Interlocken, a 4-day music festival, with an emphasis on world class music, locally sourced food and sustainability, is confirmed to take place September 5 – 8 at Oak Ridge Farm at the foot of the Blue Ridge in Central Virginia, a mere 35 miles south of Charlottesville, and approximately 100 miles from both Washington, DC, and Richmond, VA. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Furthur, Zac Brown, The String Cheese Incident, and The Black Crowes will perform. Many of the artists will be performing at Interlocken over multiple days, and will be featured in unique and exciting artist pairings - with additional artists to be announced soon.
Interlocken was created by industry veterans Dave Frey and Peter Shapiro. Frey founded the HORDE Festival while Shapiro owned New York City’s historic rock club, “Wetlands Preserve.” He also produced U2’s award-winning film U23D and currently publishes Relix Magazine as well as being the proprietor of Brooklyn Bowl and The Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY. With the pedigree of these two producers, Interlocken is set to be one of the country’s most unique and dynamic events. Frey and Shapiro’s sense for innovation and creativity together with the backdrop of this beautiful setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains is certain to make for an unforgettable weekend.
Interlocken was named for traditions central to both Frey and Shapiro: The inter-locking performances presented at Wetlands and the continuous uninterrupted music featured between the two stages at HORDE. Interlocken’s conceptual theme will touch all elements of the event: “when something ends, another begins.” This simple yet powerful ethos of sustainability will be integrated into camping, lodging, food, drink, transport offerings as well as specialized onsite activities.
“Most festivals these days are trying to be everything to everyone -- very eclectic with an emphasis on a large number of artists in various genres,” says Shapiro. “With Interlocken, we want to break away from that mold and create something more identifiable and distinct.”
Interlocken's two main stages will feature full two-hour sets that will run seamlessly from one to the other without breaks between performances, giving the audience a unique and singular experience as the music will be continuous throughout the weekend. The emphasis will be on quality over quantity, as fewer bands will be playing longer sets and many of the featured artists will perform multiple sets on different days.
After looking at several sites around the US, Frey and Shapiro decided upon Oak Ridge in Nelson County for its majestic beauty, size, and proximity to Charlottesville. Its infrastructure and acreage allow it to naturally accommodate mass gatherings. The estate has 4,800-plus-acres and is privately owned; it was originally deeded to two Bristol merchants by the King of England. The most well known owner was Thomas Ryan, a Wall Street financier, who used the property as a rural retreat and built a professional sized steeplechase racetrack for his horses and a private railroad station. After the Holland family purchased Oak Ridge in 1989, John C. Holland, Jr. placed high priority on restoring the Oak Ridge racetrack using reclaimed building materials. The festival will take place on that racetrack, which is the length of six football fields. The town of Arrington in Nelson County has a stop sign, a post office, a general store and a recycling center. Over the past 10 years, local craft breweries and, most recently, local hard cider distilleries, have joined several local wineries -- some dating back to the Thomas Jefferson era. Nelson County is a well-known destination for the outdoor recreation enthusiast and is becoming a hotbed of locally made small-batch craft spirits. The festival will offer general camping in the stunning surrounding Blue Ridge area as well as VIP camping inside the concert site.
“We are very excited to welcome the Interlocken festival to Oak Ridge,” says Oak Ridge owner Rhonda Holland. “Several concert promoters have approached us in the past about using the track. We have always been concerned about the impact that this would have on the surrounding community and the land. Dave and Peter have a history of caring about the communities and land where they produce events. We look forward to working with the Interlocken team for many years to come."
Since both Frey and Shapiro have a strong history of running environmentally conscious organizations, Interlocken will be a particularly green undertaking, utilizing carbon offsetting, locally sourced food, recycling programs and many more initiatives. The festival has engaged a person closely associated with the property who is a local sustainable food provider to help Interlocken source food, beverages and services from the Central Virginia.
“As a life-long concert goer, Peter has a fan-first approach to the events he produces and I think his audiences respond to that as they feel his respect and generosity,” says Frey. “He creates events that he would want to attend himself, and that really sets them apart from everything else out there.”
Justin Townes Earle has announced additional tour dates in North America this fall, including shows in Nashville, Atlanta, and Dallas. These new dates follow his upcoming September and October tour in support of the imminent release of his new album, Single Mothers.
Justin Townes Earle’s fifth studio album, Single Mothers, will be released on September 9 on Vagrant Records and available for pre-order the on iTunes now, which comes with two instant-grat tracks “White Gardenias,”(which Consequence of Sound calls “ (a song that)plays like a ballad for a runaway lover”) and “Time Shows Fools,” (which Vice hails as “beautiful and everything we love about Mr. Earle). Links to listen to each track, and preorder the album below.
Single Mothers is comprised of ten tracks that showcase exactly why Justin Townes Earle is considered a forefather of Contemporary Americana. As a recently married, sober man JTE writes from a point of maturity and content we’ve not seen before on past records. “One day I just realized it’s not cool to die young, and it’s even less cool to die after 30,” Justin laughs as he reflects on a life past and his new found clarity. What he’s created is an album that’s raw, honest and personal in a way he hasn’t touched upon since his debut EP, Yuma.
Justin Townes Earle On Tour:
9/16 Alexandria VA @ The Birchmere
9/17 Alexandria VA @ The Birchmere
9/18 Pittsburgh PA @ Mr Smalls
9/19 Rochester NY @ Water Street Music Hall
9/20 Cleveland OH @ Downtown Festival- House of Blues
Tedeschi Trucks Band are among the signature acts to bring their fire and spirit to the Lockn' Music Festival. After performing at Lockn' in 2013 and 2014, they'll be back in September for year three, which makes them the ideal artists to launch a new music venue in a natural amphitheater setting at the festival site.
On Saturday April 18th , Lockn' will present a special performance by the group at the new Blue Ridge Bowl at Lockn' Farm. To honor their association with the festival, this is a FREE event for all Lockn' 2015 ticket holders. Anyone who has already purchased, or purchases a Lockn' 2015 ticket before April 18th, will receive a free General Admission ticket to the Blue Ridge Bowl show.
"Peter Shapiro and I are thankful that so many people have already bought tickets for Lockn' 2015," says Lockn' co-founder Dave Frey. "We hope Lockn' 2015 ticket holders will appreciate that this show will be free for them. We're also announcing more Lockn' artists later in the week."
Tickets are also available to the general public and go on-sale Tuesday, February 3rd at 10am. VIP, GA, Student and Military tickets are available at www.blueridgebowl.com or by calling 800-594-TIXX (8499).
The Blue Ridge Bowl is Virginia's newest outdoor amphitheater located on Lockn' Farm adjacent to the historic Oak Ridge Farm in Arrington, VA. Both Lockn' Farm and Oak Ridge Farm are home to the annual Lockn' Music Festival.
On Thursday, May 14, an extraordinary collection of music stars will come together at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD, for the concert event of a lifetime, DEAR JERRY: CELEBRATING THE MUSIC OF JERRY GARCIA, to honor one of the most influential musicians and cultural icons of our time. The concert event will feature performances by: Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann's Billy & the Kids, Bob Weir, Bruce Hornsby, Buddy Miller, David Grisman, Eric Church, Greensky Bluegrass, Jimmy Cliff, Jorma Kaukonen, Los Lobos, Moe., O.A.R., Railroad Earth, The Disco Biscuits, Trampled By Turtles, Widespread Panic, Yonder Mountain String Band and Communion featuring Phil Lesh, Stu Allen, Grahame Lesh, Ross James, Alex Koford, and Jason Crosby. Additional performers will be announced in the coming weeks.
Tickets go on sale Friday March 13 at 10am ET via Ticketfly.com or by phone at 877-4FLY-TIX. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Merriweather Post Pavilion West Box Office Monday - Friday from 10am - 4pm, or at the 9:30 Club Box Office. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning Tuesday, March 10th at 12pm ET through Thursday, March 12th at 10pm. For more information visit citiprivatepass.com. The Merriweather Post Pavilion parking lot will open at 3:30pm. Doors will be at 5:30pm and the show will begin at 7pm.
Keith Wortman is the creator and executive producer of the show. Grammy Award-winner Don Was serves as music director, and will lead an all-star band backing the performers at this incomparable concert event taping. Was and Wortman recently teamed to produce large-scale concert events, music releases, and broadcast specials honoring music icons such as Johnny Cash, Levon Helm, Dr. John, Gregg Allman, Mavis Staples and Emmylou Harris amongst others. DEAR JERRY: CELEBRATING THE MUSIC OF JERRY GARCIA will be filmed and recorded for multi-platform distribution throughout traditional and digital media. The event will be co-produced by the Jerry Garcia family.
"It's exciting to have so many phenomenal artists performing in this special musical tribute to my dad, Jerry Garcia!" says Trixie Garcia. "DEAR JERRY: CELEBRATING THE MUSIC OF JERRY GARCIA speaks volumes to Jerry's lasting influence in the ears and hearts of his fans and fellow musicians. Join us in celebrating the legacy that inspired so many."
"Jerry gave his heart, soul, and music to his band mates, fellow musicians, and to millions of fans around the world," said Wortman. "Whether playing in the Grateful Dead, his acoustic and bluegrass bands or his beloved Jerry Garcia Band, his songs made us happy just to be alive. As all of us in the extended Grateful Dead family embark on celebrating 50 years of their music, I can't think of a more fitting way to kick-off the festivities than by honoring Jerry and his songs at this extraordinary event. I am privileged and humbled to be working with theses artists to deliver such a special event to the fans - it will be unforgettable."
"Jerry made us fall in love with the possibilities of music," said Was. "Getting to play his songs with these artists is a dream realized for all of us."
FOR ALL SHOW DETAILS AND THE OFFICIAL SHOW WEBSITE PLEASE GO TO:
LA rock quartet Dawes took to the Ed Sullivan Theater at the request of David Letterman himself Wednesday, April 22, to perform "Things Happen," the first single off their highly anticipated forthcoming full-length album titled All Your Favorite Bands (HUB Records, Tuesday, June 2). As a special gift to the show's parting host, Dawes also performed a touching rendition of the classic Warren Zevon song "Desperados Under The Eaves" immediately following the taping which will be available as a Web exclusive next week. Their appearance adds to an already storied Late Show With David Letterman run for Dawes who have performed on the show a number of times over the course of their four-album career. Check out the performance of "Things Happen" HERE.
Dawes have also recently announced their June and July headline tour in support of All Your Favorite Bands. The upcoming run will include appearances at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Mumford & Sons' Gentlemen of the Road Tour, dates supporting Hozier, and headline performances with a host of supporting acts such as Langhorne Slim, The Lone Bellow, Gill Landry, Sam Outlaw, First Aid Kit and more. The general ticket on-sale starts today at 10 a.m. local time HERE.
Produced by David Rawlings at Woodland Sound Studios in Nashville, TN, All Your Favorite Bands is Dawes' fourth album and second on their own label. The album includes nine bracing new original recordings written by Taylor Goldsmith, except for the title track, which was co-written with Jonny Fritz. The album highlights the outstanding musicianship of Taylor (lead vocals, guitar), Griffin Goldsmith (drums, background vocals), Wylie Gelber (bass) and Tay Strathairn (keyboards, background vocals) that Dawes fans around the world have come to cherish. All Your Favorite Bands also features the vocal support of Gillian Welch and The McCrary Sisters, as well as David Rawlings on guitar and vocals, Richard Bennett on acoustic guitar and Paul Franklin on pedal steel. Pre-order the album at iTunes or visit http://www.pledgemusic.com/dawes for deluxe packages. NPR's "First Watch" premiered the new video for the album's first single, "Things Happen," and it can be seen HERE YouTube HERE.
Where in the past, Dawes developed their songs in the studio and took them to new heights as they evolved on the road, this time they decided to go in the opposite direction. Before going into Woodland Sound, they hit the road for two weeks of small club dates in their native California with producer Rawlings in tow. Night after night, the band road-tested the new material as Rawlings stood in the crowd taking notes. The five of them would discuss the set after each show and break the songs down, tear them apart and build them again so by the time they arrived in Nashville after a summer of touring opening for Conor Oberst and performing as his band, they were already stretching out and comfortable with them. The Rawlings production is raw and not overwrought, while the band's playing and signature group singing is meticulous, and Taylor's poetry is intuitive and piercing, as he uncovers nuances in people's relationships with each other and the world around them.
"Despite taking these songs on the road a little before heading into the studio, the only things we've ever been concerned with are honoring the songs and the inspired moments that come from truly playing together and reacting to each other," says Taylor. "With this new record, all the lead vocals, guitar solos, simultaneous piano and organ and of course bass and drums were all done at the same time. And listening back, we really felt like we were listening to the way we thought we sounded. And that's all we could ever want."
Dawes will be making the following North American appearances in support of All Your Favorite Bands this summer. Tour dates below.
JUNE
02 - Los Angeles, CA - Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
05 - Seaside Heights, NJ - Gentlemen of the Road: Seaside Heights Beach
06 - Washington, DC - Warner Theatre ~~
07 - Charleston, WV - Mountain Stage
09 - Louisville, KY - Headliners Music Hall ~~
10 - Chicago, IL - Pritzker Pavilion at Millenium Park *
11 - Indianapolis, IN - Farmer's Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park
12 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo
14 - Cincinnati, OH - Horseshoe Cincinnati (The Shoe) *
16 - Columbus, OH - The LC Pavilion *
17 - Charlotte, NC - The Uptown Amphitheater at the Music Factory *
19 - Waverly, IA - Gentlemen of the Road: Wartburg College Athletic Fields
20 - Madison, WI - The Capitol Theatre ^
21 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant ^
24 - Dallas, TX - Annette Strauss Square at AT&T Performing Arts Center ^
25 - Austin, TX - Stubb's ^
26 - Aurora, IL - Two Brothers Summer Festival
27 - Peoria, IL - Limelight Eventplex ~~
JULY
07 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory &
09 - Calgary, AB - Republik &
10 - Edmonton, AB - Starlite Room &
11 - Winnipeg, MB - Winnipeg Folk Festival
12 - Winnipeg, MB - Winnipeg Folk Festival
14 - Minneapolis, MN - Cabooze Plaza #
15 - Sioux Falls, SD - Orpheum Theatre +
17 - Fargo, ND - Fargo Theatre &
18 - Appleton, WI - Lawrence Chapel +
20 - Toronto, ON - The Phoenix &
21 - Burlington, VT - Higher Ground &
24 - Camden, NJ - Xponential Music Festival
27 - New York, NY - Central Park Summerstage ◊
28 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE (Outdoors) *
29 - Rochester Hills, MI - Meadowbrook Amphitheater *
31 - Council Bluff, IA - Harrah's Hotel & Casino - Stir Cove
AUGUST
02 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks *
14 - Walla Walla, WA - entlemen of the Road: Whitman College Athletic Fields
21 - Salida, CO - Gentlemen of the Road: Vandaveer Ranch
SEPTEMBER
19 - Templeton, CA - Beaverstock
20 - Del Mar, CA - Kaaboo
~~ = Gill Landry support
* = with Hozier
^ = Langhorne Slim support
& = Sam Outlaw support
# = Lake Street Dive and The Lone Bellow support
+ = The Lone Bellow support
◊ = with First Aid Kit and Andy Shauf
Lockn' Festival is excited to announce Phil Lesh & Friends featuring Carlos Santana. Lockn' is also announcing the full 2015 line-up and daily schedule. The four-day festival takes place September 10-13 on the beautiful Oak Ridge and Lockn' Farms in Arrington, Virginia.
Artist collaborations continue to be the highlight of Lockn', offering once-in-a-lifetime performances that may never be seen again. These sets are often planned and rehearsed, but because the Lockn' artists are such masters of their craft, many are spontaneous and artist initiated.
Several artists perform two shows over two days fostering artists exposure to each other and the audience getting to hear some deep tracks. This year Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters, Widespread Panic, The String Cheese Incident, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Gov't Mule, and Phil Lesh & Friends will make two unique appearances. Phil Lesh & Friends performs one show with special guest Carlos Santana, Warren Haynes, Barry Sless, Rob Barraco & John Molo, and then a second show with Chris Robinson, Neal Casal, Adam MacDougall, Eric Krasno and Tony Leone.
Mad Dogs & Englishmen: A Tribute to Joe Cocker hosted by Tedeschi Trucks Band and featuring original band members Leon Russell and Rita Coolidge with Dave Mason, Chris Robinson, Doyle Bramhall II and more.
Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady Celebrate 50 Years of Jefferson Airplane featuring Rachael Price (of Lake Street Drive), GE Smith, Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams and others.
The String Cheese Incident will perform a special set with the legendary Doobie Brothers as "The Doobie Incident" presenting the classic catalog in a unique and unforgettable performance.
This year's lineup also features Bill Kreutzmann's Billy & The Kids with special guest Dominic Lalli of Big Gigantic, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Umphrey's McGee, Slightly Stoopid, Little Feat, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe with Chuck Leavell, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Soulive, North Mississippi Allstars, Anders Osborne, Melvin Seals & JGB with John Kadlecik, Hot Tuna, Steve Earle & The Dukes, The Jayhawks, Keller Williams' Grateful Gospel, Galactic, Soulive, Deer Tick, Strangefolk, Moonalice, Fishbone, The Oh Hellos & more to be announced.
Lockn' is heralded by media, artists and fans alike as one of the best run and most unique festivals in the country. Lockn' Festival features on-site camping, local food, craft beer, lifestyle events, biking and hiking tours, daily yoga, SoberLockn', family camping and so much more.
The Lockn' Festival presents an evening with Leon Russell on Saturday, July 11th at the new Locknwood stage on Lockn' Farm in Arrington, Va.
This exclusive FREE show is only open to Lockn' 2015 ticket holders. You must have bought or buy a Lockn' 2015 ticket by show time to attend.
Opening the show will be Charlottesville favorites and 2014 Rockn' to Lockn' winners Erin & The Wildfire.
To purchase Lockn' 2015 tickets and/or RSVP for your free passes to Leon Russell, visit www.locknfestival.com.
Leon Russell is best known as the band leader for Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen, and he will be performing with Mad Dogs and Englishmen, a Tribute to Joe Cocker, in an exclusive appearance at Lockn' 2015 along with Tedeschi Trucks Band, Dave Mason, Rita Coolidge, Chris Robinson and others.
Russell is a Grammy Award winning writer, producer and arranger whose music has been performed by Elton John, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, The Byrds, Willie Nelson, George Harrison and so many more.
The 2015 Lockn' Festival will be held September 1013th at the Oak Ridge Farm in Arrington, Virginia and will also feature Robert Plant & Sensational Space Shifters, Phil Lesh & Friends with Carlos Santana, Jorma & Jack celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Jefferson Airplane, The Doobie Incident featuring The Doobie Brothers with The String Cheese Incident, Gov't Mule, Little Feat, Widespread Panic, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, St. Paul & The Broken Bones and many more.
For more detail on Lockn' Festival, tickets and the exclusive free show with Leon Russell go to www.locknfestival.com.
Having just played a triumphant and powerful Bonnaroo performance this past weekend, Robert Plant and the Sensational Space are far from ready to stop touring in support of what many critics are calling his greatest solo album, lullaby and...The Ceaseless Roar (Nonesuch/Warner Bros). Records. Today, the band is announcing new fall dates, including two shows at Lockn' Music Festival, as well as rescheduled ones to make up for last week's postponed shows in Toronto, Detroit and Chicago. Tickets already purchased will be honored at the rescheduled shows. The complete list of dates is below. Tickets will go on sale this Friday, June 19 at 10am EDT via robertplant.com.
lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar was named one of the top 50 albums of the year by NPR, which said, "At 66, the singer is still a majestic rock presence, at peace with the legacy of his hard-rock-defining band Led Zeppelin, while remaining relentlessly creative in his solo work. But on his 10th solo album, Plant does pause by those waters to consider the aesthetic, emotional and spiritual currents that have shaped his illustrious life. He finds himself, characteristically, not saddened but renewed... Not one of these songs sounds precisely like its source; that's the genius of this album. It lovingly layers elements in ways that mirror memory, creating new constructs from floating shards of the musical past."
Plant described lullaby and...The Ceaseless Roar as, "a celebratory record, powerful, gritty, African, Trance meets Zep." He continues, "The whole impetus of my life as a singer has to be driven by a good brotherhood. I am very lucky to work with The Sensational Space Shifters. They come from exciting areas of contemporary music..." The Sensational Space Shifters are Justin Adams: bendirs, djembe, guitars, tehardant, background vocals; John Baggott: keyboards, loops, moog bass, piano, tabal, background vocals; Juldeh Camara: kologo, ritti, Fulani vocals; Billy Fuller: bass, drum programming, omnichord, upright bass; Dave Smith: drum set; and Liam "Skin" Tyson: banjo, guitar, background vocals.
The album received some of the best reviews of Plant's solo career, with the Wall Street Journal saying, "Robert Plant knows where rock's past begins and he's pulling it into the future," and the New York Times stating that "On lullaby and...The Ceaseless Roar, Mr. Plant often sings in an otherworldly voice: sustained, androgynous, balanced between serenity and ache." Pitchfork noted that "Lullaby sees Plant stepping up with his first batch of original songs in nearly a decade, answering his band's derring-do with some of the most bravely confessional writing of his career," while Noisey raved, "Plant's aged gracefully, growing into a sound that's more finessed and even, at times, elegant. These aren't the recordings of some old dude lost in a music studio messing around with the funny-shaped knobs on a mixer. Plant's still got it, using his experience and vision to blend sounds of the world with blues to form music that's weirdly cohesive and progressive, all supporting his distinguished and defined voice."
The Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters Fall 2015 tour dates are below:
September
10 - Rochester Hills, MI - Meadowbrook Music Festival
12 - 13 - Arrington, VA - Lockn' Music Festival
15 - Toronto, ONT - Molson Amphitheatre
18 - New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom
20 - Boston, MA - Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
23 - Chicago, IL - FirstMerit Bank Pavilion @ Northerly Island
The Lockn' Festival is thrilled to announce that Jimmy Cliff will be returning to Lockn' Festival 2015. This will be a special collaborative set with Cliff sitting in with Lockn' Festival veterans Widespread Panic.
Jimmy Cliff delivered one of the audience's favorite sets in the festival's inaugural year 2013, with many describing it as a "religious experience" for them. The legendary Jimmy Cliff has one of the most recognizable voices in reggae. He is a Grammy award winning musician, actor, singer, songwriter, producer, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and a voice of power and conscience.
The 2015 Lockn' Festival will be held September 10-13th at the Oak Ridge Farm in Arrington, Virginia and will also feature Robert Plant & Sensational Space Shifters (two nights), Phil Lesh & Friends with Carlos Santana, Mad Dogs & Englishmen, a Tribute to Joe Cocker ft. Tedeschi Trucks Band, original tour alumni and many more, Jorma & Jack celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Jefferson Airplane, The Doobie Incident featuring The Doobie Brothers with The String Cheese Incident, Gov't Mule, Little Feat, Widespread Panic, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, St. Paul & The Broken Bones and many more.
For more detail on Lockn' Festival and to purchase tickets go to www.locknfestival.com or call 1-800-594-TIXX.
On Friday, September 11, 2015, Lockn' Festival presents an exclusive performance of Mad Dogs & Englishmen, hosted and curated by Tedeschi Trucks Band and featuring Leon Russell with many original members of the famed tour, as well as additional special guests, to take place at Lockn' Festival in Arrington, Virginia.
In 2013, Lockn' Festival and Tedeschi Trucks Band began discussions to collaborate with Joe Cocker for a special event. This planned collaboration would have brought together Tedeschi Trucks Band with Joe Cocker and some original members of Mad Dogs & Englishmen and other guest artists.
The idea was well received, but sadly, Joe Cocker died, after a long illness, in December 2014. However, the idea has survived.
In his honor, Tedeschi Trucks Band will host Mad Dogs & Englishmen, a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration, exclusive to the 2015 Lockn' Festival, to celebrate Joe Cocker. This not-to-be-missed event will feature a lineup that must be seen to be believed.
Original Mad Dogs & Englishmen members include: Leon Russell (guitar and keyboards), Rita Coolidge (vocals), Bobby Jones (vocals), Claudia Lennear (vocals - 20 Feet From Stardom), Chris Stainton (keyboards - Eric Clapton, The Who), Chuck Blackwell (percussion - Everly Brothers), Bobby Torres (percussion), Pamela Polland (vocals - Ry Cooder, Bonnie Raitt), Matthew Moore (vocals) and Daniel Moore (vocals).
Special guests include: Chris Robinson (Black Crowes), Dave Mason (Traffic), Doyle Bramhall II, Anders Osborne (Galactic), Alecia Chakour (Warren Haynes Band), Shannon McNally and more.
The 2015 Lockn' Festival is September 10-13 at the Oak Ridge Farm in Arrington, Virginia and will also feature Robert Plant & Sensational Space Shifters performing 2 nights with 2 different sets, Phil Lesh & Friends with Carlos Santana, Jorma & Jack celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Jefferson Airplane, Widespread Panic with special guest Jimmy Cliff, Gov't Mule, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, The Doobie Incident featuring The Doobie Brothers with The String Cheese Incident, Little Feat, St. Paul & The Broken Bones and many more.
Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady celebrate 50 Years of JEFFERSON AIRPLANE with special guest performances on Friday, September 11th at the Lockn' Music Festival. The festival made a teaser video that is available now.
It was 50 years ago this summer that Jefferson Airplane formed and quickly established themselves as the progenitors of the infamous San Francisco psychedelic rock sound.
With historic performances at Woodstock, Monterey Pop Festival, Altamont and other theaters, arenas and stadiums throughout the world, Jefferson Airplane had many Top 10 hits, including "Somebody To Love" and "White Rabbit", sold millions of albums in the late 60's and early 70's, and influenced generations of rock music fans.
In 1972, Jorma and Jack left the band for creative reasons and have toured as Hot Tuna ever since.
In an exclusive Lockn' Festival engagement, they will be joined by Rachael Price (Lake Street Dive), G.E. Smith (formerly of SNL), Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams (Bob Dylan, Levon Helm Band) Jeff Pehrson (Furthur), Justin Guip (Hot Tuna), and very special guest Bill Kreutzmann of Grateful Dead on drums.
The 2015 Lockn' Festival will be held September 10-13th at the Oak Ridge Farm in Arrington, Virginia and will also feature Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters performing two nights with two different sets, Phil Lesh & Friends with Carlos Santana, Mad Dogs & Englishmen: A Tribute to Joe Cocker featuring Tedeschi Trucks Band, Leon Russell, 11 original Mad Dogs members, Chris Robinson and more, Widespread Panic with special guest Jimmy Cliff, Gov't Mule, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, The Doobie Incident featuring The Doobie Brothers with The String Cheese Incident, Little Feat, St. Paul & The Broken Bones and many more.
Lockn' Festival presents Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters for an exclusive two-night engagement that will feature two completely different sets on September 12 & 13, 2015. Plant has never done anything like this in his career, and it will undoubtedly make for some unique and historical moments.
Plant and the Space Shifters are touring in support of what many critics are calling his greatest solo album, lullaby and...The Ceaseless Roar (Nonesuch/Warner Brothers), and the performances have been receiving raves across the globe. Rolling Stone said the band's Bonnaroo set was "one of the festival's must-watch gigs," and the Los Angeles Times hailed: "Reaffirming that the ever-adventurous Plant has used his legacy as a launching pad rather than a resting place, the singer and his band the Sensational Space Shifters fuse new and old material with bluegrass melodies, Celtic percussion, African fiddle, spooky electronica and mike-stand-twirling rock...they succeed in fusing an untouchable legacy with a passion for experimentation."
The 2015 Lockn' Festival is September 10-13th at the Oak Ridge Farm in Arrington, VA, and
will also feature Phil Lesh & Friends with Carlos Santana, an exclusive performance of Mad Dogs & Englishmen featuring Tedeschi Trucks Band, Leon Russell and other special guests, Jorma & Jack celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Jefferson Airplane, Widespread Panic with special guest Jimmy Cliff, Gov't Mule, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, The Doobie Incident featuring The Doobie Brothers with The String Cheese Incident, Little Feat, St. Paul & The Broken Bones and many more.
The Grateful Dead's Bob Weir and Mickey Hart are the latest additions to the lineup at the Lockn' Music Festival. Weir will perform as the Featured Guest Of The Day appearing in unique Artist collaborations on Saturday, September 12th. Hart will curate a "deep rhythm experience" at Lockn's forest stage during two consecutive one-of-a--kind late-night presentations-tuning The Woods with sound, lights, and vibrations for unprecedented multi---sensory sets-and performing a third evening on the main stage with EOTO.
In addition to Weir and Hart, Lockn' Festival features their Grateful Dead bandmates Phil Lesh, performing with Carlos Santana, Chris Robinson, Warren Haynes, and others, and Bill Kreutzmann, who will perform with both Billy & The Kids and Jorma & Jack Celebrating 50 Years Of Jefferson Airplane.
"It is an honor to be invited to share the stage at Lockn' Festival with my musical brothers and sister, Phil Lesh, Warren Haynes, Phil's Band as well as my talented wife, Cindy Blackman Santana," Santana told Billboard magazine. "Each bring their own unique vision and touch that will make for a rainbow explosion of sound, resonance, vibration that will touch everyone at the center of their heart. I know my brother, Jerry Garcia, will be smiling down on us as we compliment and soar into the heavens to create a new landscape of light & love, where time, space and gravity disappears and it is just the music and your heart."
"After the magic of the 'Fare Thee Well' shows, we knew we had to figure out how to have Bobby and Mickey at Lockn'," said festival co-founder/co-promoter Peter Shapiro. "All four of the guys are coming to do their own thing, but just to have them all there with us in Arrington is sure to mean a lot to our extended Grateful Dead family."
The 2015 Lockn' Festival is September 10-13 at the Oak Ridge Farm in Arrington, Virginia and will also feature Robert Plant & Sensational Space Shifters performing two alternative sets over two nights, Mad Dogs & Englishmen 2015 Celebrate Joe Cocker With Tedeschi Trucks Band, Leon Russell, eleven original Mad Dogs members, and many more, Jorma & Jack Celebrate 50 Years Of Jefferson Airplane, Widespread Panic with Jimmy Cliff, Gov't Mule, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, The Doobie Incident, Little Feat, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, and many more.
American Roots Festival, LLC (a subsidiary of Blackbird Production Partners, LLC) and Live Nation are proud to announce the American Roots Music & Arts Festival. North Carolina's own Eric Church, headlines two days of an extraordinary line-up of artists including Modest Mouse, Sheryl Crow, The Roots, Willie Nelson, Warren Haynes, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Grace Potter, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Chris Stapleton, Railroad Earth, Leftover Salmon, and Greensky Bluegrass. Additional performers and special events will be announced in the coming weeks. The festival will take place on Saturday, October 17 & Sunday, October 18 at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre in Raleigh, NC.
The festival will also honor Raleigh and the Triangle area community by bringing music fans together with local food, beer, & crafts vendors at The Taste of Raleigh Food & Brews Celebration, scheduledto take place at the festival throughout the weekend.
Artist fan club and Citi® cardmember pre-sales begin Thursday August 6 at 10am edt through Sunday August 9 at 10pm edt. For complete Citi® cardmember pre-sale details through Citi's Private Pass® Program, visit www.citiprivatepass.com.
Tickets for the general public go on sale Monday August 10 at 10am edt at LiveNation.com, via the Live Nation app, the Walnut Creek Amphitheatre box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, or by phone 800-745-3000. A range of dynamic VIP and travel packages will be available.
"Raleigh has an energy that celebrates the best in music, food and arts, making it the perfect place to launch the American Roots Music & Arts Festival. This incredible line-up headlined by North Carolina's own Eric Church along with The Taste of Raleigh Food & Brews Celebration will give music fans and the Raleigh community an unforgettable experience,"says Keith Wortman, CEO of Blackbird Production Partners, LLC.
"The American Roots Music & Arts Festival will be THE event of the season," says Wilson Howard, President Live Nation Southeast. "We could not be more excited to present such an incredible line-up of artists headlined by North Carolina's own Eric Church. Live Nation and Blackbird are thrilled to bring a two-day festival of this magnitude to the Triangle area community. Don't miss out!
The American Roots Music & Arts Festival initial line-up announcement is:
Opening of Campgrounds Delayed Until Further Notice and Thursday Performances Canceled
Earlier this evening, a severe thunderstorm with high winds passed over Lockn' and caused damage to the festival grounds, particularly the parking and campground area. The good news is that no one was injured and the entire team is focused on cleaning up and preparing for a great festival. The unfortunate news is that we will be forced to delay the opening of the campgrounds and cancel Thursday's performances in order to give the team the time necessary to make sure the festival grounds are safe for both our guests and our artists.
Despite the inconvenience the storm has caused, we count ourselves lucky that everyone is safe and that we have three great days of music ahead of us. We look forward to seeing you soon.
Stay tuned for new campgrounds opening times and other updates.
Campgrounds at Lockn’ to open first thing Friday morning
Lockn’ attendees are welcome in Lynchburg at:
River Ridge Mall, 3405 Candlers Mtn Rd, there is plenty of parking and restaurants.
James River Conference Center, 400 Court Street, there are restaurants and attendees are welcome to stay in the parking lot overnight.
The Hillcats Stadium, 3176 Fort Avenue (enter off Oakley), attendees are welcome to stay in the parking lot overnight.
There are available hotels in Lynchburg and Charlottesville. We will provide regular updates and appreciate your patience while we work to provide a safe event site & an amazing festival.
Florida based "Tropical Indie Pop" sextet The Hip Abduction are set to release their sophomore full length album Gold Under the Glow on March 11, 2016. The Hip Abduction place heavy emphasis on African stringed instruments (kora, ngoni) mixed with dub-reggae bass lines and funky afro-beat percussion. Gold Under the Glow captures the high-energy of The Hip Abduction's signature sound but with an added indie rock twist. In celebration of the new album release, to be distributed by ILS Group/Caroline/Universal, the band will be headlining an East Coast tour this spring.
Gold Under the Glow was recorded in Nashville this past summer and produced by Dabney Morris (Wild Cub). With Morris at the helm, The Hip Abduction reimagined their energetic world/reggae vibe by infusing indie pop overtones. The new release will feature tracks "Come Alive", which can currently be heard on Sirius XM JamOn and "Before We Lose Our Minds", the album's first official single set to be released in January 2016. Gold Under the Glow comes as follow-up to their 2013 self-titled release, The Hip Abduction, which landed the band at #5 on the Billboard reggae charts.
Before diving into a headlining tour with stops in New York, DC, The Carolinas, Alabama, and Florida this March, The Hip Abduction will hit the road in early 2016 with The Expendables and Zach Deputy Band. Upcoming tour dates can be found below with additional spring dates to be announced soon!
Lockn' is very proud to announce the lineup for its fourth annual event. Phish will be making its first appearance at the festival with a two-night, four-set headlining slot on the Friday and Sunday of the weekend. This will mark the band's only festival performance in 2016. Ween, who are fresh off three reunion shows in Broomfield, CO that sold out instantly, will perform right before Phish on the Friday night. Another Lockn' first timer, the beloved My Morning Jacket will headline on the Saturday night.
"Phish has headlined their own festivals many times, but they have rarely played festivals with other bands performing," Lockn' co-founder Peter Shapiro told Rolling Stone. "So, this is going to be a big moment for their fans. To get to see Ween play right before Phish is the kind of unique musical moment that we created Lockn' for."
Also performing is an eclectic collection of some of the best live acts in the scene today, including: Joe Russo's Almost Dead on two different nights, Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, Brandi Carlile, Gary Clark, Jr., Galactic, Keller's Grateful Gospel, Lettuce, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Turkuaz, Twiddle, Umphrey's McGee, Vulfpeck and White Denim. An array of additional artists will be unveiled soon. The four-day camping festival will take place from August 25-28 on the same beautiful Oak Ridge Farm in Arrington, VA.
General Admission and VIP tickets for Lockn' 2016 will go on sale this Friday, February 19 at 12 noon ET via http://www.locknfestival.com, as will on-site camping, RV and hotel and shuttle packages. Lockn' 2016 will take place August 25-28 and will henceforth take place on this final August weekend. The new dates will allow festival attendees greater access to hotels and RV rentals while easing stress on local government agencies, service providers, and the labor force required to put on such an epic event.
Along with its emphasis on musical invention and environmental sustainability, Lockn' also features an array of other activities, from on-site camping, locally sourced food, and craft beer to lifestyle events, biking and hiking tours, daily yoga, SoberLockn', family camping, and much more. Lockn' is also home to Participation Row, a Social Action Village that serves as host and hub for a variety of non-profits, facilitating action and other involvement by Lockn' Festivalgoers. Participation Row at Lockn' is sponsored by Qello Concerts, the largest streaming library of live concerts and music documentaries.
Widely praised by fans and media for being among the best run and uniquely creative festivals in the country, Lockn' 2016 is picking up where the 2015 event left off as it featured one of the most extraordinary bills in the festival's history with a line-up that saw several legendary artists performing two unique shows over two days, including Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters, Widespread Panic, The String Cheese Incident, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Gov't Mule, Phil Lesh & Friends (featuring special guest Carlos Santana). Among LOCKN' 2015's other once-in-a-lifetime artist collaborations were "'Mad Dogs & Englishmen: A Tribute to Joe Cocker,"' hosted by Tedeschi Trucks Band and featuring original band members Leon Russell and Rita Coolidge with Dave Mason, Chris Robinson, and Doyle Bramhall II, and "'Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady Celebrate 50 Years of Jefferson Airplane,"' featuring Rachael Price (of Lake Street Drive), GE Smith, Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, and others. The String Cheese Incident partnered with The Doobie Brothers as "'The Doobie Incident"' presenting the legendary band's classic catalog in an unforgettable one-set-only performance. In its history, Lockn' has also hosted Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Willie Nelson, Wilco and many others.
From inception, Lockn' quickly established itself as a national festival on par with the best in the country. Now, with the announcement of Lockn' 2016's initial lineup, the festival continues to raise the bar for incomparable large scale creative programming as it cements its reputation as one of the premiere American concert events of the summer.
Florida based "Tropical Indie Pop" sextet The Hip Abduction are set to release their sophomore full length album Gold Under the Glow on March 11, 2016. The Hip Abduction place heavy emphasis on African stringed instruments (kora, ngoni) mixed with dub-reggae bass lines and funky afro-beat percussion. Gold Under the Glow captures the high-energy of The Hip Abduction's signature sound but with an added indie rock twist. In celebration of the new album release, to be distributed by ILS Group/Caroline/Universal, the band will be headlining an East Coast tour this spring.
Gold Under the Glow was recorded in Nashville this past summer and produced by Dabney Morris (Wild Cub). With Morris at the helm, The Hip Abduction re-imagined their energetic world/reggae vibe by infusing indie pop overtones. The new release will feature tracks "Come Alive", which can currently be heard on Sirius XM JamOn and "Before We Lose Our Minds", the album's first official single set to be released in January 2016. Gold Under the Glow comes as follow-up to their 2013 self-titled release, The Hip Abduction, which landed the band at #5 on the Billboard reggae charts.
Eliot Lipp is a veteran musician and sound designer gearing up to release his 9th studio album, Come To Life (Old Tacoma Records, Pretty Lights Music) May 2016. After more than a decade living in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York (but equally home on the road), the intrepid producer returned to his roots in the Pacific Northwest before recording the album, much of which came together over a single inspired weekend.
Returning home provided Lipp with new inspirations for his blend of sampledelic funk and techno inspired hiphop beats. The mossy green woods and snowy mountains of the Pacific Northwest were essential to the ambiance and texture of the sounds. The result is a digital landscape filled with beautiful analog creations.
"The music I make is a soundtrack to my life" explains Lipp. "I made this record to help me stay positive while life was being a little rough on me. I discovered a therapeutic power in music I never knew existed."
Come To Life is a musical journey all the way through. The album showcases many different musical stylings and shows off Lipp's musicianship. "Somewhere between the instrumental hip-hop on my first records and my more recent dance floor inspired beats, I found that a certain funk in all of that remains consistent. This new album is about an awakening so I felt it was important to dig back in to my musical past for inspiration. I came back with some well-rounded electronic grooves."
In anticipation of the album release, Lipp will hit the road for several dates across the country with Blockhead, as well as Late Night Radio and SuperVision.
Be sure to keep up at eliotlipp.com for up to date info, album news, and tour date announcements.
[PRE ORDER NOW] 12" LPs and Cassettes will be available through Detroit's YHS Records, pre-order here.
ELIOT LIPP TOUR DATES
3.22 - Philadelphia, PA - Silk City* 3.23 - Washington, DC - U Street Music Hall*
3.24 - Boston, MA - Middle East* 3.25 - New York, NY - Slake* 3.26 - Burlington, VT - ArtsRiot* 3.27 - Montreal, QC - New Speak* 3.29 - Lexington, KY - Cosmic Charlies* 3.30 - Louisville, KY - Zanzibar* 3.31 - Asheville, NC - Asheville Music Hall* 4.01 - Knoxville, TN - Concourse* 4.02 - Atlanta, GA - Iris Nightclub* 4.15 - Frisco, CO - Barkley 4.28 - Chicago, IL - 1st Ward @ Chop Shop∞ 4.29 - St. Louis, MO - 2720™ 4.30 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Stache™ 5.04 - San Diego, CA - Soda Bar* 5.05 - Los Angeles CA - Resident* 5.06 - San Francisco, CA - 1015 Folsom* 5.07 - Seattle, WA - Nectar Lounge* * w/ Blockhead ™ w/ Late Night Radio ∞ w/ Supervision
LOCKN' is excited to announce additions to an already stellar lineup, including EOTO, Hard Working Americans, Circles Around the Sun, Doobie Decibel System, Moon Taxi, Garcia's Forest and Donna the Buffalo. EOTO features members of The String Cheese Incident, Hard Working Americans includes members of Widespread Panic and Chris Robinson Brotherhood, and Doobie Decibel System has Jay Lane (Ratdog, Primus), Jason Crosby (Phil Lesh & Friends) and Dan Leibowitz (ALO, Phil Lesh & Friends) in the band. Circles Around the Sun is a band that was put together by guitarist Neal Casal specifically to record just for the Fare Thee Well show intermissions. The results were so captivating and the audience response so overwhelmingly positive that the music was later given a proper release. Their appearance at LOCKN' will be their first live show ever.
The four-day camping festival, set to take place August 25 - 28 at Oak Ridge Farm in Arrington, VA, is also presenting headliners Phish, who will be making its first appearance at the festival with a two-night, four-set slot on the Friday and Sunday of the weekend. This will mark the band's only festival performance in 2016. Ween will perform right before Phish on the Friday night. Another LOCKN' first timer, the beloved My Morning Jacket will headline on the Saturday night.
Also performing is an eclectic collection of some of the best live acts in the scene today, including: Joe Russo's Almost Dead on two different nights, Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, Brandi Carlile, Gary Clark, Jr., Galactic, Keller's Grateful Gospel, Lettuce, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Turkuaz, Twiddle, Umphrey's McGee, Vulfpeck and White Denim. More artists will be announced soon.
General Admission and VIP tickets for LOCKN' 2016 are on sale now as are on-site camping, RV and hotel and shuttle packages.
Along with its emphasis on musical invention and environmental sustainability, LOCKN' also features an array of other activities, from on-site camping, locally sourced food, and craft beer to lifestyle events, biking and hiking tours, daily yoga, SoberLOCKN', family camping, and much more. "Garcia's Tent," a fan favorite at the previous two LOCKN's, will expand this year into its own environment, to be known as "Garcia's Forest."
LOCKN' is also home to Participation Row, a Social Action Village that serves as host and hub for a variety of non-profits, facilitating action and other involvement by LOCKN' Festivalgoers. Participation Row at LOCKN' is sponsored by Qello Concerts, the largest streaming library of live concerts and music documentaries.
Widely praised by fans and media for being among the best run and uniquely creative festivals in the country, LOCKN' 2016 is picking up where the 2015 event left off as it featured one of the most extraordinary bills in the festival's history with a line-up that saw several legendary artists performing two unique shows over two days, including Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters, Widespread Panic, The String Cheese Incident, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Gov't Mule, Phil Lesh & Friends (featuring special guest Carlos Santana). Among LOCKN' 2015's other once-in-a-lifetime artist collaborations were "'Mad Dogs & Englishmen: A Tribute to Joe Cocker,"' hosted by Tedeschi Trucks Band and featuring original band members Leon Russell and Rita Coolidge with Dave Mason, Chris Robinson, and Doyle Bramhall II, and "'Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady Celebrate 50 Years of Jefferson Airplane,"' featuring Rachael Price (of Lake Street Drive), GE Smith, Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, and others. The String Cheese Incident partnered with The Doobie Brothers as "'The Doobie Incident"' presenting the legendary band's classic catalog in an unforgettable one-set-only performance. In its history, LOCKN' has also hosted Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Willie Nelson, Wilco and many others.
From inception, LOCKN' quickly established itself as a national festival on par with the best in the country. Now, with the announcement of LOCKN' 2016's initial lineup, the festival continues to raise the bar for incomparable large scale creative programming as it cements its reputation as one of the premiere American concert events of the summer.
Blackbird Presents and Concord Bicycle Music are partnering to distribute three of Blackbird Presents’ most extraordinary concert events. The upcoming releases include “The Musical Mojo of Dr. John: A Celebration of Mac & His Music” to be released via Concord Records and “The Life & Songs Of Emmylou Harris: An All-Star Concert Celebration” and “Dear Jerry: Celebrating the Music of Jerry Garcia,” both to be available via Rounder Records. All three will be available in a range of configurations, including CD, DVD, two-disc CD/DVD packages, and all digital formats. Blackbird is also poised to begin discussions with a range of broadcast outlets for these concert specials. Official street dates and complete tracklistings for all three releases will be announced soon.
“I’m thrilled to be working with Scott Pascucci and the entire Concord Music Group team at Concord and Rounder Records,” says Blackbird Presents CEO Keith Wortman. “They are the ideal partners to work with us in distributing our extraordinary releases to music fans of these artists around the world.
“Blackbird Presents consistently produces world-class artist tribute shows, and we are thrilled to be partnering with Keith and his team on these three projects,” stated Concord Bicycle Music CEO, Scott Pascuscci.
“The Musical Mojo of Dr. John: A Celebration of Mac & His Music” a concert event honoring GRAMMY® Award-winning musical icon and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Mac “Dr. John” Rebennack, was held at the historic Saenger Theatre in his beloved hometown of New Orleans. The evening featured a surprise appearance by Bruce Springsteen joining the Doctor for a raucous rendition of 1973’s classic hit, “Right Place Wrong Time.” From there Dr. John was joined onstage by a truly stellar lineup of friends and fans, including John Fogerty, Jason Isbell, Widespread Panic, Ryan Bingham, Warren Haynes, Aaron Neville among many others. The performers were backed by an all-star band led by GRAMMY® Award-winner Don Was.
“The Life & Songs Of Emmylou Harris: An All- Star Concert Celebration” paid tribute to one of the most beloved singer/songwriters in the annals of American music at Washington, DC’s DAR Constitution Hall with such luminaries as Kris Kristofferson, Alison Krauss, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, Lucinda Williams, Martina McBride along with many others took to the stage to honor Emmylou Harris. The iconic musician/producer Daniel Lanois, who produced Harris’ album “Wrecking Ball”, also took the stage to perform at this momentous occasion. GRAMMY® Award-winners Don Was and Buddy Miller served as music directors, leading an all-star backing band.
An extraordinary collection of artists came together at Columbia, MD’s Meriwether Post Pavilion for “Dear Jerry: Celebrating the Music of Jerry Garcia,” honoring of one of the most influential musicians and cultural icons of all time. The concert event – which kicked off last year’s Grateful Dead 50th anniversary celebrations - saw a sold out house of more than 20,000 fans treated to performances by all surviving members of the band, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann in addition to performances by Eric Church, Jimmy Cliff, Peter Frampton, Grace Potter, and many more.
About Blackbird Presents
Blackbird Presents is a global media company that produces premium content via a range of strategies including large-scale concert events & festivals, broadcast series & specials, and music releases featuring major music stars across all genres and demographics. Blackbird’s productions center on the celebration of music legends and feature performances by today’s music stars creating unforgettable content.
Blackbird’s recent concerts, broadcast specials, and releases include “Imagine: John Lennon 75th Birthday Concert,” “Outlaw: Celebrating The Music of Waylon Jennings,” “Dear Jerry: Celebrating the Music of Jerry Garcia,” “I’ll Take You There: Celebrating 75 Years of Mavis Staples,” “The Life and Songs of Emmylou Harris,” “Lynryd Skynrd: One More For The Fans,” “The Musical Mojo of Dr. John: Celebrating Mac and His Music,” and “All My Friends: Celebrating The Songs and Voice of Gregg Allman,” the latter of which earned a 2014 GRAMMY® Award nomination for Gregg Allman and Taj Mahal’s awe-inspiring performance of “Statesboro Blues.”
Concord Bicycle Music is one of the largest independent, fully integrated recorded music and publishing companies in the world.
With offices in Beverly Hills, New York, Nashville and Cleveland, Concord Bicycle Music is comprised of Concord Music Group and The Bicycle Music Company. Concord Music Group primarily manages the company’s recorded music activities, while The Bicycle Music Company oversees publishing and rights management.
Concord Bicycle Music is owned by Wood Creek Capital Management, Sound Investors, and seventy institutional and individual partners, including forty members of the company’s management team. Wood Creek is a leading investor in intellectual property assets including music, other copyrights, filmed content and patents and trademarks, with over $2.7 billion in committed capital.
Concord Bicycle Music’s portfolio of more than 10,000 active album recordings includes at least 369 RIAA certified gold, platinum, or multi-platinum releases. Concord Bicycle Music’s songbook includes over 55,000 copyrighted works and more than 750 Billboard® chart hits.
The company’s celebrated family of labels includes Bicycle, Concord, Fantasy, Fearless, Hear Music, HighTone, Kidz Bop, Loma Vista, Milestone, Nitro, Prestige, Razor & Tie, Riverside, Rounder, Specialty, Stax, Sugar Hill, Telarc, Vanguard, Vee-Jay and Wind-up.
LOCKN' has announced the "Friends" who will perform with Phil Lesh at this year's festival, including Jon Fishman & Page McConnell (Phish), Joe Russo (Joe Russo's Almost Dead) and The Infamous Stringdusters on Saturday, and Chris Robinson Brotherhood with a special guest sit-in by Gary Clark Jr. on Sunday. Saturday's Phil Lesh & Friends performance featuring Jon Fishman & Joe Russo will invoke the double-drumming spirit of the Grateful Dead.
The four-day festival will take place August 25 - 28 at Oak Ridge Farm in Arrington, VA, presenting headliners Phish, who will make their first appearance at the festival with a two-night, four-set slot on Friday and Sunday of the weekend. This will mark the band's only festival performance in 2016. Recently reunited Ween will perform right before Phish on Friday night. Another LOCKN' first timer, the beloved My Morning Jacket will headline on Saturday night, playing their last shows of the year on the East Coast.
The LOCKN' 2016 lineup is below:
THURSDAY:
Ween
Umphrey's McGee
Vulfpeck
Joe Russo's Almost Dead (Blue Ridge Bowl Late)
EOTO (The Woods Late)
FRIDAY:
Phish
Ween
Peter Wolf (of the J. Geils Band)
Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires
White Denim
Vulfpeck
Turkuaz
Moogatu
Joe Russo's Almost Dead (Blue Ridge Bowl Late)
Circles Around the Sun (The Woods Late)
Donna The Buffalo (Blue Ridge Bowl Morning)
SATURDAY:
My Morning Jacket
Tedeschi Trucks Band
Phil Lesh & Friends ft. Jon Fishman, Page McConnell, Joe Russo & The Infamous Stringdusters
The Avett Brothers have released a video and a sneak peak of songs to be performed for their extraordinary upcoming concert event Dear Jerry: This Is 30! featuring special guest Warren Haynes, one of two concerts honoring the music of Jerry Garcia coming to the DC/VA/MD area on October 14 and 15.
The once-in-a-lifetime concert event, produced by Blackbird Presents and the Jerry Garcia Family, will commemorate the 30th anniversary of Garcia's historic return to the concert stage by recreating a classic Jerry Garcia Band show from October 1986, plus performances of additional Garcia classics. The set list includes some of Jerry's most beloved songs and covers, including Mission in the Rain, Rubin And Cherise, Run for the Roses and Tangled Up in Blue.
"Jerry Garcia was one of the greatest interpreters of the modern American songbook. We are thrilled to perform these songs for Garcia, Grateful Dead and Avett Brothers fans at this very special concert event," said Seth Avett of The Avett Brothers. "It's always special anytime I get to perform with The Avett Brothers but being able to collaborate with them in performing this special Garcia show takes this to a whole different level," added legendary guitarist/vocalist Warren Haynes (Allman Brothers/Gov't Mule/The Dead).
Dear Jerry:This Is 30! will take place Saturday, October 15, 2016 at Fairfax, VA's EagleBank Arena at George Mason University. Tickets starting at $19.86 are on sale now via ticketmaster.com, by phone at 800-745-3000and all Ticketmaster locations. For complete details go to http://dearjerrytwo.com/thisis30.
Dear Jerry: Let's Play 2 concert events kick off Friday, October 14, 2016 at Washington, DC's DAR Constitution Hall with an evening of performances highlighting material famously played by Garcia throughout his remarkable three-decade career. Jerry Uncovered: Exploring Jerry Garcia Through the JGB Songbook, a once-in-a-lifetime concert event, will showcase Garcia's voluminous range of styles, spanning rock to R&B, bluegrass to blues, with GRAMMY® Award-winning guitarist/vocalist Warren Haynes (Gov't Mule, The Allman Brothers Band, The Dead) and GRAMMY® Award-winning producer Don Was serving as Music Directors, along with a stacked lineup that includes Alison Krauss, Jamey Johnson, John Medeski and Raymond Weber.
JERRY UNCOVERED:
EXPLORING JERRY GARCIA THROUGH THE JGB SONGBOOK
OCTOBER 14 AT DAR CONSTITUTION HALL, WASHINGTON, DC
Theo Katzman has announced his brand new solo album Heartbreak Hits out January 6th, dropping the brand new single "My Heart Is Dead" from his forthcoming album. You may have heard Theo's name as the singing drummer and guitarist in the funky-powerhouse Vulfpeck, but with his upcoming 2017 release Katzman returns to his roots as a rock and roll inspired singer/songwriter. Heartbreak Hits follows Theo's 2011 debut record Romance Without Finance and features the single "Hard Work" which was released earlier this year.
Theo will also be releasing live videos of tracks off the album via Facebook. The first two live videos for singles "Hard Work" and "Good To Be Alone" have already reached 135k plays!
If you've heard the name Theo Katzman recently, you probably know him as the singing drummer and guitarist in the funk band Vulfpeck. But with his upcoming 2017 release, Heartbreak Hits, Katzman returns to his roots as a rock and roll inspired singer/songwriter. A 10-song collection of musings on loss and letdown, Heartbreak Hits is a combination of personal vulnerability and imaginative songcraft. In the words of producer Tyler Duncan, "it's somehow a living dichotomy of tragic/comedic, serious/satirical, over-the-top/subtle, healing/hurting, and I love it.
LOCKN' is very proud to announce the initial lineup for its fifth anniversary event, which it revealed on Thursday by releasing puzzle pieces with artist names throughout the day, eventually culminating in the full initial lineup. More artists will be announced soon.
Named 2016's "Best Festival" by Garden & Gun, LOCKN' continues to raise the bar for incomparable large scale creative programming as it cements its reputation as one of the premiere American festivals.
Early Bird tickets are on sale now, where 4-Day General Admission, VIP and Super VIP tickets can be purchased for the lowest prices available, as well as Camping Passes and Travel Packages.
Desert Stars Festival is excited to announce the first wave of acts for their new spring time sister festival STARRY NITES on SATURDAY MARCH 18th & SUNDAY MARCH 19th, 2017 held on 42 beautiful acres in the mountains of Santa Barbara at LIVE OAK CAMPGROUND (4600 HWY 154)!
Round 1 Line Up:
THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT
THE KILLS
THE DANDY WARHOLS
SHE WANTS REVENGE
BLACK MOUNTAIN
STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK (50 yr anniversary show)
VISUALS BY OBSCURA DIGITAL
THE KOLARS (HE'S MY BROTHER, SHE'S MY SISTER)
ELVIS DEPRESSEDLY
LUMERIANS
FEELS
CELLAR DOORS
DOWN AND OUTLAWS
SKY PARADE
NIGHTMARE AIR
GOON
THE BLANK TAPES
DOWN DIRTY SHAKE
MY DALLAS TEENS
DJ ZIA McCABE (DJ RESCUE)
DJ BILL GAZER
+ stay tuned for further lineup announcements!
4 STAGES / 35+ ACTS / DJ's / IMMERSIVE VISUALS / CAMPING ON SITE
WHERE:
STARRY NITES FESTIVAL @ LIVE OAK CAMPGROUND
4600 HWY 154, Santa Barbara, CA 93105
LIMITED EARLY BIRD PASS DEALS AVAILABLE HERE!
To celebrate the launch, Starry Nites are offering early bird deals and package offers through their PLEDGE MUSIC fundraiser or you can buy tickets through TICKETFLY beginning today.
Infinity Downs Farm, Central Virginia's premier outdoor concert and events venue, and home to the Lockn' Festival, The Festy Experience, and Blue Ridge Bowl amphitheater, is excited to present the initial 2017 calendar. Tickets for all events are on-sale now at www.infinitydowns.com.
Saturday, April 22 - The Revivalists with special guests People's Blues of Richmond at the Blue Ridge Bowl. 7:00 pm. Advance tickets $25. Half-price for Lockn' 2017 ticket holders. $12.50, if you bought (or buy) at 2017 Lockn' ticket free admission, if you bought (or buy) a Lockn' student or military ticket.
Saturday, April 29 - A Day At The Downs - Wildlife and Wine Festival featuring an evening with Bruce Hornsby. A benefit for the Wildlife Conservation Center at 12:00 pm. Wine tastings from Virginia wineries and mingle with the Bongo Antelope and other wildlife onsite to showcase the important work of The Wildlife Conservation Center. All day entertainment, and special evening solo performance with Bruce Hornsby at the Blue Ridge Bowl.
Saturday-Sunday, June 3 & 4-Reebok Spartan Race - Virginia Super and Sprint Weekend. Registration open. With a longer distance than the Sprint and more obstacles, the Super will test your endurance, perseverance and grit. Spartan Race will bring 8-10 miles and more than 25 Signature Spartan Obstacles through tougher and more rugged terrain.
Saturday, June 17 - Nelson County Community Day featuring the Rockn' to LOCKN' finale. 12:00 pm Tickets $10. Benefits The Giving Hope Foundation. This annual family friendly event features local food, craft beer, wineries, family activities, vendors, and more. Music from six local Virginia bands as they compete in Rockn' to LOCKN' finale. Fans vote to choose three winning bands who will go on to perform at the 2017 LOCKN' Festival.
Thursday-Sunday, August 24-27 - LOCKN' Festival returns for its 5th year at the Oak Ridge and Infinity Downs farms. Tickets on-sale now. Four days of music, artist collaborations, food, craft beer, camping, outdoor activities and more. The Avett Brothers, Phil Lesh & Friends, Widespread Panic, Umphrey's McGee, The Revivalists, String Cheese Incident, Keller Williams, Gov't Mule and 14 others bands already announced with more to be added.
Thursday-Sunday, October 5-8 - The 8th Annual Festy Experience returns to Infinity Downs Farm featuring The Infamous Stringdusters and the best in folk and Americana music, craft beer, local food, camping, outdoor and family friend activities. Pre-sale tickets on-sale now with more artists to be announced.
Tickets for all events are on-sale at www.infinitydowns.com, and more events are expected to be announced.
Formally known as Nelson County Preserve, Infinity Downs Farm is a 387 acre property located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Arrington, Virginia. The former 225 year old tobacco farm was purchased in 2014 by the owners of the Lockn' Festival, and has already established a scalable and versatile venue featuring the Blue Ridge Bowl amphitheater, Garcia's Forest performance area in the woods, and plenty of open fields for parking, camping, and other outdoor accommodations. In addition, miles of hiking and bike trails have been curated to enjoy a variety of outdoor activities. Infinity Downs Farm can be found at www.infinitydowns.com, on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
LOCKN' Festival has announced the next stage of competition in its annual "ROCKN' TO LOCKN'" contest, presented in partnership with Starr Hill and Virginia Tourism Corporation. Twenty Virginia-based acts have been selected to take part in an epic battle of the bands, with three finalists selected to perform at LOCKN' Festival 2017, taking place August 24-27, 2017 on the beautiful Oak Ridge and Infinity Downs Farms in Arrington, Virginia. Tier 1 Tickets are available now at www.locknfestival.com/tickets.
ROCKN' TO LOCKN' voting is underway now through Wednesday, March 1 at www.locknfestival.com/rtlvote. Fans can listen to the music of the Top 20 finalists and vote once per day. Everyone who votes will automatically be entered for a chance to win a pair of 4-day GA LOCKN' tickets.
The 12 bands with the most votes will go on to the next round with in-club performances and live in-person fan voting. From there, the top six bands will perform at the Rockn' to LOCKN' finale on Saturday, June 17 at Infinity Downs Farms. Live performance and fan voting will play an important role in selecting the final top 3 finalists. The three winning bands will each win a spot to play live at LOCKN' Festival 2017 and receive a $500 performance fee.
The Rockn To LOCKN winners will join one of the most exciting early line-ups in the LOCKN' Festival's five-year history, with announced artists including Phil Lesh & Friends
and The Terrapin Family Band (performing the 40
th anniversary of TERRAPIN STATION and more), Brandi Carlile, Widespread Panic, and The Avett Brothers. The eclectic bill also includes Joe Russo's Almost Dead, Keller Williams (solo and with Keller Williams' Grateful Gospel), Gov't Mule, moe., Umphrey's McGee, JJ Grey & Mofro, Eric Krasno Band, The John Butler Trio, Margo Price, TAUK, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Marcus King Band, Los Colognes, The Suffers, The String Cheese Incident, Greensky Bluegrass, and The Revivalists. Additional artist announcements are coming soon
New England based singer-songwriter Ryan Montbleau has announced the release of his new album entitled I Was Just Leaving set for March 3rd. The album, currently available for pre-order at Pledge Music was produced by New Orleans' Anders Osborne and recorded in January 2016.
In a first-of-it's-kind album debut, Montbleau performed I Was Just Leaving in its entirety during a world-premiere performance via Facebook Live in partnership with Pledge Music and lifestyle brand Life is Good on Thursday, February 16th. Fans can stream the archive performance on Ryan's Facebook page as well as The Life Is Good and Pledge Music page. The album is available now for instant download at Pledge Music. The album will be released widely on March 3rd.
Ryan Montbleau has been an acclaimed singer, songwriter, and bandleader for more than a decade, but with his new album I Was Just Leaving, the New England-based artist has truly arrived. Contemplative and richly emotive, the album offers a glimpse into the often-lonesome life of the relentlessly traveling troubadour, a strikingly single-minded existence too often clouded by the blur of constant motion. Recorded at New Orleans’ Esplanade Studios over four days in January 2016 with producer Anders Osborne and engineer/mixer Mark Howard (known for his work with such icons as Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Neil Young, and U2), the album marks Montbleau’s first full length release in the wake of a series of seismic personal shifts. Songs like “Bright Side” and the touching title track reveal a uniquely blessed artist who has truly found his voice, his gift for melody and a remarkably open-armed approach.
I Was Just Leaving marks a singular milestone for Ryan Montbleau, the moment in which this exceptional singer, songwriter, and performer has blossomed into a fully matured artist.
I’ve been planting these seeds for so long and it has all led up to this moment. It feels like finally the fruits of all my efforts are coming out. I’m still working hard but there’s an ease to what’s happening. I have a career that I’ve built, that I’ve earned. Now what’s fun is putting out the best music I can and seeing what happens.”
LOCKN' Festival, in partnership with Starr Hill Brewery and Virginia Tourism Corporation, is excited to announce the top 12 semi-finalists in the 2017 Rockn' To LOCKN' competition. For the past two weeks, fans participated in a national online voting contest to listen and vote on 20 Virginia bands with the top-voted 12 bands moving to the next phase of the competition. The grand prize of the Rockn' To LOCKN' contest is one of three coveted performance slots at the 2017 LOCKN' Festival held August 24-27th in Arrington, VA and a $500 performance fee.
The Top 12 are:
Adar - (Charlottesville, VA)
Anthony Rosano & the Conqueroos - (Norfolk, VA)
Big Mama Shakes - (Richmond, VA)
Devil's Workshop Band - (Richmond, VA)
FeelFree - (Alexandria, VA)
Galaxy Dynamite - (Norfolk, VA)
Kendall Street Company - (Charlottesville, VA)
Mighty Joshua - (Richmond, VA)
Sun Dried Opossum - (Lyndhurst, VA)
The Atkinsons - (Richmond, VA)
Virginia Man - (Fredericksburg, VA)
Will Overman Band - (Charlottesville, VA)
The 12 semi-finalists will move on to the next round of live playoffs and in-person fan voting. Tickets for all club shows are $10 and are on-sale now.
The schedule is:
Friday, April 14th at The Broadberry in Richmond, Virginia. Featuring: Anthony Rosano & The Conqueroos, The Atkinsons, Big Mama Shakes, and Mighty Joshua. Doors open at 8pm.
Friday, April 21st at The Jefferson in Charlottesville, Virginia.Featuring: Sun Dried Opossum, Kendall Street Company, Adar, and Will Overman Band. Doors open at 7pm.
Friday, April 28th at The State Theatre in Falls Church, Virginia.Featuring: Galaxy Dynamite, Devil's Workshop Big Band, FeelFree, and Virginia Man. Doors open at: 7pm.
Live performance and in-person fan voting will determine the top six bands that will advance to the next round. These six finalists will perform at the final competition on June 17, 2017 at Community Day at Infinity Downs Farm in Arrington, Virginia. At the Community Day finals, bands will perform in front of a live crowd with in-person voting to determine the three bands headed to perform at LOCKN' Festival.
LOCKN' Music Festival is held annually on the last weekend in August at the Oak Ridge and Infinity Downs Farms in Arrington, Virginia and draws between 25-35,000 music fans from all over the world. This year's lineup includes: Widespread Panic, Umphrey's McGee, Tauk, The Suffers, The String Cheese Incident, The Revivalists, Phil Lesh & Friends, Phil Lesh & The Terrapin Family Band performing the 40th Anniversary of Terrapin Station, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, moe., Margo Price, Marcus King Band, Keller Williams, Keller Williams' Grateful Gospel, John Butler Trio, Joe Russo's Almost Dead, JJ Grey & Mofro, Greensky Bluegrass, Gov't Mule, Eric Krasno Band, Los Colognes, Brandi Carlile, The Avett Brothers, and still more to be announced.
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival is excited to announce The Other, an all‐new experience devoted to dance and hip‐hop premiering at this year's installment. The 2017 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival will take place June 8 ‐ 11, held as always at Great Stage Park, the spectacular 750+‐acre farm and event space located just 60 miles south of Nashville in beautiful Manchester, Tennessee. Tickets including General Admission, VIP, and the brand‐new Platinum Pass ‐ are on sale now, exclusively via www.bonnaroo.com.
Now even more Bonnaroovians will be able to dance the night away as the festival's legendary "Other Tent" has now been expanded to a fully immersive, open‐air stage. The Other will run all night with a mind‐blowingly diverse selection of dance, electronic, and hip‐hop heavyweights, with announced performers including Marshmello, Big Gigantic, Yellow Claw, D.R.A.M., Matoma, Louis the Child, Borgore, NGHTMRE, Getter, Snails, Skepta, Illenium, Claude VonStroke, G Jones, OOKAY, Herobust, Ganja White Night, Rezz, Goldfish, San Holo, Haywyre, Vanic, Unlike Pluto, Barclay Crenshaw, Innanet James, Jason Huber, DJ Mel and Case Bloom.
Bonnaroo has long celebrated the wide‐ranging dance and hip‐hop scenes with cutting edge programming that showcases some of the hottest DJs and artists from around the globe. Previous festival favorites include such superstars as Skrillex, deadmau5, ODESZA, Flying Lotus, Tycho, Caribou, Jamie xx, and Bassnectar, among countless others.
"THE OTHER ‐ A NEW BONNAROO EXPERIENCE"
@ 2017 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival LINEUP
Marshmello Big Gigantic Yellow Claw D.R.A.M.
Matoma Louis the Child
Borgore NGHTMRE
Getter Snails Skepta Illenium
Claude VonStroke G Jones OOKAY
Herobust Ganja White Night
Rezz Goldfish San Holo Haywyre Vanic Unlike Pluto
Barclay Crenshaw Innanet James Jason Huber
DJ Mel Case Bloom
The 2017 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival will once again feature the wide‐ranging scope of diverse artistry that fans have come to expect, with a spectacular array of musicians, bands, and comedians performing around the clock across 13 unique stages over the four‐ day multi‐stage camping festival. This year's edition will showcase over 100 artists, headlined by Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Weeknd, and, in an exclusive first‐ever Bonnaroo headline performance, U2 performing a set that will include a 30th anniversary celebration of their career‐defining 1987 album, The Joshua Tree. For complete details and regular news updates, please visit www.bonnaroo.com.
LOCKN' is excited to announce new additions to the already fantastic fifth anniversary lineup, including Phil Lesh with special guest Bob Weir & The Terrapin Family Band performing the Grateful Dead classic from 1977 Terrapin Station in its entirety. This is the first time Lesh and Weir have played together since 2015's Fare Thee Well concerts, other than a surprise set at Terrapin Crossroads in May 2016. Earlier this month, Weir also sat in with the Terrapin Family Band for another performance at Lesh's venue. Other LOCKN' artists announced this week include John Fogerty, The Disco Biscuits, Jim James, phil.moe. (Phil Lesh & Friends with moe.), Antibalas, Blackberry Smoke, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Hiss Golden Messenger, Moonalice, The Record Company and Sinkane. The three Rockn' to LOCKN' winners will be added to the schedule in June following the contest finals.
"Having Bobby and Phil perform Terrapin Station together is one of those moments that we created LOCKN' for," LOCKN' co-founder Peter Shapiro told Rolling Stone. "I'm hoping it's a musical experience that Deadheads will be able to lose themselves into and then live on as a live recording that will create lasting magic for a long time after."
LOCKN' has also released the daily lineup for what is going to be a magical weekend August 24 - 27 at the newly named Infinity Downs Farm. The complete daily lineup is below. Formally known as Nelson County Preserve, Infinity Downs Farm is a 387-acre property located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Arrington, VA. The former 225-year-old tobacco farm was purchased in 2014 by the owners of LOCKN' Festival, and has already established a scalable and versatile venue featuring the Blue Ridge Bowl amphitheater, Garcia's Forest performance area in the woods, and plenty of open fields for parking, camping, and other outdoor accommodations. In addition, miles of hiking and bike trails have been curated to enjoy a variety of outdoor activities. Infinity Downs Farm can be found at www.infinitydowns.com, on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Potions and Poisons (available May 12th) is the fourth studio album of original music from Head for the Hills, the Colorado based post-modern bluegrass outfit of Adam Kinghorn, Joe Lessard, Matt Loewen and Sam Parks. There’s no reinvention of the wheel here--no computer programmed banjo rolls or digitally arpeggiated fiddle lines. Instead we find Head for the Hills at the peak of their powers of musical alchemy, building little worlds of sound from the detritus of bluegrass, jazz, hip hop, folk and soul. Potions and Poisons is a look at the darker side of love, lust, and life; an examination of our affinity for and aversion to the things that make us fragile but human. Recorded at home in Colorado with the band’s go-to engineer, Aaron Youngberg (Cahalen and Eli, Martha Scanlan, Grant Gordy and Ross Martin), the record features appearances from Bonnie Paine (Elephant Revival) on vocals and washboard, Erin Youngberg (Uncle Earl, FY5) on vocals, and a lush string section. Potions and Poisons is the most Head for the Hills record yet, and in the great tradition of bluegrass (and soul and folk and old time music), it delivers some bitter pills, but the ten new original songs are more than a survey of the human condition. This is reflective but buoyant music, restorative and full of vibrancy.
Head for the Hills prides itself on defying expectation, turning neophytes into converts and genre purists exploratory listeners. Remaining true to the roots of bluegrass while simultaneously looking to it’s future prospects, the band makes music that reaches into jazz, indie rock, hip hop, soul, world and folk to stitch together cutting edge songs that bridge the divide between past and future acoustic music. More than a decade in and after thousands of miles, hundreds of performances, a handful of independently released records, 4 times awarded Best Bluegrass in Colorado via Westword Magazine, and one new mandolin player--Head for the Hills is at their absolute peak, firing on all cylinders and winning the hearts and minds of audiences everywhere they go.
Head for the Hills have been bringing their music to audiences from the Telluride Bluegrass Festival to South by Southwest and a multitude of stages in between--including Summer Camp Music Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, RockyGrass, DelFest, Northwest String Summit, Blue Ox Music Festival, FloydFest, Strawberry Music Festival and many more. The band has been featured on NPR Ideastream and eTown, co-released beers with Odell Brewing Company and Sanitas Brewing, charted on the CMJ Top 200 (Blue Ruin, 2013 and Head for the Hills, 2010), and was featured by CMT – Edge, who said; “Head for the Hills’ Blue Ruin effortlessly matches integrity against innovation.”
LOCKN' Festival is proud to announce a number of updates and exciting new additions to the festival this year, including special artist collaborations, new and improved festival layout, and an expanded Garcia's Forest with weekend-long programming. Now in its 5th year, LOCKN' Festival takes place August 24-27 at the newly named Infinity Downs Farms at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Arrington, Virginia.
LOCKN' Festival's primary setting will now be at Infinity Downs Farm, with the central venue encompassing both the main stage and Blue Ridge Bowl natural amphitheater, allowing more than 20,000 fans to enjoy non-stop music all weekend long with improved sight lines and easy access to all the incredible food, drinks, shopping, and social action activities. This new and improved venue location will be more accessible to all campsites, with additional shade and misting stations to provide extra respite in the event of heat, and will offer a more convenient patron experience. The venue location and streamlined layout will allow for more efficient and direct traffic access, making entering and exiting LOCKN' even smoother than ever before.
This year's LOCKN' features one of the most exciting line-ups in the festival's five-year history, highlighted by a once-in-a-lifetime headline set from Phil Lesh with Special Guest Bob Weir & The Terrapin Family Band performing The Grateful Dead's classic 1977 album, Terrapin Station, in its entirety. What's more, a series of unparalleled collaborations are also slated, with The Avett Brothers - in their long awaited LOCKN' debut - joined by Special Guest Bob Weir, Gov't Mule joined by Special Guest Ann Wilson of Heart, Moonalice joined by Special Guest Jorma Kaukonen, and Phil Lesh & Bob Weir joined by Nicki Bluhm for their Terrapin Station headline set. These unique pairings join an already stacked lineup that includes Widespread Panic, phil.moe. (teaming Phil Lesh & Friends and moe.) John Fogerty, The String Cheese Incident, Umphrey's McGee, moe., John Butler Trio, Gov't Mule, Brandi Carlile, The Disco Biscuits, Jim James (solo), Joe Russo's Almost Dead, Greensky Bluegrass, The Revivalists, Margo Price, Keller Williams (solo and with Keller Williams' Grateful Gospel), Margo Price, Brandi Carlile, Eric Krasno Band, JJ Grey & Mofro, TAUK, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Marcus King Band, Blackberry Smoke, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Hiss Golden Messenger, The Record Company, Los Colognes, and The Suffers.
LOCKN's beloved Garcia's Forest has been expanded and, among other things, will feature a replica of Terrapin Station. The Porch at Terrapin Station will host unique nightly performances including Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Midnight North, and Nicole Atkins Band. "Piano On The Porch" morning presentations will highlight Melvin Seals, Holly Bowling, Danny Louis, and others. Additionally, Garcia's Forest will present a range of activities including daily yoga and more.
For complete details, ticket and camping packages, and more, please visit www.locknfestival.com.
Infinity Downs Farm is a 387-acre property located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Arrington, Virginia. The former 225 year old tobacco farm was purchased in 2014 by the owners of LOCKN' Festival, and now features a scalable and versatile venue featuring the Blue Ridge Bowl natural amphitheater, Garcia's Forest performance area in the woods, and plenty of open fields for parking, camping, and other outdoor accommodations. In addition, miles of hiking and bike trails have been curated to enjoy a variety of outdoor activities.
Single-Day GA, VIP, and Super VIP tickets are on sale now for LOCKN' on August 25 - 28. Can't make it to LOCKN' for the full weekend? No problem. Come fill up on a full day of music, eats, activities, and more. Bring your bike and take a spin along seven miles of trails, dance under the trees in Garcia's Forest, and soak up the vibe of our truly special environment.
This year's LOCKN' is going to be a special one, and we'd love to have you here with us. Buy your tickets now, and we'll see you in August!
Today, Yonder Mountain String Band releases their first new studio album in two years, LOVE. AIN’T LOVE, is undeniably the Colorado-based progressive bluegrass outfit’s most surprising, creative, and yes, energetic studio excursion to date. Songs like “Chasing My Tail” and “Alison” are rooted in tradition but as current as tomorrow, animated by electrifying performance, vivid production, and the modernist power that has made Yonder one of the most popular live bands of their generation. Melding sophisticated songcraft, irrepressible spirit, and remarkable instrumental ability, LOVE. AIN’T LOVE is a testament to Yonder Mountain String Band’s organic, dynamic, and intensely personal brand of contemporary bluegrass-fueled Americana.
With its melodic flair, expert technique, and forward-thinking fervor, LOVE. AIN’T LOVE is a strikingly assured and well-crafted manifestation of Yonder’s matchless musical vision. Nearly two decades in, Yonder Mountain String Band is still utterly unto themselves, a one-of-a-kind, once-in-a-lifetime combo whose inventiveness, versatility, and sheer imagination shows no sign of winding down.
With “drama tinged folk that could raise the dead,” (The Deli Magazine) 5j Barrow have announced the release of their new EP, The Journey: Vol.1, this fall. The follow-up to their 2014 debut release, The Journey: Vol.1 was produced by the Grammy-nominated producer, David Mayfield.
Founded and fronted by singer-songwriters and Broadway actors, Eryn Murman and Jason Hite, 5j Barrow have built a loyal following on the streets of New York City. With performances everywhere from the open air of Washington Square Park to Rockwood Music Hall and the historic Apollo Theatre, they “draw sonic inspiration from acts ranging from Avett Brothers and The Civil Wars.” (Acoustic Guitar Magazine) In 2014, the band was named "Best Band in NY" after winning The Greene Space WNYC / WQXR's Battle of the Boroughs 2014. That year also saw the release of the “rollicking, energetic [record]” (Indie-Minded), From the Dim, Sweet Light.
“A delicious combination of genres” (For Us Not Them), 5j Barrow is completed by bassist, Drew Jones, and drummer, Gerard Canonico. Murman and Hite also frequently appear as a duo, as they will on their upcoming tour.
Birds of Bellwoods have unveiled “Catching Up,” the new single from their forthcoming album, VICTORIA. The quartet have established themselves as one of Toronto’s most unique emerging bands, with “skilled musicianship and strong vocal harmonies.” (New Canadian Music) The self-released EP, The Fifth, racked up accolades including a 2016 Independent Music Award and an International Songwriting Competition prize.
Stephen Joffe (lead vocals / mandolin), Adrian Morningstar (guitar / vocals), Chris Blades (banjo / electric guitar / vocals) and Kintaro Akiyama (upright bass / vocals) came together when Joffe, going through a break-up, found refuge on Morningstar’s couch, pouring his heartbreak into collaborative songwriting efforts with his three friends. The chemistry born from this organic beginning is evident in Birds of Bellwoods’ songs and especially in their live performances. Self-described as sounding like “a folk band in a fist fight,” “the group has staked out a place amongst [Toronto’s] most talented emerging songwriters.”
(BlogTO) In addition to his work in the band, Joffe is an accomplished actor who will be seen this fall in the CBC / Netflix series, Alias Grace.
VICTORIA will be released on October 20th, with a release show on 9/23 at Toronto’s Mod Club Theatre. This debut full-length album continues to display Birds of Bellwoods’ “gripping compositions… meticulously executed and fantastically captured.”
Trout Steak Revival has announced the arrival of their third studio album, Spirit To The Sea, due out on Friday, Nov 3rd.
Spirit To The Sea expands Trout Steak Revival's repertoire beyond Colorado bluegrass without leaving behind the communal nature of the band’s origins. The new album is more diverse and inviting than their past albums, rolling out the carpet for new fans with many different tones, vibes, and topics underlying the songs. Whether listeners are in search of a deep connection with lyrics or simply need a good melody to dance to, Spirit To The Sea provides a mix of music that is a pleasure to relate to. Songs crafted out of love, fear, heartbreak, wonder, joy, and freedom provide a glimpse into the soulful depth of the individual members of Trout Steak Revival
Spirit To The Sea was produced by Chris Pandolfi of the Infamous Stringdusters. This is the second album that Pandolfi and Trout Steak Revival have worked on together. Pandolfi also produced the band's last album Brighter Every Day.
The Boot has premiered the video for the track 'Fall At Your Feet’. Get a taste of what's to come on the forthcoming album now!
Trout Steak Revival is currently on tour in the Southeast. They will head west stopping in markets like Portland, Seattle and Bozeman before returning home to the Front Range of Colorado for their official album release shows in Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins.
Please visit troutsteak.com for all up to date info on the new album and tour!
Tour Dates:
Oct 6 @ Albino Skunk Festival | Greer, SC
Oct 7 @ Eddie's Attic | Decatur, GA
Oct 9 @ City Winery | Nashville, TN
Oct 26 @ Volcanic Theatre Pub | Bend, OR
Oct 27 @ W.O.W. Hall | Eugene, OR
Oct 28 @ Revolution Hall | Portland, OR
Oct 29 @ Nectar Lounge | Seattle, WA
Nov 1 @ Top Hat Lounge | Missoula, MT
Nov 3 @ Filling Station | Bozeman, MT
Nov 4 @ Filling Station | Bozeman, MT
Nov 10 @ Ophelia's Electric Soapbox | Denver, CO
Nov 11 @ Manitou Springs Memorial Hall | Manitou Springs, CO
Nov 17 @ Aggie Theater | Fort Collins, CO
Nov 18 @ Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom | Denver, CO
“Rainbows and Waterfalls” finds Derek Vincent Smith—aka Pretty Lights—doing what he does best: blending the smooth sounds of old school funk and hip-hip with a next generation style that defies categorization. Shuggie Otis’ 1971 classic “Strawberry Letter 23” sets the foundation for the new track, which marks Pretty Lights’ first release since “Only Yesterday” dropped in March 2016. As a solo effort, it also represents a return to form for the Grammy-nominated producer, who Rick Rubin once called “the face and voice of the new American electronic music scene.”
Smith may have a well-deserved reputation for innovation in the studio, but his fresh approach to music has always been equally potent on stage. With the Pretty Lights Live project, he’s found a way to turn his electronic music shows into fully improvisational experiences like no other. It’s a unique vision that he brings to life with the help of Alvin Ford Jr. (drums), Chris Karns (turntables), Borahm Lee (keys) and Brandon Butler (keys) — a stellar group of musicians who have backed him in concert since the summer of 2016. Taking cues from early jazz musicians, Smith and his band make sure every performance is a unique adventure by injecting a healthy dose of improv into the equation. No song ever sounds the same twice.
December 28: Detroit, MI – The Fillmore (w/ Too Many Zooz)
December 29: Detroit, MI – The Fillmore (w/ SoDown)
December 30: Minneapolis, MN - Snowta
December 31: Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore (w/ Jade Cicada)
* 2 Day Passes Available in Detroit
Tickets, VIP Experiences, and lodging options (via CID Entertainment and Curadora) for 12/28-29 in Detroit and 12/31 in Philadelphia will be available via Pretty Lights’ direct-to-fan pre-sale. Early Bird VIP Presale begins Tuesday, October 24 @ 11am ET/10am CT. GA Presale tickets will be available beginning Wednesday, October 25th @ 11am ET/10am CT.
Fans are encouraged to sign up for the Pretty Lights mailing list (http://plmusic.pl/newsletter) to receive a pass-code for the pre-sale. Tickets will go on sale to the public on Friday, October 27th @ 10am local time. Tickets for December 30 in Minneapolis, MN are on sale now.
Pretty Lights has partnered with PLUS1 so that $1 from every ticket goes to support organizations working to provide rapid emergency relief to those affected by the devastation of Hurricane Maria.
Steep Canyon Rangers affirm their place as one of the most versatile and idiosyncratic bands in all of contemporary American music. The GRAMMY® Award-winning, North Carolina-based sextet has spent nearly two decades bending and shaping the bluegrass aesthetic, wedding it to elements of pop, country, folk rock, and more to create something original and all their own. OUT IN THE OPEN is perhaps Steep Canyon Rangers’ bravest excursion thus far, transcending bluegrass while in many ways getting closest to the genre’s true form thanks to producer Joe Henry’s very traditional approach toward recording.
Steep Canyon Rangers have been expanding the parameters of bluegrass since coming together in 2000. Since then, the band has developed a remarkable catalogue of original music – predominantly co-written by Sharp and bassist Charles R. Humphrey III – that links them to the past while at the same time, demonstrates their ambitious intent to bring string-based music into contemporary relevance.
With that goal in mind, Steep Canyon Rangers have in recent years begun collaborating with some of Americana’s most distinctive producers, working with top studio hands like Larry Campbell (2013’s TELL THE ONES I LOVE) and Jerry Douglas (2015’s RADIO) to take newfangled routes in crafting their ever-evolving approach. OUT IN THE OPEN sees the band teaming up with Joe Henry, an accomplished singer-songwriter as well as a 3x GRAMMY® Award-winning producer (Solomon Burke, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Carolina Chocolate Drops) with a particular affinity for American roots music.
In July 2017, Steep Canyon Rangers arrived at Fidelitorium Recordings in Kernersville, NC, an intimate studio facility built, owned, and operated by legendary producer Mitch Easter (R.E.M., Let’s Active). Having not previously discussed Henry’s plans, the band was surprised to discover that their producer – with the invaluable help of engineer/mixer Jason Richmond – intended to record in classic fashion, with all six members singing and playing in a room with no overdubs. Though Steep Canyon Rangers had some trepidation, they promptly rose to the challenge.
In addition to the highly anticipated release of OUT IN THE OPEN, 2018 will also see Steep Canyon Rangers uniting with their local Asheville Symphony for a series of unprecedented live performances and the recording of yet another new album, once again pushing their increasingly distinctive music into unexpected terrain.
OUT IN THE OPEN is an undeniable milestone on Steep Canyon Rangers’ ongoing creative journey, its spirited, eclectic approach recasting the myriad sounds of string-based American music in their own unique image. As they fast approach their second decade, Steep Canyon Rangers are still moving forward, as ever searching for new horizons and musical vistas.
For all up to date news and information visit steepcanyon.com
Track Listing:
Farmers And Pharaohs
Let Me Out Of This Town
Out In The Open
Can’t Get Home
Going Midwest
When She Was Mine
Love Harder
Shenandoah Valley
Best Of Me
Roadside Anthems
Let Me Die In My Footsteps
The Speed We’re Traveling
Tour Dates:
November 16 – Newberry, SC @ Newberry Opera House
November 17 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
November 18 – Florence, SC @ Francis Marion Univ PAC
December 1 – Roanoke, VA @ Jefferson Center, Shaftman Performance Hall
December 2 – Charlottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theater
December 7 – Annapolis, MD @ Rams Head on Stage
December 8 – York, PA @ Capitol Theatre at Appell Center for the Performing Arts
December 15 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Borgata Casino*
December 16 – Bethlehem, PA @ Sands Bethlehem Event Center*
January 12-13 – Chapel Hill, NC @ University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
January 18 – Fort Myers, FL @ Suncoast Arena*
January 19 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Mahaffey Theatre*
January 21 – New Orleans, LA @ Saenger Theater*
January 27 – Asheville, NC @ Explore Asheville Arena
February 1 – Knoxville, TN @ the Bijou Theatre
February 2 – Newark, OH @ Historic Midland Theatre
February 3 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
February 8 – Charleston, SC @ Charleston Music Hall
February 9 – Chattanooga, TN @ Walker Theatre
February 10 – Winston-Salem, NC @ Reynolds Auditorium
February 23-24 – Greenville, SC @ Peace Center*
February 25 – North Charleston, SC @ North Charleston Performing Arts Center*
March 1 – Billings, MT @ Alberta Bair Theater
March 2 – Bozeman, MT @ the Ellen Theatre
March 3 – Spokane, WA @ Fox Theater
March 4 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
March 14 – St. Louis, MO @ The Sheldon - Concert Hall
March 15 – Saint Joseph, MO @ Missouri Theater
March 16 – Jonesboro, AR @ Fowler Center
March 17 – Dayton, OH @ Victoria Theatre
March 22 – Jacksonville, FL @ Florida Theater
March 23 – Gainesville, FL @ University of Florida
March 24 – Clearwater, FL @ Capital Theatre
March 25 – Naples, FL @ Artis Naples
April 6-8 – Squaw Valley, CA @ WinterWonderGrass Festival
April 19 – Washington, DC @ the Hamilton
April 21 – Orono, ME @ Collins Center for the Arts
April 27 – Richmond, VA @ Maudlin Center for the Arts
A five-year old tradition of supporting local and national charities will be celebrated at Infiniti Downs on "Giving Tuesday," when the organizers of the LOCKN' festival will present checks totalling $37,210 to 17 non-profit organizations where were part of the festival's PARTICIPATION ROW social action village.
Starting back in 2013, LOCKN' created Participation Row by teaming up with a non-profit organization called
HEADCOUNT that promotes civic and community participation through live music events. Since its debut, Participation Row has raised over $190,000 for LOCKN's selected charities, and spurred LOCKN' patrons to take over 30,000 socially-conscious actions.
