Eddie Vedder will release a solo album, Ukulele Songs, on Tuesday, May 31st (May 30th internationally) through Pearl Jam's Monkeywrench Records. Ukulele Songs is a collection of original songs and covers performed by Vedder on ukulele. The first single from the album, "Longing to Belong," will be available for sale through digital retailers on Tuesday, March 22nd (March 21st internationally).

Also released on May 31st is Water on the Road, a live-concert DVD directed by Brendan Canty of Fugazi and Christoph Green featuring performances from Vedder’s August 16 and 17, 2008 solo tour engagements at Washington, D.C.'s Warner Theatre. The DVD features a live performance of "You're True" from Ukulele Songs as well as a mix of Pearl Jam catalog, covers and songs from Vedder’s critically acclaimed, award-winning solo record, Into The Wild.

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Ukulele Songs Album Tracklisting:

1. Can't Keep

2. Sleeping by Myself

3. Without You

4. More Than You Know

5. Goodbye

6. Broken Heart

7. Satellite

8. Longing to Belong

9. Hey Fahkah

10. You're True

11. Light Today

12. Sleepless Nights (featuring Glen Hansard)

13. Once in Awhile

14. Waving Palms

15. Tonight You Belong to Me (featuring Cat Power)

16. Dream a Little Dream

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Water on the Road Live Concert DVD Tracklisting:

1. The Canyon

2. Sometimes

3. Trouble

4. Around the Bend

5. Girl From the North Country

6. Guaranteed

7. Setting Forth

8. Far Behind

9. No Ceiling

10. Rise

11. Golden State

12. Society

13. Forever Young

14. Ed Piano (Instrumental)

15. I’m Open

16. Man of the Hour

17. Driftin’

18. No More

19. You’re True

20. Ukulele Interlude (Instrumental)

21. Unthought Known

22.  Arc

23.  Hard Sun

24.  The Canyon (reprise)

Jon Dee Graham, Freedy Johnston and Susan Cowsill have united to form the Hobart Brothers & Lil’ Sis Hobart. The trio, backed by drummer Russ Broussard and bassist Andrew Duplantis, will make their live debut during SXSW week in a series of Austin appearances.

Susan, Jon Dee and Freedy found themselves huddled at last year’s SXSW to write a couple of songs reflecting on their early days washing dishes for a living, which all three had done (joining the ranks of such former dish-washing rock legends as Alex Chilton). The band name refers to the commercial dishwasher known to all aspiring songwriters.

The three members quickly realized that the Hobart Brothers was a good outlet in which to write songs about things they otherwise would not. From the initial summit came a collection of songs of joy and heartbreak that range from the sublime to the silly. Cowsill’s vocals, described by Rolling Stone as “a supple survivor’s alto,” blend beautifully with the roughhewn quality of Jon’s voice and Freedy’s sad tenor.

In May 2010 they recorded a CD, At Least We Have Each Other, at Top Hat Studios in Austin. The recording was cut in the lounge and kitchen area of the studio. The band was already rehearsing there, so engineer John Harvey set up the mikes around them and started recording. The finished album provides a rare glimpse of what three very unique and talented artists might come up with when they think no one else is listening. While the songs were recorded live with one or two takes, there is a resonant honesty and completeness to them. This CD is scheduled for release later in 2011....but only with the help from their friends and fans.

The Hobart Brothers will self-fund the release of At Least We Have Each Other through a creative kickstarter.com campaign. The money raised will pay for production, promotion, publicists, publicity materials, artwork and more. To learn more about the campaign, which has a goal of raising $10,000, and the rewards received for donating to the project, click here.

About the Hobart Brothers & Lil’ Sis Hobart:

Jon Dee Graham was named Austin Musician of the Year during SXSW in 2006. He was inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame three times: as a solo artist in 2000, again in 2008 as a member of the Skunks,  and again in 2009 as a member of the True Believers. Graham has released seven albums and was the subject of a DVD called Big Sweet Life: The Songs of Jon Dee Graham. In August 2008, Graham underwent emergency surgery after being injured in a one-car accident. His current album is aptly titled It’s Not As Bad As It Looks.

The New Yorker cited Freedy Johnston’s “finely wrought, melancholy character studies” as one of the calling cards of last year’s critically acclaimed Rain on the City album, his twelfth. According to SPIN, “Johnston’s characters always make a deep impression.” He has been recording since 1990’s debut The Trouble Tree on Bar/None. In 1994 he hit with “Bad Reputation” from his Elektra album This Perfect World, and Rolling Stone named him “Songwriter of the Year.”

Susan Cowsill was born into show business as a member of the Cowsills, who hit with “The Rain, The Park & Other Things” and “Hair” in the late ’60s. In the ’90s, she joined forces with Peter Holsapple and Vicki Peterson to form the Continental Drifters, and migrated from Los Angeles to New Orleans. In 2005 she released her first solo album, Just Believe It, concurrent with losing her brother Barry and her house to Hurricane Katrina. Her current album Lighthouse, called “an earthy, often crunchy folk-pop gem” by Rolling Stone, reflects upon these experiences and features guest spots from Peterson, Jackson Browne, and former Cowsills session player Waddy Wachtel.

