group rather than as individuals. The U.K. Music Hall of Fame welcomed Queen in 2004, while “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions” have both been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Freddie Mercury died of AIDS in 1991; the following year, remaining members orchestrated the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness, and the Mercury Phoenix Trust (MPT) was established. To date, MPT has donated more than $15 million to the fight against AIDS around the world.

BMI represents the songs mentioned above and many others from Queen’s legendary catalog in the U.S. The quartet are all members of British performing right society PRS for Music.

Beirut’s The Rip Tide is out August 30 on Zach Condon’s very own Pompeii Records. Few predicted the inward journey Beirut leader, Zach Condon, would achieve on The Rip Tide, an album with the most introspective and memorable songs of his young career. With songs that speak of love, friendship, isolation, and community, touching on universal human themes that are less fabricated stories than impressions of life at a quarter century of age, the album exposes a depth of honesty that outstrips the simplified nomadic troubadour image of his past. Songs are no longer about imagining places you haven’t been; they’re about places of which we are all extremely familiar, perhaps too familiar. This dramatic shift expands Beirut’s palate as Condon has coated serious lyrics with his greatest tunes ever. The second track, “Santa Fe,” is the best pop song he has yet written, a jumpy ode to the town of his youth, and an early sign that The Rip Tide is all about the staycation.

Listen to The Rip Tide in its entirety now at NPR Music, and share “Santa Fe” stream.

STREAM BEIRUT’S THE RIP TIDE   | “SANTA FE”

The physical release of the album will be available in three formats in the US:

LIMITED Edition Deluxe CD - Available primarily at independent record shops and directly from the band, this package will come in a book styled format, entirely cloth bound setting off the gold foil stamping.

LIMITED Edition Deluxe LP - Beautifully clothbound - as per the deluxe CD with gold foil stamped lettering. The LP will also come with a collectable postcard designed by Perrin Cloutier of the band and MP3 download code.

Standard CD DIGIPAK - In a book style format w/gold foil stamped lettering.

As previously announced, Beirut will be touring in support of The Rip Tide. Joining Zach Condon (ukulele, trumpet, piano, vocals) on the road is Perrin Cloutier (accordion, piano), Paul Collins (electric bass, upright bass), Ben Lanz (trombone, piano, tuba), Nick Petree (drums), and Kelly Pratt (trumpet, euphonium).

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BEIRUT TOUR DATES

Wed. Aug. 10 -- Vancouver, BC @ Commodore

Fri. Aug. 12 -- Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom

Sun. Aug. 14 -- San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands

Fri. Sep. 2 -- Dorset, UK @ End of Road Festival

Sun. Sep. 4 -- Stradbally, Ireland @ Electric Picnic

Tue. Sep. 6 -- Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy

Thu. Sep. 8 -- Amsterdamn, Netherlands @ Paradiso

Mon. Sep. 12 -- Paris, France @ Olympia

Wed. Sep. 14 -- Brussels, Belgium @ AB

Fri. Sep. 16 -- London, UK @ Brixton Academy

Wed. Sep. 21 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5

Thu. Sep. 22 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5

Mon. Sep. 26 -- Chicago, IL @ Congress Theater

Wed. Sep. 28 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium

Sat. Oct. 1 Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater - DNA

Tue. Oct. 4 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre

Fri. Oct. 7 -- Santa Fe, NM @ Santa Fe Community Convention Center

Sun. Oct. 9 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant

Tue. Oct. 11 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Hall

Tue. Oct. 25 – Richmond, VA @ The National

Thu. Oct. 27 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse

Sat. Oct. 29 – Austin, TX @ Stubbs Waller Creek

Fri. Nov. 4 -- Mexico City, Mexico @ Salon Vive Cuervo

Sat. Nov. 5 -- Mexico City, Mexico @ Salon Vive Cuervo

Wed. Nov. 9 -- Lexington, KY @ The Kentucky Theater

Fri. Nov. 11 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogarts

Sun. Nov. 13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory

Suzy Bogguss had a revelation on stage with Garrison Keillor in 2008. Everyone loves to sing along on “Red River Valley” – except the children who somehow don't know the song. Folk songs are the scrapbook of the American experience, but as music education fades from our public schools, she worried; these beautiful melodies are in danger of being overlooked. She resolved to record these timeless songs in an updated but reverent way – so that everyone can sing along on “Red River Valley.”