Following its success at LOCKN', HeadCount expanded the initiative to other festivals and concert tours, including the Grateful Dead's 50th Anniversary reunion concerts in 2015 and subsequent tours by Dead & Company In all, more than $1.4 million has been raised for charities through Participation Row, and nearly 100,000 actions have been taken.
At LOCKN', Participation Row has hosted or supported a total of 37 different organizations. This year, 17 charities participated, nine of whom are Virginia-based or represented by local chapters. Each will receive a minimum of $1,122.70.
The organizations also benefited from the opportunity to engage directly with festival attendees. Fans visiting Participation Row are prompted to take simple actions to support each cause. Anyone who takes four actions is then entered into a free drawing for a D'ANGELICO guitar signed by the LOCKN' headliners, and receive other treats like a free scoop of BEN & JERRY'S ice cream or a trial subscription to the streaming service QELLO. This year, LOCKN' attendees took at least 8,924 of these actions.
The fundraising component comes from a variety of sources including memorabilia auctions that HeadCount organizes at each event. This year's auction featured a D'Angelico guitar signed by approximately two dozen LOCKN' performers including Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Brandi Carlile, Warren Haynes, members of Widespread Panic, Umphrey's McGee and The String Cheese Incident It fetched $15,000..
Fans donated another $20,000 to the Heal Charlottesville Fund, a project of the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, via a text-to-donate program featured on the festival's free webcast.
Klean Kanteen donated an additional $5,500 to Participation Row charities through sales of LOCKN'-branded, environmentally-friendly water bottles. Plus, LOCKN' attendees donated over 4,000 pounds of food to Nelson County Food Pantry, via a Participation Row food drive staged by Conscious Alliance. The Pantry also receives a share of the auction proceeds.
Other 2017 beneficiaries include Virginia-based organizations Lynchburg Humane Society, Wintergreen Adaptive Sports, North Branch School, Wild Virginia, Park School, Crozet Tunnel Foundation, RecycleLife, and the Virginia Industrial Hemp Coalition. United Plant Savers, Factory Farming Awareness Coalition, Giving Hope Foundation, Moms Clean Air Force, Love Hope Strength, and HeadCount also will receive donations.
2018 LOCKN' LUMNI Weekend Passes (8/24-26) and Festival Passes (8/23-26) go on sale on November 24th. Artists will be announced in early 2018. For regular updates and more, please visit www.locknfestival.com.
In ongoing efforts to provide relief assistance to citizens in Puerto Rico facing devastation from Hurricane Irma and Maria, Pretty Lights Live will be streaming the PL sets for free on December 28-29 at The Fillmore in Detroit, MI (10:15pm ET) and on December 31 at The Fillmore in Philadelphia, PA (10:05pm ET) on the Pretty Lights Facebook page and the Pretty Lights YouTube Channel. A "donate" option will be available on each platform to contribute monetary donations to United for Puerto Rico. All donations from the streams will go directly to United for Puerto Rico to assist with hurricane relief efforts. $1 from all ticket sales in Detroit and Philadelphia will go to United for Puerto Rico (via Plus 1).
Pretty Lights Live ran a similar campaign earlier this fall for their September 29-30 Whitewater Amphitheater performance in New Braunfels, TX. That campaign generated an estimated $55,238 in contributions from live stream donations and $1 from each ticket sale went to assist Hurricane Harvey Relief efforts.
Mission: Provide assistance to individuals and small businesses devastated by Hurricane Irma and María; accelerating their recovery by supporting the reestablishment of their home, food & to satisfy their needs of shelter, food and health to help rebuild their lives, communities and Puerto Rico.
Main objectives of United for Puerto Rico:
Provide immediate aid to those with the greatest needs with the goal of meeting their basic needs, food, and health in coordination with institutions and FEMA and complementing the efforts of these and federal benefits available through FEMA.
Collaborate with NGO’s dedicated to serve the key groups identified in our mission since these entities have the structure, experience and capacity to be more efficient in this endeavor.
Assist small business in communities with financial aid to help them resume operations.
Provide information on available federal assistance programs to the public in general and facilitate that the greatest number of individuals who quality for aid programs apply for available aid to leverage all the help that can be garnered for those in need.
LOCKN' has officially confirmed its initial lineup and schedule for 2018. While many festivals have altered programming to suit their bottom line, LOCKN' proved itself true to its core fanbase with a week of well-received, crowd-pleasing artist reveals. Headlined by Dead & Company in a rare festival appearance, performing four sets over two nights, the four-day camping event will also feature: Widespread Panic, Tedeschi Trucks Band performing two separate days), Sheryl Crow, Joe Russo's Almost Dead performing on two separate days, George Clinton & P-Funk, Umphrey's McGee (performing two separate days), Lettuce, Toots & The Maytals, Pigeons Playing Pingpong, Blues Traveler, Moon Taxi, Lukas Nelson & The Promise Of The Real, Turkuaz, The Suffers and more. The full schedule is below. LOCKN' is set to take place in Arrington, VA, August 23 - 26, at Infinity Downs, LOCKN's 387-acre property located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
A limited amount of LOCKN' 2018 Nice Price Tickets for go on sale tomorrow, February 9 at 12pm ET exclusively via locknfestival.com. The allotment is currently LOCKN's lowest priced ticket. They will sell out quickly and prices will then roll into Advance Tickets. This year, the festival will be offering a Three-Day Weekend Pass in addition to its traditional Four-Day Festival Pass. This new Three-Day Weekend Pass will allow those with tighter schedules to still see all the bands performing at LOCKN' for a lower price.
Last year, LOCKN' was applauded for its massive site upgrade as it took its famous Blue Ridge Bowl and expanded it for the first time to a newly centralized venue encompassing both the main stage and the Bowl's amphitheater, allowing the more than 20,000 fans to enjoy non-stop music all weekend long with improved sight lines and easy access to all the incredible food, drinks, shopping, and social action activities LOCKN' veterans have come to expect. The new and improved venue was more accessible to all camping sites, with additional shade and misting stations that provided extra respite from the summer heat and traffic routes were more direct and efficient as it made entering and exiting the festival smoother than ever before.
LOCKN' 2018 LINEUP:
THURSDAY, AUGUST 23
Umphrey's McGee (2 sets)
Lettuce (2 sets)
Butcher Brown
Erin & The Wildfire
Jerry Dance Party
Joe Russo's Almost Dead (11pm)
FRIDAY, AUGUST 24
Widespread Panic
George Clinton & P-Funk
Umphrey's McGee
Toots & The Maytals
Moon Taxi
Turkuaz
Lukas Nelson & The Promise Of The Real
Band of Changes
Ghost Light
Joe Russo's Almost Dead (Midnight)
SATURDAY, AUGUST 25
Dead & Company (2 sets)
Tedeschi Trucks Band
Keller & The Keels
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
Foundation of Funk
Big Something
Agents of Good Roots
The Suffers
Southern Avenue
People's Blues of Richmond
Lettuce Celebrates JGB (Midnight)
SUNDAY, AUGUST 26
Dead & Company (2 sets)
Tedeschi Trucks Band
Sheryl Crow
Blues Traveler
Matisyahu
Spafford
Grateful Gospel w/Keller Williams
For complete details, ticket availability and more, please visit www.locknfestival.com
The road to LOCKN' 2018 for local Virginia bands is heating up as the Rockn' to Lockn' voting ends this Friday, February 16. Presented in partnership with Sonicbids and the Virginia Tourism Corporation, Virginia-based acts have been invited to take part in an epic battle of the bands, with three finalists ultimately selected to perform at this year's LOCKN', taking place August 23 - 26, 2018 on Infinity Downs Farms at the foot of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains in Arrington, Virginia.
From there, the top six bands will perform at the ROCKN TO LOCKN' 420 Finals, slated for Friday, April 20 and Saturday, April 21 at LOCKN' Festival's beloved Garcia's Forest on Infinity Downs Farms. The three winning bands will each win a spot to play live at LOCKN' 2018 and receive a $500 performance fee. Rockfish Music is partnering with LOCKN' and will produce and release singles of the ROCKN' TO LOCKN' winners.
LOCKN' has officially confirmed its initial lineup and schedule for 2018. While many festivals have altered programming to suit their bottom line, LOCKN' proved itself true to its core fanbase with a week of well-received, crowd-pleasing artist reveals. Headlined by Dead & Company in a rare festival appearance, performing four sets over two nights, the four-day camping event will also feature: Widespread Panic, Tedeschi Trucks Band performing two separate days), Sheryl Crow, Joe Russo's Almost Dead performing on two separate days, George Clinton & P-Funk, Umphrey's McGee (performing two separate days), Lettuce, Toots & The Maytals, Pigeons Playing Pingpong, Blues Traveler, Moon Taxi, Lukas Nelson & The Promise Of The Real, Turkuaz, The Suffers and more.
Tickets for Lockn' 2018 are on sale now and can be purchased exclusively via locknfestival.com. This year, the festival is offering a Three-Day Weekend Pass in addition to its traditional Four-Day Festival Pass. This new Three-Day Weekend Pass allows those with tighter schedules to still see all the bands performing at LOCKN' for a lower price.
AC Entertainment and Drew Holcomb are excited to unveil the initial artist lineup for the 2018 Moon River Music Festival. This year's edition of the two-day event will feature 22 acts across two stages, taking place on the banks of the beautiful Tennessee River at Coolidge Park in Chattanooga, TN on September 8 & 9. Tickets go on sale this Thursday at 10:00 AM EST, exclusively at www.MoonRiverFestival.com
The 2018 lineup features a specially curated group of artists including: The Avett Brothers, The Head and the Heart, Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors, Judah & The Lion, Trampled By Turtles, Margo Price, Mavis Staples, I'm With Her, The Dirty Guv'nahs, Joseph, The Secret Sisters and many more!
Tickets for Moon River go on sale this Thursday with a limited allotment of general admission weekend passes starting at only $99.50 + fees.
VIP weekend passes are available for $374.50 + fees and include:
Priority entrance lane into festival grounds
Premium Main Stage Viewing Area
Exclusive VIP Lounge and Hang area
Exclusive restroom and bar
Commemorative gift package
Exclusive VIP event Friday evening
Last week, festival founder Drew Holcomb released a statement about the festival's move from Memphis to Chattanooga and and the exciting future of Moon River:
Hello friends,
In 2014, we started Moon River Music Festival to showcase my hometown, Memphis, Tennessee, in all of its underrated glory. For the last few years we have done exactly that, and brought people from all over the country to see Memphis and experience our incredible festival. We are very proud of what we have accomplished.
As we outgrew the stunning and historic Levitt Shell, we realized we had an opportunity to dream, and we have set our sights on expanding the original vision of Moon River.
I have lived in various parts of Tennessee my whole life. I'm biased, but I think its one of the greatest places in the world. In our dreaming and searching for a new home, we realized we could showcase other parts of my home state, Tennessee, and we have found the perfect place, Coolidge Park, in downtown Chattanooga.
Chattanooga is primed for a music festival like Moon River, and the city has opened its arms to us. It is the gateway to the Appalachian Mountains and one of the most beautiful cities in the region. Coolidge Park is right in the center of town, connected to one the world's largest pedestrian bridges, Walnut Street Bridge, overlooking the Tennessee River.
We can't wait for you to continue in this wonderful adventure with us. We will see you this Fall in Chattanooga!
-Drew Holcomb
For the latest news and updates from Moon River Music Festival, fans can visit MoonRiverFestival.com, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or sign up for the Moon River Festival newsletter.
Carry Illinois, the indie-pop band founded and fronted by Lizzy Lehman, have announced the release of the new EP, Work in Progress, on 5/25/18. The band will celebrate the release that same day with a show at Cheer Up Charlies in their hometown of Austin, TX.
Work In Progress was co-produced by Carry Illinois and Grant Johnson (Calliope Musicals, Abram Shook, Feverbones, Bayonne), and is the follow up to 2017's, Garage Sale. Many of the songs on Garage Sale reflected the band's struggle to find the will to write and record after Carry Illinois' original bassist, John Winsor, took his own life. Lehman explains, "After John committed suicide in March of 2016, I decided that I no longer needed to shy away from the real struggles that I face. I decided that writing about it, singing about it, and performing with utmost strength and courage is what I need to do." After its release, Garage Sale gained critical acclaim, with praise from No Depression, Paste, Bitch, NewNowNext and more, earning Carry Illinois the title of Austin Monthly's Artist of The Month, May 2017.
On Work in Progress, Lehman continues to delve into deeply personal issues, displaying "a knack for connecting with her audience through lyrically revealing life in the rawest form." (Volup2) She touches upon topics that many can relate to, including coming out of the closet, her relationship with her body and mental health issues, including dealing with Winsor's suicide.
Lehman and her band-mates, guitarist Darwin Smith, drummer Rudy Villarreal, bassist Andrew Pressman and keyboardist Benjamin Rowe Violet spent the first part of 2018 writing and recording Work In Progress, which will be released independently on May 25th, 2018. The official release show will be that night, at Austin's Cheer Up Charlies, and a summer tour will follow.
LOCKN' has long been hailed for presenting extraordinary artist collaborations and this year's hugely anticipated festival promises some of the most exceptional pairings in the 4-day camping event's already remarkable history. LOCKN' takes place August 23-26 in Arrington, VA at Infinity Downs, LOCKN's 387-acre property located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Headlined by Dead & Company in a rare festival appearance, performing four sets over two nights in their final live shows of 2018, LOCKN' will see Widespread Panic joined onstage by Margo Price (Friday, August 24); Toots & The Maytals will perform with special guest Taj Mahal (Friday, August 24); and Eric Krasno will sit in with Lettuce for their "Lettuce Celebrates JGB" set (Saturday, August 25). These unprecedented unions follow previously unveiled LOCKN' 2018 collaborations that will include Branford Marsalis joining Dead & Company for their very last live set of 2018 (Sunday, August 26); a once-in-a-lifetime pairing of Umphrey's McGee and Jason Bonham performing a set of Led Zeppelin classics (Friday, August 24); and Foundation of Funk celebrating 50 years of The Meters with George Porter Jr., Zigaboo Modeliste, Cyril Neville, Ivan Neville, Tony Hall, and others (Saturday, August 25).
As if all that weren't enough, LOCKN' will also feature: Tedeschi Trucks Band (performing two separate days), Sheryl Crow, Joe Russo's Almost Dead (performing on two separate days), George Clinton & P-Funk, Umphrey's McGee (performing two separate days), Pigeons Playing Pingpong, Blues Traveler, Moon Taxi, Turkuaz, The Suffers, and more. The full schedule is below.
For the first time ever, LOCKN' is offering a Three-Day Weekend Pass in addition to its traditional Four-Day Festival Pass, allowing fans with tighter schedules to still see all the bands performing at LOCKN' for a lower price. Single-Day Festival Passes are also available. Forest Camping and Tent-Only Camping are both completely sold out. A limited amount of Student/Military tickets are still available. For complete details and remaining ticket availability, please visit locknfestival.com/tickets. 2017 saw LOCKN' introduce a new and improved festival layout at Infinity Downs Farm, with the central venue now encompassing both the main stage and Blue Ridge Bowl natural amphitheater, allowing more than 20,000 fans to enjoy non-stop music all weekend long with improved sight lines and easy access to all the incredible food, drinks, shopping, and social action activities. The new and improved venue location is more accessible to all campsites, with additional shade and misting stations to provide extra respite in the event of heat. The venue location and streamlined layout also allow for more efficient and direct traffic access, making entering and exiting LOCKN' smoother than ever before.
LOCKN' 2018 LINEUP:
THURSDAY, AUGUST 23
Umphrey's McGee (2 Sets)
Lettuce (2 Sets)
Butcher Brown
Erin & The Wildfire
Firecracker Jam
Jerry Dance Party
Joe Russo's Almost Dead (11 PM)
FRIDAY, AUGUST 24
Widespread Panic (w/Margo Price)
George Clinton & P-Funk
Umphrey's McGee (w/Jason Bonham)
Toots & The Maytals (w/Taj Mahal)
Moon Taxi
Turkuaz
Band of Changes
Ghost Light
Caitlyn Smith
The Fuzz Band
Joe Russo's Almost Dead (Midnight)
SATURDAY, AUGUST 25
Dead & Company (2 Sets)
Tedeschi Trucks Band
Foundation of Funk (Celebrating 50 Years of The Meters)
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
Keller & The Keels
Big Something
Agents of Good Roots
The Suffers
Southern Avenue
People's Blues of Richmond
Disco Risque
Lettuce Celebrates JGB (w/Eric Krasno) (Midnight)
SUNDAY, AUGUST 26
Dead & Company (2 Sets) (2nd Set w/Special Guest Branford Marsalis)
Tedeschi Trucks Band
Sheryl Crow
Blues Traveler
Matisyahu
Spafford
The Judy Chops
Keller Williams' Grateful Gospel
For complete details, ticket availability and more, please visit www.locknfestival.com
Today, Rob Garza releases his latest offering, Dissolve EP (Armada Music). The tracks on the EP move and meld from full on dance party, to dark and hauntingly captivating.
Dissolve is robust offering of four tracks that were all “born of travel”, Garza explains. “A lot of the music materialized while I was in motion from one city to another. Most of the songs were written on trains, planes or hotel rooms while touring through Europe, each of which conjures up sounds that are percussive, deep and seductive. “Dubroja” invokes otherworldly Bulgarian chants merged with modern underpinnings. “Velvet Coffin” journeys through a dark subterranean underworld. “Dissolve” features the brilliant vocals of Fare, creating a mesmerizing dreamlike and haunting vibe."
About:
A tastemaker who’s been operating on the frontier of electronic music for over twenty years, Thievery Corporation co-founder Rob Garza is without doubt a man with a unique musical perspective. Always aimed at connecting people through music, the San Francisco-based producer’s artistry allows for musical expression in its finest form and that’s exactly what his four-track solo release on Armada Music builds on.
Redefining the parameters of quality dance music, Rob Garza’s Dissolve EP consists of four diverse, yet equally peerless productions. While first track ‘Dobruja’ offers a sense of mystery that coerces fans to feel music rather than “just” listen to it, ‘Your Calling’ calls upon colorful vocals and uplifting beats to blossom like a cherry tree in spring.The third single on the EP, ‘Velvet Coffin’, adds a bit of darkness and foreboding to the EP with a pulsating bassline that could prove seminal in the future of music. And last but not least, title track ‘Dissolve’ does exactly what the entire EP has set out to do: to excite, surprise and globally connect lovers of dance music under one pivotal denominator.
Known best as one half of the legendary, Grammy-nominated electronic music duo Thievery Corporation, Rob Garza shifted to another part of the electronic music spectrum as a solo artist. Sporting a signature sound that borders on House and Nu-Disco with hints of other influences mixed in, he is – and will remain – a staple in the electronic music scene who continually offers a fresh perspective on today’s music, either through his solo work or under his joint Thievery Corporation moniker.
BoomBox has announced their new full-length record, Western Voodoo is set to release October 19th with single, “Selling Fun” releasing August 24th. “Western Voodoo may be the most musically diverse album the band has ever released,” front man Zion Godchaux explains; “There are only a few rules. It should be heavy groove. It should make you want to move.” BoomBox is widely known for their energetic live shows, and this record is a true testament to just that. In support of their upcoming release, BoomBox will embark on a 40-city US tour starting in early 2019, dates will be announced early this fall.
Since first emerging in 2004, founder, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Zion Rock Godchaux has been quietly seasoning this simmering recipe to perfection. However, it reaches a boiling point on his forthcoming 2018 fifth album, Western Voodoo. Frontman Zion Godchaux comments, “I’ve learned more about engineering and the technical aspects of recording. [This last year has] been a time of soul searching. I can follow any Ideas that I want to. So there’s a lot more organic instrumentation. I’m just trying to develop more sonic real.” Appropriately, he dubs the sound of Western Voodoo, “Dirty Disco Blues.” Within that realm, Godchaux fuses a funky strut with electronic energy and danceable swagger powerful enough to cast a spell of its own.
“You hear about different forms of magic around the world,” he goes on. “The West, in general, has its own voodoo influenced by the blues. That’s what shaped me as a musician growing up in this country. It’s hard to put in the words, but you know it when you hear it.” At the same time, the Muscle Shoals, AL native stays true to what attracted countless fans in the first place.
“I remain open to anything you would hear coming out of a boombox,” he explains. “There are a lot of different vibes and angles, but it still adheres to a universal rhythm. This new record is the most musical and varied, yet it’s tightly wound in respect to that syncopation. Overall, I’ve further developed the sound people are used to.”
In the end, the new music kicks off the brightest and boldest chapter yet for Godchaux. “Our best side is somewhat medicinal,” he leaves off. “All of the rhythms, melodies, and frequencies add up to these healing properties. I hope people feel rejuvenated and re-focused on some level when they hear us. That’s Western Voodoo.”
Following the success of their five-track Feel It Again EP, released last March (over ten million streams and growing), Irish brothers Harry and Alfie Hudson Taylor push on with the release of a new eight track mini-album, Bear Creek To Dame Street, which is being released on September 21st to coincide with them supporting fellow countryman Hozier on his sold-out North American tour this fall, as well as playing a handful of US headline shows of their own.
Called From Bear Creek To Dame Street, the album presents four brand new songs, recorded at Bear Creek studios in Seattle, with producer Ryan Hadlock (The Lumineers, Vance Joy) at the controls. The other side showcases the brothers tearing through a quartet of their best known older songs, in front of an excited singalong crowd, live at The Olympia Theatre, on Dame Street in their Dublin hometown.
Currently winning over new fans on the European festival circuit in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Holland, Denmark and Spain, Hudson Taylor can't wait to return stateside. Bear Creek To Dame Street will be released on September 14th, 2018.
The Trews have released their sixth studio album, Civilianaires, today, September 14th, 2018, via Cadence Recordings. Civilianaires is the band's most fearless record yet with personal and political lyrics driven by a refreshing new sound.
With multiple radio hits drawn from their previous albums, plus several EPs, a pair of live records, and a retrospective, The Trews are among the most prolific, electrifying, and innovative rock bands. The Nova Scotia-bred, Hamilton/Toronto-based combo of singer/guitarist Colin MacDonald, guitarist John-Angus MacDonald, bassist Jack Syperek, and drummer Chris Gormley - songwriters all - has won universal acclaim for both their dazzling live performances and wildly accessible songs.
The Trews approached Civilianaires, their electrifying and wildly original follow-up to 2014’s The Trews, the way a contractor tackles a kitchen reno: tearing things down to the studs, then building out piece by new piece. “We’re almost in existential-crisis-mode if we don’t have new songs we’re excited about,” guitarist/songwriter John-Angus MacDonald says, “With us it’s always ‘What’s next?’ We’re most galvanized while we’re creating. And this new album is a completely fresh take on what we’ve done before.”
Civilianaires features production credits from up and comer Derek Hoffman (The Elwins, Seaway) and the legendary Bob Rock. The band also worked alongside Max Kerman from Arkells, who co-wrote and co-produced the album’s second single "Vintage Love," along with a co-write with Serena Ryder on the title track.
The band are currently winding down their summer tour and the official US release celebration for Civilianaires will be on October 2nd at New York’s City Winery. The band will be back on the road in early 2019 in support of the album.
Today, noted bluegrass group Town Mountain unveils “Down Low” featuring Tyler Childers, the third single from their forthcoming record. Late last year, banjo player Jesse Langlais and Childers teamed up to write what would become the closing cut for their forthcoming record, New Freedom Blues . "To me 'Down Low' has a Waylon vibe, which is a damn good vibe to have," Langlais says. "My favorite line in the song, which was a Tyler line, is, 'I've been getting into meanness on the dark end of the street.' Ahh, that's downright lonesome." The track is available today on Amazon, Apple Music, and Spotify.
Set for release on October 26, 2018 , New Freedom Blues and Town Mountain’s upbeat, live performances have been praised by outlets like the Bluegrass Situation, SiriusXM, No Depression, American Songwriter, and Rolling Stone, who recently named the group an Artist You Need to Know . Town Mountain will appear at IBMA and continue on a Southeast tour throughout November, proceeding a December tour with Tyler Childers (full dates below).
New Freedom Blues was recorded at Asheville's iconic Echo Mountain Studios with producer Caleb Klauder; the 11 tracks that comprise the album span the sum total of the band's eclectic influences, from traditional bluegrass to roots pop to hardscrabble honky tonk. The album also marks the first time the band brought a drummer – Sturgill Simpson collaborator Miles Miller – into the studio.
Town Mountain is Langlais, Barker, vocalist/guitarist Robert Greer, fiddle player Bobby Britt, and bassist Zach Smith. Since releasing their debut album Original Bluegrass and Roots Country in 2007, Town Mountain have made a name for themselves in bluegrass and roots circuits and have amassed a sizable catalog of original songs. They've toured with a who's who of like-minded artists, including Ralph Stanley and His Clinch Mountain Boys, the Del McCoury Band, Greensky Bluegrass, Yonder Mountain String Band, and many others. Southern Crescent debuted at number four on Billboard's Bluegrass Chart, and held strong in the Americana Music Association's Radio Chart Top Forty for 10 weeks. In 2016, Town Mountain made their Grand Ole Opry debut, performing both at the Opry House and at the famed Ryman Auditorium.
GRAMMY winner, producer, and musician Buddy Miller said, “Town Mountain aren’t out to reinvent the wheel, they’re like a new set of the finest tires that gives you a new ride. There's no fat, no gratuitous notes, no extra stuff, just amazing songs, singing and playing from one of the best bands out there… or maybe they are the new wheel.”
Tour Dates:
Sept 28 – Raleigh, NC – IBMA
Oct 4 – Boone, NC – Boone Saloon
Oct 5 – Charlotte, NC – Visulite Theatre
Oct 6 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
Oct 12 – Washington, D.C. – Pearl Street Warehouse
Oct 13 – Charlottesville, VA – The Prism Coffeehouse
Oct 17 – Nashville, TN – Station Inn
Oct 18 – Nashville, TN – Station Inn
Oct 19 – Lexington, KY – The Burl
Oct 20 – Owensboro, KY – Bluegrass Museum and Hall of Fame
Oct 24 – Knoxville, TN – Boyd's Jig and Reel Pub
Oct 25 – Atlanta, GA – Smith's Olde Bar
Oct 26 – Charleston, SC – Charleston Music Hall
Oct 27 – Raleigh, NC – The Pour House Music Hall
Oct 28 – Harrisonburg, VA – Spirit of the Valley Festival
Sister Sparrow has released the new single, "Bad Habit," off of her forthcoming album, Gold, out October 12th on Thirty Tigers. The single is the follow up to "Ghost" and the title track, "Gold." Listen HERE.
The new album, Gold, takes the classic soul-rock sound created by Sister Sparrow and her brass-fueled combo, The Dirty Birds, and turns it into something altogether new, a soul-blasted contemporary pop approach supremely suited for Kincheloe's immense voice and even greater vision. Produced and co-written in collaboration with Carter Matschullat (Chef'Special, Secret Weapons) at Brooklyn's DØØM Studio, the new album sees Sister Sparrow expressing herself like never before. The first single, "Ghost," was released in early August, accompanied by a unique "lyric" video featuring the lyrics displayed as emojis, which is already approaching 100K views on YouTube. An official video for "Ghost" will be released soon. Watch the lyric video.
In support of Gold, Sister Sparrow is currently on a major U.S. tour. It's already off to a strong start, with numerous festival appearances and a sold-out show supporting Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats at Thompson's Point in Portland, Maine. Full tour dates below.
For a taste of Sister Sparrow's live sound, check out their NPR Tiny Desk Concert HERE.
SISTER SPARROW UPCOMING TOUR DATES
10/31 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
11/1 - Grand Rapids, MI - Founders Brewing Co.
11/2 - Ferndale, MI - Otus Supply - Parliament Room
11/3 - Millvale, PA - Mr. Small's Theatre
11/8 - Hartford, CT - Infinity Music Hall Hartford
11/9 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre Of Living Arts
11/10 - Albany, NY - Swyer Theatre, Empire Center At The Egg
On the one-year anniversary of his passing, The Lumineers today release their version of Tom Petty's "Walls." "Tom Petty is a musical hero of mine, and 'Walls' is such an incredible song," shares the band's Wesley Schultz, continuing "When I got married, my wife walked down the aisle to the song."
The band opened up for Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers three times, but it was playing "Walls" in front of Petty that resonated most. The band performed the song at the annual MusiCares® Person of the Year Gala in 2017 where Petty was the honoree. "After we played," Schultz remembers, "Petty told me how much he liked and appreciated the version, which was a great honor. This is our way of paying homage to him."
All proceeds from the song will benefit MusiCares, a charity of the Recording Academy™, which provides a safety net of critical assistance for music people in times of need.
ABOUT MUSICARES:
A friend and ally of the music community, MusiCares was established by the Recording Academy to safeguard the health and well-being of all music people. A four-star charity and safety net in times of need, MusiCares offers confidential preventative, recovery, and emergency programs to address financial, medical, and personal health issues. Through the generosity of our donors and volunteer professionals, our dedicated team works across the country to ensure the music community has the resources and support it needs.
After a successful year touring as The Devon Allman Project with special guest Duane Betts - the sons of Gregg Allman and Dickey Betts are joining forces to form The Allman Betts Band.
They will kick off 2019 with a new Allman Betts Band album and a worldwide tour that will feature new music, songs from their solo projects and classic Allman Brothers and Gregg Allman tunes in honor of the 50th Anniversary of The Allman Brothers Band. The new album, which is slated to be released in the Spring of 2019, will be produced by Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price, John Prine and Elvis Presley).
The new ABB will include Devon, Duane, Berry Oakley Jr. (son of original Allman Brothers Band bassist Berry Oakley), slide guitar virtuoso, Johnny Stachela and DAP percussionists R. Scott Bryan (Sheryl Crow) and John Lum.
Peter Levin (Gregg Allman's Hammond B3 player) and Chuck Leavell (former Allman Brothers Band keyboardist and current Rolling Stones keyboardist) will also appear on the record.
For all up to date news, and to purchase tickets please visit allmanbettsband.com.
Second Annual Allman Family Revival at The Fillmore
Returning for its second year in celebration of Gregg Allman's birthday, and all star family reunion is set to take place at The Fillmore in San Francisco.
"I think that it's important that the music live on" Devon recently told Rolling Stone in an interview.
The evening will feature Devon Allman, Duane Betts, Berry Oakley Jr., Luther and Cody Dickinson, G. Love, Samantha Fish, Jimmy Hall, Ally Venable, Alex Orbison and Marcus King.
Plus Brotherhood of Light, the "original San Francisco psychedelic show" (who are slated to tour with the new ABB in 2019) will be providing visuals and lighting for the evening. Brotherhood of Light has worked with several bands including The Allman Brothers, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Led Zeppelin and The Who.
Before the launch of The ABB in 2019, you can find Devon and Duane on tour through late February 2019 as The Devon Allman Project with special guest Duane Betts. Ticket links and information for those shows can be found here.
Devon Allman Project w/ Special Guest Duane Betts Dates
Nov 9, 2018 | Sioux City, IA @ Anthem at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Dec 2, 2018 | Phoenix, AZ @ Music Instrument Museum Theater
Dec 4, 2018 | Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Dec 6, 2018 | Hermosa Beach, CA @ Saint Rocke
Dec 7, 2018 | Ramona, CA @ Ramona Mainstage
Dec 8, 2018 | San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore (Allman Family Revival)
Dec 9, 2018 | Jackson, CA @ Jackson Rancheria
Dec 11, 2018 | Bend, OR @ Tower Theatre
Dec 12, 2018 | Boise, ID @ The Olympic
Dec 13, 2018 | Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room
Dec 14, 2018 | Jackson Hole, WY @ The Mangy Moose
Dec 15, 2018 | Vail, CO @ Vail Snow Days with Shakey Graves
Dec 16, 2018 | Greeley, CO @ Moxi Theater
Dec 26, 2018 | St. Louis, MO @ Old Rock House
Dec 27, 2018 | Nashville, TN @ Exit In
Dec 28, 2018 | New Orleans, LA @ Tipitinas
Dec 29, 2018 | Birmingham, AL @ Saturn
Dec 30, 2018 | Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
Dec 31, 2018 | Macon, GA @ Grand Opera House with special guest Berry Oakley Jr.
Jan 20-24, 2019 | Runaway Bay, Jamaica @ Gov't Mule's Island Exodus with Gov’t Mule, Lukas Nelson & Ron Holloway
Jan 28, 2019 | Park City, UT @ The Cabin (Devon & Duane acoustic @ Sundance Festival)
Feb 14-18, 2019 | Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Rock Legends Cruise VI with Roger Daltrey and Buddy Guy
Feb 20, 2019 | Stuart, FL @ Lyric Theater
Feb 21, 2019 | Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Parker Playhouse
Feb 22, 2019 | Ocala, FL @ Reilly Arts Center
Feb 23, 2019 | Ormond Beach, FL @ The Pavilion at Destination Daytona
Feb 24, 2019 | Clearwater, FL @ Clearwater Sea-Blues Festival
Feb 25 - March 1, 2019 | Tampa, FL @ Keepin' The Blues Alive w/ Joe Bonamassa and Kenny Wayne Shepherd
The Allman Betts Band Dates
Mar 28, 2019 | Torrington, CT @ Warner Theatre
Mar 29, 2019 | Plymouth, NH @ Flying Monkey PAC
Mar 30, 2019 | Plattsburgh, NY @ The Strand Theater
Apr 4, 2019 | Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
Apr 5, 2019 | Stowe, VT @ Spruce Peak PAC
Apr 6, 2019 | Staten Island, NY @ St. George Theatre
Apr 11, 2019 | Homer, NY @ Center for the Arts
Apr 12, 2019 | Newton, NJ @ Newton Theater
Apr 13, 2019 | Beverly, MA @ Cabot Theater
Jun 29, 2019 | New Martinsville, WV @ Back Home Festival
Sep 1, 2019 | Lakeville, PA @ Cove Haven Southern Rock Festival
Ben Morrison (of The Brothers Comatose) has announced his debut solo EP, due out March 1 on AntiFragile Records. This EP will be followed by a second EP to be released later in 2019. With this new batch of music, Morrison has been able to push his creative boundaries and stretch songwriting legs in a way that he was never before able to do. With the announcement, comes the release of the first single and a stunning music video to go along with it.
“The video we made was really fun. Friends of mine - The Rainbow Girls - sing background vocals on the new track “25 Miles” and I thought it would be great to get them in the video. I didn’t really have much of a concept so I called them up and they said to come out to their house in the sticks and we would play a game called stump. It’s an old carpenters game where you get a stump, a bunch of nails and a hammer…and you flip the hammer in the air, catch it and bring it down in one motion, trying to nail in other peoples’ nails. Last nail standing wins. I had the idea to turn the game into an old-fashioned kung fu battle, which found me and Vanessa May of the Rainbow Girls battling it out and me ultimately losing in the end. SPOILER ALERT. Whoops. It was really fun to make and I think fits the vibe of the song quite well.”
The Brothers Comatose, a familiar name in the roots and americana landscape, have been hitting it hard for the past 10 years, and now with some lineup changes the band is taking what they call a “palette cleanser”.
“We all needed to pursue our own things for a bit. Mine is to take that time and make as much music as I can and try some sonic exploration - something totally different than the thing I've been used to for the last 10 years in BroCo. So…I just booked some studio time and sat my ass down to write a bunch of songs. This change in the band has brought up all sorts of feelings in me and the only way for me to process all that stuff is to write.” says Morrison.
The EP will be recorded analog style to 2" tape at Tiny Telephone Studios in San Francisco.
The choice to go analog was an easy one to Ben Morrison “When you’re recording to tape, you don’t have those fine-tuning details. You just have to play and sing your asses off in the studio. Sometimes you make mistakes, but some mistakes can be cool. It adds humanness to a record and I love that. Perfection is sterile and crappy.”
“My vision for this project is to explore the fringes of the music I've been writing that I wasn't able to explore fully with a string band. I've been working on lots of songs with different grooves - slow groovy crooner tunes and some uptempo rockers.
I kept asking myself why am I doing this thing? It’s kind of like my Rumspringa. Like the Amish do with their youth, letting them out into the world to experience all the different non-Amish facets of life. That’s what I’m doing right now.”
Superfly and A.C. Entertainment are excited to reveal the initial lineup for the 2019 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. The 18th annual four-day multi-stage camping festival will take place June 13 - 16, held as always at Great Stage Park, the spectacular 700-acre farm and event space located just 60 miles southeast of Nashville in Manchester, TN. Tickets - including General Admission (4 Day), VIP (4 Day), Platinum (4 Day) and more - will go on sale Thursday, January 10, at 12 noon ET/11 am CT, exclusively via www.bonnaroo.com/tickets. Bonnaroo has never been more accessible with GA ticket layaway plans available for just $47.
The 2019 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival will see a truly extraordinary range of artists performing around the clock across more than 10 unique stages over the four-day event. Friday, June 14, will feature Phish (Late Evening Set), Childish Gambino, Solange, The Avett Brothers, Brockhampton, GRiZ, RL Grime, Beach House, GRiZ SuperJam, NGHTMRE, Gojira, Courtney Barnett, Girl Talk, AJR, Catfish And The Bottlemen, K.Flay, Anoushka Shankar, Nahko & Medicine For The People, Liquid Stranger, Deafheaven, Parquet Courts, Rival Sons, Ibeyi, Jade Cicada, Las Cafeteras, Cherry Glazerr, The Teskey Brothers, Medasin, Tyla Yaweh, Ducky, Monsieur Periné, Mersiv, and Crooked Colours.
Saturday, June 15, will include Post Malone, Odesza, Hozier, Kacey Musgraves, The National, The Lonely Island, ZHU, Juice WRLD, Joe Russo's Almost Dead, Gucci Mane, John Prine, Jim James (Full Band), Maren Morris, Gramatik, Shovels & Rope, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Quinn XCII, Clairo, Bishop Briggs, Hippo Campus, Space Jesus, Tokimonsta, Chelsea Cutler, The Record Company, SNBRN, Ruston Kelly, Whipped Cream, Rubblebucket, Little Simz, Memba, Deva Mahal, and DJ Mel.
Sunday, June 16, will see Phish (2 Sets), The Lumineers, Cardi B, Brandi Carlile, Illenium, Walk The Moon, Mac DeMarco, King Princess, Lil Dicky, G Jones, Trampled By Turtles, The Wood Brothers, Hobo Johnson & The Lovemakers, Princess (Featuring Maya Rudolph & Gretchen Lieberum), The Soul Rebels, The Lemon Twigs, Two Feet, AC Slater, CID, Dombresky, Bombino, Faye Webster, Ripe, Kikagaku Moyo, and Igloohost.
In addition, the lineup for Thursday, June 13, includes Grand Ole Opry Featuring Special Guests, Saba, Space Jesus b2b Eprom b2b Shlump, 12th Planet, Sunsquabi, All Them Witches, Magic City Hippies, The Nude Party, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, The Comet Is Coming, Jack Harlow, Eprom, Caroline Rose, Donna Missal, Peach Pit, Hekler, and Dorfex Bos. The complete Bonnaroo 2019 lineup is below.
Bonnaroo has continually sought new ways to enhance the fans' onsite experience and the 2019 event will emphasize this with an array of remarkable new features and improvements. In 2018, Bonnaroo made significant upgrades to the site's communal areas, known as Plazas. Strategically located and well-lit public places throughout the campgrounds, Plazas include shade, free public Wi-Fi, showers, activities, charging stations, Clean Vibes Trading Post redemption centers, misting stations, medical, safety stations, information and portable restrooms.
NEW FOR 2019
This year's event features a "Sanctuary of Self-Love" campground experience curated by Hayley Williams of Paramore. Also, "The Yes Barn" presented by House of Yes and Little Cinema will once again feature jaw-dropping circus acts, mind-bending immersive cinema shows, wild theme parties, and Bonnaroo's first-ever Pride parade. And, located at Plaza 7, The Ville - presented in partnership with Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. and local maker-space Fort Houston - will showcase Music City's most creative, most entertaining and most delicious food with surprise performances, interactive and illuminated art installations, and late night fun. The ever-popular Grove, also at Plaza 7, will return in 2019, offering a shaded retreat during the days with art installations, hammocks and more. The evenings will see the beautiful tree-filled space transformed by Nashville's Fort Houston with more lights and inventive musical experiences than ever before. For more information, please visit www.bonnaroo.com/experience/camping-plazas. In addition, a pristine new wooded hangout is also being installed in a section of Bonnaroo's Eastern woods that has never been publicly available to fans before.
With tickets purchased in all 50 states and over 40 countries around the world, Bonnaroo is a truly universal event. Since its very first day, Bonnaroo has lived up to its responsibility as one of the planet's principal musical congregations by constantly pushing forward in its efforts towards environmental friendliness and sustainability. The only major event in the world with its own permanent solar array and compost waste on site, Bonnaroo has twice been recognized by the state of Tennessee, winning the Governor's Environmental Stewardship Award as well as the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation's Pursuit of Excellence Award. Complete details, as well as Bonnaroo's annual report to the fans, can be found at www.bonnaroo.com/experience/sustainability.
In addition, the Bonnaroo Works Fund, a 501c3 nonprofit organization serving as the philanthropic division of Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, recently announced $236,000 in grant awards from its 2018 cycle. Formally established in 2009, the Bonnaroo Works Fund (BWF) - administered by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee - supports nonprofit organizations that spearhead Tennessee-based initiatives with a mission of advancing arts, education and environmental causes. Since the inception of the festival in 2002, Bonnaroo and the BWF have generated more than $7 million in support, largely benefiting Manchester, TN, Coffee County and surrounding areas. Forty organizations received funding in 2018, including Musicians on Call, Notes For Notes, Nashville Ballet, Nashville Children's Theatre, National Museum of African American Music, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee, Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation, the Nashville Food Project, and more. For more information, please visit www.bonnaroo.com/information/get-involved/bonnaroo-works-fund.
Bonnaroo Tickets - including General Admission (4 Day), VIP (4 Day), Platinum (4 Day) and more – are on sale today now, exclusively via www.bonnaroo.com/tickets.
LAYAWAY PLANS: During the purchase process, select "Layaway Plan" at checkout to put as little as $47 down and pay the remainder of your ticket in installments.
CARPOOL BONUS: Buy 4 GA tickets in one order and get 1 Car Camping Pass FREE.
LE BON TENTS: Bonnaroo has revamped its rentable tent and glamping options for 2019. More air conditioning options that ever before, and affordable packages starting as low as $50/night. For more information, visit https://www.bonnaroo.com/le-bon-tents/.
GRAMMY® Award winning artist Patty Griffin has announced a headlining tour beginning February 28 in Los Angeles, CA, making her way through historic venues across North America including The Town Hall in New York, NY, and the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. Tickets for most shows go on sale next Friday, January 18. European dates and further North American touring will be announced soon. Full details, tour updates and much more can be found at www.pattygriffin.com/tour. The acclaimed singer's 10th studio recording and first-ever eponymous LP, PATTY GRIFFIN, arrives Friday, March 8 on her own PGM Recordings label via Thirty Tigers.
PATTY GRIFFIN is heralded by the powerful first track, "River," which premiered last Friday exclusively via People Magazine. "'Isn't she a river?' just kind of came out and the rest sort of followed," said Griffin. "Sometimes songs are like that. I wasn't really reaching for anything intentionally - just playing some chords with a feeling inside and there you go."
PATTY GRIFFIN represents an extraordinary new chapter for this incomparable singer-songwriter and immediately stands among the most deeply personal recordings of her remarkable two-decade career. The album - which follows 2015's GRAMMY® Award-nominated
Servant of Love - collects songs written during and in the aftermath of profound personal crisis, several years in which she battled - and ultimately defeated - cancer just as a similar and equally insidious disease metastasized into the American body politic. Yet as always, like very few others, Griffin's power lies in how, as Holly Gleason in the
Martha's Vineyard Gazette observed, "her songs seem to freeze life and truth in amber." It's in how Griffin can express the strikingly intimate while never making it about herself, all wrapped in sparse arrangements that breathe an incomparable force and import into her songcraft.
PATTY GRIFFIN 2019 TOUR DATES
FEBRUARY
28 - LARGO at the Coronet Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
STAY WILD, the debut album from SONTALK, is set for release MARCH 15 from Sony Music Masterworks. Available now for preorder, the twelve-track collection follows the personal trials, tribulations and triumphs of JOSEPH LEMAY, the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist behind SONTALK. Included with today's preorder is "I AM A MOUNTAIN," a multilayered, enveloping ballad detailing the before-and-after of a tumultuous relationship. Sonically, "I Am A Mountain" serves as the dynamic apex of Stay Wild, featuring a loping pace and persistent, driving beat that swells and crescendos to mimic the emotional rise and fall of a failing relationship - listen here.
"'I Am A Mountain' is a song with a few trajectories of meaning," says SONTALK. "On one level, it's a story about a mountain being exploited by a mining company. On another level, it's a story about a person with a heart of gold being totally used up by a parasitic individual. And on a third level, it's about how life seems to take the most out of the people with the purest hearts and the most good to offer the world. On Stay Wild, 'I Am A Mountain' comes at a point in the album where the main character is far from home and has come to a full understanding of just how much life has taken out of him."
By way of familial candor and visceral vulnerability, the twelve tracks comprising SONTALK's 2019 full-length debut album, Stay Wild, chronicle musician Joseph LeMay's journey of self-reflection, discovery, acceptance and, ultimately, growth. Throughout the creative process, LeMay's path spanned everything from frequent admittance to the psychiatric ward due to intense bouts with bipolar disorder and a suicide in the family to the birth of his son and ultimately, his creative awakening as SONTALK. In 2016, LeMay met producer Jeremy Lutito [Chuck Berry, Colony House] at the suggestion of engineer Logan Matheny. Together, they brought the vision of SONTALK to life, recording Stay Wild alongside Matheny at Big Light Studio.
Describing it as, "a series of open letters the main character leaves for his inner child," LeMay imbues his debut with moments of triumph and despair, tossing and turning between emotional extremes to create an openly honest dialogue with himself and listeners. The inner duality LeMay speaks of is a notion fully explored throughout the entirety of Stay Wild, an expansion of the emotional terrain covered by his introductory EP, SONTALK: Act I, released last April. On Act I, the lead single "I Am A War Machine," through jagged textures and frenetic rhythms, LeMay invokes a voice on the verge of mental unraveling while simultaneously realizing its volatility and gaining awareness.
The follow-up to Act I and lead offering from Stay Wild, "Baby, I'm Gone" fuses a stark and soulful vocal to sinewy acoustic guitar and a glitchy beat, with LeMay's haunting voice echoing with powerful passion and plaintive poetry. Rolling Stone named "Baby, I'm Gone" one of the 10 best new releases of the week, calling the track, "an evocative, compelling song about leaving negative feelings in the rearview mirror." Elsewhere the album is grounded by LeMay's powerful vocals and a delicate dissonance of multifarious sonic textures that range from distorted slide guitar transmissions, sequenced beats, vinyl samples and warm electronics. The result is a deeply emotional journey into LeMay's life, offering a therapeutic and universal wisdom meant to be shared for a long time to come.
"Whenever somebody lays themselves bare and is vulnerable, it's easier to empathize," concludes SONTALK. "My hope is that by being honest, I can give listeners something to hold on to. By reflecting, I'd love to help people with their own self-reflection. For others who have had experiences like I've gone through, I hope the music is a consolation. I'm reminding them they're not alone. This is just my version of a universal experience."
Today's album announcement arrives alongside the start of nearly 40 new tour dates for SONTALK, beginning with a U.S. run in support of Bronze Radio Return. SONTALK will celebrate the March release of Stay Wild with two major festival appearances, first at Savannah Stopover Festival and then making his SXSW debut in Austin, TX. He will hit the road again at the start of April, supporting artist Telekinesis on a month-long North American tour, with stops at renowned venues including Rough Trade (Brooklyn), U Street Music Hall (Washington DC), The Basement (Nashville), Café Du Nord (San Francisco) and more. For the latest in touring news and ticketing information please visit SONTALKmusic.com.
SONTALK - STAY WILD
TRACKLIST
1. Stay Wild
2. I Am a War Machine
3. Baby, I'm Gone
4. Ca Va & C'est La Vie
5. I Am a Mountain
6. One Day It's Gonna Break
7. Hosánna (God, Damn My Soul)
8. Jesus Honey
9. Hurt You
10. Kiss Me, Kill Me (Cover Me in Red)
11. The One Who Breaks Your Heart
12. Julian
SONTALK 2018-2019 TOUR DATES
January
29 - Charlotte, NC - Visulite Theatre*
30 - Charleston, SC - The Charleston Pour House*
31 - Orlando, FL - SoundBar*
February
7 - Tampa, FL - Crowbar*
8 - Atlanta, GA - Vinyl at Center Stage*
9 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle Back Room*
March
7 - Savannah, GA - Savannah Stopover Music Festival
Jim James has announced plans for a spring headline tour. The Jim James Presents Uniform Distortion tour - which sees James backed by his longtime live band - begins May 1 at Charleston, SC's Charleston Music Hall and then continues through the month. James - who has only just wrapped up a series of intimate European headline shows - will bring his first full band performances of last year's Uniform Distortion along with selections from his entire catalogue to U.S. festivals at Atlanta, GA's Shaky Knees Music Festival (May 4), Manchester, TN's Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival (June 15), Telluride, CO's Telluride Bluegrass Festival (June 20-23), and Quincy CA's High Sierra Music Festival (July 4-7).
Spotify and jimjames.com presales begin Wednesday, January 30 at 10 am (local). Local presales follow on Thursday, January 31 at 10 am (local). All presales conclude Thursday, January 31 at 10 pm (local). All remaining tickets will be released to the general public on Friday, February 1 at 10 am (local). For complete details, please see jimjames.com/events.
In partnership with RPM, $1 from every ticket purchased for the Jim James Presents Uniform Distortion tour will benefit My Morning Jacket's Waterfall Project, whose beneficiary for this tour will be the Young Authors Greenhouse, a nonprofit organization in Louisville, KY that inspires students ages 6-8 from diverse communities to grow their imaginations through writing.
JIM JAMES 2019 TOUR
MAY
1 - Charleston, SC - Charleston Music Hall
3 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
4 - Atlanta, GA - Shaky Knees Music Festival
5 - New Orleans, Joy Theater
8 - Houston, TX - Heights Theater
10 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
11 - Austin, TX - Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheatre
12 - Oklahoma City, OK - Tower Theatre
14 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
15 - St. Louis, MO - Delmar Hall
17 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
19 - Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore
20 - Portland, ME - State Theatre
22 - Detroit, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre
23 - Chicago, IL - Riviera Theater
25 - Boulder, CO - Bluebird Music Festival (solo acoustic)
JUNE
15 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
20-23 - Telluride, CO - Telluride Bluegrass Festival
Partisan Records announces the release of Craig Finn's eagerly awaited new album, I Need A New War, arriving Friday, April 26. The third album in a trilogy (following 2015's Faith in the Future and 2017's We All Want The Same Things), I Need A New War once again sees Finn expertly chronicling our complex, often confusing, modern era, drawing deeply felt character studies about regular people trying to respond to extraordinary times, attempting to find connection whilst wondering how to keep pace with a world moving faster than they are. The LP further finds Finn focusing his lens on New York City - his home for the last 18 years.
"Going in, I saw this record as the third part of a trilogy," says Finn. "Thematically, this was the third group of songs that I had written about smaller moments -- people trying to stay afloat in modern times, attempting to find connection, achieving tiny triumphs and frustrating let downs in their day to day lives."
I Need A New War, Finn's fourth solo LP, was recorded throughout 2018 at The Isokon in Woodstock, NY with producer Josh Kaufman and engineer D. James Goodwin, both of whom teamed with Finn on his widely acclaimed previous solo releases. In addition, the album features musical contributions from many of his regular solo collaborators, including Kaufman, horn master Stuart Bogie (Antibalas), pianist Sam Kassirer, vocalists Annie Nero and Cassandra Jenkins, and drummer extraordinaire Joe Russo.
"Perhaps forward motion is everything," says Finn. "The characters in the songs on this record, and the last two, are trying to keep up and keep their heads above water. They succeed or they don't, but their stories are the tales of their attempts at pushing ahead. And so, with my own push forward, I feel lucky and excited to be sharing these songs and stories."
The first song from the new record premiered on NPR today and is available now on all DSPs. "Blankets is a song about someone who has never gotten over a past love, and goes searching for her. But time is running out," says Finn.
Beginning today, fans can pre-order I Need A New War in physical and digital formats. All orders through Finn's D2C store include a bonus digital EP featuring b-sides and alternate versions from the album. Other items exclusive to the store include: a one of a kind, signed hardcover lyric book (featuring lyrics to all songs from FITF, WAWTST, INANW and photos by Dan Monick), signed vinyl, an enamel pin set, and more.
Perhaps best known as the singer of The Hold Steady, Craig Finn is a Minnesota-bred singer-songwriter and guitarist based in New York City. With his highly descriptive lyrical style and a defining focus on narrative, Finn has crafted whole worlds for the people in his songs to exist within. After five critically acclaimed albums with The Hold Steady, 2012 saw Finn release his first solo album, Clear Heart Full Eyes, prompting The AV Club to write, "As a solo artist, Finn has created a new world of characters and songs...working in new sonic territory while still sounding like the same old storyteller obsessed with falls from grace and calls for redemption."
Largely written in the wake of his mother's death, Faith in the Future earned four stars from Rolling Stone and ultimately, a top 10 spot on American Songwriter's "Top 50 Albums of 2015." "It's time to pay attention to Craig Finn, who made his mark as the frontman with the Hold Steady - an infectious, Replacements-style rock act from New York - but really steps up on his own," wrote the Boston Globe. "Finn's second solo album is packed with songs rich in street intelligence and wry humor."
Finn's remarkable third solo album, We All Want The Same Things, proved one of the most acclaimed releases of 2017 with inclusion on a wide range of high-profile year-end lists. "God In Chicago," the extraordinary centerpiece track that gives the album its name, was ranked #1 by American Songwriter on its "Top 25 Songs of 2017," noting, "We expect strong characters and compelling stories from Craig Finn, whether he's recording solo or with The Hold Steady. We even expect beautiful details and excellent location scouting. But we didn't expect a song as powerful, as specific, as lived in, as beautiful, as insightful, as risky as 'God in Chicago.'" The Guardian, In a four-starred rave, hailed We All Want The Same Things as "a deeply personal work from a master storyteller," while Paste simply declared the LP "[Finn's] most self-assured album...The subtler sense of musical adventurism he has come to embrace on his own work, make these songs essential."
Finn celebrated We All Want The Same Things by touring extensively throughout 2017. Highlights included an acclaimed headlining trek backed by his live band, The Uptown Controllers, as well as solo living room tours of the U.S. and the U.K. Currently traveling on a European tour alongside Brian Fallon, Finn will support I Need A New War with a North American and European live schedule, with dates set to commence in June. For updates, please visit craigfinn.net/tour.
Five years since their last album, Mexican acoustic rock guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela are ready to embark on the next chapter of their remarkable story, with the release of the most ambitious music of their 20-year career together. Entitled Mettavolution, the band's new LP will be released April 26 via ATO Records and is available to preorder here. Tune in to a Facebook Live event from Rod and Gab's studio in Mexico today at 12 noon ET.
Three years in the making, Mettavolution brings together Rod and Gab's passionate interest in Buddhism, the history of human evolution and the liberation of the potential we have as a species; all expressed through the medium of two acoustic guitars. Conceived and composed in their studio in Ixtapa on the Mexican Pacific Coast, then road-tested in South America and the USA in 2017, before more fine tuning and further tweaks on their Australian tour of 2018, a long list of new material has been distilled down to six new Rodrigo y Gabriela compositions and one audacious, jaw-dropping cover song.
Rodrigo y Gabriela have shared a first taste of the album in the form of "Echoes", a cover of the Pink Floyd track, which takes up the whole of the second half of Mettavolution. Long-time Floyd fans, Rod and Gab lovingly pay homage to the prog-classic song off of the band's 1971 opus Meddle, while at the same time weaving their own golden threads into its timeless textures, to create something exciting, contemporary and unforgettable.
Deep-rooted fans who discovered Rod and Gab through their 2006 self-titled breakout album have long recognized the Mexicans' mastery of their instruments. And while Rodrigo's shimmering, hummingbird flourishes hovering over Gabriela's extraordinary engine-room rhythm section are ever-present on Mettavolution, what sets this new record apart is the laser-guided focus on melody, energy and beat. There is not an ounce of excess baggage on the fresh, dynamic tunes that Rod and Gab present here, first on a white-hot side one that acknowledges the duo's thrash-metal roots back in Mexico City and then gives way to the aforementioned incredible new arrangement of "Echoes," inspiringly reimagined for two acoustic guitars.
Rodrigo and Gabriela: "We are big Pink Floyd fans. That track, specially the live in Pompeii version means a lot to us, we even made a huge visual reference in our video for "Hanuman." Besides that, the lyrics are even more relevant now than they were 45 years ago, the search for knowledge about ourselves, it's becoming a key element for survival these days, that's what evolution is all about at the end of the day."
On working with noted producer Dave Sardy, the guitarists add: "Everything was ready for it, all the circumstances around the idea of agreeing to work with a producer came together right at the time we talked to Sardy. And our intuition was right. We talked to a lot of great producers before him but the conditions just weren't there. When we talked to Dave it just felt we had arrived." Recorded in Los Angeles, Sardy, -- best-known for his work with Oasis, LCD Soundsystem, A Perfect Circle and Band of Horses -- has helped Rod and Gab to a new recording career pinnacle.
Through relentless touring and terrific word-of-mouth support, Rodrigo y Gabriela have established themselves as a hugely in-demand live act, particularly in America, where they sold out the Hollywood Bowl (two nights) and the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, both as recently as summer 2018. They have also sold out multiple nights at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Le Zenith in Paris and Radio City Music Hall in New York, not to mention venues in Australia, Japan and Europe. With career album sales well in excess of 1.5 million worldwide, Rodrigo y Gabriela have established themselves as globally successful artists who are eager to write new chapters in their already illustrious story
Rodrigo y Gabriela will be touring throughout the year. North American tour dates will be announced soon.
RODRIGO Y GABRIELA UK/EU TOUR DATES
April
13 - Munich - Technikum
15 - Berlin - Columbia Theater
17 - Bourges - Printemps de Bourges
18 - Luxembourg - den Atelier
19 - Brussels - Cirque Royal
21 - Dublin - Olympia Theatre
24 - London - Roundhouse
25 - Paris - Olympia
27 - Chamonix - Musilac Mont Blanc (festival appearance)
Today, Fantastic Negrito shares the video for "A Boy Named Andrew" from his sophomore album Please Don't Be Dead. The release arrives ahead of the 61st annual GRAMMY Awards airing Sunday, February 10, where he'll celebrate his second consecutive nomination for "Best Contemporary Blues Album."
On the release, Negrito states, "I was 'A Boy Named Andrew.' I grew up in foster care feeling like an outsider, and I wanted to write a song about it - about the real stories and real people I met that may not get their stories heard. The video was shot on location in Milan. We love Italy and the energy of the people there. It was directed by a talented 18 year old named Freddy Macdonald. Thanks Freddy for all your time and energy making this happen."
In a brand new story at Esquire, Negrito discusses his "forays into fashion, the style icons who made him, and the pieces that still move him."
"They would see me and just double over laughing, looking at me," Negrito says. "But they didn't bully me or beat me up. I don't know if people realize this, but the hood has lots of comedians. And this one guy walked up to me and he was like, 'What ship is you the captain of?' I still think about this to this day."
When you listen to Fantastic Negrito, you're invited to hear the story of life after destruction. Each song is a real story about a musician from Oakland who experienced the highs of a million dollar record deal, the lows of a near fatal car accident that left him in a coma, and is now in the midst of a rebirth that took him from the streets of Oakland to the Grammy stage. On the way he won the NPR Tiny Desk Contest and toured the world, playing alongside artists ranging from Chris Cornell to Solange to Sturgill Simpson.
Head for the Hills--Adam Kinghorn, Joe Lessard, Matt Loewen--come out swinging and invigorated with fresh sounds on their latest EP, Say Your Mind. Recorded at Swingfingers Studios in Fort Collins (Colorado, the band brought a larger band than ever before, including drummer Darren Garvey of Elephant Revival, Vocalist Kim Dawson, Dobroist Todd Livingston, a horn section and more. The material reflects both the turbulent social rhythms of our current era and more timeless moments of joy, growth, and change—think #MeToo, the current body politic, and inequality, but also relationships, fatherhood and growing up.
Like a painter that starts in acrylic and graduates to oils, Head for the Hills is deeper and richer in their 15th year as a band, with a wider palette of sonic textures at their disposal. Dorm room jam sessions have turned into a decade plus on the road--from humble coffee shops to theaters, festivals, roadhouses and clubs all across the country. Over time those sounds, and influences have crept more and more into the bluegrass beginnings of the band, morphing into the seasoned eclecticism of Say Your Mind. The new songs are quintessential Head for the Hills; genre-stradling, lyrically deep, and danceable, with a crew of collaborators bringing the best of Colorado acoustic, roots, and soul music together.
Head for the Hills numerous festival appearances include notables Telluride Bluegrass Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, South by Southwest, FloydFest, RockyGrass, DelFest, Summer Camp Music Festival, Blue Ox Music Festival, Northwest String Summit, Strawberry Music Festival, Bristol Rhythm and Roots, Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival, Folk Alliance, Grandoozy and many more. The band charted on the CMJ Top 200 twice, has been featured on NPR Ideastream and eTown, and was awarded Best Bluegrass in Colorado four times via Denver’s Westword Magazine.
Their newest album comes out on March 22nd and the band is getting ready to play some dates later this month to celebrate.
Guitar virtuosos Rodrigo y Gabriela are thrilled to announce plans for a major American tour. The headline dates begin May 4 at Austin, TX's ACL Live at the Moody Theater and then continues into early June. In addition, the renowned Mexican acoustic rock guitar duo will make a series of top-billed festival appearances, among them Cleveland, OH's LaureLive (June 9). The new tour dates follow a previously announced European tour, set to visit Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, England, and France through April.
Dayglo and Silent Partner Presents are excited to unveil LOCKN' festival's remarkable 2019 lineup. This year's edition of the four-day multi-stage camping festival features a number of extraordinary artist collaborations, once again affirming LOCKN' as one of the world's most exciting and unique summer gatherings. LOCKN' takes place August 22-25 in Arrington, VA at Infinity Downs, LOCKN's 387-acre property located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Tickets will go on sale tomorrow, Saturday, February 16 at 12 Noon ET via LOCKNFESTIVAL.COM.
LOCKN' 2019 will showcase a truly amazing range of artists performing over the four-day event, with additional artists to be announced in the coming weeks. Thursday, August 22, will feature Joe Russo's Almost Dead, Gary Clark Jr., Khruangbin, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, and Andy Frasco & The U.N.
Friday, August 23 will include headliners Trey Anastasio Band Feat. Derek Trucks alongside The Revivalists, Old Crow Medicine Show, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, Melvin Seals & JGB, Moonalice collaborating with The Chambers Brothers, and Greg Humphreys Electric Trio.
Saturday, August 24, will see Anastasio returning the favor by joining Tedeschi Trucks Band during their headline set, topping a star-studded bill that also includes Vulfpeck, Oteil & Friends feat. Bob Weir with Devon Allman, Duane Betts & more, Twiddle, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Allman Betts Band, Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles, and Liz Cooper & The Stampede.
Sunday, August 25th, will be headlined by Bob Weir and Wolf Bros Feat. Susan Tedeschi, along with Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, moe., St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Steel Pulse, Nahko and Medicine For The People, The Soul Rebels, Deva Mahal, and Keller Williams' Grateful Gospel.
In addition, LOCKN's beloved Garcia's Forest will feature an array of early and late shows throughout the festival weekend, with performers including Fruition, The Lil Smokies, and Town Mountain (Early Shows) and Galactic, Soulive, and Circles Around The Sun (Late Shows).
"With LOCKN', we try and keep things fresh while also keeping them kind of the same," says the festival's Co-Founder and Executive Producer Peter Shapiro. "We think it's fun to have musicians who have played the festival multiple times return for more. Most other music festivals change their line-ups year to year, without having acts play consecutive years, but we prefer to do things a little differently. That said, we are also excited to bring in some great bands that will be playing LOCKN' for the first time. And we have some cool collaborations that should reinvent the music while still keeping the soul of it, which, when it works, is magic and why we do the event."
LOCKN' is once again offering a Three-Day Weekend Pass in addition to its traditional Four-Day Festival Pass, allowing fans with tighter schedules to still see all the bands performing at LOCKN' for a lower price. Single-Day Festival Passes are also available. For complete details, please visit locknfestival.com/tickets.
LOCKN' FESTIVAL 2019 LINEUP:
THURSDAY, AUGUST 22
Joe Russo's Almost Dead
Gary Clark Jr.
Khruangbin
Chris Robinson Brotherhood
Andy Frasco & The U.N.
Jerry Party
FRIDAY, AUGUST 23
Trey Anastasio Band Feat. Derek Trucks
The Revivalists
Old Crow Medicine Show
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
Melvin Seals & JGB
Moonalice w/ The Chambers Brothers
Greg Humphreys Electric Trio
SATURDAY, AUGUST 24
Tedeschi Trucks Band Feat. Trey Anastasio
Vulfpeck
Oteil & Friends Feat. Bob Weir with Devon Allman, Duane Betts & More
Twiddle
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
The Allman Betts Band
Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles
Liz Cooper & The Stampede
SUNDAY, AUGUST 25
Bob Weir and Wolf Bros Feat. Susan Tedeschi
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit
moe.
St. Paul & The Broken Bones
Steel Pulse
Nahko and Medicine For The People
The Soul Rebels
Deva Mahal
Keller Williams' Grateful Gospel
GARCIA'S FOREST: EARLY SHOWS
Fruition
The Lil Smokies
Town Mountain
GARCIA'S FOREST: LATE SHOWS
Galactic
Soulive
Circles Around The Sun
Jerry Party
For complete details, ticket availability and more, please visit www.locknfestival.com
The 2019 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival has unveiled a series of incredible updates to its campground Plazas, ensuring that this year's event offers the most exciting and innovative camping experience anywhere. The 18th annual four-day multi-stage camping festival will take place June 13 - 16, held as always at Great Stage Park, the spectacular 700-acre farm and event space located just 60 miles southeast of Nashville in Manchester, TN. Tickets - including General Admission (4 Day), VIP (4 Day), Platinum (4 Day) and more - are on sale now. Tier 4 tickets are nearly sold out but fans can lock in GA tickets for just $47 via ticket layaway plans. For complete details and ticket availability, please visit www.bonnaroo.com/tickets.
Last year saw a phenomenal upgrade to Bonnaroo's communal areas, known as Plazas. Strategically located and well-lit public places throughout the campgrounds, Plazas include shade, free public Wi-Fi, showers, activities, charging stations, Clean Vibes Trading Post redemption centers, misting stations, medical, safety stations, information and portable restrooms. The 2019 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival will see a variety of unprecedented experiences throughout the Plazas, including live performances and light-based art installations unlike anything previously seen in the festival's long, creative history:
Plaza 2 will be transformed into "Roo's Sanctuary Of Self Love," curated By Hayley Williams of Paramore. Bonnaroovians visiting the BougieRoo area will have the opportunity to get festival ready with hair styling by Good Dye Young, mini spa treatments, glitter stations and flower crowns. In addition, Services In The Sanctuary will offer feature everything from and nightly themed dance parties to alternative therapies and panels on mental health and self-love. Fans will also get a chance to win a makeover with style extraordinaire Brian O'Connor of Good Dye Young and meet Hayley Williams herself.
Among the new Plazas will be "Where In The Woods," located on the Eastern woods of Bonnaroo's campground, near both VIP camping and Plaza 2. "Where In The Woods" will transform the forest into an unforgettable magical landscape for late-night fun and daytime escape from reality. The Where Stage will feature DJs and surprise sets late into the night with an otherworldly dance floor.
Plaza 9 will be dubbed "Bayou Libre," curated by the New Orleans entertainment collective FREEWATER. An interactive experience inspired by the landscape and the spirits of the swamp, Bayou Libre will be a place where Bonnaroovians can relax in the shade during the day and experience parties late into the night. FREEWATER will bring musical acts as well as some secret performances from New Orleans-based artists featured on the main Bonnaroo lineup.
Plaza 7 will feature "Whiskey Jam At The Ville," curated by the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp and local maker-space Fort Houston. Located right next to The Grove, "Whiskey Jam At The Ville" will give festival attendees from all over the world a chance to sample the best in Nashville's live music, food, art, and so much more. Whiskey Jam, a local Nashville favorite for weekly live music events, will host a Wednesday night kick-off part and present surprise musical acts throughout the weekend.
Brooklyn's House of Yes and Little Cinema return to Plaza 3 in 2019, once again offering up thrilling performance spectacles and one-of-a-kind dance party madness. Dirty Circus will feature jaw-dropping circus acts, drag queens with fantastic feats of skill, while Little Cinema and Cinema Club will present mind-blowing interactive immersive screenings. The new Day Lounge and Night Owl Cinema series will also provide shade and late night entertainment. Bonnaroovians are also all invited to Plaza 3's opening night and closing night parties, as well as what will be a certain highlight of this year's event - the first-ever Bonnaroo pride parade. The festival has always provided a place of inclusiveness and innovation, though Bonnaroovians will now see the spirit manifest into a trail of radical expression in celebration of our right to exist.
The Grove at Plaza 7 is back again in 2019 with plenty of shade along with art installations, hammocks, and much more. At night, Nashville's Fort Houston will transform the beautiful tree-filled space into something even more special with the promise of more lights and experiences than ever before, including the return of "Tonalism," an all-night ambient music experience by DUBLAB. The "Tonalism" events will feature live performances and DJ sets in an environment transformed by light projections, art installations, and other various multimedia elements. Visitors will be encouraged to lie down and listen for a transformative and contemplative experience.
The Boogaloo Of Wonder at Plaza 6 will be Bonnaroovians' go-to spot for comedy performances, artistic exploration, and entertainment of all sorts. Lineup details and more will be unveiled soon.
The Tower at Plaza 4 offers attendees a convenient stop to or from their camp to grab food, crafts, coffee, and more. Located right near the entrance to Centeroo, The Tower will also host festival favorites like the Bonnaroo Census as well as inspiring art, and more.
Last, but very definitely not least, the newly revamped VIP Campground Plaza will feature air-conditioning, private bars, complimentary Wi-Fi, daily yoga classes, games, live video feeds of the festival performances, and some special surprises. Located close to Plazas 2 and 3, the VIP Campground Plaza is available exclusively to VIP patrons.
Ben Folds and Violent Femmes have announced a very special summer co-headline tour, set to begin Sunday, July 28 at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT, and continue through the first half of August.
Artist pre-sale is Tuesday, March 5 at 10 am local time. All remaining tickets will be released to the general public on Friday, March 8 at 10 am local time. VIP Packages will also be available for all dates. VIP packages feature a pre-show Meet & Greet and a Q&A with Ben, and a signed copy and excerpt readings by Ben of his soon-to-be-published memoir "A Dream About Lightning Bugs. A Life Of Music And Cheap Lessons. For complete details and ticket availability, please see www.benfolds.com/tour-dates and (www.vfemmes.com/tour).
BEN FOLDS & VIOLENT FEMMES DATES
July
28 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
30 - Washington, DC - The Anthem
August
1 - New York, NY - The Rooftop at Pier 17
2 - Asbury Park, NJ - Stone Pony Summer Stage
3 - Boston, MA - Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion
4 - East Providence, RI - Bold Point Park
6 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE Outdoors
8 - Charlotte, NC - Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre
9 - Nashville, TN - Ascend Amphitheater
10 - Indianapolis, IN - Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park
11 - Detroit, MI - Meadow Brook Amphitheatre
14 - Minneapolis, MN - Surly Brewing Company
15 - Des Moines, IA - Water Works Park Amphitheater
16 - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre*
*Tickets go on sale on Monday, March 11 at 10am CST in Kansas City
Trixie Whitley has revealed the video for "Long Time Coming," the second part of a visual trilogy leading to the release of her third studio album, LACUNA, due March 29, 2019. "Longtime Coming" and the initial track released last month, "Touch," are both available for streaming now at all DSPs. LACUNA was created in conjunction with Run The Jewels producer Little Shalimar, and sees Whitley pulling classic soul into a future world thru a fascinating, heady blend of hi-fi electronic sounds, hypnotic rhythms, and her trademark vocals with gut punching lyrics. LACUNA is available for pre-order now.
"Trixie Whitley is the real deal," says Little Shalimar. "A true artist, more concerned with mining deep emotional truths than fashions or conceits. Making LACUNA with her was deeply gratifying and I consider it one of the artistic highlights of my life. I'm very excited to share it with the world."
The music videos for "Long Time Coming" and "Touch" were created by Whitley with visual artist and creative director Hannah Marshall, known for her signature monochromatic aesthetic and her work with bands such as The xx, Florence and The Machine, Savages and Goldfrapp.
While the trilogy is a personal study of the space in-between, it unravels a slow-burning language of physical movement and focuses on the evolution from an individual to a collective sense of intimacy, trust, and all its liminalities in-between.
"For me the new album is all about perception, possibility and the imagination," says Whitley. "'Long Time Coming' is largely about the tension which can exist between two individuals. It is an ode to the departures and new beginnings which often occur at the same time, an observation of this rich yet challenging process we experience when going through changes and transitions. I've always been intrigued by the space between opposing elements which may seem like a void but contains a well of information - that's why I'm calling the album LACUNA."
Trixie Whitley will be touring Europe and North-America all year in support of LACUNA. The first string of dates was just announced and includes two shows at the renowned Ancienne Belgique in Brussels - one of which is already sold out - as well as headline shows in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Munich and Leeds. Trixie will also be joining dEUS as a Special Guest on their Ideal Crash Tour this spring.
Jim James and The Claypool Lennon Delirium have announced plans for a summer 2019 co-headline tour. The two acts will join forces for nine dates across the United States and Canada - beginning June 21 at Salt Lake City's Eccles Theater and then continuing into early July.
"For over 150 years, the firm of Claypool and Lennon has been providing clients with only the finest in rock and roll delirium and stark raving madness. This summer, I am excited and honored to say that we will be teaming up to offer a brand new twist on one of the most time tested and proven methods for inducing beautifully swirling and whirling delightfully delicious delirium: the healing power of rock and roll!" said James.
"Tour pairing is often a challenge in my world but I think we have a good package with The Delirium and Jim James. Jim's music, from my perspective, is palatable to the masses yet has just enough eclecticism to keep an oddball like me intrigued. I look forward to shambling around the country with him," said Les Claypool.
Presales begin Wednesday, March 6 at 10 am (local). Local presales follow on Thursday, March 7 at 10 am (local). All presales conclude Thursday, March 7 at 10 pm (local). All remaining tickets will then be released to the general public on Friday, March 8 at 10 am (local). In partnership with RPM, $1 from every ticket purchased for the Jim James + Claypool Lennon Delirium Summer 2019 Tour will benefit My Morning Jacket's Waterfall Project, this time benefitting the Young Authors Greenhouse, a nonprofit organization in Louisville, KY that inspires students ages 6-8 from diverse communities to grow their imaginations through writing.
Amanda Palmer's new album, There Will Be No Intermission, is out now via 8 Ft. Records/Cooking Vinyl. Her first solo album in more than six years, There Will Be No Intermission is Palmer's third solo LP, and it's the multi-faceted artist's most powerful and personal collection to date, with songs that tackle the big questions: life, death, grief and how we make sense with it all. While the themes may be dark, the album's overall sonic and lyrical mood is one of triumph in the face of life's most ineffably shitty circumstances. Recorded over a single month in Los Angeles by John Congleton (who previously engineered and produced 2012's acclaimed Theatre Is Evil), There Will Be No Intermission was entirely crowd-funded, this time by over 14,000 patrons using Palmer's community hub on Patreon. There Will Be No Intermission could be heard last week in its entirety via NPR's First Listen, and is now available in stores and on all DSPs.
"The last seven years have been a relentless parade of grief, joy, birth and death, and all of it has galvanized me to the core: as a writer, as a woman, as an artistic servant," says Palmer. "I also had no idea that my 14,000 patrons - who held my hand through this entire process - would have the profound effect on my songwriting that they did. Everything feels inseparable now: my crowdfunding through patreon, the birth of our son, the election of Trump, two abortions, the Kavanuagh hearing, the death of my best friend, being in Ireland for the repeal, the miscarriage I had on Christmas day. I sat in a theater in London and watched Hannah Gadsby decimate the blurted lines between entertainment and naked truth, I saw the brave women of #MeToo standing up against their rapists, and I saw Nick Cave in concert and on record working through his grief using art as a necessary and generous tourniquet that others could re-use. They all reminded me to try harder and harder still to tell the real, unadorned truth. I've seen how infectious the darkest truths are, when spoken without shame, and I felt like taking any other path would have been a cop-out."
To accompany the release of the new album today, Palmer is sharing a video (directed by filmmaker Amber Sealey) for the song "Voicemail For Jill." The song is a searing and stark, classically-tinged piano song inspired by Palmer's lifelong role as both pro-choice activist and confidant for women (and men) who have gone through the complicated, often-hidden experience of choosing to have an abortion. The song - penned after a tour landed her in Dublin during the landmark referendum to legalize abortion - had been gestating for ages in her pile of song-drafts and was a "white whale of songwriting" according to Palmer, who has herself had three abortions and has "struggled for years to find the right way to write about the subject without sentimentality, preachiness or apology."
"We felt like it was really important to address the very pedestrian, and also beautiful and emotionally complex experience of what it's like when you're literally on your way to get an abortion," video director Amber Sealey says. "That experience on screen can be so loaded or dramatized, but we wanted to keep the visuals fairly grounded and real. What's it like when you're going to get an abortion and you walk past a woman with her babies? What does it feel like to be thinking about whether or not you should terminate a pregnancy while at work when you're seated next to a hugely pregnant woman. It's capturing those very important, and often very conflicting, experiences, and the duality that exists when you're just another person sitting on the subway, and yet you're about to go and do this thing that is often momentous for many women. We were not trying to say this video is what it's like for all women, everyone has their own stories, opinions and experiences surrounding abortion, but hoped to make women who have gone through it, or are going through it, feel not so alone. To know that even though they may feel alone, they are not alone. Not in their thoughts, not in their experiences, and not in their isolation. They may be traveling alone to the appointment, but energetically there are millions of women who support them and don't judge them and have felt what they are feeling."
"Voicemail For Jill" showcases Palmer on piano and vocals and features additional synthesizer and programming by Max Henry of the Canadian indie band Suuns.
In addition to the LP, Palmer has partnered with the collaborative art-team Kahn & Selesnick (along with LA-based photographer Allan Amato and Iceland-based Artist Stephanie Zakas) to create a companion volume with over 60 theatrical photographic portraits taken mostly in and around the upstate New York home Palmer shares with her husband, writer Neil Gaiman. The portfolio - also titled There Will Be No Intermission - is available on her website and will also be sold at her hugely anticipated world tour, set to circle theaters around the globe in 2019-2020. See full tour details and info on how to buy the album and associated merchandise at amandapalmer.net
AMANDA PALMER 2019 TOUR DATES
MARCH
21 - Detroit, MI - The Cathedral - Masonic Temple
22 - Toronto, ON - Queen Elizabeth Theatre
23 - Montreal, QC - Monument National - Ludger-Duvernay Theatre
APRIL
5 - Washington, DC - National Theatre
6 - Philadelphia, PA - Temple Performing Arts Center
12 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
13 - St. Paul, MN - The O'Shaughnessy at St. Catherine University
19 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
20 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
MAY
10 - San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
11 - Los Angeles, CA - Theatre at Ace Hotel
17 - Atlanta, GA - Cobb Energy Centre
18 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
30 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
31 - Kansas City, MO - Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland
JUNE
1 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theatre
6 - Vancouver, BC - The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
7 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre
8 & 9 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom (June 8 is SOLD OUT)
Fresh off three cruises and Island Exodus with Gov’t Mule and Lukas Nelson, The Allman Betts Band will kick off their world tour in NYC at The Brooklyn Bowl on March 27. The band will make their way across the US and will be making stops in Europe as part of their inaugural tour.
The ABB will also be making several festival appearances, including Mountain Jam, Back Home Festival, Ramblin’ Man Festival in the UK, Peach Music Festival, Lockn’, Big Blues Bender and more.
The tour will feature new music, as well as classic Allman Brothers and Gregg Allman tunes in honor of the 50th Anniversary of The Allman Brothers Band. The new album, Down To The River is slated to be released in the Summer of 2019 and was produced by Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price, John Prine and Elvis Presley).
SONTALK, the latest project from singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joseph LeMay, makes its album debut with today's release of Stay Wild [Sony Music Masterworks]. Available everywhere now, the twelve-track collection follows the personal trials, tribulations and triumphs of LeMay, culminating in an openly honest dialogue between himself and listeners. Having already been met with critical acclaim from the likes of Rolling Stone, Consequence of Sound and Billboard, Stay Wild hints at the vastly expansive sonic and emotional terrain of SONTALK, whose conversation has just begun.
Tomorrow morning, SONTALK will make its first-ever broadcast television debut, performing three songs off the new record on CBS This Morning Saturday. Starting tomorrow morning at 7:00am ET (NY), audiences can tune in to the broadcast, with SONTALK's performance slated to begin around 8:30am ET (NY). Please be sure to check your local listings here. CBS This Morning Saturday is the latest in what has already been a huge week for SONTALK, following a SXSW debut on Wednesday with performances at CoLLide's StubHub Sound Stage, ACL Bloody Mary Brunch, Willie Nelson's Luck Reunion, as well as High Road Touring and KGSR Radio's showcases. SONTALK's slate of SXSW shows will continue into tomorrow with performances at The Brooklyn Country Cantina followed by Rachael Ray's 12th annual Feedback Festival, where SONTALK will join a massive lineup of performers including Bleachers, Big Boi, Lukas Nelson and more.
By way of familial candor and visceral vulnerability, the twelve tracks comprising SONTALK's 2019 full-length debut album, Stay Wild, chronicle musician Joseph LeMay's journey of self-reflection, discovery, acceptance and, ultimately, growth. Throughout the creative process, LeMay's path spanned everything from frequent admittance to the psychiatric ward due to intense bouts with bipolar disorder and a suicide in the family to the birth of his son and ultimately, his creative awakening as SONTALK. In 2016, LeMay met producer Jeremy Lutito [Chuck Berry, Colony House] at the suggestion of engineer Logan Matheny. Together, they brought the vision of SONTALK to life, recording Stay Wild alongside Matheny at Big Light Studio.
"A strong theme I was working through in these songs is an almost out-of-body experience where you see yourself do things you would never do, say, or feel," SONTALK explains. "That was how I felt dealing with being bipolar. The narrator is this guy who cannot justify himself or reconcile himself to explain his actions. That was me."
Describing it as, "a series of open letters the main character leaves for his inner child," LeMay imbues his debut with moments of triumph and despair, tossing and turning between emotional extremes to create an openly honest dialogue with himself and listeners. The inner duality LeMay speaks of is a notion fully explored throughout the entirety of StayWild, an expansion of the emotional terrain covered by his introductory EP, SONTALK: Act I, released last April. On Act I, the lead single "I Am A War Machine," through jagged textures and frenetic rhythms, LeMay invokes a voice on the verge of mental unraveling while simultaneously realizing its volatility and gaining awareness.
Meanwhile, the follow-up to Act I and Stay Wild lead single "The One Who Breaks Your Heart" tempers sunny strumming and upbeat percussion with electronic flourishes and LeMay's emotional admission of remorse. The track was immediately met with critical acclaim upon its release, with Consequence of Sound writing, "The beautiful folk rock number lowers a sturdy head against a bleak situation with steady guitar strums and LeMay's open, willful voice." Elsewhere, "Baby, I'm Gone" fuses a stark and soulful vocal to sinewy acoustic guitar and a glitchy beat, with LeMay's haunting voice echoing with powerful passion and plaintive poetry. Rolling Stone named "Baby, I'm Gone" one of the 10 best new releases of the week, calling the track, "an evocative, compelling song about leaving negative feelings in the rearview mirror."
Stay Wild is grounded by LeMay's powerful vocals and a delicate dissonance of multifarious sonic textures that range from distorted slide guitar transmissions, sequenced beats, vinyl samples and warm electronics. Two "lullabies" bookend the entire 12-song trip, beginning with the minimalist hum, sparse piano, and guitar cries of the title track "Stay Wild," whose lyrics, "express sincere hope to keep innocence alive-even if it's just a flicker." Over the course of the album's trajectory is a deeply emotional journey into LeMay's life, concluding on "Julian," in which a warbly sample gives way to a soft croon that offers an uplifting close to Stay Wild. Ultimately, the message of SONTALK offers a therapeutic and universal wisdom that is meant to be shared for a long time to come.
"Whenever somebody lays themselves bare and is vulnerable, it's easier to empathize," concludes SONTALK. "My hope is that by being honest, I can give listeners something to hold on to. By reflecting, I'd love to help people with their own self-reflection. For others who have had experiences like I've gone through, I hope the music is a consolation. I'm reminding them they're not alone. This is just my version of a universal experience."
After a run of successful headlining shows, as well as dates supporting Houndmouth earlier this year, indie icon Ben Kweller has announced a solo tour through the West Coast beginning with a festival appearance on April 13 in Dallas, TX, making his way through Phoenix, AZ, San Francisco, CA, Portland, OR, Denver, CO and more. Garage darlings The Technicolors will open in Arizona while LA's MainMan and NoiseCo comrades, Modern Love Child, will be opening all following dates. Tickets are on sale now. A complete list of tour datesare available below.
Touring in support of some of the strongest music of his career after an unintentional "hibernation," his new single "Heart Attack Kid" is available now along with a raucous video he made in collaboration with Robert Strange of Superorganism.
He didn't go away just because-he was fifteen minutes away from death. "We almost died," Kweller says. "Me, Lizzy, our two boys ... dead. We wouldn't be here if Liz hadn't woken us up that night."
Kweller is referring to an ill-fated trip to the mountains of New Mexico, back in 2013. The family went on what was meant to be a winter wonderland vacation and instead suffered acute carbon monoxide poisoning. As the months rolled on, Kweller began to battle depression as a result of the poisoning.
"I just didn't care-I didn't want to play music anymore," Kweller says. "I didn't want to leave my family's side, and for the first time in my life I was scared. When you almost die, everything changes, and all the unimportant sh*t disappears. Luckily, I kept writing songs and they got me through some really dark places. Eventually I had 50 ready to go but I was still reluctant to start the machine back up again. A close friend of mine called me up and said, 'Just come over and let's record something together. Even if it's just a demo, maybe it'll make you feel better.'"
That close friend was producer and songwriter, Dwight A. Baker (Misseo, Brandi Carlile). One thing led to another and the two ended up co-producing an entire album. The album is called, Circuit Boredom. News about the album's release will be coming soon.
Catch Ben Kweller at one of the following shows:
APRIL
13 - Dallas, TX - HomeGrown Music and Arts Festival, Main Street Garden Park
Vevo announces the release of Matt Maeson's live performance for "Beggar's Song." The Chesapeake Bay area native took to music early, learning drums and guitar at a young age and eventually touring as a part of his father's prison ministry. Already struggling through a rebellious period in his late teens, the experience of performing at high security prisons and various other dark corners of society made a lasting impression on Maeson and helped realign his focus on a career as a singer/songwriter.
Melding bluesy indie folk and modern production, he began posting tracks on Soundcloud and eventually caught the ear of Atlantic affiliate Neon Gold Records, signing with them in 2016 and embarking on his first Communion-presented headlining tour that summer. He released "Beggar's Song" in early 2019, with EARMILK dubbing it "a medley of emotions with a catchy, powerful chorus that managed to somehow be self-depreciating and motivating at the same time." "Beggar's Song" is out now on all streaming platforms, and be sure to keep up with exclusive content from artists all over the world on YouTube.com/Vevo.
The String Cheese Incident are celebrating 25 years as a band all year long. To keep the party going, SCI are thrilled to release their newest single and video “I Want You.” This is the second single the band has put out this year, and follows the release of “Bhangra Saanj,” featuring Beats Antique.
“This song was inspired by feelings for my wife. She’s been with me through thick and thin for 22 years and still brings out the best in me. The heartbeat of the track is the rhythm section of Keith on bass and Travis on drums who put down a beautiful foundation for the song. Thanks to our good friend Andy Hall from the Infamous Stringdusters (congratulations on your recent Grammy award). Andy’s slide guitar playing is always the most delicious ear-candy. Also a big thanks to our recording engineer Dros for his lush mix on this tune. I hope you enjoy it.” - Bill Nershi
For their 25th anniversary year, the band is hitting the road, for a limited number of tour dates, including stops in Aspen, St. Louis, New Orleans, Port Chester, Louisville and a three-night run at Red Rocks in Morrison, CO. The band will also be playing at a handful of festivals including DelFest, Electric Forest, Peach Fest and FloydFest, plus more dates to be announced!
THE STRING CHEESE INCIDENT
25th ANNIVERSARY TOUR
April 5 • The Belly Up • Aspen, CO [Sold Out]
April 6-7 • The Apres • Aspen, CO
April 19-20 • The Fabulous Fox • St. Louis, MO
May 2 • Orpheum Theater • New Orleans, LA
May 3-4 • Mardi Gras World • New Orleans, LA
May 24 • DelFest • Cumberland, MD
May 25-27 • The Capitol Theatre • Port Chester, NY
June 27-30 • Electric Forest • Rothbury, MI [Sold Out]
July 3-4 • Iroquois Amphitheater • Louisville, KY
July 5-6 • The Fox Theatre • Atlanta, GA
July 19-21 • Red Rocks Amphitheatre - Morrison, CO
Vevo and Mumford & Sons announce the release of "Mumford & Sons - 12 Years Strong," an original documentary presented by Vevo, in addition to an exclusive live performance of "Forever." "Mumford & Sons - 12 Years Strong" presents behind-the-scenes insight into one the worlds' most esteemed bands, Mumford & Sons, as they take the audience on a personal journey during their US Delta tour.