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Hobart Brothers & Lil’ Sis Hobart SXSW week schedule:

Wed., March 16, 2 p.m. —Guitartown/Conqueroo Kickoff Party, The Dogwood, 715 West 6th St.
Wed., March 16, 1 a.m. —Official SXSW Showcase, Speakeasy, 412D Congress Ave.  
Thurs., March 17, 3 p.m. —Jovita’s Twangfest, 1619 South First St.  
Fri., March 18, 4 p.m. — Bug Music Day Party, The Continental Club, 1315 S. Congress Ave.  
Sun., March 20, 5:15 p.m. Olivia South Austin Fried Chicken Revival, 2043 S. Lamar Blvd.  
Sun., March 20, 10:30 p.m. —G&S Lounge North Coast Music, 2420 South 1st St.

With its forays into bluegrass and traditional jazz, Brian Setzer's new album 'Setzer Goes Instru-MENTAL!' (out April 19 on Surfdog Records) has the guitar legend testing new waters and putting his signature Stray Cat stamp on a few instrumental favorites. Setzer didn't set out to create an all-instrumental affair but couldn't resist temptation when the music started heading in that direction.

"I didn’t start writing an instrumental record, per se," says Setzer. "I wrote 7 songs with lyrics, and then all of a sudden I just took a turn and started fooling around with 'Blue Moon of Kentucky,' except without any vocals. I started playing melody chords and thought, 'Wow, this is pretty cool!'  So the direction turned about halfway through my writing. I had never done an instrumental record, but I thought, well, now’s the time."

Setzer wrote six originals and revitalizes five jazz-bluegrass classics – “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” "Earl's Breakdown," "Cherokee," "Be-Bop-A-Lula," and "Lonesome Road." Recording each gave Setzer the chance to revisit old techniques and try new tricks, such as playing banjo on the Earl Scruggs' classic “Earl’s Breakdown,” or substituting jazz chords into traditional bluegrass on the Bluegrass Boys’ “Blue Moon of Kentucky.”

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'Setzer Goes Instru-MENTAL!' Tracklist

(all songs written by Brian Setzer, unless otherwise noted)

1. "Blue Moon of Kentucky" (written by Bill Monroe)

2. "Cherokee" (written by Ray Noble)

3. "Be-Bop-A-Lula" (written by Tex Davis and Gene Vincent)

4. "Earl's Breakdown" (written by Earl Scruggs)

5. "Far Noir East"

6. "Intermission"

7. "Go-Go Godzilla"

8. "Lonesome Road" (written by Gene Austin, Nathaniel Shilkret)

9. "Hillbilly Jazz Meltdown"

10. "Hot Love"

11. "Pickpocket"

At the end of a hard year of touring in support of their second album ‘Big Eye Little Eye’, which took them by way of Britain and Germany, straight across the USA sharing stages with Canadian luminaries like Feist and Sloan, those who witnessed its fury likely had no inkling it was the end of a chapter for the band. The long awaited homecoming was bittersweet; there were big changes on the horizon. For starters, the band had been released from their record contract; a contract they had been locked into for years that now left them 100% in control of their business affairs. In another twist of fate, their long time bass player, Stew Heyduk, decided to leave the country and get married in Hawaii. Within weeks of being at home and somewhat directionless, the question began looming: “What now?” While there are always songs brewing on lead man Dave Azzolini’s hot plate, the idea of going straight into recording another album wasn’t an attractive one. They needed a break from being Golden Dogs.

Without trying to force movement into the intimidating ‘next album’ phase, the couple began spending more time hanging at a little garage studio on Toronto’s east side, operated by their good friends Carlin Nicholson & Mike O’Brien - this duo now known as Zeus. The whole crew had a lot of fun just writing and recording tunes they had written and while Nicholson honed his engineering chops, everyone nurtured and developed their production skills. As well, the studio was a very welcome place for other musician friends to pop by. Friends like Neil Quin (ex-Golden Dog/future Zeus member) and Afie Jurvanen (Bahamas) who ended up playing a solo on the Golden Dogs album as a return favor for Azzolini playing piano on one of the Bahamas tracks he recorded there.

The spirit was described by Azzolini: “It was very much a ‘best idea wins’ situation and the songwriter always had final veto power. It made for a very comfortable environment to make music. It was just musicians getting together to bounce ideas off each other.” This was a great time to forget about being in a band, and to just get back to playing music for it’s own sake, with a group of friends riding the same wave and just soaking in the energy of the studio. The result is titled Coat of Arms, and it brilliantly displays the musical union Azzolini, Grassia, Knox and company have found with each other, and the band seems to be more confident and commanding than ever before. One marvels at the way they can seem playful and sweet on a track like LESTER, yet terrifyingly savage on BURST or DARKROOM.

