The first annual Otis Taylor Trance Blues Jam Festival is a weekend of public workshops and jams for musicians and fans of all levels and ages who wish to join world-renowned guitarist Bob “Steady Rollin’” Margolin, Tony Trischka (International Bluegrass Music Association Banjo Player of the Year), multi-instrumentalist Don Vappie, bassist George Porter, Jr. (Meters), guitarist/vocalist Standing Bear, Cassie Taylor and renaissance bluesman Otis Taylor.

The event, held Friday-Sunday, November 25-27, begins with a pre-Trance Jam hosted by Taylor, Margolin and Vappie at the Boulder Outlook Hotel on Friday at 8 p.m.

“You don’t have to be a musician to get involved with the Trance Blues Jam Festival,” says Taylor, a Boulder resident and festival founder. “We would like to see the festival evolve to include artists hosting sessions slanted towards many different styles of music. The more types of participants we have, the better,” Taylor says. “The goal is to fill the hills with the sound of music of all genres: classical, blues, jazz, pop, world, rap, spoken word; [and] instruments of every type: horns, strings, percussion and even street instruments like cans and buckets.”

Taylor and the visiting artists will lead weekend workshops both Saturday and Sunday, ranging in size from 40 to 60 students. Saturday’s Boulder Theater workshop culminates with the Saturday Night Trance-Blues Jam, an open-to-the-public audience-participation jam session with hundreds of musicians, steered by Otis Taylor beginning at 6 p.m.  A special concert will follow on Saturday night at 9p.m. at the Boulder Theater. Video of a similar workshop held last year can be found at otistaylor.com

Only one week until this year's Pitchfork Music Festival, which takes place July 15-17 at Chicago's Union Park. With the event right around the corner, PMF would like to inform everyone of a few key components that help make the festival such a distinct event – the live festival webcast, a slew of Chicago’s favorite food vendors, plus a new addition this year, the Pitchfork Music Festival mobile app. Also, please note that Sunday tickets are officially sold out; and the final batch of tickets for Friday and Saturday have been made available. Tickets can be purchased here: http://www.pitchforkmusicfestival.com.

Pitchfork Music Festival Webcast:

If you can't make it out to Chicago at all, fear not: Pitchfork will be webcasting the whole thing live, so feel free to fest it up in the comfort of your own home (sun tan not included).

Optimus, via its production arm ONE at Optimus, is the official webcast production partner of the Pitchfork Music Festival for the fifh year running.  Optimus is a creative collaborator and partner with a passion for the festival and the independent music community, consistently capturing the essence of both in its work for the Pitchfork Music Festival.  As a valued partner in aspects of coordinating, shooting and producing live video feeds of the performances, Optimus works with the festival to enable people around the world to watch the independent music event in real time.  The production and post-production house also creates original video content to promote the festival and the brand, and will run two such pieces on the screens between bands during the festival.

Pitchfork Music Festival Mobile App:

If you are heading to the fest, then you can make use of the Pitchfork Music Festival mobile app, designed by Diacarta to help you plan out your festival experience. You can select bands from the official schedule and set alerts to let you know where you have to be and when, share your schedule and experience on Facebook and Twitter, learn more about the artists that are performing, and take a look at a map of the festival grounds. Best of all, it's free.

2011 Food Vendors:

Additionally, the PMF welcomes back the great variety and quality of food we’ve provided in year’s past, including Robinson’s Ribs, Stars of Siam, Bite Café, The Rice Table, Wishbone, Abbey Pub, Cevapcici, Bombay Station, Urb Garden, La Luce, Berghoff, Connie’s Pizza, Heineken, Chicago Diner, Whole Foods, and Temptation Ice Cream.

The full festival schedule is below. See you at Union Park!

2011 PITCHFORK MUSIC FESTIVAL SCHEDULE:

FRIDAY, JULY 15 – gates at 3pm

8:30 (GREEN) Animal Collective

7:30 (BLUE) James Blake

7:20 (RED) Neko Case

6:30 (BLUE) Das Racist

6:25 (GREEN) Guided By Voices

5:30 (BLUE) Curren$y

5:30 (RED) Thurston Moore

4:35 (GREEN) Battles

4:30 (BLUE) tUnE-yArDs

3:30 (RED) EMA

3:20 (BLUE) Gatekeeper

SATURDAY, JULY 16 – gates at 12pm

8:30 (GREEN) Fleet Foxes

7:40 (BLUE) Zola Jesus

7:25 (RED) DJ Shadow

6:45 (BLUE) Twin Shadow

6:15 (GREEN) The Dismemberment Plan

5:45 (BLUE) The Radio Dept.