The exclusive documentary shows the band visit and play intimate gigs at some of their favorite record shops in various cities including Nashville, Atlanta and Indianapolis, as a way to connect with their fans, 'We closed the doors a bit more and we lost the beauty of connecting with a smaller audience.'
The Vevo original also features a cameo from legendary Americana guitarist Jerry Douglas, who joins the band during a special performance. The band take a retrospective look back to their 2012 hit record Babel, documenting how much has changed and the impact it has had on their current record, Delta.
Vevo also showcases exclusive behind the scene shots of the band during their sold-out Delta tour and ends with an acoustic version of Mumford & Sons single "Wilder Mind." In the documentary they note: 'This tour is a celebration of collaboration. Whether that's a collaboration of the four of us and the audience or a collaboration of the audience members and themselves'
One of the most successful acts to come out of the 21st century's English folk revival, Mumford & Sons' agreeable fusion of bluegrass, folk, country, and rock found favor with audiences both at home and abroad. In 2008, the band released their debut EP, Love Your Ground. A 2009 follow-up EP, Cave and the Open Sea, caught the attention Island Records, and more importantly, Arcade Fire producer Markus Dravs, who would go on to helm the band's debut long-player, the Mercury Prize-shortlisted Sigh No More which sold over a million copies, earning Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best Rock Song. Their 2012 Dravs-produced sophomore outing, Babel, debuted at number one on the U.K. Albums Chart and the U.S. Billboard 200, and eventually took home that year's Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The group's third studio long-player and most stylistically diverse outing to date, arrived in early May 2015, and charted at number one in seven countries. The following year, during their South African tour, they recorded Johannesburg, an EP named after the city where it was recorded. In 2018 the band emerged with the single "Guiding Light," the first offering from their fourth effort, Delta, which was released later that year.
In late 2016, Charles Bradley faced his greatest challenge in a lifetime filled with challenges. A stomach cancer diagnosis earlier that fall forced him off the road at the peak of his career. Weakened by months of chemotherapy, facing a potentially life threatening surgery and confronting his own mortality, Bradley stepped into a home recording studio in Queens, NY and spontaneously created “Lonely as You Are.”
Eyes closed and seated, Bradley listened to the looping track and began to speak and sing lyrics on the spot, expressing hope that “one day when God says well done” he’d be reunited in heaven with his mother, grandmother, and other loved ones. He concludes the cathartic recording with the statement: “I love you. And this is Charles Bradley. I hope this one day gets out to the world.”
Bradley’s hope is fulfilled with the release today of “Lonely as You Are” (with Bradley backed by Seth Avett and Mike Marsh from the Avett Brothers, along with co-producers James Levy and Paul Defiglia) to be followed in May by another track from that session, “Lucifer.” These are Bradley’s final recordings.
“Charles knew “Lonely as You Are” could comfort people and help them find a way to deal with their own loneliness. He was always looking for ways to make people feel better, even when he was confronting his own pain and suffering. He asked that “Lonely” be played at his funeral; he wanted to share it with the world,” says Executive Producer Morton Lorge, Bradley’s former co-manager (with his partner, current Def Jam EVP/GM Rich Isaacson).
These sessions marked an improbable collaboration between Bradley and NYC recording artist, songwriter and producer James Levy. Working out of his Queens home studio, Levy was recording demos for a follow-up to a previous album produced by Guy Berryman of Coldplay and an EP released by Julian Casablancas’ Cult Records. Levy shared the chorus and music of “Lonely as You Are” with Bradley, who wrote verses on the spot.
To finish the tracks, Levy and Lorge enlisted Nashville producer and multi-instrumentalist Paul Defiglia, who had spent the previous five years recording and touring with the Avett Brothers and Langhorne Slim. Defiglia, who plays bass, piano and organ on both tracks, brought in Avett Brothers colleagues Seth Avett (acoustic guitar) and Mike Marsh (drums) for “Lonely.”
12 time Grammy winner Jay Newland mixed “Lonely as You Are” and two time Grammy nominee Alan Silverman mastered it. Giles Clement, of Nashville, shot the cover photo during the 2017 Newport Folk Festival.
The Bradley-Levy-Defilgia collaboration lead to Somebody - a James Levy album produced by Paul Defiglia and recorded in Nashville. Songs of Love, the first release from that album, along with an official music video by Crackerfarm, will also be released by Innit Recordings, on May 10, 2019.
The remarkable against-all-odds rise of Charles Bradley since the release of his 2011 debut album No Time For Dreaming has been well documented. Transcending a life in the streets, Bradley went from extreme poverty and homelessness to performing sold out shows and making national TV and festival appearances around the world, including at Coachella, Governors Ball, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Glastonbury, SXSW and many more. Poull Brien's 2012 documentary -- Charles Bradley: Soul of America-- gave a glimpse into how Bradley turned pain and heartbreak into joy and love. One of the great live performers of his time, Bradley’s 2016 appearance on CBS This Morning: Saturday was nominated for a 2017 Daytime Emmy award for “Outstanding On-Camera Musical Performance in a Daytime Program.” In celebration of his amazing life and to commemorate what would have been Bradley’s 70th birthday, Daptone Records imprint Dunham Records in November 2018 released Black Velvet -- a collection of ten songs recorded during the sessions from each of his previous three albums, produced by Tom Brenneck and performed by the Menahan Street Band.
Innit Recordings is a record label based in NYC. Current artists include Lolawolf, James Levy and Crewshade.
Craig Finn's new album, I NEED A NEW WAR, is out today via Partisan Records. The third album in a trilogy (following 2015's Faith in the Future and 2017's We All Want The Same Things), I Need A New War once again sees Finn expertly chronicling our complex, often confusing, modern era. He draws deeply felt character studies about regular people trying to respond to extraordinary times, attempting to find connection whilst wondering how to keep pace with a world moving faster than they are. The LP further finds Finn focusing his lens on New York City - his home for the last 18 years.
I Need A New War is available now in physical and digital formats. All orders through Finn's official D2C store include a bonus digital EP featuring b-sides and alternate versions from the album. Additional exclusives include a one of a kind, signed hardcover lyric book (featuring lyrics to all songs from the trilogy, photos by Dan Monick and a foreword written by celebrated author and journalist Rob Sheffield), signed vinyl, an enamel pin set, and more.
Finn will perform "Something To Hope For" from I NEED A NEW WAR this coming Monday, April 29 on Late Night with Seth Meyers. He will also perform on CBS This Morning Saturday, May 4, an appearance that will include an in-depth conversation with Anthony Mason.
To celebrate the new album, Finn has plotted geographic references from his entire solo discography onto a map interface. Fans are able to browse the pins to learn more about the lyrical landmarks in his songs, complete with additional analyses from Finn himself and a Geo Game to play for exclusive merchandise.
I NEED A NEW WAR was recorded throughout early 2018 at The Isokon in Woodstock, NY with producer Josh Kaufman and engineer D. James Goodwin, both of whom teamed with Finn on his widely acclaimed previous solo releases. The album features musical contributions from many of his regular solo collaborators, including Kaufman, horn master Stuart Bogie, vocalists Annie Nero and Cassandra Jenkins, and drummer extraordinaire Joe Russo.
Finn recently announced live dates in support of I NEED A NEW WAR with shows backed by his touring band, The Uptown Controllers. The dates begin June 5 at TwangFest/Off Broadway in St. Louis, MO, and continue through the month. Tickets are on sale now. More shows will be announced soon. For complete details, please visit craigfinn.net/tour. Finn's performance of the record at Murmurr in NYC earlier this year is available to stream now on his YouTube channel.
ATO Records is excited to announce that the new Rodrigo y Gabriela record is out today. The duo's first album in five years, METTAVOLUTION marks the most ambitious music of Rodrigo y Gabriela's remarkable two-decade career and is one of NPR's top 6 albums of the week. Three years in the making, the LP embraces the duo's passionate interest in Buddhism, the history of human evolution and the liberation of the potential we have as a species, all expressed through the medium of two acoustic guitars. The new single, "Electric Soul," was added to Spotify's "New Music Friday" playlist.
Mettavolution? "Metta" is a Sanskrit word for the meditative condition that produces compassion and benevolence. It is a "practical state of mind" as well, according to Gabriela, "something you practice like an instrument to become a better citizen, in a more evolved place." Conceived and composed in their studio in Ixtapa on the Mexican Pacific Coast, the music of METTAVOLUTION was road-tested around the world on tour in 2017 and 2018 before being recorded late last year in Los Angeles with multiple GRAMMY-winning producer Dave Sardy (Oasis, LCD Soundsystem, A Perfect Circle, Band of Horses) behind the board.
METTAVOLUTION gathers six white-hot new Rodrigo y Gabriela compositions - much of which acknowledge the duo's thrash-metal roots back in Mexico City - as well as an inspired, side-long cover of Pink Floyd's sprawling "Echoes" - originally found on 1971's MEDDLE - audaciously reimagined for two acoustic guitars. Rolling Stone recently hailed the 19-minute epic as a "Song You Need to Know," noting, "'Echoes' is such a signature song, it's hard to imagine anyone else doing it justice, yet somehow the Mexican acoustic-rock duo Rodrigo y Gabriela landed on a brilliant interpretation...Like the original, the song is its own journey, and it's beautiful."
The title track and first single, "Mettavolution" is currently #25 at Triple A radio. Rodrigo y Gabriela performed it on Jimmy Kimmel Live! with dance choreography by David Byrne collaborator Annie-B Parson.
Rodrigo y Gabriela also performed the title track this week on BBC TV's The One Show to More than five million viewers.
With career album sales now in excess of 1.5 million worldwide, Rodrigo y Gabriela have undoubtedly established themselves as the planet's preeminent acoustic guitar duo, earning international acclaim and a fervent fan following with their awe-inspiring mastery of their instruments as well as a truly distinctive approach to melody, energy, and rhythm.
One of the world's most in-demand live acts, Rodrigo y Gabriela have spent much of their remarkable 20-year career performing on increasingly larger stages around the globe. Highlights include sold out shows at such legendary venues as New York City's Radio City Music Hall, Los Angeles, CA's Hollywood Bowl, Morrison, CO's Red Rocks Amphitheatre, London's Royal Albert Hall, and Paris, FR's Le Zenith, along with countless other theaters and concert halls in North America, Europe, Australia and Japan.
RODRIGO Y GABRIELA ON TOUR 2019
APRIL
27 - Chamonix, FRANCE - Musilac Mont Blanc *
MAY
4 - Austin, TX - ACL Live at the Moody Theater
5 - Memphis, TN - Beale Street Music Festival *
15 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
17 - Philadelphia, PA - Franklin Music Hall
18 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
19 - Ridgefield, CT - The Ridgefield Playhouse
21 - Huntington, NY - The Paramount
23 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit
24 - Chicago, IL - The Chicago Theatre
JUNE
1 - Atlanta, GA - Fox Theatre
2 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
4 - Wilmington, NC - Greenfield Lake Amphitheatre
5 - Charlottesville, VA - Sprint Pavilion
7 - Vienna, VA - Wolf Trap
8 - Cleveland, OH - LaureLive *
9 - Grand Rapids, MI - Frederik Meijer Gardens Amphitheater
JULY
3 - Montreal Jazz Fest - Montreal, Canada *
5 - Ottawa Bluesfest - Ottawa, ON *
9 - Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua - Bayfield, WI
10 - Fargo, ND - Fargo Theatre
12 - Missoula, MT - The Wilma
13 - Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery - Woodinville, WA
14 - Vancouver, BC - Vogue Theater
16 - Troutdale, OR - Edgefield Amphitheater
18 - Jacksonville, OR - Britt Pavillion
21 - Saratoga, CA - The Mountain Winery
23 - Los Angeles, CA - The Greek Theater
24 - San Diego, CA - Humphreys Concerts By The Bay
Slightly Stoopid and Cloud 9 Adventures announce the return of Closer to the Sun, the annual music vacation taking over the all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya for four days and nights this December 5-9, 2019.
The schedule will feature three shows by Slightly Stoopid with two shows each from Dirty Heads, Stick Figure, and SOJA. Stephen Marley and Toots & The Maytals will join Closer to the Sun for the first time, with additional shows from Tribal Seeds and Fortunate Youth. Reggae legend Don Carlos with the Soul Syndicate Band (Celebrating 50 Years of Music) is another special performance that cannot be missed. Fans will also be treated to two Cut Chemist late night shows – one DJ set and an additional show featuring Chali 2na over the course of the four nights.
Extending far beyond the stage, the Closer to the Sun experience has cultivated a close-knit community of returning guests, first time attendees, artists, and hotel and event staff alike. A wide range of casual artist hosted activities from morning yoga and poolside games to the beloved Closer to the Rim 3 on 3 basketball tournament – in addition to creative theme nights and guest chef activations - provides the ultimate vacation experience for all walks of life.
Closer to the Sun features multiple tropical venues so guests can enjoy their favorite artists in unique settings. Main stage acts will take place on the revered Concert Courtyard stage, providing top-notch production, exceptional acoustics, convenient all-inclusive bar service and specialty curated food throughout. Daytime and sunset shows at the Heaven Beach stage create unforgettable experiences watching shows from the Caribbean coastline or while floating in the water. Late night performances will feature artists with a full production on the Stairway to Heaven stage or in the Heaven Club equipped with hot tubs, multiple bars, and lounge areas to kick back and relax or dance the night away.
Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya is a luxurious all-inclusive resort located between Playa del Carmen and Tulum with guest suites, meals, beverages, concerts, and activities all included in the event package price. Fans have access to an extreme sports center Woodward, which offers skateboarding, BMX biking, trampolines, ninja obstacle course, and more! Additionally, guests can use their Hard Rock Resort Credits for discounted treatments at a world-class spa and salon, plus complete access to a fully equipped fitness center.
The Hard Rock offers a wide scope of room options surrounded by lush grounds and sparkling pools, including oceanfront and stage front suites. Guests can enjoy unlimited dining at a wide variety of restaurant options, including complimentary 24-hour room service. Unlimited drinks are available at a multitude of bars steps in proximity to guest accommodations and concert areas.
Closer to the Sun works closely with renowned charitable organization Positive Legacy, who integrates live music and service by taking actions that positively impact the local community and environment. There will be a Day of Service, encouraging artists and fans to participate in cultural connection in the local community as a way of giving back. In addition to the annual day of service, a silent and live auction will be held with all proceeds supporting the ongoing projects in the region.
Event Details are as follows:
Returning Closer to the Sun guests can book their all-inclusive suite during the Pre-sale on May 7, 2019. Following the Pre-sale there will be a Public On Sale, beginning May 8, 2019 at 12pm ET at www.closertothesun.com
Pricing for the all-inclusive packages at Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya start at $1549 per person for Deluxe Gold rooms with various upgraded room types available. Look for announcements regarding artist-hosted activities, theme nights and community outreach with Positive Legacy in the coming months.
Closer to the Sun is brought to you by Cloud 9 Adventures. Cloud 9 Adventures is the premier provider of international concert vacations at all-inclusive resorts and on luxurious cruise ships, bringing bands and fans together in intimate settings, creating unforgettable memories & life-changing experiences since 2003. In addition to Closer to the Sun, Cloud 9 Adventures’ portfolio also includes The Avett Brothers At The Beach, Brandi Carlile’s Girls Just Wanna Weekend, Strings & Sol, Panic en la Playa (feat. Widespread Panic), My Morning Jacket’s One Big Holiday, Holidaze, Zac Brown Band’s Castaway with Southern Ground, Jam Cruise, and Holy Ship!
Cloud 9 Adventures – Changing the Live Music Experience, Changing the Way Fans Vacation
The Allman Betts Band has announced that their debut album Down To The River (BMG) will be released everywhere on June 28. The first single, “All Night” is due out on May 17.
Down To The River was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Muscle Shoals, AL and was produced by Grammy Award winning Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price, John Prine and Elvis Presley).
Peter Levin (Gregg Allman's Hammond B3 player) and Chuck Leavell (former Allman Brothers Band keyboardist and current Rolling Stones keyboardist) make special appearances on the record.
The Allman Betts Band kicked off their world tour on March 27 at Brooklyn Bowl in NYC then went on to sell out twelve of their first eighteen shows on the first leg of their world tour. The band is estimated to play around 200 shows during their World Tour.
The ABB is excited to announce that they will be joining musical legend, John Fogerty on tour for select dates later this summer in the Northeast including stops in Providence, RI, Portland, ME, Boston, MA and a performance at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. “Anytime you get to play with your heroes it’s a dream come true, but John Fogerty, that’s pretty special. We are beyond honored to share the stage with him on these upcoming dates,” says Betts. “As a longtime fan of CCR, I’m so amped up to do some shows with one of the best voices in rock music.” adds Allman.
DOWN TO THE RIVER 2019 TOUR:
May 6, Oklahoma City, OK @ Tower Theater
May 8, Lincoln, NE @ Bourbon Theater
May 9, Salina, KS @ Stiefel Theatre
May 10, Dallas, TX @ Kessler Theater
May 11, Houston, TX @ Heights Theater
May 12, Austin, TX @ Mohawk
May 14, Lubbock, TX @ Cactus Theater
May 15, Albuquerque, NM @ National Hispanic Cultural Center
May 16, Tucson, AZ @ Fox Theater
May 17, Flagstaff, AZ @ Orpheum Theater
May 19, Chandler, AZ @ Chandler Center for the Performing Arts
Jun 8, Garberville, CA @ Redwood Run
Jun 14, Lowell, MA @ Lowell Summer Music Series
Jun 15, Utica, NY @ Stanley Theatre
Jun 18, Kent, OH @ The Kent Stage
Jun 19, Three Oaks, MI @ Acorn Theater
Jun 20, Cincinnati, OH @ Taft Theatre Ballroom
Jun 21, Columbus, OH @ Express Live
Jun 22, Kokomo, IN @ Foster Park
Jun 23, McMinnville, TN @ Cumberland Caverns
Jun 25, Bristol, TN @ Paramount Theater
Jun 26, Rocky Mount, VA @ Harvester PAC
Jun 27, State College, PA @ State Theatre
Jun 30, Winter Park, CO @ Blues from the Top
Jul 5, Westhampton, NY @ Westhampton Beach PAC
Jul 6, East Hampton, NY @ John Drew Theater at Guild Hall
Jul 7, Norwalk, CT @ Wall Street Theater
Jul 8, Ocean City, NJ @ NJ Music Pier
Jul 16, Munich, DE @ Backstage Hall
Jul 17, Luxembourg, LUX @ Rockhal
Jul 23, Cologne, Germany @ Kantine
Jul 24, Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Jul 29, Hamburg, DE @ Markthalle
Jul 30, Berlin, DE @ Lido
Jul 31, Nürnberg, DE @ Hirsch
Aug 9, Providence, RI @ Bold Point Park*
Aug 11, Portland, ME Maine @ Savings Pavilion*
Aug 13, Boston, MA @ Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion*
Aug 15, New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall*
Aug 29, St. Charles, IL @ The Arcada Theater
Aug 30, Fort Wayne, IN @ Sweetwater Performance Pavilion
Sep 1, Lakeville, PA @ Cove Ent Resorts
Sep 13, Colorado Springs, CO @ Pikes Peak Center
Nov 1, Auburn, AL @ Woltosz Theatre
* w/ John Fogerty
FESTIVALS
May 18, Dana Point, CA @ Doheny Blues Festival
Jun 16, 2019 Bethel, NY @ Mountain Jam
Jun 28, Rochester, NY @ Rochester Jazz Festival
Jun 29, 2019 New Martinsville, WV @ Back Home Festival
Jul 2, Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest
Jul 14, 2019 Suwalki, Poland @ Suwalki Blues Festival
Jul 20, 2019 Maidstone, UK @ Ramblin' Man Fair
Jul 21, Peer, Belgium @ Peer Blues Festival
Jul 25-28, 2019 Scranton, PA @ Peach Music Festival
Jul 25-28, 2019 Breitenbach, GER @ Burg Herzberg festival
Sam Cohen releases "Man On Fire" from his eagerly anticipated album The Future Is Still Ringing In My Ears (30th Century) due May 17. Co-produced by Cohen with producer-artist Danger Mouse, The Future's Still Ringing In My Ears was heralded last month by the Stereogum premiere of "Something's Got A Hold On Me," as well as "I Can't Lose" on Consequence of Sound.
Cohen will celebrate The Future's Still Ringing In My Ears with a North American tour supporting his friend and longtime collaborator Kevin Morby. Dates begin May 8 at The Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles, CA and then continue through a two-night-stand at Chicago, IL's Thalia Hall on June 7 and 8.
SAM COHEN ON TOUR 2019
ALL DATES w/ KEVIN MORBY
MAY
8 - The Theatre at Ace Hotel - Los Angeles, CA
10 - The Catalyst - Santa Cruz, CA
11 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA
13 - Crystal Ballroom - Portland, OR
14 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA
15 - Imperial Vancouver - Vancouver, BC
17 - The State Room - Salt Lake City, UT
18 - The Bluebird Theater - Denver, CO
31 - Town Hall - New York, NY
JUNE
1 - 9:30 Club - Washington, DC
2 - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA
3 - The Sinclair - Cambridge, MA
5 - The Opera House - Toronto, ON
6 - The Ark - Ann Arbor, MI
7 - Thalia Hall - Chicago, IL
8 - Thalia Hall - Chicago, IL
Known both as founding member of Apollo Sunshine and Yellowbirds as well as for his distinctive work producing such artists as Morby, Benjamin Booker and Rhett Miller, Sam Cohen has long been hailed for his otherworldly brand of naturalistic psychedelia, rich with enchanting songcraft, blissed-out soul grooves, and visionary guitar work. The Future's Still Ringing In My Ears proves to be his most magical effort thus far, equally blessed by melody, melancholy, and depth. Predominantly the work of one man toiling away alone in his studio but sounding like a cast of many, songs like the album's stately opener, "I Can't Lose" - featuring a bass-and-drums loop created with The Strokes' Fabrizio Moretti - see Cohen taking stock of a maddening present and a potentially dark future with one-of-a-kind heart, warmth, and wit.
The Future's Still Ringing In My Ears was born out of a production session where Cohen was to collaborate with Danger Mouse on another artist's material. When the session fell through, Danger Mouse - a.k.a. Brian Burton - suggested they spend the studio time on some of Cohen's own material. Though Cohen had not written any songs since his acclaimed 2015 solo debut, Cool It, the sessions prompted him to begin putting pen to paper once again.
"Brian really helped me get motivated to make this record," says Cohen. "His support pushed me to get started, and to value myself as an artist. It came at a time when I needed to hear that from someone."
Recording at his own Brooklyn studio gave Cohen the luxury to record in haste and sculpt at leisure, imbuing songs like "Man On Fire" with exploratory synthesizers and truly transcendent guitars. Its slow gestation gave The Future's Still Ringing In My Ears even greater depth and power, its extraordinary melding of the handmade and homespun etched with artful exactitude and uncompromising vision.
"The only way to go on is to laugh at it a little, because the weight of it and the profundity of the problems can destroy you. What I want for this music is to connect with people struggling with these same thoughts and feelings. I want people to hear this and say, yes, this is all really heavy, and I also feel helpless, and we don't have any good answers...but we have each other. And this music sounds really good! It's all I can offer."
This summer, Slightly Stoopid will bring along special guests Matisyahu, Tribal Seeds and HIRIE. 2019’s North American route will take the band on 28 stops from California’s Pacific Ocean across the Atlantic seaboard, with additional dates to be announced including stops in Europe.
How I Spent My Summer Vacation 2019 Tour
w/ Matisyahu, Tribal Seeds, Hirie
2019
MAY 25 Monterey, CA - Cali Roots Festival @ Monterey County Fairgrounds
HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION 2109 TOUR
JUNE
JUN 01 San Diego, CA - Embarcadero Park
JUN 06 Saint Augustine, FL - Saint Augustine Amphitheatre
JUN 07 Pompano Beach, FL - Pompano Beach Amphitheater Festival Grounds
JUN 08 Cocoa, FL - Riverfront Park
JUN 09 Key West, FL - Key West Amphitheater
JUN 13 Baltimore, MD - MECU Pavilion
JUN 14 Gilford, NH - Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
JUN 15 Westbrook, ME - Maine Savings Pavilion at Rock Row
JUN 16 Camden, NJ - BB&T Pavilion
JUN 20 Asheville, NC - Salvage Station
JUN 21 Portsmouth, VA - Union Bank & Trust Pavilion
JUN 22 Raleigh, NC - Red Hat Amphitheater
JUN 23 North Charleston, SC - Riverfront Park
JUN 27 Pittsburgh, PA - Highmark Stadium
JUN 28 Boston, MA - Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion
JUN 29 Asbury Park, NJ - Stone Pony Summer Stage
JUN 30 Utica, NY - Saranac Brewery
JULY
JUL 07 Cologne, Germany - Summerjam Festival
JUL 11 Bonner, MT - KettleHouse Amphitheater
JUL 12 Boise, ID - Outlaw Field at Idaho Botanical Garden
JUL 13 Bend, OR - Les Schwab Amphitheater
JUL 14 Redmond, WA - King County’s Marymoor Park
JUL 19 Patchogue, NY - Great South Bay Music Festival
JUL 20 Garrettsville, OH - Nelson Ledges Quarry Park
JUL 21 Chicago, IL - Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
JUL 25 Kansas City, MO - Crossroads KC
JUL 26 Dallas, TX - Bomb Factory
JUL 27 New Braunfels, TX - Whitewater Amphitheater
JUL 28 Houston, TX - The Lawn at White Oak Music Hall
AUGUST
AUG 02 Avila Beach, CA - Avila Beach Golf Resort
AUG 03 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre
AUG 04 Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl
AUG 15 Flagstaff, AZ - Pepsi Amphitheater
AUG 16 Albuquerque, NM - Villa Hispana
AUG 17 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheater
AUG 20 Benicassim, Spain - Rototom Sunsplash
AUG 21 Vienna, Austria - Afrika Festival Vienna
AUG 24 Heber City, UT - Reggae Rise Up
AUG 31 Placerville, CA - Dry Diggings Festival
DECEMBER
DEC 05 Riviera Maya, Mexico - Closer To The Sun @ Hard Rock
DEC 06 Riviera Maya, Mexico - Closer To The Sun @ Hard Rock
DEC 07 Riviera Maya, Mexico - Closer To The Sun @ Hard Rock
DEC 08 Riviera Maya, Mexico - Closer To The Sun @ Hard Rock
DEC 09 Riviera Maya, Mexico - Closer To The Sun @ Hard Rock
Long regarded as America's most environmentally friendly camping festival, the 2019 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is once again affirming its commitment to change and education with the announcement of this year's Planet Roo partners and programming. The epicenter of Bonnaroo's efforts towards sustainability and global consciousness, Planet Roo will feature a diverse schedule of activities, creating even more opportunities for patrons to make meaningful community connections and become more socially and environmentally responsible in the everyday.
An official project of the Bonnaroo Works Fund, Planet Roo is anchored by its world famous solar powered stage, now known as the HOW Stage. HOW will present an array of invaluable programming focused on increasing awareness, inspiration, and community engagement. A multitude of important non-profit organizations will explain their powerful missions and guide fans in how to make the positive impact inspired by Bonnaroo long after the festival has ended. For a complete list of participating partners and non-profit organizations (NPOs), please see www.bonnaroo.com/partners.
Bonnaroo and its attendees have maintained a unique commitment to social issues since the festival's very beginnings, engaging patrons in important conversations amidst the festival's unceasingly positive atmosphere. The 2019 festival will focus on a number of crucial issues through one-of-a-kind events and presentations spanning mental health to sexual violence in the music industry. The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence will present a series of events on the HOW Stage geared towards ending the American epidemic of gun violence, including "Unity Through Music," a DJ set by Aalaya Eastmond, a survivor and student activist from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and an Executive Council Member from Team Enough, and "Moving the Movement: Gun Violence Prevention Starts with You," a conversation with some of the youth activists leading today's gun control movement.
A spectacular assortment of other HOW Stage activities are scheduled, all affirming the Bonnaroo experience as a very special hub of human interaction. Highlights include the Pre-Cardi Party hip-hop dance class (preceding Cardi B's Sunday's set on the Which Stage), along with several Sunny Trails Yoga sessions, performances by a host of Tennessee-based School of Rock students, and of course, the 6th annual Broo'ers Superjam, the best brewers-inspired dance party on site.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) will host a national phone bank that will empower Bonnaroovians to call their governors and urge them to take climate action. With multiple phone stations, scripts and state-specific contact information readily available, attendees will be able to make their voices heard and express their concerns about their future in the face of the climate change to their elected representatives.
"Climate change will impact this generation more than any other before it-and they are not going to let their representatives turn a blind eye," said Nora Mango, Director of Marketing Partnerships at NRDC. "Together, our voices are a powerful instrument for change, and we are here to make sure they are heard. The enthusiasm at Bonnaroo is palpable, and so is the passion for a better future."
Located within the hay bale building in the heart of Planet Roo, The Academy has long been an extension of the HOW Stage, perpetuating its mission of learning, doing, and being by offering a wide range of interactive arts experiences, including workshops in art, songwriting, percussion, henna tattooing, terrarium building, oceanography, and much more.
Bonnaroo's first-ever Radiate Positivity: Service Project Party will allow fans to finish their festival experience by joining The Nashville Food Project, Calling All Crows, Oxfam, and Eat for Equity to help build food baskets for The Nashville Food Project community. Set for Sunday, June 16 at 5:30 pm, the Radiate Positivity: Service Project Party will feature a live set from DJ Knova (of spoken work collective The 5thWoman) as well as some classic Bonnaroo surprise appearances. As if that weren't incentive enough, all participants will be entered to win tickets to next year's Bonnaroo.
As is tradition, BonnaROOTS Community Dinners will be held throughout the festival weekend. The annual locally-sourced sunset feasts - supporting Oxfam America and Eat for Equity - give festival attendees a chance to share a memorable meal alongside special guests like Bonnaroo's co-founders as well as artists, producers, activists, and others with an appetite for great food and conversation. BonnaROOTS Community Dinners tickets are now sold out.
A quintessential Planet Roo experience, The Bonnaroo Learning Garden allows patrons a dynamic space to learn how to grow their own food though hands-on training from knowledgeable farmers and volunteers.
Bonnaroo's long commitment to sustainability, environmental activism, and global consciousness is thanks to the monumental efforts of countless Bonnaroo patrons. The only event on the planet with its own permanent solar array and compost waste on site, Bonnaroo has been diligent in its pursuit of true sustainability since its premiere 2002 event. Complete details regarding 2018's sustainability efforts can be found HERE.
2019 will mark the sixth year of Bonnaroo's remarkably successful partnership with Steelys Drinkware and the Plastic Pollution Coalition for the innovative Refill Revolution. Patrons can pre-buy a quality stainless steel beer cup with their ticket purchase or on site at any beverage stand with draft beer. Cups are $15 each and includes the durable cup (with to-go carrying strap) filled with a cold beer, plus an additional $1 discount off all subsequent refills made with the cup at beer stands throughout the remainder of the festival. Thus far, the efforts made by Bonnaroo and Steelys have led to diversion of more than 2 million single use water bottles and well over 150,000 single use beer cups.
Presented by Superfly and A.C. Entertainment, the 2019 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival will take place June 13 - 16, held as always at Great Stage Park, the spectacular 700-acre farm and event space located just 60 miles southeast of Nashville in Manchester, TN. This year's edition of the world-renowned four-day multi-stage camping festival will showcase a remarkably eclectic selection of top artists spanning innumerable genres alongside over 100 unique events and activities taking place on its one-of-a-kind campground Plazas, once again delivering the most inimitable and inventive complete experience of any festival anywhere in the world.
Coming off a 5th sold-out Caribbean sailing of Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea this past February, Joe Bonamassa makes history with Sixthman, the industry leader in festivals at sea, by selling out another cruise in the same year in The Mediterranean. A waiting list is active for fans that would like to sign up should availability open for the five-day inaugural voyage sailing August 16-21, 2019 from Barcelona, Spain, to Monte Carlo, Monaco, and Valletta, Malta. The Mediterranean edition of Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea will feature performances by Peter Frampton, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, and dozens more Blues artists.
"This past year has been the best one of all of our cruises so far and we had such a great time," shares Bonamassa. "When we first started this thing 6 years ago, we never expected to get this far, but look at us now on already planning our 6th Caribbean Cruise and selling out two cruises in one year. It is really amazing and we have the fans to thank for supporting us. Also, it is important to mention that the (Keeping The Blues Alive) Foundation raised over $136,000 from this past cruise which is incredible, that is what this is all about."
Frampton's appearance on the festival bill makes this already unique voyage even more special. Recently, he announced his farewell tour making Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Mediterranean his only European performance this year. After an illustrious career dating back to the late 60s, Peter Frampton will treat guests to two incredible live performances and intimate Q&A session.
Joe Bonamassa, who recently achieved his 21st #1 album on the Billboard Blues Chart with the 2018 studio album Redemption, is no stranger to sold-out performances around the globe. He's on the road about 200 days out of the year and has sold out iconic venues like The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN, and Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver, CO, where he will return again this summer for two consecutive performances. His partnership with Sixthman reinforces that merging music festivals with the amenities of a luxury cruise vacation are the perfect union for bands and fans alike. This guest-focused approach has been the foundation of success for Sixthman, who is in its 18th year of serving fan communities on over 130 destination vacations at sea.
"Something incredibly special occurs when you bring together a group of like-minded fans on vacation who share similar passions," says Sixthman CEO Anthony Diaz. "In addition to dynamic performances from iconic artists such as the event's host, Joe Bonamassa, and others like Peter Frampton, the overall experience is fully immersive to the theme of the event. From rare on stage collaborations, meet & greets and panels with your favorite artists, our mission is to create moments and experiences that make life rock."
In addition to his renowed talent, Joe Bonamassa is known for giving back to the community that has embraced him, which is seen in his creation of the Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation. The foundation, in support of music education, has raised nearly half of a million dollars, impacted over 60,000 students and provided relief for nearly 400 schools. More information or to make a charitable donation to the Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation can be found at: https://keepingthebluesalive.org.
Blues fans are encouraged to join the waiting list for a stateroom aboard the Mediterranean voyage at bluesaliveatseaeurope.com. Additionally, the 6th Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea in the Caribbean has been announced, sailing February 18-22, 2020 from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas for another four-day Blues-rock music festival. This year's genre-bending lineup features a stacked bill ranging from world renowned Blues greats and up-and-coming stars of the blues scene featuring Joe Bonamassa, Buddy Guy, Tommy Emmanuel, Tab Benoit, Reese Wynans and Friends, Doyle Bramhall II, Paul Thorn, Paul Shaffer Super Session, Living Colour, Mike Zito, Cedric Burnside, Mike Farris & The Fortunate Few, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Brandon "Taz" Niederauer, Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin Stones, Robert Jon & The Wreck, Jared James Nichols, Ally Venable, Ida Mae, any more to be announced!
Register for the pre-sale now as this is sure to be another sold out event -- bluesaliveatsea.com
Trey Anastasio will perform two solo acoustic shows at New York's legendary Carnegie Hall. The performances will take place on Tuesday, October 29 and Wednesday, October 30. All tickets go on sale Friday, May 17 at 11AM ET. Tickets can be purchased online or via phone at 212-247-7800 (8AM-8PM). Tickets can be also purchased in person at the Carnegie Hall box office (Monday - Saturday 11AM-6PM and Sunday 12PM-6PM).
This marks Anastasio's second headlining appearance at the famed concert hall. The first was in September 2009 when he performed classic Anastasio compositions with the New York Philharmonic.
Yesterday, Anastasio, alongside global event distributor Trafalgar Releasing, announced plans to bring his feature-length documentary, Between Me and My Mind, to more than 300 movie theaters across North America for a one-night engagement on July 17. This announcement followed a critically-acclaimed, sold-out world premiere at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival. The 94-minute film captures Anastasio as he works through a deeply intimate song cycle that eventually lead to the Ghosts of the Forest album and tour. It also follows him as he and his bandmates prepare for one of Phish's legendary New Year's Eve shows at Madison Square Garden, culminating with an exhilarating and elaborately produced moment when the clock strikes midnight on-stage.
Last month, Anastasio released the Ghosts of the Forest album and took the band that made the album on a nine-date sold-out tour. Ghosts of the Forest was produced by Anastasio and engineered and mixed by Vance Powell (Chris Stapleton, Jack White). Rolling Stone described the album as full of "psychedelic guitar liftoffs, ambitious arrangements and deeply personal lyrics."
Superfly and A.C. Entertainment are proud to announce the return of the world renowned Grand Ole Opry to the 2019 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. An unqualified highlight of last year's event, the Grand Ole Opry will be back with another star-studded lineup, once again celebrating Bonnaroo's very special connection with its home state of Tennessee. The 18th annual four-day multi-stage camping festival will take place June 13 - 16, held as always at Great Stage Park, the spectacular 700-acre farm and event space located just 60 miles southeast of Nashville in Manchester, TN.
Set to headline the festival's opening night, Thursday, June 13, GRAND OLE OPRY AT BONNAROO will see performances from show hosts - and Opry members since 2013 - Old Crow Medicine Show, along with fellow Opry members Ricky Skaggs and Riders In The Sky, special guests Steve Earle, Morgan Evans, Ashley Monroe, Molly Tuttle, and Wendy Moten, the Opry Square Dancers, and famed Opry announcer Bill Cody. GRAND OLE OPRY AT BONNAROO will be broadcast live via opry.com and wsmonline.com, Opry and WSM mobile apps, and the show's flagship home, Nashville's 650 AM-WSM.
"The Opry's inaugural trip to Bonnaroo last year was nothing short of amazing," says Sally Williams, Senior Vice President of Programming and Artist Relations for Opry Entertainment Group. "All of us fortunate enough to be part of that performance loved watching some of the world's biggest music fans connect with the Opry, many for the first time. It definitely was one of the highlights of 2018, and when we look at the line-up of artists who have signed on for next month's show, we have no doubt that performance is going to be just as memorable."
The Grand Ole Opry has rarely in its 93-year history taken its iconic show outside Music City, on those occasions visiting prestigious venues such as New York City's Carnegie Hall and Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center. GRAND OLE OPRY AT BONNAROO is just one of the several ways the 2019 festival will be celebrating its host community of nearly two decades. The upcoming event will see Bonnaroo partnering with Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp and the local maker space Fort Houston to create The Ville (formerly The Grind). Located at Plaza 7, The Ville will feature local food, art and more, including Third Man Records, 8th & Roast Coffee, and Project 615. Additional Nashville-based offerings also include Farm to Taco Nashville and the legendary Prince's Hot Chicken, known worldwide as the original gold standard in hot chicken.
Tickets - including General Admission (4 Day), VIP (4 Day), Platinum (4 Day) and more - are on sale now. For complete details and ticket availability, please visit www.bonnaroo.com/tickets.
Bonnaroo is excited to make the first of several announcements for the world famous SuperJam at the 2019 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. An indispensable highlight of the Bonnaroo lineup, 2019's live all-star collaboration will be directed by superstar DJ, producer and saxophone colossus GRiZ and dubbed "G.O.A.T. - A CELEBRATION OF MUSIC LEGENDS SUPERJAM WITH GRiZ," featuring contributions from an array of top artists and legendary musicians.
Set for Friday, June 14 on the This Stage, the initial lineup for "G.O.A.T. - MUSIC LEGENDS SUPERJAM WITH GRiZ" includes the house band - Nikki Glaspie (Nth, Dumpstaphunk, Beyonce); Big Yuki (GRiZ Live Band); Owen Barry (GRiZ Live Band); The Naughty Professor Horns, ProbCause, Christopher Perrier (GRiZ, Trombone Shorty); plus Musical Director Stu Brooks (GRiZ, Dub Trio, Saturday Night Live) -- with performances from special guests such as Nicholas Petricca (WALK THE MOON); K. Flay; Hobo Johnson; Noah Kahan; Nahko; Sunsquabi; Deva Mahal; Jennifer Hartwick & James Casey (Trey Anastasio Band); and Jason Lindner, Mark Guiliana, Tim Lefebvre (The Rhythm Section from David Bowie's Blackstar). Additional special guests - both announced and unannounced - will join the fun, guaranteeing this year's SuperJam will be a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of community, epic grooves and unprecedented musical adventure.
The Colorado based band, Trout Steak Revival has announced new tour dates for the Summer. The band will criss cross the country hitting notable festivals like Northwest String Summit, and Floyd Fest as well as playing several headlining shows including a performance at the Mishawaka Amphitheatre in Bellvue, Colorado.
Up to date news and tour information can be found at troutsteak.com
TROUT STEAK REVIVAL 2019 SPRING & SUMMER TOUR DATES
5/17 Bluegrass in the Bottoms, Kansas City, MO
5/18 Bluegrass in the Bottoms, Kansas City, MO
5/21 Barley's, Knoxville, TN
5/22 City Winery, Nashville, TN*
5/23 Steady Hand Beer Co., Atlanta, GA
5/24 The Crimson Moon, Dahlonega, GA
5/25 Papa Joe's Banjo-BQue, Evans, GA
5/31 Campout for the Cause, Buena Vista, CO
6/1 Belly Up, Aspen, CO**
6/26 Vail Bluegrass, Vail, CO***
7/4 Gilpin County Fairgrounds, Black Hawk, CO****
7/6 Mishawaka Amphitheatre, Bellevue, CO*****
7/10 Pine Creek Lodge, Livingston, MT******
7/12 Sandpoint Summerfest, Sandpoint, Idaho
7/19 Northwest String Summit, North Plains, OR
7/20 Northwest String Summit, North Plains, OR
7/27 Floyd Fest, Floyd, VA
7/28 Floyd Fest, Floyd, VA
8/17 Dockside, Ottawa, IL
8/18 Hoxeyville Music Festival, Wellston, MI
* w/ The Sweet Lillies
** w/ Buffalo Commons
*** w/ Chain Station
****Members of Trout Steak Revival with special guest Bridget Law
On the heels of a two-week tour supporting Gary Clark Jr. in Australia (where he joined Gary nightly for his encore), Hamish Anderson returns to the US to celebrate the release of his sophomore album, Out of My Head, produced by Jim Scott (Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Wilco). Anderson’s musical chops go deep with this record. Rock and Blues Muse has also said of Anderson’s new release, “There are a lot of impressive young guitarists out there these days, but very few of them can match their physical dexterity with this much vulnerability and lyrical prowess.“
Hamish might not easily fit into a genre or a box, but he sets himself apart from the pack by exploring areas and combining genres that most do not. And that’s just the way he likes it.
About Hamish Anderson’s Out of My Head:
After two years supporting Trouble, Hamish began writing his sophomore album Out of My Head with a sense of confidence that only comes around after all that goes into a debut album. For his second album, Hamish wanted to make it even more song oriented -- exploring melodies, hooks and choruses without committing to one specific genre. “I wanted to let the songs dictate what they wanted to be, so the record goes everywhere from blues rockers, soul ballads to more aggressive fuzzy rock and roll.” Americana, soul, pop, roots, blues, rock; that’s a lot of ground to cover, but Hamish does it with a natural ease that’s far beyond his years. The mellow (“What You Do To Me,” “Damaged Goods”) and the upbeat (“No Good,” “You Give Me Something”) tracks on this record sit comfortably next to each other; all buoyed by a knack for clever, hook-driven songwriting and a clear, burning passion that drives the music from the first strum to the last.
Throughout the album, Hamish explores themes of alienation, defiance, unabashed love and observations on what's happening in the world -- themes that he hadn’t really explored in his writing before. Hamish shared “I took a long time with the writing process, really trying to make something that to me feels like a complete piece. I still love the art of an album to give the full story.”
The result of that was a cohesive album which really shows that he took his time with the writing and didn’t rush the process. “Some songs were written just after the release of my debut album, but the majority of writing was done over the holiday break at the end of 2017. I went back home to Australia after a really busy year touring the US and suddenly when everything stopped for a minute, I just locked myself away and wrote.”
Hamish and producer Jim Scott worked in tandem on the arrangements of songs -- even more so than he previously had. Although some things stayed the same, for instance he still recorded live on the floor with the band playing; however, this time once they had the take, he and Jim would spend time exploring harmonies, sounds and textures that they hadn’t used before.
Throughout Out of My Head, the bass and drums are very prominent. Of course, there is still a lot of guitar, but this time around he wanted the rhythm section to be right up front -- even on ballads -- so everything has a really solid groove. Hamish was joined in the studio by drummer Johnny Radelat (Gary Clark Jr), bassists Chris Bruce (Doyle Bramhall II) and Aaron Stern (Curtis Harding), and keyboardist Jerry Borgé (Jonathan Wilson).
Ironically, despite the languid timeline for the writing and pre-production, the whole album came together quickly -- ten songs were completed in ten days which is a true testament to the union that Jim Scott and Hamish have built over these years.
The last track to be included is “Damaged Goods”, co-written with Rune Westberg (Beth Hart) who also produced the track. It provides yet another new poignant, stripped back, gospel- like sonic note for the album.
He has clearly set his sights on perfecting the song, and the larger vision of a cohesive album that is bound to take the listener on a soul-freeing experience.
Out of My Head released May 2019 on all formats.
HAMISH ANDERSON ON TOUR
USA
1 June - Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up *support
6 July - Los Angeles, CA @ Redondo Beach Music Series
CANADA
12 - 13 July - Mont Tremblant, Canada @ Mont Tremblant Blues Fest
EUROPE
27 September - Einsiedein, Switzerland @ Mauz
28 September Oberentfelden, Switzerand @ Borom Pom Pom
2 October - Twist, Germany @ Heimathaus
3 October - Zaandam, Netherlands @ Flux
4 October - Dordrecht, Netherlands @ Bibelot
5 October - Drachten, Netherlands @ Iduna
6 October - Weert, Netherlands @ De Bosuil
8 October - Hagan, Germany @ Gaststatte Stock
9 October - Dusseldorf, Germany @ Pitcher
10 October- Norderstedt @ Music Star
11 October- Coppenbrugge, Germany @ Woodstore
12 October - Wredenhagan, Germany @ Cafe Scheune
13 October- Kristianstad, Sweden @ Kompakt Disk
14 October- Copenhagen, Denmark @ Mojo
16 October- Bratislavia, Slovakia Museum @ Obchodu
17 October- Chiemgau, Germany @ Blues Club Chiemgau
Today, The Allman Betts Band released the first track “All Night” from their debut album Down To The River (BMG).
“It goes beyond the fact our dads were in a famous band and supersedes the whole 'sons of' thing. We're a band, and we're going to make sure everyone recognizes that." Allman told Billboard of The ABB.
Down To The River was produced by Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price, John Prine) at the famed Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. Peter Levin (Gregg Allman's Hammond B3 player) and Chuck Leavell (former Allman Brothers Band keyboardist and current Rolling Stones keyboardist) make special appearances on the record.
Motivated by classic recording techniques, and the vintage gear in the historic Alabama studio, they cut the album live. No computers. No digital editing. They tracked nine songs on two-inch analog tape, resulting in their debut album.
The Allman Betts Band “Down To The River” World Tour is already under way, and will feature nearly 200 tour stops including a handful of dates supporting John Fogerty. The tour will bring the band across the US and Europe for intimate headlining performances as well as several festivals including Peach Festival, Lockn’, Big Blues Bender, Telluride Blues & Brews, and many more.
The Lumineers have released the music video for "Gloria," their first single from their upcoming full-length album III, out Sept 13th on Dualtone (an Entertainment One Company) in the U.S. and Canada, and Decca Records for the rest of the world. The new album is a cinematic narrative told in three chapters, with the songs from each chapter focusing on one primary character out of three generations of the fictional Sparks family. Each chapter will be released as an audio EP within the full-length album. The 3-song Chapter I audio EP was released in full this past Friday (5/17) and revolves around the family matriarch, Gloria Sparks. Subsequent chapters focus on Gloria's grandson Junior (Chapter II), and then her son Jimmy Sparks (Chapter III).
Each of the songs from The Lumineers' new album will also be released as individual music videos that collectively tell the visual story of the three generations of the Sparks family. In addition to the new "Gloria" music video, videos for the remaining Chapter I songs "Donna" and "Life In The City" will be released tomorrow (5/21) and Wednesday (5/22) respectively. All the videos are directed by Kevin Phillips and produced by Neighborhood Watch. Phillips is known for his films Super Dark Times and Too Cool For School. The videos for Gloria Sparks star actress Anna Cordell as Gloria and Josh Close as William (Gloria's husband).
III is the third album by two-time GRAMMY-nominated band The Lumineers, whose line up is original members and songwriters Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites plus Lauren Jacobson, Stelth Ulvang, Byron Isaacs and Brandon Miller. III follows two platinum albums the 2012 self-titled debut and the 2016 sophomore album Cleopatra. The single "Gloria", released April 4, quickly shot up to top ten at both the Triple A and Alternative formats, as well as the #1 positon on the Americana chart. The band has seen tremendous success at radio including 18 #1 hits on Triple A, Alternative and other radio charts, including "Ophelia" maintaining #1 for 13 weeks on Triple A. The Lumineers became only the second artist in history to hold the top slot on the Triple A chart for that length of time. The band has sold out tours across the world, with over 300,000 tickets sold on 2017's Cleopatra World Tour and ended with 27 sold out arena shows.
Starting in early summer, The Lumineers have plans to tour across the U.S. and Europe, including their biggest ever UK shows at The O2 Arena London, Manchester Arena, The SSE Hydro Glasgow, and dates across Europe including 3Arena Dublin, Le Zénith Paris and Verti Music Hall Berlin, as well as a string of festival dates that include Hangout, Bonnaroo, Tinderbox, Splendour in the Grass, Fuji Rock, Osheaga, Outside Lands, Sea.Hear.Now and more. Headline tour dates in the US and Canada have not yet been announced.
Today, alt-country legends The Long Ryders announce they're heading back on tour in support of their critically acclaimed 30-years in the making comeback album, Psychedelic Country Soul, via Omnivore Recordings. The band's original line up, Sid Griffin, Stephen McCarthy, Tom Stevens, and Greg Sowders will hit the road starting September 11, 2019 in Louisville, KY. It's the band's first dates in the US since 2017.
Psychedelic Country Soul is a true and unique Long Ryders album that stands up with their classic records like Native Sons and the unforgettable single "Looking For Lewis And Clark." David Fricke in Rolling Stone named Psychedelic Country Soul among the top three released thus far in 2019. The new album was recorded in eight days at Dr. Dre's state of the art studio in Los Angeles with producer Ed Stasium helming the board. Even the band's old friends in The Bangles dropped by to sing harmonies.
The band recently completed a successful run of dates in Europe, where Black Country Rock wrote in a review of the London show that The Long Ryders were "A band that is perfect."
Trojan Jamaica is excited to release the new video for the Rob Jevons remix of Bo Diddley's "Gunslinger" performed by reggae legend Big Youth, whose exuberant, eccentrically avant-garde delivery helped set the template for Jamaica's DJ-toasting in the 1970s, and paved the way for hip hop of the future. Instigated by label co-founder Zak Starkey and directed by Gabriella Blackwood, the raucous and colorful clip features other label co-founder Sharna "Sssh" Liguz and a bevvy of musicians and dancers exploding in a burst of psychedelic hypnotica all in service of this joyous dirty dub spaghetti western manifesto. Large Up premiered the video yesterday.
Starkey and Sshh recently announced the birth of Trojan Jamaica, a new frontline label, in partnership with BMG, endeavoring to bring newly-produced, Jamaican-made music to the world. March 29th heralded the debut track, Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put A Spell On You," performed by Mykal Rose (Black Uhuru) and featuring the legendary reggae rhythm combo Sly & Robbie, as well as a stellar solo from Jamaican guitar great Ernest Ranglin. The track was accompanied by a video which had its exclusive premiere via Rolling Stone.
Mykal Rose's "I Put A Spell On You" and the album version of Big Youth's "Gunslinger" are both featured on the forthcoming, groundbreaking compilation, RED, GOLD, GREEN & BLUE, and was produced by the legendary Youth (U2, Paul McCartney, The Verve), at Trojan Jamaica Studios in Ocho Rios. More details to follow.
Trojan Jamaica arrives with a mandate to explore Jamaica's diverse musical legacy, from its African roots to the endless inspiration of classic and contemporary American soul, R&B and blues. With that goal in mind, RED, GOLD, GREEN & BLUE sees such stars as Toots & The Maytals, Big Youth, Freddie McGregor, Phylea Carley, Kiddus I, Andrew Tosh, Sshh and Robbie Shakespeare taking on definitive songs by Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, Peter Green, and Johnny & Shuggie Otis. Backing throughout comes from a truly extraordinary line-up of legendary musicians, including Starkey (guitar), Sly Dunbar (drums), Robbie Shakespeare (bass), Tony Chin (guitar), Cyril Neville (drums), Michael Rendall (keyboards, organ) and Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace (drums, organ).
"It feels like we are at a pivotal moment in time with regards to the global relevance of roots rock & reggae," says Sshh. "I give thanks every day to the island, its people and the culture that we have been accepted and given the opportunity to share it with the world."
The story of Trojan Jamaica began in 2016 when Starkey - known for his superlative work as drummer in The Who, Oasis and Johnny Marr and the Healers, among countless other musical efforts - and Australian-born artist-musician Sharna "Sshh" Liguz united as SSHH, teaming up to reinvent such seminal songs as Bob Marley and the Wailers' "Get Up Stand Up," performed alongside Eddie Vedder and Carlton "Santa" Davis, George "Fully" Fullwood and Tony Chin of the pioneering reggae backing outfit known as Soul Syndicate. A video of the performance made its way to Jamaican entrepreneur Kingsley Cooper who immediately invited Starkey and Sshh to perform at the November 2016 opening of the long awaited Peter Tosh Museum in Kingston. Another invitation followed in 2017, inspiring the duo to begin work on what would soon become Trojan Jamaica.
"We felt so warmly welcomed and at home in the musical community that we stayed and recorded all the music that has become Trojan Jamaica," says Starkey. "We're committed to presenting local artists together with international musicians who, like us, have been inspired by roots culture."
Starkey and Sshh were aided in their mission by GRAMMY® Award-winning rhythm section Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, both of whom make indelible contributions throughout RED, GOLD, GREEN & BLUE. An array of genre-spanning session superstars were enlisted, including drummer Cyril Neville (The Meters, The Neville Brothers), guitarist Tony Chin (of the famed Soul Syndicate session outfit) and keyboardist Michael Rendell (The Orb, Pink Floyd). With Youth behind the board, Starkey and Sshh lead this extraordinary band through all new performances of archetypal American music which deeply inspired the reggae revolution but whose influence on Jamaican music and culture is often forgotten.
"I find both reggae music and American blues to be similar with a different approach," Starkey told the Jamaica Observer last year. "Very cleverly, Jamaican music is 'up' music with a serious message. US blues has a very similar message in the words but the music can be harder or more 'down', but both rock just as hard."
Peter Lewis is set to release The Road To Zion a full-length album on July 16. Lewis also shares the song "Down By The Water" here. The new album is coming out on Omad, the boutique label of the album's producer John DeNicola.
Peter Lewis played a crucial part in the creation of that rare beast, the perfect rock & roll album: Moby Grape, a legendary union of guitars, voices and brotherhood made in a now-distant American age, the psychedelic San Francisco of 1967. Many miles later, Peter has made his best record as a singer, songwriter and spiritual explorer: The Road To Zion, new stories of wanderlust, fortune, trial and commitment that still carry the living glow and redemptive power of that great band.
Like his best songs for the Grape - "Sitting by the Window" on that first LP; "He" on 1968's Wow; the gorgeous Moby Grape '69 miniature "What's to Choose" - the day-glo-country twang of "Down by the Water" comes with a kick inside: the cycle of sorrow and lessons that, in time, lead to light.
Count the years on the way to The Road To Zion, and you find an astonishing statistic: It is only Peter's third solo album. But he never lost the path or mission. "I know we'll meet again, this you can rely on," Peter promises in the title track "The Road To Zion." Relish the searching and ringing guitars here, until the next time.
Today, The Allman Betts Band released “Shinin’“ the second single off their debut record Down To The River (BMG).
“‘Shinin” is a song about how love and devotion can lift you up so you shine brighter than you could alone. It is a song about gratitude and acknowledgement that real love can take you to the next level. I had a few ideas that I brought over to (collaborator) Stoll Vaughan to work on in Los Angeles right before we started the sessions in Muscle Shoals for Down to the River. We wrote this late addition and it fit perfectly with the list of tunes we had already put together. I’m glad it worked out the way it did.” Duane Betts told Rolling Stone Country, who had the exclusive premiere of the track.
Down To The River was produced by Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price, John Prine) at the famed Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. Peter Levin (Gregg Allman's Hammond B3 player) and Chuck Leavell (former Allman Brothers Band keyboardist and current Rolling Stones keyboardist) make special appearances on the record.
The band was motivated by classic recording techniques, and the vintage gear in the historic Alabama studio, they cut the album live. No computers. No digital editing. They tracked nine songs on two-inch analog tape, resulting in their debut album.
“Shinin’” comes just weeks after a successful release of their first single and accompanying behind the scenes music video “All Night” - which exclusively premiered via Billboard.
The Allman Betts Band will head back out on the road after a short break amid their nearly 200 date touring schedule. The band is rapidly gaining a strong following across the country where they are performing to packed venues and selling out many of their shows.
DOWN TO THE RIVER TOUR:
Jun 8, Garberville, CA @ Redwood Run
Jun 14, Lowell, MA @ Lowell Summer Music Series
Jun 15, Utica, NY @ Stanley Theatre
Jun 18, Kent, OH @ The Kent Stage
Jun 19, Three Oaks, MI @ Acorn Theater
Jun 20, Cincinnati, OH @ Taft Theatre Ballroom
Jun 21, Columbus, OH @ Express Live
Jun 22, Kokomo, IN @ Foster Park
Jun 23, McMinnville, TN @ Cumberland Caverns
Jun 25, Bristol, TN @ Paramount Theater
Jun 26, Rocky Mount, VA @ Harvester PAC
Jun 27, State College, PA @ State Theatre
Jun 30, Winter Park, CO @ Blues from the Top
Jul 5, Westhampton, NY @ Westhampton Beach PAC
Jul 6, East Hampton, NY @ John Drew Theater at Guild Hall
Jul 7, Norwalk, CT @ Wall Street Theater
Jul 8, Ocean City, NJ @ NJ Music Pier
Jul 16, Munich, DE @ Backstage Hall
Jul 17, Luxembourg, LUX @ Rockhal
Jul 23, Cologne, Germany @ Kantine
Jul 24, Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Jul 29, Hamburg, DE @ Markthalle
Jul 30, Berlin, DE @ Lido
Jul 31, Nürnberg, DE @ Hirsch
Aug 9, Providence, RI @ Bold Point Park*
Aug 11, Portland, ME Maine @ Savings Pavilion*
Aug 13, Boston, MA @ Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion*
Aug 15, New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall*
Aug 29, St. Charles, IL @ The Arcada Theater
Aug 30, Fort Wayne, IN @ Sweetwater Performance Pavilion
Sep 1, Lakeville, PA @ Cove Ent Resorts
Sep 13, Colorado Springs, CO @ Pikes Peak Center
Nov 1, Auburn, AL @ Woltosz Theatre
* w/ John Fogerty
FESTIVALS
Jun 16, 2019 Bethel, NY @ Mountain Jam
Jun 28, Rochester, NY @ Rochester Jazz Festival
Jun 29, 2019 New Martinsville, WV @ Back Home Festival
Jul 2, Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest
Jul 14, 2019 Suwalki, Poland @ Suwalki Blues Festival
Jul 20, 2019 Maidstone, UK @ Ramblin' Man Fair
Jul 21, Peer, Belgium @ Peer Blues Festival
Jul 25-28, 2019 Scranton, PA @ Peach Music Festival
Jul 25-28, 2019 Breitenbach, GER @ Burg Herzberg festival
Hamish Anderson’s new record Out of my Head has been out almost a month, and momentum for the Australian born/LA - based musician has never been higher. Hamish’s track “What You Do To Me” is number 54 this week on the Americana Singles Chart.
Hamish kicked off his 2019 with a two-week tour supporting Gary Clark Jr. in his home country, Australia, (where he joined Gary nightly for his encore). Hamish returned to the US in time to release Out Of My Head, which has since been garnering rave reviews globally. With several US, Canada and Europe tour dates on the books, and a new album under his belt, 2019 is looking to be a great year for Hamish.
HAMISH ANDERSON ON TOUR
(more dates announcing soon)
USA
1 June - Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up *support
5 June - Los Angeles, CA @ Gold Diggers
20 June - DTLA, CA @ The BLOC
26 June - Boise, ID @ Alive After Five
6 July - Los Angeles, CA @ Redondo Beach Music Series
CANADA
12 - 13 July - Mont Tremblant, Canada @ Mont Tremblant Blues Fest
EU DATES:
27 September - Einsiedein, Switzerland - Mauz
28 September - Oberentfelden, Switzerand - Borom Pom Pom
1 October - Belgium - De Zwever
2 October - Twist, Germany - Heimathaus
3 October - Zaandam, Netherlands - Flux
4 October - Dordrecht, Netherlands - Bibelot
5 October - Drachten, Netherlands - Iduna
6 October - Weert, Netherlands - De Bosuil
7 October - Norderstedt - Music Star
8 October - Hagan, Germany - Gaststatte Stock
9 October - Dusseldorf, Germany - Pitcher
11 October - Coppenbrugge, Germany - Woodstore
12 October - Wredenhagan, Germany - Cafe Scheune
13 October - Kristianstad, Sweden - Kulturkvarteret
14 October - Copenhagen, Denmark - Mojo
16 October - Bratislavia, Slovakia - Museum Obchodu
17 October - Chiemgau, Germany - Blues Club
18 October - Ebensee, Austria - Kino Ebensee
19 October - Schwabish Hall, Germany - Anlagencafe
Today, Jesse Malin announces Sunset Kids, his first studio album in four years, to be released August 30 via Wicked Cool/The Orchard/Velvet Elk. Sunset Kids, produced by Lucinda Williams and engineered by David Bianco and Geoff Sanoff, was recorded on both coasts between the two artists' touring schedules. It features two songs co-written by Lucinda Williams, as well, including the first single, "Room 13." "Room 13" is referred to as "the heart of the record, about those meditative moments far out of your comfort zone, where you're forced to reflect on the things that really matter," says Malin. Listen to "Room 13" here.
Jesse Malin, who the London Times says "writes vivid songs with killer tunes and sings them with scary conviction," and Lucinda Williams, whom Time named "America's best songwriter," first met at a New York City jazz club in the early 2000's, but it was when she invited Malin to see her open for what would be the final Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers concert at the Hollywood Bowl in 2017 that talk of her producing the album first took shape.
"From the early frontier days of hardcore in New York to all the punk rock and singer/songwriter touring," says Malin, "it's all been about survival and reinvention. I wanted to make an open-sounding record with the space to tell these stories. I like to write about characters and people I meet along the way. The dreamers, schemers, hustlers, romantics, lovers, leavers and believers."
The title Sunset Kids reflects the album's dedication to the people Malin lost during the making of this album, including its very own engineer David Bianco (Tom Petty Wildflowers), his lifelong friend and bandmate, Todd Youth, his father and other dreamers.
Other guests that appear on the album are Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, who co-wrote and sings on "Strangers and Thieves," and singer songwriter Joseph Arthur who appears on three tracks.
Jesse Malin has tour dates in Europe in June and will be touring the United States in the Fall of 2019. Below is a list of all confirmed dates thus far:
Old Salt Union has announced their newest album Where The Dogs Don’t Bite - Out everywhere on Aug 16 via Compass Records. The band once again enlisted GRAMMY-winning banjoist and Compass co-founder Alison Brown to produce the follow-up to their self-titled Compass Records debut. The resulting album, Where the Dogs Don’t Bite, builds on Old Salt Union’s mixed musical backgrounds for a wildly entertaining and eclectic batch of songs.
Old Salt Union will be touring extensively throughout the rest of the year. The band is set to play several notable festivals this summer including Blue Ox Music Festival, Floyd Fest, and Roots N Blues N BBQ. The band will also be joining Son Volt on tour for select dates in June.
6/8-6/9 @ Pagosa Folk ‘N Bluegrass Festival | Pagosa Springs, CO
6/13-15 @ Blue Ox Music Festival | Eau Claire, WI
6/18 @ The Jones Assembly | Oklahoma City, OK*
6/19 @ Historic Scoot Inn | Austin, TX*
6/20 @ The Kessler Theater | Dallas, TX*
6/21 @ The Heights Theater | Houston, TX*
6/22 @ Red Stick Social | Baton Rouge, LA
6/23 @ Saturn | Birmingham, AL*
6/25 @ Variety Playhouse | Atlanta, GA*
6/26 @ Lafayette’s Music Room | Memphis, TN*
6/27 @ The Basement East | Nashville, TN*
6/28 @ Red, White & Boom | London, KY
6/29 @ Smoky Run Music Festival | Butler, OH
7/11 @ Pickin’ On Picknic | Saint Francisville, MO
7/12 @ Byrd’s Creek Music Festival | Crossville, TN
7/13 @ Barage Concert Series House Concert | Chattanooga, TN
7/19 @ Camp Euforia | Lone Tree, IA
7/20-7/21 @ Hiawatha Music Festival | Hiawatha, MI
7/25 -7/26 @ Floyd Fest | Floyd, VA
7/27 @ Capital Ale House Richmond | Richmond, VA
7/28 @ Purple Fiddle | Thomas, WB
7/30 @ John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts | Washington, DC
8/3 @ Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks | Bethlehem, PA
8/9 @ Basin Spring Park | Eureka Springs, AR
8/10 @ Lovegrass Music Festival | Sylvan Grove, KS
8/20 @ Tuesday in the Garden | Rockford, IL
8/22 @ Alive After Five | Mankato, MN
8/23 @ Bend In The Road | Manchester, MN
8/24 @ Riverside Park | La Crosse, WI
9/4 @ The Bend Concert Series at Murphy Park | East Moline, IL
9/5 @ Gabe’s | Iowa City, IA
9/7 @ Hey Nonny | Arlington Heights, IL
9/8 @ Black Swamp Arts Festival | Bowling Green, OH
9/19-9/21 @ Walnut Valley Festival | Winfield, KS
9/27 - 9/29 @ Roots N Blues N BBQ | Columbia, MO
10/19 @ The Wander Down Music Festival | Makanda, IL
^w/ Jeff Austin Band, Tenth Mountain Division
* w/ Son Volt
The quintet — Ryan Murphey (banjo), Justin Wallace (lead vocals and mandolin), John Brighton (violin), Jesse Farrar (lead vocals and bassist) and newest member Graham Curry (guitar) have continued to hone and develop their sound through relentless touring, cultivating a steadfast fanbase drawn to their high-energy shows. Coming from varied musical backgrounds, Old Salt Union’s collective melting pot of styles and musical vocabularies informs their fresh approach to modern string band music and has helped to carve a unique niche for this Belleville, Illinois roots outfit.
Farrar, nephew of Son Volt’s Jay Farrar, kicks off the album with “God You Don’t Need,” a hook laden ode to a relationship gone bad set against a tapestry of strings and an eerily compelling banjo melody. Label mate Bobby Osborne guests on “Tell Me So,” a nod to the bluegrass side of the band’s musical sensibilities featuring lead vocals and songwriting by mandolinist Justin Wallace. Violinist Brighton delivers the gypsy-tinged instrumental “Johann’s Breakdown,” which pulls from jazz and classical progressions, and Wallace delivers the haunting title track, “Where The Dogs Don’t Bite.” The dark, but heartfelt song features triple-layered guitar harmonies, stacked vocals and a group sing-along that recalls last call at a corner pub in the rust belt, a fitting closing to this musically diverse and compelling release.
My Morning Jacket is proud to announce the release of THE TENNESSEE FIRE: DELUXE EDITION, celebrating the 20th anniversary of their now-classic debut album. The newly expanded edition includes all 16 original tracks alongside 16 previously unreleased and unheard, lost songs, demo outtakes, alternate versions, and more. THE TENNESSEE FIRE: DELUXE EDITION arrives via Darla Records on August 2, 2019. You can pre-order the record here.
Furthermore, My Morning Jacket will commemorate the momentous occasion with "My Morning Jacket Presents: A Tennessee Fire 20th Anniversary Celebration," a one-night-only live event set for Friday, August 9 at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY where the band will perform the album in its entirety, along with songs from that era. A special pre-sale for all ticket holders for the band's performance at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens on August 10 will begin on Thursday, June 13 at 12pm local and ending Sunday, June 16 at 10pm local. Any remaining tickets will go on sale to the general public on Monday, June 17 at 12pm local. For complete details on tickets and VIP packages, please visit www.mymorningjacket.com/events.
"Wow. I cannot believe it has now been over 20 years since we recorded THE TENNESSEE FIRE on my cousin John's grandparents farm out in Shelbyville, KY in a little studio called "Above the Cadillac," says James. "What a life changing time that was for me -- a cosmic door opening to a new universe, thanks to the generosity of family and the spirits of music and connection, I have been so lucky to encounter. We tried to do as many fucked up things as we could that we loved and hoped folks would enjoy. We laughed a lot and we cried some too, ha. We are so grateful and humble that people are still enjoying it so many years later, and we also really love playing these songs live still after all these years, ha ha ha. We offer our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has listened since the beginning/jumped on along the way, and all the new folks just hearing the music and getting into it. Much has changed and shifted over the years in the world of My Morning Jacket both on earth and in other realms, and I am so grateful to everyone who has ever been involved with the band on any level that helped it grow. I am grateful for the joy and thankful to have learned some things from the pain/disappointments that I hope will help in the future. Love is music, music is god, god is love, and I feel so blessed to be able to share this thing called music with so many wonderful souls both as a musician and as a listener myself. There is so much wonderful music out there. Peace and love."
Hailed by The New York Times as "the new kings of expand-your-mind, religious-experience rock," My Morning Jacket made a truly epochal debut with THE TENNESSEE FIRE. First released May 25, 1999 on Darla Records independent label, the LP immediately rocketed the Louisville, KY-based band to the forefront of American music. "My Morning Jacket arrived almost fully-formed," wrote Stereogum in 2018. "On THE TENNESSEE FIRE, a lot of their core elements were already in place. There were big, keening melodies that sounded like the wind rushing through the trees of a Southern forest, there were chiming guitars, and they were already taking their foundational DNA of folk and classic rock and mutating it. The band covered a lot of ground on their debut, from the shadowy anthem 'The Bear,' the swaggering and sinister beer-rock of 'It's About Twilight Now,' to the yearning 'Evelyn Is Not Real,' and the mournful closer 'I Think I'm Going To Hell."' Thanks to the homemade production, all of this comes together in a bleary, nocturnal document that sounds like MMJ telling ghost stories about some dark, mysterious thing they discovered out in the countryside... All these years later, it sounds like a perfect curtain rise on MMJ's career."
In addition to the My Morning Jacket summer dates, Jim James has announced plans for a busy summer on the road, including the "Jim James + Claypool Lennon Delirium Summer 2019 Tour," a co-headline run beginning June 21 at Salt Lake City's Eccles Theater and then continuing into early July. James is also slated for a number of headline shows, a pair of eagerly awaited dates alongside Anderson East - set for Tulsa, OK's Cain Ballroom (June 17) and Kansas City, MO's Crossroads KC (June 18) - as well as full band sets at such U.S. festivals as Manchester, TN's Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival (June 15), and Quincy, CA's High Sierra Music Festival (July 4-7). For dates and ticket availability, please visit jimjames.com/events.
MMJ guitarist Carl Broemel will be equally busy with his own summer live schedule. Highlights include headline dates and a series of co-headline shows alongside Tyler Ramsey (Band of Horses), beginning in Kansas City, MO and making stops in Denver, Portland, OR and Los Angeles at the Highland Park Ebell. For complete details and ticket availability, please visit www.carlbroemel.com.
My Morning Jacket: Jim James (vocals, guitar), Tom Blankenship (bass), Patrick Hallahan (drums), Carl Broemel (guitar), and Bo Koster (keyboards).
MY MORNING JACKET
THE TENNESSEE FIRE: DELUXE EDITION
(Darla Records)
RELEASE DATE: August 2nd, 2019
TRACKLISTING
1. Heartbreakin Man
2. They Ran
3. The Bear
4. Nashville to Kentucky
5. Old Sept. Blues
6. If All Else Fails
7. It's About Twilight Now
8. Evelyn Is Not Real
9. War Begun
10. Picture of You
11. I Will Be There When You Die
12. The Dark
13. By My Car
14. Butch Cassidy
15. I Think I'm Going to Hell
16. Alabama Come Clean
Bonus tracks available on 2xCD (disc 2), LP (disc 3):
1. John Dyes Her Hair Red
2. Flew in on a Dead Horse
3. Yellow and Strobe
4. Lil Billy (Demo)
5. Evelyn is Not Real (First Version)
6. All This Joy Brings Different Feelings
7. Finger on the Frog
8. Gifts
9. Weeks Go by Like Days (Alternate Version)
10. Plasma Ball
11. Breathin' Afterbirth
12. Heartbreakin' Man (First Version)
13. I Think I'm Going to Hell (Two Meter Session)
Bonus tracks available via 2xCD (disc 2), DIG and download coupon with 3xLP:
Todd Snider has assembled a cast of friends to head out with him in September to play a few select shows on the continuation of his 'Cash Cabin Session' album tour. Dates include September 19 at The Grandel in St. Louis, September 20 at Medicine Stone Festival in Talequah, OK and September 21 at the Crosstown Theatre in Memphis. Snider will gather together with Hard Working Americans' bandmates Neal Casal, Jesse Aycock and Chad Staehly as well as welcome into the fold Nashville drummer Ken Coomer (Uncle Tupelo/Wilco). At the headlining shows in St. Louis and Memphis, Snider will perform one solo set and then play a full set with the new band. Look for more to come from this new ensemble.
Renowned guitarist, multi-platinum-selling singer-songwriter, bandleader and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Steve Miller has opened up his voluminous archive of recordings for the first time ever to present a milestone 3CD + DVD box set. WELCOME TO THE VAULT covers Miller's genre-blurring six-decade career over 52 audio tracks, pairing a number of greatest hits and certifiable rock 'n roll classics with 38 previously unreleased recordings that span demos, rehearsals, outtakes, vintage concert performances and 5 newly uncovered original Steve Miller Band songs recorded in the 1960s and 1970s.
The accompanying DVD collects 21 live performances, among them legendary rare TV appearances and concert videos.
WELCOME TO THE VAULT is accompanied by a 100-page hardbound book of photos, memorabilia and artifacts from Miller's personal collection, as well as an exclusive 9,000-word essay by renowned rock journalist David Fricke. Steve Miller Band's WELCOME TO THE VAULT, also available as a 52-track digital collection, arrives Friday, October 11 via Sailor/Capitol/UMe.
WELCOME TO THE VAULT is heralded by today's premiere of "Rock'n Me" (Alternate Version 1), a different take of the classic #1 hit from 1976.
Fricke writes in his liner notes: "Miller wrote 'Rock'n Me' with a different setting in mind. He was still without a working band when the English prog-rock giants Pink Floyd asked him to be their special guest at a massive festival on July 5th, 1975 at Knebworth, England. Miller called Lonnie Turner, Les Dudek - a guitarist in Boz Scaggs' band - and Doug Clifford, the former drummer in Creedence Clearwater Revival. They rehearsed for a single afternoon, working up a half-dozen R&B standards, a couple of Miller hits and a surprising debut, 'The Window,' an early version of which appears on WELCOME TO THE VAULT.
"'But I knew what was going to happen,' Miller says. The Floyd 'were gonna put me on at sunset. There won't be any lights, and I'm just chum. I needed a song to rock the whole joint.' Miller showed 'Rock'n Me' to the band at practice; they played it live for the first time in front of 100,000 people at Knebworth. 'We closed with it, and it killed them,' Miller says proudly."
WELCOME TO THE VAULT opens in 1969 with the Steve Miller Band covering Little Walter's "Blues With a Feeling" at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, a previously unreleased 10-minute blowout unlike anything else in Miller's official studio or live catalog. Faithful to the form yet undeniably visionary, the track instantly sets the pace for what is to come. A turbulent "Super Shuffle" recorded live at Steve Miller Band's breakthrough appearance at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival, is fast followed by such previously unreleased revelations as an early version of "Going to Mexico" (originally found on 1970's NUMBER 5) as well as solo acoustic takes on BRAVE NEW WORLD's "Kow Kow Calculator" and "Seasons," recorded on the road in 1973.
The evolutionary sessions for 1976's FLY LIKE AN EAGLE and 1977's BOOK OF DREAMS - Steve Miller Band's "multi-platinum fusions of crisp funk and blues undercurrents, progressive-rock electronics and hit-single pith," according to Fricke - are captured via alternate takes including a striking view of "Fly Like an Eagle" as a 12-minute work-in-progress suite. WELCOME TO THE VAULT further includes a number of alternate version of iconic Steve Miller Band tracks mostly recorded prior to their commercial releases, and a recent big band reinterpretation of "Take the Money and Run" featuring fellow Texas guitar hero Jimmie Vaughan recorded live at New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center, where Miller is involved as a performer, educator and curator focusing on blues music.
Indeed, the blues in all its forms can be heard throughout WELCOME TO THE VAULT, in versions of songs of Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson and Otis Rush, as well as country and R&B variations like Roy Acuff's "Freight Train Blues" and Mickey and Sylvia's classic "Love Is Strange." Miller's own personal links to the lineage and history of guitar music are also prominently featured, including a 1990 version of Jimmy Reed's "I Wanna Be Loved," recorded with his close musical friend and godfather, Les Paul, during the electric guitar pioneer's famed Monday night residency at New York City's Fat Tuesday's.
WELCOME TO THE VAULT closes with a pair of landmark tracks also released here for the first time that include Texas blues guitar legend T-Bone Walker performing his 1952 hit, "Lollie Lou," on a tape made the year before in the Miller Family living room by Steve's father George, a passionate jazz and blues fan and home recording enthusiast. The collection finishes more than 60 years later with Miller himself performing "Lollie Lou" at "T-Bone Walker: A Bridge from Blues to Jazz," the December 2016 tribute concert curated by Miller at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
As if all that weren't enough, the WELCOME TO THE VAULT DVD features 21 incredible live performances, including rare footage from 1967's Monterey Pop Festival, a Dutch TV filmed performance of the Fillmore West from 1970, a 43-minute September 1973 concert at New York's Palace Theater broadcast on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert (unseen since the '70s), an ABC In Concert performance with James Cotton (1974), a performance of "Abracadabra" from Michigan's Pine Knob from that album tour in 1982, and selections from Austin City Limits (2011), as well as Miller's intimate 1990 performance with Les Paul at New York City's Fat Tuesday's.
Long regarded as one of rock's most dynamic and creative live acts, the Steve Miller Band will team up with Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives for a 36-city U.S. tour. Miller calls it "An Amazing Evening of Original American Music - Classic Rock Meets Classic Country." The trek gets underway June 13 at Des Moines, Iowa's Wells Fargo Arena and then travels through a two-night finale at Woodinville, WA's Chateau Ste. Michelle on August 30 and 31.
STEVE MILLER BAND
WELCOME TO THE VAULT
(Sailor/Capitol/UMe)
RELEASE DATE: October 11, 2019
CD 1:
1. Blues with a Feeling (Live) (1969) *
2. Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around - Alternate Version (1969) *
3. Super Shuffle (Live) (1967) **
4. It Hurts Me Too (Feat. Steve Miller Band) (Live) (1967)
5. Industrial Military Complex Hex - Alternate Version (1970) *
6. Living in the USA (1968)
7. Kow Kow Calculator - Alternate Version (1973) *
8. Going to Mexico - Alternate Version (1966) *
9. Quicksilver Girl - Alternate Version (1968) *
10. Jackson-Kent Blues - Alternate Version (1970) *
11. Crossroads (Live) (1973) *
12. Hesitation Blues (1972) **
13. Seasons - Alternate Version (1973) *
14. Say Wow! (1973) **
15. Never Kill Another Man - Alternate Version (Live) (1971) *
CD 2:
1. The Gangster is Back (Live) (1971)
2. Space Cowboy - Instrumental Version (1969) *
3. Space Cowboy - Alternate Version (Live) (1973) *
4. The Joker (1973)
5. The Lovin' Cup (1973)
6. Killing Floor (1975) *
7. Evil (Live) (1973)
8. Echoplex Blues (1973) **
9. Rock'n Me - Alternate Version 1 (1976) *
10. Rock'n Me - Alternate Version 2 (1976) *
11. Tain't it the Truth (1976) *
12. Freight Train Blues (1976) *
13. True Fine Love - Alternate Version (1975) *
14. The Stake - Alternate Version (1976) *
15. My Babe - Alternate Version (1982) *
16. That's the Way It's Got to Be (1974) **
17. Double Trouble (1992) *
18. Love is Strange (1974) *
19. All Your Love (I Miss Loving) - Alternate Version (1992) *
CD 3:
1. I Wanna Be Loved (Live) (1990) *
2. Fly Like an Eagle - Alternate Version (1974) *
3. Space Intro (1976)
4. Fly Like an Eagle (1976)
5. The Window - Alternate Version (1974) *
6. Mercury Blues - Alternate Version (1975) *
7. Jet Airliner - Alternate Version (1976) *
8. Take the Money and Run (1976)
9. Dance, Dance, Dance (1976)
10. Swingtown - Alternate Version (1976) *
11. Winter Time (1977)
12. Who Do You Love? (1984)
13. Abracadabra (1982)
14. Macho City - Short Version (1981)
15. Take the Money and Run - Alternate Version (Live) (2016) *
16. Bizzy's Blue Tango* (2004)
17. Lollie Lou (T-Bone Walker) (Live) (1951) *
18. Lollie Lou (Steve Miller) (Live) (2016) *
* PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED RECORDING
** PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED SONG
DVD:
Monterey International Pop Festival - 1967
- Mercury Blues
- Super Shuffle
The Fillmore West - Dutch TV Show El Dorado (Pik-In) - 1970
- Kow Kow Calculator
- Space Cowboy
Don Kirshner's Rock Concert - 1973
- Star Spangled Banner
- Living in the USA
- Space Cowboy
- Mary Lou
- Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma
- The Gangster is Back
- The Joker
- Come on in My Kitchen
- Seasons
- Fly Like an Eagle
- Living in the USA (Reprise)
ABC In Concert with James Cotton - 1974
- Just a Little Bit
Pine Knob, Michigan - 1982
- Abracadabra
Steve Miller and Les Paul at Fat Tuesday's - 1990
- I Wanna be Loved
- CC Rider
Live from Austin City Limits - 2011
- Fly Like an Eagle
- Living in the USA
An Amazing Evening of Original American Music - Classic Rock Meets Classic Country
Featuring Steve Miller Band & Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives
JUNE
13 - Des Moines, IA - Wells Fargo Arena
15 - Tulsa OK - River Spirit Casino - Paradise Cove Margaritaville
16 - Rogers, AR - Walmart AMP
21 - Alton, IL - Liberty Bank Amphitheater Summer Concert Series
22 - Dubuque, IA - America's River Festival
24 - Grand Rapids, MI - Meijer Gardens
25 - Interlochen, MI - Kresge Auditorium
28 - Rochester, NY - Rochester International Jazz Festival
30 - Sterling Heights, MI - Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
JULY
1 - Highland Park, IL - Ravinia Festival*
12 - Prior Lake, MN - Lakefront Music Festival
14 - Duluth, MN - Bayfront Festival Park
16 - Kettering, OH - Fraze Pavilion
18 - Baltimore, MD - MECU Pavilion
20 - Lynchburg, VA - Riverfront Park Concert Series
21 - Bensalem PA - Xcite Center at Parx Casino*
24 - New York, NY - Pier 17
25 - Boston, MA - Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion
27 - Rangeley, ME - Rangeley Health & Wellness Pavilion
28 - Kingston, NY - Hutton Brickyards
30 - Selbyville, DE - The Freeman Stage at Bayside
31 - Vienna, VA - Wolf Trap
AUGUST
2 - Mashantucket, CT - The Grand Theater at Foxwoods Casino
3 - Bethlehem, PA - Musikfest
11 - Albuquerque, NM - Sandia Resort and Casino
13 - Denver, CO - The Mission Ballroom
14 - Vail, CO - Gerald R. Ford Amphitheatre
16 - Billings, MT - Cove Creek Outdoor Pavilion
17 - Missoula, MT - Big Sky Brewery
19 - Salt Lake City, UT - Red Butte Garden
21 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
22 - Paso Robles, CA - Vina Robles Amphitheatre
24 - Stateline, NV - Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys
27 - Salem, OR - Oregon State Fair
28 - Airway Heights, WA - Northern Quest Resort & Casino
30 - Woodinville, WA - Chateau Ste. Michelle
31 - Woodinville, WA - Chateau Ste. Michelle
* Steve Miller Band only
In addition, Miller will continue his exploration of the blues at New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center with "Cannonball Adderley and The Blues," a spirited celebration of saxophone legend Cannonball Adderley. Set for Saturday, December 14at JALC's Rose Theater, the event will see Miller joined by vocalist Brianna Thomas and the Patrick Bartley Sextet, led by one of NYC's most acclaimed young saxophonists. Tickets and additional information can be found HERE.
Frameless Creative in association with ACT Productions and The Parker Company are proud to debut the lineup for the inaugural Miami Beach Pop Festival, set for November 8-10, 2019. The brand new festival will be held on the shore of South Beach between 5th and 10th streets, adjacent to the beachfront Lummus Park and the iconic Ocean Drive.
Miami Beach Pop celebrates its home by reflecting the city's extraordinary cultural diversity with a groundbreaking selection of artists, spanning an incredibly wide range of genres and cultural backgrounds. Chance the Rapper, Jack Johnson, Daddy Yankee, and Kygo will headline the three-day festival, along with The Raconteurs, Juanes, Maggie Rogers, Leon Bridges, The Roots, Nile Rodgers and Chic, Sean Paul, T-Pain, Jessie Reyez, Bomba Estereo, Quinn XCII, Natti Natasha, Gryffin, Brytiago, Margo Price, Chelsea Cutler, Kim Petras, Two Feet, Lali, Magic City Hippies, Monsieur Perine, DJ Windows 98 (Win Butler of Arcade Fire), Rauw Alejandro, Ashe, Magic Giant, Roosevelt Collier, Reignwolf, Cimafunk, The Hip Abduction, Zander, Steven A Clark, Spam Allstars, Richie Hell, Afrobeta, the Miami Beach Senior High Rock Ensemble, and more to be announced.
"Miami Beach Pop is a celebration of one of the most extraordinary cities in the world," shares festival co-founder Paul Peck. "This unmatched, vibrant culture and iconic beach provide a rare combination of natural beauty and city excitement. The core purpose that drives the vision for this festival has been to celebrate the unity of human connection. We are honored to include artists such as Chance the Rapper and Jack Johnson, who are two of the most socially-conscious and inspiring figures in the contemporary cultural landscape".
The festival aims to connect artists and fans through shared moments of inspiration and is proud to present a showcase of musicians that champion positivity and connection. Miami Beach Pop will be the only North American performance of 2019 for Jack Johnson, an industry trailblazer for eco-conscious initiatives and practices within live music and beyond. Attendees of Miami Beach Pop can anticipate a forthcoming new album in July from Chance the Rapper, a champion of activism within public schools and mental health causes. Daddy Yankee's track record of global smash hits has reached a new peak with Con Calma, crossing over Latin and American pop fans alike. Global superstar and legendary Latin artist Juanes, performing in his hometown for Miami Beach Pop, has just been named the 2019 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year, recognized for his own art as well as his activism and philanthropy.
3-Day General Admission and 3-Day VIPtickets will go on sale Friday, June 21 at 10AM ET / 7AM PT, exclusively at www.MiamiBeachPop.com. All fans are eligible to register for the Miami Beach Pop presale, guaranteeing exclusive early access prior to the general public on sale. In appreciation of the local community, Miami Beach residents are eligible to receive a 20% discount on General Admission tickets. Eventbrite is the official ticketing platform of Miami Beach Pop Festival. For more information about presale registration, ticketing, VIP offerings, and payment plans for Miami Beach Pop, please visit: www.MiamiBeachPop.com.
Culinary Host Michael Schwartz, a James Beard award-winning chef-restaurateur, will curate the culinary lineup at Miami Beach Pop Festival with a nod to the city's cross-cultural cuisine. Known for a fresh, simple, seasonal ingredient-focused approach, Schwartz's flagship location Michael's Genuine Food & Drink has been beloved by locals and visitors alike since 2007, and now joins The Genuine Hospitality Group's other restaurants, including growing pizzeria brand Harry's Pizzeria and Genuine Pizza. Schwartz will work collaboratively with Miami Beach Pop to select iconic local staples that represent Miami's delicious, diverse world of cuisine.
The vibrant three-day experience of Miami Beach Pop will spotlight sustainable event practices and provide attendees with the knowledge and tools to embrace a more eco-friendly lifestyle. South Florida is one of the most fragile, ecologically sensitive, and environmentally significant regions on our planet. The Festival is committed to working collaboratively with the City of Miami Beach, a global leader in efforts to mitigate the effects of sea level rise, through a comprehensive range of programs. Miami Beach Pop aims to eliminate single-use plastic from the festival through the sale of canned water, and with a reusable cup rental program alongside free water refill stations. Miami Beach Pop is a member of the BYOBottle campaign, an initiative led by headlining artist Jack Johnson. BYOBottle actively encourages festival attendees to bring reusable water bottles in another effort to reduce plastic waste, and provides water refill stations backstage for artists and at front of house for touring personnel. Food, beverage, and merchandise vendors at Miami Beach Pop will be held accountable by organizers to provide only recyclable or biodegradable utensils and related items. Additionally, the festival is dedicated to caring for our oceanfront home on the shore of Miami Beach. A volunteer program in partnership with Clean Vibes will activate cleanup efforts of the beach before, during, and after the festival. Miami Beach Pop has proudly announced a financial commitment that one dollar per ticket per day will be donated to local non-profit organizations that focus on sustainability education and change. Miami Beach Pop will provide attendees with the knowledge and tools to improve their own eco-conscious practices with the festival's ECOasis, featuring a variety of local organizations that care for different aspects of our environment.