And who better than the golden throated Suzy? The platinum selling songstress already has a full bookshelf of Grammy and CMA awards and now with the release of American Folk Songbook she can put her own book up there too. After an initial release with Cracker Barrel, The CD and companion Songbook are available everywhere today.

As Suzy writes in the introduction to the book: “Music has always been my purest joy even as a child. One of my favorite memories is my grade-school music teacher pounding on the piano and leading the class in rousing renditions of folk songs from all around the world. In the summer of 2008 I toured with the brilliant and engaging Garrison Keillor. The energy that passed between the audience and Garrison was overwhelming at times. Several thousand people standing and singing together—old songs, hymns, the Beatles and the Everly Brothers. People of all ages, sharing music. Ahhh, pure joy."

But Bogguss was not content to present the songs as dusty museum pieces, instead she chose to breath new life into them with contemporary arrangements and a crack squad of Nashville's acoustic A-Listers. Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Pat Bergeson, Charlie Chadwick and Jeff Taylor all join the band for Suzy's self-produced project. Ultimately though it's the voice that lovingly weaves through the guitars and mandolins to find the new in these old songs. As John Lomax III writes in the forward to the book, 'Prepare yourself for enchantment! ...This work is, in a word, delightful!"

Suzy says she modeled the songbook after her "good old 5th grade songbook." The hardcover, 96-page book is filled with illustrations, fascinating historical stories about the songs, easy to read sheet music arrangements for piano, voice and guitar as well as personal insights and anecdotes from Bogguss. Her intent from the beginning was to make the book attractive to music lovers and musicians at every level. Again from her introduction: "that way, younger generations could share these slowly fading gems with their families and tell their stories of how they learned a few chords on the guitar or a couple of favorites to play at family gatherings.”

Cracker Barrel, with its devotion to families and appreciation for authentic Americana was the obvious choice for the initial release.

American Folk Songbook is the natural progression of an artist who has demonstrated skill and passion for all types of music in her career. Songs like “Aces,” “Drive South,” “Someday Soon,” “Outbound Plane” and "Letting Go" took her to the top of the country music charts. Along the way she won raves from critics and peers including winning a GRAMMY in 2005 for Traditional Folk Album, the Country Music Association’s Horizon Award in 1992 and album of the Year Award in 1994.

2007’s Billboard Jazz Chart topping Sweet Danger, the universally praised album, Swing recorded in 2003 with Ray Benson of Asleep At The Wheel and Simpatico, her beloved collaboration with Chet Atkins showed the world Bogguss was willing to both embrace tradition while continuing to grow and challenge herself as an artist. However, it is an appreciation for tradition that really shines through on American Folk Songbook.  The album is filled with songs that are the very fabric of American musical history and Bogguss reclaims this history and revives it with a fresh and beautiful take on classics like “Shenandoah,” “Wayfaring Stranger,” “Ol’ Dan Tucker,”  “Beautiful Dreamer” and of course, "Red River Valley." Everybody sing along!

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Tour Dates

08/13/2011 - Logan, UT - Cache County Fair

08/20/2011 - Dubois, WY - Dubois High Country Cowboy Gathering

08/25/2011 - Kent, OH - The Kent Stage

08/26/2011 - Ann Arbor, MI - The Ark

09/02/2011 - Highlands, NC - Highlands Performing Arts Center

09/03/2011 - Clinton, AR - World Champion Chuck Wagon Races

09/22/2011 - New Hope, PA - New Hope Winery

09/23/2011 - Annapolis, MD - Ram's Head Tavern

09/24/2011 - Staunton, VA - Fortune Williams Festival