The most obvious and wonderful difference this time around is that Ms. Grassia takes a giant leap forward and can be heard taking the lead on almost half the album with a range spanning from sweet & psychedelic (UNDERWATER GOLDMINE) to seductive (AS LONG AS YOU LIKE) to furious pop madness on songs like WHEN THE MOVIE’S OVER, and CHEAP UMBRELLAS. Her vocal performances while drumming (AS LONG AS YOU LIKE and LESTER) is quickly becoming a Golden Dogs secret weapon and quite an impressive element to their live shows.

What now? Coat of Arms will be released on Dine Alone April 26th 2011. Feeling up-beat and optimistic about the new direction, Azzolini boasts that “the versatility of this new line up opens up a whole new world of possibilities for Golden Dogs live shows and the future of our recordings…there are so many directions we can go…and we’re going to try all of them.”

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Golden Dogs tour dates:

Mar 17: SXSW @ Hole in the wall (day party)\

Mar 19: SXSW @ Paradise on 6th

The 2011 Ecstatic Music Festival, presented by New York City's Merkin Concert Hall in association with New Amsterdam Records, is a showcase of collaborative evenings between more than 150 genre-pushing composers, songwriters and performers who represent a new generation of artists combining diverse influences and techniques to explore the crossover of classical and pop music. All concerts include premieres.  Concerts during the first two months of the festival featured collaborations by Roomful of Teeth & tUnE-yArDs, Newspeak & Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Buke & Gass & Victoire, Dan Deacon & So Percussion, The Chiara String Quartet and the Music of Nico Muhly and Valgeir Sigurdsson, Alarm Will Sound & Face the Music, and many more. The distinctly captivating lineup continues in March.

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March 2011 Ecstatic Music Festival Schedule:

Thu, 3/3/11 at 7:30 pm

Judd Greenstein (The Yehudim) & Olga Bell (Bell)

Composer and Ecstatic Music Festival curator Judd Greenstein’s new 13-person ensemble, The Yehudim, premieres Sh'lomo, Greenstein's re-imagining of the King Solomon story. Fronted by singer/keyboardist/

composer Olga Bell along with Greenstein on lead keyboards, The Yehudim includes vocalists from polystylistic octet Roomful of Teeth and the acclaimed percussion quartet Line C3. Krai, the Moscow-born Olga Bell's collage of recollections and impressions of Russia, reconfigures her acclaimed electro-rock band, Bell, as a set of chamber musicians at the ensemble's centerpiece.

Sat, 3/5/11 at 7:30 pm

Timothy Andres & Gabriel Kahane: An Evening with Charles Ives

Composer/pianist Timothy Andres and composer/pianist/vocalist Gabriel Kahane explore the legacy of the devotional in concert music through the lens of Charles Ives, offering a musical palimpsest ranging from songs by Ives and Bach chorale transcriptions by Kurtag to new re-workings of chorales and hymns, as well as their own original compositions that speak to the ongoing dialogue between the sacred and profane.

Wed, 3/9/11 at 7:30 pm

Nadia Sirota & Thomas Bartlett (Doveman) with Owen Pallett

The evening will include the world premiere of a new work by Owen Pallett (formerly Final Fantasy) written for violist Nadia Sirota. Sirota will also join Thomas Bartlett (Doveman) to perform new songs by Bartlett and premieres by Nico Muhly and Missy Mazzoli. The two will join Pallett for arrangements of his songs as well.

Sat, 3/12/11 at 7:30 pm

Clogs & Brooklyn Youth Chorus

The Brooklyn Youth Chorus, heralded as "a polished ensemble of miniature professionals" (New York Times), joins the legendary chamber/rock quartet Clogs for an evening of new works by Clogs’ Bryce Dessner (The National) and Padma Newsome.

Wed, 3/16/11 at 7:30 pm

Shara Worden, Sarah Kirkland Snider & yMusic

A Special Presentation of New Sounds® Live with WNYC’s John Schaefer

Composer/vocalist Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) is joined by the diversely talented sextet yMusic for an evening of works by Worden and Sarah Kirkland Snider, “a composer with an enviable knack for crafting moody, strikingly beautiful works" (Time Out New York). The show will include a selection of new and recent works by both composers, including the premiere of an instrumental work by Worden for yMusic, a premiere by Sarah, and selections from the duo's standout 2010 album, Penelope.

Mon, 3/28/11 at 7:30 pm

So Percussion & Bobby Previte with Zeena Parkins, John Medeski, DJ Olive & Jen Shyu

A Special Presentation of New Sounds® Live with WNYC’s John Schaefer

Composer Bobby Previte, whose ensembles "speak in visionary tongues" (The New Yorker), premieres TERMINALS, Part 1: DEPARTURES – five concertos for the quartet So Percussion and star soloists Zeena Parkins, harp; John Medeski, keyboards;  DJ Olive, turntables; vocalist Jen Shyu; and Bobby Previte on drums.

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Single tickets: $25; Students with ID (in person sales only): $15

Subscriptions: Tickets are $20 each for 4 or more concerts.

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center
129 West 67th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam)

Tickets and information at 212 501 3330 or http://www.kaufman-center.org