Attendees of Miami Beach Pop can indulge in a vacation or staycation with an immersive experience at one of the historic, art deco hotels along Ocean Drive, just steps away from the festival site. Hotel packages, including lodging and event tickets, can be purchased at www.MiamiBeachPop.com. Miami Beach Pop will provide attendees with a detailed travel and transportation plan, encouraging ridesharing and public transport to reduce the festival's carbon footprint, designed collaboratively alongside the City of Miami Beach to ensure a comfortable and safe experience for all festival guests and local residents.
For additional information regarding festival logistics, directions, and frequently asked questions, please visit: www.MiamiBeachPop.com.
THE MIAMI BEACH POP FESTIVAL 2019 LINEUP:
Chance The Rapper
Jack Johnson
Daddy Yankee
Kygo
The Raconteurs
Juanes
Maggie Rogers
Leon Bridges
The Roots
Nile Rodgers and Chic
Sean Paul
T-Pain
Jessie Reyez
Bomba Estereo
Quinn XCII
Natti Natasha
Gryffin
Brytiago
Margo Price
Chelsea Cutler
Kim Petras
Two Feet
Lali
Magic City Hippies
Monsieur Perine
DJ Windows 98 (Win Butler of Arcade Fire)
Rauw Alejandro
Ashe
Magic Giant
Roosevelt Collier
Reignwolf
Cimafunk
The Hip Abduction
Spam Allstars
Steven A. Clark
Richie Hell
Zander
Afrobeta
Miami Beach Senior High Rock Ensemble
Sunday Gospel Service
Sol Jam feat. Nile Rodgers and Very Special Guests
All-Star Celebration of Bob Marley feat. Stephen Marley and Very Special Guests
Frost School of Music American Music Ensemble feat. Ben Folds
The String Cheese Incident is excited to announce a collaborative partnership with Colorado-based craft brewery Oskar Blues. SCI and Oskar Blues have brewed up the brand new S.C.I.P.A.
The new beer will be available exclusively at the upcoming Dillon Amphitheatre and Red Rocks shows in July.
"We are super psyched to announce the first-ever String Cheese Incident collaboration beer! We’ve been really honing in this beer with Oskar Blues and I am really loving it, I hope you all will too! I can’t wait another day for an S.C.I.P.A.!"
- Kyle Hollingsworth (SCI)
“When I think about the heart of Colorado beer and music I think about Oskar Blues and The String Cheese Incident. The idea behind the beer was that we both wanted to create a crisp dry Brut-inspired IPA with low IBU’s and loaded with dank hop flavors and aromas. Just the perfect IPA for the summer and their outdoor shows.”
- Juice Drapeau (Head Brewer, Oskar Blues Brewery - Lyons)
The String Cheese Incident have officially released their newest single "All We Got" which premiered exclusively via Billboard. The release of "All We Got" is accompanied by a visually pleasing animated video with direction from SCI. The inspiration and overall encompassing theme of "Disco Forest" is a nod to the band's upcoming, annually-hosted festival, Electric Forest. The video showcases various different feels, just as the song does itself.
This is the third single the band has released this year, following "Bhangra Saanj" (ft. Beats Antique) and "I Want You" (ft. Andy Hall). The String Cheese Incident is happily celebrating their 25th anniversary with new music, as well as new and unique endeavors that have never done before.
SCI recently announced thei first-ever collaborative beer partnership with Colorado-based craft brewery Oskar Blues. The new beer (S.C.I.P.A.) will be available exclusively at the upcoming Dillon Amphitheatre and Red Rocks shows in July.
For The String Cheese Incident, the past 25 years have written a story that is packed full of surreal experiences, epic moments, groundbreaking involvement and huge accomplishments. They have been recognized for their commitment to musical creativity and integrity, for their community spirit, philanthropic endeavors, and for their innovative approach to the business of music.
SCI TOUR DATES
June 27-30 @ Electric Forest | Rothbury, MI
July 3-4 @ Iroquois Amphitheater | Louisville, KY
July 5-6 @ The Fox Theatre | Atlanta, GA
July 16-17 @ Dillon Amphitheater | Dillon, CO
July 19-21 @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre | Morrison, CO
July 25-26 @ The Peach Music Festival | Scranton, PA
Willie Nelson, Blackbird Presents, Keith Wortman, and Mark Rothbaum are thrilled to announce, the addition of Saratoga Springs on September 7, 2019 to the "Outlaw Music Festival Tour 2019". The line-up includes Willie Nelson & Family, Bonnie Raitt, Alison Krauss, Brothers Osborne with more to be announced.
Tickets for the general public go on sale Friday, June 28th 10 AM ET at ticketmaster.com. VIP packages including great seats and exclusive festival merchandise will be available. Citi is the official presale credit card of the Outlaw Music Festival Tour. As such, Citi cardmembers will have access to purchase presale tickets beginning Tuesday, June 25th at 10AM ET until Thursday, June 26th at 10PM ET through Citi EntertainmentSM. For complete presale details visit www.citientertainment.com.
"The second leg of the Outlaw Music Festival Tour with all my friends is going to be a blast," says Willie Nelson. "We'll see you out there this summer!"
"Family. That's what this touring group of artists, fans, and friends are when we come together for our annual Outlaw Music Festival Tour. We are thrilled to announce the second leg with Willie and this extraordinary group of artists" says Keith Wortman, CEO of Blackbird Presents.
The inaugural Outlaw Music Festival made its debut in 2016 in Scranton, PA featuring Willie Nelson & Family, Neil Young + Promise of the Real, Sheryl Crow, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Lee Ann Womack, and others. The sold-out show was so well received that Blackbird and Nelson decided to take their band of outlaws on the road as a touring festival in both 2017 and 2018. Last year, the Outlaw Tour hosted more than 200,000 fans in amphitheaters and arenas all over the country. From Willie Nelson to Neil Young to Bob Dylan to Van Morrison to Alison Krauss to Sheryl Crow to Sturgill Simpson to Margo Price, fans have shared unforgettable music memories and enjoyed unique vendor villages with local food, drinks, and shopping. VIP ticketholders got a front row experience and exclusive merchandise.
Fantastic Negrito is marking the one year anniversary of his GRAMMY® Award-winning album, PLEASE DON'T BE DEAD, with the premiere of a powerful new companion video. "The Suit That Won't Come Off" is streaming now at Fantastic Negrito's official YouTube channel HERE. A special closed captioned version of the video is also available to stream on Fantastic Negrito's official Facebook page with a donation link to the Braille Institute.
Shot on location at the Swiss Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale, "The Suit That Won't Come Off" was directed by acclaimed 18-year-old filmmaker Freddy Macdonald - his third collaboration with Fantastic Negrito following "The Duffler" (shot on location at the Baden Blues Festival in Switzerland) and "A Boy Named Andrew" (filmed at various locations in Milan, Italy). In addition, "The Suit That Won't Come Off" further showcases the remarkable work of dancer Odil Gerfaut and choreographer Angele Carole Chappuis, both of whom are visually handicapped.
"Our freedom comes when we face our fear," says Fantastic Negrito. "It comes when we embrace and celebrate what makes us unique. We grew up feeling like outsiders; a lost tribe. Sometimes isolated or ashamed about what was unique about us. We could not fit into society's repressed fantasies of how the world should look, how it should be. This song is for everyone that ever felt left out, not good enough, imperfect, ridiculed for being different a freak. I am you, you are me, we are we -- A tribe with love in our hearts."
"The Suit That Won't Come Off" is a yet another powerful song off of Fantastic Negrito's GRAMMY®-winning second album, PLEASE DON'T BE DEAD. The expanded edition of the 2018 LP Is available now for streaming and download via Cooking Vinyl and Blackball Universe.
Recently named "Best Blues Album" at the Libera Awards, celebrating independent music and artists, PLEASE DON'T BE DEAD undoubtedly ranked among last year's most important releases, with NPR's Bob Boilen presciently declaring, "Fantastic Negrito won a GRAMMY® for the 'Best Contemporary Blues Album' for 2016's LAST DAYS OF OAKLAND. PLEASE DON'T BE DEAD, with its intense fervor, should make that two years in a row." The New York Times' Jon Pareles hailed the album as "a cranked-up, slow-grinding attack on addiction and consumerism," while the Associated Press wrote, "Negrito puts himself in the middle of the fray with PLEASE DON'T BE DEAD, and offers his songs for the soundtrack of the lives of those who won't give up and are willing to carry on." "Echoes of Zeppelin, The Black Keys, and Jack White are as prevalent as those of Leadbelly or Son House," applauded Glide Magazine. "And, like the jazz artists mentioned, urban aspects of hip-hop, rap, and spoken word filter through as does R&B" Perhaps Entertainment Weekly said it best: "When you've been a small-time drug hustler, experienced a brush with death, a false start as a major label artist, and life as a busker, you're well-positioned to sing the blues - as Fantastic Negrito does on his incendiary, consciousness-raising new album."
Along with "The Suit That Won't Come Off," PLEASE DON'T BE DEAD includes the extraordinary singles, "Plastic Hamburgers," "A Boy Named Andrew," and "The Duffler," the latter of which earned fulsome praise from Rolling Stone: "With its greasy guitar stomp and falsetto vocal delivery, 'The Duffler' fills the middle ground between modern protest music for the political rally and sweaty, sexed-up baby-making music for the bedroom."
Long hailed for his electrifying live performances, Fantastic Negrito is currently in the midst of a truly epic world tour, with dates scheduled through the fall. Highlights include appearances at such legendary gatherings as the UK's Glastonbury (June 29 and 30), his hometown of Oakland, CA's Art + Soul Oakland (July 28), Chicago, IL's Lollapalooza (August 1-4), and Atlanta, GA's AFROPUNK (October 13), along with a range of international festival sets, headline dates, and a sold out show supporting Sting, set for September 2 at Taos, NM's Kit Carson Park. For complete details and ticket information, please visit fantasticnegrito.com/pages/tour.
Fantastic Negrito has spent much of the past two years on the road, including sold out headline shows, stage-stealing festival performances, and a series on North American and European tours supporting his great fan, the late Chris Cornell, as well as Cornell's legendary supergroup Temple of the Dog. 2018 saw major market headline shows (such as the PLEASE DON'T BE DEAD release event at San Francisco's historic Fillmore), dates supporting Sturgill Simpson, sets at such festivals as Arroyo Seco Weekend, Newport Folk Festival, and AFROPUNK FEST, and a spectacular full band performance and interview on CBS This Morning: Saturday, streaming HERE.
FANTASTIC NEGRITO ON TOUR 2019
JUNE
25 - Ancienne Belgique - Brussels, Belgium
26 - LantarenVenster - Rotterdam, Netherlands
27 - Doornroosje - Nijmegen, Netherlands
29 - Glastonbury Festival (The Other Stage) - Pilton, United Kingdom *
30 - Glastonbury Festival (Left Field Stage) - Pilton, United Kingdom *
JULY
2 - New Morning - Paris, France
4 - Festival R.Pop - La Roche Sur Yon, France *
5 - Festival Beauregard - Herouville-saint-clair, France *
6 - Cognac Blues Passions - Saint-laurent-de-cognac, France *
10 - Festival international du blues de Tremblant - Mont-tremblant, Canada *
11 - Theatre Granada - Sherbrooke, Canada
13 - The Sinclair - Cambridge, MA
14 - Green River Festival - Greenfield, MA *
18 - BAM R&B Festival - New York, NY *
26 - FloydFest - Floyd, VA *
28 - Art + Soul Oakland Festival - Oakland, CA *
31 - Saint Andrew's Hall - Detroit, MI
AUGUST
1-4 - Lollapalooza - Chicago, IL *
3 - Lincoln Hall (Lollapalooza Aftershow) - Chicago, IL
22 - Teatro Ibiza - Ibiza, Spain
24 - Greenbelt Festival - Kettering, United Kingdom *
Molly Tuttle has shared the official music video for "Light Came In (Power Went Out)" from her debut album WHEN YOU'RE READY (Compass Records). Filmed in Nashville, TN, the "Light Came In (Power Went Out)" video was directed by Jason Lee Denton. Graced with a clear, true voice and a keen melodic sense, Tuttle has become a word-of-mouth sensation for her incredible flatpicking guitar technique and exhilarating live performances. Tuttle was named "Instrumentalist of the Year'" at the 2018 Americana Music Awards solely on the strength of her debut EP, RISE, and is also a two-time winner of the IBMA's "Guitar Player of the Year" award.
Tuttle began performing at a young age as part of a family bluegrass band with her father and brothers and moved to Nashville four years ago, broadening her musical tastes and building her musical community. Now fronting her own band, she continues to break boundaries and garner the respect of her peers, while selling out shows both here and in the UK. With WHEN YOU'RE READY, Tuttle gets to make the album she always dreamed of making, with a collection of genre-defying, personal songs that prove that she's more than just a virtuoso. Recorded in Nashville with producer Ryan Hewitt (The Avett Brothers, The Lumineers), WHEN YOU'RE READY is the perfect introduction to her astonishing range and versatility and establishes Tuttle as an artist with a long and exciting career ahead of her.
Following packed performances at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Telluride Bluegrass Festival and legendary venues across the country, Tuttle continues her North American tour through August, including such highlights as Newport Folk Festival, Four Corners Folk Festival, and as an opener for Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit on August 23 in Auburn, AL and August 24 in Greenville, SC.
Trojan Jamaica is proud to announce the release of the groundbreaking new compilation, RED, GOLD, GREEN & BLUE, available July 12, 2019 at all music retailers and streaming services.
RED, GOLD, GREEN & BLUE marks the eagerly anticipated debut full-length LP from Trojan Jamaica, the new record label co-founded by musician-producers Zak Starkey and Sharna "Sshh" Liguz. The landmark collection is a stunning array of iconic artists performing classic blues, R&B, and early rock 'n' roll songs that first inspired the reggae revolution.
"The conceptual adventure that became a compilation, RED, GOLD, GREEN & BLUE calls on the black cream of Jamaican artistry, generations of talent spanning decades," writes journalist, writer and musician Vivien Goldman in RED, GOLD, GREEN & BLUE's exclusive liner notes. "Completing a circle, the classic American blues songs performed here, bring out an intriguing tonality in this record's top-notch selection of already flavor-ful voices, familiar and brand new. This modern anthology throws down a creative challenge: how will today's great Jamaican artists, themselves descendants of captured Africans, reinterpret African-American blues songs written and sung by artists who are effectively their own long-lost family?"
Produced by Youth (U2, Paul McCartney) at Trojan Jamaica Studios in Ocho Rios, RED, GOLD, GREEN & BLUE was preceded by a series of acclaimed track releases, including "Man of the World," written by Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green and performed by the legendary Toots and the Maytals; Mykal Rose's stellar "I Put A Spell On You" (originally performed by Screamin' Jay Hawkins); and an exclusive Rob Jevons remix of Bo Diddley's "Gunslinger," performed by reggae legend Big Youth, all which are available now for streaming and download.
All three tracks are joined by vibrant companion videos, streaming now at the official Trojan Jamaica YouTube channel HERE. The official "Man Of The World" visual can be viewed HERE following an exclusive premiere via Rolling Stone, which raved, "Written by Peter Green and released in the pre-Stevie Nicks/Lindsey Buckingham days of Fleetwood Mac, 'Man of the World' is a slow, electric blues number about a world-weary man unable to find love. On their version, Toots and the Maytals kick up the tempo and anchor the track with a fresh, rocksteady groove. Frontman Toots Hibbert delivers a vocal performance that captures all of Green's anguish, especially in the way he wails the song's final line, 'And how I wish I was in love.'" In addition, the official "I Put A Spell On You" companion visual -- featuring a sizzling solo from Jamaican guitar great Ernest Ranglin - is streaming HERE following its own exclusive premiere via Rolling Stone; the official "Gunslinger (Rob Jevons Remix)" video is streaming HERE following its debut via LargeUp.
WATCH "MAN OF THE WORLD" PERFORMED BY TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS
WATCH "I PUT A SPELL ON YOU" PERFORMED BY MYKAL ROSE
WATCH "GUNSLINGER (ROB JEVONS REMIX)" PERFORMED BY BIG YOUTH
Trojan Jamaica arrives with a mandate to explore Jamaica's diverse musical legacy, from its African roots to the endless inspiration of classic and contemporary American soul, R&B, and blues. With that goal in mind, RED, GOLD, GREEN & BLUE sees such groundbreaking stars as Toots & The Maytals, Big Youth, Freddie McGregor, Phylea Carley, Kiddus I, Andrew Tosh, Robbie Shakespeare and Sshh, taking on definitive songs by Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, Peter Green, and Johnny & Shuggie Otis. Backing throughout the 13-track LP comes from a truly extraordinary line-up of legendary musicians, including Starkey (guitar), Sly Dunbar (drum), Robbie Shakespeare (bass), Tony Chin (guitar), Cyril Neville (drums), Michael Rendall (keyboards, organ), and Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace (drums, organ).
"It feels like we are at a pivotal moment in time with regards to the global relevance of roots rock & reggae," says Sshh. "I give thanks every day to the island, its people and the culture that we have been given the opportunity to share it with the world."
The story of Trojan Jamaica began in 2016 when Starkey - known for his superlative work as drummer in The Who, Oasis, and Johnny Marr and the Healers, among countless other musical efforts - and Australian-born artist-musician Sharna "Sshh" Liguz united as SSHH, teaming up to reinvent such seminal songs as Bob Marley and the Wailers' "Get Up Stand Up," performed alongside Eddie Vedder and Carlton "Santa" Davis, George "Fully" Fullwood, and Tony Chin of the pioneering reggae backing outfit known as Soul Syndicate. A video of the performance made its way to Jamaican entrepreneur Kingsley Cooper who immediately invited Starkey and Sshh to perform at the November 2016 opening of the long awaited Peter Tosh Museum in Kingston. Another invitation followed in 2017, inspiring the duo to begin work on what would soon become Trojan Jamaica.
"We felt so warmly welcomed and at home in the musical community that we stayed and recorded all the music that has become Trojan Jamaica," says Starkey. "We're committed to presenting local artists together with international musicians who, like us, have been inspired by roots culture."
Starkey and Sshh were aided in their mission by GRAMMY® Award-winning rhythm section Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, both of whom make indelible contributions throughout RED, GOLD, GREEN & BLUE. An array of genre-spanning session superstars were enlisted, including drummer Cyril Neville (The Meters, The Neville Brothers), guitarist Tony Chin (of the famed Soul Syndicate session outfit), and keyboardist Michael Rendell (The Orb, Pink Floyd). With Youth behind the board, Starkey and Sshh lead this extraordinary band through all new performances of archetypal American music which deeply inspired the reggae revolution but whose influence on Jamaican music and culture is often forgotten.
"I find both reggae music and American blues to be similar with a different approach," Starkey told Jamaica Observer last year. "Very cleverly, Jamaican music is 'up' music with a serious message. US blues has a very similar message in the words but the music can be harder or more 'down', but both rock just as hard."
FRANK TURNER has announced details of his forthcoming eighth new album, NO MAN'S LAND, released on August 16th on Xtra Mile Recordings/Polydor Records. With GRAMMY® winning producer Catherine Marks (St. Vincent, Local Natives) at the helm and featuring a dynamic cast of all-female musicians, NO MAN'S LAND is an album dedicated to telling the fascinating stories of women whose incredible lives have all too often been overlooked. "These stories should have been told already," says Turner of the album and its accompanying podcast series, "Tales From No Man's Land" which launches its first episode today. "And I suspect if they were men they would be better known."
The women featured on the album's 13 tracks come from across wide geographical and historical lines. There's Byzantine princess Kassiani (The Hymn of Kassiani), Egyptian feminist activist Huda Sha'arawi (The Lioness), and Resusci Anne (Rescue Annie), an apocryphal drowned virgin whose face was used as the model for the medical CPR mannequin across the world ("You can't not write a song about a woman who died never having been kissed and then became the most kissed face in history," reasons Turner). There's the serial killer from the Deep South who plucked her victims from lonely hearts pages (Nannie Doss), the jazz-obsessed heiress who fought for the Free French (Nica Rothschild), a rowdy coach house landlady from 17th century Camden Town accused of witchcraft (Jinny Bigham), the Wild West vaudeville star shot by a smalltown outlaw (Dora Hand). These are just a few of the fascinating characters who feature on No Man's Land and have long been ignored by the mainstream.
"It's bringing together my two main interests in life, which have always been separate from each other - history and songwriting," explains Turner, who can be found seeking out long-forgotten historical sites on self-guided psychogeographical strolls when he's not packing out arenas or headlining festivals.
First single 'Sister Rosetta' is about the unparalleled Sister Rosetta Tharpe, one of the most important and influential musicians in American History. On it you can hear guitar breaks lifted from Tharpe's own back catalogue. "Which I found challenging, because she's a way better guitar player than me," admits Turner.
Despite the record's implicit feminism, it doesn't see Turner's clambering onto any kind of soapbox. "It's not telling anyone what to do or how to live or how to be," he explains, prepared for a variety of different reactions to the project, including those who might be wondering if it's really his place to be singing songs of disenfranchised women. "If there was a crowded field of people writing songs about Princess Kassiani then I would see the argument for me bowing out, but there isn't," he states. "No-one else is writing these songs right now. That's why I want to share these stories."
NO MAN'S LAND also includes perhaps the most revelatory song of Turner's career. Written in tribute to his mother, Rosemary Jane honors her grit and determination through the harder parts of his childhood.
No stranger to appearing on other people's shows, Turner's own podcast "Tales From No Man's Land" takes a deep dive into each song, like a sonic Cliffs Notes. Produced in collaboration with Somethin' Else content agency, it sees Turner talking to historians and experts at places important to the women on the record, from Jinny Bingham's coach house - which is now Camden's Underworld venue - to Cleveland's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame which only last year honored Rosetta Tharpe, the Dodge City's Boot Hill Museum and Southwark's Cross Bones graveyard. Each finishes up with Turner singing an acoustic version of the song. "I'm not someone who believes in the supernatural, but there's definitely an imprint when you're at the place that was important to them," says Turner. "It feels like a nice honoring, and a way to say 'hey, we're still thinking about you'."
The first episode of the podcast is out now. There will be 13 episodes, releasing weekly and the podcast will be available from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast and all other podcast platforms.
NO MAN'S LAND
(Xtra Mile Recordings/Polydor Records)
Tracklisting
1. Jinny Bingham's Ghost
2. Sister Rosetta
3. I Believed You, William Blake
4. Nica
5. A Perfect Wife
6. Silent Key
7. Eye of the Day
8. The Death of Dora Hand
9. The Graveyard of the Outcast Dead
10. The Lioness
11. The Hymn of Kassiani
12. Rescue Annie
13. Rosemary Jane
FRANK TURNER
UK SUMMER TOUR DATES
JULY
4th Coventry Empire (Solo Show Benefit for Wayout Arts)
5th Ashton Hall, Lancaster (Solo Show Benefit for Morecambe Food Bank)
Slightly Stoopid have put out an emotionally charged video for their song “One More Night”, off their latest album Everyday Life, Everyday People, which was released in 2018.
The video features vintage footage of the band over the last 20+ years, a retrospective of many milestones and collaborations in the band’s career, including performances from early days with Bradley Nowell (Sublime), Snoop Dogg (2009), Bob Weir (2011), Karl Denson, Sly and Robbie, Half Pint, and Pepper (2008).
“I’m excited for the release of the ‘One More Night’ video. This song takes you through the journey and trials of always leaving family and friends behind back at home. Life on the road is not always easy, and this song reflects the thoughts that go through my mind on the open road.”
-Miles Doughty
Slightly Stoopid is currently on their "How I Spent My Summer Vacation 2019 Tour" with Matisyahu, Tribal Seeds and HIRIE. After a trip to Germany to play the Summerjam Festival, their US tour will pick back up on July 11 in Bonner, MT.
HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION 2019 TOUR
JULY
JUL 07 Cologne, Germany - Summerjam Festival
JUL 11 Bonner, MT - KettleHouse Amphitheater
JUL 12 Boise, ID - Outlaw Field at Idaho Botanical Garden
JUL 13 Bend, OR - Les Schwab Amphitheater
JUL 14 Redmond, WA - King County’s Marymoor Park
JUL 19 Patchogue, NY - Great South Bay Music Festival
JUL 20 Garrettsville, OH - Nelson Ledges Quarry Park
JUL 21 Chicago, IL - Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
JUL 25 Kansas City, MO - Crossroads KC
JUL 26 Dallas, TX - Bomb Factory
JUL 27 New Braunfels, TX - Whitewater Amphitheater
JUL 28 Houston, TX - The Lawn at White Oak Music Hall
AUGUST
AUG 01 Bakersfield, CA - Spectrum Amphitheatre
AUG 02 Avila Beach, CA - Avila Beach Golf Resort
AUG 03 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre
AUG 04 Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl
AUG 15 Flagstaff, AZ - Pepsi Amphitheater
AUG 16 Albuquerque, NM - Villa Hispana
AUG 17 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheater
AUG 20 Benicassim, Spain - Rototom Sunsplash
AUG 21 Vienna, Austria - Afrika Festival Vienna
AUG 24 Heber City, UT - Reggae Rise Up
AUG 29 Palmer, AK - Alaska State Fair
AUG 31 Placerville, CA - Dry Diggings Festival
DECEMBER
DEC 05 Riviera Maya, Mexico - Closer To The Sun @ Hard Rock
DEC 06 Riviera Maya, Mexico - Closer To The Sun @ Hard Rock
DEC 07 Riviera Maya, Mexico - Closer To The Sun @ Hard Rock
DEC 08 Riviera Maya, Mexico - Closer To The Sun @ Hard Rock
DEC 09 Riviera Maya, Mexico - Closer To The Sun @ Hard Rock
A few months after the Allman Brothers Band released their revered fourth studio album Brothers And Sisters, legendary frontman, vocalist, pianist Gregg Allman stepped out on his own with his masterful debut solo album Laid Back. Co-produced by Allman along with Johnny Sandlin, the collection of songs was a creative outlet where he was able to assume full control and explore his varying influences, including rhythm and blues and soul music. Exemplified by the album title's relaxed approach, the songs were a departure from his band's guitar-heavy sound in favor of gospel-tinged organs, slower tempos and a choir, all of which beautifully buoyed Allman's soulful, and at times, mournful vocals. On several songs he sounds like a man reflecting on the last few tumultuous years which included the deaths of his bandmates, brother Duane Allman and Berry Oakley, hard touring and incredible success. Of the album, NPR wrote, "It's amazing stuff, deep and intense yet nowhere near the decibel levels of his work with the band. Allman is amazing when he's belting his heart out about being tied to the whipping post. But he's equally compelling - maybe even more so - in a quieter space, when he's less fired up." Upon release in October 1973, Laid Back received positive reviews and peaked at number 13 on Billboard's Top LPs & Tape chart while "Midnight Rider" became a top 20 hit across North America. To support the album, Allman embarked on an unprecedented tour accompanied by a 24-piece orchestra comprising members of the New York Philharmonic, which was captured for posterity on 1974's The Gregg Allman Tour live album.
To honor this creatively fertile period in the late musician's life, Mercury/UMe are reissuing Laid Back in a variety of formats, including a remastered and expanded Deluxe Edition on 2CDs and digital, 180-gram black vinyl and a 180-gram limited purple and white marbled color vinyl edition. Allman's iconic live album The Gregg Allman Tour will also be released on 2LP vinyl for the first time since 1987. In addition to a 180-gram black vinyl pressing there will also be a limited color pressing on 180-gram grey and white marble vinyl. All releases will be available August 30 and are available for preorder now. The digital preorder of Laid Back includes an instant grat download of the unreleased demo of the Jackson Browne classic "These Days," which is also available to stream now.
The new Deluxe Edition of Laid Back expands the original album, which features tunes like "Please Call Home," covers of "These Days" and "Will The Circle Be Unbroken," and a different take on the Allman Brothers' "Midnight Rider," to 34 tracks and includes 26 bonus tracks of previously unreleased or rare songs or new mixes. Early mixes of all eight songs are featured alongside the remastered album on disc one while disc two includes demos, outtakes, alternates and a breathtaking solo acoustic live performance of "Melissa" from the Capitol Theatre on April 13, 1974. The 2CD Deluxe Edition of Laid Back includes beautiful new packaging with unreleased photos and extensive liner notes by noted Allman Brothers Band historian John Lynskey. Tracks have been newly remastered from the original Laid Back analog album masters, as well as from analog and digital archival masters. Laid Back digital configurations will include HD 192kHz 24-bit and 96kHz 24-bit, Mastered for iTunes and standard streaming/download; while the Laid Back Deluxe Edition digital configurations include standard streaming/download and Mastered for iTunes.
Out of print on vinyl for over 30 years, The Gregg Allman Tour double LP, available on both 180-gram black vinyl and 180-gram grey and white marble vinyl, has been remastered from the original stereo analog tapes. This vinyl reissue mimics the original double LP with sides one and four pressed on disc one, and sides two and three pressed on disc two which optimizes playback for multi-disc turntables. Recorded over three nights at Carnegie Hall in New York on April 10 & 11, 1974 and at the Capitol Theatre in New Jersey on April 13, 1974, Allman along with members of the band Cowboy (Scott Boyer, Randall Bramblett, David Brown, Chuck Leavell, Bill Stewart, Tommy Talton), and a 24-piece orchestra performed songs from his debut solo album Laid Back alongside several laid-back reworkings of Allman Brothers Band songs like "Stand Back" and "Dreams." The album also features spirited covers of "Turn On Your Love Light," "Are You Lonely For Me Baby" and the Elvis Presley hit "I Feel So Bad," as well as two tracks by Cowboy who take the reins with their songs "Time Will Take Us" and "Where Can You Go?," the latter featuring Allman on keys.The record is also notable for its inclusion of "Oncoming Traffic," a song that Allman said he was especially proud of and that wasn't featured on any studio releases. Digital configurations will include HD 192kHz 24-bit and 96kHz 24-bit, Mastered for iTunes and standard streaming/download.
Laid Back and The Gregg Allman Tour showcase a remarkable time in Allman's career when he set off on his own to explore a different side of his artistry where he was fully at the helm. Taken together these albums allow for an opportunity for fans to immerse themselves in the making of his solo album and the celebratory tour that followed.
LAID BACK DELUXE EDITION TRACK LIST
CD1
LAID BACK remastered
Midnight Rider
Queen Of Hearts
Please Call Home
Don't Mess Up A Good Thing
These Days
Multi-Colored Lady
All My Friends
Will The Circle Be Unbroken
LAID BACK early mixes
Midnight Rider (Early Mix)*
Queen Of Hearts (Early Mix)
Please Call Home (Early Mix)*
Don't Mess Up A Good Thing (Early Mix)*
These Days (Early Mix)*
Multi-Colored Lady (Early Mix)
All My Friends (Early Mix)*
Will The Circle Be Unbroken (Early Mix)*
CD2
LAID BACK demos, outtakes & alternates
Never Knew How Much (Demo)**
All My Friends (Demo)
Please Call Home (Demo)*
Queen Of Hearts (Demo)*
God Rest His Soul (Solo Guitar & Vocal Demo)
Rollin' Stone (Catfish Blues) (Solo Guitar & Vocal Demo)**
Will The Circle Be Unbroken (Solo Guitar & Vocal Demo)
Multi-Colored Lady (Solo Guitar & Vocal Demo)
These Days (Solo Guitar, Piano & Vocal Demo)*
Shadow Dream Song (Solo Guitar & Vocal Demo)
Wasted Words**
These Days (Alternate Version with Pedal Steel Guitar)
Multi-Colored Lady (Rough Mix)*
These Days (Rough Mix)*
God Rest His Soul (Rehearsal)
Midnight Rider (Rehearsal)*
Song For Adam / Shadow Dream Song (Solo Guitar & Vocal Demo)
Today, Billy Strings has released his debut single “Taking Water” off the forthcoming album HOME (Rounder). Rolling Stone Country exclusively premiered “Taking Water,” calling it “gripping” and adding that Billy Strings is “one of string music’s most dynamic young stars.”
Billy Strings has been hailed as the future of bluegrass, transcending tradition and genre with his high velocity, flat-picking guitar technique and intense, confessional songwriting.
HOME is undoubtedly the Michigan-born, Nashville-based artist’s bravest excursion thus far, reshaping bluegrass into his own exceptional form, completely rewiring the aesthetic with elements of punk, country, folk rock, and genuine psychedelic exploration to fashion something altogether original and all his own.
HOME is Strings’ second studio album and is due out on Sept 27. Pre order is available now
HOME TRACK LISTING
Taking Water
Must Be Seven
Running
Away From The Mire
Home
Watch It Fall
Long Forgotten Dream
Highway Hypnosis
Enough To Leave
Hollow Heart
Love Like Me
Everything’s The Same
Guitar Peace
Freedom
Fall 2019 tour dates have recently been announced including several two-night stops in Atlanta, San Francisco, Portland, Carrboro, Charlottesville, Boston and Brooklyn.
A full list of tour dates and up to date news is available at billystrings.com
Billy Strings Tour Dates
7/12 Snowshoe, WV - 4848 Festival
7/18-7/20 Oak Hill, NY - Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival
7/24 Berlin, MD - Burley Oak Brewery
7/25 Scranton, PA - Peach Music Festival
7/26 Hiram, ME - Ossipee Valley Music Festival
7/28 Newport, RI - Newport Folk Fest
7/31 Piketon, OH - Pike County Fair
8/3 Buffalo, NY - Cobblestone Live Music & Arts Festival
8/10 Lexington, KY - Railbird Music Festival
8/16 Hamilton, OH - Whimmydiddle Country Music Festival
8/17 Cockeysville, MD -Hot August Music Festival
8/18 Wellston, MI - Hoxeyville Music Festival
8/30 Beaver Creek, CO - VPAC Summer Concert Series
8/31 Pagosa Springs, CO - Four Corners Folk Festival
9/1 Steamboat Springs, CO - Steamboat Summer Concert Series
9/5 Atlanta, GA - Terminal West
9/6 Atlanta, GA - Terminal West
9/7 Athens, GA - Georgia Theater
9/11 Nashville, TN - Americanafest
9/15 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
9/17 Salt Lake City, UT - Commonwealth Room
9/19 Crystal Bay, NV - Crown Room
9/20 San Francisco, CA - The Independent
9/21 San Francisco, CA - The Independent
9/22 Santa Cruz, CA - Santa Cruz Sol Music Festival
9/26 Portland, OR - Revolution Hall
9/27 Portland, OR - Revolution Hall
9/28 Seattle, WA - The Showbox
10/3 Paso Robles, CA - Barrel House Brew Co.
10/4 Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room
10/6 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Music Festival
10/9 Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom
10/11 Eureka Springs, AR - Hillberry Music Festival
Multi-platinum selling singer-songwriter Ben Folds is known for his musical genius and spontaneous creativity - composing a song with the National Symphony Orchestra live (http://bit.ly/BenFoldsNSOLive), collaborating with the likes of Sara Bareilles, Regina Spektor and William Shatner, serving as a judge for five seasons on NBC's acclaimed a capella show The Sing-Off, being named the first-ever artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, being an outspoken champion for arts education and music therapy. It's not been an easy road to get to where he is today, but the ups and downs are what Folds insists are essential for any artist.
Now, Folds looks back at his life so far in a charming and wise chronicle of his artistic coming-of-age, infused with the wry observations of a natural storyteller. In his first book A DREAM ABOUT LIGHTNING BUGS (*Ballantine hardcover goes on sale July 30*), he opens up about finding his voice as a musician, becoming a rock anti-hero, and hauling a baby grand piano on and off stage for every performance.
A native of North Carolina, Folds writes that as an infant his cradle was a cardboard box, while his family's mode of transportation was a doorless convertible jeep, where a 4-month-old Ben would sit in catapult position. He discovered his love of the piano in second grade, and from there we follow his journey to becoming the musician he wanted to be.
Along the way there are great lessons - supportive music teachers pushing him, dropping out of college to start a real band (*drums were thrown into a lake at the University of Miami*). He puts it all out there, writing about the bad - a botched SNL performance where he couldn't even enjoy hanging out with Samuel L. Jackson at the after party; and the good - he and two other young men eventually forming Ben Folds Five. He paid his dues (*his polka career never quite took off*), while never giving up on his dream. A DREAM ABOUT LIGHTNING BUGS is as humorous as it is poignant, as observant/revelatory as it is compulsively readable.
Folds hits the road starting in late July for a cross country concert tour, featuring his book at every performance, as well as holding stand-alone book events along the way.
What you might not know about Ben Folds:
He is serving as Chairman of ArtsVote 2020 -- a major initiative of the Arts Action Fund and Americans For The Arts (the nation's largest grass roots arts advocacy organization with 400K+ members) to ensure that arts policy is a part of the political dialogue in the 2020 presidential and congressional races.
He is serving as the first-ever Artistic Advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center where he curates special performances.
He is hosting a podcast series of interviews with the 2020 presidential candidates focusing on their positions regarding arts funding for our public schools and communities.
He will be attending both political party conventions in 2020 to present a policy paper on the arts (he was the only artist to speak and perform at both conventions in 2016).
He once teamed up with renowned Broadway composers, playwrights, directors, choreographers and actors to create and perform a musical in less than 24 hours.
He once sparked an international grassroots campaign that saved the historic, iconic Studio A in Nashville from demolition.
He performed in the first ever live webcast on MySpace.
He once leaked on the internet an entire fake version of his album Way To Normal before the real album was officially released.
He is also an accomplished photographer whose work has been featured by National Geographic, in gallery showcases in Europe and Australia, and the focus of a documentary by the Kennedy Center.
He is the co-creator with Fred Rogers Productions of a new film/TV series currently in development that teaches kids about the building blocks of music.
Ben Folds is an American musician who has created an enormous body of genre-bending music that includes pop albums with Ben Folds Five, multiple solo albums, a classical piano concerto, and collaborations with artists ranging from Regina Spektor to William Shatner. Folds, who was also a judge for five seasons on NBC's acclaimed a capella show The Sing-Off, was named the first ever artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in 2017. He is an outspoken champion for arts education and music therapy, serving on the distinguished Artist Committee of Americans for the Arts, and as chairman of the national ArtsVote 2020 initiative.
UPCOMING BOOK EVENTS
JULY
31 - New York, NY - The Strand @ The Cooper Union
AUGUST
5 - Pittsburgh, PA - White Whale Bookstore @ First Unitarian Church
7 - Winston-Salem, NC - Bookmarks @ R. J. Reynolds Auditorium
9 - Nashville, TN - Parnassus Books @ TBC
12 - Ann Arbor, MI - Literati Bookstore @ The Blind Pig
16 - Kansas City, MO - Rainy Day Books @ Unity Temple
SEPTEMBER
12 - San Francisco, CA - San Francisco Jewish Community Center
16 - Los Angeles, CA - Book Soup @ Regent Theater DTLA
21 - Dallas, TX - Dallas Museum of Art
OCTOBER
1 - Washington, DC - Politics & Prose @ Kennedy Center
LOCKN' is excited to unveil its annual assortment of unprecedented artist collaborations. In addition to its already remarkable 2019 lineup, this year's edition of the four-day multi-stage camping festival will boast an array of truly extraordinary onstage partnerships, once again affirming LOCKN' among the world's most exciting and unique summer gatherings. LOCKN' takes place August 22-25 in Arrington, VA at Infinity Downs, LOCKN's 387-acre property located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. GA and VIP tickets are available now exclusively at www.locknfestival.com/tickets.
Among the just-announced collaborations are Soulive with The Infinity Horns, Vulfpeck's Cory Wong with Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, John Kadlecik with Melvin Seals & JGB, The Soul Rebels with Steel Pulse, Blues Traveler's John Popper with Twiddle, and Mikaela Davis with Bob Weir & Wolf Bros Feat. Susan Tedeschi. Set for Saturday, August 24, Oteil & Friends will now feature Bob Weir, Devon Allman, Duane Betts, Melvin Seals, Neal Casal, Eric Krasno, Jen Hartswick, Nat Cressman, and Jay Lane. In addition, LOCKN's popular Piano on the Porch will include sets from the Doobie Decibel Duo, Cory Henry, and Joey Dosik.
As if all that weren't enough, Sunday, August 25, will also see guitar hero Marcus King collaborating with multiple artists throughout the day, joining a diverse range of musicians onstage whenever the chemistry strikes.
As noted, LOCKN' 2019 will showcase a truly amazing range of artists performing over the four-day event, highlighted by a number of already-announced artist collaborations. Thursday, August 22, will feature Joe Russo's Almost Dead, Gary Clark Jr., Khruangbin, Andy Frasco & The U.N., Midnight North, Audacity Brass Band and more.
Friday, August 23, will include headliners Trey Anastasio Band feat. Derek Trucks alongside The Revivalists, Old Crow Medicine Show, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, Melvin Seals & JGB w/John Kadlecik, Moonalice collaborating with The Chambers Brothers, Greg Humphreys Electric Trio, and Surprise Attack.
Saturday, August 24, will see Anastasio returning the favor by joining Tedeschi Trucks Band during their second set, topping a star-studded bill that also includes Vulfpeck, Oteil & Friends feat. Bob Weir with Devon Allman, Duane Betts & more, Twiddle feat. John Popper, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Allman Betts Band, Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles, Liz Cooper & The Stampede, and Free Union.
Sunday, August 25, will be headlined by Bob Weir and Wolf Bros feat. Susan Tedeschi in the second set, along with Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, moe., St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Steel Pulse feat. The Soul Rebels, Nahko and Medicine For The People, The Soul Rebels, Deva Mahal, and Keller Williams' Grateful Gospel.
Each day, LOCKN's beloved Garcia's Forest will feature an array of early and late shows throughout the festival weekend, with performers including Fruition, The Lil Smokies, and Town Mountain (Early Shows) and Galactic, Soulive feat. Infinity Horns, and Circles Around The Sun (Late Shows).
Super VIP Tent performances will also take place each day, featuring David Shaw, Mihali, and Bob Weir and Wolf Bros on Thursday; Fruition, The Lil Smokies, Town Mountain, and J.E.D.I. feat. Aaron Johnston, Marc Brownstein, Aaron Magner, DJ Logic on Friday; Doobie Decibel Duo, Cory Henry, and Joey Dosik on Saturday; and special guest Marcus King on Sunday.
LOCKN' is once again offering a Three-Day Weekend Pass in addition to its traditional Four-Day Festival Pass, allowing fans with tighter schedules to still see all the bands performing at LOCKN' for a lower price. Single-Day Festival Passes are also available. For complete details, please visit www.locknfestival.com/tickets.
The complete 2019 LOCKN' Festival lineup is below:
GARCIA'S FOREST: EARLY SHOWS
Fruition
The Lil Smokies
Town Mountain
Jerry Dance Party
GARCIA'S FOREST: LATE SHOWS
Galactic
Soulive feat. Infinity Horns
Circles Around The Sun
Jerry Dance Party
SUPER VIP TENT SHOWS
THURSDAY, AUGUST 22 - SUPER VIP
David Shaw
Mihali
Bob Weir and Wolf Bros
FRIDAY, AUGUST 23 - SUPER VIP
Fruition
The Lil Smokies
Town Mountain
J.E.D.I. - feat. Aaron Johnston, Marc Brownstein, Aaron Magner, and DJ Logic
SATURDAY, AUGUST 24 - PIANO ON THE PORCH
Doobie Decibel Duo
Cory Henry
Joey Dosik
SUNDAY, AUGUST 25 - SPECIAL GUEST
Marcus King
# # #
THURSDAY, AUGUST 22
Joe Russo's Almost Dead
Gary Clark Jr.
Khruangbin
Andy Frasco & The U.N.
Midnight North
Audacity Brass Band
Jerry Dance Party
FRIDAY, AUGUST 23
Trey Anastasio Band feat. Derek Trucks
The Revivalists
Old Crow Medicine Show
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong feat. Cory Wong
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
Melvin Seals & JGB w/John Kadlecik
Moonalice w/ The Chambers Brothers
Greg Humphreys Electric Trio
Surprise Attack
SATURDAY, AUGUST 24
Tedeschi Trucks Band feat. Trey Anastasio
Vulfpeck
Oteil & Friends feat. Bob Weir with Devon Allman, Duane Betts & More
Twiddle feat. John Popper
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
The Allman Betts Band
Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles
Liz Cooper & The Stampede
Free Union
SUNDAY, AUGUST 25
Bob Weir and Wolf Bros feat. Susan Tedeschi
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit
moe.
St. Paul & The Broken Bones
Steel Pulse feat. The Soul Rebels
Nahko and Medicine For The People
The Soul Rebels
Deva Mahal
Keller Williams' Grateful Gospel
For complete details, ticket availability and more, please visit www.locknfestival.com
Vida Blue - Page McConnell - keyboard, vocals (Phish), Oteil Burbridge - bass (Dead & Company, Allman Brothers Band), Russell Batiste - drums (The Meters), and Adam Zimmon - guitar (Ziggy Marley, Shakira) -- has announced the release of their first album in 15 years. CROSSING LINES arrives digitally Friday, September 20. The vinyl and CD version of the album will be released in October and can be pre-ordered at drygoods.phish.com. The album's first song, "Analog Delay," which Rolling Stone called a "psych-funk epic," is available digitally now and quickly reminds the listener that Vida Blue features one of the tightest and most creative rhythm sections working today. As he has on past Vida Blue releases, McConnell eschews traditional piano and organ sounds and draws on an array of vintage keyboards to showcase his expansive songwriting.
CROSSING LINES was produced by McConnell at Miami, FL's famed Criteria Studios, and sees the original trio joined by the Florida-based Afro-Cuban-electronic septet Spam Allstars, as well as by new member Zimmon on guitar, who toured with the band in 2004. CROSSING LINES also features an exclusive cover illustration by McConnell.
Vida Blue, the band McConnell assembled in 2001 after attending shows by both Burbridge and Batiste, made their live debut with a New Year's Eve performance at New York City's renowned Roseland Ballroom before heading to New Orleans' Piety Street Recording Studios to record their self-titled studio album, VIDA BLUE, released to critical acclaim in June 2002. Vida Blue toured that year and the next, releasing THE ILLUSTRATED BAND in 2003.
Vida Blue will mark the arrival of CROSSING LINES with a very special series of live performances in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, and Port Chester, NY. Ticket pre-sales begin tomorrow, Wednesday, July 24, at 10 am (local); tickets for the September 18 show at Washington, DC's 9:30 Club go on sale Thursday, July 25; tickets for The Fillmore in Philadelphia, PA (September 20) and Port Chester, NY's Capitol Theatre (September 21) go on sale Friday, July 26. For complete details and ticket availability, please see pagemcconnell.com.
Spafford just recently finished an extensive Spring/Summer tour, and are excited to announce brand new Fall tour dates, dubbed the “Fall Into Place Tour,” the band will be traveling throughout the Midwest and mountain states. The band has also announced their four show New Year’s Eve Run, with two shows in West Hollywood and two shows in San Francisco.
The band is excited to announce that they will be offering exclusive VIP packages for the Nashville, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Ann Arbor, Chicago, Denver, Santa Fe, Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, LA, and San Francisco dates.
Fans can purchase tickets for the newly announced tour dates beginning Wednesday, July 24, 10am local time through Thursday, July 25, 10pm local time via artist pre-sale at spafford.net.
Spafford is known for their astonishing improvisational ability, which they’ll use to play live off the cuff extended jams. Each song is a blank canvas, and Spafford paints a picture in real time each night with a musical palette known only to each other. It’s a private language comprised of their talent as musicians, and of their formidable catalog of influences - ranging from Steely Dan, electronic acts like The Crystal Method, to 90’s alt rock radio hits. The group is in high demand at music festivals like Bonnaroo and Firefly and consistently play sold out shows across the United States.
Every show is a sonic pilgrimage – the journey of a team of musicians so in tune with each other that a single note communicates intent and purpose.
All up to date news and tour info at spafford.net.
Vevo announces the release of Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real's live performances of "Bad Case" and "Where Does Love Go" off their new album
Turn Off The News (Build A Garden). Lukas Nelson knows all about legacies, indeed he's been hard at work carving his own for most of his young but extremely eventful life. Balancing his work as the front man of Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real - an emergent and vital force in American music - with his regular gig as Neil Young's band leader and lead guitarist - and of course, the never-ending road alongside his father in Willie Nelson & Family - in song after song, on stage after stage, Lukas has sharpened the edges of his singular sound, one that nods to his influences while also pushing forward into uncharted territory. That original sound, straddling rock and roll, country, soul, folk and R&B, reaches a new high-water mark with
Turn Off The News (Build A Garden), Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real's second full-length release for Fantasy Records.
Turn Off The News (Build A Garden) likewise arrives on the heels of Lukas' high-profile collaboration with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper on 2018's blockbuster film and soundtrack, A Star is Born. Lukas not only co-wrote and co-produced much of the film's multi-platinum, Oscar-winning soundtrack, he also worked closely with Cooper in crafting Jackson Maine's musical persona. In a classic case of art imitating life, Nelson, along with his real-life cohorts in Promise of the Real appear in the movie too, performing as Cooper's (Jackson Maine's) backing band just as they've performed with Young for years. Lukas, Gaga and Cooper recently won the BAFTA Award for Film Music, just one of the many accolades bestowed on the acclaimed project since its release.
That collaborative spirit runs throughout Turn Off The News (Build A Garden), whose songs include guest turns from Young, Margo Price, Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, Micah Nelson, Kesha, Shooter Jennings, Lucius, Randy Houser, Madison Ryann Ward, and Hunter Elizabeth. Yet, whether it's the sweeping, Roy Orbison-influenced production of "Where Does Love Go," or the Traveling Wilburys' rootsy resonance on the irresistible, "Bad Case," ultimately it's Lukas' indelible songwriting that makes the songs on this album so special.
"Bad Case" and "Where Does Love Go" are now streaming on all platforms. Keep up with exclusive content from artists all over the world on YouTube.com/Vevo
Two-time GRAMMY-nominated blues-rock sensation Joe Bonamassa today announces U.S. tour dates for spring 2020, as he gears up for his summer tour embarking on major venues across the East Coast and Midwest in North America. For the newly announced dates next year, Bonamassa leaves no fans behind, making stops through the South and Midwest with performances scheduled for multiple cities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Idaho and Washington. Hailed internationally as one of the greatest guitar players of his generation, Bonamassa has almost single-handedly redefined the blues-rock genre and brought it into the mainstream.
Bonamassa is one of today's top live performers and his enthusiastic live shows are one of the biggest parts of his career, and a favorite for music lovers worldwide. His upcoming dates for the rest of 2019 and newly added shows for 2020 will be no exception! This summer, his tour kicked off yesterday, July 22nd at Nashville's trademark staple Ryman Auditorium and ends at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO, where he'll play a one-of-a-kind celebration, both are venues that Bonamassa has previously sold out! Red Rocks includes two incredible nights of two very different set lists as he celebrates the five-year anniversary of his first-time performing there. Then his fall season include three nights at New York's incredible Beacon Theatre, amongst other iconic venues.
The 2020 performances will feature a signature selection from his vast catalogue, with classics, reinventions and fan favorites, backed by a stellar band of legendary musicians including Late Night with David Letterman's Anton Fig (drums), Nashville recording legend Michael Rhodes (bass), Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and member of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Reese Wynans (piano/organ), Paulie Cerra (sax), Lee Thornburg (trumpet), and two incredible backup singers, Mahalia Barnes and Jade MacRae.
With his most recent album, Redemption, Bonamassa achieved his 21st #1 album on the Billboard Blues Chart. It's his most ambitious, barrier-breaking studio album yet. With over 30 albums to his credit thus far, including studio and live recordings, collaborative albums with blues sensation Beth Hart, and side projects Black Country Communion and Rock Candy Funk Party, the living legend somehow always finds ways to reinvent his artistry.
As Bonamassa is currently in the process of writing his much-anticipated next studio album, audiences can expect to be surprised with some new tracks on his spring tour in 2020. As an artist who spends nearly 200 days a year on the road and his spare time writing new songs, Bonamassa is always curating new ways to diversify his craft, hitting the stage with fervor, and bringing awe and amazement to crowds everywhere.
Tickets for the newly announced dates go to pre-sale today and are on sale to the public July 26th via jbonamassa.com/tour-dates.
Today's announcement follows recent news of two sold-out festivals at sea as part of Bonamassa's Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation, which greatly benefits music education across the entire nation, and their long-lasting partnership with Sixthman. This includes the 5th sold-out Caribbean sailing of Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea in February this year, and the forthcoming maiden voyage in the Mediterranean set for August and 2020's upcoming Caribbean cruise. The Mediterranean edition of Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea will feature performances by Peter Frampton, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, and dozens more blues artists. Festival cruises are quickly becoming one of the most exciting musical experiences available for fans, being able to vacation and see some of today's biggest names all at the same time.
Catch Bonamassa as host of the weekly radio show Different Shades of Blue with Joe Bonamassa on SiriusXM's Bluesville at 6pm ET every Monday via SiriusXM channel 74. He explores all aspects of the blues music genre like never before and curates an eclectic mix of everything from legendary classics to historical deep cuts and modern hits.
The Ballroom Thieves are coming off a weekend playing a handful of surprise pop-up sets at Newport Folk Festival and are thrilled to announce that they will be joining Caamp this fall for several West Coast dates including stops in LA, Portland and Seattle.
The Ballroom Thieves - Calin "Callie" Peters (vocals, cello), Martin Earley (guitar, vocals), and Devin Mauch (percussion, vocals) - mine immense melodies and hypnotic hooks from personal stories on their 2018 EP, Paper Crown (Nettwerk Records). Under the cover of vintage jazz-style, the five songs reflect feelings of rootlessness from four nomadic years, bouts of depression, and the ever-looming specter of political unrest hanging over the country.
Nevertheless, a noticeable glimmer of light always peeks through.
TOUR DATES
9/10-9/14 - Americana Fest
9/12 - Nashville, TN @ Exit/In*
10/15 - Phoenix @ The Crescent Ballroom w/ Caamp
10/16 - Los Angeles @ The Fonda Theatre w/ Caamp
10/18 - Santa Ana @ The Observatory w/ Caamp
10/19 - Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern w/ Caamp
The Allman Betts Band recently released the official music video for their single "Shinin'" - the video premiered exclusively via Classic Rock Germany. The band is currently on their "Down To The River" world tour, in support of their debut record release. The record - Down To The River was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Muscle Shoals, Al, and was produced by Grammy Award winning Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price, John Prine and Elvis Presley).
The band is currently finishing up the European leg of their tour. They will head back to the US to join up with John Fogerty for select East Coast dates followed by a packed schedule that takes the band through the rest of the year.
DOWN TO THE RIVER TOUR:
Jul 30 - Berlin, DE @ Lido
Jul 31 - Nürnberg, DE @ Hirsch
Aug 3 - London, UK @ Shepherds Bush Empire
Aug 9 - Providence, RI @ Bold Point Park w/ John Fogerty
Aug 11- Portland, ME @ Maine Savings Pavilion w/ John Fogerty
Aug 13- Boston, MA @ Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion w/ John Fogerty
Aug 14 - Salisbury, MA @ Blue Ocean Music Hall
Aug 15 - New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall w/ John Fogerty
Aug 20 - Albany, NY @ Skyloft Music
Aug 21 - Falmouth, MA @ Coonamesett Ballroom
Aug 22 - Northampton, MA @ The Academy of Music
Aug 23- Somers Point, NJ @ William Morrow Muni Beach
Aug 27- Cleveland, OH @ HOB
Aug 28 - Grand Rapids, MI @ 20 Monroe Live
Aug 29 - St. Charles, IL @ The Arcada Theater
Aug 30 - Fort Wayne, IN @ Sweetwater Performance Pavilion
Sep 1 - Lakeville, PA @ Cove Ent Resorts
Sep 10 - Phoenix, AZ @ MIM
Sep 11 - Phoenix, AZ @ MIM
Sep 13 - Colorado Springs, CO @ Pikes Peak Center
Sep 16 - Orlando, FL @ Eat to the Beat at Disney World
Sep 17 - Orlando, FL @ Eat to the Beat at Disney World
Sep 18 - Tybee Island, GA @ Tybee Post Theater
Sep 19 - Florence, SC @ Francis Marion University PAC
Sep 22 - Greensboro, NC @ Carolina Theatre
Oct 19 - New Orleans, LA @ Crescent City Blues and BBQ Fest
Oct 20 - Tallahassee, FL @ The Moon
Oct 22 - Walhalla, SC @ Walhalla Performing Arts
Oct 23 - Charleston, SC @ Charleston Music Hall
Oct 24 - Ponte Vedra, FL @ Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
Oct 25 - Fort Pierce, FL @ Sunrise Theater
Oct 27 - Pembroke Pines, FL @ Charles F. Dodge City Center
Oct 28 - Key West, FL @ Sunset Green
Oct 31 - Augusta, GA @ The Miller Theater
Nov 1 - Auburn, AL @ Woltosz Theatre
Nov 3 - Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre
Nov 4 - Frankfort, KY @ Grand Theatre
Nov 6 - Morgantown, WV @ Metropolitan Theatre
Nov 15 - Wallingford, CT @ Oakdale w/ The Charlie Daniels Band
FESTIVALS:
Aug 2 - Notodden, Norway @ Notodden Blues Festival
Aug 10 - Duluth, MN @ Bayfront Blues Festival
Aug 16 - Ann Arbor, MI @ Ann Arbor Blues Fest
Aug 17 - Troy, OH @ Hope Well Music Fest at Fulton Farms
Aug 24 - Arrington, VA @ LOCKN' Festival
Aug 31 - Ellicottville, NY @ Rock Autism Music Festival
Sep 8 - Las Vegas, NV @ Big Blues Bender
Sep 14 - Telluride, CO @ Blues & Brews Fest
Sep 21 - Frederick, MD @ Great Frederick Fair
Oct 18 - Natchez, MS @ Great Mississippi Balloon Festival
Oct 26 - Punta Gorda, FL @ Big Orange Music Festival
MORE DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED!
The Story of The Allman Betts Band:
In December of 2017, Devon Allman was ready. After a year of mourning the losses of his mother and father, Allman was ready to make music again. He deeply appreciated all of the condolences and well-wishes, but, respectfully, it was time to forge ahead.
Allman organized a concert at the historic Fillmore in San Francisco to honor the music and memory of his father, founding Allman Brothers Band keyboardist and singer, Gregg Allman, and also to debut his new band, The Devon Allman Project. A proverbial star-studded affair- with guests such as G. Love and Robert Randolph- the marathon performance also marked the beginning of a partnership with Duane Betts, son of founding Allman Brothers Band guitarist and singer, Dickey Betts. It was time, in that historic venue, to pass the spirit to this next generation. It was time to take all the lessons of the past, all their collective experiences, and make something new.
Betts recently had turned solo after a touring stint with folk-rockers Dawes, and would serve as an opening artist on the Devon Allman Project 2018 world tour, as well as joining Allman each night for a musical tip of the hat to their respective fathers. The year-long trek was the first to pair Allman and Betts, and saw the two tally nearly 100 dates at theatres and festivals nationally and internationally, including a summer leg in Europe, and notable appearances at Colorado's venerable Red Rocks amphitheater, the Peach Festival, Gov't Mule's Island Exodus in Jamaica, and a return to The Fillmore for the second annual, sold-out Allman Family Revival.
2018 provided them a certifiable proof-of-concept: Performing a repertoire gleaned mostly from their respective solo careers, as well as a handful of Brothers gems, the Devon Allman Project with Duane Betts consistently drew audiences growing in size and enthusiasm with each successive leg.
Now, they were both determined to embrace a new challenge; to write and record new music that could someday join the classics; to wow new audiences; to form a new band. During off-days on the bus or in hotel rooms, Devon and Duane collaborated on new original material, inviting respected songwriter Stoll Vaughn for writing sessions on the road.
On the still-smoldering heels of the hugely successful Project world tour, Devon and Duane circled back to their roots for this ambitious next step. They called up their old friend Berry Duane Oakley, son of the Allman Brothers Band's founding late bassist, Berry Oakley, and floated the idea of joining them. The trio's musical friendship traces back to The Allman Brothers Band's 20th anniversary summer tour in 1989 when the three first met, and often sat-in with the Rock-And-Roll Hall of Fame inductees; teenage descendants rightfully joining a rock-and-roll legacy.
As well, they recruited seasoned players from the Project ensemble: slide guitar sorcerer Johnny Stachela, drummer John Lum, and percussionist R Scott Bryan (Sheryl Crow). In November of 2018, they announced the formation of The Allman Betts Band.
For a subsequent world tour, they recruited keyboardist John Ginty (Dixie Chicks, Robert Randolph) to The Allman Betts Band. The band's first performance was March 26, 2019 - 50 years, to the date, after The Allman Brothers Band first jammed in Jacksonville, Florida.
To mark its 50th anniversary, The Kinks today announce a special release of Arthur Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire - out October 25th on BMG, which includes previously unreleased track "The Future" - https://youtu.be/dTWrThdOcEU.
Without doubt, the Kinks 7th studio album is one of the greatest rock albums ever made, a near perfect example of Ray Davies' incredible storytelling ability in what was an innovation in 1969: a concept album. It's also poignant that a record based on the story of emigrating from the UK around its potential to enter the Common Market should hit its 50th anniversary right now. With Brexit on the horizon, the themes of 'Arthur' ring alarmingly familiar.
Arthur received unanimous acclaim on its release. Each of its 12 original album tracks is an absolute gem and all perfect examples of Ray Davies' intrinsic ability to weave a story around a song. In what was a golden period for the Kinks, Arthur followed another classic, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society when it was released on October 10th 1969.
Rolling Stone wrote: "Arthur is a masterpiece on every level. The Kinks supreme achievement and the best British album of 1969." Melody Maker was equally enthusiastic: "Ray Davies' finest hour......beautifully British to the core."
"I started Arthur before the end of Village Green." says Ray. "The albums piggyback one another because they are joined. I'd already written the song 'Arthur'. I think I wrote 'Australia' when I was still living at 87 Fortis Green so it was quite early on. I remember taking it over to Dave, he lived in Cockfosters at the time, and playing it to him. We were laughing at the irony in the line, 'nobody's got a chip on their shoulder'."
In the midst of the Arthur sessions, studio time was devoted to completing tracks for Dave Davies' proposed solo album. The idea had progressed in staggered intervals since the initial success of Dave's 1967 single, "Death Of A Clown" but, ultimately, never reached completion.
"One of the reasons the album wasn't finished was because I felt The Kinks' management and record company were forcing me too much," Dave reflects. "I felt very comfortable being in The Kinks and it seemed fulfilling to be part of a band. I didn't really want for more. I couldn't see the point."
Ray says; "Hearing Dave's songs again after all this time, I found them quite moving because they were like the back story of what The Kinks were going through at the time."
Reprise eventually scrapped the release by September 1969 and over the years, Kinks fans continued to obsess as to what Dave's album - which some referred to as "A Hole In The Sock Of," a working title Ray had jokingly thrown to a music journalist - might have contained.
Included in this anniversary edition are 4 CDs comprising of 81 tracks in total, 5 of them unreleased and 28 previously unreleased versions. These include 2019 newly remastered versions of the original album from HD sources (in its original track listing), mono and stereo single versions, B-sides, alternate mono and stereo mixes, rehearsal tracks, BBC mixes and the lost Dave Davies' solo album, with bonus tracks.
It also includes Ray Davies' compiled medley of unreleased demo tracks, 2 new recordings of Ray Davies with The Doo Wop Choir, "Arthur & The Emigrants" including one previously unreleased track, 3 previously unreleased "The Come Dancing Workshop Ensemble" tracks, and new Ray Davies remixes of "Australia" and "Shangri-La."
A 68-page softback book has also been included, featuring extensive essays by world-renowned Kinks experts, original cancelled Arthur play co-scriptwriter Julian Mitchell, and original album sleeve designer Bob Lawrie. There are also new interviews with Ray Davies, Dave Davies and Mick Avory, as well as band photos, original release international cover artwork and printed memorabilia.
Four 7" singles from the album can also be found - "Drivin," "Victoria," "Shangri-La" & "Hold My Hand" (Dave Davies solo) - all reproduced with original international artwork. Finally, a bespoke, exclusive, metal & enamel Kinks logo pin badge is included for fans to wear.
- 4 x CDs: REMASTERED MONO & STEREO ALBUM, SINGLES, B-SIDES, ALTERNATE TRACK VERSIONS, NEW DOO WOP CHOIR RECORDINGS, RAY DAVIES REMIXES & DEMOS MEDLEY, THEATRICAL & BBC TRACKS, 'LOST' DAVE DAVIES ALBUM
- 4 x REPRODUCED 7" SINGLES
- 68 PAGE DELUXE BOOK WITH ESSAYS, NEW BAND INTERVIEWS, RARE IMAGES
Jim James, founder and frontman of indie-rock band My Morning Jacket, joins the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) Pops for a live performance of his upcoming new album. Led by Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra Teddy Abrams, the concert takes place on Wednesday, September 4, 2019, at 8 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall.
The concert features James and the NSO in The Order of Nature: A Song Cycle along with local chorus, The Capital Hearings. The first half of the evening spotlights the NSO in Mason Bates’s “Warehouse Medicine” from The B-Sides, Julia Wolfe’s Big Beautiful Dark and Scary, and Copland’s Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo.
This concert coincides with the upcoming album release of James and Abrams’s collaboration on Decca Gold. Ticket buyers to this performance will be offered an exclusive opportunity to pre-purchase James’s new album, and will also receive a signed poster with their order.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets (from $29–$109) are available at the Kennedy Center Box Office, online at kennedy-center.org, and via phone through Instant Charge, (202) 467-4700; toll-free at (800) 444-1324. For all other ticket-related customer service inquires, call the Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540.
ABOUT JIM JAMES
Jim James has spent the better part of almost two decades as the lead singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist of My Morning Jacket. Through seven studio albums, My Morning Jacket has grown into one of the most acclaimed rock and roll bands in the world. The New York Times heralded the band as, “...the new kings of expand-your-mind, religious-experience rock...” Their last three albums, 2008's Evil Urges, 2011's Circuital and 2015’s The Waterfall, each received Grammy nominations for Best Alternative Album --the latter debuting at number 5 on the Billboard 200 chart. Alongside the band's recording and touring, James has maintained a steady, bordering on voracious, flow of work.
The 2018–2019 season marks the National Symphony Orchestra’s 88th, and Gianandrea Noseda’s second as its music director. The Italian conductor serves as the Orchestra’s seventh music director, joining the NSO’s legacy of such distinguished leaders. Its artistic leadership also includes Principal Pops Conductor Steven Reineke and Artistic Advisor Ben Folds.
Founded in 1931, the Orchestra has always been committed to artistic excellence and music education. In 1986, the National Symphony became an artistic affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs year-round. The NSO’s community engagement projects are nationally recognized, including NSO In Your Neighborhood, an annual week of approximately 50 performances in schools, churches, community centers, and other unexpected venues; Notes of Honor, which offers free performances for active, veteran, prior service, and retired members of the military and their families; and Sound Health, a collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its affiliated organizations. Career development opportunities for young musicians include the NSO Youth Fellowship Program and its tuition-free Summer Music Institute. For more information, visit nationalsymphony.org.
Popular offerings have ranged from performances on a barge on the Potomac River, to concerts on the Ellipse, and in National Parks around the greater Washington area. The 2011–2012 season was the first with Steven Reineke as Principal Pops Conductor. NSO popular programming—which ranges in genre from Broadway and American song to jazz and from film scores to Hip Hop to rock ‘n’ roll—takes place at the NSO’s principal performance venues: the NSO’s primary home, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall, Wolf Trap, and the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, with a subscription season featuring a variety of musical genres.
FUNDING CREDITS
David M. Rubenstein is the Presenting Underwriter of the NSO.
AARP is the presenting sponsor of the NSO Pops Season.
Patrons 30 and under and active-duty members of the military are invited to join the Kennedy Center’s MyTix program for special discount offers and chances to win free tickets. For more information, visit kennedy-center.org/mytix.
Just a few weeks before Phish begins its traditional summer-ending three-night run at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, CO, the band has announced a run of Fall 2019 tour dates. The seven-date tour begins with two performances at Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, RI, and culminates with their first-ever three-night run in Charleston, SC at the North Charleston Coliseum. Additional highlights include a performance at Uniondale, NY's Nassau Coliseum -- the band's first since 2003 -- and a night at Peterson Event Center in Pittsburgh, PA. The full itinerary is below.
A ticket request period is currently underway at tickets.phish.com and will end on Monday, August 19 at 10am ET. Tickets will go on sale to the public beginning Friday, August 23. Specific on sale information for each show is available at phish.com.
Next year, Phish will return to Mexico for its fourth "Phish: Riviera Maya", the band's destination concert vacation taking place February 20 - 23. A limited amount of rooms are left for the event -- more details can be found HERE. The four-day, all-inclusive event will see Phish performing for three nights on the beach in one of the world's most beautiful locations -- Mexico's Caribbean coastline.
PHISH
LIVE 2019
8/30 - Dick's Sporting Goods Park - Commerce City, CO
8/31 - Dick's Sporting Goods Park - Commerce City, CO
9/1 - Dick's Sporting Goods Park - Commerce City, CO
Old Salt Union released a third song off their new album Where the Dogs Don't Bite, due out Friday, Aug 16 (Compass Records).
Relix exclusively premiered the official video for the track earlier this week. Jesse Farrar told Relix that "'Big Dreams, Small Talk' is the Old Salt dreamers anthem. Visualizing a grandiose future but stuck in the day-to-day "hey, how's the weather" chatter. Written almost in spite of most of our previous work - we decided to make the chorus' softer and more mellow than the verses. It was a nice juxtaposition to how we usually approach composing material."
Old Salt Union have continued to hone and develop their sound through relentless touring, and cultivating a steadfast fanbase drawn to their high-energy shows. Coming from varied musical backgrounds, Old Salt Union's collective melting pot of styles and musical vocabularies informs their fresh approach to modern string band music and has helped to carve a unique niche for this Belleville, Illinois roots outfit.
Old Salt Union will continue their record release tour throughout the summer and into the fall. The band will play a special record release show in Saint Louis at The Atomic Cowboy on Aug 16. OSU will also be making stops in Iowa City, Ann Arbor Denver, and Fort Collins as well as several festivals including Pickin' In The Pines, Walnut Valley, Roots N Blues BBQ and The Wander Down Music Festival.
Trout Steak Revival has announced the first round of fall 2019 tour dates. Stops feature an appearance at IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Awards) as well as a handful of dates in the Southeast. The band has also announced that they will celebrate New Year’s Eve at The Aggie Theatre in Fort Collins, CO with Wood Belly.
Whether listeners are in search of a deep connection with lyrics or simply need a good melody to dance to, Trout Steak Revival’s latest album, Spirit To The Sea provides a mix of music that is a pleasure to relate to. Songs crafted out of love, fear, heartbreak, wonder, joy, and freedom provide a glimpse into the soulful depth of the individual members of Trout Steak Revival
All up to date tour info and news can be found at troutsteak.com
Tour Dates:
8/14 Turf Club, St. Paul, MN*
8/15 Colectivo, Milwaukee, WI
8/16 Concerts in the Yard, Fitzgerald's, Berwyn, IL**
8/17 Dockside Bar and Grill, Ottawa, IL
8/18 Hoxeyville Music Festival, Wellston, MI
8/31 The Lariat, Buena Vista, CO
9/1 Center for the Arts, Crested Butte, CO
9/21 Carolina in the Fall, Wilkesboro, NC
9/24 Asheville, NC
9/25-9/28 IBMA, Raleigh, NC
9/29 Steady Hand Beer Co., Atlanta, GA
10/1 Callaghan's, Mobile, AL
10/2 House Concert, Jackson, MS
10/3 Levitt Shell, Memphis, TN
10/4 TBA
10/5-10/6 Crush Fest, Les Bourgeois Winery, Rocheport, MO
12/31 New Year's Eve, Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins, CO***
Amanda Palmer has shared the official music video for “Drowning In The Sound,” which is lifted from her recently released album There Will Be No Intermission, her first solo record in seven years. The track addresses everything from climate change and the #MeToo movement to fake news, the internet and the American government; a reflection on the turbulent times we’re currently living through.
Directed, produced and edited by Michael Pope, the video stars choreographer Coco Karol who called it “a wish fulfilled to get to continue to make art and do motherhood,” as it gave her an opportunity to continue dancing while seven months pregnant. The symbol of Karol’s pregnant body and the urgency of the video tie to the wider themes of Palmer’s new album There Will Be No Intermission.
On the video’s release, Palmer says, “The overwhelming news about climate change, the politics of a woke and devastated internet, the isolation that everybody is feeling right now… how do you make a music video about that? Michael Pope and I have been co-creating video treatments for over fifteen years together, ever since we first sat down to write the treatment for "Girl Anachronism" for The Dresden Dolls, we've always bitten off more than we could chew, and this video was no exception. The set of the video itself was a healing space: all of these performers and crew gathered together to try to pull off something sort of impossible on a shoe-string budget. Coco, our choreographer and my new-found friend, was seven months pregnant when we shot the footage, and the whole cast and crew almost revolved around that baby inside her. She and I both experienced painful miscarriages a few years ago, and we took turns carrying each other through the dark. This project was a sort of a healing ritual for us both; and the whole crew and cast wanted this video to feel like the crossroads between brutal hopelessness and passionate hope, which is what everybody seems to be feeling nowadays.”
Following the release of There Will Be No Intermission, Amanda Palmer is currently embarking on her hugely anticipated world tour. The fourteen date UK run kicks off this October, which includes four dates across Ireland and concludes with three nights at London’s Union Chapel this December. The show itself features Palmer on solo piano and ukulele, with no band accompaniment; a night of graphic, honest, and funny storytelling and songs that Palmer claims is her “most human and vulnerable stage-show to date.” See below for a full list of dates. Tickets are available at amandapalmer.net.
Out now via 8Ft Records/Cooking Vinyl, There Will Be No Intermission is Palmer's third solo LP, and it's the multi-faceted artist's most powerful and personal collection to date, with songs that tackle the big questions: life, death, grief and how we make sense of it all. While the themes may be dark, the album's overall sonic and lyrical mood is one of triumphs in the face of life's most ineffably shitty circumstances. Recorded over a single month in Los Angeles by John Congleton (who previously engineered and produced 2012's acclaimed Theatre Is Evil), There Will Be No Intermission was entirely crowd-funded, this time by over 15,000 patrons using Palmer's community hub on Patreon. There Will Be No Intermission is now available in stores and on all DSPs.
"The last seven years have been a relentless parade of grief, joy, birth and death, and all of it has galvanized me to the core: as a writer, as a woman, as an artistic servant," says Palmer. "I also had no idea that my 15,000 patrons - who held my hand through this entire process - would have the profound effect on my songwriting that they did. Everything feels inseparable now: my crowdfunding through patreon, the birth of our son, the election of Trump, two abortions, the Kavanuagh hearing, the death of my best friend, being in Ireland for the repeal, the miscarriage I had on Christmas day. I sat in a theater in London and watched Hannah Gadsby decimate the blurred lines between entertainment and naked truth, I saw the brave women of #MeToo standing up against their rapists, and I saw Nick Cave in concert and on record working through his grief using art as a necessary and generous tourniquet that others could re-use. They all reminded me to try harder and harder still to tell the real, unadorned truth. I've seen how infectious the darkest truths are, when spoken without shame, and I felt like taking any other path would have been a cop-out."
AMANDA PALMER
WORLD TOUR DATES
SEPTEMBER
4 - Meervaart - Amsterdam, Netherlands
6 - Admiralspalast - Berlin, Germany
11 - Alte Kongressaal - Munich, Germany
13 - Capitol - Offenbach, Germany
14 - Konzerthaus - Vienna, Austria
15 - Stefaniensaal - Graz, Austria
18 - Theaterhaus - Stuttgart, Germany
19 - Colosseum - Essen, Germany
20 - De Roma - Antwerp, Belgium
24 - Laeiszhalle - Hamburg, Germany
25 - Haus Auensee - Leipzig, Germany
26 - Hybernia - Prague, Czech Republic
27 - Conservatoire - Luxembourg, Luxembourg
OCTOBER
11 - Bremen Teater - Copenhagen, Denmark
12 - Södra Teatern - Stockholm, Sweden - SOLD OUT
16 - De La Warr Pavilion - Bexhill, UK
19 - St. David’s Hall - Cardiff, UK
20 - Corn Exchange - Cambridge, UK
23 - Opera House - Cork, Ireland
24 - National Concert Hall - Dublin, Ireland
26 - Ulster Hall - Belfast, Northern Ireland
27 - University Concert Hall - Limerick, Ireland
NOVEMBER
1 - Carnegie Hall - Dunfermline, UK
2 - City Halls - Glasgow, UK
3 - Royal Albert Hall - Manchester, UK
4 - Opera House - York, UK
7 - Tyne Theatre - Newcastle, UK
24 - Theatro Circo - Braga, Portugal
DECEMBER
5 - Union Chapel - London, UK - SOLD OUT
6 - Union Chapel - London, UK - SOLD OUT
13 - Union Chapel - London, UK
In addition to the LP, Palmer has partnered with the collaborative art-team Kahn & Selesnick (along with LA-based photographer Allan Amato and NY-based artist Stephanie Zakas) to create a companion volume with over 60 theatrical photographic portraits taken mostly in and around the upstate New York home Palmer shares with her husband, writer Neil Gaiman. The portfolio - also titled There Will Be No Intermission - is available on her website and will also be sold at her hugely anticipated world tour, which is currently circling theaters throughout the rest of the year and beyond. See full tour details and info on how to buy the album and associated merchandise at amandapalmer.net.
Tow’rs have announced a 15-date late fall tour throughout the mountain states and West Coast. The Flagstaff, AZ based band will begin their tour in San Francisco on Nov 9, and will travel up through the Pacific Northwest, to the Rockies, stopping at their home base in AZ, and then rounding out the tour in Southern California.
Recently, the band had made the announcement that they would be releasing their fourth full length studio album. Pancakes and Whiskey exclusively premiered the first track and official video for “Water Under the Bridge” saying “The Flagstaff, AZ based band will be releasing their fourth album, New Nostalgia, on September 20th and we couldn’t be more pumped about it.” “Water Under the Bridge” is currently being featured in Spotify’s “Fresh Folk” playlist, and has already received over 80k streams in under a month.
NPR highlighted the band in their 2019 SXSW “Austin 100” feature saying "every sound is impeccably rendered."
Tow'rs pride themselves in telling stories through music. To learn more - you must listen.
Trey Anastasio has released a new acoustic song, “Sunset Days.” The song, taken from the final scene of his acclaimed new feature-length documentary, Between Me and My Mind, is available now on all streaming services.
Directed by Steven Cantor, Between Me and My Mind is a deep, intimate look into the mind of Anastasio and captures him as he works through some of his most personal song ideas to date, placing his relationships with friends and family at its core. At the same time, the film also shows the musician preparing for one of Phish’s legendary New Year’s Eve shows at Madison Square Garden, culminating with an exhilarating, elaborately produced moment when the clock strikes midnight.
Hailed by Variety as a “highly compelling rock doc,” Between Me and My Mind had its sold out world premiere earlier this year at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival. Global event distributor Trafalgar Releasing, Stick Figure Studios, Believe Entertainment, and Live Nation Productions then presented the film on July 17 for one night only in more than 500 theaters nationwide. It reached the #1 spot for films showing on fewer than 1,000 screens, and also debuted at #9 for its overall box office performance.
In addition to releasing “Sunset Days,” Anastasio recently announced an upcoming solo acoustic tour that will culminate in a sold-out two night stand at New York City’s renowned Carnegie Hall on October 29 and 30. The tour gets underway October 15 with a sold out show at Geneva, NY’s Smith Opera House with additional tour highlights including a sold out performance at Nashville, TN’s Ryman Auditorium (October 27).
Prior to the tour, Anastasio will be among the featured performers on an upcoming installment of Live From Here with Chris Thile, set for New York City’s Town Hall on Saturday, October 12. Now sold out, the live radio show will also include performances from The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.
Tonight, Trey Anastasio Band (TAB) will headline LOCKN’ Festival, with special guest Derek Trucks joining the band for an exclusive second set collaboration. Anastasio will return the favor on Saturday, August 24, teaming with Tedeschi Trucks Band for another special second set. The event will be livestreaming for free.
Earlier this year, Anastasio released GHOSTS OF THE FOREST, available now via Rubber Jungle/ATO. Produced by Anastasio and engineered and mixed by Vance Powell (Chris Stapleton, Jack White) over the span of just a few days at the Barn Studio in Vermont in April 2018, the album was praised by Rolling Stone as full of “psychedelic guitar liftoffs, ambitious arrangements and deeply personal lyrics.” GHOSTS OF THE FOREST was celebrated with this spring’s GHOSTS OF THE FOREST tour, an ambitious, nine-show run featuring unique production design from Abigail Holmes (Talking Heads, Roger Waters) that sold out every date well in advance of the project’s release. “Ghosts of the Forest lived up to high expectations,” wrote Glide, reviewing the band’s performance at Los Angeles, CA’s Greek Theatre.
The recent release of GHOSTS OF THE FOREST: BENEATH A SEA OF STARS captured the final GHOSTS OF THE FOREST show, held April 20, 2019 at the sold-out Berkeley, CA’s Greek Theatre. The remastered live recording is available for streaming now exclusively at all digital music outlets.
Next weekend, Phish wrap up Summer 2019 with its traditional Labor Day run at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, CO, with three sold out shows set for August 30 – September 1. The band will then embark on a short, fall tour beginning with two performances at Providence’s Dunkin' Donuts Center on Nov 29 and 30.
TREY ANASTASIO
LIVE 2019
8/23 – LOCKN’ Festival – Arrington, VA *
9/21 – Bourbon & Beyond – Louisville, KY *
10/12 – Town Hall – New York, NY ** SOLD OUT
10/15 – Smith Opera House – Geneva, NY # SOLD OUT
10/16 – Victoria Theatre – Dayton, OH # SOLD OUT
10/18 – Riverside Theater – Milwaukee, WI # SOLD OUT
10/19 – State Theatre – Minneapolis, MN #
10/21 – The Pablo Center at the Confluence – Eau Claire, WI #
10/23 – Palace Theatre – Canton, OH #
10/25 – Michigan Theater – Ann Arbor, MI # SOLD OUT
10/26 – Murat Theatre at Old National Centre – Indianapolis, IN #
10/27 – Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TN # SOLD OUT
10/29 – Carnegie Hall – New York, NY # SOLD OUT
10/30 – Carnegie Hall – New York, NY # SOLD OUT
* Trey Anastasio Band – FESTIVAL PERFORMANCE
** Live From Here with Chris Thile
# “An Acoustic Evening with Trey Anastasio”
# # #
PHISH
LIVE 2019
8/30 – Dick’s Sporting Goods Park – Commerce City, CO – SOLD OUT
8/31 – Dick’s Sporting Goods Park – Commerce City, CO – SOLD OUT
9/1 – Dick’s Sporting Goods Park – Commerce City, CO – SOLD OUT
Robbie Robertson, Sebastian Robertson, and Keith Wortman of Blackbird Presents are thrilled to announce the return of the highly acclaimed The Last Waltz Tour. This epic tour captures the excitement of The Band’s historic 1976 Thanksgiving concert at the famed Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco hailed as one of the greatest rock concerts of all time.
The multi-city tour kicks off at the legendary Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York on November 5, 2019, and continues throughout November making stops at historic venues across the east coast. Tickets go on sale Friday, September 6, 2019 at 10 AM (Local Time) at http://thelastwaltz.com. * Saint Augustine Amphitheatre tickets will go on sale September 13, at 10 AM. VIP packages, including great seats and exclusive merchandise, will be available. Tour dates and venues are listed below.
The Last Waltz Tour 2019: A Celebration of The Band’s Historic Farewell Concert features a star-studded lineup led by GRAMMY® Award-winning guitar legend and vocalist Warren Haynes and GRAMMY® Award-winning producer/musician Don Was, with Jamey Johnson, Lukas Nelson, John Medeski, Terence Higgins, and Mark Mullins & The Levee Horns featuring the original horn arrangements of Allen Toussaint. Very special guests Cyril Neville (The Neville Brothers), Dave Malone (The Radiators), and Bob Margolin (Long time Muddy Waters guitarist who performed with Waters and The Band in the original Last Waltz) will be featured throughout the tour.
Over forty years ago, The Band performed their final concert to a sold-out crowd with a whos-who of Rock'N Roll royalty in attendance. “As far as farewells go, this one was major,” stated Rolling Stone Magazine in 2016 expose about the famed concert. The evening culminated with “Don’t Do It,” The Band’s cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Baby Don’t You Do It.” After the last note, Robbie Robertson, The Bands’ lead guitarist, songwriter and a founding member, said "Goodnight. Goodbye." walking off stage, forever immortalizing this epic event.
“It is such an honor that the musical celebration of The Last Waltz and The Band carries on today. Blackbird Presents and this extraordinary lineup of talent makes me proud to be a part of this ongoing and wonderful tradition.” Says Robbie Robertson.
The Last Waltz Tour: A Celebration of The Band’s Historic Farewell Concert is an extension of Blackbird Present’s acclaimed 2016 two-night, sold-out concert event The Last Waltz New Orleans and 2017’s The Last Waltz 40th Anniversary Tour which was praised by audiences and critics across the country. “You soon knew that The Band’s legacy would be well feted. Earplugs were required — for the crowd, not the band,” wrote the Huffington Post in its review of the show at the Orpheum in Boston, Massachusetts. "The last 30 minutes of The Last Waltz @SaengerNOLA was the best thing I've heard @jazzfest," said Keith Spera, music critic, The New Orleans Advocate.
“We are excited to be working closely with Robbie, Warren, Don and our incredible lineup of musicians and special guests on the latest incarnation of The Last Waltz Tour." Says Keith Wortman, "This year's tour will introduce fans to some very special never-heard-before arrangements of the classic hits from that Thanksgiving night in 1976.”
Tickets for The Last Waltz Tour go on sale Friday, September 6, 2019 at 10 AM (Local Time) at http://thelastwaltz.com. * Saint Augustine Amphitheatre tickets will go on sale September 13, at 10 AM.
THE LAST WALTZ 2019 TOUR DATES
NOVEMBER
5 - The Capitol Theatre - Port Chester, NY
6 - Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre at the Basie Center - Red Bank, NJ
7 - Casino Ballroom - Hampton Beach, NH
8 - Toyota Oakdale Theatre - Wallingford, CT
10 - Orpheum Theatre - Boston, MA
11 - The Theater at Santander Arena - Reading, PA
14 - MGM National Harbor - Washington, DC
15 - Tower Theatre - Philadelphia, PA
17 - *Saint Augustine Amphitheater - Boston, MA
18 - Durham PAC - Durham, NH
20 - Stifel Theatre - St. Louis, MO
21 - Chicago Theatre - Chicago, IL
FOR COMPLETE DETAILS VISIT THE OFFICIAL TOUR WEBSITE:
Today, Billy Strings is releasing “Everything’s the Same” - the third song off the forthcoming record HOME (Rounder Records). “Everything’s The Same” premiered exclusively via Billboard earlier this week, and follows “Taking Water” and “Away From the Mire” - both released separately over the past several weeks.
Strings’ genre-crossing music and energetic live shows are taking the Americana and roots scene by storm. With more than half of his fall tour already sold out, it is apparent that Strings’ music is beginning to resonate with people on a large scale.
All up-to-date news and tour information can be found at billystrings.com.
The Allman Family Revival will be returning for its third year in celebration of Gregg Allman's birthday, This year the show is expanding to 3 nation-wide performances. San Francisco at The Fillmore, Denver at the brand-new Mission Ballroom and NYC at The Beacon.
A portion of the proceeds will go to School of Rock, to help fund after school music programs that are picking up the slack for the alarming lack of in-school music programs declining nationwide.
THE ALLMAN FAMILY REVIVAL 2019
DECEMBER 7 San Francisco @ The Fillmore
DECEMBER 8 Denver @ The Mission Ballroom
DECEMBER 28 NYC @ The Beacon Theater
The Allman Family Revival started as a celebration of music and life in honor of what would have been Gregg Allman’s 70th Birthday. It was a party at The Fillmore in San Francisco hosted by his son Devon Allman of The Allman Betts Band.
The first two years featured insane 4-hour long shows with epic jams and guests ranging from Robert Randolph, Luther and Cody Dickinson, Marcus King, Samantha Fish, Jimmy Hall, G. Love, Brooklyn Allman ...and many, many more. All the feels were felt and this night has become a year end tradition and a fan favorite. People fly in from all over the world for this one.
After a warm up set The Allman Betts Band will invite guest stars onto the stage to sing a song they are famous for, and also a song from the Allman catalog. There will be a rotating cast of characters and some epic collaborations onstage culminating in a “all hands on deck” encore that proved to be a juggernaut at the first two Family Revival shows.
