Nonesuch Records will release Natalie Merchant’s Keep Your Courage, her ninth solo studio album and first of new material since 2014’s self-titled record, on April 14, 2023. An eclectic album, produced by Merchant, it features two duets sung with vocalist Abena Koomson-Davis (Resistance Revival Chorus), contributions from the Celtic folk group Lúnasa and Syrian virtuoso clarinetist Kinan Azmeh, and horn arrangements by jazz trombonist Steve Davis.

Based in the rustic Kootenay mountains of Western Canada, Nathan Gurley and Sean Rodman of nationally renowned electro-folk duo Moontricks draw inspiration from the ongoing cycles of the natural world. Both volatile and constant—like nature’s best offerings—the band finds solace and beauty in the fusion of seemingly disparate elements.

Pink Talking Fish is kicking off 2023 in style with a handful of Northeast shows followed by a full-blown West Coast Tour. The band’s 1st show of 2023 is in Amherst MA at the end of January and then they return to Red Bank NJ before heading west. First up is the Pacific Northwest as PTF moves through Bend OR, Portland OR and then Seattle WA.

When the Blues Foundation began in 1980, it held the mission of preserving and promoting blues around the world, and this year’s Keeping the Blues Alive Award honorees demonstrate just how successful the organization has been over the past four decades. The eight individuals and organizations receiving KBAs in 2023 don’t just hail from the blues traditional territory of the American South but from such far-reaching blues outposts as Denmark, Poland, and Colombia.
 

Following a hugely successful inaugural year, TidalWave Music Festival will return in 2023, with headliners Jason Aldean, Brooks & Dunn and Thomas Rhett set to descend on the Atlantic City Beach in New Jersey on Friday, August 11 through Sunday, August 13.

The inaugural <HERE FOR LA Fest launches on Saturday, December 3rd in Los Angeles at LA River Studios in Elysian Park, celebrating the intersection of music and doing good. While highlighting some of the city’s most dynamic and diverse musical talents, <HERE FOR LA Fest also focuses on raising money and awareness for housing & basic needs, education & the arts and sustainability & climate justice via partnering with Homeless Healthcare Los Angeles, artworxLA and L.A. Works.

The 40th anniversary remastered version of Jean-Michel Jarre’s historic live album The Concerts In China is out now. Originally released in 1982, the album served as a document of an historic concert tour Jarre undertook in 1981 - consisting of five spectacular concerts in the People's Stadium of Shanghai and Beijing. It was the first time a Western music artist had performed in the country following the Cultural Revolution.

This past weekend, LA by-way-of NY artist, Shira Elias, formerly of Turkuaz, sat down with Grateful Web to discuss her newly released single “Earth Sun” from sophomore companion EP Services, as well as her upcoming debut as a solo performer.

The production of Services was a collaboration between Shira and husband/producer MEGA, and is scheduled to release on Friday, December 2, 2022.

Two of the UK’s most enduring and best-loved bands, The Charlatans UK and Ride have announced plans for a North American co-headline tour, set to begin January 30, 2023 at New York City’s Webster Hall and then continue through a February 18 finale at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, CA. Tickets for all announced dates go on sale Friday, December 2 at 10 am (local).

New York-based musician and traveling storyteller Matt Butler recently unveiled Reckless Son—a one man show of words and music inspired by his experiences performing in prisons across the country, which he debuted at New York’s Rockwood Music Hall a few weeks ago and will continue to perform.

Butler will release an EP of music from the show, Reckless Son, on January 27. The first track, “Time To Be A Man,” is out now.