5:15 (RED) Destroyer

4:45 (BLUE) OFF!

4:15 (GREEN) Gang Gang Dance

3:45 (BLUE) Wild Nothing

3:20 (RED) No Age

2:50 (BLUE) G-Side

2:30 (GREEN) Cold Cave

1:55 (BLUE) Sun Airway

1:45 (RED) Woods

1:00 (BLUE) Chrissy Murderbot Feat MC ZULU

1:00 (GREEN) Julianna Barwick

SUNDAY, JULY 17 – gates at 12pm

8:30 (GREEN) TV on the Radio

7:40 (BLUE) HEALTH

7:25 (RED) Cut Copy

6:45 (BLUE) Toro Y Moi

6:15 (GREEN) Deerhunter

5:45 (BLUE) Kylesa

5:15 (RED) Superchunk

4:45 (BLUE) Baths

4:15 (GREEN) Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti

3:45 (BLUE) Shabazz Palaces

3:20 (RED) OFWGKTA

2:50 (BLUE) Twin Sister

2:30 (GREEN) Kurt Vile & the Violators

1:55 (BLUE) How to Dress Well

1:45 (RED) Yuck

1:00 (BLUE) Darkstar

1:00 (GREEN) The Fresh & Onlys

The Avett Brothers sold-out show on July 9th from Colorado’s famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre will be broadcast live via satellite to the band’s hometown of Concord, NC on the planets largest HDTV screen.  AEG Network LIVE is responsible for producing and shooting the entire event in HD and delivering it via iClips to Charlotte Motor Speedway. Charlotte Motor Speedway, home to the massive 80’ x 200’ Panasonic HDTV, will host Avett Brothers fans from near and far for a chance to be part of this exciting show as it happens live. Fans who can't make it to Colorado or North Carolina on July 9 will be able stream the show on iclips.net.

The live simulcast will give the Avett Brothers’ rabid local fan base the opportunity to view their historical show from Red Rocks on the speedway’s massive 80-foot-by-200-foot HD video board. The speedway will supply concert-grade speakers to turn the infield area in front of the video board into a one-of-a-kind concert venue.  Tickets for the July 9 simulcast on the world’s largest HDTV at Charlotte Motor Speedway are on sale now and can be purchased at the speedway ticket office or by calling 1-800-455-FANS (3267). Tickets are only $10 until July 1, when they will increase to $15 until July 8. Tickets purchased the day of the event, July 9, will cost $20.

“The speedway has been a hometown landmark for us our whole lives and we're proud to have an opportunity for our music to echo through that historical infield,” said Seth Avett. “For us, performing at Red Rocks and airing live in Concord is about the most ideal situation for being in two amazing places at once.”

The Avett Brothers front men, Scott and Seth Avett, who grew up on their father’s farm in Concord, quickly grew their fan base throughout the region with memorable energetic shows, which has become the band’s trademark.

The Avetts’ popularity skyrocketed on the heels on their major label debut, the 2009 album “I and Love and You.” Recently, the band has become accustomed to performing sold out concerts and in February they performed at the 53rd Grammy Awards in Los Angeles alongside Bob Dylan.

“We are so fortunate to travel and play the many places we do,” said Scott Avett. “To have an opportunity to share that with our supportive home town in a setting where great men like Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and David Pearson competed adds to the sense of pride that we feel to be a part of the Charlotte community and this event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.”

“This is going to be an unbelievable event,” said Marcus Smith, president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway. “This is something that would have never been possible without the world’s largest HD video board. But, now we’re going to simulcast a live sold out show from one of the most famous concert venues in the world, featuring our home-town boys, the Avett Brothers, to their loyal fan following here in Charlotte. It’s going to be awesome!”

Cloud 9 Adventures today announces that the original resort host for Panic en la Playa - Now Sapphire - is bringing their sister resort, Now Jade, into the fold. With rooms for Panic en la Playa going on sale tomorrow and an already overwhelming demand for a coveted spot, this announcement comes just in time; the addition of Now Jade promises to double the number of accommodations originally available. Set on the sandy white beaches of Mexico’s Mayan Riviera, Panic en la Playa will offer a four-night run of shows from live-music legends Widespread Panic on January 31 – February 4, 2012.