Tour
Oct 18 Natchez, MS @ Great Mississippi Balloon Festival
Oct 19 New Orleans, LA @ Crescent City Blues and BBQ Fest
Oct 20 2019 Tallahassee, FL @ The Moon
Oct 22 Walhalla, SC @ Walhalla Performing Arts
Oct 23 Charleston, SC @ Charleston Music Hall
Oct 24 Ponte Vedra, FL @ Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
Oct 25 Fort Pierce, FL @ Sunrise Theater
Oct 26 Punta Gorda, FL @ Big Orange Music Festival
Oct 27 Pembroke Pines, FL @ Charles F. Dodge City Center
Oct 28 Key West, FL @ Sunset Green
Oct 31 Augusta, GA @ The Miller Theater
Nov 1 Auburn, AL @ Woltosz Theatre
Nov 2 Tybee Island, GA @ Tybee Post Theater
Nov 3 Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre
Nov 4 Frankfort, KY @ Grand Theatre
Nov 6 Morgantown, WV @ Metropolitan Theatre
Nov 7 Blacksburg, VA @ Lyric Theatre
Nov 8 Richmond, VA @ The National
Nov 9 Stroudsburg, PA @ Sherman Theatre
Nov 10 Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
Nov 13 @ New York, NY Beacon (with Charlie Daniels Band)
Nov 14 Glenside, PA @ Keswick (with Charlie Daniels Band)
Nov 15 Wallingford, CT @ Oakdale (with Charlie Daniels Band)
Nov 16 Waterloo, NY @ The Vine at Del Lago (with Charlie Daniels Band)
Nov 17 Northampton, MA @ The Academy of Music
Dec 7 San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore (Allman Family Revival)
Dec 8, 2019 Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom (Allman Family Revival)
Dec 28 New York, NY Beacon (Allman Family Revival)
Dec 30 Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
Feb 5 St. Charles, IL @ The Arcada Theater
Feb 6 Grand Rapids, MI @ 20 Monroe Live
Feb 7 Fort Wayne, IN @ Clyde Theatre
Feb 9 Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
Feb 13 Albany, NY @ Skyloft Music
Feb 14 Salisbury, MA @ Blue Ocean Music Hall
Feb 16 Tarrytown, NY @ Tarrytown Music hall
Feb 20 Greensboro, NC @ Carolina Theatre
Feb 21 Anniston, AL @ Anniston Performing Arts Center
Mar 6 Phoenix, AZ @ MIM
Apr 23 Cleveland, MS @ Bologna Performing Arts Center
Charles Bradley had a lot on his mind when he recorded “Lonely as You Are” and “Lucifer” during the final days of the Obama presidency. A stomach cancer diagnosis in the Fall of 2016 forced him off the road at the peak of his career. Weakened by months of chemotherapy, facing a life-threatening surgery and confronting his own mortality in a moment of political upheaval and uncertainty, Bradley was filled with ideas and energy when he stepped into a Queens home recording studio and spontaneously created “Lonely as You Are” and “Lucifer.”
Shortly after “Lonely as You Are” was released, fans were invited to submit photographs, drawings and stories via social media using the hashtag #leftuslonely, to be used to create a music video. More than 500 submissions were posted and the resulting music video — a compilation of fan contributions — is being released today. The song, in which Bradley is backed by Seth Avett and Mike Marsh from the Avett Brothers, was co-produced by James Levy and Paul Defiglia. “Lonely as You Are” and “Lucifer” are Bradley’s final recordings.
Also, out today via Innit Recordings is a limited edition 12” vinyl pressing of the two singles with instrumental versions, featuring the iconic cover photo shot by Giles Clement at the 2017 Newport Folk Festival.
The recordings showcase two sides of Bradley. In the heartrending “Lonely As You Are,” Bradley confronts unspeakable pain, mortality and hope “Lucifer” — a soaring, uptempo soul jam filled with his Bradley’s trademark scream and joyful lyrics — finds Bradley celebrating life and love. “When I look into your eyes and saw the great star, I knew I had a love right there. I wanna love you, love you, love you, love you.”
“Charles knew what he wanted to say and he said it quickly. He wore his heart on his sleeve. A true singer,” said James Levy, who co-wrote the songs with Bradley and also co-produced the tracks.
The Queens, NY sessions marked an improbable collaboration between Bradley and Levy, who had worked most recently on projects with Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, Tim Wheeler of Ash and Guy Berryman of Coldplay. Levy was recording demos for a new record when he connected with Bradley through their mutual manager. To finish the tracks, Levy enlisted Nashville producer and multi-instrumentalist Paul Defiglia, who had spent the previous five years recording and touring with the Avett Brothers.
The remarkable against-all-odds rise of Charles Bradley since the release of his 2011 debut album No Time For Dreaming has been well documented. Transcending a life in the streets, Bradley went from extreme poverty and homelessness to performing sold-out shows and making national TV and festival appearances around the world, including at Coachella, Governors Ball, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Glastonbury, SXSW and many more.
Poull Brien's 2012 documentary — Charles Bradley: Soul of America — gave a glimpse into how Bradley turned pain and heartbreak into joy and love. One of the great live performers of his time, Bradley’s 2016 appearance on CBS This Morning: Saturday was nominated for a 2017 Daytime Emmy award for “Outstanding On-Camera Musical Performance in a Daytime Program.”
In celebration of his amazing life and to commemorate what would have been Bradley’s 70th birthday, Daptone Records imprint Dunham Records released Black Velvet in November 2018 — a collection of 10 songs recorded during the sessions from each of his previous three albums, produced by Tom Brenneck and performed by the Menahan Street Band. Charles also appears on the “A” side of Daptones’ 100th Forty-Five - “Hey Brother,” released in June 2019.
Innit Recordings is a record label based in NYC. Current artists include Lolawolf, James Levy and Crewshade.
Activate Infinity is the second album from The Bad Plus since the remarkable pianist Orrin Evans joined the group in 2018. The album was recorded at Brooklyn Recording in New York City in May 2019. It was produced by The Bad Plus and engineered and mixed by Andy Taub. Activate Infinity will be released on CD and digital October 25. November 15 will see its release on vinyl. Pre-orders are available now along with a download of the first song, "Avail."
With their sights set on a new trajectory, combined with an abundance of spirit and creativity, The Bad Plus has produced one of their finest and most original albums to date. This is group music played with vibrant imagination and vigor. It’s real, deeply honest and personal. Their joy in music making together is clear and their vision is committed and democratic. With a new home on the British label, Edition Records, The Bad Plus is working with a renewed intent that will see them grow to new heights and continue to flourish.
The Bad Plus are the ultimate originals -- a democratic unit with a clear vision and a refusal to conform to convention. For the past 18 years, they have played with spirit and adventure, made their own rules and done so with a bold sense of creativity and intent. In 2018, they announced a change of line-up that shook the jazz world, bringing pianist Orrin Evans into the group. The result instigated a new wave of excitement and anticipation within the band that re-energizing their sound and inspiration. This is The Bad Plus now and the music is the real deal - it’s honest, personal and deeply imaginative.
Their first album with the new line-up, Never Stop II, was self-released in 2018 and won huge critical acclaim building on the passionate fan base developed over the years. Remaining in control of their own destiny enabled the band to refocus on what they represented, to redefine their trajectory, to grow new roots and confirm their sound whilst remaining true to their original identity. Ultimately Never Stop II kickstarted a new era for the trio in a way they could not have foreseen.
Activate Infinity sees the journey evolve further with the start of their relationship with Edition Records, who together are working with foresight and passion, to allow the band to flourish and grow their own unique perspective, sense of creativity and character without restrictions or inhibitions.
It goes without saying that today’s society is profoundly unbalanced and uncomfortably divided. For The Bad Plus, however, Activate Infinity represents a place of sanity amidst the chaos: the freedom to express and say something personal and with meaning without being restricted or constrained by the powers that be. In this band the three voices act as one, sharing a common purpose and message. This is The Bad Plus in their most creative and expressive form.
With writing credits shared between all members, the music on Activate Infinity is protean yet focused, individually written but collectively produced. These are songs written with the freedom to explore and the titles represent the deep levels of imagination the band has become known for. Reid Anderson’s “Avail” is a vehicle for exuberance; Orrin’s quirky and joyous “The Red Door” explores the space behind the red door, not the door itself; Dave King’s “Thrift Store Jewelry” is inspired by reclaimed treasure. Each has a message that is deeply personal, but universal.
This is The Bad Plus now: a band entering a new era, a period of intense creativity, renewed energy and excitement. As the title suggests, the trio show no sign of slowing down. The pursuit of creativity is on and they are searching for new trajectories. With an abundance of adventure and spirit, their joy of making music together is clear and paramount -- it’s their driving force and their ultimate purpose. The idea of a spirited and endless journey will inspire the band and their fans to activate infinity in countless rich and creative ways.
The Bad Plus will continue to tour the globe as they always do. New tour dates begin in South America in October. The first show stateside will be on October in Durham, NC. The last of the year will be in Los Angeles on November 10 before they head for a performance in Poland on November 12, culminating November 30 in Ferrara, Italy.
Following six sold-out Caribbean cruises and a sold-out inaugural Mediterranean sailing - Joe Bonamassa, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation, and Sixthman announce the second annual Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Mediterranean II, sailing August 14-19, 2020 on the beautiful Norwegian Jade from Barcelona, Spain to Genoa, Italy and Cannes, France.
As with the previous United States-based sailings and the inaugural Mediterranean voyage, the second European cruise will feature music across multiple stages, meet and Greets with artists from the lineup, and one-of-a-kind collaborative sets from blues legends. In addition to non-stop music, the specially curated schedule of events offers a variety of music-centric activities including an activity with Joe Bonamassa. Beyond the onboard experience, guests will have the chance to explore two of the world's most beautifully renowned cities. Attendees can spend the day at the waterfront town of Cannes famous for sparkling, sandy beaches and lush attractions, and explore the historic streets of Genoa, a remarkable gem of the Italian Riviera. In 2020, Jonny Lang, Walter Trout, Ana Popovic, The James Hunter Six have already been confirmed and many more will be announced to join Joe Bonamassa for the second voyage.
For the best selection of staterooms, fans are encouraged to pre-register for the sailing now at bluesaliveatseaeurope.com as this sailing is expected to sell out. Double occupancy staterooms on Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Mediterranean II begin at $1,650 per person, plus taxes and fees, with low deposit amounts and flexible payment plans available. For more information about booking your vacation, visit bluesaliveatseaeurope.com or call Sixthman directly at +44 808 164 1488 between the hours of 10AM EST and 6PM EST.
A destination of her own, Norwegian Jade offers guests Norwegian Cruise Line's signature freedom and flexibility during their vacation. Norwegian Jade features 11 delicious and visually stunning dining options, 15 bars and relaxing lounges, a dazzling casino, tranquil spa and gym, updated design and décor in public spaces and brand-new state of the art features on board cabins.
Six years in the making, Is That So? is one of John McLaughlin’s deepest and most profound musical collaborations with prolific Indian composer and vocalist Shankar Mahadevan. Joining the duo is their life-long friend and musical brother Ustad Zakir Hussain on the tabla, who has been collaborating with McLaughlin since they founded Shakti in the early ‘70s, acknowledged by most to be the first groundbreaking crossover East-West musical group. A preview of the album’s first song, “Sakhi,” that Relix premiered earlier today, is available now. Is That So? will be released January 17, 2020 via Abstract Logix.
“The idea for this album appeared in my mind early 2013,” says McLaughlin. “Shankar and I had been touring with Shakti and I was constantly inspired by his superb voice and gigantic talent. Even though I have studied the theory and practice of Indian music for years, I remain a ‘Western’ musician and one aspect of Western music is the magic of harmony.”
“From the outset in the early 1970’s, I constantly researched the possibilities of integrating harmony into the traditions of North and South India while at the same time keeping as close as possible to the melodic rules of the Raga system. However, the idea I mention above, was to abandon the rules of the Raga system completely and apply my own western harmonic liberty to the amazing voice of Shankar Mahadevan.”
"Before concerts, John and I used to dabble with free improvisations using Indian scales (Ragas) and different harmonies backing them”, says Mahadevan. “The whole texture, color, feeling and the canvas of the music excited us as harmonic content does not exist in Indian classical music. In the beginning, it was just a fun experiment, but it soon became larger than life and we knew we had to record it. When Zakir Hussain, the great tabla Maestro himself, agreed to play in the improvisational sections we knew this would take our recording to a new level. We could not have asked for more."
Is That So? is a a new concept in the meeting of musicians, singers, percussionists and the musical cultures of the East and West, taking the listener into unexplored musical horizons.
Rodrigo y Gabriela have announced new US live dates for the fall, beginning in Sugar Land, TX, on November 15, and ending in Miami Beach, FL, on December 6, with a slew of dates throughout the Midwest and southeast in between. Rodrigo y Gabriela have been bringing their incendiary stage performance to fans across the globe in support of their latest album, METTAVOLUTION. The acoustic duo's first album in five years, METTAVOLUTION marks the most ambitious music of Rodrigo y Gabriela's remarkable two-decade career and was one of NPR's top 6 albums of the week upon release. Three years in the making, the LP embraces the duo's passionate interest in Buddhism, the history of human evolution and the liberation of the potential we have as a species, all expressed through the medium of two acoustic guitars.
Mettavolution? "Metta" is a Sanskrit word for the meditative condition that produces compassion and benevolence. It is a "practical state of mind" as well, according to Gabriela, "something you practice like an instrument to become a better citizen, in a more evolved place." Conceived and composed in their studio in Ixtapa on the Mexican Pacific Coast, the music of METTAVOLUTION was road-tested around the world on tour in 2017 and 2018 before being recorded late last year in Los Angeles with multiple GRAMMY-winning producer Dave Sardy (Oasis, LCD Soundsystem, A Perfect Circle, Band of Horses) behind the board.
METTAVOLUTION gathers six white-hot new Rodrigo y Gabriela compositions - much of which acknowledge the duo's thrash-metal roots back in Mexico City - as well as an inspired, side-long cover of Pink Floyd's sprawling "Echoes" - originally found on 1971's MEDDLE - audaciously reimagined for two acoustic guitars. Rolling Stone hailed the 19-minute epic as a "Song You Need to Know," noting, "'Echoes' is such a signature song, it's hard to imagine anyone else doing it justice, yet somehow the Mexican acoustic-rock duo Rodrigo y Gabriela landed on a brilliant interpretation...Like the original, the song is its own journey, and it's beautiful."
The title track and first single, "Mettavolution" garnered strong support at Triple A radio and was celebrated with a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! with dance choreography by David Byrne collaborator Annie-B Parson.
One of the world's most in-demand live acts, Rodrigo y Gabriela have spent much of their remarkable 20-year career performing on increasingly larger stages around the globe. Highlights include sold out shows at such legendary venues as New York City's Radio City Music Hall, Los Angeles, CA's Hollywood Bowl, Morrison, CO's Red Rocks Amphitheatre, London's Royal Albert Hall, and Paris, FR's Le Zenith, along with countless other theaters and concert halls in North America, Europe, Australia and Japan.
RODRIGO Y GABRIELA FALL TOUR 2019
November
15 - Sugar Land, TX - Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land
16 - Dallas, TX - South Side Music Hall
17 - Oklahoma City, OK - The Jones Assembly
19 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
20 - Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater
22 - Madison, WI - The Sylvee
23 - Cedar Rapids, IA - Paramount Theater
24 - Minneapolis, MN - State Theatre
26 - Joliet, IL - Rialto Square Theatre
27 - Louisville, KY - Brown Theatre
29 - McKees Rocks, PA - Roxian Theatre
30 - Harrisburg, PA - The Forum Auditorium
December
2 - Durham, NC - Durham Performing Arts Center
3 - Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Civic Center Auditorium
4 - Charleston, SC - Charleston Gallard Center
6 - Miami Beach, FL - The Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater
Jim James relishes the joy of singing in his new video for “Set It To Song,” the first single from his upcoming collaboration with composer/conductor Teddy Abrams and the Louisville Orchestra, The Order of Nature, set for release on October 18 via Decca Gold. Watch the video HERE.
In this video directed by acclaimed Spanish artist Silvia Grav, Jim James, bathed in stained-glass light, sings to an audience that finds themselves moved to dance by the spirit of song. A roomful of dancers led by renowned choreographer and dancer Genna Moroni, move quirkily and gracefully, as James slips slyly between them, dancing.
Says Jim James about this song, “I just wanted to sing about singing and how it feels so good to sing and just have music in your life. The whole (suite) is pretty serious so I just wanted to have a beautifully lighthearted moment.”
Teddy Abrams, who arranged James’ songs for orchestra for the record, said of the single, “I loved working on this setting, which combines a kind of French cafe style ...and several sections that are directly inspired by the great symphonist Johannes Brahms. I use a wide variety of shifting instrumental colors and percussion effects to heighten Jim’s darkness/daylight lyrics.”
The video highlights these lyrics as well, playing with the light of the stained-glass, oscillating between church-like and night-club.
Recently, Jim James and Teddy Abrams performed the full song cycle The Order of Nature at the Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra. NPR’s All Songs Considered featured the “magical collaboration” on the podcast, and Bob Boilen wrote of the performance it was “a positive and wonderful new work.” Consequence of Sound said of this song “it has the pace of a My Morning Jacket ballad with classical instrumentation and cinematic delivery…it’s a surprisingly moving number, even though it feels sunny around the corners, especially when James repeats, “Oh, it feels good just to sing.”
Most recently, the innovative tandem announced additional select performance dates that will feature local orchestras. Those dates will include Benaroya Hall in Seattle, WA with the Seattle Symphony on May 12, 2020, and Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver, CO with the Colorado Symphony on May 15, 2020.
2020 DATES
MAY
12 – Seattle, WA – Benaroya Hall w/the Seattle Symphony
15 – Denver, CO – w/the Colorado Symphony
The Order of Nature debuted April 6-7, 2018 as part of the Louisville Orchestra’s annual Festival of American Music. The second night’s performance was recorded and is what you hear on this forthcoming album, recorded in one take, no overdubs.
Vida Blue - Page McConnell - keyboard, vocals (Phish), Oteil Burbridge - bass (Dead & Company, Allman Brothers Band), Russell Batiste - drums (The Meters), and Adam Zimmon - guitar (Ziggy Marley, Shakira) -- has released their first album in 15 years. CROSSING LINES arrives digitally today. The vinyl and CD version of the album will be released in October and can be pre-ordered at drygoods.phish.com. The album's first song, "Analog Delay," which Rolling Stone called a "psych-funk epic," quickly reminds the listener that Vida Blue features one of the tightest and most creative rhythm sections working today. As he has on past Vida Blue releases, McConnell eschews traditional piano and organ sounds and draws on an array of vintage keyboards to showcase his expansive songwriting.
CROSSING LINES was produced by McConnell at Miami, FL's famed Criteria Studios, and sees the original trio joined by the Florida-based Afro-Cuban-electronic septet Spam Allstars, as well as by new member Zimmon on guitar, who toured with the band in 2004. CROSSING LINES also features an exclusive cover illustration by McConnell.
Vida Blue, the band McConnell assembled in 2001 after attending shows by both Burbridge and Batiste, made their live debut with a New Year's Eve performance at New York City's renowned Roseland Ballroom before heading to New Orleans' Piety Street Recording Studios to record their self-titled studio album, VIDA BLUE, released to critical acclaim in June 2002. Vida Blue toured that year and the next, releasing THE ILLUSTRATED BAND in 2003.
Vida Blue will mark the arrival of CROSSING LINES with a very special series of live performances. The first date at Washington, DC's 9:30 club happened already and two more are set to take place -- Philadelphia, PA tonight and Port Chester, NY tomorrow night. For complete details and ticket availability, please see pagemcconnell.com.
What started off in the mountains & pine trees of Flagstaff, Arizona with a group of friends has now turned into an up-and-coming indie-folk band with a passionate, young following who cherish authentic, heart-felt songwriting. Today, Tow’rs is thrilled to release their new record, and fourth self-produced studio album New Nostalgia.
Previously released tracks “Water Under The Bridge” and “Pink Confetti” are both currently being featured in Spotify’s “Fresh Folk” playlist.
Tow’rs have found a unique place in the musical landscape where they balance soul bearing quietude with string-infused folk-rock songs that bring life & relationships back in focus.
The band will head out on a West Coast tour later this fall. Up to date news and tour information can be found at towrsmusic.com.
Billy Strings’ highly anticipated new album HOME (Rounder Records) is out everywhere today. Ahead of the release, the band shared three tracks from the record “Taking Water” - exclusively premiered via Rolling Stone Country, “Away From the Mire” - exclusively premiered by The Boot and “Everything’s the Same” - exclusively premiered by Billboard. In addition to a sweltering buzz of anticipation from fans and critics alike, Billy Strings’ fall tour has sold out in advance in nearly every market. Two recently announced shows at Denver’s Ogden Theater sold out instantly upon the on-sale time.
Billy Strings has been hailed as the future of bluegrass, transcending tradition and genre with his high velocity, flat-picking guitar technique and intense, confessional songwriting. HOME, Strings’ remarkable second studio album, is undoubtedly the Michigan-born, Nashville-based artist’s bravest excursion thus far, reshaping bluegrass into his own exceptional form, completely rewiring the aesthetic with elements of punk, country, folk-rock, and genuine psychedelic exploration to fashion something altogether original and all his own.
The International Bluegrass Music Association named Billy Strings New Artist of the Year, Guitar Player of the Year at its awards ceremony held last night (Sept 26) in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Billy Strings has been hailed as the future of bluegrass, transcending tradition and genre with his high velocity, flat-picking guitar technique and intense, confessional songwriting. HOME, Strings’ remarkable second studio album, is undoubtedly the Michigan-born, Nashville-based artist’s bravest excursion thus far, reshaping bluegrass into his own exceptional form, completely rewiring the aesthetic with elements of punk, country, folk-rock, and genuine psychedelic exploration to fashion something altogether original and all his own.
BILLY STRINGS TOUR DATES
9/27 Portland, OR - Revolution Hall - SOLD OUT
9/28 Seattle, WA - The Showbox - SOLD OUT
10/3 Paso Robles, CA - Barrel House Brew Co.
10/4 Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room - SOLD OUT
10/6 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Music Festival
10/9 Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom
10/11 Eureka Springs, AR - Hillberry Music Festival
10/13 Tucson, AZ - 191 Toole
10/17 Dallas, TX - Deep Ellum Art Co.- SOLD OUT
10/18 Austin, TX - Scoot Inn
10/19 Houston, TX - Last Concert Cafe
10/27 Suwannee, FL - Suwannee Hulaween
10/30 Knoxville, TN - Bijou Theatre - SOLD OUT
10/31 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel - SOLD OUT
11/1 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle - SOLD OUT
11/2 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle - SOLD OUT
11/4 Broomfield, CO - 1st Bank Center - What The Night Brings
11/6 Norfolk, VA - The NorVa
11/7 Charlottesville, VA - The Jefferson Theater - SOLD OUT
11/8 Charlottesville, VA - The Jefferson Theater - SOLD OUT
11/9 Washington, DC- 9:30 Club - SOLD OUT
11/10 Asbury Park, NJ - Stone Pony - SOLD OUT
11/13 Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair - SOLD OUT
11/14 Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair - SOLD OUT
11/15 Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Bowl - SOLD OUT
11/16 Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Bowl - SOLD OUT
11/19 Cleveland OH - Beachland Ballroom - SOLD OUT
11/21 Madison, WI - Majestic Theatre - SOLD OUT
11/22 Chicago, IL - Concord Music Hall - SOLD OUT
11/23 Covington, KY - Madison Theater - SOLD OUT
12/13 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre - SOLD OUT
12/14 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre - SOLD OUT
12/27 Detroit, MI - The Majestic Theater
12/28 Detroit, MI - The Majestic Theater
12/31 Grand Rapids, MI - The Intersection - SOLD OUT
Spafford have announced that they are releasing a new 5- song EP titled Gaff Tapes. Gaff Tapes is a collection of songs ranging in musical styles and characteristics that are unique and true to the band that Spafford is. The band will kick off their “Fall into Place” tour on Oct 3 in Louisville. As things are, indeed falling into place for Spafford.
“The entirety of the project is a journey through life as seen through the eyes of people who have lived very different lives yet found a common thread through music. This project was a true group effort and it brought us so much joy being able to go back to our roots and record and produce these on our own, in our own studio and homes. We poured our souls into creating something we’re all proud of - something that we hope speaks to the people who will listen to it.”
- Spafford
Gaff Tapes is a mix of the many sounds, influences, and styles that Spafford has become known for - it’s about as organic and as “Spafford” as it gets.
Gaff Tapes Track Listing
Be Strange
Comfortable
Doghouse
Smooth, Relax, Down
Pretty Mama
Spafford is known for their astonishing improvisational ability, which they’ll use to play live off the cuff extended jams. Each song is a blank canvas, and Spafford paints a picture in real time each night with a musical palette known only to each other. It’s a private language comprised of their talent as musicians, and of their formidable catalog of influences - ranging from Steely Dan, electronic acts like The Crystal Method, to 90’s alt rock radio hits. The group is in high demand at music festivals like Bonnaroo and Firefly and consistently play sold out shows across the United States.
Every show is a sonic pilgrimage – the journey of a team of musicians so in tune with each other that a single note communicates intent and purpose.
Craig Finn will celebrate his upcoming European and U.S. tour with the release of “It’s Never Been A Fair Fight,” available now on Partisan Records along with an acoustic version of the song as its B-side. A powerful live performance video of “”It’s Never Been A Fair Fight” filmed earlier this year at a special concert performance at Brooklyn, NY’s Murmrr Theatre can be seen online.
WATCH “IT’S NEVER BEEN A FAIR FIGHT (LIVE AT THE MURMRR THEATRE)”
“It’s Never Been A Fair Fight” precedes a range of upcoming live dates surrounding Finn’s acclaimed new solo album, I Need A New War. The tour – which sees Finn backed by his touring band, The Uptown Controllers – begins October 11 at Exchange in Bristol, England and reaches the U.S. November 1 at Austin, TX’s Cactus Cafe Presents at the Texas Union Theater.
“‘It’s Never Been A Fair Fight’ is about the extreme difficulty of staying true to the rigid rules of a subculture as you get older,” says Finn. “The character in the song revisits an old peer and finds struggle and disappointment in the place he left behind. I’ve always really loved this song, and people seemed to connect with it on my acoustic tour with Brian Fallon. Excited to be sharing the full band version with the world.”
The dates in the U.K. and Europe are the first to feature The Uptown Controllers overseas and will see Finn play his first headline shows in Beligum, Netherlands and Germany. Laura Stevenson will be special guest on all of the U.K. and Europe shows.
On touring, Finn says, “I’m beyond thrilled to be bringing the Uptown Controllers to the UK and Europe for the first time. The band has developed into something very musically exciting, and is able to do much justice to the material on I Need A New War and the prior two solo releases. The Uptown Controllers are loose, lush, elegant and fun. We will be joined in the UK by our friend Laura Stevenson, who has been known to join us on stage. These shows will be very special. Following the UK/Europe we will be touring Texas and West Coast USA for the first time with this band lineup. We are greatly looking forward to all of it.”
The U.S. dates cover Texas and the West Coast, with I Need A New War singer Cassandra Jenkins as special guest on the shows. For complete details, please visit craigfinn.net/tour.
CRAIG FINN & THE UPTOWN CONTROLLERS
ON TOUR 2019
OCTOBER
11 - Bristol, England – Exchange *
12 - Nottingham, England – Bodega *
13 - Glasgow, Scotland - King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut *
15 - Leeds, England - Brudenell Social Club *
16 - Manchester, England - Deaf Institute *
17 - London, England - Olso20 October *
19 - Liverpool, England - Phase One *
20 - Dublin, Ireland - Sugar Club *
22 - Antewerp, Belgium – Trix *
23 - Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso *
24 - Hamburg, Germany - Molotow Skybar *
25 - Berlin, Germany – Privitaclub *
NOVEMBER
1 - Austin, TX - Cactus Cafe Presents at the Texas Union Theater **
A limited number of tickets are available now at http://oysterhead.shop.ticketstoday.com/. The ticket request period will end Thursday, October 17 at 9am MDT. Travel packages will also be available and will go on sale Wednesday, October 16 at 12pm MDT. Full details are available here. Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Saturday, October 19 at 10am MDT. For more info click here.
The Order Of Nature, the highly anticipated collaboration from acclaimed genre-bending solo artist Jim James, composer/conductor/music director Teddy Abrams and the Louisville Orchestra is released today via Decca Gold.
In celebration of the release, on October 19 at 2pm at The Club Car @ McKittrick Hotel, James and Abrams will discuss the album in a conversation moderated by pianist/bandleader of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jon Batiste, followed by a pared down 3-song set. The following day, James, Abrams and members of the Louisville Orchestra will perform the entirety of The Order of Nature at Le Poisson Rouge at 8pm. Though the show is sold out, fans can watch the full show via Relix Magazine. Additionally, Jim James, Teddy Abrams and members of the Louisville Orchestra will perform “Back To The End Of The World” on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Monday, October 21.
This “magical collaboration” (NPR) was born of a friendship between Jim and Teddy and the fertile music scene of their hometown of Louisville, KY. The Order Of Nature comprises brand-new songs penned by James and orchestrated by Abrams into cinematic, lush soundscapes that presents James’ voice and words in a whole new light. James’ and Abrams also include works from James’ solo projects (Uniform Distortion, Uniform Clarity, Eternally Even), as well as works by Leonard Bernstein and Nina Simone.
Together, these songs make up an album that seeks to explore the absence of hate in nature. As James says in the album text, “Animals kill each other, but only out of hunger, while humans daily choose to hate – we choose to ignore the order of nature and that choice is wreaking havoc.”
To that end, today James and Abrams release the video for “Back To The End Of The World,” which shows children in panic as their parents, in a state of hypnotized inaction, ignore the literal fires and flooding around them. James says of the video, “I really wanted the video to show the need for us to listen to the powerful voices of our young leaders if we want to make real progress on important issues like climate change... so that we can all work together towards true peace, prosperity, and longevity- for ourselves, future generations, and the planet with all its glorious forms of life.”
In May of 2020, James and Abrams will perform The Order Of Nature in Seattle with the Seattle Symphony (May 12, 2020) as well as Denver, CO with the Colorado Symphony (May 15, 2020). Earlier this year, they performed with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.
JIM JAMES, TEDDY ABRAMS AND THE LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA
Cold War Kids have released a video for "Beyond the Pale," a new song from their forthcoming album NEW AGE NORMS, 1. The song, co-written with Mikky Ekko (Rihanna, Clams Casino), is a piano ballad that features lead singer Nathan Willett at his most emotionally bare as he shares the universal tale of a life spent on the road away from his family. The video portrays the frenetic yet fun lifestyle of being in a band on the road while the despair in the lyrics reshape how one sees these images.
NEW AGE NORMS 1 arrives Friday, November 1 via CWKTWO/AWAL; digital and physical pre-orders – including CD and a white vinyl 12” pressed at 45 rpm – are available now. Produced by Lars Stalfors (St. Vincent, HEALTH, Foster the People), NEW AGE NORMS 1 marks the first volume of a three-album trilogy. The album – which features cover art by the Los Angeles-based band’s bassist, acclaimed artist Matt Maust – also features the song “Waiting For Your Love,” available now at all DSPs and streaming services.
The arrival of NEW AGE NORMS 1 was was announced earlier this summer by the first new music from Cold War Kids in more than two years, “Complainer” and “4th of July,” both available now at all DSPs and streaming services. In addition, “Complainer” – co-written with multi-platinum songwriter Bonnie McKee (Katy Perry, Rita Ora) and Electric Guest’s Asa Taccone – was also joined by a powerful acoustic version, “Complainer (Strings & Keys),” available now at all DSPs and streaming services. “Complainer” is currently top 20 at Alternative Radio and top 10 at Triple A.
Cold War Kids is currently on a major U.S. headline tour, the first leg of which began October 4 in Salt Lake City, UT and continues through late November. The tour will resume in 2020, with newly announced headline dates beginning January 16 at Portland, OR’s Crystal Ballroom and then continuing through late February (see itinerary below). Highlights include two-night-stands at Seattle, WA’s Neptune Theatre (January 17 and 18) and New York City’s famed Webster Hall (February 4 and 5). For complete details and ticket information, please visit www.coldwarkids.com.
COLD WAR KIDS NORTH AMERICA 2019/2020
NOVEMBER 2019
14 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
15 – San Diego, CA – The Observatory North Park
16 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues Anaheim
17 – San Luis Obispo, CA – Fremont Theater
18 – Sacramento, CA – Ace of Spades
20 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
22 – Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst
JANUARY 2020
16 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
17 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre
18 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre
19 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
22 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
23 – Omaha, NE – The Slowdown
24 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
25 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre
27 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
28 – Detroit, MI – Majestic Theatre
29 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix Concert Theatre
31 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore
FEBRUARY 2020
1 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
4 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
5 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
7 – Richmond, VA – The National
8 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte
10 – Ponte Vedra Beach, FL – Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
12 – Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works
14 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom
15 – Austin, TX – Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater
The Lone Bellow – Zach Williams, Kanene Donehey Pipkin, Brian Elmquist – have announced the release of their long-awaited new album, HALF MOON LIGHT (Dualtone Records, an Entertainment One Company), the band’s fourth studio LP and first one since 2017. Out on Friday, February 7, 2020, HALF MOON LIGHT, produced by Aaron Dessner (The National) at his studio in upstate New York and featuring guitarist Josh Kaufman and drummer J.T. Baites, finds The Lone Bellow more vital than ever as the mighty combo push their acoustic storytelling prowess past new horizons, experimenting with textures and instrumentation to create their most sophisticated work to date. With HALF MOON LIGHT, The Lone Bellow have returned unified and invigorated with boundless ambition. To celebrate the announcement today, the band are sharing their indelible first single, “Count On Me,” a song that reminds us with soul-shouting intensity that it’s safe and important to lean on one another for survival. HALF MOON LIGHT is available for pre-order now.
Williams says: “After singing “Count On Me” together in the studio we walked outside and couldn’t help but think about the sense of camaraderie and kindness that seems to happen at our shows. Like strangers becoming neighbors wrapping their arms ‘round each others necks and saying ‘I got ya.’”
Pre-order features limited-edition gold vinyl and autographed merchandise bundles HALF MOON LIGHT is an artistic triumph worked toward for years, earned not by individual posturing, but by collective determination and natural growth. With earthy three-part harmonies and songwriting as provocative as it is honest, the trio made up of guitarist Elmquist, lead vocalist Williams, and multi-instrumentalist Pipkin creates sparks that make a stranger’s life matter or bring our sense of childlike wonder roaring back. On HALF MOON LIGHT, The Lone Bellow mix light and dark to muster a complex ode to memory, a call for hope, and an exercise in empathy.
“I want it to bring comfort,” Elmquist says. “But it’s not all hard conversations. There’s a lot of light and some dancing that needs to happen...We try to invite as many people into the process to see what we can make together. I like that collaborative spirit and that freedom. Then, the songs speak for themselves.”
That wholehearted embrace of collaboration defines HALF MOON LIGHT. The record marks a return to recording in New York with Dessner, whom the band counts as both a hero and a comrade. “We already had a friendship with Aaron and a strong, shared understanding of our musical vision,” Williams says. “It’s really important to us to be a part of a community of musicians. We like the collaborative, communal way of making something. Aaron showed us a new way of trusting and collaborating. His idea of bringing in Josh and J.T. was such a beautiful gift. The meekness that these friends brought to the table was something that we will never forget. A sense of controlled fury. Lightning in a shoebox.”
“Aaron has a powerful quietness about him,” Pipkin says. “A lot of people I meet in the music industry have lots of bravado, and it’s something I have trouble believing. Aaron doesn’t have that. He is a joy to work with. A true friend."
For the first time, the band stayed where they recorded, sequestered from the world at Aaron’s studio in upstate New York. They fell asleep at night to the sound of coyotes howling and felt the freedom to fall into rabbit holes that would have otherwise been left unexplored. “We made this record in a place of joy and collaboration with our friends. We were trying to do something bigger than ourselves,” says Elmquist. “I think we’ve been wanting to make this record for a while now. It just hasn’t come together as perfectly as it did this time.”
In support of HALF MOON LIGHT, The Lone Bellow have confirmed a worldwide tour that will begin January 22 in London, England for two nights at the St. Pancras Old Church. North American dates begin February 12 in Los Angeles, CA for two nights at The Troubadour and continue through April 24 with their first-ever headlining show at the Ryman in Nashville, TN. The band will then head to Europe and come back to America for summer festival appearances. For updates and tickets, please visit thelonebellow.com.
Ronnie Wood proudly presents his live rendition of the Chuck Berry track "Mad Lad," in honor of one of his greatest icons. This comes ahead of the release of the album Ronnie Wood with His Wild Five - Mad Lad: A Live Tribute to Chuck Berry which will be released November 15th, 2019 by BMG.
Wood's extended live rendition of the 1960's instrumental classic features backing from His Wild Five band. With the adaptation providing a new take on the song, this title track is the perfect showcase of what the album has to offer.
Ronnie's Shepherds Bush Empire gig on November 21 sold out on the day the tickets were available. Another date was added at Birmingham Symphony Hall on November 25 and now a third date has been announced at Manchester Opera House on November 27. Tickets on sale this Friday, October 25 at 10am. Fans were also given the chance to see him up close and personal at a very exclusive gig at All Saints Church in Kingston Upon Thames. These tickets sold out in an astonishing 7 seconds!
Ronnie Wood with His Wild Five - Mad Lad: A Live Tribute to Chuck Berry is available to pre-order here
A track from the album "Talking About You" is also available to stream here.
The Allman Betts Band has officially announced the full artist lineup for the third annual Allman Family Revival.
“These Allman Family Revival shows have become an annual reunion for our musical family. This year, going from just one show in San Francisco to 3 shows including Denver and NYC is going to be epic. The musicians that have signed on have really upped the ante. We are so stoked to jam with our friends in Dad’s honor!” said Devon Allman.
Newly announced artists include JD Simo, Alex Orbison, Eric McFadden, Brandon “TAZ” Niederauer, Charlie Starr, Luther Dickinson, Cody Dickinson, G Love, Ally Venable, Lamar Williams, and Lily Hiatt. Before the Revival shows, the band is touring extensively in support of their debut album Down To The River, released earlier this year via BMG, receiving extensive attention and praise around the world.
The current tour will see the ABB touring the US and internationally as the band is set to play the famed Byron Bay Bluesfest in Australia.
The ABB has also recently announced that they will be supporting Gov’t Mule on Dec 27 during their New Year’s run in Philadelphia and then Lynyrd Skynyrd on New Year’s Eve in Dallas. “We are super excited to be joining our friends Lynyrd Skynyrd on NYE. They are legends and we can’t wait to throw down in Dallas” adds Duane Betts.
For all tour info and up to date news on The Allman Betts Band visit allmanbettsband.com.
ALLMAN FAMILY REVIVAL 2019
DECEMBER 7 San Francisco @ The Fillmore
DECEMBER 8 Denver @ The Mission Ballroom
DECEMBER 28 NYC @ The Beacon Theater
ALLMAN FAMILY REVIVAL LINEUP
Robin Zander
Eric Krasno
Charlie Starr
Todd Park Mohr
G Love
Luther Dickinson
Cody Dickinson
Robert Randolph
Jimmy Hall
Samantha Fish
Lamar Williams JR
Ally Venable
Jimmy Vivino
Alex Orbison
JD Simo
Eric McFadden
Lilly Hiatt
TAZ
*Some artists listed will not play all three shows. Check with individual venues for local billing.
THE ALLMAN BETTS BAND ON TOUR
Nov 4 Frankfort, KY @ Grand Theatre
Nov 6 Morgantown, WV @ Metropolitan Theatre
Nov 7 Blacksburg, VA @ Lyric Theatre
Nov 8 Richmond, VA @ The National
Nov 9 Stroudsburg, PA @ Sherman Theatre
Nov 10 Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
Nov 13 @ New York, NY Beacon (with Charlie Daniels Band)
Nov 14 Glenside, PA @ Keswick (with Charlie Daniels Band)
Nov 15 Wallingford, CT @ Oakdale (with Charlie Daniels Band)
Nov 16 Waterloo, NY @ The Vine at Del Lago (with Charlie Daniels Band)
Nov 17 Northampton, MA @ The Academy of Music
Dec 7 San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore (Allman Family Revival)
Dec 8 Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom (Allman Family Revival)
Dec 27 Philadelphia, PA @ Met (With Gov’t Mule)
Dec 28 New York, NY Beacon (Allman Family Revival)
Dec 30 Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
Dec 31 Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center (with Lynyrd Skynyrd)
Feb 5 St. Charles, IL @ The Arcada Theater
Feb 6 Grand Rapids, MI @ 20 Monroe Live
Feb 7 Fort Wayne, IN @ Clyde Theatre
Feb 9 Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
Feb 11 Syracuse, NY @ Wescott Theater
Feb 12 Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
Feb 14 Salisbury, MA @ Blue Ocean Music Hall
Feb 16 Tarrytown, NY @ Tarrytown Music hall
Feb 20 Greensboro, NC @ Carolina Theatre
Feb 21 Anniston, AL @ Anniston Performing Arts Center
Mar 4 Colorado Springs, CO Pikes Peak Center
Mar 6 Phoenix, AZ @ MIM
Apr 9-12 Tyagarah, Australia @ Bluesfest Byron Bay
Apr 23 Cleveland, MS @ Bologna Performing Arts Center
May 2 El Dorado, AR @ First Financial Music Hall
May 6 Florence, SC @ Francis Marion Univerisity PAC
The road to LOCKN' 2020 has officially begun with today’s announcement of next year’s very special edition of the beloved camping festival. Set for June 19-21, 2020, the 8th annual LOCKN’ will be an all-star celebration of Phil Lesh’s upcoming 80th birthday, taking place as always at Infinity Downs & Oak Ridge Farm, LOCKN’s 387-acre property located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Arrington, VA.
"I am honored that Peter and the LOCKN' family are throwing me the most special kind of birthday bash this year!" says Lesh. "It's perfect because I've had so much fun there over the years — not just playing, but also getting to hang out and spend time with good friends and collaborators, some of whom I have just met and others whom I have been playing with since this all began. We are going to have a lot of fun."
“We’re going to celebrate Phil’s 80th the LOCKN’ way,” says festival co-founder Peter Shapiro. “He means so much to all of us, and we really are determined to give him the best party he’s ever had. We want to celebrate the man and his music in the best way possible. No better way than on our farm in that setting.”
LOCKN’ ‘LUMNI 3-Day Festival Passes will be priced at $219 and available beginning Friday, November 8 at 8:08 AM ET. LOCKN’s newly revised Super-Easy Payment Plan offers fans a chance to purchase tickets for a deposit as low as $19.99 (plus fees), followed by more payment installments lessening each payment cost. 2020 ‘LUMNI Tickets go on sale Friday, November 8 at 8:08 AM (ET) (Promo Code: GR8TEFUL). CID Entertainment will once again be offering VIP and Super VIP perks that range from access to enhanced viewing areas and intimate performances by members of the festival lineup, to exclusive merchandise and hospitality throughout the weekend. On-site lodging options include glamping tents, RVs, tour buses and more and are available as an add on to festival passes. For the full list of premium offerings, visit https://www.cidentertainment.com/events/lockn/. For complete ticket information and much more, please visit www.locknfestival.com.
For the first time ever, LOCKN’ 2020 will be a three-day event. A special “Steal Your Thursday” add-on will be available for $30, allowing attendees to kick off their festival weekend on June 18 with an epic Main Stage “Jerry Dance Party,” the always-popular immersive psychedelic audio/visual experience celebrating the music of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, as well as LOCKN’s always enticing lineup of local food vendors, craft brewers, and much more. In addition, true LOCKN’ devotees can unite even sooner with the Wednesday Early-Entry add-on, allowing attendees extra time to enjoy the farm and prepare for the extraordinary music ahead.
The 2019 LOCKN' Festival was filled with memorable moments and historic musical partnerships, along with an ineffable spirit of energy and community that makes each year’s event more magical than the last. Fans can relive the experience with an official recap video, “The Feeling’s Forever at LOCKN’ 2019.”
One of the most iconic names in modern blues music, Joe Bonamassa, received his 22nd No. 1 album on the Billboard Blues Chart this week with the new album LIVE AT THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE on J&R Adventures. The renowned artist, who Guitar World cites as "arguably the world's biggest blues guitarist," released the album on October 25th and has already seen an overflowing amount of praise from critics and fans alike.
LIVE AT THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE was recorded live at the landmark venue and features previously unreleased versions of tracks from Bonamassa's coveted No. 1 album BLUES OF DESPERATION
As a UNESCO Heritage Monument The Sydney Opera House sits alongside the Great Pyramids Of Egypt, the Great Wall Of China and the Taj Mahal. For those that have the honor to play a venue as sacred as the Opera House, they bring their absolute best to the stage. Bonamassa is no exception to the rule, always rising to the challenge and bringing his A-game, so the praised musician brought with him a band composed of some of today's best musicians and singers to support him in delivering a masterful concert to be cherished for years to come. This stellar band includes Late Night with David Letterman's Anton Fig (percussion), Nashville recording legend Michael Rhodes (bass guitar), Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and member of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Reese Wynans (keyboards), Paulie Cerra (sax), and Lee Thornburg (trumpet), with Mahalia Barnes, Juanita Tippins, and Gary Pinto on backing vocals.
The evening's celebration is available worldwide now with this special release of LIVE AT THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE, compiled for a premium listening experience available digitally, on CD with beautiful packaging that includes a collector's booklet, and vinyl 180 Gram Double LP which features the exclusive bonus track "Livin' Easy."
Bonamassa is one of today's top live performers and his enthusiastic live shows are one of the biggest parts of his career, and a favorite for music lovers everywhere. LIVE AT THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE perfectly captures the incredible talents a man who's toured nearly every city, country, and major venue over the world, perhaps even twice over. Bonamassa is currently on tour in the US, following a string of international dates and two successful sold-out cruises (one Caribbean and an inaugural Mediterranean edition), with 2020's upcoming Mediterranean cruise nearly sold out already. Today, longtime fans and new listeners everywhere can hear what all the buzz is about with LIVE AT THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE.
LIVE AT THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE follows Bonamassa's 2018 release of British Blues Explosion Live, which marked his milestone 20th #1 album, and preceded his latest studio album REDEMPTION that took the blues world by storm later that year, bringing him his 21st #1 album on the blues charts. For Bonamassa, the music never stops, and the hit records keep coming!
For more information on LIVE AT THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE, visit jbonamassa.com, and stay connected to what's coming up next from Bonamassa by following him on social media.
Following six sold-out Caribbean cruises and a sold-out inaugural Mediterranean sailing – Joe Bonamassa, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation, and Sixthman announce the second annual Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Mediterranean II, sailing August 14-19, 2020 on the beautiful Norwegian Jade from Barcelona, Spain to Genoa, Italy and Cannes, France.
Keeping The Blues Alive at Sea Mediterranean II is making waves with a new lineup addition. We are so excited to announce that Ian Anderson presents Jethro Tull will join us in the Mediterranean! Don't miss your chance to catch them as well as an incredible lineup as we sail through Europe!
As with the previous United States-based sailings and the inaugural Mediterranean voyage, the second European cruise will feature music across multiple stages, Meet and Greets with artists from the lineup, numerous artist collaborations and an exclusive Artist Super Session set led by Jimmy Vivino. In addition to non-stop music, the specially curated schedule of events offers a variety of music-centric activities including an activity with Joe Bonamassa. Beyond the onboard experience, guests will have the chance to explore two of the world’s most beautifully renowned cities. Attendees can spend the day at the waterfront town of Cannes famous for sparkling, sandy beaches and lush attractions, and explore the historic streets of Genoa, a remarkable gem of the Italian Riviera. In 2020, Ian Anderson presents Jethro Tull, Jonny Lang, Walter Trout, Marc Broussard, Samantha Fish, Ana Popovic, King King, Jimmy Vivino, The James Hunter Six, The Suffers, Selwyn Birchwood, The Cold Stares, Daddy Long Legs, Elles Bailey, Ben Levin, and Lakota John have already been confirmed and more will be announced to join Joe Bonamassa for the second voyage.
Less than 10% of staterooms are remaining and fans are encouraged to reserve now at bluesaliveatseaeurope.com. Double occupancy staterooms on Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Mediterranean II begin at $1,650 per person, plus taxes and fees, with low deposit amounts and flexible payment plans available. For more information about booking your vacation, visit bluesaliveatseaeurope.com or call Sixthman directly at +44 808 164 1488 between the hours of 10AM EST and 6PM EST.
A destination of her own, Norwegian Jade offers guests Norwegian Cruise Line’s signature freedom and flexibility during their vacation. Norwegian Jade features 11 delicious and visually stunning dining options, 15 bars and relaxing lounges, a dazzling casino, tranquil spa and gym, updated design and décor in public spaces and brand-new state of the art features on board cabins.
Spafford have announced their Winter 2020 headline tour. The 39–date trek gets underway January 15 at Houston, TX’s White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs) and then travels the U.S. through early April. Among the tour’s highlights is a three-night-stand at Brooklyn, NY’s Brooklyn Bowl, set for February 7-9 and including a very special acoustic only performance on February 9. The band will be joined throughout by an array of special guests, including The Iceman Special, Eggy, Cycles, Yak Attack, and The Jauntee. Presales and VIP package sales begin today at 10 am (local); General Admission sales begin Friday, November 15 at 10 am (local). For complete details, please see www.spafford.net/tour.
The marathon itinerary follows Spafford’s upcoming New Year’s Eve run, set for The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, CA (December 27th and 28th) and San Francisco, Ca’s Great American Music Hall (December 30th and 31st) – tickets and limited VIP packages are available HERE.
SPAFFORD WINTER TOUR 2019/20
DECEMBER 2019
27 – West Hollywood, CA – The Roxy Theatre
28 – West Hollywood, CA – The Roxy Theatre
30 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
31 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
JANUARY 2020
15 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs)
16 – Austin, TX – Antone’s Nightclub
17 – Austin, TX – Antone’s Nightclub
18 – Dallas, TX – Trees
19 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues New Orleans
22 – Pensacola, FL – Vinyl Music Hall
23 – Tampa, FL – The Orpheum
24 – Fort Lauderdale, FL – Culture Room
25 – Jacksonville, FL – 1904 Music Hall
28 – Birmingham, AL – Saturn
29 – Oxford, MS – Proud Larry’s
30 – Knoxville, TN – Bijou Theatre
31 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
FEBRUARY 2020
1 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
3 – Greensboro, NC – The Blind Tiger
5 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
6 – Boston, MA – Royale
7 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl
8 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl
9 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl *
28 – Winter Park, CO – Ullrs Tavern
29 – Winter Park, CO – Ullrs Tavern
MARCH 2020
1 – Winter Park, CO – Ullrs Tavern
4 – Grand Junction, CO – Mesa Theater
6 – Frisco, CO – 10 Mile Music Hall
7 – Frisco, CO – 10 Mile Music Hall
10 – Steamboat Springs, CO – Schmiggity’s Live Music Dance Bar
11 – Steamboat Springs, CO – Schmiggity’s Live Music Dance Bar
Bonnaroo is excited to announce that pre-sale GA, VIP and Platinum tickets for the 2020 event will be available on Black Friday, November 29 at 12 noon ET via Bonnaroo.com.
This year, Bonnaroo is selling more tier 1 priced tickets, giving fans an even better chance at getting the best prices. The festival has incorporated many more changes and upgrades to the Black Friday sales event this year as well.
See below:
Payment plans for GA tickets starting at $30 down:
Fans can split their entire purchase into multiple easy payments and get a GA ticket for as low as $30 down (Available during pre-sale). More info here.
New GA+ ticket:
This new ticket gives GA + attendees access to a brand new Centeroo lounge, air-conditioned bathrooms, exclusive bars and food vendors, and shaded seating areas.
Revamped VIP & Platinum programs:
A reorganized campground, more bathrooms and showers, as well as added amenities are some of the ways Bonnaroo is improving VIP and Platinum programs. More info here.
Faster Venue entry (more lanes, more tolls, less waiting):
Based on popular demand, Bonnaroo is adding tolls, security, and staff as well as shifting some campground layouts to get fans parked faster. Those who arrive earlier generally will be parked closer to the venue.
Stage Improvements to Which Stage and now The OTHER is going all night:
After 19 years, the festival felt it was time to give its second stage, aka the WHICH, a production makeover. Organizers will also now be programming the OTHER stage to go all night long, right to sunrise.
New "Darkroom" tents:
The festival will now be offering new "darkroom" tents. Many options come with power and air conditioning. More info here.
Acclaimed guitar virtuosos Rodrigo y Gabriela have unveiled a spectacular new version of the Metallica classic, “Battery,” which will be featured on the duo’s upcoming METTAL EP, due from ATO Records on Black Friday, November 29, as a one-sided 12” vinyl Record Store Day First release, limited to 2,500 and available only at independent record stores. Side 2 will have an art etching. This companion EP to their latest full-length, METTALVOLUTION, sees Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero paying tribute to the icons of thrash metal with three previously unreleased covers, shedding light on some of their favorite foundational songs. Along with “Battery,” METTAL EP includes stunning new versions of Megadeth’s “Holy War” and Slayer’s epic “Seasons In The Abyss.” All three tracks were produced and recorded by Sanchez in Oslo, Norway and finished at the duo’s own Lumbini Studio in Ixtapa, Zihuatenejo, Mexico. METTAL EP was mixed by Jim Monti (Slipknot, Metallica, KoRN) and then mastered by GRAMMY® Award-winner Ted Jensen (Bring Me The Horizon, Disturbed, Halestorm) at Sterling Sound, Nashville.
“It's no secret that we love Metallica,” says Sanchez. “Master Of Puppets changed everything for us when we first heard it all those years ago.”
“We've played parts of ‘Battery’ in our live set for many years,” says Quintero. “We’re so happy to release our studio version in full for our fans. Thank you to the fans for coming with us on this trip, and eternal gratitude to Metallica for the incredible music.”
Rodrigo y Gabriela have long proclaimed the powerful influence of metal on their own groundbreaking music, including a rendition of Metallica’s “Orion” found on their now-classic self-titled second album from 2006. The track was later named by Loudwire among the top 5 on its “10 Very Diverse Covers of Metallica Songs – Ranked,” writing, “Having long admitted the influence heavy metal has had on their music, it’s no surprise that Rodrigo y Gabriela decided to pay their respects to Metallica…Their stunning take on Cliff Burton’s bass-heavy track from MASTER OF PUPPETS will forever shine as their crowning nod to ‘Tallica.”
What’s more, Rodrigo y Gabriela’s triumphant 2014 headline concert at Morrison, CO’s famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre saw them joined on stage by none other than Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo for an unprecedented “Metallica Medley“ comprising “Orion,” “For Whom The Bell Tolls,” “The Frayed Ends of Sanity,” and “Battery.” The performance has since proven a viral favorite, earning more than 1 million individual views via the official Rodrigo y Gabriela YouTube channel.
2019 has already seen Rodrigo y Gabriela make a spectacular chart debut with their acclaimed new album, METTAVOLUTION, available now via ATO Records. The duo’s fifth studio LP and first album in five years, METTAVOLUTION entered Billboard’s “Americana/Folk Albums” chart at #1 with 1st week equivalents in excess of 11,000 – Rodrigo y Gabriela’s second best sales week ever. In addition, the new album arrived at #2 on Billboard’s “Rock Albums,” as well as #10 on “Top Album Sales” and #71 on the overall SoundScan/Billboard 200.
METTAVOLUTION also earned critical acclaim to match its popular success. “For Rodrigo y Gabriela, the meditation is actually in the swirl of notes and rhythmic strums that circle around their music,” wrote NPR’s First Listen. “And if we follow their lead, there is a meditative quality for the listener as well. METTAVOLUTION closes with a 19-minute version of ‘Echoes,’ Pink Floyd’s rock masterpiece famously performed live in an ancient Roman amphitheater in Pompeii, Italy. Like its masterful catalog, Rodrigo y Gabriela gives the music new life with just two guitars.” “METTAVOLUTION finds the duo locked back in,” wrote Glide, “and where their last record was dedicated to their influences, this time it is all about the visceral primal passion of playing and what originally connected them to music. The title track opener kicks a rock beat behind the guitar strums as the producer David Sardy loads up the bass, shaker and voice synths to propel the sound forward.” Pitchfork praised the album’s original material, writing, “The crunching ‘Terracentric’ and the blurrily agile lines on ‘Witness Tree’ move like hand-cranked cars on a slotted track, wound up by Rodrigo y Gabriela’s extremely athletic wrists and then turned loose. The dance break ‘Cumbé’ and its slower-breathing follower ‘Electric Soul’ simmer down a bit and lay out their chemistry more simply, to warmer and more pleasant effect, but the dominant energy in part one is fast, heavy, and relentlessly precise… METTAVOLUTION reassures that for as long as they’re around, Rodrigo y Gabriela will be echoing their influences as only they can.”
Rodrigo y Gabriela celebrated the album’s arrival with a spectacular performance of METTAVOLUTION’s title track and first official single, “Mettavolution,” on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, featuring exclusive choreography by Annie-B Parson (David Byrne, David Bowie, Laurie Anderson). “The duo are joined by a group of six dancers holding matching guitars who move in motion to the past-paced, lyric-free instrumentals,” wrote Rolling Stone. “As the musicians play faster and faster, the dancers leave their guitars behind and perform a choreographed dance behind the two. As the track comes to a climax, a several singer rise in the audience to intone alongside the quick-fire acoustic riffs.”
Rodrigo y Gabriela are currently traveling the world on the epic METTAVOLUTION headline tour, with U.S. dates scheduled through mid-December. For complete details and ticket information, please visit www.rodgab.com/tour-dates.
RODRIGO Y GABRIELA NORTH AMERICAN TOUR 2019/20
NOVEMBER
19 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
20 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater
22 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee
23 – Cedar Rapids, IA – Paramount Theatre
24 – Minneapolis, MN – State Theatre
26 – Joliet, IL – Rialto Square Theatre
27 – Louisville, KY – The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts
29 – McKee’s Rocks, PA – Roxian Theatre
30 – Harrisburg, PA – The Forum Auditorium
DECEMBER
2 – Durham, NC – Durham Performing Arts Center
3 – Asheville, NC –Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
4 – Charleston, SC – Charleston Gaillard Center
6 – Miami Beach, FL – The Fillmore Miami Beach
MARCH 2020
12 – Sugar Land, TX – Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land
20-21 – Monterrey, Mexico – Tecate Pa’l Norte Festival *
The Ballroom Thieves - Calin “Callie” Peters (vocals, cello, bass), Martin Earley (vocals, guitar), and Devin Mauch (vocals, percussion) - have announced their latest full-length album Unlovely will be released on February 14, 2020 via Nettwerk Records. With subject matters ranging from female empowerment and the destruction of patriarchy, to love in a committed relationship, to their fury about the current state of American leadership, this collection of tracks is the distillation of the band's personal and political passions.
Songs like “Vanity Trip” and title track “Unlovely” boil over with exasperation and disgust, rage and resentment running through every line in protest of today’s global status quo.
“I understand that many of us are tired of talking about what we call politics, and some don’t feel that songwriters should be writing about the state of the world,” says Peters. Adding, “but, it’s also personal, as my entire life has been negatively affected by the way things are run. Most of the people that have ever been in charge represent the tiniest piece of the American pie: the rich, straight, white, male, born in the USA slice. If a person is missing any or all of those titles, they are treated as less than worthy. After all this reprehensible American history, we can agree this place isn’t built for the rest of us, and the rest of us make up more than 99% of the people. We stood by and waited for change, we trusted that our leadership had our best interest in mind, that they weren’t just setting it up for themselves, but we were mistaken.”
As the first album entirely co-written by Peters and Earley, save for Peters’ song “Pendulum,” Unlovely is also a tangible reflection of their evolution from band members to life partners. “Figuring out how to write as a writing team has been something of an adventure,” says Earley. “We used to create songs more separately but found that we complement each other well in almost every sense of the word, including songwriting. Most of the songs I brought to the table were inspired by our dreadful news cycle but tend to involve some sort of hopeful or romantic spin, whereas most of Callie's songs are about smashing the patriarchy and destroying evil forever."
Incorporating musical styles that range from Motown to classic rock and metal, Unlovely maintains the recognizable, nostalgia-tinged sound of The Ballroom Thieves’ previous outputs while pushing a heightened brashness. Since the release of their first EP and debut full-length, A Wolf in the Doorway, The Ballroom Thieves have consistently and skillfully crossed genres, joining artists like CAAMP, Langhorne Slim and Shakey Graves to bridge the gap between folk, rock, and soul. With Unlovely, thanks in part to frequent collaborator Ariel Bernstein, the trio took it a step further and grew their instrumental arsenal, amplifying their signature energy and eccentricity. "Ariel has been a great friend of ours for years now," says Earley. "He's a talented musician, engineer, and unlicensed band therapist, so when we decided to expand our touring party, he was the unanimous first-round draft pick."
Engineered and produced by Jerry Streeter (Brandi Carlile, The Lumineers, Vance Joy), Unlovely was recorded in and around the northeast, predominantly at HearStudios in Camden, Maine.
Following the release, the band will set out on a 26-date tour that kicks off with a headline show on March 3 in Boise, ID. The Ballroom Thieves will also join CAAMP for 10 dates on the East Coast, following a successful West Coast run with the band this fall. See the full dates below. Additional news and up-to-date tour information can be found at ballroomthieves.com.
It’s their unique brand of powerful and harmonious music, while never shying away from topics and ideas they are passionate about, that has charmed fans around the country. Their catalog has amassed over 85 million streams and they’ve gained a loyal live following, selling out shows and earning festival spots at Boston Calling, Newport Folk, Moon River, Mountain Jam, and Calgary Folk. Ultimately, Unlovely sets the stage for The Thieves to continue to impact listeners everywhere.
Unlovely will be available on CD, download, and vinyl. Additionally, the famed indie retailer, Newbury Comics will be selling an exclusive signed baby pink vinyl (to pre-order, click HERE).
Snohomish, Washington based Fretland has just busted into the national music scene, but are already turning heads. The release of the official video for “Long Haul” is an intimate look of where Fretland comes from.
“Our video for Long Haul is a celebration of our hometown of Snohomish, Washington. When you have a special connection to the community that helped shape you, it’s a love and nostalgia that never really goes away. Watching our town come together to make this video happen was just another reminder of why we feel this way. Really that feeling of pride and history is what we were wanting to capture so that anyone who shares that love for a town or place can share in it with us. “Long Haul” is a song about capturing all that love for wherever, whatever and whomever it’s been inspired by and then sharing it with the world. It’s boastful, it’s shameless, and it goes on and on,” Hillary Grace told American Songwriter.
“Long Haul” is the first song to be released from the band’s debut album, which is due out in early 2020.
The family quilt of Americana music is long and well worn. With stitches that took hold hundreds of years ago, the legacy of forlorn lyrics sung over spare, twinkling instrumentation depicting long nights, whiskey glasses and love that too often walks out the door extends further than any can remember. And it will continue well past anyone kicking up mud today. But with each passing sunset, we can see new patches added to the legacy. And the next name to be sewn in is FRETLAND.
The band plays songs that dash over hills, harmonize with the breeze and coax honey from tall trees. Founded by Hillary Grace Fretland, the group also includes the tasteful Jake Haber and subtle Luke Francis on bass and guitar and Kenny Bates on drums. FRETLAND’s self-titled, 11-track debut album, which is due out in early 2020, includes the epic, “Long Haul,” reflective, “Have Another Beer,” and the revelrous, "Friendly Fire." Their first single has already received high praise from The Boot and American Songwriter Magazine.
While still getting footing on their newest plateau, FRETLAND has lots to enjoy in the view behind them. The band corralled two sonic stalwarts for their first full-length record, including engineer Nich Wilbur (Angel Olsen, Black Belt Eagle Scout) and Seattle-area sage Trevor Spencer (Father John Misty, Fleet Foxes), who mixed the record. The band, rife with energy and momentum, has already created one of those strong foundations that allow for a long story to unfold in great detail and with much revelation.
Having just finished a global tour (including sold-out shows in the UK) with dates supporting Jason Isbell, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Hiss Golden Messenger, as well as sharing the stage with Dolly Parton at Newport Folk Festival, Molly Tuttle has released an intimate new video for her song "Sleepwalking." The noirish clip was written by Tuttle, directed by Dylan Reyes and filmed at the Dive Motel & Swim Club in Nashville, TN, with Lillie Mae and Ivalee on strings.
"'Sleepwalking' is one of the more personal songs on the album," says Tuttle. "I wrote it by myself, digging into the anxiety I have felt for many years about the effects of climate change and the ever-rising cost of living in the San Francisco Bay Area (where I grew up). I wanted to symbolically incorporate my experience as a woman with total hair loss (Alopecia Totalis) into the video for the song, because that part of who I am also informed the lyrics, in a subtler way. I lost my hair early on in life, and at times that experience has made me fear change and hold onto the past. With the visual, I wanted to raise the question of what it means to 'be yourself' again after a part of who you are disappears. What do we cling to in times of change? Hopefully each person who watches what we made will find a personal meaning in it."
“It was a pleasure to write with Jim Lauderdale again. Jim is one of the most prolific writers on the scene in Nashville today. The song ‘Stories For Another Day’ is a stream of conciseness from our afternoon together in Nashville. It was an honor to have him out to the lab to sing this one with us,” Bill Nershi told The Bluegrass Situation about the track.
The band has been celebrating their 25th anniversary all year long with a steady stream of singles including “Boo Boo’s Pik-a-Nik,” “All We Got” featuring Tony White, “I Want You” featuring Andy Hall, and “Bhangra Saanj” featuring Beats Antique.
SCI will close out the epic year with two sold-out shows at home in Denver at the new Mission Ballroom on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov 29 and Nov 30th. Look out for more coming summer 2020. All news and up-to-date info is avail at stringcheeseincident.com.
Don’t forget to save the date for the new Hog Farm Hangout coming June 12-14, 2020!
About The String Cheese Incident:
The past 25 years have written a story that is packed full of surreal experiences, epic moments, groundbreaking involvement and huge accomplishments. They have been recognized for their commitment to musical creativity and integrity, for their community spirit, philanthropic endeavors, and for their innovative approach to the business of music.
When The String Cheese Incident’s growth first started gaining momentum over two decades ago, when the Internet was just beginning to take hold and the major-label business model was failing, the band decided to make music on their own terms.
Since then, The String Cheese Incident has gone on to carve out a completely different approach to the business of music; they are truly pioneers of a new way of “making a band.” With the Internet as their tool, SCI was among the first artists to disseminate information online, such as tour dates, release information, and other news, to their growing fan base. Rather than doing business on such terms as “the bottom line,” SCI put their music and their fans first, opening companies of their own, including a ticketing company, a merchandise company and a fan travel agency, to best serve their community. The band’s record label, SCI Fidelity Records, has always operated under the same ideals. Even early on, SCI Fidelity embraced downloadable music and file sharing, delivering SCI’s “On The Road” series, where every show the band plays is made available for download on the Internet. Whether they realized it at the time or not, The String Cheese Incident was inventing grassroots band development. Today, literally hundreds of bands are using some version of this same approach to building a band.
The String Cheese Incident’s commitment goes well beyond their immediate community, and even beyond the music community as a whole. Early on, the band took a serious interest in giving back to the communities that they visited, and they were among the first performers to encourage “Green” shows and tours. SCI’s support has helped give rise to such not-for-profit organizations as Conscious Alliance, Rock the Earth, and HeadCount. All the while, The String Cheese Incident has stayed committed to music as a creative endeavor, not just in their recordings but also in their live performances. The list of SCI’s special guests and collaborators is long and diverse. Their annual events such as Horning’s Hideout, and holiday shows such as New Year’s and Halloween, have helped redefine the concert experience and has garnered the band a reputation as live music vibe innovators.
In 2017, The String Cheese Incident released "Believe" on SCI Fidelity Records, making it the second time the band collaborated with producer Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads. Harrison also produced “Song In My Head” for SCI in 2014, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. “Believe” was recorded in the band’s newly founded HQ / studio in Boulder, dubbed the “SCI Sound Lab”.
Multiple GRAMMY® Award-nominated guitarist Julian Lage has set a busy winter schedule, beginning this week with a limited run of duo performances alongside fellow guitar icon Bill Frisell. The brief tour gets underway Thursday, December 5 at Los Angeles, CA’s UCLA: Royce Hall and then makes stops at Colorado Springs, CO’s UCCS: Shockley-Zalabak Theater (December 6), Taos, NM’s Taos Center for the Arts (December 7), and Scottsdale, AZ’s Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts: Virginia G. Piper Theater (December 8). For details and ticket information, please visit julianlage.com/tour.
Lage – who recently received his fifth overall GRAMMY® Award nomination and third consecutive nod in as many years – will next unite his extraordinary Julian Lage Trio (Lage, bassist Jorge Roeder and renowned Bad Plus drummer Dave King) for an eagerly awaited six-night residency at NYC’s famed Village Vanguard. The dates begin January 14 and continue through January 19; tickets are available now HERE.
"It is the greatest honor and privilege to perform at the Village Vanguard," says Lage. "And we are beyond thrilled to present the trio and new music for the occasion. The Vanguard truly is the greatest place to play or hear music in the world."
In addition, Lage and his trio will convene for three rescheduled December live dates, including Philadelphia, PA’s Johnny Brenda’s (December 18), Washington, DC’s Union Stage (December 19), and Old Saybrook, CT’s Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center (December 20). $1.00 of each ticket sold for all three shows will benefit justice charities including SisterSong and Climate Justice Alliance, powered by RPM.
JULIAN LAGE
ON TOUR 2019/20
DECEMBER
5 – Los Angeles, CA – UCLA: Royce Hall *
6 – Colorado Springs, CO – UCCS: Shockley-Zalabak Theater *
7 – Taos, NM – Taos Center for the Arts *
8 – Scottsdale, AZ – Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts: Virginia G. Piper Theater *
18 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s #
19 – Washington, DC – Union Stage #
20 – Old Saybrook, CT – Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center #
As 2019 comes to a close Spafford are excited to share some never before heard explorative music that has been held near and dear to the band’s heart for nearly two years without seeing the light of day - until now.
The 47- minute extended jam is dubbed “Chapel Jam”. Fans can tune into the band’s Facebook page to listen to Chapel Jam on Thursday, Dec 5 at 5pm Pacific time. Chapel Jam will be available on DSPs Friday, Dec 6.
Spafford is known for their astonishing improvisational ability and off-the-cuff extended jams, Spafford paints a picture in real-time each night with a musical palette known only to each other. It’s a private language comprised of both their talent as musicians as well as their formidable catalog of influences, spanning 90’s alt-rock radio hits to Steely Dan and The Crystal Method. Each and every Spafford show is a sonic pilgrimage, the journey of a team of musicians so in tune with each other that a single note communicates intent and purpose. Spafford is amongst the most creative and hard-traveling bands on the contemporary jam scene, performing countless sold-out headline dates along with high profile festival sets at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Firefly Music Festival, and many others.
About Chapel Jam:
January 2017 found the band touring the east coast for the first time, supporting Umphrey’s McGee for a big chunk of those dates. These were the biggest shows we’d played up to that point and we were grateful. Despite all the ‘what the hell is happening?-ness'
In the Spafford camp, we were mostly just excited. After a canceled gig in Rochester, we ended up staying at an old Mission-turned-Air BnB in Conesus, NY. Not totally sure what to do with a night off, we wandered around the property and explored what felt like an abandoned insane asylum before eventually deciding to walk our gear through the snow to the house so we could jam.
We set up in an old Chapel room downstairs. Nick was elevated on the altar, the rest of the band staged below. The music just kind of started playing itself and luckily Jordan made sure the recording was running. The music traveled. No real destination, no crowd.
Just some friends playing music in a bizarre old chapel, in the snow, in the middle of nowhere.
Sashi and Michael found a space on the nearby couch and Chuck was in the kitchen writing the words to what would become ‘Mind’s Unchained’. We realized afterward that the van was stuck in the snow where we had parked to unload and Micheal had lost his wallet. We called a tow truck and found Micheal’s wallet a few weeks later in a road case.
We have come to call this experience Chapel Jam. It's something special we had been keeping for ourselves just for a little while. These days things are so instantaneous it felt alright to hold on to something secret.
But we’ll always share our secrets. EVENTUALLY.
SPAFFORD
WINTER TOUR 2019/20
DECEMBER 2019
27 – West Hollywood, CA – The Roxy Theatre
28 – West Hollywood, CA – The Roxy Theatre
30 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
31 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
JANUARY 2020
15 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs)
16 – Austin, TX – Antone’s Nightclub
17 – Austin, TX – Antone’s Nightclub
18 – Dallas, TX – Trees
19 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues New Orleans
22 – Pensacola, FL – Vinyl Music Hall
23 – Tampa, FL – The Orpheum
24 – Fort Lauderdale, FL – Culture Room
25 – Jacksonville, FL – 1904 Music Hall
28 – Birmingham, AL – Saturn
29 – Oxford, MS – Proud Larry’s
30 – Knoxville, TN – Bijou Theatre
31 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
FEBRUARY 2020
1 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
3 – Greensboro, NC – The Blind Tiger
5 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
6 – Boston, MA – Royale
7 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl
8 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl
9 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl *
28 – Winter Park, CO – Ullrs Tavern
29 – Winter Park, CO – Ullrs Tavern
MARCH 2020
1 – Winter Park, CO – Ullrs Tavern
4 – Grand Junction, CO – Mesa Theater
6 – Frisco, CO – 10 Mile Music Hall
7 – Frisco, CO – 10 Mile Music Hall
10 – Steamboat Springs, CO – Schmiggity’s Live Music Dance Bar
11 – Steamboat Springs, CO – Schmiggity’s Live Music Dance Bar
Billy Strings has announced Spring 2020 tour dates that include four dates with special guest Molly Tuttle as well as two co-bills with Marcus King Band during New Orleans Jazz Fest. The Spring Tour headlining dates kick off on April 8th in Pittsburgh at the Roxian Theatre.
Billy Strings has been hailed as the future of bluegrass, transcending tradition and genre with his high velocity, flat-picking guitar technique and intense, confessional songwriting. HOME, Strings’ remarkable second studio album, is undoubtedly the Michigan-born, Nashville-based artist’s bravest excursion thus far, reshaping bluegrass into his own exceptional form, completely rewiring the aesthetic with elements of punk, country, folk-rock, and genuine psychedelic exploration to fashion something altogether original and all his own.
Entercom, a leading media and entertainment company and one of the two largest radio broadcasters in the U.S., held “Not So Silent Night,” a RADIO.COM event, in New York on December 5 at Barclays Center. The sold-out show, hosted by ALT 92.3 (WNYL-FM), New York’s new alternative, featured musical performances by Mumford & Sons, Vampire Weekend, Cage The Elephant, Jimmy Eat World, Of Monsters and Men, Judah & The Lion, and SHAED.
“The holiday season has officially begun in the Big Apple thanks to two incredible back-to-back RADIO.COM events in support of the American Cancer Society,” said Michael Martin, Senior Vice President of Programming and Music Initiatives, Entercom. “We’d like to thank these talented performers for rocking out with New Yorkers at Barclays Center.”
“Not So Silent Night” was one of two Entercom New York holiday shows, along with New York’s Country 94.7’s (WNSH-FM) “Stars and Strings” the evening prior, which benefitted the American Cancer Society (ACS). In addition to the concerts, each station is hosting a Facebook fundraiser to benefit ACS. American Cancer Society has provided over 480,000 rides to treatments and over 475,000 nights of lodging to cancer patients and their caregivers during treatment, including accommodation in the Hope Lodge in New York City, wigs for chemotherapy patients and the ACS helpline, providing 24/7 free information, support and access to resources in addition to extensive, and life-saving research.
Trio SHAED opened “Not So Silent Night” in New York with “You Got Me Like,” and were followed on stage by Judah & The Lion with “Suit and Jacket” and their platinum hit “Take It All Back.” Of Monsters and Men sang “Little Talks” and “Alligator,” and Jimmy Eat World electrified the audience with “The Middle” and “Pain.” Cage The Elephant lit up the stage with “Shake Me Down” and “Ready to Let Go,” and Vampire Weekend rocked the crowd with “Diane Young” and “Harmony Hall.” Mumford & Sons closed the show with their hits “I Will Wait,” “Believe” and “The Wolf.”
Young Irish singer-sonneteer David Keenan stokes the flames and turns up the heat ahead of his debut album release early next year with the sharing of new single “Unholy Ghosts.” The lyric video for the song is a stunning, unfolding animation by London-based Spanish film-maker Alejandra López Martín.
The release of “Unholy Ghosts” rounds off an exciting year for the Dundalk native, which has seen him tour Ireland, the UK and Europe with both Hozier and Rodrigo y Gabriela, host a sold-out, five-night residency at the Irish Arts Center in New York City, sign with Rubyworks and record and ready his debut album, A Beginner’s Guide To Bravery, which will be released on Friday, January 10, 2020.
David Keenan is spending the days of Advent on tour around Ireland with his live band.
“‘Unholy Ghosts’ is an independent state of its own reckoning that graciously allows me the liberty of hopping the wall from time to time. Once inside I am taken on a tour by a young man, living on the skids by his wits - or lack of - seeking solace amongst the forgotten few who still cling to the ankles of Beauty. Broken but proud, down and out, yet retaining pride and hope, a sense of real desire, ideals and aspirations.”
Kyle Hollingsworth has released his new single “Tufnel's Retreat,” the first track off the forthcoming EP 2020 due out in February. The song premiered exclusively via Relix earlier this week.
“With the SCI six-month break coming up in 2020, I decided to branch out and develop some ideas on my own,” says Kyle. “I love the ability to try different styles and feels with my solo band, it helps me be centered with the mothership of SCI. With this EP, I was just throwing out a collection of songs that speak of where I am right now in my writing, just a fun project to bring in the new decade. From old school prog rock to '90s alt grunge...hope you enjoy it.”
Kyle Hollingsworth, keyboardist of The String Cheese Incident, starts the new decade with a fresh batch of songs. Appropriately titled 2020, Hollingsworth's new EP ranges stylistically from the Emerson, Lake & Palmer-influenced prog organ tune "Tufnel's Retreat," to West Coast Soul to hip album rock, available in February 2020 on SCI Fidelity Records.
“Tufnel's Retreat" was originally brought about with SCI at the band's famous studio, “The Lab," but finally came to fruition with the help of Hollingsworth's solo project. The heavy guitar, sweeping synths, and rock organs are reminiscent of the early days of Deep Purple or Edgar Winter Group. The track is a journey through many movements, from uptempo to swing to an almost fugue-like section, before it whips back again for the final rousing head. It's a trip worth taking!
Kyle Hollingsworth Band on Tour
DEC 30 @ Fillmore Auditorium w/ Umphrey's McGee | Denver, CO
JAN 23-24 @ Old Town Pub | Steamboat Springs, CO
JAN 25 @ Snowstalk 2020: A 2 Night Winter Affair | Frisco, CO
FEB 1 @ Gem & Jam Festival 2020 | Tucson, AZ
FEB 27 @ Klondike Mike's Saloon & Road House BBQ | Palmer, AK
FEB 28-29 @ Alyeska Resort & Hotel Alyeska | Anchorage, AK
MAR 7 @ Ullrs Tavern | Winter Park, CO
MAY 21-22 @ Summer Camp Music Festival | Chillicothe, IL
Today, Bonnaroo reveals the initial lineup for the 19th annual edition of the internationally acclaimed four-day multi-stage camping festival set to take place June 11 – 14 at Great Stage Park, the spectacular 700-acre farm and event space located just 60 miles southeast of Nashville in Manchester, TN. The 2020 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival will once again present an extraordinarily diverse bill featuring top artists spanning countless genres and stylistic approaches performing around the clock across more than 10 unique stages over the four-day event. Thursday, June 11 will include: Grand Ole Opry Feat. Special Guests, Andy Frasco, Larkin Poe, The Regrettes and more.
Friday, June 12, will feature: Tool, Miley Cyrus, Bassnectar, The 1975, Run The Jewels, Glass Animals, Young The Giant, Megan Thee Stallion, Tipper and more.
Saturday, June 13, will include: Lizzo, Flume, Oysterhead, Tenacious D, Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, DaBaby, Seven Lions and more.
Sunday, June 14, will see: Tame Impala, Lana Del Rey, Vampire Weekend, Leon Bridges, Young Thug, Grace Potter, Flogging Molly, Rezz and more.
The complete Bonnaroo 2020 lineup is below.
Tickets for Bonnaroo will go on sale Thursday, January 9, at 12 noon ET/11 am CT, exclusively viawww.bonnaroo.com/tickets. Options will include General Admission (4 Day), GA+ (4 Day), VIP (4 Day), Platinum (4 Day), General Admission Camping & Parking, VIP Camping, Platinum Camping, and more. Once again, Bonnaroo is presenting an array of affordable options, with tickets starting at $35 down and accommodations available for as low as $70 per night. Car Camping Passes are priced at only $60 (plus fees) per car, not per person, allowing fans to both save money and reduce their carbon footprint by carpooling.
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BONNAROO 2020 – NEW AND IMPROVED
Throughout its history, Bonnaroo has listened to its fanbase and delivered improvements and enhancements to the festival experience year after year. 2020 will be no different, with more ticket options, new activities, site improvements including improved signage and navigation tools, on-site transportation options, additional info booths, additional Plaza programming and more.
NEW TICKET OPTIONS:
New ticketing options for 2020 include GA+, offering traditional General Admission along with exclusive access to a brand new Centeroo lounge featuring air-conditioned restrooms, exclusive bars and food vendors, relaxed shaded seating, and more.
CAMPING, TENT AND RV RENTAL OPTIONS:
Camping at Bonnaroo is hardly “camping” by most definitions of the word - it’s an endless adventure of discovery and human connection with your friends, and a key part of the Bonnaroo experience. Expect crazy surprises, unique adventures, and stories you’ll tell for a lifetime - this is NOT your average festival camping.
2020 will see an assortment of improved tent and RV rental options, including new darkroom dome tents (available with AC), convenient camping near The Grove, and more. For more information about camping, Tents & Glamping, please visit www.bonnaroo.com/tents and www.bonnaroo.com/experience/camping-plazas.
PLAZAS:
Bonnaroo’s campgrounds include hubs of activities and convenience, known as Plazas, and will return better than ever in 2020. Strategically located and well-lit public places throughout the campgrounds, Plazas include shade, free public Wi-Fi, charging stations, misting stations, showers, restrooms, medical and safety stations, information booths and most importantly, incredible programming for festival fans.
The Plazas are headed for their best year yet in 2020. Hayley Williams of Paramore will return to curate an improved “Roo’s Sanctuary of Self Love,” House of Yes will host Bonnaroo’s second annual Pride Parade, grab an eclectic slice of Nashville at The Ville, and much more still to be announced.
Bonnaroo’s VIP and Platinum guests will also enjoy a large number of upgrades, including a new VIP campground layout providing direct entry into the venue and the mound at the What Stage, with more convenient placement for amenities in the venue as well as additional showers and restrooms in the campgrounds. Platinum patrons will enjoy the best campground and amenities on the entire site, all in a new spot directly south of Centeroo. This year will feature all the classic Platinum amenities plus a dedicated Platinum vehicle entrance off Campground Road as well as a completely shaded and wooded campground with newly added access to the Artist Lounge. To learn more about VIP & Platinum, please see www.bonnaroo.com/vip-and-platinum.
Hailed by the New York Times as the summer event that “revolutionized the modern rock festival,” Bonnaroo continues to draw high profile media attention and critical acclaim with each passing year. “Bonnaroo 2019 found the festival’s identity again,” wrote Esquire, commending the “delightfully weird roster of jam bands, pop acts, dance music, country stars, and more.” “Bonnaroo roared back this year,” declared Rolling Stone in its annual “Bonnaroo 2019: 20 Best Things We Saw” wrap-up, while Consequence of Sound raved, “2019’s Roo got the ingredients right…a phenomenal celebration of music from hip-hop to rock and roll, Americana to EDM, and string bands to jam bands.” “Bonnaroo 2019 proved to be a return to form,” wrote Paste. “The Farm is still one of the best (or at least, most iconic) places to hear music in the country.” “While plenty of places have tried to replicate the ideal large, grassy field format,” enthused Uproxx, “no one does large and grassy quite like Bonnaroo…The festival itself had an aesthetic that translated across performers – and therefore across generations, demographics, and status levels – proving the event’s own personality has more influence on the experience than any artist who might play it…All in all, the whole festival was reminiscent of what’s going on in popular music, a finger on the pulse of what fans most want to see, but always spiked with a dash of Tennessee’s own flavor.”
THE COMPLETE BONNAROO 2020 LINEUP IS BELOW:
THURSDAY, JUNE 11
(in alphabetical order)
99 Neighbors
Andy Frasco
Big Something
Briston Maroney
Dabin
Devon Gilfillian
Ezra Collective
The Funk Hunters
HE$H
Kursa
Larkin Poe
Liz Cooper & The Stampede
MIZE
Scarypoolparty
S.P.O.C.K.
Sweet Crude
Taska Black
The Regrettes
Too Many Zooz
Zía
FRIDAY, JUNE 12
Tool
Miley Cyrus
Bassnectar
The 1975
Run The Jewels
Glass Animals
Young The Giant
Megan Thee Stallion
Tipper
Brittany Howard
Primus
Dashboard Confessional
Big Wild
Ganja White Night
Lennon Stella
The Band Camino
Wallows
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
Turkauz with Jerry Harrison & Adrian Belew: Remain In Light Turns 40
Ekali
Svdden Death
Still Woozy
Tones and I
Marc Rebillet
Yola
Lucii
ATLiens
Detox Unit
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats
Resistance Revival Chorus
Phutureprimitive
Luzcid
Altın Gün
PLS&TY
Mdou Moctar
Dynohunter
SATURDAY, JUNE 13
Lizzo
Flume
Oysterhead
Tenacious D
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
DaBaby
Seven Lions
Superjam: Sylvan Esso Presents WITH
Kevin Gates
Nelly Performing Country Grammar
TroyBoi
Dermot Kennedy
Subtronics
Denzel Curry
J.I.D.
Mandolin Orange
The Growlers
Billy Strings
Mt. Joy
Yaeji
Moody Good
EOB
The Marcus King Band
Wooli
Surfaces
Slowthai
Dr. Fresch
Hero The Band
Nilüfer Yanya
Jupiter & Okwess
William Black
Lick
DJ Mel
SUNDAY, JUNE 14
Tame Impala
Lana Del Rey
Vampire Weekend
Leon Bridges
Young Thug
Grace Potter
Flogging Molly
REZZ
Boombox Cartel
Greensky Bluegrass
The Struts
CAAMP
Oliver Tree
PEEKABOO
Morgan Wallen
LSDREAM
Pinegrove
Cuco
Saint Jhn
Orville Peck
Femi Kuti & Positive Force
Colony House
Bonnie X Clyde
Bill Frisell: Harmony featuring Petra Haden, Hank Roberts & Bergman
Poolside’s first new full-length LP in three years, LOW SEASON arrives Friday, February 7th. LOW SEASON marks the first Poolside album to be wholly produced by founding member and visionary Jeffrey Paradise following the departure of co-founding member Filip Nikolic in 2017. The album – which follows 2017’s breakthrough second LP, HEAT – showcases Poolside’s classic daytime disco sound with a wider array of producers, songwriters and musicians. Paradise collaborated with Panama, Ben Browning (Cut Copy), Amo Amo, Psychemagik and various others on crafting the album. He was also joined in the studio by members of the extraordinarily powerful Poolside live band, including drummer Vito Roccoforte (The Rapture), bassist/vocalist Mattie Safer (The Rapture), percussionist Brijean Murphy (Toro Y Moi, U.S. Girls) and saxophonist/keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Casey Butler (Pharaohs).
“LOW SEASON is an album that is sonically and lyrically akin to traveling to someplace tropical then finding the beaches empty and the weather uncertain – you venture down unexpected paths, discovering people and places on your journey that surprise you and provide you with a new perspective on life. While this might not be an experience you share on Instagram, it becomes a profound memory that inspires you for a lifetime. Sonically, while staying rooted in the electronic world, Low Season moves in an organic and human direction with guitars, pianos and hand drums weaving their way through every song. Lyrically, the songs dig deep and are personal and vulnerable. This album expresses all the ups and downs and highs and lows of life, love, loneliness, success, failure and the beauty in searching for something more.” – Jeffrey Paradise, Poolside
LOW SEASON is available for pre-order beginning today, with all pre-orders joined by an instant grat download of “Around The Sun” and previously released “Can’t Stop Your Lovin’.”
Poolside has announced today’s premiere of “Around The Sun” the latest single from their eagerly awaited new album, LOW SEASON. When writing “Around the Sun” Poolside set out to make a song that fits in the tradition of classic American songwriting from the late 60s to the 80s – the type of song that you could learn the chords to and play at a beach bonfire or sing to your significant other. The track – which features shimmering backing vocals from Los Angeles-based psych outfit Amo Amo – is available now at all DSPs; an official music video is streaming now.
“Lyrically it’s about the passage of time and the bittersweet experiences that you have over the course of the year,” says Poolside’s frontman Jeffrey Paradise. “I was personally feeling these things deeply and channeled them naturally into the lyrics. The song is not a lament but an acceptance and ultimately a celebration.”
LOW SEASON was first heralded last year with the acclaimed single, “Can’t Stop Your Lovin’,” available for streaming and download HERE. The single is accompanied by an equally irresistible companion visual that fuses the song’s message of passionate love to widespread PDA in the world’s most romantic city, Paris, France. Directed by Hala Matar (Vice, Interpol, Julian Casablancas) at locations including the Louvre, the River Seine, and the Paris Métro. “Can’t Stop Your Lovin’” has also been remixed by Neil Frances, The Undercover Dream Lovers, Katzu Oso and Sandy’s.
Poolside will mark the arrival of LOW SEASON with an extensive European/UK run supporting Tycho in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. North American headline dates will be announced in the coming weeks. For complete details and ticket availability, please visit www.poolsidemusic.com.
POOLSIDE
EUROPE TOUR 2020
FEBRUARY
9 – Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller
10 – Stockholm, Sweden - Vasteatern
11 – Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega Main Hall
13 – Hamburg, Germany - Uebel & Gefährlich
14 – Cologne, Germany - Live Music Hall
15 – Paris, France - Elysée Montmartre
17 – Brussels, Belgium - AB Ballroom @ Ancienne Belgique
The Fox Theatre (Boulder), and Kyle Hollingsworth are throwing an epic birthday bash and EP release party on March 6th. The party will feature Kyle Hollingsworth Band and The Magic Beans plus some special guest appearances and special beer for the evening. Tickets are on sale now!
Late 2019 Kyle announced a new EP titled 2020 to be released this coming February. “Tufnel's Retreat,” the first single from the EP was released on Dec 27.
Kyle Hollingsworth, keyboardist of The String Cheese Incident, starts the new decade with a fresh batch of songs. Appropriately titled 2020, Hollingsworth's new EP ranges stylistically from the Emerson, Lake & Palmer-influenced prog organ tune "Tufnel's Retreat," to West Coast Soul to hip album rock, available in February 2020 on SCI Fidelity Records.
Drive-By Truckers have unveiled the latest single from their much-anticipated new album, THE UNRAVELING. “Thoughts and Prayers” is available for streaming and download now following today’s exclusive world premiere via Billboard. The powerhouse track is joined by an official lyric video streaming now. THE UNRAVELING arrives via ATO Records on Friday, January 31; digital and physical pre-orders are now available.
THE UNRAVELING was first heralded late last year by the bracing first single, “Armageddon’s Coming To Town,” available now for streaming and download. The track is joined by an official lyric video streaming now. “Armageddon’s Coming To Town” was met by critical applause upon its November 2019 premiere, with Rolling Stone writing, “Drive-By Truckers stare down the end of the world on their new song,” noting that the “ramshackle rocker…finds co-frontman Patterson Hood grappling with a deluge of confusion, dismay, uncertainty and guilt as he sings, ‘There’ll be no healing from the art of double dealing/Armageddon’s back in town again.’” Stereogum hailed “Armageddon’s Back In Town” as “a revved-up, world-weary rocker about dealing with the day-to-day hassles of traveling the United States while feeling like things are at a breaking point,” adding, “If 2016’s AMERICAN BAND focused on the declining state of the country, then THE UNRAVELING looks to get even deeper into an even more fucked-up state of affairs.”
Drive-By Truckers’ 12th studio album and first new LP in more than three years – the longest-ever gap between new DBT albums – THE UNRAVELING was recorded at the legendary Sam Phillips Recording Service in Memphis, TN by GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price) and longtime DBT producer David Barbe. Co-founding singer/songwriter/guitarists Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood both spent much of the time prior doing battle with deep pools of writer’s block. “How do you put these day to day things we’re all living through into the form of a song that we (much less anybody else) would ever want to listen to?” says Hood. “How do you write about the daily absurdities when you can’t even wrap your head around them in the first place? I think our response was to focus at the core emotional level. More heart and less cerebral perhaps.”
The songs that eventually emerged are among Drive-By Truckers’ most direct and pointedly provocative, tackling the myriad horrors of our new normal through sincere emotion and unbridled heart. Indeed, “Armageddon’s Back in Town” takes a whirlwind joyride through the whiplash of events we collectively deal with each day while the concluding “Awaiting Resurrection” dives headfirst into the despair and pain roiled up by these troubled times.
“The past three-and-a-half years were among the most tumultuous our country has ever seen,” says Hood, “and the duality between the generally positive state of affairs within our band while watching so many things we care about being decimated and destroyed all around us informed the writing of this album to the core.
“While a quick glance might imply that we’re picking up where 2016’s AMERICAN BAND album left off, the differences are as telling as the similarities. If the last one was a warning shot hinting at a coming storm, this one was written in the wreckage and aftermath. I’ve always said that all of our records are political but I’ve also said that ‘politics is personal’. With that in mind, this album is especially personal.”
The remarkable songcraft found on THE UNRAVELING receives much of its musical muscle from the sheer strength of the current Drive-By Truckers line-up, with Hood and Cooley joined by bassist Matt Patton, keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Jay Gonzalez, and drummer Brad Morgan – together, the longest-lasting iteration in the band’s almost 25-year history. The LP also features a number of special guests, including The Shins’ Patti King, violinist/string arranger Kyleen King (Brandi Carlile), and North Mississippi All-Stars’ Cody Dickinson, who contributes electric washboard to the strikingly direct “Babies In Cages.”
Hailed by Stereogum as “perhaps the greatest extant American rock and roll band,” Drive-By Truckers will mark THE UNRAVELING with an epic world tour, getting underway this Thursday, January 16, at Boulder, CO’s Fox Theater and then continuing through late June. Highlights include a number of eagerly awaited two-night-stands across the US, international festival performances, and the annual HeAthen’s Homecoming, a sold out three-night extravaganza marking the 26th anniversary of Patterson Hood’s first visit to Athens, GA’s world famous 40 Watt Club (February 13-15). In addition, Hood and Cooley will visit Brooklyn, NY’s Rough Trade NYC for an exclusive acoustic performance, signing, and Q&A with renowned rock journalist David Fricke, set for Saturday, February 1 at 2:00 pm – entry is available only with advance purchase of THE UNRAVELING via Rough Trade NYC. For updates and ticket information, please visit the official Drive-By Truckers tour page.
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS
WORLD TOUR 2020
JANUARY
16 – Boulder, CO – Fox Theater
17 – Denver, CO – Gothic Theatre
18 – Denver, CO – Gothic Theatre
FEBRUARY
1 – Brooklyn, NY – Rough Trade NYC *
13 – Athens, GA – 40 Watt Club (SOLD OUT)
14 – Athens, GA – 40 Watt Club (SOLD OUT)
15 – Athens, GA – 40 Watt Club (SOLD OUT)
18 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
19 – Charlottesville, VA – Jefferson Theater
21 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
22 – Boston, MA – Somerville Theatre
23 – Portland, ME – State Theatre
25 – New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall
27 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
28 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
29 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
MARCH
12 – Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue
13 – Chicago, IL – Metro
14 – St. Paul, MN – Palace Theatre
17 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
18 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox
20 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
21 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
22 – Arcata, CA – Van Duzer Theatre
24 – Petaluma, CA – Mystic Theatre
26 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
27 – Los Angeles, CA – The Regent Theater
28 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
31 – Albuquerque, NM – El Rey Theater
APRIL
2 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
3 – Austin, TX – Scoot Inn
4 – Austin, TX – Scoot Inn
16 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
17 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
18 – Charleston, SC – High Water Festival #
21 - Winston-Salem, NC – The Ramkat
23 – Lexington, KY – Manchester Music Hall
24 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
25 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
27 – Pensacola, FL – Vinyl Music Hall
28 – Orlando, FL – The Plaza Live
29 – Ponte Vedra Beach, FL – Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
MAY
1 – Birmingham, AL – Iron City
2 – Atlanta, GA – Shaky Knees #
JUNE
1 – Raalte, NL - Ribs & Blues
3 – Dublin, IE – Vicar Street
5 – Leeds, UK – Irish Centre
6 – London, UK – O2 Forum
7 – Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso
8 – Antwerp, BE – De Roma
9 – Köln, DE - Kantine
11 – Berlin, DE - Kesselhaus
12 – Copenhagen, DK – Amager Bio
13 – Stockholm, SW – Sthlm Americana #
14 – Oslo, NO - Rockefeller
15 – Aarhus, DK – Train
19 – Azkena, ES – Azkena Rock Festival #
* Q&A w/David Fricke /Acoustic Performance/Signing – Patterson Hood & Mike Cooley Only
The String Cheese Incident has announced their annual Colorado amphitheater Incidents at Dillon Amphitheater and Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Joining SCI at Red Rocks will be Tower of Power on Friday, Papadosio on Saturday and Leftover Salmon on Sunday.
An SCI Pre-Sale for all five Colorado Incidents will take place on Wednesday, 1/15 at 11am MT via stringcheeseincident.com/tour. SCI will offer a limited amount of 2-Day passes (Dillon), 3-Day passes (Red Rocks), and a first-ever 5-Day “CO Incident Pass” for both Dillon & Red Rocks! A general on-sale will happen Friday, 1/17 at 10am MT via AXS.
Following their 25th anniversary year, the band is jumping into 2020 with some big Incident announcements including the all-new Hog Farm Hangout, Electric Forest, The Peach Music Festival, Brooklyn Bowl Nashville, FloydFest, and now Dillon Amphitheater and Red Rocks.
Today, multi-platinum rock band Barenaked Ladies announce their extensive Last Summer On Earth tour of North America in 2020. Gin Blossoms and Toad the Wet Sprocket will round out the incredible lineup.
"We're looking forward to getting back out on the Last Summer On Earth tour," vocalist/guitarist Ed Robertson shares. "Having Gin Blossoms and Toad the Wet Sprocket out with us is going to be a blast. That's a LOT of hits per night!"
Following their critically-acclaimed 2019 tour with Hootie & the Blowfish, Barenaked Ladies is ready to hit the road again and bring out all the fan favorites that have built them a long-lasting career and worldwide fanbase. The Toronto-based "cult fave" (Paste Magazine) -who have now sold over 15 million albums worldwide and earned multiple JUNO Awards and Grammy nominations- are also set to release new music in May of this year.
The tour will find Barenaked Ladies playing major venues all across North America, including stops at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, Red Rocks, SummerStage in New York City and more, with the tour finale at Toronto's Budweiser Stage, with special guest Kim Mitchell also on the bill. These dates follow their string of shows in the spring throughout the UK, which will culminate with a sold-out show at London's legendary Royal Albert Hall.
This will be the 6th edition of the tour, founded by the band in 2012 - the year that the Mayan calendar predicted would be the last, hence the "Last Summer On Earth". Barenaked Ladies headline and bring some of their best friends and favorite bands along for a summer of good times, and of course, great music. Past acts include Cracker, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, Blues Traveler, Guster, Ben Folds Five, Violent Femmes, Colin Hay, OMD, Howard Jones, Better Than Ezra, and KT Tunstall.
"We know the Mayan Calendar was wrong about the end of the world," adds Ed Robertson, "but could they have been THAT wrong?! C'mon out and rock with us like it's your Last Summer On Earth!"
VIP packages for Barenaked Ladies will be available which include premium seats and merch packages. The Gold packages will include pre-show soundcheck parties and meet-and-greet.
The band just launched Barenaked Bytes, the official Barenaked Ladies app. The app will have news, information, and merch. Fans who download the app will have first access to tickets and VIP packages starting January 21st at 10am local time, with the purchase of a Barenaked Bytes bundle. Fans who have previously purchased VIP packages will receive an exclusive code to purchase pre-sale tickets on January 22nd. More information about fan pre-sales can be found here.
Each ticket purchased will include a digital download of Barenaked Ladies' forthcoming album, which is due for release in May of 2020. VIP packages and album digital downloads may not be available in all venues.
For Last Summer On Earth 2020, Barenaked Ladies is proud to continue to partner with REVERB to make the tour more sustainable. Since 2004, Barenaked Ladies has worked with REVERB to reduce the environmental impact of touring while also giving back to local communities across the US and Canada.
Billy Strings has announced a four-date, Michigan-wide mini tour with his father, guitarist Terry Barber. Barber was hugely instrumental in forming Billy’s passion for traditional bluegrass. Whether sitting and picking around a campfire, listening to vinyl records together, or teaching young Billy a lick or two, Barber sparked a massive passion, and what would eventually become a way of life, for Billy Strings.
Tickets go on sale Thursday, 1/23 and fans can expect these shows to sell out fast.
About Billy Strings:
Billy Strings has been hailed as the future of bluegrass, transcending tradition and genre with his high velocity, flat-picking guitar technique and intense, confessional songwriting. HOME (Rounder Records), Strings’ remarkable second studio album, is undoubtedly the Michigan-born, Nashville-based artist’s bravest excursion thus far, reshaping bluegrass into his own exceptional form, completely rewiring the aesthetic with elements of punk, country, folk-rock, and genuine psychedelic exploration to fashion something altogether original and all his own.
LOCKN’ has announced an extraordinary initial lineup for the upcoming special edition of the beloved camping festival. Set for June 19-21, 2020, the 8th annual LOCKN’ will be an all-star celebration of Phil Lesh’s upcoming 80th birthday, taking place as always at Infinity Downs & Oak Ridge Farm, LOCKN’s 387-acre property located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Arrington, VA. Tickets will go on sale tomorrow, Thursday, January 23 at 12 noon ET via #.
LOCKN’ Festival 2020: Celebrating Phil Lesh’s 80th Birthday will see Lesh performing alongside an array of legendary friends and special guests over the three-day event, joined each day by a spectacular lineup of additional artists, with more to be announced in the coming weeks.
Friday, June 19, will feature Phil Lesh Quintet ft. Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, Rob Barraco, John Molo (2 Sets), Brandi Carlile, Gov’t Mule, Goose, Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers, The Chain Gang ft. Devon Allman, Duane Betts, Cody Dickinson, Luther Dickinson, Samantha Fish, John Ginty, & Berry Oakley, Jr. play Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, Yola, Boombox ft. BackBeat Brass, and Grateful Shred.
Saturday, June 20, will feature Phil Lesh Quintet ft. Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, Rob Barraco, John Molo with David Crosby (2 Sets), Oteil & Friends, David Crosby, Mike Gordon, Black Pumas, Garcia Peoples, Grateful Shred, and Kendall Street Company. In addition, Saturday night will feature an additional headline level act, to be unveiled in the coming weeks.
Sunday, June 21, will include Phil Lesh with John Mayer and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead (2 Sets), Leon Bridges, Electric Hot Tuna, Railroad Earth, MEUTE, The War and Treaty, Midnight North, and Keller Williams’ Grateful Gospel.
For the first time ever, LOCKN’ 2020 will take place in June and be a three-day event. A special “Steal Your Thursday” add-on will be available for $30, allowing attendees to kick off their festival weekend on Thursday, June 18, with performances by Brandon “Taz” Niederauer, Dark Star Orchestra and The Marcus King Band, along with an epic Main Stage “Jerry Dance Party,” the always-popular immersive psychedelic audio/visual experience celebrating the music of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead. LOCKN’s always-enticing lineup of local food vendors, craft brewers, and much more will also be on hand. In addition, true LOCKN’ devotees can unite even sooner with the Wednesday Early-Entry add-on, allowing attendees extra time to enjoy the farm and prepare for the extraordinary music ahead.
As if that weren’t enough, LOCKN’s Garcia’s Forest will feature an array of early and late shows throughout the festival weekend, with performers including Circles Around The Sun, Ghost-Note, BoomBox ft. BackBeat Horns, Mapache, Ace of Cups and David Gans & Fragile Thunder.
LOCKN’ 3-Day Festival Passes will be priced at $259 and the newly revised Super-Easy Payment Plan offers fans a chance to purchase tickets for a deposit as low as $19.99 (plus fees). After the initial deposit, fans can make four easy payments over four months. CID Entertainment will once again be offering VIP and Super VIP perks that range from access to enhanced viewing areas and intimate performances by members of the festival lineup (including Phil Lesh, Jorma Kaukonen, and Keller Williams), to exclusive merchandise and hospitality throughout the weekend. On-site lodging options include glamping tents, RVs, tour buses, and more and are available as an add-on to festival passes. For a full list of premium offerings, visit www.cidentertainment.com/events/lockn. For complete ticket information and much more, please visit www.#.
The initial LOCKN’ Festival 2020: Celebrating Phil Lesh’s 80th Birthday lineup is below:
LOCKN’ FESTIVAL 2020: CELEBRATING PHIL LESH’S 80TH BIRTHDAY LINEUP
FRIDAY, JUNE 19
Phil Lesh Quintet
ft. Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, Rob Barraco, John Molo (2 Sets)
Brandi Carlile
Gov’t Mule
Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers
Goose
Yola
The Chain Gang ft. Devon Allman, Duane Betts, Cody Dickinson, Luther Dickinson,
Samantha Fish, John Ginty, & Berry Oakley, Jr. play Rumours and more
Grateful Shred
SATURDAY, JUNE 20
Phil Lesh Quintet
ft. Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, John Molo w/David Crosby (2 Sets)
To Be Announced
Oteil & Friends
David Crosby
Mike Gordon
Black Pumas
Garcia Peoples
Grateful Shred
Kendall Street Company
SUNDAY, JUNE 21
Phil Lesh & Joe Russo’s Almost Dead ft. John Mayer (2 Sets)
Leon Bridges
Electric Hot Tuna
Railroad Earth & Peter Rowan play Old & In The Way
PHISH, today, is announcing its summer 2020 tour. The 27-date trek begins on the west coast with two shows at the Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, OR, and culminates with the 10th anniversary celebration of the band's Labor Day run at DICK'S Sporting Goods Park in Colorado. Other summer 2020 highlights include a two-nighter at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, GA, Phish's first-ever performance in Arkansas, and a special three-night run on the beach in Atlantic City, NJ. The full itinerary is below.
A ticket request period is currently underway at tickets.phish.com and will end on Monday, February 3 at 12 Noon ET. Tickets will go on sale to the public beginning Friday, February 7. Specific on sale information for each show is available at phish.com. Both the Atlanta and Atlantic City concerts will feature a special “Foundation Ticket” option that will include early admission, a dedicated viewing area, a Foundation lounge and bar with unique food offerings, an exclusive merchandise pack and much more. A portion of proceeds from each Foundation ticket will benefit the WaterWheel Foundation and the Piedmont Park Conservancy in Atlanta and the Surfrider Foundation in Atlantic City.
In a few weeks, Phish will return to Mexico for its fourth "Phish: Riviera Maya", the band's destination concert vacation taking place February 20 - 23. More details can be found HERE – the event is fully sold out.
PHISH - SUMMER 2020
JULY
14 - Eugene, OR - Matthew Knight Arena
15 - Eugene, OR - Matthew Knight Arena
17 - George, WA - Gorge Amphitheatre
18 - George, WA - Gorge Amphitheatre
19 - George, WA - Gorge Amphitheatre
21 - Stateline, NV - Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys
22 - Stateline, NV - Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys
24 - Inglewood, CA - The Forum
25 - San Francisco, CA - Chase Center
26 - San Francisco, CA - Chase Center
29 - Rogers, AR - Walmart AMP
31 - Pelham, AL - Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
AUGUST
1 - Atlanta, GA - Piedmont Park
2 - Atlanta, GA - Piedmont Park
4 - Nashville, TN - Ascend Amphitheater
5 - Nashville, TN - Ascend Amphitheater
7 - Noblesville, IN - Ruoff Music Center
8 - Noblesville, IN - Ruoff Music Center
9 - Noblesville, IN - Ruoff Music Center
11 - Hershey, PA - Giant Center
12 - Hershey, PA Giant Center
14 - Atlantic City, NJ - Atlantic City Beach
15 - Atlantic City, NJ - Atlantic City Beach
16 - Atlantic City, NJ - Atlantic City Beach
SEPTEMBER
4 - Commerce City, CO - DICK'S Sporting Goods Park
5 - Commerce City, CO - DICK'S Sporting Goods Park
6 - Commerce City, CO - DICK'S Sporting Goods Park
Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment is proud to announce the release of Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets Live At The Roundhouse, an extraordinary all-new concert recording featuring an array of Pink Floyd classics rarely performed by the band during its lifetime. The 22-track collection arrives April 17 as a double-CD/DVD package, double-vinyl, and on Blu-ray; pre-orders are available now. Additionally, the band today shares the song/video for "Fearless" as an exclusive video trailer.
PRE-ORDER NICK MASON'S SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS LIVE AT THE ROUNDHOUSE AND WATCH THE EXCLUSIVE TRAILER:
WATCH "FEARLESS":
Also, in collaboration with Trafalgar Releasing and Sony Music Entertainment, Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets Live At The Roundhouse will be coming to cinemas in selected cities worldwide for one night only on March 10, 2020. This theatrical event will also include a pre-recorded cinema exclusive Q&A with Nick Mason and the band where they will answer questions submitted by fans. Tickets are on sale now from NickMasonFilm.com.
Nick Mason - founding drummer and the only constant member of Pink Floyd since their 1965 formation - united Gary Kemp (guitar, vocals), Guy Pratt (bass, vocals), Lee Harris (guitar), and Dom Beken (keyboards) as Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets in 2018, fueled in part by the desire to perform the legendary band's pre-Dark Side of the Moon material, timeless songs which had not been played on stage in decades.
An invitation-only performance at London's Dingwalls was met by rapturous acclaim and followed by a sold out theatre tour of North America, Europe, and the United Kingdom. The band returned in 2019, including two sold out May shows at The Roundhouse - the historic Camden venue where Pink Floyd famously played on October 15, 1966, teaming with Soft Machine for an "All Night Rave" launching the famed underground newspaper, International Times.
Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets Live At The Roundhouse captures what has proven a remarkable band all its own, infusing archetypal Floyd favorites with infectious passion, great power, and subtle restraint. From the garage band attack of "Arnold Layne" and "Vegetable Man" to the psychedelic journeying of "Interstellar Overdrive" and the mellow expanse of "Atom Heart Mother," "Fearless," and "Green Is the Colour," Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets Live At The Roundhouse brings to life music rarely heard onstage since Pink Floyd's halcyon first era, thrillingly revived for a new generation.
Mason - who last year was named as a "Prog God" at Prog Magazine's prestigious Progressive Music Awards in London, joining the ranks of such previously honored icons as Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, Ian Anderson, Carl Palmer, and Steve Howe - will soon return to the road with Saucerful Of Secrets for the band's biggest tour schedule thus far. The "More Games For May Tour" - which takes its name from Pink Floyd's milestone 1967 concert at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall - begins this April with UK dates and a European run that includes visits to Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, and the Netherlands. North American dates will be announced soon - for updates and more, please visit www.thesaucerfulofsecrets.com.
Denver-based bluegrass band, Trout Steak Revival have officially released their new album The Light we Bring.
The Light We Bring is the fifth studio album by the Colorado string band and their most organic offering to date. The choice to self-produce the album was an intentional effort by the band members to summon a camaraderie in the studio setting that echoes the band’s practices together on the road.
As both the artists and producer, they relied on themselves to deliver an album that was genuine in both its creation and presentation. The band’s inclusion of guest instrumentalists, including brass, woodwinds, and orchestral strings, enrich the album’s vibrancy. The variety of original songs crosses over countless genres and reflects diverse influences. The band’s self-reliance expanded even to the cover artwork, which features a chalk drawing of a high desert landscape by guitarist William Koster.
As the band’s sound has evolved over the years, so too has its albums, and The Light We Bring only furthers that truth. What started as a group of friends exploring mountain bluegrass is now a free-form and exciting exploration of indie, folk, and roots music, beckoning listeners to join the band on its musical journey.
The 2020 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival is proud to unveil the artist lineup for this year’s “The Other,” the festival’s dedicated stage for dance and electronic music. The 19th annual edition of the internationally acclaimed four-day multi-stage camping festival takes place June 11 – 14 at Great Stage Park, the spectacular 700-acre farm and event space located just 60 miles southeast of Nashville in Manchester, TN.
Bonnaroo has long celebrated the wide-ranging dance and electronic scenes with cutting-edge programming that showcases some of the hottest DJ’s and Producers from around the globe. A fully immersive, open-air stage boasting more spectacular production effects than ever before, “The Other” will run all-night (until sunrise) with a remarkably diverse selection of dance and electronic music:
Thursday, June 11 will feature Dabin, Taska Black, The Funk Hunters, Kursa, He$h, Spock, ZIA, and Mize.
Friday, June 12 includes Tipper, Ganja White Night, Ekali, Svdden Death, Lucii, ATLiens, Detox Unit, Phutureprimitive, Luzcid, PLS&TY, and Dynohunter.
Saturday, June 13 will see performances from Seven Lions, Troyboi, Subtronics, Moody Good, Wooli, Dr. Fresch, Williams Black, Lick, and DJ Mel.
Finally, Sunday, June 14 will feature Rezz, Boombox Cartel, Peekaboo, LSDream, Bonnie X Clyde, and Elderbrook.
The 2020 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival will once again present an extraordinarily diverse bill featuring top artists spanning countless genres and stylistic approaches performing around the clock across more than 10 unique stages over the four-day event. Tickets for Bonnaroo are on sale now, exclusively via www.bonnaroo.com/tickets. Options include General Admission (4 Day), GA+ (4 Day), VIP (4 Day), Platinum (4 Day), General Admission Camping & Parking, VIP Camping, Platinum Camping, and more. Once again, Bonnaroo is presenting an array of affordable options, with tickets starting at $41 down and accommodations available for as low as $70 per night. Car Camping Passes are priced at only $60 (plus fees) per car, not per person, allowing fans to both save money and reduce their carbon footprint by carpooling.
The Ballroom Thieves - Calin “Callie” Peters (vocals, cello, bass), Martin Earley (vocals, guitar), and Devin Mauch (vocals, percussion) - have announced their latest full-length album Unlovely will be released on February 14, 2020 via Nettwerk Records. With subject matters ranging from female empowerment and the destruction of patriarchy, to love in a committed relationship, to their fury about the current state of American leadership, this collection of tracks is the distillation of the band's personal and political passions.
Songs like “Vanity Trip” and title track “Unlovely” boil over with exasperation and disgust, rage and resentment running through every line in protest of today’s global status quo.
“I understand that many of us are tired of talking about what we call politics, and some don’t feel that songwriters should be writing about the state of the world,” says Peters. Adding, “but, it’s also personal, as my entire life has been negatively affected by the way things are run. Most of the people that have ever been in charge represent the tiniest piece of the American pie: the rich, straight, white, male, born in the USA slice. If a person is missing any or all of those titles, they are treated as less than worthy. After all this reprehensible American history, we can agree this place isn’t built for the rest of us, and the rest of us make up more than 99% of the people. We stood by and waited for change, we trusted that our leadership had our best interest in mind, that they weren’t just setting it up for themselves, but we were mistaken.”
As the first album entirely co-written by Peters and Earley, save for Peters’ song “Pendulum,” Unlovely is also a tangible reflection of their evolution from band members to life partners. “Figuring out how to write as a writing team has been something of an adventure,” says Earley. “We used to create songs more separately but found that we complement each other well in almost every sense of the word, including songwriting. Most of the songs I brought to the table were inspired by our dreadful news cycle but tend to involve some sort of hopeful or romantic spin, whereas most of Callie's songs are about smashing the patriarchy and destroying evil forever."
Incorporating musical styles that range from Motown to classic rock and metal, Unlovely maintains the recognizable, nostalgia-tinged sound of The Ballroom Thieves’ previous outputs while pushing a heightened brashness. Since the release of their first EP and debut full-length, A Wolf in the Doorway, The Ballroom Thieves have consistently and skillfully crossed genres, joining artists like CAAMP, Langhorne Slim and Shakey Graves to bridge the gap between folk, rock, and soul. With Unlovely, thanks in part to frequent collaborator Ariel Bernstein, the trio took it a step further and grew their instrumental arsenal, amplifying their signature energy and eccentricity. "Ariel has been a great friend of ours for years now," says Earley. "He's a talented musician, engineer, and unlicensed band therapist, so when we decided to expand our touring party, he was the unanimous first-round draft pick."
Engineered and produced by Jerry Streeter (Brandi Carlile, The Lumineers, Vance Joy), Unlovely was recorded in and around the northeast, predominantly at HearStudios in Camden, Maine.
It’s their unique brand of powerful and harmonious music, while never shying away from topics and ideas they are passionate about, that has charmed fans around the country. Their catalog has amassed over 85 million streams and they’ve gained a loyal live following, selling out shows and earning festival spots at Boston Calling, Newport Folk, Moon River, Mountain Jam, and Calgary Folk. Ultimately, Unlovely sets the stage for The Thieves to continue to impact listeners everywhere.
Vevo announces the release of Teddy Swim’s DSCVR performances of “Night Off” and “Picky.” Vevo DSCVR focuses on the development of emerging artists, through performance content and careful curation. Vevo has a long history of helping emerging artists break through to new and wider audiences. Past alumni of Vevo’s DSCVR series include Billie Eilish, Duckwrth and Kiana Ledé. Vevo is committed to working with artists at an early stage of their career to create unique content that brings their music to life visually and provides exposure to new audiences through the platform.
Jaten Dimsdale, known by his moniker, Teddy Swims, is an American singer and songwriter from Atlanta, GA. Teddy grew up navigating different worlds: he was a football player, a musical theater student and the grandson of a Pentecostal pastor. Teddy was exposed to a wider variety of music than most “country boys”. In high school and over the next few years he was in several bands, genres ranging from 80’s hair metal, funk, modern metalcore, soul, and country alternative bands. These experiences make Teddy who he is as an artist.
In March of 2019, Teddy went on his first US tour as a hip-hop artist with his best friend Addy Maxwell, which he describes as freeing experience, as he was able to continue to expand into uncharted territory. With this in mind, Teddy began to explore integrating the various genres he loved: metal, pop-punk, soul/funk, country, gospel, r&b, and show-tunes, into one genre that is Teddy Swims.
Teddy is the accumulation of past projects. Swims stands for: someone who isn’t me sometimes, a reference to Teddy’s struggle to integrate the different parts of himself. For Teddy, the goal is to break barriers and bring people together. About the project, Teddy says, “There are no categories, no stereotypes, no statistic is a definite number. Until we learn to see every person as an individual, we will never truly reach unity.”
“Picky” and “Night Off” are now streaming on all platforms. Keep up with exclusive content from artists all over the world on YouTube.com/Vevo.
The firey and politically forward Nashville based musician, Chelsea Lovitt has released “Beanstalk”, the second track off her forthcoming album You Had Your Cake, So Lie in It, out on Feb 28. Lovitt recently announced the official album release party to be held on Feb 26 at Mercy Lounge in Nashville featuring J.D. Wilkes of the Legendary Shack Shakers, staple figure of the rock-n-roll scene in Nashville and Amy Darling alongside her intermittent guitar player Matthew Paige who front the Blackfoot Gypsies.
“Beanstalk” references the great Memphis-recorded Sun Records classic “Raunchy” and it’s about illusions—beanstalks “that provide us dreamers a vertical treadmill-like climb to the sky,” says Lovitt. For a change of pace, CL and her studio band, including ace guitarist Marc Ottavi, whose brilliant playing helps define You Had Your Cake, So Lie in It, detour through country-soul, and Lovitt’s psyche in the fourth track on the record, “State of Denial.” It swings like Dylan's Blonde on Blonde and the Stones Exile on Main St.: “Baby, I was born in a state/That dug the ditch for denial,” Lovitt sings. The bitter-sweet love song is the second single, coming out on Valentine’s Day.
For Lovitt, who grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi (an hour from the hometown of Jimmie Rodgers) and lives in the teeming music town of Nashville, Tennessee, the multifaceted music of the South is her inspiration. She is immersed in the traditions of country, soul, rock ‘n’ roll, and bluegrass, and her bona fides on guitar and fiddle match her vocal chops, which go from pure honky-tonk to rockabilly to folk and rock ‘n’ roll. For sure, these days plenty of artists--in Nashville and elsewhere--use the crisscrossing map of Southern music as their handbook. What Lovitt knows is that it’s a map that leads you to new places while laying out the eternal truths. Above all, Lovitt is a writer, so you can bring in Faulkner, romantic poets like John Keats and certainly Tennessee Williams as guides to her sensibility. Her music is complex, full of contradictions, which means she honors the mystery of the Southern tradition.
The contradictions mentioned above are what drive Chelsea Lovitt’s Nashville-recorded debut album You Had Your Cake, So Lie in It. It’s an inspired collection of various, mostly Southern musical approaches. As the record’s title implies, it is also, in subtle and personal ways, a political record that questions America’s obsession with material wealth, toxic relationships between men and women, and warns the way the Trump era corrodes values and isolates human beings. You Had Your Cake, So Lie in It is also about tradition and family, and the vagaries of human identity.
Even more it’s a great, raucous, garage-country-Rocknroll record, referencing a Mick Jagger swagger and Gram Parsons' elegance in country-rock. On “De Donna,” Lovitt evokes Parsons, and writes about her mother in a very humanistic, very nuanced song that’s playful and loving. With its piquant acoustic guitar, “De Donna” invokes yet another Southern iconoclast, Memphis’ Alex Chilton, during his Big Star period. Like the rest of the album, “De Donna,” confounds category, updates the tradition.
Lovitt recorded You Had Your Cake, So Lie in It, at Nashville studio The Bomb Shelter with producer Andrija Tokic, whose credits include helming albums by Alabama Shakes, Margo Price and Buffalo Clover, the Deslondes and Fly Golden Eagle. It is, indeed, a great garage-rock album—opener “If I Had a Dollar” features Lovitt's Wanda Jackson-style vocals and guitar and organ that travel down Dylan’s fabled Highway 61.
The context in Cake is Dylan-esque--Lovitt's lyrics track her struggle in Trump’s world, but they remain rooted in personal experience. The music is equally complex, but it’s the result of old-fashioned techniques. As CL says, “We got a natural sound, and things just go that way in that studio. Tracking live and to tape helps. I was half the time isolated in the vocal/rhythm booth. We really didn’t have to do that many takes. We tracked nine songs in a week.”
In 2018, Lovitt’s record was picked up by Fat Elvis Records for a one time vinyl release as its 10th record and first full length. Lovitt says “I was just trying to find a label to help me pay for CD’S and do the release. I never expected to have it on vinyl before it was released digitally but it’s worked as a unique way to shop the record and has helped tremendously on the road.”
Lovitt tours the country and plays shows in Nashville at celebrated venues like the American Legion and neo-honky tonk gathering spot Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge, incorporating well-chosen covers into her live show. She takes on classics like Parsons’ “Luxury Liner” and the Arthur Crudup/Elvis Presley standard “That’s All Right, Mama” go back to her deep Southern roots. But she is a thoroughly modern musician. In Music City, Nashville Scene wrote about You Had Your Cake, “[Lovitt is] a shape-shifting artist who can turn from alt-country to garage rock….Her insights into America’s culture of excess make [it] a unique example of the political album.”
Embarking on its 18th year at sea, the Forecastle Festival will return this July 17-19, 2020, featuring iconic acoustic rocker Jack Johnson; 2020 Grammy-winning Kentucky natives Cage The Elephant; and pop rock sensation The 1975.
Additional music acts include Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Grace Potter, Jack Harlow, Third Eye Blind, Umphrey's McGee and many more. A full list of confirmed artists from the 2020 lineup can be found below.
Nominated as Pollstar's Music Festival of the Year for 2019, Forecastle will take place at the award-winning Waterfront Park for the tenth year. Fans will have an opportunity to support the home of Forecastle Festival as they purchase their 2020 tickets, playing an important role in protecting Waterfront Park, the 85-acre green space adjacent to the downtown area of Louisville, Kentucky and the Ohio River, for many years to come.
General Admission, Yacht Club and VIP 3-day tickets will be available Wednesday, February 12 at noon ET via ForecastleFest.com, with a limited quantity starting at $135. For the first time ever, Forecastle will also offer a limited number of 3-day General Admission student tickets for only $135 while supplies last. All ticketing options, including affordable layaway plans starting at only $20 down, can be found at ForecastleFest.com/tickets.
New to 2020, 3-day VIP tickets include access to a misting lounge complete with private bar, a specialty cocktail bar featuring frozen beverages and specialty drinks, a VIP craft bar, daily happy hours curated by Bourbon & Biscuits with complimentary tapas and cooking demonstrations, and a designated VIP festival merch pop-up store.
Forecastle will once again offer the Yacht Club ticket option, featuring priority entrance lanes into the festival, access to the Boathouse for an air-conditioned getaway, dedicated bars, a misting lounge and more!
Founded in 2002 by Louisville native JK McKnight, Forecastle has grown from a small community event to one of the nation’s most anticipated summer festivals and continues to embody Louisville’s rich culture by showcasing the city’s burgeoning culinary and arts scene, Kentucky’s unique heritage and more.
Beyond the first-class music lineup, America’s Native Spirit will once again shine as a headliner all its own. New this year, the Forecastle Bourbon Experience is expanding to the masses, allowing all Forecastle patrons the opportunity to interact with the full array of offerings with no additional membership fee or minimum commitment. The Bourbon Experience will be held in a shaded area with relaxing lounge areas and seating, intimate workshops, interactive experiences and direct access to bourbon distillers and ambassadors. More information on the Forecastle Bourbon Experience will be shared in the coming months.
Sustainability and conservation initiatives are guided by the festival’s 501c3 non-profit organization, the Forecastle Foundation.
The Bad Plus has announced plans for a wide-ranging spring tour. The groundbreaking trio - bassist Reid Anderson, drummer Dave King, and pianist Orrin Evans - will perform an array of US headline dates alongside eagerly awaited residencies at New York City's Village Vanguard (March 24-29), Oakland, CA's Yoshi's (April 3-4), and Washington, DC's Blues Alley (April 10-12). For complete details and ticket information, please visit www.thebadplus.com.
The upcoming dates follow last year's arrival of ACTIVATE INFINITY, the second album from The Bad Plus since Evans joined the group in 2018. Produced by The Bad Plus and engineered and mixed by Andy Taub at NYC's Brooklyn Recording in May 2019, the album is available everywhere now via the independent British label, Edition Records.
With ACTIVATE INFINITY, The Bad Plus has produced one of their finest and most original albums to date, group music played with vigor, vibrant imagination, and a scrupulous commitment to democratic vision. For almost two decades, the trio has played with spirit and adventure, making their own rules with a bold sense of creativity and intent. In 2018, The Bad Plus announced a radical change in its lineup by bringing the gifted pianist Orrin Evans into the group alongside founding members Anderson and King.
The inclusion of Evans into their ranks instigated a new wave of excitement within the band, fully re-energizing their distinctive sound and idiosyncratic imagination. The Bad Plus kick-started their new era with 2018's NEVER STOP II, earning global acclaim while also electrifying their worldwide fan following. The self-released album saw the trio refocusing and redefining their trajectory, miraculously growing new roots while remaining true to their original identity.
ACTIVATE INFINITY was met by worldwide critical applause upon its November 2019 release:
"All told, there's a fresh ease and joy to The Bad Plus's sound now that Evans has settled into the piano chair. If the album's title is a deprecatingly self-aggrandizing reference to the trio's own stubborn persistence, then bring it on. They ought to stick around as long as they like."
-The New York Times
"Hewing closer to cool post-bop tradition than most of The Bad Plus' previous efforts, the all-original ACTIVATE INFINITY finds Evans mashing his own sinister soulfulness into swift Monk-like runs, playful Guaraldi-isms, and pastoral Bruce Hornsby-ish themes without losing sight of his unique tone...Though it doesn't lack for quirk, there's a breezy symmetry and easygoing melodicism to TBP's new album that's more handsome than it is histrionic."
-Jazz Times
"ACTIVATE INFINITY is a fast-moving program that leans on mainstream music's most salient elements: catchy melodies and assertive hooks. Filled with intra-group wiles, ACTIVATE INFINITY reminds listeners that these guys need only to rely on themselves."
-Downbeat
"The Bad Plus, with new piano recruit Orrin Evans, are in exhilarating shape on ACTIVATE INFINITY."
-The Guardian
"The new line-up's second album gives Evans' broad stylistic mastery room to breathe."
-Financial Times
"ACTIVATE INFINITY is a canny, wildly creative expression of The Bad Plus' collective persona; it's inspired, sophisticated, fresh, and a joy to encounter, time and again...Evans' decades of experience as a bandleader and inventive hard bop-inspired pianist lend immeasurably
to the quirk and instinct of this trio."
-AllMusic
THE BAD PLUS
ON TOUR 2020
MARCH
19 - Kenosha, WI - Bedford Concert Hall
21 - Hartford, CT - The Bushnell Performing Arts Center
22 - Rockport, MA - Rockport Music-Shalin Liu Performance Center
24 - New York, NY - Village Vanguard (8:30 pm & 10:30 pm)
25 - New York, NY - Village Vanguard (8:30 pm & 10:30 pm)
26 - New York, NY - Village Vanguard (8:30 pm & 10:30 pm)
27 - New York, NY - Village Vanguard (8:30 pm & 10:30 pm)
28 - New York, NY - Village Vanguard (8:30 pm & 10:30 pm)
29 - New York, NY - Village Vanguard (8:30 pm & 10:30 pm)
31 - Seattle, WA - Triple Door
APRIL
1 - Seattle, WA - Triple Door
2 - Englewood, CO - Gothic Theatre
3 - Oakland, CA - Yoshi's (8:00 pm & 10:00 pm)
4 - Oakland, CA - Yoshi's (7:30 pm & 9:30 pm)
9 - Morgantown, WV - Lyell B. Clay Concert
10 - Washington, DC - Blues Alley (8:00 pm & 10:00 pm)
11 - Washington, DC - Blues Alley (8:00 pm & 10:00 pm)
12 - Washington, DC - Blues Alley (8:00 pm & 10:00 pm)
The String Cheese Incident just expanded their summer tour through several new tour stops announced. New dates include Sandy Amphitheater in Sandy, UT (June 17-18), and the KettleHouse Amphitheater in Bonner, MT (June 19-20).
Previously announced, SCI will celebrate Independence Day with a run of shows in New England July 2-3 at Cape Cod's Melody Tent for two unique “In The Round” Incidents, followed by a July 4th Independence Incident at Thompson's Point in Portland, Maine - with special guests Pigeons Playing Ping Pong (July 4 only). The band will close out the weekend with two sets at Peach Fest on July 5th.
SCI pre-sale for Sandy Amphitheater and KettleHouse Amphitheater will happen on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 11am MT via stringcheeseincident.com/tour (no code required).
SCI Pre-Sale - Wednesday 2/19 at 11:00am MT
Public On-Sale - Friday 2/21 at 10:00am MT
Following their 25th anniversary year, the band is jumping into 2020 with some big Incident announcements including the all-new Hog Farm Hangout, Electric Forest, The Peach Music Festival, Brooklyn Bowl Nashville, FloydFest, Dillon Amphitheater, Red Rocks, Cape Cod Melody Tent, Thompson’s Point and now Sandy Amphitheater and KettleHouse Amphitheater.
Railbird Festival, the Lexington-based, world-class music festival produced by AC Entertainment and Lexington entrepreneur David Helmers, is proud to present its 2020 lineup. Grammy Award-winning artists topping the weekend’s bill include Americana standout Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit and singer-songwriter Maren Morris. The festival will return to the Grounds at Keeneland, August 22-23, 2020.
Additional acts include The Head and the Heart, Young the Giant, The Decemberists, Tanya Tucker, Trampled By Turtles, Colter Wall, Whiskey Meyers, and more. More than 30 artists will perform across three stages during the two-day festival.
General Admission (GA) and VIP weekend passes will be available to the public beginning Friday, February 21 at 10 a.m. ET via RailbirdFest.com, with a limited quantity starting at only $135. For the first time, Railbird will also offer a limited number of General Admission student weekend passes for $115 while supplies last. Affordable layaway plans are also available, with payment options starting at only $20 down.
A portion of proceeds from every ticket sold will benefit Railbird’s nonprofit community partners, Fayette Alliance, Central Kentucky Riding for Hope and Central Music Academy.
Those wishing to elevate their Railbird experience can purchase a VIP weekend pass with enhanced amenities for 2020. VIP patrons will have access to all GA amenities, as well as exclusive Limestone and Elkhorn Stage lounges with air-conditioning, a VIP Village with complimentary hors d’oeuvres and spa services by the Drybar, private bars with exclusive VIP pricing, luxury restrooms, fast-track entrances to the festival, free on-site parking for the weekend, commemorative Railbird merchandise and more.
Rolling Stone reported that the inaugural festival, “shook the senses of the listener.” Railbird 2020 will once again celebrate the culture and traditions of the Bluegrass State at the historic Keeneland Racecourse. A Kentucky experience through and through, Railbird will be woven into the course grounds to create an unforgettable and immersive weekend, centered around music, bourbon and equine culture.
In addition to world-class musical acts across three stages, Railbird will offer a wide variety of premium experiences highlighting renowned chefs from the area through its Sip & Savor program. Up-close-and-personal demonstrations and interactive discussions will be led by culinary headliners Ouita Michel, Cole Arimes, Travis Milton, Jeremy Ashby, Samantha Fore and Kristin M. Smith throughout the festival weekend.
Railbird just wouldn’t be a Kentucky festival without Bourbon. The Rickhouse will be home to a highly curated Bourbon experience, with hand-selected barrels from Kentucky’s finest distilleries and immersive whiskey experiences. Bourbon Barrel selections will be chosen in collaboration with co-owners Justin Sloan and Justin Thompson of Lexington’s treasured Justins’ House of Bourbon, a well-known stomping grounds for bourbon beginners, lovers, and collectors.
Private bourbon selections include Four Roses Single Barrel (Barrel Strength), 1792 Full Proof, Blanton’s, Buffalo Trace, Elijah Craig Small Batch, Old Pepper Distillery Single Barrel Rye, Old Carter Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Old Forester Single Barrel (Barrel Strength) and Pinhook True Single Barrel (Barrel Strength).
All festival goers will enjoy wagering, lounging and a taste of horse culture at the Lucky Day Plaza. Fans can get in on the action and wager on off-track betting, with coast-to-coast simulcast from Del Mar to Saratoga on the festival grounds. Keeneland’s own BETologists will be on-site with tips for winning big.
This festival is an all-ages event, complete with a Fillies and Colts family area with arts and crafts, a kid-friendly stage, and much more.
The Railbird Festival 2020 artist lineup includes:
Laid Back Festival will return in 2020 with two incredible all-star events celebrating the vast range of American music and food. Presented in partnership by Gregg Allman’s longtime manager Michael Lehman and Live Nation, the single-day festivals will take place Saturday, August 8 at Wantagh, NY’s Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater and Sunday, August 9 at Holmdel, NJ’s PNC Bank Arts Center. Live Nation presales begin Thursday, February 20 at 10 am ET; all remaining tickets go on sale Friday, February 21 at 10 am ET. For complete details and ticket information, please visit www.laidbackfestival.com.
Laid Back Festival will showcase a truly legendary line-up to be headlined by Steve Miller Band and Brian Wilson (with Al Jardine & Blondie Chaplin) and also featuring Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, Taj Mahal Quartet, Gary Mule Deer, and Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe (performing their famed “Eat A Bunch Of Peaches” tribute to the Allman Brothers Band). Much more than just a concert, Laid Back is an extraordinary one-day event that also celebrates America’s diverse and delicious food and drink, with a variety of regional restaurants, food trucks, breweries, and wineries to be represented at both festival stops.
LAID BACK FESTIVAL: A CELEBRATION OF FOOD & MUSIC
SATURDAY, AUGUST 8 – WANTAGH, NY – NORTHWELL HEALTH AT JONES BEACH THEATRE
SUNDAY, AUGUST 9 – HOLMDEL, NJ – PNC BANK ARTS CENTER
LINEUP:
Steve Miller Band
Brian Wilson (with Al Jardine & Blondie Chaplin)
Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives
Taj Mahal Quartet
Gary Mule Deer
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe (“Eat A Bunch Of Peaches” Set)
Two-time GRAMMY Award nominee Joe Bonamassa will once again partner with Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation and Sixthman for the seventh annual Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea VII, sailing March 8-12, 2021 on the beautiful Norwegian Pearl from Miami, Florida to Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Fans are encouraged to join the presale now as all previous Blues Alive At Sea sailings have sold out. -- bluesaliveatsea.com.
Joining Joe Bonamassa, for the 2021 Caribbean lineup, will be George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Charlie Musselwhite, Eric Gales, Shemekia Copeland, Jimmy Vivino, Sue Foley, Popa Chubby, Jontavious Willis, Vanessa Collier, Joe Robinson with more to be announced. The addition of the seventh voyage follows six sold-out Caribbean cruises and two sold-out Mediterranean sailings. Similar to past sailings, guests will enjoy multiple performances from artists on the lineup, as well as unique collaborations and exclusive curated content to be announced in the near future.
A destination of her own, Norwegian Pearl offers guests Norwegian Cruise Line’s signature freedom and flexibility to enjoy 11 onboard bars and lounges, 15 dining experiences, a casino, one outdoor pool, hot tubs, and a full menu of spa treatments.
BOOKING & INFO: Double occupancy staterooms on Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea begin at $1245 per person, plus taxes and fees, with low deposit amounts and flexible payment plans available.
For more information about booking your vacation, visit bluesaliveatsea.com or call Sixthman directly at 877-379-9180 between the hours of 10AM EST and 6PM EST.
Two-time GRAMMY-nominated blues-rock sensation Joe Bonamassa announces U.S. tour dates for summer 2020, as he heads out on the road for his extensive spring U.S. tour. The newly announced dates will include performances at the coveted Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, two nights at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, and a selection of other major venues in California and Utah. Hailed internationally as one of the greatest guitar players of his generation, Bonamassa has almost single-handedly redefined the blues-rock genre and brought it into the mainstream. Recently featured on the cover of Guitar World, the magazine has boasted him as “the world’s biggest blues guitarist,” and fans of the popular site agreed, in a 2019 year-end poll naming him the #1 best blues guitarist.
Tickets for the newly announced dates go to special fan club pre-sale on February 25 and are on sale to the public February 28 at 10am local time via jbonamassa.com/tour-dates.
Bonamassa is one of today’s top live performers and his enthusiastic shows are one of the biggest parts of his career, and a favorite for music lovers worldwide. The 2020 summer shows will feature a signature selection from his vast track record of #1 albums, with classics, reinventions and more, backed by a stellar band of legendary musicians including Late Night with David Letterman’s Anton Fig (drums), Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and member of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Reese Wynans (piano/organ), Nashville recording legend and Musician’s Hall of Famer Michael Rhodes (bass), Paulie Cerra (saxophone), Lee Thornburg (trumpet), and incredible backup singers.
This summer’s performances at Red Rocks Amphitheatre mark the seventh consecutive year Bonamassa will be performing at the revered venue. To celebrate, he’ll be pulling out all the stops and curating a special live engagement featuring the prestigious Colorado Symphony. The unique collaboration will delight fans new and old as Joe reimagines fan favorites from various parts of his catalogue, including new tracks from his upcoming studio album. Driven by the orchestral arrangements of some of the world's leading classical composers and Hollywood movie orchestrators, Bonamassa will give both acoustic and electric renditions of his essential tracks. This unforgettable performance will be exclusive to the majestic open-air amphitheater, to be filmed and recorded for a later release.
With his most recent album, LIVE AT THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE, Bonamassa achieved his 22nd #1 album on the Billboard Blues Chart. For Bonamassa, the music never stops, and the hit records keep coming! With over 40 albums to his credit thus far, including studio and live recordings, collaborative albums with blues sensation Beth Hart, and creative offshoots Black Country Communion and Rock Candy Funk Party, the living legend somehow always finds ways to reinvent his artistry.
As part of his entrepreneurial and philanthropic endeavors, this summer he will embark on his second annual Mediterranean cruise, co-headlining with Ian Anderson Presents Jethro Tull, and featuring performances from Walter Trout, Marc Broussard, Samantha Fish, Ana Popovic and dozens more blues artists. In addition, Bonamassa has also hosted six sold out Caribbean music festival cruises, raising funds and awareness for his music education non-profit, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation. KTBA aims to conserve the art of music in schools by funding projects, scholarships, and grants that preserve music education for the next generation. Just announced this week, the seventh edition of the Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea festival is slated for March 8-12, 2021 sailing from Miami to Ocho Rios, Jamaica with a star-studded line-up. For more information, visit bluesaliveatsea.com or bluesaliveatseaeurope.com.
Bonamassa also just finished his time in the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London, working on his next much-anticipated studio album, due out later this year. As an artist who spends nearly 200 days a year on the road and his spare time writing new songs, Bonamassa is always curating new ways to diversify his craft, hitting the stage with fervor, and bringing awe and amazement to crowds everywhere.
Catch your favorite guitarist as host of the weekly radio show Different Shades of Blue with Joe Bonamassa on SiriusXM’s Bluesville at 6pm ET every Monday via SiriusXM channel 74. He explores all aspects of the blues music genre like never before and curates an eclectic mix of everything from historical gems to forgotten favorites and modern hits.
SUMMER 2020 TOUR DATES
Friday, July 31 – San Diego, CA – San Diego Civic Theatre
Saturday, August 1 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre
Monday, August 3 – Paso Robles, CA – Vina Robles Amphitheatre
Tuesday, August 4 – San Jose, CA – San Jose Civic
Thursday, August 6 – Salt Lake City, UT – Eccles Theater
Sunday, August 9 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Monday, August 10 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
On The Widow’s Walk is the new studio album from The White Buffalo, the touring and recording persona of Jake Smith – US singer, songwriter, guitarist, teller of tales; the Emmy nominee whose voice – a timber-shakin’ baritone of gravitas and gravel – seems fuelled by a greater truth.
Of the half-dozen albums thus far released under The White Buffalo banner, this latest 11-tracker – a loosely linked collection of dark thrills produced by Shooter Jennings, who also provides piano and keys – is the most collaborative and organic, the most sonically round.
On The Widow’s Walk is available to pre-order from February 21st, signaling the start of a new worldwide relationship with Snakefarm Records, a young label within the Universal Music Group spotlighting roots, country rock, blues & Americana.
From the beginning, Oregon-born Smith has wilfully side-stepped genre, touching on a variety of musical threads – from Americana to punk, from brooding folk to driving rock ‘n’ roll – whilst maintaining a strong, signature style. His spontaneous delivery and narrative lyrics are at the coal-black heart of it all, instilling the songs – effectively, mini-movies – with a cinematic, hand-crafted quality, and this very much holds true for On The Widow’s Walk.
“I was floored by Jake’s voice and his lyricism,” recalls Shooter. “It was intimidating. But we had a really good time igniting our inspirations together. Jake is one of the best out there. I’m honored that I got the chance to make this record come to life with him and his band. They let me into the fold and we made some fine music together. Long live the Jelly Crew!”
The ’Jelly Crew’ in question, in addition to Smith, comprises drummer Matt Lynott and bassist Christopher Hoffee, also responsible for many of the guitar parts. They recorded as live and as first-take as possible, using violin and pedal steel where required.
With an eclectic history to his illustrious name, Shooter simply has no interest in playing it safe; he sides with a diverse selection of talent, and his collaboration with The White Buffalo has produced a special body of work that is stripped and spiritual and sounds just like the artist.
At one point, the idea of a concept album was considered, but Smith didn’t want to leave out quality songs just because they might not fit a specific concept; hence, On The Widow’s Walk has water and the ocean as underlying rather than dominant themes, a sense of longing too, something reflected in songs such as "Sycamore", "River Of Love And Loss" and the title track; it’s there in the front cover artwork, too – a portrait of Smith by UK artist Jack Browning.
Other subjects tackled include living for the moment ("Problem Solution" / "No History"), the soulless march of technology ("Cursive"), the indiscriminate force of mother nature ("Faster Than Fire"), plus what happens when the moral conscience spins wildly out of control ("The Rapture", also lead single and lyric video).
“It’s a twisted, primitive tale of an unrelenting thirst for blood,” explains Smith. “With ‘The Rapture’, I wanted to blur the lines between animal and man, to create a tension of moral restraint and unbridled evil.”
From sinister through to plaintive, the overall feel is of all parts supporting a wider view under the album’s intriguing title, first mentioned by Lynott.
“We were driving through an East Coast seaport town and I asked what the little balconies were on top of the buildings,” recollects Smith. “Matt explained that the wives of the sailors would pace around on the roof-tops longing for their husbands to come home safely. There’s so much romance in that, the Widow’s Walk, plus of course the possibility of disturbing and dramatic things taking place.
“I guess what I’ve tried to do with this new album is to represent a broad range of emotions. There’s dark moments here, more uplifting moments, questioning moments, it’s not just one thing. Also, I like to put some confusion into my songs, which is a very human element, I think.”
On The Widow’s Walk is a compelling, gimmick-free statement from an artist, now based in Southern California, whose activity between the musical lines has seen his star very much on the rise, playing to a million followers worldwide, achieving over 200 million streams to date, and securing a Top 10 spot in the TV / Film Syncs Chart for 2019.
The White Buffalo on Tour
Mar 13 @ Pappy & Harriet's | Pioneertown, CA
Mar 20 @ Temblor Brewing Company | Bakersfield, CA
Amid a six-month touring break from The String Cheese Incident, Kyle Hollingsworth decided to branch out and develop some musical ideas on his own. What resulted was five musically diverse and energetic songs including a rousing cover of Vampire Weekend’s “Step.”
Anticipation for the new 2020 EP has been high. A handful of notable outlets jumped on board early providing first listens of some of the new tracks. Relix premiered “Tufnel’s Retreat,” Jambase premiered “Live Forever,” and The Big Takeover premiered Kyle’s take on Vampire Weekend’s hit song “Step.”
"I love the ability to try different styles and feels with my solo band, it helps me be centered with the mothership of SCI. With this EP, I was just throwing out a collection of songs that speak of where I am right now in my writing, just a fun project to bring in the new decade. From old school prog rock to '90s alt grunge. And it was fun to explore new territory by reinterpreting a tune from one of my favorite bands,” said Kyle.
2020 Track Listing
1. Live Forever
2. We Were The Young
3. Step (Vampire Weekend cover)
4. Got it Figured Out (ft. Lyle Divinsky of The Motet)
5. Tufnel's Retreat
Kyle is currently on tour with his band in support of the EP release and will be making select stops across the country, including a handful of special shows in Alaska, Colorado’s Front Range, and the Northwest, plus appearances at Summer Camp Music Festival and the all-new Hog Farm Hangout.
KYLE HOLLINGSWORTH ON TOUR
2/28-29 Alyeska Resort | Anchorage, AK
3/6 Fox Theatre | Boulder, CO w/ The Magic Beans
3/7 Ullr's Tavern | Winter Park, CO
4/3-4 Charleston Pour House | Charleston, SC (Everyone Orchestra)
4/10 Washington's | Fort Collins, CO w/ Joel Cummins, The Jauntee
4/11 Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom | Denver, CO w/ Joel Cummins, The Jauntee
4/30 Goodfoot | Portland, OR
5/2 Nectar Lounge | Seattle, WA
5/21-22 Summer Camp Music Festival | Chillicothe, IL
The legendary UK band and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees The Hollies, whose hits include "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," "The Air That I Breathe," "Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)," "Bus Stop,""Carrie-Anne" and "Sorry Suzanne," will be bringing its 'The Road Is Long Tour' to the USA in 2020. The tour will be the band's first full USA tour in 18 years.
Alongside The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, The Hollies are one of the UK's most celebrated bands from the 1960s British Invasion era. The band haven't stopped touring since they formed in 1962 and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 by Steve Van Zandt of Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band.
At the heart of The Hollies are the integral, original members - powerhouse drummer Bobby Elliott and singer, songwriter and lead guitarist Tony Hicks. Their soaring, distinctive harmonies, brilliantly crafted songs, and cultivated musicianship, coupled with The Hollies' extensive back catalogue of memorable tunes, have ensured the longevity of one Britain's greatest Pop/Rock bands whose music remains fresh, dynamic and timeless.
"We are very excited to bring our 'The Road Is Long' tour to the USA and play for all the fans who have waited so long to see us back in America. The show will include all of our greatest hits and we cannot wait to get back on the road Stateside," Bobby Elliott, The Hollies' drummer.
"We have very fond memories of our tours in the US and how much the country means to us as a band. We look forward to seeing you all very soon," guitarist and singer of The Hollies, Tony Hicks.
Artist pre-sale and VIP Packages are available starting March 3rd with public on sale starting on Friday, March 6th at 10AM local time. Ticket and VIP information for all shows can be found at: http://www.hollies.co.uk/
Tour Dates:
July 8 - Saratoga, CA - The Mountain Winery*
July 10 - Los Angeles, CA - Saban Theater
July 11 - Las Vegas, NV - The Smith Center for the Performing Arts
July 12 - Phoenix, AZ - Celebrity Theatre
July 14 - San Antonio, TX - The Tobin Center - HEB Hall
July 15 - Irving, TX - The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
July 16 - Austin, TX - The Paramount Theatre
July 18 - Chicago, IL - The Chicago Theatre
July 19 - Huber Heights, OH - Rose Music Center at The Heights
July 21 - Washington, D.C. - Kennedy Center Concert Hall
July 23 - Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie Center for the Arts
July 24 - Morristown, NJ - Mayo Performing Arts Center
July 25 - Mashantucket, CT - The Fox Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino
July 26 - Boston, MA - The Wilbur
*Tickets and VIP Packages available at a later date
Today, Joe Bonamassa announces full-length instrumental album Easy To Buy, Hard To Sell as he debuts his brand new project, The Sleep Eazys. The first single, “Bond (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service),” a nod to the 1969 classic action film, is now available on all streaming services (https://joeb.me/SleepEazys). As producer, the blues-rock titan enlisted some of his frequent collaborators, along with his all-star touring band, to play on the album, which is set for release on April 10 via J&R Adventures. Pre-order the album now at https://shop.jbonamassa.com/collections/sleep-eazys
The album takes a slight departure from Bonamassa’s revered repertoire, with the intent of honoring Danny Gatton, one of his most influential mentors, as well as covering instrumental versions of some of his favorites from Frank Sinatra, Danny Gatton, Tony Joe White, King Curtis and more. Bonamassa shares his excitement on the project, “To be honest I have always wanted to do a record like this. But, to be even more honest I’m not sure I was ready both professionally and musically, until now. The time finally felt right to finally pay tribute to a mentor, a friend and one of the greatest guitarists of all time: the late great Danny Gatton. My time hanging out and jamming with Danny as a child shaped my playing and musical pathway more than just about anyone.”
Largely comprised of Joe’s touring band, the Sleep Eazys includes Late Night with David Letterman’s Anton Fig (percussion), Musician’s Hall of Famer Michael Rhodes (bass), Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Reese Wynans (keyboards), Lee Thornburg (trumpet), Paulie Cerra (saxophone), along with Jade MacRae and Juanita Tippins on background vocals, and of course, Bonamassa on guitar. Accompanying the stellar and tight-knit cast are Jimmy Hall on harmonica and esteemed multi-instrumentalist John Jorgenson. Fans of Bonamassa will enjoy the larger-than-life sound of the star-studded collective that is The Sleep Eazys, providing an array of sounds in everything from jazz to bluegrass, funk, rockabilly and more! With the caliber and expertise of musicians on this album, it is sure to catch fire and grab the attention of music lovers and critics worldwide.
This album follows Bonamassa’s other successful collaborative albums, including the adventurous side projects Black Country Communion, Rock Candy Funk Party and Beth Hart. Collectively, Bonamassa has over 40 albums to date and recently finished recording his next solo studio album at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. His latest album, LIVE AT SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE marked his 22nd #1 album on the Billboard Blues Chart. Sweet Release, Reese Wynans’ debut solo album was also Bonamassa’s first venture as a record producer, a role he thoroughly enjoys and plans to revisit in several upcoming albums.
Among Joe’s endeavors outside the recording studio and concert stage is running his non-profit foundation Keeping the Blues Alive. The organization aims to conserve the art of music in schools by funding projects, scholarships, and grants that preserve music education for the next generation, making weekly donations to schools across the country. www.keepingthebluesalive.org
Dark Horse Records and BMG are celebrating this year's milestone Ravi Shankar centennial with the first ever vinyl release of his renowned 1997 album, CHANTS OF INDIA. Produced by Shankar's longtime friend and collaborator, Dark Horse founder George Harrison, the acclaimed collection will be available on 2x12" LP 180-gram red vinyl, housed in a gatefold sleeve with an exclusive 12"x12" photo print. Limited to 3,000 in North America, CHANTS OF INDIA arrives Saturday, April 18 as a Record Store Day exclusive release.
Recorded in the south Indian city of Chennai - then known as Madras - as well as Friar Park, Harrison's home in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, CHANTS OF INDIA marked a landmark departure for Shankar. Though of course known around the world for his extraordinary work in Hindustani classical music, the album sees Shankar creating a collection of traditional Vedic and other Hindu sacred prayers set to music, offering his hope for peace and harmony among nature and all creatures. The renowned sitar master is joined by a number of leading Indian musicians, performing on such traditional instruments such as tabla, santoor, veena, bansuri flute, tanpura, and mridangam, as well as violin, cello, and harp, with his daughter, Anoushka Shankar, conducting and Harrison contributing at Shankar's personal request on acoustic guitar, autoharp, bass, vibraphone, marimba, glockenspiel, and backing vocals.
Released on CD in 1997, CHANTS OF INDIA proved both a popular and critical success, reaching #3 on Billboard's "Top World Music Albums" amidst wide-ranging international applause. Entertainment Weekly's Josef Woodard awarded the album an "A-," hailing it as an "enchanting set of Indian music based on prayers and chants...Unlike Shankar's classical raga recordings, CHANTS OF INDIA is a set of short, colorfully arranged pieces, enjoyable for neophytes and devotees alike. Another jewel from a humble world-music superstar." CHANTS OF INDIA "utilizes Western instruments, classical this time, creating a sound that's akin to 'Within You, Without You' on SGT. PEPPER," wrote Goldmine's Gillian Gaar. "Because of the nature of the material - prayers to God - the emphasis is on the vocals, not the instrumentation, which makes this album especially soothing and relaxing." Indeed, NPR Classical has named CHANTS OF INDIA as one of "5 Essential Ravi Shankar Recordings," writing, "This is a very different kind of Ravi Shankar project, produced by George Harrison in 1997. Shankar took Hindu prayers, mantras and scriptural texts and framed them within larger musical settings, incorporating both Indian and European instruments along with voices. The results are transporting - and very beautiful."
The Record Store Day exclusive release of CHANTS OF INDIA follows the recent announcement of a new multi-faceted global partnership between BMG and Dark Horse Records, the new imprint led by Dhani Harrison and manager David Zonshine. The agreement will see an array of releases from the legendary Dark Horse label's acclaimed catalog, as well as from George Harrison's Indian label imprint, HariSongs, and the Joe Strummer solo catalog, including his work with The Mescaleros.
The first slate of releases from Dark Horse/BMG arrived on all digital platforms in January 2020 and included CHANTS OF INDIA, alongside Ravi Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan's IN CONCERT 1972, Attitudes' AINT LOVE ENOUGH: BEST OF ATTITUDES, and three classic LPs from Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros: GLOBAL A GO-GO, ROCK ART AND THE X-RAY STYLE, and STREETCORE. Upcoming releases include compilations, live albums, and box sets featuring rare and unreleased recordings from the Dark Horse label, many of which will be made available digitally for the first time ever.
In addition, Dark Horse recently released "For Real - For Tom," an extraordinary all-star single honoring the late Tom Petty and featuring Jakob Dylan, Dhani Harrison, Amos Lee, Lukas Nelson, Micah Nelson, and Willie Nelson. Net proceeds from the single benefit The Midnight Mission, a comprehensive homeless shelter and homeless services provider in Los Angeles supported by Petty throughout his career. "For Real - For Tom" is available now for streaming and download HERE.
Dark Horse Records was founded by George Harrison in 1974 as a place for his solo work and a home for supporting other artists. The label's eclectic roster features Indian classical legend Ravi Shankar, the band Attitudes (featuring Jim Keltner, David Foster, Danny Kortchmar, and Paul Stallworth), the duo Splinter (produced by Harrison), R&B vocal group The Stairsteps, American singer Keni Burke, and guitarist Henry McCullough (Paul McCartney & Wings, Joe Cocker, and Spooky Tooth).
The HariSongs label was created by the George Harrison Estate to celebrate the Indian classical music George loved and believed would "help as a balance towards a peaceful daily life." The label was launched in April 2018 in honor of both Ravi Shankar's birthday (April 7, 1920) and Ali Akbar Khan's birthday (April 14, 1922).
The Allman Betts Band has announced the cancellation of the rest of their scheduled March shows.
Due to the need to prioritize public safety during this time, The Allman Betts Band will be postponing the rest of their current tour - shows scheduled March 12 through March 31 are effectively canceled.
A Note from the band:
“We are looking at options to reschedule dates and appreciate your patience while determining next steps. As soon as we have additional info to share, we will. Stay safe and follow the guidelines in your community — we all need to do our part to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and look out for each other.”
BMG recording artist Devon Allman of the Allman Betts Band is going to go "on tour" from his house! Since bands can’t go city to city during these difficult and separated times, Allman will change themes from show to show to keep it unique. “One night will be cover songs, one night originals, one night Q&A live, one night special guests, one night request hour, etc” said Allman.
Gibson Guitars, Earthworks Audio and Meyer Sound Lab are all getting behind the project. Gibson and Earthworks will be supplying musical gear that will be used as giveaways over the course of the performances.
These performances will be pro-shot on a pro camera rig, not a phone, not a computer set up on the kitchen table, but it will be mixed professionally complete with video intros, outros, fading and transitions on the fly.
Each week Team DA will post a graphic across all "Devon Allman" and "Allman Betts Band" websites listing the upcoming performances and what the theme for each gig will be. With most artists hopping on at random times, Allman wants to have a schedule with shows fans can look forward to and interact with as well. The shows will be LIVE on the Devon Allman Facebook Page and then reposted the next day to all platforms like YouTube, Instagram etc.
There will be a virtual tip jar in place to donate with proceeds going to the Allman Betts Band touring crew to help during the time off of touring.
“Man it is going to be fun to go on tour from the house. I really miss the energy of the stage and the interaction with our amazing fans. I really hope this makes our fans feel good during these crazy times and that we can just hang out and have some fun together. I’m going to work hard to keep each show unique. Our Allman Betts Band road crew is unemployed like all road crews out there, we’d like to encourage fans to make a donation that will go straight to them. Gibson has given us some guitars to give away and some other companies like Earthworks Audio and Meyer Sound Labs are stepping to the plate as well…..see y’all soon!”
The Material World Foundation, created by George Harrison in 1973, is today donating $500,000 to the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund, Save the Children and Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) charities, which are providing much needed aid and care during this COVID-19 pandemic. To help raise additional funds the Foundation has also launched The Inner Light Challenge. The challenge asks people around the globe to share a verse, chorus, or line from The Beatles song 'The Inner Light' and post it with the hashtag #innerlight2020. For every person that shares their own "Inner Light" moment on social media using the #innerlight2020 hashtag, the Material World Foundation will give another $1 (up to $100,000) to help those affected by the virus.
Without going out of my door, I can know all things on earth.
Without looking out of my window, I can know the ways of heaven.
Olivia Harrison said, "These lyrics sung by George are a positive reminder to all of us who are isolating, in quarantine or respecting the request to shelter in place. Let's get and stay connected at this difficult time. There are things we can do to help and we invite you to share your Inner Light."
The Inner Light Challenge:
- The Material World Foundation will donate another $1 (up to $100,000) for every one of you who shares their own "Inner Light" moment on social media using the hashtag #innerlight2020
- This can be a verse, a chorus, or a line from the song. Just sing it, play it, hum it, strum it, paint it, knit it, chant it, plant it, pray or meditate and post it to social media using the hashtag #innerlight2020
Today, The White Buffalo (aka Jake Smith) released two new tracks off his forthcoming album On The Widow’s Walk as a double A-Side. The new Shooter Jennings produced album is due out on April 17 via Snakefarm Records.
Earlier this week Rolling Stone Country premiered “Problem Solution” saying “ It’s an appropriately at-odds song for our current moment” and also commended the track saying it’s “a musically adventurous two-part composition, the track has elements of outlaw country and the Beatles.”
The White Buffalo has also announced an exclusive live stream concert plus fan chat through the brand new platform Cadenza.tv.
The experience will offer fans a one time only, premium quality interactive live stream event. During the stream, The White Buffalo will play new material from On The Widow’s Walk as well as older songs and fan favorites. The session will wrap up with a live fan Q&A session.
Access to The White Buffalo: On The Widow’s Walk Exclusive Live Stream is a flat $10 USD. Purchasing a pass, adding to a user’s calendar, and joining the stream on April 5 at 12pm PST can all be done at http://cadenza.tv/set/the-white-buffalo. The event can be enjoyed on any device.
Xavier Dphrepaulezz, aka Fantastic Negrito, was at home social distancing with his family like everyone else in the world and felt a need to connect, so he decided to ask people to send him videos of what they were doing to keep themselves sane during this unprecedented time in history. The request was met with surprising enthusiasm and he included the crowd-sourced footage in a video using his new song "Chocolate Samurai." The song will appear on his soon-to-be-announced new album.
"Have you lost your mind yet? I asked people around the world to send me footage of how they're coping with coronavirus...this is what came back. A moment of light. We may be isolated behind closed doors, but we are in this together."
Spafford has announced that they will release their full show from Steamboat Springs earlier this year with an exclusive video premiere tonight, April 1 at 9 pm ET. Tune in to watch it live on YouTube or Facebook.
Spafford opened the show with a cover of The Allman Brothers’ “Whipping Post” in celebration of ABB’s 50th anniversary. The show also included several originals including “Virtual Bean Dip” and “Salamander Song.”
3/10/20 | Schmiggity's | Steamboat, CO
Set One: Whipping Post*, Windmill, Simon & Lilly, Leave The Light On
Set Two: All In, My Road (My Road) > Legend, Virtual Bean Dip > Salamander Song
Encore: I Shall Be Released^
*Allman Brothers Band
^Bob Dylan
Spafford are known for their astonishing improvisational ability and off-the-cuff extended jams, Spafford paints a picture in real-time each night with a musical palette known only to each other. It’s a private language comprised of both their talent as musicians as well as their formidable catalog of influences, spanning 90’s alt-rock radio hits to Steely Dan and The Crystal Method. Each and every Spafford show is a sonic pilgrimage, the journey of a team of musicians so in tune with each other that a single note communicates intent and purpose. Spafford is amongst the most creative and hard-traveling bands on the contemporary jam scene, performing countless sold-out headline dates along with high profile festival sets at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Firefly Music Festival, and many others.
LA native Mara Connor shares a red-hot new single "Wildfire" along with a twisted 1960s-inspired music video. Just in time for Valentine's Day, Connor's directorial debut is a romance-gone-wrong with a surprising co-star, featuring iconic vintage wardrobe.
"Wildfire" is out now on all DSPs, one of four sizzling tracks from her debut EP, No Fun, due out April 3 via Side Hustle Records, the brand new bicoastal label run by the music industry veterans at Big Hassle Media. An EP release party is announced for April 18 at Zebulon in Los Angeles, CA - event info can be found here. - Note -- postponed
American Songwriter, who debuted "Wildfire," says, "Mara Connor Blossoms on New Single 'Wildfire,'" adding, "Somewhere between a mod balladeer and an indie folk goddess...'Wildfire' lets Connor shine brighter, revealing something sultry, something country, and something uniquely hers."
The classic folk-rock song was recorded at WAX LTD (formerly LA's historic TTG Studios, where legends like The Velvet Underground, Linda Ronstadt and Jimi Hendrix recorded). Mara enlisted the help of her friend Adrian Simon (son of Paul Simon & Edie Brickell) to produce. Drenched in the sound and spirit of Southern California, “Wildfire” features jangly 12-string electric guitar and giant “Wall of Sound” harmonies. Connor and Simon called on drummer friend Andrew Marshall (Billie Eilish’s drummer) and other LA musician friends to play on the track.
"Wildfire" was inspired by a windy night in Mara's hometown of Los Angeles. The infamous Santa Ana winds (referred to as the "Devil Winds" in the song) were tearing up the city. Mara fell asleep listening to Jonathan Wilson's "Gentle Spirit." Connor recalls "As the record ended, I woke up, picked up my guitar and the song 'Wildfire' came to me, fully formed...I like to think that the winds brought it to me."
Led by an all-female team, the retro-inspired “Wildfire” music video was co-directed by Mara and her filmmaker mom Kate Connor (Fort McCoy starring Eric Stoltz) and shot by Cristina Dunlap (Lizzo, Brandi Carlile). The video follows a fashionable (albeit deranged) young woman on a romantic escapade with her new beau, who is revealed to be a mannequin (a la Lars and the Real Girl in reverse).
Mara's co-star proved to be a "diva" onset, as it took a team of four female crew members armed with special wrenches to adjust the mannequin's every move. He fell apart in the swan boat, his lower half almost plunging to the bottom of the lake as Mara fought to keep him "together" until his handlers rushed to the rescue via pedal boat.
Connor arrived on the scene with her first single "No Fun," which was lauded by Rolling Stone (as a "Song You Need to Know" and in their "This Week in Music" playlist along with Neil Young and St. Vincent) and named Buzzbands' "No. 1 Favorite Song of 2018." Her follow-up single "Someone New," a duet featuring Langhorne Slim, debuted via Consequence of Sound and was also named one of Rolling Stone's "10 Best Country and Americana Songs to Hear Now" (along with Mavis Staples and Lukas Nelson). She made her SXSW debut last year and was called one of the "12 best up-and-coming artists at SXSW" by Greg Kot at the Chicago Tribune.
PHISH has released their new studio album, Sigma Oasis today, April 2. The band hosted a worldwide listening party of the album in its entirety last night, April 1, via YouTube and Facebook. Produced by Phish and Vance Powell (Chris Stapleton, Jack White, Arctic Monkeys), the album’s nine tracks were recorded last November at The Barn, the band’s longtime studio outside of Burlington, Vermont.
Phish surprised their fans on Tuesday night, announcing Sigma Oasis with a videotaped announcement from the four of them, during a setbreak as part of their “Dinner And A Movie” series of full concerts airing every week at http://livephish.com.
Sigma Oasis came to be during the first week of November 2019, but it wasn’t planned that way at all. We were headed up to The Barn to rehearse for our fall tour and ended up discussing this batch of relatively recent songs that we were particularly proud of and always wished we had recorded, but hadn’t had a chance to yet. Trey suggested calling up Vance Powell as he mixed and engineered Ghosts Of The Forest. Vance was very familiar with the space and the console so we set up the gear with no room dividers, no click tracks. Nothing. Just like a Phish show. Open space. We played for a couple days. We just played a bunch of songs -- very quickly, a few takes, very organic, natural, live, honest. We had the best time.
When we were done, our photographer Rene came up and asked us to come out on the porch and snap a photo. It took about two minutes. And that’s the album cover -- a snapshot of our band at that point in time.
Vance had some stuff on his schedule so he asked as a favor if we would mind if he didn’t mix until early March. Now four months might sound like a long time, but it gave all of us time to work on the tracks -- Page overdubbed a lot of keyboards at home. Trey went to a studio in New York and did vocals and percussion. We had time to pick which songs we wanted to work on. We let a few of them go, which was difficult, but that’s ok.
When we recorded the album, we didn’t plan to release it this way. But today, because of the environment we’re all in, it just feels right. We don’t know the next time that we’re all going to be able to be together. This is an opportunity to have a moment where the Phish community can share something despite being physically separated.
The last line of the chorus of “Sigma Oasis” sums up this point -- There’s no place to get. There’s nothing to achieve. There’s no place to be. We’re here. Right here, right now is as good as it gets. “You’re already there.” It’s a content state of mind. You’re just completely in the moment. “You’re already there.” You already have everything you need. Sigma Oasis. It aligns with where we are in our career and as friends and musicians. There’s a joy to the playing. We’re not clamoring to make it. Make what? We’re already there! Sigma Oasis.
Billy Strings is planning an epic 2+ hour-long solo set right from his living room in Nashville, TN.
This rare solo acoustic performance will be broadcast via nugs.net on Sat, April 4 at 9pm ET as part of the new digital concert series "Live From Out There." This unique performance will also mark the first time that Billy will play a live show, since the Covid-19 outbreak.
Proceeds will benefit Sweet Relief’s COVID-19 Fund for artists and crew affected by the loss of work due to COVID-19.
In partnership with Live From Out There, Billy Strings is debuting a video compilation from footage captured at Headliners Music Hall shows in Louisville, KY on Feb 7- 8, 2020.
The video features never before seen concert, backstage and soundcheck footage as well as some funny moments.
The video will debut on nugs.tv as well all of the Billy Strings social channels TONIGHT, 4/10/20, at 9pm EST.
Today, Joe Bonamassa shares his latest project, the already critically acclaimed full-length instrumental debut album Easy To Buy, Hard To Sell from The Sleep Eazys. As producer, the blues-rock titan enlisted some of his frequent collaborators, along with his all-star touring band, to play on the album, which is available now by way of J&R Adventures. Critics and fans are raving about Bonamassa's insatiable and eclectic new instrumental departure. Available for purchase at https://shop.jbonamassa.com/collections/sleep-eazys. Stay tuned for the vinyl edition, available to own on April 24.
Easy To Buy, Hard To Sell takes an interesting departure from Bonamassa's revered repertoire, with the intent of honoring Danny Gatton, one of his most influential mentors, as well as covering instrumental versions of some of his favorites from Frank Sinatra, Danny Gatton, Tony Joe White, King Curtis and more. Bonamassa expresses his excitement on the project, "To be honest I have always wanted to do a record like this. But, to be even more honest I'm not sure I was ready both professionally and musically, until now. The time finally felt right to finally pay tribute to a mentor, a friend and one of the greatest guitarists of all time: the late great Danny Gatton. My time hanging out and jamming with Danny as a child shaped my playing and musical pathway more than just about anyone."
Largely comprised of Joe's touring band, the Sleep Eazys includes Late Night with David Letterman's Anton Fig (percussion), Musician's Hall of Famer Michael Rhodes (bass), Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Reese Wynans (keyboards), Lee Thornburg (trumpet), Paulie Cerra (saxophone), along with Jade MacRae and Juanita Tippins on background vocals, and of course, Bonamassa on guitar. Accompanying the stellar and tight-knit cast are Jimmy Hall on harmonica and esteemed multi-instrumentalist John Jorgenson. Fans of Bonamassa will enjoy the larger-than-life sound of the star-studded collective that is The Sleep Eazys, providing an array of sounds in everything from jazz to bluegrass, funk, rockabilly and more! With the caliber and expertise of musicians on this album, it is sure to catch fire and grab the attention of music lovers and critics worldwide.
This album follows Bonamassa's other successful collaborative albums, including the adventurous side projects Black Country Communion, Rock Candy Funk Party and Beth Hart. Collectively, Bonamassa has over 40 albums to date and recently finished recording his next solo studio album at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. His latest album, LIVE AT SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE marked his 22nd #1 album on the Billboard Blues Chart. Sweet Release, Reese Wynans' debut solo album was also Bonamassa's first venture as a record producer, a role he thoroughly enjoys and plans to revisit in several upcoming albums.
Among Joe's endeavors outside the recording studio and concert stage is running his non-profit foundation Keeping the Blues Alive. The organization aims to conserve the art of music in schools by funding projects, scholarships, and grants that preserve music education for the next generation, making weekly donations to schools across the country. www.keepingthebluesalive.org
The “We Are Still All Together” Tour 2020 from Devon Allman’s house is entering a second phase after a week off. The shows are averaging 73,000 views a piece with wonderful feedback on the sound quality and interaction with the fans. Gibson Guitars, Earthworks Audio, Meyer Sound Lab, and Kyser Musical Products have been amazing supporters of the event posting to their social media and spreading the word.
The shows will be LIVE on the Devon Allman Facebook Page and then reposted the next day to all platforms like YouTube, Instagram etc.
All proceeds have gone to the touring crew of The Allman Betts Band. Giveaways will start near the end of the month provided by the gear companies listed above.
NEWLY ADDED SHOWS
Tues April 14 ||| 7 pm central: All original night
Thurs April 16 || 7pm central: All Tom Petty
Sunday. April 19 || 5pm central: Americana Night with Mattie Schell
Thurs April 23 || 7pm central: Solo Q&A storyteller night
Thurs April 30 || 7pm central: All Allman Night Part ll. With Jackson Stokes & R. Scott Bryan
Spafford has announced that they will release the entire second set of their Frisco. Colorado show at 10 Mile Music Hall from earlier this year with exclusive never before seen video footage. Spafford will premiere the video footage on Wednesday, April 15 at 8 PM eastern. Tune in here to watch it live.
Spafford - 3/06/20 | Frisco, CO |10 Mile Music Hall | Set Two
Set Two: In The Eyes Of Thieves, Electric Taco Stand > Dis Go In 5? > Alternate Ending > Electric Taco Stand
Encore: Sweet^
Notes:
^Gary Ukura
About Spafford
Spafford are known for their astonishing improvisational ability and off-the-cuff extended jams, Spafford paints a picture in real-time each night with a musical palette known only to each other. It’s a private language comprised of both their talent as musicians as well as their formidable catalog of influences, spanning 90’s alt-rock radio hits to Steely Dan and The Crystal Method. Each and every Spafford show is a sonic pilgrimage, the journey of a team of musicians so in tune with each other that a single note communicates intent and purpose. Spafford is amongst the most creative and hard-traveling bands on the contemporary jam scene, performing countless sold-out headline dates along with high profile festival sets at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Firefly Music Festival, and many others.
The White Buffalo (aka Jake Smith) has released his seventh studio album On The Widow’s Walk via Snakefarm Records. Smith’s songwriting and honest storytelling shines through on the new record. At its core, The White Buffalo is about engagement. The White Buffalo makes people laugh and cry. The White Buffalo is truth and wild imagination working together. The White Buffalo is Jake Smith – singer, songwriter, guitarist, teller of stories, Emmy nominee; an artist whose voice – a timber-shakin’ baritone of gravitas and gravel – seems directly linked to a greater truth; an artist who will not be swayed by fashion or curtailed by genre.
“I was floored by Jake’s voice and his lyricism,” recalls Shooter. “It was intimidating. But we had a really good time igniting our inspirations together. Jake is one of the best out there. I’m honored that I got the chance to make this record come to life with him and his band. They let me into the fold and we made some fine music together. Long live the Jelly Crew!”
The ’Jelly Crew’ in question, in addition to Smith, comprises drummer Matt Lynott and bassist Christopher Hoffee, also responsible for many of the guitar parts. They recorded as live and as first-take as possible, using violin and pedal steel where required.
With an eclectic history to his illustrious name, Shooter simply has no interest in playing it safe; he sides with a diverse selection of talent, and his collaboration with The White Buffalo has produced a special body of work that is stripped and spiritual and sounds just like the artist.
At one point, the idea of a concept album was considered, but Smith didn’t want to leave out quality songs just because they might not fit a specific concept; hence, On The Widow’s Walk has water and the ocean as underlying rather than dominant themes, a sense of longing too, something reflected in songs such as "Sycamore", "River Of Love And Loss" and the title track; it’s there in the front cover artwork, too – a portrait of Smith by UK artist Jack Browning.
Other subjects tackled include living for the moment ("Problem Solution" / "No History"), the soulless march of technology ("Cursive"), the indiscriminate force of mother nature ("Faster Than Fire"), plus what happens when the moral conscience spins wildly out of control ("The Rapture", also lead single and lyric video).
“It’s a twisted, primitive tale of an unrelenting thirst for blood,” explains Smith. “With ‘The Rapture’, I wanted to blur the lines between animal and man, to create a tension of moral restraint and unbridled evil.”
From sinister through to plaintive, the overall feel is of all parts supporting a wider view under the album’s intriguing title, first mentioned by Lynott.
“We were driving through an East Coast seaport town and I asked what the little balconies were on top of the buildings,” recollects Smith. “Matt explained that the wives of the sailors would pace around on the roof-tops longing for their husbands to come home safely. There’s so much romance in that, the Widow’s Walk, plus of course the possibility of disturbing and dramatic things taking place.
“I guess what I’ve tried to do with this new album is to represent a broad range of emotions. There’s dark moments here, more uplifting moments, questioning moments, it’s not just one thing. Also, I like to put some confusion into my songs, which is a very human element, I think.”
On The Widow’s Walk is a compelling, gimmick-free statement from an artist, now based in Southern California, whose activity between the musical lines has seen his star very much on the rise, playing to a million followers worldwide, achieving over 200 million streams to date, and securing a Top 10 spot in the TV / Film Syncs Chart for 2019.
One of the most iconic names in modern blues music, Joe Bonamassa, is back with highly anticipated new music from his studio recordings at the legendary Abbey Road Studio in London. The surprise single "A Conversation With Alice" arrives today via J&R Adventures, along with a special music video showing him in the studio recording the track. The video will premiere at 3pm EST on YouTube and Facebook where Bonamassa will be hosting an exclusive live chat. "Alice," as it turns out, is the alias of a therapist that Bonamassa spoke with about some reoccurring problems he'd been facing in life but found that these 'problems' ultimately lead to his success.
In an intimate video from self-quarantine, Bonamassa shares, "the song is derived by an experience I had a couple years ago when some friends of mine intervened and said 'You know what Joe? You should go ahead and talk to someone about these problems you have that come up time and time again.' So, I agreed. I went to see this lovely woman in Los Angeles, CA and began talking about my problems. After the second session I came to the conclusion that I was unrepairable and that the crazy in me makes me good at my job. I like being good at my job."
He quips, "I think I'm good at my job, unless you ask the internet. Which then there's some debate, which bolsters the crazy. See how it's all interrelated? So, I wrote a song about it." Bonamassa ends the video with a comforting smile and a sincere wish to fans, "I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for listening, be safe and be happy."
Bonamassa also divulges that the song is part of a brand-new album coming sometime later this year, though details of the title and release date are still under wraps. Fans and critics alike will be on the lookout for what's next from America's favorite blues-rock artist. In the meantime, while in quarantine Bonamassa has taken to social media to give a special behind-the-scenes look at his "Nerdville" home in California. In prior months, Bonamassa was touring relentlessly, up until coronavirus took its hold on the music industry, stopping him just short of a few final dates on his spring tour in the U.S.
"A Conversation With Alice" also follows Bonamassa's recent instrumental side project called The Sleep Eazys, who released their critically-acclaimed debut album, Easy To Buy, Hard To Sell, just last week. The album, which the Associated Press touted as making "instrumental dreams," was produced by Bonamassa and features some of his frequent collaborators, along with his all-star touring band. The Sleep Eazys project is Joe's second time in the studio as a producer, after Reese Wynans' long-awaited debut solo album Sweet Release. The producer role is one that Joe takes very seriously and thoroughly enjoys. More projects are currently in the works!
"Alice" and The Sleep Eazys follow a string of other successful collaborative ventures, including the adventurous side projects Black Country Communion, Rock Candy Funk Party and Beth Hart. Collectively, Bonamassa has over 40 albums to date and the announcement of "A Conversation With Alice" marks the first of new music from his solo studio record at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. His latest solo album, LIVE AT SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE marked his 22nd #1 album on the Billboard Blues Chart, an incredible feat unparalleled within the music industry.
For more information on "A Conversation With Alice" and other Bonamassa news, visit jbonamassa.com, and be sure to stay connected on social media.