Limited now to 2,000 lucky fans, Panic en la Playa promises Widespread Panic fans an exclusive and intimate run of shows and all of the luxurious benefits offered by the all-inclusive Now family of resorts. Located in the small fishing town of Puerto Morelos, 15 minutes south of Cancun in the Mayan Riviera, days at the Now Sapphire Resort & Spa and Now Jade Resort & Spa will be spent relaxing by the pool, taking a swim in the ocean, or enjoying the incredible on-site restaurants and spa. Then, as the sun goes down, Widespread Panic will take the stage at Now Sapphire for a full two-set show each night. Fans booked at Now Jade will enjoy complimentary shuttle rides to and from the show at Now Sapphire, just a short ride away.

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Event details are as follows:

A truly intimate concert experience, Panic en la Playa is limited to 2000 fans and only those booked at Now Sapphire Resort and Now Jade Resort will be in attendance (Now Sapphire will be available first, when those are sold out, Now Jade will be put up for sale). Tropical View rooms start at $1199 per person and Oceanfront rooms start at $1599 per person. A limited number of rooms are available for families who wish to bring their children, with a complete Kid’s program for children ages 3 - 12.

For fans who want to extend their stay at either resort, Cloud 9 Adventures is offering a special discounted rate for the nights before and after the event. Guests can add an additional night one day prior to their stay and up to three days after the event, for $199.00 a night per person*. These rates are available for January 30th, 2012, and February 4th, 5th, and 6th. For more information and to book a room, please visit www.PanicEnLaPlaya.com.

* Pre / Post nights for the Presidential suites are priced at $225 per person and must be booked over the phone, based on availability.

SONIC BLOOM has announced the final line-up for the 2011 festival including 2 full stages of music and a satellite DJ booth highlighting over 75 of the nation’s best nationally touring and up-and-coming electronic performers. For the last six years the boutique festival has served as a launchpad for some of the most successful electronic artists on the scene including Pretty Lights, Bassnectar, the Glitch Mob and consummate tour dogs, EOTO.  The event, scheduled to take place for three days between June 24-26^th will feature yet another stellar line-up including festival regulars EOTO, the highly sought TIPPER SOUND EXPERIENCE and one of the pioneers of Dubstep; Mala from London.

In less than two weeks SONIC BLOOM 2011 will commence in the gorgeous Rocky Mountains just 40 minutes west of Denver in the outskirts of the historical mining town, Georgetown, CO. The annual event, now in its 6th year, culminates nightly with a myriad of visual performers including aerialists, fire dancers and stilt walkers as well as live painters, artisans and vending booths featuring a hand selection of unusual crafts and fashion geared to serve the natural health communities. Festival goers can choose from daily workshops in yoga, spirituality and even unified field theory as well as the unprecedented musical line-up scheduled for each day of the celebration.

This year SONIC BLOOM also boasts two different soundsystems developed to nurture low frequency bass and accentuate the subtle sounds known for setting this style of music apart from other dance genres. The main stage will flaunt the famous Ambisonic surround Sound System from FunktionOne, which has won numerous international awards and has amplified such luminaries as Pink Floyd. The CoDome stage will be hosted by local dubstep promoters sub.mission and be powered by local favorite Basscouch and their 50,000 watts of powerful ‘bass to your face’and will feature a handful of local artists and a selection of DJ’s who’ve won their slot on stage through on-line voting.

For festival goers looking to take advantage of the beautiful surroundings, the new SONIC BLOOM campsite has on-site shaded camping next to Clear Creek, fire-pit areas and even river rafting expeditions offered daily through Mile Hi Rafting. The folks from the Basics Fund are also offering discounted party bus options for riders coming from Fort Collins, Boulder and Denver as a safe alternative to driving.

With so many opportunities, it’s no wonder that this year’s event is showing record ticket sales. All attendees are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance on the event website at www.sonicbloomfestival.com and at www.facebook.com/sonicbloomfestival. RV’s will not be allowed in the festival grounds and on-site parking tickets will be an additional $20 per vehicle. Please Carpool!

As always, SONIC BLOOM supports local non-profit Conscious Alliance in their mission to feed those in need. Bring 10 food items and receive a free SONIC BLOOM event poster from artist Ryan Johnson.