Award-winning guitarist/producer Eric Krasno has announced next week’s launch of a special new podcast series. Presented by Osiris Media, ERIC KRASNO PLUS ONE will see the renowned musician hosting a one-of-a-kind interview series exploring the lives and work of some of his closest friends and musical collaborators.
ERIC KRASNO PLUS ONE debuts today, Monday, April 20, with a pair of extraordinary episodes featuring two equally incredible artists, starting with Dave Matthews (Episode 1) and Khruangbin founder/bassist Laura Lee (Episode 2). Additional episodes will follow each and every Monday featuring an array of very special guests, including Phil Lesh, John Mayer, Derek Trucks, Don Was, Marcus King, Questlove, Chris Robinson, John Scofield, Emily King, and many more. ERIC KRASNO PLUS ONE is available via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and through the official Osiris website.
“One of my favorite things about being a touring musician is meeting other artists I admire, and the relationships we build through the years,” says Krasno. “I’ve been able to meet many of my heroes and watched young musicians become legends in their own right. The one constant I’ve found is that they all have a unique and interesting story to tell. ERIC KRASNO PLUS ONE gives me the opportunity to record some of these conversations and invite you into the room with us.”
For nearly two decades, Krasno has been an omnipresent figure in popular music, from his virtuosic, innovative guitar playing with Soulive and Lettuce (both of which he co-founded) to his GRAMMY® Award-winning work as a producer and songwriter for artists like Norah Jones, Tedeschi Trucks, 50 Cent, Talib Kweli, Aaron Neville, and Allen Stone, to name but a few. As if that weren’t enough, the New York-based artist has proven an invaluable session player and touring musician alongside the likes of the Rolling Stones, Dave Mathews Band, John Mayer, Oteil & Friends, and The Roots.
Along with their work together on stage and in the studio, Krasno has spent countless hours sharing stories with these incredible artists and these intimate moments have become some of his most cherished memories. ERIC KRASNO PLUS ONE now allows fans everywhere to join their behind-the-scenes conversations, with topics spanning early inspirations to discussions about the state of the music industry, the challenges of life on the road, and much more. An exclusive trailer is streaming now via Osiris Media.
For music, upcoming tour dates, and additional information, please visit www.erickrasno.com.
"One of the biggest contributors to the songbook of the American people, not to mention all over the world. The biggest heart and an ability to turn a phrase like no one else. Thank you John! Love, SCI"
11E1even Group, in conjunction with Nugs.tv and Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, is proud to announce the artist lineup for week-six of the new digital content series, "Live From Out There.” This unprecedented virtual festival has now raised close to $300k for artists and crews affected by loss of work due to COVID-19.
Week-six will feature an all-star tribute to Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter with proceeds benefiting Sweet Relief COVID-19 Musicians Fund, Terrapin Crossroads Staff Appreciation Fund, Sweetwater Music Hall Staff Relief Fund and the musicians & crews contributing to the celebration. The diverse lineup includes Alex Bleeker, Julian Lynch and Martin Courtney of Real Estate, George Porter Jr. of The Meters, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, Chris Funk of The Decemberists, Brian Elmquist of The Lone Bellow, James Petralli of White Denim, Hiss Golden Messenger, Paul Hoffman of Greensky Bluegrass, photography provided by Jay Blakesberg and many more.
Additional performances include an epic doubleheader from Twiddle plus Oteil Burbridge performing the music of Jerry Garcia on the piano for the very first time.
The celebration of the Grateful Dead will continue with Phil Lesh and Bob Weir, who will join Ross James (Songs That Saved Me podcast) in the kitchen for a special appearance alongside celebrity chefs Andrew Zimmern, Matty Matheson and Wylie Dufresne for a special Dumplings and Dead cooking class.
The mission of "Live For Out There" is simple - to provide viewers a constant flow of never before seen content from artists while generating revenue for the artists and crews involved.
PREVIEW JAMES PETRALLI OF WHITE DENIM COVERING "RUN FOR THE ROSES"
For five weeks and counting, "Live From Out There" has been providing a wide variety of content streaming to the comfort of people's homes during this very unfortunate time. Rolling Stone, Variety, Pollstar and Celebrity Access found the shows to be noteworthy.
The series has now raised approximately $300K in five weeks of programming. It has been including sets from artists’ homes and practice spaces, never before seen original sets, archival releases, masterclasses, cooking lessons, first-time collaborations and more. COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on the live music community; while the safety of our roster, team and fan base is tantamount, we also believe the power of live music is a healing force through uncertain times.
"It's been truly amazing to see the fans and the community coming together each week, contributing to all those affected by loss of work due to COVID-19. With so much uncertainty around the live touring landscape, we have to come together and do everything we can to help artists and crew stay alive during this time," says 11E1even Group's Ben Baruch. "Our platform unlike most, is a paid platform, we aren’t shy to say that we are here to generate revenue for those in need while creating unique content for the fans week after week. Our goal is to keep pushing great content, continue to book a diversified and unique lineup week after week and grow the platform to support artists and all those that have suffered from lost work due to the COVID-19 Outbreak.”
Proceeds from each subscription benefit Sweet Relief’s COVID-19 Fund, an organization using donor-directed funding to provide immediate assistance, lodging, clothing, food and more to the musicians and crew involved in the series as well as music industry workers and artists who have suffered a loss of income due to the recent outbreak and resulting restrictions placed on live events and gatherings.
WEEK-SIX LINEUP IS BELOW
Celebrating Jerry Garcia & Robert Hunter:
Alex Bleeker of Real Estate
Julian Lynch of Real Estate
Martin Courtney of Real Estate
George Porter Jr. of The Meters
Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes
Chris Funk of The Decemberists
Brian Elmquist of The Lone Bellow
Paul Hoffman of Greensky Bluegrass
Hiss Golden Messenger
James Petralli of White Denim
Oteil Burbridge of Dead & Company
Eric Krasno
John Craigie
Jackie Greene
Jennifer Hartswick and Chris Chew
Brock Butler of Perpetual Groove
Jennifer Hartswick
Grahame Lesh
Steve Poltz
Rick Mitarotonda and Peter Anspach of Goose
Austin McCutchen of Grateful Shred
Jay Rutherford of Los Colognes
Keller Williams
Karina Rykman
Sinkane
Ross James
Live and Archival Sets From:
Billy Strings
Marcus King
Allen Stone
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
Twiddle x2
Oteil Burbridge
Goose
Cory Wong
Ripe
Taj Mahal
Mihali playing Nirvana Unplugged
Rick Mitarotonda and Peter Anspach of Goose
Neal Francis
Kitchen Dwellers
Funk You
Envy Alo
In The Kitchen:
Dumplings and Dead with Ross James ft. special appearances by Phil Lesh and Bob Weir,
and Chefs Andrew Zimmern, Matty Matheson and Wylie Dufresne
Spafford has announced that they will release the entire first set of their Tampa, FL show at The Orpheum from earlier this year with exclusive never before seen video footage. Spafford will premiere the video footage on Wednesday, May 6 at 8 PM eastern. Tune in to YouTube or Facebook to watch it live.
Over the past several weeks, Spafford has been releasing exclusive video footage from their 2020 live show video archive. Since the band is unable to tour at this time, they’re bringing their live show experience to their fans. Previously released videos feature both Set One and Set Two from their March 6th show in Frisco, CO, and the Full Show from March 7th in Frisco, CO as well as the Full Show from Steamboat Springs on March 10th.
For all up to date news and info please visit spafford.net.
Spafford - 1/23/20 | Tampa, FL | The Orpheum | Set One
Set One: Comfortable, Broken Wing, Live The Light On, Mind’s Unchained, Cleaning Windows*^
Notes:
* ft. Chris Sgammato (Sax)
^ Van Morrison
About Spafford
Spafford are known for their astonishing improvisational ability and off-the-cuff extended jams, Spafford paints a picture in real-time each night with a musical palette known only to each other. It’s a private language comprised of both their talent as musicians as well as their formidable catalog of influences, spanning 90’s alt-rock radio hits to Steely Dan and The Crystal Method. Each and every Spafford show is a sonic pilgrimage, the journey of a team of musicians so in tune with each other that a single note communicates intent and purpose. Spafford is amongst the most creative and hard-traveling bands on the contemporary jam scene, performing countless sold-out headline dates along with high profile festival sets at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Firefly Music Festival, and many others.
MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund
Click this link to donate to MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund and Spotify will match your donation up to a total of $10 million: https://bit.ly/3b5rVHw
BMG recording artist Devon Allman of The Allman Betts Band has announced a third phase of shows for the “We Are Still All Together” Tour 2020. With an average of 70,000 views per show, the “We Are Still All Together Tour” is proving to be a smashing success.
“These livestream shows have been a huge success. Last month we gave away 4 guitars courtesy of Gibson guitars, we had a guest star performance from G.Love who played a song from his home in Boston. The donations have been so amazing helping our touring crew have a paycheck during these unprecedented times. I’m looking forward to the May shows as there’s a little something for everyone and we are giving away more guitars, T-shirts, Kyser capos and more,” said Devon Allman, of the series.
The shows will be LIVE on the Devon Allman Facebook Page and then reposted the next day to all platforms like YouTube, Instagram etc.
All proceeds raised during these performances have gone to the touring crew of The Allman Betts Band.
NEWLY ADDED SHOWS
May 12th - Variety Show / Solo Acoustic 7 pm Central Time
May 14th - The Devon Allman Project - with Jackson Stokes, Justin Corgan, John Lum, R. Scott Bryan 7pm Central Time
May 17th - All Allman Show Part lll with Jackson Stokes, R.Scott Bryan 5 pm Central Time
May 19th - Solo Acoustic Metal Night 7 pm Central Time
May 28th - Solo Acoustic Grunge Night 7pm Central Time
May 31st - Americana Night Part ll - with Mattie Schell, R. Scott Bryan 5 pm Central Time
The Arizona based progressive rock band Spafford is set to perform LIVE in Mesa, AZ on May 24. The show will take place at the famed drive-in movie theater "Digital Drive-In.” This is the band’s first live performance since the Covid-19 epidemic forced bands worldwide to cancel tours and scheduled performances. There will be a limited number of tickets available for this performance. Tickets go on sale Friday, May 15th at 10AM PST.
“We are extremely excited for this opportunity. Everyone on our team has been working tirelessly to ensure that this will be an amazing experience that follows all social distancing guidelines. We want to provide a safe, fun environment for everyone to get out and enjoy our music!” said Spafford of the upcoming performance.
Fans will be able to see this first of its kind live show from the comfort of their own vehicles while also practicing social distancing. For fans elsewhere in the country, the show will be live-streamed for free via Spafford’s YouTube and Facebook pages.
Spafford are known for their astonishing improvisational ability and off-the-cuff extended jams, Spafford paints a picture in real-time each night with a musical palette known only to each other. It’s a private language comprised of both their talent as musicians as well as their formidable catalog of influences, spanning 90’s alt-rock radio hits to Steely Dan and The Crystal Method. Each and every Spafford show is a sonic pilgrimage, the journey of a team of musicians so in tune with each other that a single note communicates intent and purpose. Spafford is amongst the most creative and hard-traveling bands on the contemporary jam scene, performing countless sold-out headline dates along with high profile festival sets at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Firefly Music Festival, and many others.
# # #
MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund
Click this link to donate to MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund and Spotify will match your donation up to a total of $10 million: https://bit.ly/3b5rVHw
MelodyVR announces the launch of Live from LA, a free live music series delivered directly into fans’ homes around the world, broadcast from a specially designed studio location in Los Angeles.
Starting Saturday at 6pm PST, with an exclusive show from global superstar John Legend, Live from LA has been developed to provide fans with incredible immersive performances from their favorite artists, while maintaining the highest levels of safety for both performers and crew. The series will also include performances from Machine Gun Kelly, Katelyn Tarver and The Score during the first week, with many more artists yet to be announced.
The studio setting means that fans will be still able to connect with artists in an intimate and engaging way. In advance of his new album ‘Bigger Love’ that will launch on June 19, John Legend commented: “Come and join me for a very special performance live from MelodyVR’s studio on Saturday May 16. While we can’t be together in person right now, I'm excited to share this moment with my fans."
In order to prioritize the safety of the team, artists and wider community, social distancing and safety precautions are rigorously observed at all times. Taking advice from third party specialist advisors, the following measures are taken:
Artists and performers remain in isolation for the duration of the performance, and do not come into contact with the public or on-site crew.
MelodyVR’s unique technology allows for our crew to communicate with artists and handle all technical and production needs from an entirely separate area. There is no direct, in-person interaction between artists, their teams and MelodyVR team.
Before and after each performance, the studio is extensively sanitized and cleaned using antibacterial agents, by a professional team.
Artists have a separate entrance to the building and to the performance to enable them to drive from door to door, enter the building, perform, and head home, with no cross-contamination.
There is a health and safety advisor on site at all times, to ensure the highest level of precautions are adhered to.
Live from LA seeks to bridge the gap between fans and artists at a time when tours and events are on hiatus, by enabling artists to perform with world-class production, while remaining in complete isolation. Through MelodyVR’s unique camera and production technology, viewers will be transported to the unique studio space to experience unique immersive performances. Fans are able to virtually stand next to their heroes and experience live performances without leaving their homes. The series is intended to support both the music industry and fans by providing artists with an innovative, personal way to perform and a viable alternative to in-person touring during this challenging time.
Performances will be broadcast on smartphones and VR headsets via the MelodyVR app (downloadable at on.melodyvr.com/App).
"I’ve really missed getting to play shows and perform my songs live for an audience” explains multi-talented pop singer, actress and songwriter Katelyn Tarver, “MelodyVR is a great way for me to get to do that in a way that feels really interactive and as close to the real thing as we can get right now! Music always makes me feel connected to myself and other people. I hope my performance can provide a little bit of that feeling for you, too.”
Anthony Matchett, CEO of MelodyVR said: “MelodyVR was founded with the vision of providing fans with a new and exciting way of experiencing the live music they love, regardless of their location, age or financial means. The current absence of concerts and festivals is extremely damaging to both artists and to the music industry, and as a company that’s dedicated to virtual events and immersive content, we wanted to utilize our unique technology to create a solution. Our new studio facility in LA provides a safe, innovative, creative space for artists wishing to reach their fans digitally while they are unable to perform publicly. I’m thrilled to be working with our partners throughout the industry, including artists, managers, record labels and promoters to bring this series of exclusive performances to fans”.
In addition, the series is generating funds for the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund. In recent weeks, COVID-19 has devastated the music community, leaving thousands of music creators and professionals without work. The Recording Academy and its affiliated charitable foundation MusiCares have established the COVID-19 Relief Fund to help the music community affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Artists revealed for the first week of Live from LA are as follows:
John Legend: May 16 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET / 2am+1 BST
The Score: May 17 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET / 2am+1 BST
Katelyn Tarver: May 19 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET / 2am+1 BST
Details of upcoming shows, including Machine Gun Kelly and many more, will be announced on the MelodyVR app on May 20.
Seven-time GRAMMY® winner John Mayer joins award-winning guitarist/producer Eric Krasno on his new podcast series. Presented by Osiris Media, ERIC KRASNO PLUS ONE sees the renowned musician hosting a one-of-a-kind interview series exploring the lives and work of some of his closest friends and musical collaborators.
In this episode, Krasno and Mayer discuss discovering new music, how the role of being a fan has changed, and the importance of writing a hit song. Mayer explains the four rules he applies to the songs he’s working on, what he means when he describes a song as “Sally in the alley”, and how he approaches songwriting as he gets older. Krasno and Mayer get deep on guitar players like Jerry Garcia and Stevie Ray Vaughn, and he tells Krasno about that time he talked to Eric Clapton about The Dead.
At the end of the episode, Krasno plays "Inside Friend," a collaboration between John Mayer and Leon Bridges.
John Mayer is a singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He earned his first career Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Your Body is a Wonderland" in 2002. Mayer continues to retool his sound with each album, and remains one of music’s most popular songwriters.
Additional episodes will follow each and every Monday featuring an array of very special guests, including Questlove, which will be released June 15.
For nearly two decades, Krasno has been an omnipresent figure in popular music, from his virtuosic, innovative guitar playing with Soulive and Lettuce (both of which he co-founded) to his GRAMMY® Award-winning work as a producer and songwriter for artists like Norah Jones, Tedeschi Trucks, 50 Cent, Talib Kweli, Aaron Neville, and Allen Stone, to name but a few. As if that weren’t enough, the New York-based artist has proven an invaluable session player and touring musician alongside the likes of the Rolling Stones, Dave Mathews Band, John Mayer, Oteil & Friends, and The Roots.
Along with their work together on stage and in the studio, Krasno has spent countless hours sharing stories with these incredible artists and these intimate moments have become some of his most cherished memories. ERIC KRASNO PLUS ONE now allows fans everywhere to join behind-the-scenes conversations, with topics spanning early inspirations to discussions about the state of the music industry, the challenges of life on the road, and much more.
For music, upcoming tour dates, and additional information, please visit www.erickrasno.com.
Vevo announces the release of Watch This featuring The Killers and their music videos for "When You Were Young," "Bones" and "The Man." The Killers' Watch This series premiered with "Mr. Brightside" last month. Watch This brings a camera to the “comments” section of a music video. These episodes act as a forum for inside-scoop commentary from The Killers themselves as they look back at their music videos, giving a first-hand interpretation of everything from inspiration to impact.
As they matured from their indie dance-rock roots into torchbearers of new wave and Americana-inspired anthems, Las Vegas rock quartet the Killers earned global success. With a mix of '80s-styled synth pop and fashionista charm, the band's multi-platinum 2004 debut, Hot Fuss, became one of the decade's biggest releases, spawning four hit singles -- including their most enduring hit, "Mr. Brightside" -- and catapulting the group into the international spotlight.
After the abrupt stylistic shift on 2006 sophomore effort Sam's Town -- which de-emphasized the group's new wave revivalism in favor of the heartland rock of Bruce Springsteen and Rattle and Hum-era U2 -- they struck a balance between their two sides on a consistent run of Top Ten releases that peaked with 2017's chart-topping Wonderful Wonderful.
Founding foursome Brandon Flowers (vocals/keyboards), David Keuning (guitar), Mark Stoermer (bass), and Ronnie Vannucci (drums) first came together in 2002, two years before Hot Fuss introduced their band to the public. Flowers had been sacked by his former synth pop band, Blush Response, after refusing to move to Los Angeles with the rest of his bandmates. Instead, he remained in Las Vegas, where he soon met local guitarist and Oasis fanatic Keuning. The two began collaborating on material; within weeks, they'd composed their soon-to-be radio hit "Mr. Brightside." Stoermer, a former medical courier, and Vannucci, a classical percussion major at UNLV, eventually joined the fray, and the band began playing small clubs in its hometown.
A U.K. representative for Warner Bros. caught wind of the Killers' brewing hype, and although he neglected to bring them on board the Warner roster, he did pass along their demo to the London-based indie imprint Lizard King. The British label quickly signed the Killers, who temporarily moved to the U.K. and issued a limited-edition single for "Mr. Brightside." The Killers' buzz had effectively traveled back across the Atlantic by fall 2003, and the band was offered a prime spot at the annual CMJ Music Marathon in New York City. A worldwide deal with Island followed shortly thereafter, positioning the Killers to join the ranks of fellow indie/post-punk revivalists Interpol, the Rapture, and the Strokes.
ABOUT VEVO:
Vevo is the world’s largest all-premium music video provider, offering artists a global platform with enormous scale through its distribution partners. Vevo connects artists with their audience globally via music videos and original content, working directly with them to find unique ways to bring their music to life visually. Vevo also works with emerging artists, providing them with a platform of global scale and reach, to find and grow their audience. Reaching 26 billion monthly views globally, Vevo has over 450,000 music videos in its catalogue.
Barenaked Ladies announce the postponement of their extensive 2020 Last Summer On Earth tour of North America until 2021. The tour was originally set to kickoff next month in Florida. Gin Blossoms and Toad the Wet Sprocket will join Barenaked Ladies with the original lineup for the new dates next year.
Vocalist/guitarist Ed Robertson shares, "We were really hoping we'd be able to pull it off this summer, but for the safety of our fans, all the venue staff, bands and crew, we need to listen to best advice and postpone until next summer. We'll be back with the same lineup in almost all the same venues in 2021. We hope to see each and every one of you then. Be safe. Continue to Rock, and don't forget to Roll."
Tickets purchased for 2020 will remain valid for 2021. Check the routing and contact the original point of purchase for any questions. Unfortunately the shows in Houston, San Diego, St Louis and Pittsburgh were not able to be rescheduled so please contact point of purchase for a refund. An exclusive #SelfieCamJam along with a message from the band will be sent to ticket buyers via their ticket provider.
BNL have been staying busy during quarantine with weekly Facebook Livestreams along with their #SelfieCamJams, performing deep cuts and fan favorites from their homes, even bringing in surprise guests. In April, they did a family-fun "Snacktime" #SelfieCamJam for kids of all ages. Many familiar faces made a special appearance to share their favorite snack, like Sarah McLachlan, Tom Greene, KT Tunstall, The Count, and Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish, who Barenaked Ladies toured with in 2019. Earlier this month, the band also teamed up with Michael Bublé and Sofia Reyes for the timely new single "Gotta Be Patient," with all proceeds to be donated to charity.
The Toronto-based "cult fave" (Paste Magazine) -who have now sold over 15 million albums worldwide and earned multiple JUNO Awards and Grammy nominations- can't wait to get back on the road when it is safe to do so again. This will be the 6th edition of their Last Summer On Earth tour, following last summer's critically-acclaimed shows with Hootie & the Blowfish. Other past acts include Cracker, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, Blues Traveler, Guster, Ben Folds Five, Violent Femmes, Colin Hay, OMD, Howard Jones, Better Than Ezra, and KT Tunstall.
2021 LAST SUMMER ON EARTH TOUR DATES
Fri June 4th - Atlanta, GA - Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
Sat June 5th - St Augustine, FL - St. Augustine Amphitheatre
Tues June 8th - Irving, TX - Toyota Music Factory
Thurs June 10th - Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Federal Theatre
Fri June 11th - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
Sat June 12th - Paso Robles, CA - Vina Robles Amphitheatre
Thurs June 17th - Redmond, WA - Marymoor Park Amphitheatre
Fri June 18th - Troutdale, OR - Edgefield
Sat June 19th - Airway Heights, WA - Northern Quest Resort & Casino
Tues June 22nd - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Fri June 25th - Council Bluffs, IA - Stir Cove at Hurrah's Council Bluffs
Sat June 26th - Prior Lake, MN - Mystic Lake Casino
Mon Jun 28th - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
Wed Jun 30th - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre
Fri July 2nd - Indianapolis, IN - Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park
Sat July 3rd - Cleveland, OH - Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica
Sun July 4th - Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
Tues July 6th - Lewiston, NY - Artpark
Wed July 7th - New York, NY *Venue to be announced soon
Fri July 9th - Gilford, NH - Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
Sat July 10th - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
Sun July 11th - Boston, MA - Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion
Tues July 13th - Philadelphia, PA - The Met
Wed July 14th - Vienna, VA - Wolf Trap
Fri July 16th - Charleston, SC - North Charleston Coliseum *Venue change
Sat July 17th - Raleigh, NC - Red Hat Amphitheatre
Sun July 18th - Baltimore, MD - MECU Pavilion
Tues July 20th - Cincinnati, OH - PNC Music Pavilion
Wed July 21st - Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage *Kim Mitchell will be joining this show
All information on the Last Summer On Earth tour can be found at barenakedladies.com.
Cory Wong has found his newest role -- podcast host.
Today, Wong announces that he has teamed up with Premier Guitar to bring you Wong Notes. Being a lifelong “Strat guy,” Wong is honored to have the very first season presented by Fender. While the full lineup hasn’t been fully revealed, listeners can expect some very unique conversations with names like Joe Satriani, Bela Fleck, Eric Johnson, John Scofield, James Valentine, Rob Harris, Molly Tuttle, Sean Hurley, George Benson, Yvette Young, and many more. Episode One with special guest Joe Satriani, will air next week, Wednesday, May 27, everywhere.
Each week, Wong will have a long-form conversation with incredible artists about their artistry and process. These aren't your typical album cycle-style interviews, but rather peer to peer conversations that will open doors you didn’t know you could open.
Minneapolis-born Cory Wong is best known for his funky guitar work and touring worldwide playing his original music on the biggest stages. You may have seen him as a guest with the house band on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, as well as a member of Vulfpeck and the Fearless Flyers, who made headlines around the world for their silent debut album Sleepify which earned them enough through Spotify royalties to put on a tour for their fans for free, prompting a permanent change in Spotify’s terms & conditions. Upon meeting Cory, Vulfpeck welcomed him as a frequent collaborator and member of the band, and later the group named their most popular instrumental track "Cory Wong" in tribute. Lighting up the stage in the band everywhere they perform, including most recently at a sold-out Madison Square Garden, he remains a cornerstone of Vulfpeck’s storied gigs.
Acclaimed bluegrass guitarist Billy Strings invites his fans to listen in on his conversations.
On The Line with Billy Strings is a “fly on the wall" invitation to chats between Billy and his friends. From musicians and actors, tattooists and mechanics, to music industry insiders and even his mom. OTL w/ BS will feature myriad guests talking about any-and-everything that comes up.
Billy was inspired to create OTS w/BS after a series of phone calls he had one recent Sunday afternoon. No big-budget productions here – just a man, his phone, and the numbers stored within.
Billy Strings released his second full-length studio album HOME in September of 2019 via Rounder Records.
Billboard called Strings “foot stomping” while Rolling Stone Country praised Strings as “one of string music’s most dynamic young stars.”
But it’s the live show experience that has been the secret sauce for Billy Strings and his band.
As Pollstar noted in a recent feature, “In 2020, Strings has doubled, tripled or even quadrupled his ticket counts in most markets, while also booking festivals from Bonnaroo to Peach, and continued, “Strings’ out-of-this-world chops have made him a live draw, as have his marathon shows, which typically follow the two-set jam band mold and channel his eclectic musical interests.”
Strings’ music transcends tradition and genre with his high velocity, flat-picking guitar technique and intense, confessional songwriting, and he is reshaping bluegrass into his own exceptional form. He is completely rewiring the aesthetic with elements of punk, country, folk-rock, and genuine psychedelic exploration to fashion something altogether original and all his own.
FRETLAND’S debut self-titled album is out everywhere today. After what seemed like several lifetimes, the band is releasing their first studio record. Heading into release week, the band is top 5 most added in the Americana Radio Charts. On the streaming side, the band has 350K+ streams on already released tracks, all before their first album even dropped. Ahead of the release, Fretland received praise from outlets like American Songwriter, Americana Highways, Atwood Magazine, Billboard, The Bluegrass Situation, The Boot and many more.
The world today is not as the band had originally imagined when they first announced the new album back in the fall of 2019. None of that matters though. The sweetheart of a band has managed to win over the hearts of so many and has found early success with a tight-knit and supportive fanbase.
The family quilt of Americana music is long and well worn. With stitches that took hold hundreds of years ago, the legacy of forlorn lyrics sung over spare, twinkling instrumentation depicting long nights, whiskey glasses and love that too often walks out the door extends further than any can remember. And it will continue well past anyone kicking up mud today. But with each passing sunset, we can see new patches added to the legacy. And the next name to be sewn in is FRETLAND.
The band plays songs that dash over hills, harmonize with the breeze and coax honey from tall trees. Founded by Hillary Grace Fretland, the group also includes the tasteful Jake Haber and subtle Luke Francis on bass and guitar and Kenny Bates on drums. FRETLAND’s self-titled, 11-track debut album is out everywhere now.
Fretland Tracklisting
Long Haul
Friendly Fire
Hands
Have Another Beer
Garden
Must Have Been Wild
Black & Gold
I Still Care
Fourth of July
Heaven
Say it Well
*Fretland was engineered by Nich Wilbur (Angel Olsen, Black Belt Eagle Scout) and mixed by Trevor Spencer (Father John Misty, Fleet Foxes).
The String Cheese Incident have released their first new music of 2020. The new single - “Top Down” was a collaborative effort between two Colorado-based bands, The String Cheese Incident and SunSquabi. The track premiered exclusively via This Song is Sick earlier this week.
The new release follows The String Cheese Incident’s 25th anniversary year where they released several tracks that highlighted unique collaborations. SCI’s progressive music and genre-fusion is part of what has kept the band going strong for decades. Community and collaboration are also at the forefront of SCI’s key values. It’s no surprise that much of the recent new music has been focused on relationships that are inspirational and unique to the band.
About the “Top Down”:
"’Top Down’ came together over the course of nearly a year of remote sessions. Josh (Fairman) and I created the main riff in the basement of my old house, sort of sussed out a framework of the track, and then sent it to Kyle (Hollingsworth). He took it to another place by adding organ, Rhodes, and layers of synths. After adding his parts, we went back and forth with the arrangement, changing subtle things until it really worked as a song, and that's where Jason (Hann) came in and laid in the percussion tracks. Jason is a monster so, we created a little drum break to feature him there. After this, we recorded Chris (Anderson) on the drum kit and swapped and spliced all the midi drums which is really a signature part of our sound as SunSquabi is the drum thing (using both real and digital drums). The final piece was (Michael) Kang with a cool glass of whiskey and some sweet shreddy licks to round out the melodic sections of the song. All in all, collaborating so closely with a band that we all grew up listening to and watching in Boulder, Colorado, was an absolute dream come true and we are so proud of how it turned out.”
- Kevin Donohue, SunSquabi
"This was a blast, working with Kevin was so easy and organic. He set up a great groove and I just played some melodies and solos on keys and voice box, and he compiled an awesome track! So much fun, let’s do it again!"
R&B singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Mac Ayres joins award-winning guitarist/producer Eric Krasno on his special new podcast series. Presented by Osiris Media, ERIC KRASNO PLUS ONE sees the renowned musician hosting a one-of-a-kind interview series exploring the lives and work of some of his closest friends and musical collaborators.
In this episode of Plus One, Ayres talks with Krasno about how he started making music and his quickly growing, loyal fanbase. The two also bond over their shared New York roots and discuss the changes that come with moving to LA. Ayres shares how his songwriting has evolved since he first started making music, his first “aha” moment as a writer, and the experience of performing live on tour.
At the end of the episode, Krasno plays “Jumping Off The Moon,” an impromptu collaboration with Ayres from the same day in the studio.
Ayres is a 23-year-old R&B singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He got his start dabbling with singles on SoundCloud. In 2017, he dropped out of Berklee College of Music and released his first EP, Drive Slow, at which point he had garnered a significant fanbase and attention from music critics. Ayres released his first full-length album, Something to Feel, in 2018, followed by Juicebox in 2019. All three releases have received attention from Vogue, Billboard, Complex, Highsnobiety, Pigeons and Planes, BBC, and TIDAL.
ERIC KRASNO PLUS ONE is available via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and through the official Osiriswebsite. Additional episodes will follow each and every Monday featuring an array of very special guests, including Questlove, which will be released June 15.
For nearly two decades, Krasno has been an omnipresent figure in popular music, from his virtuosic, innovative guitar playing with Soulive and Lettuce (both of which he co-founded) to his GRAMMY® Award-winning work as a producer and songwriter for artists like Norah Jones, Tedeschi Trucks, 50 Cent, Talib Kweli, Aaron Neville, and Allen Stone, to name but a few. As if that weren’t enough, the New York-based artist has proven an invaluable session player and touring musician alongside the likes of the Rolling Stones, Dave Mathews Band, John Mayer, Oteil & Friends, and The Roots.
Along with their work together on stage and in the studio, Krasno has spent countless hours sharing stories with these incredible artists and these intimate moments have become some of his most cherished memories. ERIC KRASNO PLUS ONE now allows fans everywhere to join behind-the-scenes conversations, with topics spanning early inspirations to discussions about the state of the music industry, the challenges of life on the road, and much more.
For music, upcoming tour dates, and additional information, please visit www.erickrasno.com.
Jon Batiste and Cory Wong announced today’s release of Meditations. The collaboration is the result of three nights of raw improvisation in the studio and features performances from Nate Smith and Sam Yahel. Meditation relies on instinct alone. It is a cathartic, spontaneous record derived from the immediate musical and spiritual bond between Wong and Batiste with the intent to heal through music.
Wong and Batiste met while performing on Live From Here and immediately formed a bond. “It’s really rare to find someone that you connect on the deep musical and personal level,” says Wong. “There’s something unexplainable in art and spirituality that has a way of bringing its history to the surface when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable. When Jon and I play, there’s no ego or competition…we just play… we end up seeing much more of each other as humans… it’s really hard to explain, but it’s something that I’ve had with only a handful of people.”
In the summer for 2019, Wong joined Batiste on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert where they started improvising with each other between soundcheck and in Batiste’s dressing room. It was during these jam sessions that they decided to collaborate on an improvised record. In September of 2020, Wong joined Batiste on The Late Show again. Batiste worked on his album in the morning and after taping The Late Show, they went back to the studio to record together at night. “We recorded the album straight through without stopping,” says Wong. “We wanted to take the whole journey of the album each time.”
On Meditations, Wong says:
“The album is called Meditations because of the origin and intent of the music. Jon and I both have a pretty hectic schedule on a regular basis. Music is both our job, and our escape. The intention of making this album was to find ourselves in a healing place with the music. We’re not chasing radio play or a Billboard hit with this particular collection of music…we’re chasing that feeling of freedom and healing that comes from that place that gives us that deep connection on a human and spiritual level. Hopefully the listener will connect with the music in a way that allows them to connect to themselves in a new way.”
Minneapolis-born Cory Wong is best known for his funky guitar work and touring worldwide playing his original music on the biggest stages. You may have seen him as a guest with the house band on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, as well as a member of Vulfpeck and the Fearless Flyers. Upon meeting Cory, Vulfpeck welcomed him as a frequent collaborator and member of the band, and later the group named their most popular instrumental track "Cory Wong" in tribute. Lighting up the stage in the band everywhere they perform, including most recently at a sold-out Madison Square Garden, he remains a cornerstone of Vulfpeck’s storied gigs.
Jon Batiste is an American virtuoso pianist, bandleader, composer, record producer, educator and actor. As a teenager, he began self-producing and releasing his music on the internet, as well as performing internationally. His major label debut Hollywood Africans was nominated for a GRAMMY award for Best American Roots Performance in 2019 and, along with his band Stay Human, he is featured nightly on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. His music is featured in the 2020 Disney Pixar film Soul, and his composing and songwriting will be featured in his large scale, genre-melding symphonic work “American Symphony,” set to be performed at Carnegie Hall in 2021.
Jon is committed to the education and mentorship of young musicians. He has led his own Social Music Residency and Mentoring Program sponsored by Chase, as well as master classes throughout the world. He has also led several cultural exchanges, beginning in 2006, while still a teen, with the Netherlands Trust, which brought students from the USA and Holland to perform with him at both The Royal Concert Gebouw and Carnegie Hall.
GRAMMY® Award-nominated sister duo Larkin Poe have announced today’s premiere of “Back Down South’,” the latest track from their forthcoming album, SELF MADE MAN. The track features Rebecca’s husband Tyler Bryant of Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown. Garden & Gun magazine premiered “Back Down South” calling it "Larkin Poe's love song to the south."
The track is available now at all DSPs and streaming services.
“Roots American music is the language of our souls. We take pride in being part of a new generation of music-makers who are building upon the foundations that were laid by countless musical pioneers across the American south."
In anticipation of the album release, Larkin Poe will be taking over the Garden and Gun instagram on June 4th. Keep an eye out for more details @larkinpoe and @gardenandgun.
SELF MADE MAN arrives Friday, June 12 via the band’s own Tricki-Woo Records; pre-orders are available now, with all pre-orders joined by instant grat downloads of “Back Down South” and the album’s previously released singles, “Keep Diggin’” “Holy Ghost Fire” and “She’s A Self Made Man.”
SELF MADE MAN sees the multi-instrumentalist sister duo, comprised of the Atlanta-bred, Nashville-based Rebecca and Megan Lovell, pushing their music and message towards hitherto unexplored terrain, inspired by their epic world travels yet still powerfully rooted in the creative heritage of their beloved American South. Songs like the gothic gospel “Holy Ghost Fire” manifest a key aspect of the southern tradition, presenting a sense of celebration and renewal amid the common struggles of existence, offering a way to move through trying circumstances.
SELF MADE MAN – which follows 2018’s chart-topping, GRAMMY® Award-nominated fourth studio album, VENOM & FAITH – was self-produced by Larkin Poe, like its predecessor, with “our good buddy and engineer” Roger Alan Nichols at his Nashville studio, Bell Tone Recording. From the thunderous power of the album-opening “She’s A Self Made Man,” through the nostalgic “Tears of Blue to Gold” and fierce Chicago blues of “Scorpion,” to the front porch jubilation of “Easy Street,” the album is ambitious in both its eclectic, energetic sound and its resolutely welcoming mission, its universal lyrical approach fueled by tradition, invention, and Larkin Poe’s remarkable ability to touch the hearts and souls of their fellow humans worldwide.
“This is, in a lot of ways, is the first lyrically uplifting record we’ve made,” Megan Lowell says. “People can go through terrible things. People can weather immeasurable sorrow and hard times, and yet we can still come out on the other side, pull ourselves together, and thrive. This record reflects some of the joy and positivity that we ourselves feel and appreciate.”
“She’s A Self Made Man“ first arrived last month and is available now at all DSPs and streaming services. With its playfully pointed gender twist, the track both gives the LP its title and serves as an anthem for Larkin Poe, kicking off the proceedings with a big riffed assertion of their current intent and amplified artistic power. An official companion video, directed by Robbie Klein (Florida Georgia Line, Justin Timberlake, Maren Morris), is streaming now via YouTube.
The premiere of “She’s A Self Made Man” was met by immediate critical acclaim, with American Songwriter writing, “Murky blues ooze off chunky riffs, delivering something ominous on ‘She’s a Self Made Man.’ It goes deep. It’s melodious and mucky. It’s a punch to the gut.” CLASH named the “biting, fantastically emphatic new single” as its “Track of the Day,” noting, “Its crunching guitar palette is augmented by flashes of sterling Americana, hearkening to their Nashville base.” “She’s A Self Made Man” “kicks all kinds of ass,” raved Classic Rock. “If delta blues had a baby with punk, and raised it on beefy rock ‘n’ roll, it might have turned out like this. Tune in, get involved...”
“Holy Ghost Fire” followed and like its predecessor, was greeted with worldwide applause from the likes of Classic Rock, which named it among their “Tracks of the Week,” writing, “This one’s got a subtle gospel-y hoodoo to it – with its early blues flavours and harmonised chorus cries of ‘testify’ and ‘smoke risin’ higher’ – but make no mistake, it rocks hard. The sound of people who’ve clearly listened to their share of Son House and Zeppelin, Aerosmith and the like.” A special lockdown performance video, directed, shot, and edited by Rebecca and Megan with assistance from Tyler Bryant, is streaming now via YouTube.
“Keep Diggin’” was the next track to be released. The song dives into the old fashioned idea of the rumor mill, and while the desire to gossip might almost come second nature to many, Larkin Poe’s ”Keep Diggin’” reminds listeners to think twice about the information they’re receiving.
“Some songs feel like they want to be written; they almost seem to spin together of their own accord like a tornado and move with their own momentum — “Keep Diggin’” was one of those songs,” explain Rebecca and Megan. “The taste for gossip comes standard issue for most folks and especially for those of us born and raised in the south - as our aunt Stella May used to say: “if you don’t have anything nice to say, come sit next to me”. ‘Keep Diggin’ is a playful warning to those with loose lips: don’t always believe everything you hear."
Larkin Poe has been able to keep fans entertained though their “Home Sweet Home” Live Stream Series of online concerts, which began in earlier this month with “Best of Tip o’ The Hat,“ and will continue with “Happy Hour Shows” for both Europe and North America (May 30) and a special “Requests Show“ (June 6)
Single show tickets and discounted “Home Sweet Home Tour Passes” for all shows are available now exclusively via Veeps.com. A portion of all proceeds will benefit United Way Nashville to assist the community with the double effects of the recent tornado and current pandemic.
30 – Happy Hour Show 2 (North America) – 7:00 pm ET
JUNE
6 – Requests Show – 4:00 pm ET
# # #
Larkin Poe has announced rescheduled dates for their eagerly anticipated tour of Europe and the United Kingdom, with shows now slated to begin February 3 at Dublin, Ireland’s Vicar Street and then travel through mid-March. Previously purchased tickets are still valid at the rescheduled dates.
All US and International tour details and ticket information can be found at www.larkinpoe.com.
Kyle Hollingsworth, (keyboardist of The String Cheese Incident) has announced a special online event dubbed “Kyle Hollingsworth’s Big Show.” The stream aims to bring something fun and unique to an amazing community of fans. The 'Big Show' will provide viewers the chance to laugh, smile, dance and just simply escape from everyday stress. The show will also feature special guests, surprises, and a one-of-a-kind exclusive musical experience.
Additionally, the "OG Cat shirt," the cat that started it all from Hollingsworth’s famous Kyle’s Corner Feline Fine cat shirt collection, returns for the first time ever, available only with ticket purchase.
"This is going to be exciting, electrifying, slightly frightening, but overall exhilarating! Taking one’s self out of the comfort zone can lead to unexpected results. We are the music makers, we are the dreamers of dreams, so join me for this magical mystery stream."
Earlier this year Kyle released an EP titled 2020. Amid a six-month touring break from The String Cheese Incident, Hollingsworth decided to branch out and develop some musical ideas on his own. What resulted was five musically diverse and energetic songs including a rousing cover of Vampire Weekend’s “Step.”
The Inspector Cluzo have released their cover of Neil Young’s “Hey Hey My My.” This is the first of a four-song project titled “The Organic Farmers Seasons” recorded on tape in Nashville, TN at Sputnik Sound Studio and produced by Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton, Clutch). The next song releases will follow this Summer, Fall and Winter.
Earlier this week, American Songwriter exclusively premiered “Hey Hey My My” saying: “Their rendition of Young’s song has satisfying sonic depth, with thickly toned layered rhythm guitar, crisply splashing cymbals, whip-cracked snare hits, and a touch of tonal color provided by a keys line played on backing organ. The performance is definitely full of the kind of classic heartland rock energy any Neil Young fan would flock to immediately.”
Covering Neil Young seemed like a no brainer for the band. As told to American Songwriter, "Some of our good friends in the US including Vance Powell - our friend and producer in Nashville suggested that we cover Neil Young because he is the US artist that seems closest to what we are and what we do.
The duo spends half of their time as professional musicians, and the other half of their time is spent on their organic farm located in the Southwest of France.
The Inspector Cluzo are proud of their heritage – they abandoned promising careers as overqualified scientists, in order to work on the land. They are both proud and eager to represent their region and their local traditions, but they don’t want to fall into the category of being a local band. Their land is where Laurent and Mathieu share ideas, blow off steam, learn and discover things – that’s their stage, their natural habitat where they relentlessly go about their daily unpretentious routine. But they’ve got another land – and that is wherever people are – people they meet and talk with from Japan to South America. Their big plot of land is the world – people and places — to visit, to explore. Their smaller plot of land is Lou Casse, their farm in the Landes, in the southwest of France – that’s where their physical labor allows them to break away from the incessant brain hyperactivity – 24/7 — anytime, day or night, you can receive an email from these guys who are bothered by what you might think is a small detail, or awakened by what may seem to be a trivial thing. As the Americans say, idle hands are the devil’s workshop. But that’s how these guys create their music and prepare for their concerts, cleverly hiding behind their genuine good-natured nonchalance.
Music of the people, music of the earth – boots caked with mud and blues . . . Every concert is played with a full display of celebration – every concert is a victory for these two guys – these self-proclaimed Rock Farmers – Gentlemen Farmers also because of their old-style manners and courtesy – and for their respect for the old way of doing things. This is also what connects them to the roots of soul and blues – but electrified by a fiery spirit of urgency, by fury and anger.
Today, Billy Strings, who has been hailed as the future of bluegrass, transcending tradition and genre with his high velocity, flat-picking guitar technique and intense, confessional songwriting, has announced an ambitious live streaming/virtual touring project set to kick off on July 16, 2020 in his adopted hometown of Nashville, TN.
The STREAMING STRINGS 2020 TOUR is an innovative approach to touring for post-shelter in place times. All nine shows on this livestream-only tour will be performed in crowdless venues throughout Music City. Both audio and video will be streamed via various partners. Streaming partners include Nugs TV, FANS, Station Inn TV and TourGigs. Digital “tickets” will go on sale June 16, 2020 at 12:00 pm EDT and can be purchased at billystrings.com. Additional info and FAQs are available at streamingstrings.com.
It should be noted that the dates listed may change based upon the status of the COVID-19 virus. Contingency plans (and dates) are in place three times over. For safety’s sake, all necessary precautions will be taken. All national, state, and local guidelines will be followed to the letter.
Minimal staff and crew will take part in order to help produce the show.
STREAMING STRINGS 2020 TOUR DATES
Thu - 7/16/20 Brooklyn Bowl (Streamed live via FANS)
Fri - 7/17/20 Brooklyn Bowl (Streamed live via FANS)
Sat - 7/18/20 Station Inn (Streamed live via Station Inn TV)
Sun - 7/19/20 Station Inn (Streamed live via Station Inn TV)
Wed - 7/22/20 City Winery (Streamed live via Nugs TV)
Thu - 7/23/20 City Winery (Streamed live via Nugs TV)
Fri - 7/24/20 Exit/In (Streamed live via TourGigs)
Sat - 7/25/20 Exit/In (Streamed live via TourGigs)
Sun -7/26/20 3rd & Lindsley (Streamed live via Nugs TV)
moe. is celebrating its milestone 30th anniversary year with the release of their long awaited new album – the groundbreaking jam band’s first studio LP in more than six years. THIS IS NOT, WE ARE arrives at all DSPs and streaming services on Friday, June 26 and will see a physical release later in the year; pre-orders for a number of limited edition 30th anniversary and new album merchandise exclusives are available now.
THIS IS NOT, WE ARE – which marks the 12th studio album from moe. and first since 2014’s acclaimed NO GUTS, NO GLORY – includes eight new songs written by members Chuck Garvey, Alan Schnier, Rob Derhak, Jim Loughlin, and Vinnie Amico, most of which have been fine-tuned over the past two years while the band has spent time on the road. In addition, THIS IS NOT, WE ARE features one song making its first appearance anywhere, the Garvey-penned “Undertone.”
“We kind of went back to our roots a bit,” Derhak says. “We just wanted to do something that made us feel inspired like we had felt when the band first started. But it also has everything that we’ve picked up along the way, all the good baggage – and maybe some of the bad – that we’ve dragged along for the past 30 years.”
THIS IS NOT, WE ARE will be rolled out with the premiere of two new album tracks each week. Listen to the fist singles “LL3” and “Crushing” and "Jazz Cigarette" now. Every new song will be accompanied by an exclusive live performance video, premiering via the band’s longtime supporters at Relix Magazine. New tracks and live videos will arrive every Tuesday and Thursday through June 23, followed by the full album release on Friday, June 26, highlighted by the debut of the previously unheard “Undertone.”
Long known as one of music’s hardest working live outfits, moe. has sadly rescheduled its eagerly awaited summer 2020 tour to the summer of 2021. Previously purchased tickets will be honored for the rescheduled dates; fans are asked to contact the initial point of purchase for specific information regarding refunds. Additional dates will be announced. For complete details, please visit moe.org/tour.
moe. recently unveiled “moe.ron Mondays,” a free weekly webcast presentation of classic live shows streaming every Monday at 8:30 PM ET, exclusively via nugs.tv. Fans are invited to consider supporting the moe. organization as well as the Recording Academy’s MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund. Additional material – including archival concert footage and much more – can be found at the official moe. YouTube channel.
Hailed by American Songwriter for their “mind-bending musicality,” moe. is undoubtedly among our most vital and inspired bands, treasured for their mesmerizing musical synergy, expansive showmanship, and resonant songcraft. Since coming together in Buffalo, NY, the band has embarked on a truly original journey that has now spanned three decades, encompassing a remarkably wide-ranging discography rich with crafty, clever songwriting and genre-blurring creativity.
Prodigious studio output aside, moe. is of course a truly legendary live band, adored by a fervent grassroots following for their epic and wildly adventurous performances, each one imaginatively improvisational, rhythmically audacious, and utterly unique. Indeed, the band has spent much of its 30-year career on the road, including innumerable headline tours, international festival sets from Bonnaroo to Japan’s famed Fuji Rock, music-themed cruises, and sold-out shows alongside such like-minded acts as the Allman Brothers Band, members of the Grateful Dead, Dave Matthews Band, The Who, Robert Plant, Gov’t Mule, and Blues Traveler, to name but a few. As if that weren’t enough, moe. has both promoted and performed at multiple headline festivals of their own, including snoe.down and moe.down.
moe. is Al Schnier (guitar, vocals) * Chuck Garvey (guitar, vocals) * Rob Derhak (bass, vocals) * Jim Loughlin (percussion, vibes) * Vinnie Amico (drums).
The Allman Betts Band has released the official music video for the song “Long Gone” from their debut album Down to The River (June 2019) via BMG. Relix exclusively premiered the video earlier this week.
The video for “Long Gone” was filmed on iPhones in seven different locations during the 2020 Quarantine in each band member’s respective home towns. Devon Allman spoke with Relix saying, “Never thought we’d film a music video while our band is apart. From the banks of the Missouri River to the Mountains of Wyoming, in skyscrapers, poppy fields, beaches, and backyards…we’re all a little ‘Long Gone’ lately." Duane Betts adds, “We made lemonade out of lemons with this video and I think it turned out pretty sweet. We are definitely ‘Long Gone.’”
The Allman Betts Band was amid a global tour when they were forced to cancel the remainder of their dates, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Much of the dates have been rescheduled. In lieu of the canceled shows, Devon has started a live series from his home called the “We Are Still All Together Tour.” The series features members of The Allman Betts Band. Any proceeds made from these shows go directly to the ABB touring crew members.
“These livestream shows have been a huge success. We have given away a few guitars courtesy of Gibson Guitars, we have had a guest star performance from G.Love who played a song from his home in Boston. The donations have been so amazing helping our touring crew have a paycheck during these unprecedented times” said Allman, of the series.
The shows have been airing LIVE on the Devon Allman Facebook Page and then reposted the next day to all platforms like YouTube, Instagram etc. With an average of 70,000 views per show, the “We Are Still All Together Tour” is proving to be a huge hit among ABB fans.
For all continued news and updates from The Allman Betts Band, visit allmanbettsband.com.
The Story of The Allman Betts Band:
In December of 2017, Devon Allman was ready. After a year of mourning the losses of his mother and father, Allman was ready to make music again. He deeply appreciated all of the condolences and well-wishes, but, respectfully, it was time to forge ahead.
Allman organized a concert at the historic Fillmore in San Francisco to honor the music and memory of his father, founding Allman Brothers Band keyboardist and singer, Gregg Allman, and also to debut his new band, The Devon Allman Project. A proverbial star-studded affair- with guests such as G. Love and Robert Randolph- the marathon performance also marked the beginning of a partnership with Duane Betts, son of founding Allman Brothers Band guitarist and singer, Dickey Betts. It was time, in that historic venue, to pass the spirit to this next generation. It was time to take all the lessons of the past, all their collective experiences, and make something new.
Betts had turned solo after a touring stint with folk-rockers Dawes, and would serve as an opening artist on the Devon Allman Project 2018 world tour, as well as joining Allman each night for a musical tip of the hat to their respective fathers. The year-long trek was the first to pair Allman and Betts, and saw the two tally nearly 100 dates at theatres and festivals nationally and internationally, including a summer leg in Europe, and notable appearances at Colorado’s venerable Red Rocks amphitheater, the Peach Festival, Gov’t Mule’s Island Exodus in Jamaica, and a return to The Fillmore for the second annual, sold-out Allman Family Revival.
2018 provided them a certifiable proof-of-concept: Performing a repertoire gleaned mostly from their respective solo careers, as well as a handful of Brothers gems, the Devon Allman Project with Duane Betts consistently drew audiences growing in size and enthusiasm with each successive leg.
Now, they were both determined to embrace a new challenge; to write and record new music that could someday join the classics; to wow new audiences; to form a new band. During off-days on the bus or in hotel rooms, Devon and Duane collaborated on new original material, inviting respected songwriter Stoll Vaughn for writing sessions on the road.
On the still-smoldering heels of the hugely successful Project world tour, Devon and Duane circled back to their roots for this ambitious next step. They called up their old friend Berry Duane Oakley, son of the Allman Brothers Band’s founding late bassist, Berry Oakley, and floated the idea of joining them. The trio’s musical friendship traces back to The Allman Brothers Band’s 20th anniversary summer tour in 1989 when the three first met, and often sat-in with the Rock-And-Roll Hall of Fame inductees; teenage descendants rightfully joining a rock-and-roll legacy.
As well, they recruited seasoned players from the Project ensemble: slide guitar sorcerer Johnny Stachela, drummer John Lum, and percussionist R Scott Bryan (Sheryl Crow). In November of 2018, they announced the formation of The Allman Betts Band.
For a subsequent world tour, they recruited keyboardist John Ginty (Dixie Chicks, Robert Randolph) to The Allman Betts Band. The band's first performance was March 26, 2019- 50 years, to the date, after The Allman Brothers Band first jammed in Jacksonville, Florida.
2x GRAMMY® Award-winner Fantastic Negrito wrote a song entitled "How Long?" confronting those behind school shootings, police brutality and other acts of senseless violence. Negrito holds a mirror up to society at large and asks why have people become disconnected from humanity, and how has our current culture become a fertile environment for this behavior? Negrito has now released a stark companion video featuring closeups of his face, directed by Isaiah Frazier. This is not a song that observes and comments from topographical distances. This is a song in the trenches. This is a song that has seen it, lived it. This is a song that can't cry anymore.
Negrito says:
"When I was writing 'How Long?,' I was actually talking to the shooter -- a very familiar subject in American society. We all know who the shooter is. He’s isolated, scared, maybe he feels betrayed, and to hide his fear, he consumes images and media that make him feel powerful.
"If I had the chance, I would tell the shooter he’s not in it alone. I would tell him I know despair. I would confess to him all of the horrible things I have done in my life. All of the darkness, the foster homes, the sexual predators, my past criminal activity. I’ve hurt a lot of people. I ran away from home when I was 12 years old. I saw my 14-year-old brother with his head blown open, and I helped my mother clean the blood off the floor. I watched my 16-year-old cousin get buried in a coffin. My best friend was murdered in a barbershop here in the liberal, peace-loving Bay Area. I survived a three-week coma. I lost my playing hand, and I felt like everything was over. But it wasn’t.
"Hopefully being able to survive those things and share them with people in despair can help ease all the pain."
"How Long?" is the second song released from Fantastic Negrito's anticipated new album. HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND YET?, arriving everywhere via Cooking Vinyl/Blackball Universe on Friday, August 14. The album is available for pre-order now, with all pre-orders joined by instant grat downloads of “How Long,” as well as the current single rising up the radio charts, “Chocolate Samurai,” which Fantastic Negrito performed on CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert #PlayAtHome series.
HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND YET? marks Fantastic Negrito’s most far-reaching work thus far, fusing elements of hip-hop, R&B, funk, soul, and rock ‘n roll into an incendiary synthesis all his own. Inspired by and reminiscent of the socio-political albums coming from black America in the late 1960s and into the 70s, the album sees Negrito exploring the struggle and complexities of mental health issues while continuing his long running lyrical examination of America’s increasingly broken social and political state of affairs.
Though known far and wide as a gifted bluesman, Negrito shows off his extraordinary musical versatility on tracks like “How Long” and the wildly inventive “Searching for Captain Save a Hoe (Feat. E-40),” a thought-provoking modern reinvention of the legendary Bay Area rapper’s 1993 classic, “Captain Save A Hoe.” Additional highlights include “I’m So Happy I Cry,” featuring powerhouse vocals from Tarriona “Tank” Ball of New Orleans’ Tank and the Bangas – a historic moment marking the first-ever collaborative recording by two previous winners of NPR’s influential Tiny Desk Concert contest. As urgent, desperate, and volatile as the times we live in, HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND YET? more than affirms Fantastic Negrito as one of American music’s most vital and provocative artists, no matter the genre, of this or any era.
“On the first two albums, I wrote about broad topics,” Fantastic Negrito says. “The proliferations of gun violence, the evil NRA, gentrification, and homelessness, pharmaceutical companies that prey upon the people. On this album, I wanted to write about people I knew, people I grew up with, people whose lives I could personally affect, and whose lives have impacted me. It was the hardest album I’ve ever written.
“What do I want to say to these people, and to the world? If I had the chance, I would tell them the pain they are feeling, the darkness they are going through is temporary – especially if you consider the span of a human life. I would tell them we can’t fight these obstacles alone. We need each other. Get offline. Talk to people. I would tell them I am here for you. We can’t hide from the pain. We need to look right at it. To really look into someone’s eyes is to feel their power and their vulnerability, to feel humanity, and to feel love.”
Karen Jonas has announced the release date for her fifth album, The Southwest Sky and Other Dreams - out August 28. The record is a flashback-fueled fever dream of Americana songcraft and storytelling. Taking the vast desert expanses of the American Southwest as her backdrop, Jonas embroiders small-town snapshots into vivid explorations of our inner struggle between ambition and inaction.
The Virginia singer-songwriter’s most accomplished and evocative expression to date, The Southwest Sky and Other Dreams captures that aching space between romantic dream state and numb reality like few before.
“It's amazing that our brains are capable of sustaining this whole existence of imagination … of these dreams and goals and ambitions,” mulled Jonas, chatting from her Fredericksburg home. “But sometimes that's enough. Because sometimes the action isn't really critical to get you through the day.”
Drawing from memories of love-struck travels around desert California in a converted Greyhound bus, and scribbled notes taken between tour stops in dusty West Texas, The Southwest Sky and Other Dreams overlays relatable characters and circumstances with the fathomless mystery of the human condition. Astonishingly articulate and atmospheric, it turns the desert’s dichotomous sense of endless space and counterintuitive claustrophobia – both actual and imagined – into a profoundly lucid metaphor that lingers long after its final notes.
“I capture these faint ghosts of stories – some my own; some not,” said Jonas, poetic even in conversation. “Oil derricks peck on forever, little mosquitoes sucking the blood of the Earth … Watching with detachment the infiniteness of the land and the stories that seem to add up to nothing.”
Equally prolific on the road and in the studio, Jonas has toured non-stop since her 2014 debut album Oklahoma Lottery, gathering steady creative and critical momentum through 2016’s Country Songs; 2018’s Butter; and last year’s Lucky, Revisited, which debuted at #13 on the EuroAmericana Chart.
Sharing stages with the likes of Dale Watson, Alabama, Joe Ely, Bob Schneider, Robert Earl Keen, and Amanda Shires, Jonas’ heartfelt compositions and nuanced timbre have entranced intimate house concerts, rowdy honky-tonks, and outdoor festivals alike. An official showcasing artist at last year’s SXSW, she was also nominated for a 2018 Ameripolitan Award, and recently named ‘Best Country/Americana Artist’ by the Washington Area Music Awards.
On The Southwest Sky and Other Dreams, Jonas gathers 10 vignettes around central themes, their characters connected by throughlines of setting and circumstance. Whereas her previous albums were mostly recorded live, this time Jonas enjoyed the luxury of creating in her home studio with producer EP Jackson.
“It made a huge difference for us to be able to expand ideas together without watching the clock and, in a practical sense, to sit with the tracks and dig into them for a really long time,” she explained.
The Southwest Sky and Other Dreams also marked Jonas’ first recording with a settled, solid band, comprising longtime guitarist and musical partner Tim Bray alongside ‘The Seths’ (bassist Seth Morrissey and drummer Seth Brown). The result is her strongest songwriting to date enhanced with cultured, vivacious instrumentation that stays true to each song’s narrative.
“I found that our arrangements were able to express a lot about each character’s mood … A little ‘spaghetti,’ but not too much,” offered Jonas. “I don’t pass a lot of judgment on my characters, and there are questions left about them all. I think that, sonically, we’re able to answer some of those questions.”
Album opener “The Last Cowboy (at the Bowling Alley)” recounts the beer-stained memories of a faded local hero years after all his friends moved on, while “Out In Palm Tree Paradise” recalls Jonas’ entrancement and ultimate disillusion while wandering the Mojave Desert with a beau.
Harnessing her perennial influences – Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon – and a newfound comfort with country music to an innate lyricism has spawned a record that subliminally explores weighty concepts through ostensibly everyday tales.
“I've learned to take a lot more time and to be expansive with the songs, as I'm thinking of them,” she said. “And as we take them into the studio, to look for ways that they could grow.”
The sultry shuffle of “Pink Leather Boots” details a trucker daydreaming at a strip club (“He plans this whole existence for him and this girl, then gets in his truck and drives away”). “Farmer John” is the perpetual emotional sunset of a broken marriage punctuated by a wife’s empty threats. Imploring album standout “Maybe You’d Hear Me Then” paraphrases Jonas’ wonderfully wistful new album in its first verse: “You’re working some nine-to-five/Making plans for some better life/The Southwestern sky and other dreams you’ll never find.”
“I like to pick characters and become obsessed with them: live with them and love with them until I can describe a minute of their life and it can tell you so much about them,” Jonas concluded. “That's a big part of my vision as a songwriter.”
Today, Big Gigantic’s Dominic Lalli kicks off his solo career with the release of his brand new single, “Together”. The artist, producer, songwriter, and saxophonist seamlessly balances his role in one of the 21st century’s most prominent and prolific electronic music groups with instrumental jazz, covering an unprecedented sonic scope.
In “Together”, over a heavenly hum and sparse piano, he wails on the saxophone with a combination of eloquent phrasing and raw emotion.
Of the track, Lalli says:
"I wrote this song a couple of months ago in the middle of the global pandemic. I woke up feeling every feeling— every emotion— and just wrote it, recorded it from my home and posted it up online. It was very in the moment. I wrote that I found comfort knowing that we were all in this together and that hopefully we’d all come out of it a little stronger and as better humans.
Now, today, as the global pandemic lingers, we find ourselves in the midst of what has quickly become the largest civil rights movement in history. This is a breakthrough moment for humanity. I feel a sense of togetherness now, more than ever, and if we keep pushing we know we will finally start to see real change where we need it most. We are uniting our voices, working together and we won’t back down. I am learning more everyday how I can be a better ally, friend and collaborator to the BIPOC (Black & Indigenous People of Color) who have inspired my music & my life.
I hope this piece of music can provide a sense of healing & love as the fight continues."
All proceeds from this song will be donated directly to Black Lives Matter.
Guitarist and songwriter Derek Trucks joins award-winning guitarist/producer Eric Krasno on his special new podcast series. Presented by Osiris Media, ERIC KRASNO PLUS ONE sees the renowned musician hosting a one-of-a-kind interview series exploring the lives and work of some of his closest friends and musical collaborators.
In episode 10 of Plus One, Krasno talks to Derek Trucks, who he describes as the "greatest slide guitar player that’s ever lived" about the early days of their friendship and the incredible musicians they’ve played with over the years. They talk about how they’re managing through the pandemic, the time that Derek immersed himself in Indian music and how it influenced his playing, and what he took away from working with Eric Clapton.
At the end of the episode, Krasno plays “Sahib Teri Bandi/Maki Madni” from the Derek Trucks Band album Songlines.
Derek Trucks is a guitarist, songwriter, and founder of the Grammy Award-winning The Derek Trucks Band. In 2010, he formed the Tedeschi Trucks Band with his wife, blues singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi. His musical style encompasses several genres and he has twice appeared on Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. He is the nephew of Butch Trucks, drummer for the Allman Brothers.
Upcoming Episodes of Plus One include conversations with Questlove, Phil Lesh, Ivan Neville and more. This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify through the official Osiris website or wherever you get your podcasts.
For nearly two decades, Krasno has been an omnipresent figure in popular music, from his virtuosic, innovative guitar playing with Soulive and Lettuce (both of which he co-founded) to his GRAMMY® Award-winning work as a producer and songwriter for artists like Norah Jones, Tedeschi Trucks, 50 Cent, Talib Kweli, Aaron Neville, and Allen Stone, to name but a few. As if that weren’t enough, the New York-based artist has proven an invaluable session player and touring musician alongside the likes of the Rolling Stones, Dave Mathews Band, John Mayer, Oteil & Friends, and The Roots.
Along with their work together on stage and in the studio, Krasno has spent countless hours sharing stories with these incredible artists and these intimate moments have become some of his most cherished memories. ERIC KRASNO PLUS ONE now allows fans everywhere to join behind-the-scenes conversations, with topics spanning early inspirations to discussions about the state of the music industry, the challenges of life on the road, and much more. For music, upcoming tour dates, and additional information, please visit www.erickrasno.com.
Billy Strings, who has been hailed as the future of bluegrass, transcending tradition and genre with his high velocity, flat-picking guitar technique and intense, confessional songwriting, has been nominated for the 2020 Americana Music Association’s Honors & Awards “Emerging Act of the Year.”
Strings released his second full-length studio album HOME in September of 2019 via Rounder Records.
Billboard called Strings “foot stomping” while Rolling Stone Country praised Strings as “one of string music’s most dynamic young stars.”
But it’s the live show experience that has been the secret sauce for Billy Strings and his band.
As Pollstar noted in a recent feature, “In 2020, Strings has doubled, tripled or even quadrupled his ticket counts in most markets, while also booking festivals from Bonnaroo to Peach, and continued, “Strings’ out-of-this-world chops have made him a live draw, as have his marathon shows, which typically follow the two-set jam band mold and channel his eclectic musical interests.”
Strings’ music transcends tradition and genre and he is reshaping bluegrass into his own exceptional form. He is completely rewiring the aesthetic with elements of punk, country, folk-rock, and genuine psychedelic exploration to fashion something altogether original and all his own.
The STREAMING STRINGS 2020 TOUR is an innovative approach to touring for post-shelter in place times. All nine shows on this livestream-only tour will be performed in crowdless venues throughout Music City. Both audio and video will be streamed via various partners. Streaming partners include Nugs TV, FANS, Station Inn TV and TourGigs. Digital “tickets” will go on sale June 16, 2020 at 12:00 pm EDT and can be purchased at billystrings.com. Additional info and FAQs are available at streamingstrings.com.
It should be noted that the dates listed may change based upon the status of the COVID-19 virus. Contingency plans (and dates) are in place three times over. For safety’s sake, all necessary precautions will be taken. All national, state, and local guidelines will be followed to the letter.
Minimal staff and crew will take part in order to help produce the show.
Billy’s adopted hometown of Nashville, TN will provide the setting for these shows. Nashville has long been a hub for innovation and creativity, from the earliest days of the Grand Ole Opry breaking ground by broadcasting their live show nationwide to the television era, during which CMT and GAC raised the profile of roots music to new and unprecedented levels. Nashville is home to a plethora of record labels, music publishers, songwriters, and entertainment executives, all of which contribute to the ever-expanding creative community that initially established Nashville as “Music City.” And of course, Nashville is also known for its tight-knit, generous, and supportive community that places tremendous value on collaboration and shared experiences. In that spirit, Billy Strings aims to create a shared experience for fans around the world with the STREAMING STRINGS 2020 Tour, and hopes that the joys of music, community, and connection will continue to thrive, even amid trying times.
A portion of all proceeds will be equally divided and donated to several charity partners:
Charity partners:
ACLU
Backline
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
STREAMING STRINGS 2020 TOUR DATES
Thu - 7/16/20 Brooklyn Bowl (Streamed live via FANS)
Fri - 7/17/20 Brooklyn Bowl (Streamed live via FANS)
Sat - 7/18/20 Station Inn (Streamed live via Station Inn TV)
Sun - 7/19/20 Station Inn (Streamed live via Station Inn TV)
Wed - 7/22/20 City Winery (Streamed live via Nugs TV)
Thu - 7/23/20 City Winery (Streamed live via Nugs TV)
Fri - 7/24/20 Exit/In (Streamed live via TourGigs)
Sat - 7/25/20 Exit/In (Streamed live via TourGigs)
Sun -7/26/20 3rd & Lindsley (Streamed live via Nugs TV)
Hip hop royalty Cypress Hill will perform live to fans around the world this Friday evening on MelodyVR. Synonymous with huge nights out and big nights in, this is an opportunity to witness the group up close and like never before.
Cypress Hill’s Live from LA show will be free to view via the MelodyVR app on smartphones and VR headsets. Through MelodyVR’s world-class camera and production technology, viewers will be transported to the state-of-the-art studio space to experience the exclusive 360° performance, and virtually stand next to Cypress Hill while watching the story of the band told on bespoke video walls.
One of hip hop's biggest acts ever, Cypress Hill soundtracked a generation and continue to inspire artists and audiences alike. They have sold more than 20 million albums thanks to their masterful teaming of powerful lyrics and production. Their Live from LA performance is their first since the stay at home order was issued in early March, when the band was about to embark on a world tour.
Cypress Hill say: “When we were approached to perform for our fans again, we jumped on it. We definitely wanted to give them a unique experience with this intimate show. Partnering with MelodyVR for Live from LA allowed us to do just that.”
Cypress Hill’s Live from LA 360° appearance is a typically innovative move from the band. When they broke onto the scene in 1988, they didn’t look like any other hip hop collective or sound like anything on the radio. They made history as the first Latino American hip hop recording group to go platinum, with GRAMMY® Award nominations, acclaimed collaborations and sold out tours under their belt. Immortalized in everything from the Hollywood Walk of Fame to The Simpsons, Cypress Hill keep forging ahead, with their ninth full-length studio album, Elephants On Acid, released in 2018.
MelodyVR’s Live from LA series has been developed to provide fans with incredible immersive sets from their favorite artists, while maintaining the highest levels of safety for both performers and crew. Artists featured so far include John Legend, The Score, Katelyn Tarver, DaniLeigh and Zella Day with many more yet to be announced. Cypress Hill’s Live from LA show will be available on demand from June 25 for those who miss the June 19 broadcast.
The Allman Betts Band has announced their second full-length studio album titled Bless Your Heart. The first single, “Magnolia Road” will be released on all DSPs Friday, June 19. The official music video for the track will exclusively premiere via The ABB official YouTube channel at 1pm ET on Friday, June 19. Devon Allman and Duane Betts will join the premiere and will be chatting live with fans.
“Magnolia Road” is the tie-dyed contender for summer festival favorite. A semi-autobiographical lyric shared by Betts and Allman, ironically this is the only song on the album with band collaborator Stoll Vaughan as its sole author. Vaughan wrote the song alone, though namechecking detailed parts of Betts’ and Allman’s life, respectively. Musically evokes the group’s affection for The Band and the Grateful Dead.
LOCKN’ has announced details of its eagerly awaited Light From LOCKN’ livestream, a communal festival experience set for June 19-21 via FANS.com, FANS Facebook Page, FANS Twitch, Relix YouTube, Littlestar (Playstation4) and DailyMotion. Beginning each day at 10am ET, the free livestreamed event will present an array of live music, archival footage, exclusive content, and surprise guest appearances.
Light From LOCKN’ will present classic archival performances from such legendary artists as The Allman Brothers Band and The Black Crowes, alongside a veritable feast of full-length sets from Billy & The Kids, Charles Bradley, Zac Brown Incident, Col. Bruce Hampton & Friends w/ Oteil Burbridge, Del McCoury w/Preservation Hall, Fishbone, Furthur ft. Trey Anastasio, Gov’t Mule ft. Ann Wilson, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, Hot Tuna, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Keller’s Grateful Gospel, Khruangbin ft. Trey Anastasio, Lettuce, Margo Price, Phil Lesh & Friends, The Revivalists, The Suffers, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Trey Anastasio Band ft. Derek Trucks, Umphrey’s McGee, Vulfpeck, Widespread Panic, and Zac Brown Incident.
Furthermore, Light From LOCKN’ will see special appearances from such friends of the festival as Andy Falco, David Shaw, Doobie Decibel System, The Infamous Stringdusters, Jack Casady, Keller Williams, The Lil Smokies, Luther Dickinson, Marcus King, Melvin Seals, Moonalice, Nahko, The Suffers, and Warren Haynes. Other highlights include a special “Photos With Stories” session, chronicling the incredible visual history of LOCKN’ with renowned photographer Jay Blakesberg.
In addition, Light From LOCKN’ will host an immersive trio of virtual late-night dance parties, including the hugely popular “Jerry Dance Party” with DJ JerrBrother, Andy Frasco’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” (currently in the Top 10 of Pollstar’s Livestream Chart), as well as “The Rock and Roll Playhouse Father’s Day Celebration,” which will air Sunday morning.
In keeping with the spirit of LOCKN’ and HeadCount’s Participation Row – the festival’s annual on-site interactive village of non-profit organizations – fans are encouraged to make socially conscious actions throughout Light From LOCKN’. Charitable partners include HeadCount‘s nationwide voter registration campaign and Conscious Alliance‘s “Virtual Art That Feeds Food Drive.”
The eighth edition of LOCKN’ is now scheduled to take place October 1-4, 2020, as always at Infinity Downs & Oak Ridge Farm, LOCKN’s 387-acre property located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Arrington, VA; a complete artists lineup and additional ticket information will be announced soon. All previously purchased tickets, camping, parking, and early entry passes will be honored on the new dates. LOCKN’ is currently working on new health and safety protocols, which will continue to evolve as new guidelines are issued by public health authorities, to ensure the upcoming festival is safe and comfortable for everyone to attend. These may include reducing overall capacity and increasing the amount of space allocated for campsites. For updates, please visit www.locknfestival.com.
Questlove joins award-winning guitarist/producer Eric Krasno on his special new podcast series. Presented by Osiris Media, ERIC KRASNO PLUS ONE sees the renowned musician hosting a one-of-a-kind interview series exploring the lives and work of some of his closest friends and musical collaborators.
In episode 11, Krasno welcomes his friend Questlove on part one of a two part episode. Questlove joins Krasno from his home in upstate New York to talk about learning to make beats on his computer during the lockdown, dealing with procrastination, and what he’s writing in his new book. Questlove recalls the time that Miles Davis appeared at his high school, what happened when he discovered Prince at the same time his parents discovered Christianity, and how The Roots got started.
Krasno plays the track “Proceed” by The Roots, at the end of the episode.
Ahmir Khalib Thompson aka “Questlove” hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was born January 20, 1971. He is a drummer, DJ, producer, culinary entrepreneur, designer, New York Times bestselling and James Beard Award-nominated author, and cofounder of Philadelphia’s most influential hip-hop group, the Roots. He is the musical director for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where the Roots serve as the house band, and a four-time Grammy Award-winning musician. He is also an adjunct professor at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Upcoming Episodes of Plus One include part 2 of the conversation with Questlove, and future episodes feature with Phil Lesh, Ivan Neville and more. This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify through the official Osiris website or wherever you get your podcasts.
For nearly two decades, Krasno has been an omnipresent figure in popular music, from his virtuosic, innovative guitar playing with Soulive and Lettuce (both of which he co-founded) to his GRAMMY® Award-winning work as a producer and songwriter for artists like Norah Jones, Tedeschi Trucks, 50 Cent, Talib Kweli, Aaron Neville, and Allen Stone, to name but a few. As if that weren’t enough, the New York-based artist has proven an invaluable session player and touring musician alongside the likes of the Rolling Stones, Dave Mathews Band, John Mayer, Oteil & Friends, and The Roots.
Along with their work together on stage and in the studio, Krasno has spent countless hours sharing stories with these incredible artists and these intimate moments have become some of his most cherished memories. ERIC KRASNO PLUS ONE now allows fans everywhere to join behind-the-scenes conversations, with topics spanning early inspirations to discussions about the state of the music industry, the challenges of life on the road, and much more. For music, upcoming tour dates, and additional information, please visit www.erickrasno.com.
On Sunday, June 28th, Justice Comes Alive—a brand new, one-day, donation-based virtual event—will unite the live music community to raise funds and awareness for organizations empowering Black communities, keeping people out of the criminal justice system, and working to dismantle the systemic racism which persists in our society. In partnership with the PLUS1 For Black Lives Fund, proceeds raised during the day-long event will directly benefit participating artists as well as organizations like Equal Justice Initiative, Impact Justice and The Bail Project, as well as Black and Indigenous-led grassroots organizations combating racism. Justice Comes Alive is also proud to partner with HeadCount to further encourage voter participation.
Fans can donate any amount to participate and are encouraged to make their contributions early in order to secure a spot at the show via JusticeComesAlive.com. Those who opt to donate in advance will receive a link to stream the event across various platforms on the morning of the show.
The all-day livestream marathon will feature new live performances from 50+ artists captured during the ongoing lockdown specifically for Justice Comes Alive. The new content will be created by the artists in a variety of ways, from socially distant studio sessions to remote video collaborations to crowd-less sets at venues around the country.
In between performances, Justice Comes Alive co-hosts Nikki Glaspie (The Nth Power), Nigel Hall (Lettuce), Alvin Ford Jr (Dumpstaphunk), James Casey (Trey Anastasio Band), and Robert Sput Searight (Ghost-Note), alongside Ari Fink of Sirius XM, will lead conversations with speakers providing a platform to discuss systemic racism, how to combat it, and what can be done to bring about these changes. Featured speakers include Terence Blanchard, Oteil Burbridge, Christian McBride, Karl Denson, Patrice Rushen, George Porter Jr., Ivan Neville, and more.
A full list of Justice Comes Alive featured musical performers and guest speakers can be found below. For more information or to RSVP/donate, visit JusticeComesAlive.com.
Featuring Performances By:
Antibalas
Alvin Ford Jr.
BANDEMIC (feat. John Scofield, John Medeski, Billy Martin and Jesse Murphy)
Big Sam's Funky Nation
Bobby Rush
Brandon "Taz" Niederauer
Christone "KINGFISH" Ingram
Cory Henry
D'Vibes Trio w/ Adam Deitch & Adam "Shmeeans" Smirnoff
David Shaw
Doom Flamingo
Dumpstaphunk
Eric Krasno
Everyone Orchestra
Full Moonalice
The Funky Knuckles
G. Love
Galactic
George Porter Jr.
The Ghost of Paul Revere
Ivan Neville
Jennifer Hartswick w/ Nick Cassarino & Christian McBride
Osiris Podcasts releases the third episode of a new, multidimensional podcast series, Past, Present, Future, Live! featuring Marco Benevento. This week, host RJ Bee speaks with virtuoso keyboardist Marco Benevento about the life experiences and musical inspirations behind his unique blend of indie pop, jazz, hard rock, and improvisation. We'll hear about the start of Benevento's lifelong relationship with drummer Joe Russo, how moving to the Hudson Valley transformed Benevento's life and music, and the new crew of artists he's working with that inspire him in a whole new way.
The episode closes with Benevento performing three songs from his home studio in Upstate New York: "Two of You", "Dropkick", and "In the Afternoon Tomorrow". You can see videos of these and all Past, Present, Future, Live! exclusive live performances on the Osiris Media Youtube channel.
You'll find original versions of these tracks, as well as other songs and artists mentioned in this episode, on Benevento's Past, Present, Future, Live! Spotify playlist.
Upcoming Episodes of Past, Present, Future, Live! include conversations with Ted Leo, Dani Markham, Maggie Rose, and more.This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you like this podcast, please be sure to leave us a rating or review on iTunes.
From their first music lesson to the first paid gig, these are stories from the unique journey that is the life of an artist. We’ll discuss early inspirations, creative process, what’s driving them towards the future, and everything in between. Full audio episodes will drop every Tuesday, and video of each live performance will be available on the Osiris website and YouTube. An accompanying curated playlist chronicling the music and artists mentioned in each episode will also be available on the Osiris site and on Spotify.
Twenty years ago, Joe Bonamassa took the music world by storm when he released his debut solo album A New Day Yesterday, though he’d already been on the scene for years as a child prodigy and even opened for B.B. King at the age of 12. The album launched a career that, two decades later, has seen Bonamassa rise to the top of his field with most recently being named Guitar World’s #1 blues guitarist in the world. Today, the blues-rock titan announces a revamped version to be released on August 7th via J&R Adventures. It has been completely re-sung by Bonamassa and remixed and remastered by long-time producer Kevin Shirley. The first single “Cradle Rock” is out today as part of the celebration. Fans can pre-order the album now at https://joeb.me/2Z8L5Iz.
In custom Bonamassa fashion, Joe has shared a personal message to fans, straight from his “Nerdville” home. “The reason we went back and remixed it, and re-sang it, and pulled from the original masters was because I never felt like I deserved a guy like Tom Dowd to produce my first album,” he confesses. “I was an infant as far as being an artist. Tom saw a little pebble in a stream, that could travel down and eventually become this nugget of gold, if you want to call it that, and he had a vision for me that I didn’t see. I appreciate that and I wanted to pay tribute to him as a man who mentored me through that time. I hope you guys enjoy it.”
He continues, “Tom Dowd was a master of everything he endeavored on. There was no second rate, there was no compromise on quality of absolutions and results. I wasn’t developed enough as a musician myself to rise to his level. I certainly gave it my all and rose to the occasion grading on the curve of the musician I am today, the musician Tom always knew was inside my soul. I decided to enlist the help of another producer and mentor that has significantly impacted my life both on a personal basis and professionally, Mr. Kevin Shirley to help re-mix, re-sing and finally pay tribute to Tom as I tried to so hard to when he was alive. I have been extremely fortunate in my life to have been surrounded by two of the best most brilliant record producers anyone could have dreamed to be associated with. We included some crude demos and recordings I did at 75 Campbell Ave when I was just a teenager, and alternate versions of songs you are familiar with partly because some of the master tapes have been lost. Yes, I did say tapes. It is never lost on me how lucky I have been and continue to be by your support over these past 20 years. Enjoy the trip down memory lane… I know I did.”
A longtime producer and collaborator, Kevin Shirley adds, “as time has gone by, Joe’s vocal style, particularly, has changed enormously. He’s grown from an adolescent shouter to a very mature and soulful singer. From early on in our working relationship, Joe has mentioned that he would really like to have another shot at those vocals, and asked that if he did redo them, would I remix his first solo album.”
When A New Day Yesterday was initially released, Chuck Taylor of Billboard was an early supporter, praising Bonamassa as "a bold talent, who rises above narrow radio formatics.” The album includes six original tracks written by Bonamassa, along with six cover songs from historically renowned blues and rock artists. In addition, Shirley notes, “added to this album are three bonus songs which Stevie Van Zandt produced for Joe. They’re a terrific look at where Joe was coming from, what he was looking for and how he has developed over the years.” The bonus tracks are unreleased demos from a 1997 studio session before Joe had any record deals. They have never been heard before and come from a time when Zandt was Bonamassa’s biggest cheerleader in the industry.
Now, even as Bonamassa continues to release new music from his recordings at Abbey Road Studios, including last month’s intricate ballad titled “When One Door Opens,” he takes a moment to shine light on the album that started it all. A New Day Now is a chance for the icon to revisit his past and revitalize the indelible anthology with his years of experience and artistry.
The Abbey Road studio recordings and A New Day Now follow Bonamassa’s recent instrumental side project called The Sleep Eazys, who released their critically-acclaimed debut album, Easy To Buy, Hard To Sell, this spring. The album, which the Associated Press touted as making “instrumental dreams,” was produced by Bonamassa and features some of his frequent collaborators, along with his all-star touring band. The Sleep Eazys project is Joe’s second time in the studio as a producer, after Reese Wynans’ long-awaited debut solo album Sweet Release.
Never a dull moment, Joe is still cranking out weekly programming for Sirius XM’s Bluesville channel for his radio show “Different Shades Of Blue.” In the early weeks of quarantine, Bonamassa took to social media to give a special behind-the-scenes look at his “Nerdville” home in California. More recently, he kicked off a new at-home series “Live From Nerdville” on his Facebook and YouTube page, featuring episodes with Neal Schon of Journey, John Oates of Hall & Oates, Walter Trout, and esteemed singer-songwriter Dion. On June 5, Bonamassa released music icon Dion’s new album Blues With Friends on he and his Manager Roy Weisman’s new record label Keeping The Blues Alive Records and Dion’s first single “Blues Comin’ On” also features Bonamassa on slide guitar.
In prior months, Bonamassa was touring relentlessly, up until coronavirus took its hold on the music industry, stopping him just short of a few final dates on his spring tour in the U.S. To battle the tough times brought on by COVID-19, Bonamassa’s non-profit Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation (KTBA) is providing financial support to qualifying touring musicians who are suffering financial hardship and whose careers have been put on hold. The program, called Fueling Musicians, is an emergency relief program designed to support musicians by providing immediate cash payments for essential living expenses of $1,000, as well as pre-paid gas cards of $500 and $50 Guitar Center gift cards to help them stay afloat and get back on the road again when it is safe. With $270,000 raised to date, Bonamassa surpassed his personal goal of $250,000. “The more money raised means more musicians will receive funding to help them get through these challenging times and ultimately back onto the road when the time is right,” Bonamassa says. On May 31, he launched an online stream-a-thon benefit for the program, featuring over FIVE hours of music performances from over 50 musicians including some legendary friends and talented rising stars. The full concert event can be streamed in full here. Individuals or organizations interested in helping Joe support this program should go the Keeping the Blues Alive website, ktba.org or ktba.org/fueling-musicians.
To keep up with everything Bonamassa, visit jbonamassa.com, and be sure to stay connected on social media.
Questlove joins award-winning guitarist/producer Eric Krasno on his special new podcast series. Presented by Osiris Media, ERIC KRASNO PLUS ONE sees the renowned musician hosting a one-of-a-kind interview series exploring the lives and work of some of his closest friends and musical collaborators.
In episode 12 of Eric Krasno Plus One, Eric continues his wide ranging conversation with Questlove, who joins Eric from his home in upstate New York. They talk about the jam sessions at his house that became the epicenter of the Neo Soul movement, the infamous Source awards show in ‘95 that led Questlove to D’Angelo, that time Jimmy Fallon disarmed The Roots, and what he thinks is on the other side of the COVID-19 crisis.
The episode ends with the track “Send It On” from the D’Angelo album Voodoo.
Ahmir Khalib Thompson aka “Questlove” hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was born January 20, 1971. He is a drummer, DJ, producer, culinary entrepreneur, designer, New York Times bestselling and James Beard Award-nominated author, and cofounder of Philadelphia’s most influential hip-hop group, the Roots. He is the musical director for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where the Roots serve as the house band, and a four-time Grammy Award-winning musician. He is also an adjunct professor at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Upcoming Episodes of Plus One include part 2 of the conversation with Questlove, and future episodes feature with Phil Lesh, Ivan Neville and more. This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify through the official Osiris website or wherever you get your podcasts.
For nearly two decades, Krasno has been an omnipresent figure in popular music, from his virtuosic, innovative guitar playing with Soulive and Lettuce (both of which he co-founded) to his GRAMMY® Award-winning work as a producer and songwriter for artists like Norah Jones, Tedeschi Trucks, 50 Cent, Talib Kweli, Aaron Neville, and Allen Stone, to name but a few. As if that weren’t enough, the New York-based artist has proven an invaluable session player and touring musician alongside the likes of the Rolling Stones, Dave Mathews Band, John Mayer, Oteil & Friends, and The Roots.
Along with their work together on stage and in the studio, Krasno has spent countless hours sharing stories with these incredible artists and these intimate moments have become some of his most cherished memories. ERIC KRASNO PLUS ONE now allows fans everywhere to join behind-the-scenes conversations, with topics spanning early inspirations to discussions about the state of the music industry, the challenges of life on the road, and much more. For music, upcoming tour dates, and additional information, please visit www.erickrasno.com.
Hall spoke to American Songwriter saying, “The song “My Own” is a song that was written a few years back. It is one of the songs that I kept to myself for a while before releasing it out into the cosmos. It was written about the power of longing and that to long for the Beloved and to make that one your very own, whomever or whatever that one may be, is so special and so intimate. Even though we may be upset at the pain of separation ... that pain of separation is actually a blessing to fuel one’s desire to be united with one’s true love.”
Hall will release a new, full-length studio album later this year. The forthcoming record, produced by Brad Cook (Bon Iver, the War on Drugs, Hiss Golden Messenger) sees Hall taking extravagant chances with his music while staying true to his core values.
Austin, Texas-based Heartless Bastards have teamed up with Spaceflight Records to release a digital single, “Revolution,” with a portion of proceeds from all downloads to be donated to the ACLU in support of civil rights. The song will be available July 3 for download via Bandcamp, the site is once again waiving fees to support artists during the Coronavirus pandemic. The track will be available at digital retailers everywhere at a later date.
Lead vocalist, Erika Wennerstrom, explains the new single and says:
“Revolution is about self love. I think if people loved themselves more there wouldn’t be racism, bigotry, and classism. Some people are so worried that there is not enough pie to go around, and that lifting up others limits their own opportunity. There is mass misinformation and manipulation to peddle this narrative. Money, materialism, privileged access to better education are things people constantly measure themselves with. The need to feel better than someone in order to feel good about oneself is an age old insecurity. I think there’s fear there too. So many struggle to get ahead because they’re afraid of getting left behind. The planet really can’t sustain everyone having more. Everything is made to fall apart like cars, and $1100 cell phones. I think humanity needs to learn how to have less, and not play into the commercialism that constantly sends the message we lack things that we don’t really need.
Revolution is a mantra, and reminder to myself to avoid playing the game as much as I can. I don’t need this, and I don’t need that. I don’t need to compare myself to others.This marathon everybody is running is exhausting. There is so much true suffering in this world with a lack of food, shelter, and basic running water, and if you suffer depression and anxiety remind yourself of that, and try to possibly be of service to someone in need, and not even necessarily with writing a check, but with even something as simple as kind energy, and compassion. True connection. The more man attempts to look at the world from another man's perspective it becomes apparent how connected we all really are. Dave Chapelle said at a show years ago “Poverty is a state of mind.” That really stuck with me. I was in the Amazon several years ago, and it struck me how little people had materially, and children were running around and they all seemed so happy. Aside from the basic necessities of sustaining our lives I think giving and receiving love is really what we need the most. All the rest is just a bunch of noise."
Taking the name "Heartless Bastards" from an incorrect answer on a multiple-choice trivia game (the question: what is the name of Tom Petty's backing band), Wennerstrom founded the band in 2003 in Cincinnati. It started as a recording project and evolved into a live band with a revolving cast of musicians, and they began playing regularly throughout the Midwest. When Patrick Carney of the Black Keys saw the band, he liked what he heard and passed along a copy of their demo to his label at the time, Fat Possum Records. Heartless Bastards signed with Fat Possum, releasing their first 3 albums, Stairs and Elevators (2005), All this Time (2006), and The Mountain (2009).
In 2007 Wennerstrom relocated to Austin, TX, and recorded The Mountain. A new touring lineup formed including David Colvin on drums and Jesse Ebaugh on bass, bringing the project in full circle as both Colvin and Ebaugh had played on the original Heartless Bastards demos 6 years earlier. Mark Nathan joined on guitar in 2009, and the band became a 4-piece. They signed to Partisan records and released 2 critically acclaimed records, Arrow (2012) and Restless Ones (2015).
After more than a decade fronting the band, Wennerstrom released the album Sweet Unknown under her own given name in 2018. “It was a deeply personal album and it just felt fitting to use my name. It kind of forced me to allow myself to be a little more exposed, and stand on my own two feet. I feel like I’ve grown so much creatively and personally through this process.”
Now some good news for fans of Heartless Bastards — which has released five critically- acclaimed albums since their 2003 inception, appeared on many late night television shows, and has drawn praise from Rolling Stone, Time, New York Times — in early 2020, Wennerstrom returned to the studio with producer Kevin Ratterman (Strand of Oaks, Jim James, White Reaper), and a new album is in the works.
Fans can also rest assured that what they’ve grown to love about Heartless Bastards is still front-and-center. Wennerstrom's trademark vocals that NPR so aptly calls “warm yet gritty, throaty yet sweet, gigantic, yet intimate” are that… times 10. And the bluesy, rock vibes that Relix describes as “smoky, late night [rock] that exists somewhere between Royal Trux and the Rolling Stones” has only gotten smokier and bluesier.
Today, Big Gigantic producer/songwriter/saxophonist Dominic Lalli announces the debut release from his jazz project Dominic Lalli’s Bluebird Quintet, A Blind Man’s Blue, available this Friday, July 10. The title track is available now for streaming and download everywhere.
Lalli assembled the Bluebird Quintet in 2010 and recorded what would become A Blind Man’s Blue. He was forced to put the record aside because, right at that point, Big Gigantic started to heat up. He poured all of his attention into the group, which slowly but surely became a festival-headlining phenomenon renowned for boundary-busting electronic music and groundbreaking technology. After a handful of Bluebird Quintet gigs in 2018 and 2019, 2020 presented the opportunity to finally finish A Blind Man’s Blue.
“For so long, I had focused all of my energy on Big Gigantic,” Lalli affirms. “I needed time to mix and master A Blind Man’s Blue. Once the pandemic hit, I knew I had to finish it. All I did pre-Big Gigantic was jazz. A lot of that music is part of my lineage. That’s why it’s so important for me to release this now.”
Consisting of three covers and four originals, he initially tracked the project with Eric Gunnison (piano), Bijoux Barbosa (bass), Rudy Royston (drums), and Greg Gisbert (trumpet). On the 10-minute original title track and first single “A Blind Man’s Blue,” Lalli’s performance twists and turns through a smoky soundscape held down by a boisterous bass groove, melodic piano and steady beat.
“I’ve had the name for the past 10 years,” Lalli says. “It makes you ask, ‘What is A Blind Man’s Blue?’ Some of the music represents what it might be: a beautiful struggle. The chords, harmony, and melody illuminate this struggle on the first part before the light opens up on the bridge. You find your own happiness at the end.”
He slightly rearranges and adds his own touch to show tune standard “Golden Earrings” (popularized by Peggy Lee in 1947), and re-harmonizes George Gershwin’s “Love Walked In” with soaring spirit. He also pays tribute to Miles Davis with his rendition of “Joshua.” As far as his compositions go, “Emerald Isles” evokes an understated bliss through instrumental virtuosity. Meanwhile, “Bluebird” takes flight over a drum solo and another saxophone catharsis.
“It goes from dark and mysterious chords in the beginning to a glorious and beautiful conclusion,” Lalli concludes. “There’s a moment of freedom at the end."
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Emma Swift has announced the release of a new animated lyric video for the song, “Queen Jane Approximately.” The song is taken from her new album, BLONDE ON THE TRACKS – a collection of the Nashville-based artist’s interpretations of Bob Dylan songs, arriving via Tiny Ghost Records on Friday, August 14.
BLONDE ON THE TRACKS is available for pre-order now, including classic black 12” vinyl and limited edition CDs and orange 12” vinyl. All pre-orders are joined by the album’s remarkable first single, “I Contain Multitudes,” recorded at home during lockdown, as well as “Queen Jane Approximately.” Both animated lyric videos are available now.
Emma Swift has been hailed for the strength and beauty of her songcraft and a resilient yet vulnerable voice that is both heartbreaking and heartbroken all at once. BLONDE ON THE TRACKS was first begun at Nashville’s famed Magnetic Sound Studio in 2017 but only recently brought to fruition, with Swift working alongside producer Patrick Sansone (Wilco, The Autumn Defense) via email in April and May to finesse the unfinished material and record two further songs to complete the project. Swift’s “reimagining” of Dylan’s songs bring a balancing gentleness – clear and soft where the songwriter might rasp; plaintive and emotive where he may perhaps be more sanguine. Indeed, Swift’s vocal on “I Contain Multitudes” is so immediate and clean that it’s almost as if you feel her breath in your ear. It’s striking in its intimacy, esecially as heard during this time of communal isolation.
Furthermore, BLONDE ON THE TRACKS marks another chapter in Nashville’s deep connection with Dylan, a long, proud legacy encompassing such timeless LPs as BLONDE ON BLONDE, JOHN WESLEY HARDING, and of course, NASHVILLE SKYLINE. Swift’s “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” harkens back to that distinctive sound, while other tracks call to mind Dylan’s celebrated work with The Band. Sansone’s masterful production provides the perfect light touch, supporting Swift’s vocals with instrumentation by some of the finest session players Nashville has to offer, including pedal steel guitar from Thayer Serrano, Steelism’s Jon Estes and Jon Radford (on bass and drums, respectively), and guitar by legendary British singer-songwriter – and inveterate Dylanologist – Robyn Hitchcock.
“The idea for the album came about during a long depressive phase,” says Swift, “the kind where it’s hard to get out of bed and get dressed and present to the world as a high-functioning human. I was lost on all fronts no doubt, but especially creatively.
“I’ve never been a prolific writer, but this period was especially wordless. Sad, listless and desperate, I began singing Bob Dylan songs as a way to have something to wake up for. Interpreting other people’s emotions is how I learned to sing and I’ve always enjoyed hearing Dylan’s songs from a female perspective. You can learn a lot about melody and feeling by the way a singer chooses to interpret someone else’s song. You can learn a lot about words by singing someone else’s. I’m very influenced by singers like Sandy Denny, Joan Baez, Billie Holiday, Sinead O’Connor. There’s an art to interpretation, and for me, these women are the masters. I’m as indebted to them on this record as I am to Bob Dylan.”
After four months apart, The Allman Betts Band will be together again in California for a very special, rare, full-band, livestream electric performance! Sunday, July 12 at 7pm Central / 8pm Eastern.
The Allman Betts band will be streaming live from the stage of the historic Belly Up in Solana Beach. Throughout the set, the band will play fan favorites, they’ll debut “Pale Horse Rider,” the second single from their forthcoming second full-length studio album Bless Your Heart (BMG) and they will also tip their hat to their father’s music. The stream will also feature a special guest appearance from Marc Ford (formerly of The Black Crowes) on the classic tune “Wiser Time.”
Special, exclusive-to-the-event T-shirts, will be available as well. This is a one-shot concert with no replays and won’t be available on platforms like YouTube afterwards. Once the concert is over, that’s all she wrote. Join The Allman Betts Band for their sweet California reunion and get your tickets today at NoCapshows.com.
“After four months off the band is so ready to be together and make music. NoCap is the new premier platform for live-stream entertainment. It’s super easy and sounds and looks top shelf. We are stoked to be together and share music again! Never miss a Sunday show!”
When The Allman Betts Band released Down to the River in June of 2019, the debut album represented not only the first time the group had recorded together but, in fact, the first time the seven-piece ensemble had ever played together. If Down to the River was the sound of the band’s combustible sparks igniting, then Bless Your Heart is their bonfire, built for the summer of 2020 and beyond; a double-album follow-up fueled by road-forged camaraderie and telepathic musical intensity, vibrantly reflecting the individual and collective experiences of these seven, all drawing inspiration from the band’s symbolic hometown- a place Devon Allman calls “the United States of Americana.”
A conflagration of influences and invention, confidence and ambition, Bless Your Heart captures a vast, panoramic scope throughout a baker’s dozen of modern rock. Ragged and stomping. Heady and frayed. Soaring and scorching. Generational and genteel. West Coast scenes and Gulf Coast shores. Gateways of the Midwest and swamplands of Florida. Wyoming’s Big Sky. New York’s Big Apple. Chicago’s Broad Shoulders.
Over a week’s time, they recorded 13 songs at the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studio on 2-inch tape, just as they did with Down to The River. In addition to the time in Muscle Shoals, Bless Your Heart saw additional tracking in Memphis and St. Louis. Within the eclectic repertoire are the familiar: stacks of guitars; electric, acoustic, and slide; a throttling, percussive rhythm section. And the fresh: Bassist and singer Berry Duane Oakley’s ABB vocal debut on his original song (“The Doctor’s Daughter”); Allman’s baritone vocal channeling Johnny Cash (“Much Obliged”); Betts extending the legendary family legacy of incendiary instrumentals (“Savannah’s Dream”). They tapped friends, as well, such as Jimmy Hall, Shannon McNally, Art Edmaiston, Susan Marshall, and Reba Russell for guest contributions. Then, emerged with an undeniable achievement of an album (what sophomore jinx?) worthy of its winking, unabashedly Southern title.
“I think we definitely challenged ourselves, pushed ourselves artistically, and widened the spectrum on all levels. We wanted something that was a little more sweeping. A deeper experience,” says Betts.
Says Allman, “I hope what people hear on Bless Your Heart is a band that’s having a love affair with being a band.”
Molly Tuttle has released her cover of Grateful Dead’s “Standing On The Moon.” The new song, which features Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes on background vocals, is joined by a hypnotizing companion visual and will appear on Tuttle’s forthcoming record, … but i’d rather be with you, available everywhere Friday, August 28 via Compass Records.
“I didn’t grow up listening to a lot of Grateful Dead music,” says Tuttle, “but being raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Dead was part of the mythology of my family and the area I grew up in (kind of how I imagine people who grew up in Tennessee where I live now might feel about Dolly Parton). Our specific family lore was that Jerry Garcia had gone to my high school (Palo Alto High) and my mom’s older sister, my Aunt Titia, knew them and used to take guitar lessons from Bob Weir in Menlo Park. That’s a roundabout way of explaining that this song means so much to me because it brings me back to my roots. Even though I love Nashville, sometimes I do feel like I’m standing on the moon wishing I were with my friends and family in San Francisco. The line, ‘A lovely view of heaven, but I’d rather be with you’ is my favorite and it’s why I named the album … but I’d rather be with you. Life is messy and imperfect but I’d rather be here in it with all of you!”
“One of the greatest feats as a musician, in my opinion, is taking a Grateful Dead song and creating a version of it that goes beyond the stigmatized identity of a ‘Dead Cover,’” says Goldsmith. “It’s hard to do and takes a lot of courage to make it happen. But Molly reached for that brass ring and then somehow even went beyond it. Her version has given the song new parameters, makes me feel new things, and surpasses any sort of referential quality and becomes Molly’s own song. I’m just happy I got to be one small part of bringing it to life.”
…but i’d rather be with you is a collection of 10 striking cover songs recorded during quarantine and produced with the help of Tony Berg (Phoebe Bridgers, Andrew Bird). In March 2020, the Nashville-based Tuttle experienced the devastating tornado that tore through much of East Nashville, followed by the global pandemic. While sheltering at home, she found solace by revisiting favorite songs in an attempt to “remind myself why I love music.” An idea for an album emerged, to be recorded with Los Angeles-based Berg despite being over two thousand miles apart.
Tuttle taught herself how to use Pro Tools and then recorded and engineered all of her parts alone at home before sending them to Berg. The renowned producer enlisted a number of legendary session musicians – including drummer Matt Chamberlain and keyboardist Patrick Warren – to add instrumentation from their respective home studios, with guest vocals contributed by Goldsmith as well as Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor. “This is how the astronauts do it!” Tuttle recalls Berg saying as they sent the files back and forth.
The result is a surprising and inventive collection of songs that cross the musical spectrum and the decades, from iconic artists spanning FKA Twigs to Cat Stevens, Rancid to Karen Dalton, all united by Tuttle’s clear, true voice, astonishing range, and incredible musicianship. With its remarkable scope and adventurous creativity, …but i’d rather be with you presents a further progression of Tuttle’s distinctive talent and musical ambition while hinting towards what is yet to come.
…but i’d rather be with you was heralded by her timely version of The National’s epic song “Fake Empire.” Tuttle made a compelling companion video that fiercely challenges the song’s fear of indifference and portrays a society that can no longer afford to be apathetic to the realities of our time. Both are available today.
“I am a huge fan of The National,” Tuttle says. “BOXER is probably my favorite album by them. This song has a super cool four-over-three polyrhythm throughout. The piano part is super fun on guitar if you can train your thumb to play in three and your index and middle fingers to play in four!”
“I have been working on writing for another original album and am still planning to record that this year,” Tuttle says, “but in the meantime I wanted to share these covers that have lifted my spirits, in hopes that you’ll find some much-needed joy as well.”
Minneapolis-born Cory Wong, best known for his funky guitar work and touring worldwide playing his original music on the biggest stages, is sharing a rarely heard side of his musical personality with the the release of TRAIL SONGS: DUSK, one of two albums set to come out this summer. TRAIL SONGS: DUSK is the quieter of the two, comprised of seven contemplative, acoustic-based tunes that he wrote while lockdown was descending upon the world. TRAIL SONGS: DUSK is available at all DSPs now. On August 7, Wong will release TRAIL SONGS: DAWN, which is a more rollicking affair, but still made on all acoustic instruments.
"I wanted to release two albums over the summer that reflect my personality on acoustic instruments," Wong says.
The beginning of lockdown was an emotional time for the guitarist and podcast host who found himself sitting still for the first time in a decade. The music that was to become TRAIL SONGS came pouring forth
"The last few years have been a wild ride with Vulfpeck blowing up, and my solo career taking off as well," continues Wong. "It’s been really fun, but it’s been at a constant high-speed pace. In March, when everything went into lockdown, it was the first time in a long time I was able to just clear the calendar for a few months and take a breath. It kind of felt like there were no rules for an artist's output…in a good sense. Some people needed time to just absorb everything going on, and others needed to express parts of their humanity through music. I am one of those artists who needed to express my feelings through writing and recording music, but more specifically, songs from sequester. I’ve never been in one place for this long in the last 10 years. It’s crazy, it’s different, but it’s in some ways exactly what i needed.
"The music I wrote for this album is nothing like the music I’ve put out before. It’s reflective and contemplative. It’s all acoustic music, recorded on acoustic instruments. I started by writing tunes on the guitar, and then added layers while mocking up demos. And then i sent the demos and scores out to my friends to replace the demo parts. It was really a magical thing to be able to bring some of my friends together to play music from around the world in a time where many of them felt isolated from any sense of community.
"This music is meant to be taken in and absorbed through the lens of the listener's self-reflection. Some people dream of taking a trip to the midwest to find a respite in nature to write. For me, I didn’t need to take a trip. I needed to stop taking trips! The midwest is home for me, and this album reminded me of that."
Officially announced earlier in the week, My Morning Jacket have released their new record, The Waterfall II, an unforeseen and timely continuation of a psychic and sonic journey begun long ago. The album was massively inspired by the band’s idyllic surroundings in Stinson Beach, CA — and a sense of charmed isolation that frontman Jim James likened to “living on our own little moon.” There, the Kentucky-bred five-piece ended up creating over two dozen songs at the mountaintop studio known as Panoramic House. Though they flirted with the idea of putting out what would have been a triple album, the band ultimately decided that less would be more at the time and divided the project into two halves, releasing the first segment as The Waterfall: a 2015 full-length that earned the band their third consecutive Best Alternative Rock Album Grammy Award nomination in a row (Evil Urges, Circuital, The Waterfall). The Waterfall II will be released on CD and vinyl on August 28. Pre-orders, including both standard and deluxe versions featuring 180-gram vinyl with Zoetrope labels in a gatefold foil jacket, are available now.
As James reveals, the decision to unearth The Waterfall II was sparked from a bit of serendipity in the early days of self-quarantine. While out on a walk, he placed his music library on shuffle and soon stumbled upon “Spinning My Wheels,” a tender rumination on the struggle for presence, its lyrics confessing to feeling “hypnotized from doing the same old thing.” Struck by the song’s enduring relevance, James revisited the other tracks reserved from the Panoramic House sessions and found that they invited a welcome moment of self-reflection—an outcome perhaps even more perfectly suited to the chaos of the current day than the circumstances of their recording.
Like its predecessor, The Waterfall II mines its mood of dreamy contemplation from certain heartbreak James had recently experienced, including the demise of a monumental relationship. Unfolding in a loosely threaded narrative of loss and recovery, the album conjures an indelible pain but never drifts into despair, gracefully conveying James’s message that “there is hope beyond the pain and loss, if you learn to flow with life like water.”
Even in its most heavy-hearted moments, The Waterfall II radiates an undeniable sense of wonder, a testament to the wild-mindedness that’s long imbued the music of My Morning Jacket. With their unabashed curiosity infinitely stirred by their time at Stinson Beach, the band hopes that the album might lead others to look beyond what’s human-made in the search for solace and renewal. “As so many of us feel out of tune and long for the world to be a better place, we have to look to nature and the animals and learn from them: learn to love, accept, move on, and respect each other,” says James. “We gotta work for it and change our ways before it’s too late, and get in harmony with love and equality for all of humanity and for nature too.”
My Morning Jacket will perform on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday July 15.
Ivan Neville joins award-winning guitarist/producer Eric Krasno on his special new podcast series. Presented by Osiris Media, ERIC KRASNO PLUS ONE sees the renowned musician hosting a one-of-a-kind interview series exploring the lives and work of some of his closest friends and musical collaborators.
In this episode, Kraz talks to Ivan Neville, a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist known for his work with his band, Dumpstaphunk, The Neville Brothers and The Rolling Stones. They talk about the history of his musical family and growing up in New Orleans surrounded by some of the greatest musicians alive. Ivan tells Kraz about being in the studio with The Stones and unexpectedly playing bass, his struggles to get sober, and how he’s adjusting during the pandemic.
At the end of the episode, you’ll hear “Justice,” by Dumpstaphunk.
Upcoming Episodes of Plus One include Billy Strings, Phil Lesh, Allen Stone, Don Was, and more.
This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And please check out the podcast Festival Circuit: New Orleans, a new podcast about the music of New Orleans and the jazz fest from Osiris Media.
Last night, My Morning Jacket performed "Spinning My Wheels" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The song is the first track on the band's new album, The Waterfall II, available now at all DSPs.
WATCH "SPINNING MY WHEELS" ON THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON
The Waterfall II will be released on CD and vinyl on August 28. Pre-orders, including both standard and deluxe versions featuring 180-gram vinyl with Zoetrope labels in a gatefold foil jacket, are available now.
The Waterfall II is an unforeseen and timely continuation of a psychic and sonic journey begun long ago. The album was massively inspired by the band’s idyllic surroundings in Stinson Beach, CA — and a sense of charmed isolation that frontman Jim James likened to “living on our own little moon.” There, the Kentucky-bred five-piece ended up creating over two dozen songs at the mountaintop studio known as Panoramic House. Though they flirted with the idea of putting out what would have been a triple album, the band ultimately decided that less would be more at the time and divided the project into two halves, releasing the first segment as The Waterfall: a 2015 full-length that earned the band their third consecutive Best Alternative Rock Album Grammy Award nomination in a row (Evil Urges, Circuital, The Waterfall).
The media response to the The Waterfall II has been stellar as the song "Feel You" is currently the #1 most added at AAA radio.
Singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright’s Unfollow The Rules already critically lauded, proves to be a commercial success too across the world with the album bowing at #8 on Billboard’s Americana/Folk Chart and #12 landing at on The Independent Album Chart. In the UK the album was the #8 physical album and #27 best-selling album.
The praise in the press for Unfollow The Rules has been global with the majority of the reviews being either 4 out of 5's or 9 out of 10's. In the US, NPR All Songs Considered's Robin Hilton calls the album, “Just extraordinary, just breathtaking...” and Pitchfork recognizes Rufus' work with, “an opulently crafted highlight reel, a career-spanning sampler of the singer’s many styles and guises.” In the UK's, CLASH gives the album a 9/10 calling it, "a timely reminder of everything that’s wonderful about Wainwright," while Mojo’s 4 star review says, “Unfollow The Rules showcases Wainwright’s skills in the highest definition.” And The Guardian raves, "a lush, engaging study in domestic bliss."
This past Saturday, Rufus brought the Joni Mitchell-inspired “Damsel In Distress,” “Devils and Angels (Hatred)” and the title song “Unfollow The Rules” to the highly rated and influential CBS This Morning Saturday Sessions which can be viewed below:
Rufus also shares the video for “Devils and Angels (Hatred)” which was directed by the singer’s husband/co manager Jorn Weisbrodt with costumes by renown designer Zaldy.
Twenty years ago, Joe Bonamassa took the music world by storm when he released his debut solo album A New Day Yesterday, though he’d already been on the scene for years as a child prodigy and even opened for B.B. King at the age of 12. The album launched a career that, two decades later, has seen Bonamassa rise to the top of his field with most recently being named Guitar World’s #1 blues guitarist in the world. On August 7th, via J&R Adventures, Bonamassa will release a revamped version of his debut album complete with new vocals and mixing, remastered by long-time producer Kevin Shirley. Today, the blues-rock titan shares his latest single "Colour and Shape," a rock classic with Bonamassa's signature style even more evolved on the new edition. Fans can pre-order the album now at https://joeb.me/2Z8L5Iz.
“The reason we went back and remixed it, and re-sang it, and pulled from the original masters was because I never felt like I deserved a guy like Tom Dowd to produce my first album,” Joe explains. “I was an infant as far as being an artist. Tom saw a little pebble in a stream, that could travel down and eventually become this nugget of gold, if you want to call it that, and he had a vision for me that I didn’t see. I appreciate that and I wanted to pay tribute to him as a man who mentored me through that time. I hope you guys enjoy it.”
Kevin Shirley adds, “as time has gone by, Joe’s vocal style, particularly, has changed enormously. He’s grown from an adolescent shouter to a very mature and soulful singer. From early on in our working relationship, Joe has mentioned that he would really like to have another shot at those vocals, and asked that if he did redo them, would I remix his first solo album.”
When A New Day Yesterday was initially released, Chuck Taylor of Billboard was an early supporter, praising Bonamassa as "a bold talent, who rises above narrow radio formatics.” The album includes six original tracks written by Bonamassa, along with six cover songs from historically renowned blues and rock artists. In addition, Shirley notes, “added to this album are three bonus songs which Stevie Van Zandt produced for Joe. They’re a terrific look at where Joe was coming from, what he was looking for and how he has developed over the years.” The bonus tracks are unreleased demos from a 1997 studio session before Joe had any record deals. They have never been heard before and come from a time when Zandt was Bonamassa’s biggest cheerleader in the industry.
Now, even as Bonamassa continues to release new music from his recordings at Abbey Road Studios, including the ballad “When One Door Opens,” he takes a moment to shine light on the album that started it all. A New Day Now is a chance for the icon to revisit his past and revitalize the indelible anthology with his years of experience and artistry.
Be sure to tune in to Bonamassa on his weekly radio show “Different Shades Of Blue” on Sirius XM’s Bluesville channel, as well as his new at-home series “Live From Nerdville” on Facebook and YouTube. Catch up on recent episodes with Neal Schon of Journey, John Oates of Hall & Oates, Walter Trout, Paul Stanley of Kiss, Mitch Lafon, Keb’ Mo’ and esteemed singer-songwriter Dion. On June 5, Bonamassa released music icon Dion’s critically-acclaimed new album Blues With Friends on he and his Manager Roy Weisman’s new label Keeping The Blues Alive Records and Dion’s first single “Blues Comin’ On” also features Bonamassa on slide guitar.
To keep up with everything Bonamassa, visit jbonamassa.com, and be sure to stay connected on social media.
Billy Strings, who has been hailed as the future of bluegrass, transcending tradition and genre with his high velocity, flat-picking guitar technique and intense, confessional songwriting, will continue his ambitious live streaming/virtual touring project "STREAMING STRINGS 2020" which kicked off on July 16 at Nashville's Brooklyn Bowl. In its entirety, the tour will span across five iconic Nashville venues totaling nine live-streamed shows. So far, each show has had special guest appearances including Marcus King, Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull, and Bryan Sutton.
Earlier this year Strings received a round of award nominations from the International Bluegrass Music Association as well as the Americana Music Association. Four IBMA nominations include Entertainer of the Year and Album of the Year, Instrumental Recording of the Year, and Guitar Player of the Year. AMA nominated Strings for Emerging Act of the Year.
STREAMING STRINGS 2020 TOUR DATES
Thu - 7/16/20 Brooklyn Bowl (Streamed live via FANS) - special guest Marcus King
Fri - 7/17/20 Brooklyn Bowl (Streamed live via FANS) - special guest Molly Tuttle
Sat - 7/18/20 Station Inn (Streamed live via Station Inn TV) - special guest Sierra Hull
Sun - 7/19/20 Station Inn (Streamed live via Station Inn TV) - special guest Bryan Sutton
Wed - 7/22/20 City Winery (Streamed live via Nugs TV)
Thu - 7/23/20 City Winery (Streamed live via Nugs TV)
Fri - 7/24/20 Exit/In (Streamed live via TourGigs)
Sat - 7/25/20 Exit/In (Streamed live via TourGigs)
Sun -7/26/20 3rd & Lindsley (Streamed live via Nugs TV)
Billy Strings aims to create a shared experience for fans around the world with the STREAMING STRINGS 2020 TOUR and hopes that the joys of music, community, and connection will continue to thrive, even amid trying times.
Veteran American rockers Dawes have announced the release of their extraordinary new album. The Los Angeles-based band’s seventh studio LP, GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER arrives via Rounder Records on Friday, October 2; pre-orders are available now. Produced by 6x GRAMMY® Award-winner Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit) at Nashville’s famed RCA Studio A, GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER is heralded by today’s premiere of “Who Do You Think You’re Talking To?,” available now at all DSPs and streaming services. The high-spirited track is joined by an official companion video, streaming now at the official Dawes YouTube channel.
GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER – which marks Dawes’ first release on their new label, Rounder Records – follows a series of acclaimed self-released albums including 2013’s STORIES DON’T END, 2015’s ALL YOUR FAVORITE BANDS, 2016’s WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE, and 2018’s PASSWORDS, all of which reached the top 10 or higher on Billboard’s “Top Rock Albums” and “Americana/Folk Albums” charts.
From its first downbeat, the new LP sees Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith grappling with the expectations of adulthood on a remarkable cycle of new songs fueled by many of the same elements that first earned the band worldwide attention and applause – graceful melodies with kinetic riffs and intricate musical interplay. Throughout the album, Dawes once again prove incredibly adept at pushing the emotional limits of the classically structured rock song, a testament to their tightly honed yet imaginative musicianship and the gripping specificity of Goldsmith’s songwriting. A culmination of their entire catalogue and decade-long career all wrapped up in nine glorious tracks, GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER reclaims the rugged urgency and easy confidence of Dawes’ early work while tapping into the veteran band’s intense musical connection more effectively than ever before.
“In the past, I’ve definitely been more precious about the way I wanted the songs to sound, but that’s never as fun,” Taylor Goldsmith says. “The music we make is everyone’s mode of expression, and the other guys all have chops that I don’t have and never will. The fact that we’re able to lean on each other and celebrate each other as individuals just makes us so much more excited about getting to play together in this band.”
GRAMMY®-Award-winning guitar virtuosos Rodrigo y Gabriela have announced the upcoming release of METTAVOLUTION LIVE, an all-new double album recorded during last year’s METTAVOLUTION World Tour. The 13-track collection arrives as a 2LP, 2CD, and digital download via Rubyworks/ATO on Friday October 2; pre-orders are available now.
“Hearing this recording is to be able to reconnect with our marvelous fans from our live gigs during 2019,” say Rodrigo y Gabriela, “the year we got to promote our METTAVOLUTION album all over the world. That was the very moment we felt truly complete as artists and musicians.”
METTAVOLUTION LIVE is heralded by today’s premiere of an awe-inspiring, 20-minute-plus live version of Pink Floyd’s epic “Echoes,” audaciously reimagined for two acoustic guitars and streaming now.
The release of METTAVOLUTION LIVE comes in the wake of a deeply creative period that Rod and Gab are continuing to experience in these pandemic days at home in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. One of the world’s most in-demand live acts, the duo had planned to spend this summer celebrating METTAVOLUTION and their historic GRAMMY® Award triumph with an eagerly awaited world tour. Instead, they performed an extremely popular NPR Tiny Desk (Home) performance in April, and have been releasing their daily Lumbini Sessions with inspired live versions of their favorite metal songs, film themes, jazz tunes, RyG album cuts as well as covers of Motorhead, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Dave Brubeck, Van Morrison, Lil Nas X, Radiohead and more.
2019 proved a milestone year for Rodrigo y Gabriela, highlighted by the release of their GRAMMY® Award-winning new album, METTAVOLUTION (ATO). The duo’s fifth studio LP and first album in five years, METTAVOLUTION made a spectacular chart debut upon its April 2019 release, entering Billboard’s “Americana/Folk Albums” chart at #1 with first week equivalents in excess of 11,000 – Rodrigo y Gabriela’s second best sales week ever. In addition, the album arrived at #2 on Billboard’s “Rock Albums,” as well as #10 on “Top Album Sales” and #71 on the overall SoundScan/Billboard 200.
Hailed by Pitchfork as “fast, heavy, and relentlessly precise,” METTAVOLUTION ultimately earned Rodrigo y Gabriela their first-ever GRAMMY® nomination and first-ever GRAMMY® win for “Best Contemporary Instrumental Album.” Rodrigo y Gabriela celebrated the album with a truly global 92-city work tour, performing METTAVOLUTION in its entirety each night alongside fan favorites and classic pieces from their beloved original canon. As now captured on METTAVOLUTION LIVE, the shows saw the virtuoso duo operating at the very peak of their powers, the perfect balance of melody and metal, fire and finesse, honed over two decades of musical collaboration.
Indeed, the new album stands out as some of the most powerful music of Rodrigo y Gabriela’s remarkable career, including spectacular live versions of METTAVOLUTION’s crunching “Terracentric” and propulsive title track. The duo’s third official live release, METTAVOLUTION LIVE is further driven by breathtaking performances of such longtime concert favorites as “Diablo Rojo,” “11:11,” and “Tamacun,” offering ample evidence of Rodrigo y Gabriela’s staging virtuosity and dedicated commitment to using music as a positive force for healing and inspiration in trying times.
With career album sales now in excess of 1.5 million worldwide, Rodrigo y Gabriela have undoubtedly established themselves as the planet’s preeminent acoustic guitar duo, earning international acclaim and a fervent fan following with their awe-inspiring mastery of their instruments as well as a truly distinctive approach to melody, energy, and rhythm. Three years in the making, METTAVOLUTION embraces the duo’s passionate interest in Buddhism, the history of human evolution, and the liberation of the potential we have as a species, all expressed through the medium of two acoustic guitars. Conceived and composed in their studio in Ixtapa on the Mexican Pacific Coast, the album’s music - including six white-hot new compositions and an inspired, side-long cover of Pink Floyd’s sprawling “Echoes” – was road-tested around the world on tour in 2017 and 2018 before being recorded in Los Angeles with multiple GRAMMY®-winning producer Dave Sardy (Oasis, LCD Soundsystem, A Perfect Circle, Band of Horses) behind the board.
Along with its popular success and GRAMMY® Award win, METTAVOLUTION also drew a wide range of critical acclaim, with Pitchfork writing, “METTAVOLUTION reassures that for as long as they’re around, Rodrigo y Gabriela will be echoing their influences as only they can.” “For Rodrigo y Gabriela, the meditation is actually in the swirl of notes and rhythmic strums that circle around their music,” wrote NPR. “And if we follow their lead, there is a meditative quality for the listener as well.” “METTAVOLUTION finds the duo locked back in,” wrote Glide, “and where their last record was dedicated to their influences, this time it is all about the visceral primal passion of playing and what originally connected them to music.” “Rodrigo y Gabriela continue to impress with their ability to shift through a variety of Latin, folk and rock styles without ever taking the easy routes,” noted Uncut, while AllMusic’s Thom Jurek applauded “the abundant originality and soul R&G bring to everything they play,” adding, “METTAVOLUTION is the Rodrigo y Gabriela record where all of their gifts are on display and in sync; it sends listeners on a holistic journey of musical discovery and emotional resonance.”
Mondo Cozmo – the chart-topping brainchild of alternative singer-songwriter Josh Ostrander – shares a new video for his track “Kicks (Positively Montauk)” from latest album NEW MEDICINE. Along with the release of the new video, Josh himself will be going live on Instagram today, Friday, July 24, 2020, to chat with fans, discuss the new video, the physical release of New Medicine including CDs and vinyl, and play some songs as well. New Medicine is available on all streaming platforms and now physically available on CD and LP.
The video for “Kicks (Positively Montauk)” cost zero dollars to make, primarily made on Josh’s phone with an app to create animated graphics and comprised of parts shot by each musician individually during the quarantine. “There are some [Bob] Dylan Easter eggs in the song and video; the ‘positively’ in the title was a lift from one of his tunes, the female I reference in the song is ‘Sweet Marie’, also a Dylan tune. I asked Drew to write Love Bomb on his chest for the video, when Dylan performed at the 98 Grammys a protestor stormed the stage with “Soy Bomb” written on his chest,” shares Josh.
Mondo Cozmo’s latest album, NEW MEDICINE features highlights “Come On,” “Black Cadillac,” “Generator,” which was recently featured on ABC’s hit drama, The Good Doctor and his latest single “Upside Down.” Each video is joined by cinematic companion videos streaming now via his official YouTube channel HERE. Along with the album release, a live performance of “Upside Down” has been shared by the band, watch HERE.
ABOUT MONDO COZMO:
Known for his work as producer, singer-songwriter, and bandleader, the Philadelphia-born and Los Angeles-based Ostrander unveiled Mondo Cozmo in 2017 and immediately proved a sensation with the project’s ecstatic debut single, “Shine.” The track fast ascended to #1 on Triple A charts nationwide, instantly propelling Mondo Cozmo into the pop spotlight. Tours alongside such like-minded artists as Bastille, Spoon, Vance Joy and The Revivalists followed, as did show-stealing performances at top festivals like Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza and a high profile network TV debut performance of “Shine” on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! (streaming HERE).
PLASTIC SOUL arrived that same year and was greeted by worldwide critical acclaim, with The Guardian hailing the collection in a four-starred rave as “wonderfully infectious, with echoes of Spiritualized (the euphoric ‘Shine’), Bob Dylan’s vocal delivery (most notably on ‘Hold On To Me’) and ACHTUNG BABY-era U2 (‘Higher’), all while retaining a strong thread of individuality. Throughout, there’s a maximalist joy at play, ideas tumbling over one another, reaching their apotheosis on the bombastic and emotionally draining ‘Thunder.’” “An endearing listen with a strikingly eclectic production,” declared CLASH. “Ostrander delivers off-kilter pop bursting with colour.” PerhapsThe Independent said it best: “There's a pure energy that courses through the record…PLASTIC SOUL is superb.”
The Rex Foundation and The Jerry Garcia Family have announced that they will bring a cherished tradition to the virtual sphere for the first time with Daze Between. The inaugural livestream will feature nine days of exclusive musical performances and storytelling to celebrate the life and legacy of Jerry Garcia. The event marks 25 years since Garcia's passing and will run from August 1-9, 2020. Proceeds will benefit the Rex Foundation, a nonprofit organization created by Grateful Dead in 1984.
Daze Between is designed to be a community-wide celebration encompassing a variety of platforms and partners including Live From Out There/11Eleven Group, DayGlo Ventures/Relix, Jerry Garcia Estate, Activist Management, Nugs.net, level, KEEN and Teton Gravity Research. Content will be streamed live across Nugs.net, Fans.com, Facebook, YouTube, and other channels, with a home base on www.dazebetween.com. Throughout the week, fans will have the option to donate to the Rex Foundation using text-to-give or payment options embedded within each streaming platform.
Daze Between will feature performances by: Grateful Dead, Dead & Company, Bob Weir & The Campfire Band, The Jerry Garcia 75th Birthday Band, The Jerry Garcia 75th Birthday Acoustic Band, as well as a screening of Move Me Brightly, featuring Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Jeff Chimenti, Donna Jean Godchaux, Neal Casal, Joe Russo, Jon Graboff, Mike Gordon, Jim Lauderdale, Adam McDougall, Jason Roberts, Harper Simon, Josh Kaufman, Sam Cohen, Jonathan Wilson, Cass McCombs, Chris Tomson, Craig Finn, and Tad Kubler.
Additionally, Daze Between will feature new and archival performances as well as storytelling from artists including: ALO, Andy Thorn, Amigo the Devil, Amos Lee, Circles Around The Sun, Dark Star Orchestra, David Grisman, Del McCoury Band, Della Mae, From Good Homes, Fruition, Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad, Graham Nash, Greensky Bluegrass, Greg Errico, Hiss Golden Messenger, Hot Tuna, Jackie Greene, Jason Crosby, Katie Skene, Keller Williams, Kitchen Dwellers, Leslie Mendelson, Lettuce ft. Melvin Seals, Marco Benevento, Midnight North, Molly Tuttle, Nicki Bluhm, Peter Rowan, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Railroad Earth, Roots of Creation, Ross James, Sandy Rothman, Seth Walker, Scott Law, Tejon Street Corner Thieves, The Infamous Stringdusters, The Record Company, Travelin' McCourys, Twiddle, Tyler Grant & Lindsay Lou, Yonder Mountain String Band with more to be announced.
Kicking off the nine-day event, Fans.com will present Rock My Soul, a day-long celebration of Jerry Garcia's birthday on August 1st, 2020 presented by KEEN Footwear.
In traditional Dead-culture fashion, Daze Between will extend beyond the music itself and will feature an online auction of iconic Grateful Dead memorabilia including a guitar signed by Bob Weir, copies of Jay Blakesberg’s books of photography, a complete set of Jerry Garcia-inspired posters by Chuck Sperry and more. Additionally, Teton Gravity Research will run their short film, Fire on the Mountain, which finds a cast of some of the world’s best athletes on an improvisational journey of skiing, snowboarding, surfing, and music, complete with a soundtrack comprised of only Grateful Dead music.
Complete event schedule to be released on Friday, July 31.
About The Rex Foundation:
From their earliest days, Grateful Dead received countless requests for help from community organizations. The band became known for their generosity and their numerous benefit concerts. In 1984, members of the band, with family and friends, established the Rex Foundation as a non-profit charitable organization, allowing the band to proactively support creative endeavors in the arts, sciences, and education. Rex identifies those who are out there doing good work, those who might be overlooked, those who are trying to make a difference in their communities, and then provides the funding those people need to carry out their missions.
“The idea of setting up a foundation where we would perform however many times a year seemed comfortable. Rex was the name of one of our roadies who died an untimely death in the 70’s and he was one of our favorite guys. It was the sort of idea he would have loved.”
- Jerry Garcia
“We found ourselves in the dilemma of not having the time to do enough benefits for the things that we were interested in supporting or helping, or any good cause that presented itself. The people that come to ask their local rock and roll band for help are the forgotten people, believe me. If you have to call the Grateful Dead for assistance, you’re definitely falling between the cracks. It’s a matter of conscience. If you feel like you like to do things that help and that it isn’t particularly difficult to do so, it’s a matter of choices. So that’s why we started the Rex Foundation.”
The Allman Betts Band are releasing the second single “Pale Horse Rider” from their sophomore full-length studio album Bless Your Heart, out Aug 28 via BMG. Rolling Stone Country exclusively premiered the track earlier this week. Listen to “Pale Horse Rider” HERE.
“‘Pale Horse Rider’ was a really fun one to write,” Devon Allman, told Rolling Stone Country, “Duane had this almost vertigo-inducing descending melodic pattern that was so unique. Once I started the lyric about a man feeling so lost and isolated with the world out to get him, the story just kind of wrote itself. The Wild West seemed like the perfect to setting to tell the tale.”
“It felt so satisfying to capture that beautiful entanglement of guitars. And, with Devon's haunting story, it's a new texture of our band that we get to showcase on this record. We're really excited to share it with everyone,” added Duane Betts.
"Pale Horse Rider" follows the release of “Magnolia Road.”
“Magnolia Road” is the tie-dyed contender for summer festival favorite. A semi-autobiographical lyric shared by Betts and Allman, ironically this is the only song on the album with band collaborator Stoll Vaughan as its sole author. Vaughan wrote the song alone, though namechecking detailed parts of Betts’ and Allman’s life, respectively. Musically evokes the group’s affection for The Band and the Grateful Dead.
The Allman Betts Band are thrilled to announce that will be making their national television debut on CBS This Morning tomorrow, July 25 at 7AM EDT / 4AM PDT. Click HERE for local listings
Blues icon Joe Bonamassa is back with another single from his studio recordings at the legendary Abbey Road Studio in London. ‘Why Does It Take So Long To Say Goodbye’ arrives on J&R Adventures, along with a special music video showing him in the studio recording the track. The track was co-written with legendary ‘Whitesnake’ guitarist Bernie Marsden.
Talking about the song Joe says: “I wrote ‘Why Does It Take So Long To Say Goodbye’ about a previous relationship that I was in. We were together for five years, and we held on until the very last day. We fought for it, and fought for it, and we finally figured out it just wasn’t going to work. So that song was very autobiographical. It’s hard to write that way, I’ve always found. But my best songs are like that. Bernie Marsden and I wrote that song together. He has a great way of harmonically putting chords together, and the music has his stamp all over it. I just have to ask him, ‘What would the British do?’ And then, it’s got that big, heavy, Gary Moore-sounding riff in the solo section.”
In addition to ‘Why Does It Take So Long To Say Goodbye’, so far Bonamassa shared two other tracks from the Abbey Road Studio recordings, the surprise single ‘A Conversation With Alice’ and the epic rock ballad ‘When One Door Opens.’
The Abbey Road Studio recordings follows Bonamassa’s recent instrumental side project called The Sleep Eazys, who released their critically-acclaimed debut album, Easy To Buy, Hard To Sell, early last month. The album, which the Associated Press touted as making “instrumental dreams,” was produced by Bonamassa and features some of his frequent collaborators, along with his all-star touring band. The Sleep Eazys project is Joe’s second time in the studio as a producer, after Reese Wynans’ long-awaited debut solo album Sweet Release.
Fans and critics alike will have to keep their eyes peeled for more music and surprises from America’s favorite blues-rock artist. In the meantime, Joe is still cranking out weekly programming for Sirius XM’s Bluesville channel for his radio show “Different Shades Of Blue.” Also, while in quarantine Bonamassa has taken to social media to give a special behind-the-scenes look at his “Nerdville” home in California. This week, Bonamassa kicked off a new at-home series “Live From Nerdville” on his Facebook page, with the first episode featuring esteemed singer-songwriter Dion. Bonamassa is releasing Dion’s new album Blues With Friends on the new label Keeping The Blues Alive Records and Dion’s first single “Blues Comin’ On” features Bonamassa.
In prior months, Bonamassa was touring relentlessly, up until coronavirus took its hold on the music industry, stopping him just short of a few final dates on his spring tour in the U.S. To battle the tough times brought on by COVID-19, Bonamassa’s non-profit Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation (KTBA) is providing financial support to qualifying touring musicians who are suffering financial hardship and whose careers have been put on hold. The program, called Fueling Musicians, is an emergency relief program designed to support musicians by providing immediate cash payments for essential living expenses of $1,000, as well as pre-paid gas cards of $500 to help them stay afloat and get back on the road again when it is safe. With $178,000 raised to date, Bonamassa quickly surpassed the original goal of $100,00 and has since increased his goal to $250,000. “The more money raised, the more musicians that will receive funding to help them get through these challenging times and ultimately back onto the road when the time is right,” Bonamassa says. On Sunday, May 31st at 3PM ET he will premiere an online stream-a-thon benefit for the program, featuring four hours of music performances from over 45 musicians including some legendary friends and talented rising stars. Learn more at https://joeb.me/StreamAThon. Individuals or organizations interested in helping Joe support this program should go the Keeping the Blues Alive website, ktba.org or ktba.org/fueling-musicians.
For more information on “Why Does It Take So Long To Say Goodbye,” and other Bonamassa news, visit jbonamassa.com, and be sure to stay connected on social media.
Don Was joins award-winning guitarist/producer Eric Krasno on his special new podcast series. Presented by Osiris Media, ERIC KRASNO PLUS ONE sees the renowned musician hosting a one-of-a-kind interview series exploring the lives and work of some of his closest friends and musical collaborators.
In this episode, Krasno talks with Grammy-winning producer turned record executive Don Was. After decades of recording with Bonnie Raitt, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and others, Was accepted his first "real job" when he succeeded the legendary Bruce Lundvall as President of Blue Note Records.
Was and Krasno discuss how they balance analog and digital methods when recording with younger artists, the influence of Detroit's jazz and Motown scene on Was as a kid, the spiritual experience of performing Grateful Dead songs with the original members (which Was does as part of Bob Weir's The Wolf Brothers), and a lot more.
Upcoming episodes of Plus One include Phil Lesh, Allen Stone, Nigel Hall, and more.
This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And check out the podcast Festival Circuit: New Orleans, a new podcast about the music of New Orleans and the Jazz Fest from Osiris Media.
About Eric Krasno:
For nearly two decades, Krasno has been an omnipresent figure in popular music, from his virtuosic, innovative guitar playing with Soulive and Lettuce (both of which he co-founded) to his GRAMMY® Award-winning work as a producer and songwriter for artists like Norah Jones, Tedeschi Trucks, 50 Cent, Talib Kweli, Aaron Neville, and Allen Stone, to name but a few. As if that weren’t enough, the New York-based artist has proven an invaluable session player and touring musician alongside the likes of the Rolling Stones, Dave Mathews Band, John Mayer, Oteil & Friends, and The Roots.
Along with their work together on stage and in the studio, Krasno has spent countless hours sharing stories with these incredible artists and these intimate moments have become some of his most cherished memories. ERIC KRASNO PLUS ONE now allows fans everywhere to join behind-the-scenes conversations, with topics spanning early inspirations to discussions about the state of the music industry, the challenges of life on the road, and much more. For music, upcoming tour dates, and additional information, please visit www.erickrasno.com.
Eric Krasno Plus One is presented by Osiris Media. All original music by Eric Krasno. Executive Producers are RJ Bee and Christina Collins. Audio Production by Matt Dwyer. Produced by Ben Baruch of 11E1even Group.
Kitchen Dwellers have recently announced "Live From The Cabin,” a two-night live streaming concert taking place July 31 and Aug 1 airing live each night at 9 PM EST. The special shows will be broadcast to the world from the Bridger Mountains in Montana right outside of the Kitchen Dwellers' home base of Bozeman. The band will also play a special set exploring the music of Pink Floyd.
The livestream will be available for free to all fans via the band’s Facebook page.
The band has also recently announced the second installment of their “Reheated” series. Reheated, Vol. 2 is a three-song EP comprised of Pink Floyd covers - interpreted by Kitchen Dwellers through their eclectic and expansive approach to Bluegrass music. “Pigs (Three Different Ones)" and “Hey You” are available now on all DSPs.
Kitchen Dwellers launched their Reheated series in 2018 with Vol. 1, a four-song EP that reimagined songs from The Band.
"Reheated started out as a way to play the music of some of our favorite bands while putting our own twist on it. We draw influences from all kinds of styles and types of genres, so diving into somebody else's work is fun for us. It creates its own set of challenges and we tend to incorporate some of the things we learn along the way into our own songs and playing. For the first volume, we released songs from The Band. We love their approach to songwriting and singing so we really had a lot of fun with that one, " said Max Davies (guitar/vocals).
Davies continues, "After many rounds of debate, we ultimately chose to do Pink Floyd for the second volume. Throughout their long career, they have been so inventive and experimental. As a kid, I used to think the band members of Pink Floyd wore lab coats and twisted nobs to make their music. Their songs also pose big questions about life and have the ability to make you think from different perspectives. We chose one song from three of their most influential albums; Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall. All songs were recorded and mixed with Colin Bricker at Mighty Fine Productions in Denver, CO. We tried to recreate some of the iconic sounds that Pink Floyd managed to produce in the studio, this time, with acoustic instruments. Every single instrument track was recorded on one of our four instruments except for one, so we really had to work on getting it right. This release has been highly anticipated for us and It's with great excitement that we can put this out into the world."
About the Kitchen Dwellers:
“This all started as a series of jam sessions in the kitchen,” says Joe Funk, bassist for the breakout progressive bluegrass band Kitchen Dwellers. “We were getting together to play covers and traditional music and old-time tunes for fun after school, and everything else just evolved from there.”
For Kitchen Dwellers, "everything else,” as Funk so modestly puts it, has been nothing short of remarkable. In the near-decade they’ve been together, the Montana-based four-piece has performed for thousands at Red Rocks, shared bills with the likes of Railroad Earth, The Infamous Stringdusters, and Twiddle, graced festival stages from Northwest String Summit to WinterWonderGrass, and transcended traditional genre boundaries, blending virtuosic bluegrass wizardry with ecstatic rock and roll energy and adventurous psychedelia.
“Don’t Walk Away” heralds the arrival of Cincinnati quartet The Heavy Hours. The extraordinary song was co-written with Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach and produced by Simone Felice (The Lumineers, Jade Bird, Matt Maeson) and produced and mixed by David Baron in the Catskill Mountains. The song, released through S-Curve/BMG, is available for streaming and download here.
A companion video was premiered earlier today through the UK music site Clash, and can be viewed here.
“Don’t Walk Away” provides an ideal glimpse into the band’s particular magic, fusing epic hooks, affecting lyricism, and indelible melody with studio invention and timeless pop smarts. The four friends at the core of the Heavy Hours have been collaborating in some sense since high school, united by a shared passion for a wide range of sounds, from alternative rock and contemplative folk, to radio-friendly rock ‘n’ roll. While playing together in previous incarnations, the band proved local favorites, earning acclaim for their engaging live performances.
Adopting the band’s name from a line in William Butler Yeats’ Autobiographies, The Heavy Hours emerged, eager to explore a long-standing fascination with time-honored songwriting and production. Their music soon made its way to Dan Auerbach, who invited his fellow Ohioans to visit his Easy Eye Sound headquarters in Nashville for a few days of collaborative songwriting. The sessions were both productive and a revelation, inspiring the band to strip away some of their previous artifice in order to touch a more universal chord. Armed with a cache of new songs and innumerable ideas, The Heavy Hours traveled to rural Catskills in New York state, to record under the aegis of producer Simone Felice. The winter sessions proved incredibly fruitful, yielding a collection of distinctive new music that serves as an undeniable milestone on The Heavy Hours’ ongoing creative journey.
Having found their voice, The Heavy Hours are now fully focused on the future, determined to develop and expand the parameters of their intrepid sound and vision. Indeed, the band’s musical capacity seemingly grows more adventurous with each passing day. Brimming with self-assurance, creative ambition, and infinite artistry, The Heavy Hours are set to take on the world.
Trey Anastasio will release his new album, Lonely Trip, tomorrow, July 31, on his own Rubber Jungle Records. The songs that make up Lonely Trip were written and recorded during lockdown at his home in New York City. Anastasio initially released the Lonely Trip songs as they were finished via his Instagram. All of the songs have been remixed by longtime Anastasio studio collaborator Bryce Goggin. Fans can hear the album in its entirety tonight at 8pm ET on SiriusXM’s Phish Radio. The video for the song “...And Flew Away” was released yesterday and is available now via YouTube.
Anastasio wrote about the making of Lonely Trip below:
Lonely Trip was conceived and recorded in isolation at my home studio (aka Rubber Jungle) during the peak of New York City’s COVID-19 crisis, March -- July, 2020. When the lockdown began, I had by chance just completed a weekend songwriting session with my friends and longtime collaborators Tom Marshall and Scott Herman. That session took place March 13th and 14th just as the crisis was beginning in New York, so the themes of fear and isolation were already finding their way into those first songs. By the time I arrived home, the situation in NYC had gotten much worse.
Knowing I wasn’t going to be leaving my apartment for a while, I started working. It felt therapeutic to write. I wanted to connect with our community in some way. The unplanned nature of the recording meant I didn’t have a lot of gear during this process. I had an electric and an acoustic guitar, a small amp, two microphones, some percussion, and two keyboards, including an old Kurzweil with very realistic drum sounds on it. Everything was recorded through a Spire 8-track. Lonely Trip is truly a raw, low-fi recording.
The process of writing songs became a reflective and healing experience. Being able to share these songs instantly with our community via Instagram felt equally profound. It harkened back to my youth, before there was a Phish, when I would write songs and home-record them specifically with the intention of sharing them with my circle of friends via cassette four-track recordings.
As the weeks went by, I worked on improving my recording techniques. I called recording engineers including Ben Collette and Vance Powell to get tips on microphone placement, and I purchased a bass guitar online. I also started tapping into a Dropbox folder with about 30 four-minute drum sequences that I had recorded with Jon Fishman over the last year.
For the previous few Phish albums (including Kasvot Växt and Sigma Oasis), I had been experimenting with writing songs, starting with drum beats that I had sung into my phone. Fish and I would go into the studio and record the beats exactly as I had sung them, with Fish launching off in his unique way after a minute or two. I used these beats as building blocks to many of the songs on Lonely Trip, and it explains how I could do a whole album in Rubber Jungle with such good sounding drums. Thank you Fish!
The album was ultimately mixed by my friend Bryce Goggin, and as always, Bryce’s mixes sound incredible. Thank you Bryce!
Lonely Trip was my message in a bottle during this time, and I wish I knew how to properly thank all of you in our community for listening and responding. It meant so much to me. Thank you. Wishing all of you much love and safety during this turbulent time.
This album is dedicated to the heroism of our healthcare and essential workers.
Today Robert Plant shares the first of three previously unreleased songs from his upcoming career-spanning new 2-CD set DIGGING DEEP. “Charlie Patton Highway (Turn It Up – Part 1),” taken from the soon-to-be-released album Band of Joy Volume 2, is available now at all digital service providers. The limited edition collection – also available for streaming and digital download – gathers 30 extraordinary songs spanning four decades, including three previously unreleased new tracks. DIGGING DEEP will be available worldwide via Plant’s own Es Paranza label on Friday, October 2.
“I spent time in the hill country of north Mississippi around Como, dropping back to Clarksdale, the incredible center of black music talent over the years,” said Plant. “I weaved my car through the Delta back roads, listening to the remarkable protestations of Mississippi AM radio. I was looking at my world and my times from this unfamiliar place and found myself exposed to a nightmare world of half-truths.”
LISTEN TO "CHARLIE PATTON HIGHWAY (TURN IT UP - PART 1)"
DIGGING DEEP showcases landmark tracks from each of the 8x GRAMMY® Award-winner’s 11 masterful solo albums, including a number of songs featured on Digging Deep with Robert Plant. Highlights include the #1 rock hit, “Hurting Kind,” and the GRAMMY® Award-nominated “Shine It All Around,” alongside three previously unreleased exclusives. Included besides “Charlie Patton Highway (Turn It Up part 1)” will be “Nothing Takes the Place of You” (written by New Orleans musician Toussaint McCall and recorded for the acclaimed 2013 film, Winter In The Blood), as well as a spectacular duet rendition of Charley Feathers’ rockabilly classic, “Too Much Alike” featuring Patty Griffin.
Plant is accompanied throughout DIGGING DEEP by a truly remarkable lineup of musicians, including Jimmy Page, Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin, Phil Collins, Nigel Kennedy, Richard Thompson, and his brothers, Strange Sensation/ The Sensational Space Shifters.
The DIGGING DEEP anthology was originally announced earlier this week as it heralded the premiere episode of the third season of Plant’s acclaimed podcast, Digging Deep with Robert Plant. Five brand new episodes will premiere every two weeks, all recorded earlier this year with BBC 6 Music’s Matt Everitt before a live audience at London’s Rough Trade East.
Robert Plant’s music is the result of a lifetime of journeys exploring the music from the welsh borders to the Sahara and from Nashville to the misty mountains. The influences and friends collected along the way can be heard in his songs. Digging Deep with Robert Plant finds him delving into his back catalogue to revisit songs recorded on his incredible history while also telling stories of inspiration, collaboration, and intervention. The podcast has fast proven a popular and critical success, with over 1.6 million streams/downloads. Digging Deep with Robert Plant is available from Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, with new episodes available every two weeks.
Poolside is celebrating Jerry Garcia’s birthday this Saturday with a magical new version of the Grateful Dead’s classic “Shakedown Street,” available now at all DSPs and streaming services; the track is joined by an equally celebratory companion video, directed by filmmaker Bill Heffley and streaming now at the official Poolside YouTube channel.
“‘Shakedown Street’ has always been a staple of Poolside’s DJ sets,” says Poolside producer/guitarist/vocalist Jeffrey Paradise. “It's one of the rare songs that can combine rock and disco in a way that totally works. So just in time for Jerry Day, here’s Poolside’s take on the Grateful Dead! It’s always a challenge to cover a classic song and do it justice, especially one with a one-chord chorus. This version brings some extra Poolside disco and electronic flavor as a refreshing take on the original while still honoring the master composition.”
The Rex Foundation / Jerry Garcia Family are officially supporting the release of “Shakedown Street” and have made Poolside an official #DazeBetween participating artist. “Daze Between” is the period between Jerry Garcia’s birthday (August 1) and the anniversary of his death (August 9). This coming August 9 is the 25th anniversary of Jerry’s death, so there will be an extended celebration of his life during this period.
In addition to the release of their “Shakedown Street” cover, Poolside will be celebrating the life of Jerry Garcia with their Daytime Disco playlist on Spotify being curated by the Jerry Garcia Family exclusively today through August 9. The playlist will feature Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia Band, Grateful Dead covers of all kinds and of course the original “Shakedown Street” and Poolside’s cover.
“Shakedown Street” – which, like Poolside’s acclaimed single, “Around The Sun,” sees production from Lewis Pesacov (Fool’s Gold, Foreign Born) and features vocals from Omar Velasco (Amo Amo) – follows the release earlier this month of the extraordinary new single, “Getting There From Here (with Todd Edwards),” available now at all DSPs and streaming services.
“Getting There From Here” sees Poolside collaborating for the first time ever with GRAMMY® Award-winning dance music legend Todd Edwards (Daft Punk, Justice), who lends his signature cut-up vocal approach to the ecstatic track. Further production comes from Los Angeles-based DJ/producer Turbotito (a.k.a. Poolside co-founding member Filip Nikolic), known for his recent work with Brazilian superstar Pabllo Vittar.
“Getting There From Here” marks Poolside’s first new release since the arrival of their acclaimed new album, LOW SEASON, earlier this year. The first Poolside album to be wholly produced by founding member and visionary Jeffrey Paradise, LOW SEASON features contributions from PANAMA, Ben Browning (Cut Copy) and members of the extraordinarily powerful Poolside live band: drummer Vito Roccoforte (The Rapture), bassist/vocalist Mattie Safer (The Rapture), percussionist Brijean Murphy (Toro Y Moi, U.S. Girls) and saxophonist/keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Casey Butler (Pharaohs). Hailed by mxdwn as “pure bliss from start to finish,” LOW SEASON is available now at all DSPs and streaming services.
Now boasting more than 2.2 million monthly listeners via Spotify alone, Poolside has unfurled a series of spectacular remixes in recent months, including Big Wild’s “Touch (Poolside Remix)“ and their own LOW SEASON remixes: international DJ/production duo Body Music – a.k.a. Bosq and Vito Roccoforte (Poolside, The Rapture) – delivered two versions of “Around The Sun” – named by Rolling Stone as a “Song You Need To Know” – while Portuguese producer Moullinex gave the italo-disco treatment to “Sunrise Strategies,” the epic seven-minute LOW SEASON closer. , “Sunrise Strategies (Moullinex Remix),” “Around The Sun (Body Music Remix),” and “Around The Sun (Summer Dance Mix),” are available now for streaming and download and are joined by official visuals streaming now at Poolside’s YouTube channel.
Today, Minneapolis-born Cory Wong, best known for his funky guitar work and touring worldwide playing his original music on the biggest stages, shares "Bluebird" from his upcoming album TRAIL SONGS: DAWN. Following its exclusive premiere on American Songwriter, "Bluebird" featuring mandolinist Chris Thile is available now on all streaming services.
TRAIL SONGS: DAWN will come out on August 7, 2020 following the recent release of its sister record, the quiet, contemplative and acoustic-based TRAIL SONGS: DUSK. TRAIL SONGS: DAWN is a more rollicking affair, but was also made on all acoustic instruments.
"I wanted to release two albums over the summer that reflect my personality on acoustic instruments," Wong says.
The beginning of lockdown was an emotional time for the guitarist and podcast host who found himself sitting still for the first time in a decade. The music that was to become TRAIL SONGS came pouring forth.
"The last few years have been a wild ride with Vulfpeck blowing up, and my solo career taking off as well," continues Wong. "It’s been really fun, but it’s been at a constant high-speed pace. In March, when everything went into lockdown, it was the first time in a long time I was able to just clear the calendar for a few months and take a breath. It kind of felt like there were no rules for an artist's output…in a good sense. Some people needed time to just absorb everything going on, and others needed to express parts of their humanity through music. I am one of those artists who needed to express my feelings through writing and recording music, but more specifically, songs from sequester. I’ve never been in one place for this long in the last 10 years. It’s crazy, it’s different, but it’s in some ways exactly what i needed.
"The music I wrote for this album is nothing like the music I’ve put out before. It’s reflective and contemplative. It’s all acoustic music, recorded on acoustic instruments. I started by writing tunes on the guitar, and then added layers while mocking up demos. And then i sent the demos and scores out to my friends to replace the demo parts. It was really a magical thing to be able to bring some of my friends together to play music from around the world in a time where many of them felt isolated from any sense of community.
"This music is meant to be taken in and absorbed through the lens of the listener's self-reflection. Some people dream of taking a trip to the midwest to find a respite in nature to write. For me, I didn’t need to take a trip. I needed to stop taking trips! The midwest is home for me, and this album reminded me of that."
Joe Bonamassa is set to perform a special live stream pay per view concert from the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee on September 20th. This concert will feature the songs from his new album Royal Tea before the official release on October 23rd. Pre-order the album here. Joe has never performed a full, unreleased album for audiences like this before, giving fans from around the world the opportunity to come together for an unforgettable night of blues-rock music. Along with Royal Tea he’ll perform classic remixes from his 20th anniversary album A New Day Now. The evening will continue with a one hour “After-Party Showcase” featuring several live performances from an array of some of the hottest rising stars in blues-rock music.
The live stream pay per view tickets and packages for “Joe Bonamassa Live in Concert Worldwide” presented by Keeping The Blues Alive are available for purchase at https://joeb.me/JBW
There are a variety of pricing levels available for fans worldwide to be a part of this special “audience.” Tickets to the live stream pay per view event starts at $20. Fans may also purchase a $35 ALL-ACCESS PASS which includes access to the live stream pay per view event on September 20th, the Royal Tea digital album available on October 23rd, and a 1-year all pass for Bonamassa’s on-demand service which includes 17+ concert releases from Joe Bonamassa, Black Country Communion, and Rock Candy Funk Party – available at any time on most devices.
As part of this unique concert event, fans also have the option to purchase a Commemorative VIP ticket giving them an experience they will never forget. VIP ticket holders will have their photo printed out and placed in a seat at the legendary Ryman Auditorium as part of Joe’s audience for that special night. VIPs will also get a picture of Joe with his “audience” which will be sent to them via email to keep. The VIP ticket holder’s name will also be included in the credits at the end of the live stream pay per view event, as well as being included in the upcoming DVD credits for this performance!
This one-of-a-kind concert is presented by Bonamassa’s non-profit, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation (KTBA) (more info on KTBA here). Each ticket purchase will include a $1 donation to Joe’s Fueling Musicians Program, which to date has raised over $300,000 and has supported more than 163 musicians in need due to the COVID-19 pandemic (more info on Fueling Musicians here).
While much of the applause Bonamassa receives should be credited to his sheer talent, some part of his success needs to be attributed to Joe and his business partner for having the foresight and ability to become some of music’s savviest entrepreneurs. Bonamassa now 43, and his partner Roy Weisman have together devised a 360-degree independent business model that has survived and thrived during one of the music industry’s most uncertain eras, particularly considering the challenges created by the current pandemic.
To keep up with everything Bonamassa, visit jbonamassa.com, and be sure to stay connected on social media.
The Allman Betts Band has released the official video for their single “Pale Horse Rider.” Grammy.com exclusively premiered the video earlier this week saying that “the stunning visual matches the cinematic feel of the song,” The video was directed by Devon Williams over two very hot days at the legendary Joshua Tree National Park.
“Pale Horse Rider” opens ominously, quickly evolving into a dark and dense rumbler accentuated by Devon Allman’s emotive and ghostly wordless chorus and a thunderous, expansive outro. It’s an unbridled storm of guitars centered on a Duane Betts riff evoking the spirit of Neil Young’s Crazy Horse and modern counterpart, My Morning Jacket. Written, in part, in Baton Rouge, La., it portends an album of explorative song structure.
Bless Your Heart, the band’s sophomore release will release wide on Aug 28 via BMG.
Berry Duane Oakley- bass, vocals Johnny Stachela- guitar, vocals John Ginty- keyboards
R Scott Bryan- percussion, vocals John Lum- drums
When The Allman Betts Band released Down to the River in June of 2019, the debut album represented not only the first time the group had recorded together but, in fact, the first time the seven-piece ensemble had ever played together. If Down to the River was the sound of the band’s combustible sparks igniting, then Bless Your Heart is their bonfire, built for the summer of 2020 and beyond; a double-album follow-up fueled by road-forged camaraderie and telepathic musical intensity, vibrantly reflecting the individual and collective experiences of these seven, all drawing inspiration from the band’s symbolic hometown- a place Devon Allman calls “the United States of Americana.”
A conflagration of influences and invention, confidence and ambition, Bless Your Heart captures a vast, panoramic scope throughout a baker’s dozen of modern rock. Ragged and stomping. Heady and frayed. Soaring and scorching. Generational and genteel. West Coast scenes and Gulf Coast shores. Gateways of the Midwest and swamplands of Florida. Wyoming’s Big Sky. New York’s Big Apple. Chicago’s Broad Shoulders.
Over a week’s time, they recorded 13 songs at the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studio on 2-inch tape, just as they did with Down to The River. In addition to the time in Muscle Shoals, Bless Your Heart saw additional tracking in Memphis and St. Louis.
Within the eclectic repertoire are the familiar: stacks of guitars; electric, acoustic, and slide; a throttling, percussive rhythm section. And the fresh: Bassist and singer Berry Duane Oakley’s ABB vocal debut on his original song (“The Doctor’s Daughter”); Allman’s baritone vocal channeling Johnny Cash (“Much Obliged”); Betts extending the legendary family legacy of incendiary instrumentals (“Savannah’s Dream”). They tapped friends, as well, such as Jimmy Hall, Shannon McNally, Art Edmaiston, Susan Marshall, and Reba Russell for guest contributions. Then, emerged with an undeniable achievement of an album (what sophomore jinx?) worthy of its winking, unabashedly Southern title.
“I think we definitely challenged ourselves, pushed ourselves artistically, and widened the spectrum on all levels. We wanted something that was a little more sweeping. A deeper experience,” says Betts. Says Allman, “I hope what people hear on Bless Your Heart is a band that’s having a love affair with being a band.”
Earlier this summer, Terrace Martin, Kamasi Washington and Denzel Curry teamed up for the groundbreaking Black Power Live virtual music festival hosted by Patrisse Cullors (co-founder of Black Lives Matter), presented by Jammcard and Form. Today, they share their collaboration as ‘Racism on Trial’ with three incredible, thought-provoking movements on YouTube, featuring Martin, Washington, Curry, Robert Glasper, Alex Isley, and more.
The Black Power Live event gathered 1.7 million viewers on it's livestream day via Twitch. With today’s release, all proceeds will go to Crenshaw Dairy Mart, Trap Heals, Transgender Law Center, Sankofa.org, and Black Men Build.
‘Racism on Trial’ follows Martin’s recent album Gray Area - Live at the JammJam, featuring the song “For Free?” which Terrace wrote with Kendrick Lamar. The album was released on Jammcard Music in partnership with Sounds of Crenshaw and Empire Distribution. Recorded at Studio A of United Recording, packed with 300 Jammcard members surrounding the performers, the album is filled with some of the most exciting and powerful jazz music created in years. The performance features Ronald Bruner Jr., Kamasi Washington, Maurice “Mobetta” Brown, Ben Wendel, Paul Cornish, and Joshua Crumbly.
Veteran rockers Dawes have announced today’s premiere of their profound new single. “St. Augustine at Night” is available at all DSPs and streaming services; an official lyric video is streaming now via YouTube.
“‘St. Augustine at Night’ is a song about one’s relationship to their hometown,” says Dawes’ frontman Taylor Goldsmith, “but also is a song about the varying degrees in which we all watch our lives pass us by.”
“St. Augustine at Night” marks the latest single from the Los Angeles-based band’s eagerly awaited seventh studio LP, GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER. Produced by 6x GRAMMY® Award-winner Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit) at Nashville’s famed RCA Studio A, the album arrives via Rounder Records on Friday, October 2; pre-orders are available now.
GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER was first heralded by last month’s premiere of “Who Do You Think You’re Talking To?” The high-spirited track is joined by an official companion video, directed by actress/filmmaker Caitlin Gerard and streaming now at the official Dawes YouTube channel. Last month also saw Goldsmith nominated for an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics” for the song “Memorized” from the NBC show This Is Us.
“Who Do You Think You’re Talking To?” was met by widespread applause upon its July premiere, with Rolling Stone hailing it as “a turbo-charged Eighties heartland rocker that finds Goldsmith narrating an interaction between two people, one of whom is still plagued by a past relationship.” “From the sounds of ‘Who Do You Think You’re Talking To?,’ bringing everyone closer to the process has led to a bigger sound,” declared Consequence of Sound. “As Goldsmith’s classic melodies and riffs continue the thread of Dawes’ decade-long career, the percussion snaps like a whip crack and Lee Pardini’s keys reach Roy Bittan levels of drama as they’re pushed to the forefront.”
GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER – which marks Dawes’ first release on their new label, Rounder Records – follows a series of acclaimed self-released albums including 2013’s STORIES DON’T END, 2015’s ALL YOUR FAVORITE BANDS, 2016’s WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE, and 2018’s PASSWORDS, all of which reached the top 10 or higher on Billboard’s “Top Rock Albums” and “Americana/Folk Albums” charts.
From its first downbeat, GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER sees Goldsmith grappling with the expectations of adulthood on a remarkable cycle of new songs fueled by many of the same elements that first earned the band worldwide attention and applause – graceful melodies with kinetic riffs and intricate musical interplay. Throughout the album, Dawes once again prove incredibly adept at pushing the emotional limits of the classically structured rock song, a testament to their tightly honed yet imaginative musicianship and the gripping specificity of Goldsmith’s songwriting. A culmination of their entire catalogue and decade-long career all wrapped up in nine glorious tracks, GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER reclaims the rugged urgency and easy confidence of Dawes’ early work while tapping into the veteran band’s intense musical connection more effectively than ever before.
“In the past, I’ve definitely been more precious about the way I wanted the songs to sound, but that’s never as fun,” Goldsmith says. “The music we make is everyone’s mode of expression, and the other guys all have chops that I don’t have and never will. The fact that we’re able to lean on each other and celebrate each other as individuals just makes us so much more excited about getting to play together in this band.”
Dawes is: Taylor Goldsmith (guitars, vocals), Griffin Goldsmith (drums), Wylie Gelber (bass), Lee Pardini (keys).
Today, Cory Wong releases his fifth album in 2020, TRAIL SONGS: DAWN. The album was heralded last month with the American Songwriter premiere of the song, "Bluebird" featuring Chris Thile. TRAIL SONGS: DAWN follows the July release of its sister record, the quiet, contemplative and acoustic-based TRAIL SONGS: DUSK. TRAIL SONGS: DAWN is a more rollicking affair, but was also made on all acoustic instruments.
"I wanted to release two albums over the summer that reflect my personality on acoustic instruments," Wong says.
The beginning of lockdown was an emotional time for the guitarist and podcast host who found himself sitting still for the first time in a decade. The music that was to become TRAIL SONGS came pouring forth.
"The last few years have been a wild ride with Vulfpeck blowing up, and my solo career taking off as well," continues Wong. "It’s been really fun, but it’s been at a constant high-speed pace. In March, when everything went into lockdown, it was the first time in a long time I was able to just clear the calendar for a few months and take a breath. It kind of felt like there were no rules for an artist's output…in a good sense. Some people needed time to just absorb everything going on, and others needed to express parts of their humanity through music. I am one of those artists who needed to express my feelings through writing and recording music, but more specifically, songs from sequester. I’ve never been in one place for this long in the last 10 years. It’s crazy, it’s different, but it’s in some ways exactly what i needed.
"The music I wrote for this album is nothing like the music I’ve put out before. It’s reflective and contemplative. It’s all acoustic music, recorded on acoustic instruments. I started by writing tunes on the guitar, and then added layers while mocking up demos. And then i sent the demos and scores out to my friends to replace the demo parts. It was really a magical thing to be able to bring some of my friends together to play music from around the world in a time where many of them felt isolated from any sense of community.
"This music is meant to be taken in and absorbed through the lens of the listener's self-reflection. Some people dream of taking a trip to the midwest to find a respite in nature to write. For me, I didn’t need to take a trip. I needed to stop taking trips! The midwest is home for me, and this album reminded me of that."
Last night, Trey Anastasio performed "I Never Needed You Like This Before" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The song is from Anastasio's new album, Lonely Trip (Rubber Jungle), available now at all DSPs. With this performance, Anastasio became the first guest to perform in-studio on any late-night TV show since lockdown began in mid-March. "I’m still buzzing after playing with the Roots,” Anastasio told Pitchfork. "Man, I needed that. I don’t know what was better, feeling Questlove’s drums shaking my whole body or watching the crew in the back of the room dancing around while we played."
Anastasio wrote and recorded the songs that make up Lonely Trip during lockdown at his home in New York City. He initially released them as they were finished via his instagram. All of the songs were remixed by longtime Anastasio studio collaborator Bryce Goggin.
Dawes performed "Who Do You Think You're Talking To?" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! guest-hosted by Rob Lowe. The song is from their new album, Good Luck With Whatever (Rounder), out October 2. The band also performed "St. Augustine At Night" as an online exclusive.
WATCH "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE TALKING TO?" ON JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!
WATCH "ST. AUGUSTINE AT NIGHT" ON JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
The band's new album, GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER – which marks Dawes’ first release on their new label, Rounder Records – follows a series of acclaimed self-released albums including 2013’s STORIES DON’T END, 2015’s ALL YOUR FAVORITE BANDS, 2016’s WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE, and 2018’s PASSWORDS, all of which reached the top 10 or higher on Billboard’s “Top Rock Albums” and “Americana/Folk Albums” charts.
From its first downbeat, GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER sees Goldsmith grappling with the expectations of adulthood on a remarkable cycle of new songs fueled by many of the same elements that first earned the band worldwide attention and applause – graceful melodies with kinetic riffs and intricate musical interplay. Throughout the album, Dawes once again prove incredibly adept at pushing the emotional limits of the classically structured rock song, a testament to their tightly honed yet imaginative musicianship and the gripping specificity of Goldsmith’s songwriting. A culmination of their entire catalogue and decade-long career all wrapped up in nine glorious tracks, GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER reclaims the rugged urgency and easy confidence of Dawes’ early work while tapping into the veteran band’s intense musical connection more effectively than ever before.
“In the past, I’ve definitely been more precious about the way I wanted the songs to sound, but that’s never as fun,” Goldsmith says. “The music we make is everyone’s mode of expression, and the other guys all have chops that I don’t have and never will. The fact that we’re able to lean on each other and celebrate each other as individuals just makes us so much more excited about getting to play together in this band.”
Dawes will perform a full online concert on Aug 28. Visit dawestheband.com for more info. A portion of the proceeds from the concert will go to benefit Independent Music Venues.
Dawes is: Taylor Goldsmith (guitars, vocals), Griffin Goldsmith (drums), Wylie Gelber (bass), Lee Pardini (keys).
Earlier this summer, 90s indie cult favorite Billy Pilgrim announced some exciting news. Though the duo, composed of Andrew Hyra and Kristian Bush (Sugarland, Dark Water), thought their final recordings had been lost in a studio fire two decades ago, Bush found a remaining copy at his home during quarantine.
Today, the band shares their latest single, “Tumblelane,” complete with a special lyric video and news that the full-length album, In The Time Machine, also featuring their previous single “Call It Even,” will be released on September 4. Following the release, the band plans to release a special edition vinyl via Bandcamp, on pre-sale today. After years of embarking on separate dreams, the two friends have reunited to finish what they’ve started, and over the next few months they have a few more tricks up their sleeves to be revealed.
“‘Tumblelane’ is a point, a coordinate where the choice is made clear,” explains Hyra. “A choice to live in love, hope, faith, gratitude, abundance and to choose this over fear. I don’t want to live in fear anymore. Fear of a virus, of other people's opinions, of hatred, money, lack of where have I been? I don’t remember with any clarity if my experience was shrouded in fear. We all have this choice, though most of us don’t know it, right now we are at that inflection point where the choice is clear, Tumblelane Choose love over fear, this is the necessary evolutionary expansion we are all up against RIGHT NOW.”
Glide Magazine debuted the track earlier this week, noting that “the song definitely has a 90s sound with its embrace of alt-rock and harmonies. While the song starts in a more intimate, stripped down fashion, it blossoms into a soaring, emotionally powerful rocker complete with soulful organ, pop-infused acoustic strumming, and a catchy chorus.”
Bush offers his thoughts on the track, “When you get caught up in the wave you didn’t see coming and it spins you in the heat of fear, the loss of control shakes you awake. From that place you have a choice, stand up and breathe or hide in fear of the next invisible wind. In the standing up, as the muscles give and take to hold you steady you can ask in the humblest and mightiest of voices, as you see the horizon, ‘where have I been.’ This song is that to me, I can see Andrew lift off the ground as he sings, and it pulls me up with it. I never question pure emotion when I hear it. It is always true, and it is ringing clear as a bell in this recording. Somehow he uses words as colors and his voice paints with them. This is Billy Pilgrim when we turn on the jet engines and open up the throttle.”
Along with Bush and Hyra, the musicians featured on In The Time Machine are Brandon Bush (Sugarland, Train) on keyboards; David LaBruyere (John Mayer) on bass; Joey Craig on guitar; and Sigadore “Siggy” Birkis (John Mayer), Marcus Petruska (Corey Davis) and Travis McNabb (Better Than Ezra) on drums. Producer/engineer Don McCollister, who owned Nickel & Dime Studio, co-produced the album along with the Bush brothers and Hyra.
Billy Pilgrim’s music has been featured as the soundtrack to some of the 90’s most iconic television scenes, on dramas like Melrose Place, My So-Called Life, and many more. With today’s obsession of the fashion, television, and of course, the music from that moment in history, the uncovering of the lost Billy Pilgrim archive couldn’t have come at a better time.
ABOUT BILLY PILGRIM:
Billy Pilgrim – originally named for a character in Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse Five,” a shared favorite novel of the pair – was the first band for Bush, who would later become the soulful half of multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning country duo Sugarland, as well a producer, playwright and solo artist. He met Hyra in Bush’s hometown of Knoxville, Tenn., in 1990 at an open mic night hosted by Hyra and his sister, Annie. As Bush prepared to move to Atlanta to attend Emory University, he persuaded the siblings to also move to the city, where a bustling acoustic scene was unfolding.
Their first major-label effort – the critically acclaimed Billy Pilgrim - arrived in 1994 and spawned the college and Triple-A radio hits, “Get Me Out Of Here” and “Insomniac.” The follow-up, 1995’s “Bloom,” hit No. 37 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart and offered fans the melodic-yet-muscular “Sweet Louisiana Sound.” Billy Pilgrim’s videos regularly rotated on VH1 and the band was tapped for numerous high-profile opening slots, including Melissa Etheridge, the Cowboy Junkies, Matthew Sweet and Hootie & The Blowfish.
Following their release from Atlantic Records in 1996, Billy Pilgrim began tinkering with what would eventually become “In the Time Machine.” Nearly five years later, the album received its only public outing at the Eddie’s Attic performance that ended with Bush and Hyra following diverging paths.
Acoustic guitar pioneer Leo Kottke and Phish bassist Mike Gordon have announced the release of their first new album together in 15 years. NOON arrives via ATO Records at all DSPs and streaming services on Friday, August 28; the album’s physical release is set for Friday, November 20. Phish Dry Goods will have a limited pressing on clear vinyl with Red/Gold splatter. NOON is heralded by today’s premiere of new songs “Ants” and “I Am Random,” both available now at all DSPs and streaming services. American Songwriter premiered the songs earlier today with a Q&A feature.
Intricate, warmly askew, and indelibly dexterous, NOON showcases 11 remarkable new tracks created by two of the most accomplished and idiosyncratic instrumentalists in American music. The album – which marks Kottke’s first studio record since his previous collaboration with Gordon, 2005’s 66 STEPS – was recorded in New Orleans and Vermont, with music exchanged between the two artists by file, tape-sealed boombox, sheet music, and face-to-face. Working with longtime Gordon collaborator, producer/engineer Jared Slomoff, Kottke and Gordon have crafted a singular collection of improvisational mood music, including a stripped-back version of Gordon’s classic “Peel” and Kottke’s stark rethinking of the Byrds’ “Eight Miles High.” NOON further includes a bopping cover of Prince’s “Alphabet St.” featuring Phish drummer Jon Fishman, who also joins Kottke and Gordon on four additional tracks. In addition, the LP includes nearly ambient appearances by pedal steel player Brett Lanier (The Barr Brothers) and cellist Zoë Keating (Imogen Heap, Amanda Palmer, Tears For Fears).
“The vibe is very different from the other two albums,” says Gordon. “I was hearing a darkness in the material Leo was bringing, and some of the material that I wanted to bring, that I thought just reflected going through 10 more years of life. There are overdubs, but it’s still more like you’re in a cafe or a living room with these two guys. And even when we had drums, we wanted to maintain that feeling.”
“I just knew there was a shape and that we were following it,” says Kottke. “We were trying to get to that place that we get to in a little room, just chasing each other. We’ve found that at soundchecks, and at my place, or his place, or some motel room. We wanted to get that late night feel. It’s a more intimate record than the others are, I think there are depths to it.”
Leo Kottke and Mike Gordon have both staked out distinctive and original roles in the annals of American music. Beginning his career on John Fahey’s Takoma label in 1969, Kottke virtually invented his own school of playing with his distinct, propulsive fingerstyle. As a co-founder of Phish and solo artist, Gordon has both created both a boundary-pushing discography and helped inspire a generation of improvisers.
The pairing of Kottke and Gordon began some two decades ago when Gordon – a devoted fan of Kottke’s music – audaciously overdubbed a bass part over the veteran Minnesota guitarist’s 1969 solo track “The Driving of the Year Nail.” Gordon hand-delivered the piece to Kottke and the two musicians struck up a fast friendship and musical partnership, beginning with 2002’s CLONE and followed by SIXTY SIX STEPS.
Fresh off the massively successful ‘“Streaming Strings Tour,” Billy Strings has announced today that he and his band will embark on a seven-night tour dubbed the “Meet Me At The Drive-In Tour” which will kick off on Sept 11 for three nights at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre, PA. The tour will then take the band to the Chicago area for two already sold-out shows on Sept 16 and 17 at McHenry Outdoor Theater and then the band will head to Peoria, IL for two nights at the Expo Gardens on Sept 18 and 19. Show presale tickets are available beginning on Thursday, August 20 at 12 pm ET for Billy Strings newsletter subscribers. Public on-sale begins Friday, August 21 at 12 pm ET. All tickets are available via billystrings.com.
All CDC and local guidelines will be followed. The Billy Strings band and crew are working closely with local promoters and government to ensure this event meets or exceeds all recommended standards.
Vehicles will be spaced to accommodate social distancing.
Patrons may only leave their vehicles to use their tailgating space adjacent to their vehicle, restrooms or to obtain concessions.
Masks/Face coverings must be worn by any patrons traveling to and from restrooms, concessions areas.
Safe social distancing will be strictly enforced.
MEET ME AT THE DRIVE-IN TOUR
September 11 @ Mohegan Sun Arena | Wilkes-Barre, PA
September 12 @ Mohegan Sun Arena | Wilkes-Barre, PA
September 13 @ Mohegan Sun Arena | Wilkes-Barre, PA
September 16 @ McHenry Outdoor Theater | McHenry, IL - SOLD OUT
September 17 @ McHenry Outdoor Theater | McHenry, IL - SOLD OUT
On Joe Strummer’s birthday, Friday, August 21 at 3:00 pm ET (12:00 pm PT and 8:00 pm BST), the music and arts community is coming together for a global event to celebrate Joe Strummer’s legacy as a solo musician and singer of The Clash.
Produced by Jesse Malin, Jeff Raspe, and Joe Strummer estate manager, David Zonshine, A Song for Joe: Celebrating the Life of Joe Strummer will be a two-hour event that will stream for free at JoeStrummer.com, with all donations benefiting Save Our Stages.
The night will be hosted by Jesse Malin and will feature never before seen live footage of Strummer, alongside special performances and testimonials by many of the former Clash front man’s friends and peers.
“To see so many musicians and artists come forward to honor Joe is really touching,” says Joe’s wife Lucinda Tait. “Community was always important to him. Whether it was playing music with friends, organizing all night campfires, or hijacking festivals, Joe was always focused on bringing people together. Even though we can't all be in the same room together, I cannot think of a better way for us all to feel united. Joe would have loved this.”
“This tribute to Joe is not only a great way to honor him, but to also remind people how important his message is right now,” adds Malin.
A Song for Joe: Celebrating the Life of Joe Strummer
The Lumineers are thanking fans for helping them achieve real and measurable change through their participation in a variety of philanthropic initiatives supported by their last tour. With over 150% of all CO2 emissions offset, the completed dates of their North American Arena Tour were deemed Climate Positive by Reverb. To show appreciation for fans’ support of the tour and commemorate the Climate Positive milestone, The Lumineers are releasing a new live video “Salt and the Sea,” filmed during III: The World Tour and streaming now via the band’s official YouTube channel.
The 2x GRAMMY® Award-nominated band partnered with the nonprofit organization, REVERB, for III: The World Tour, to help reduce their carbon footprint and affect social change while touring. The Lumineers and REVERB engaged with fans across North America, who helped make it one of the world’s first Climate Positive tours. Activist Artists Management and The Lumineers worked closely with REVERB’s unCHANGEit Campaign to offset over 150% of its CO2 emissions, including fan travel, through funding projects that eliminated 4,300 tons of carbon – the equivalent of taking 1,000 cars off the road for a year. The full results of fans’ environmental and social impact throughout III: The World Tour can be found in REVERB’s Tour Impact Report.
REVERB’s #ROCKNREFILL campaign – supported by Nalgene® – saw 2,253 fans donating for a custom reusable water bottle. The campaign’s free water filling stations, along with the use of reusable bottles, eliminated the use of over 10,000 single-use plastic bottles and 60,000-70,000 plastic straws. Sustainable efforts backstage included providing reusable water bottles and mugs for band and crew; recycling in offices; supplemental composting where needed; proper battery disposal; the use of green cleaning products and bio-products for catering and buses; and over 200 pounds of toiletries rescued from hotels and donated to local shelters.
The REVERB Action Village gave fans an opportunity to take over 18,000 individual actions supporting nonprofit organizations and partners. The fans were able to make a positive impact on both a local and national level, donating over $280,000 to support an array of issues including climate change, addiction treatment and homelessness, including $75,000 going to a variety of local organizations. Nationally, Shatterproof, which is dedicated to reversing the addiction crisis in the United States received similar support.
The tour also teamed with Musically Fed, a Phoenix, AZ-based nonprofit committed to mobilizing the music industry in the fight against hunger, to provide 1,492 donated meals across 18 separate shows, and with GivePower, a nonprofit committed to providing developing regions with access to life-saving, clean water, with whom the tour raised enough to provide clean water for 1,500 people for 20 years.
Additionally, III: The World Tour saw hundreds of voters registered across the country through its partnership with HeadCount, a non-partisan organization that works with artists to promote participation in democracy.
While COVID-19 may have shut down touring, The Lumineers have continued to find creative ways to give back. #ColoradoGivesBack, presented by The Lumineers, was a livestream event produced by Activist Artists Management that raised over $675,000 for MusiCares and Colorado restaurant workers on May 8. Through ongoing merchandise promotions and initiatives, over $50,000 was raised for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Additionally, Jeremiah Fraites curated the #Gaming2GiveBack live-stream gaming event, which raised over $67,000 to benefit No Kid Hungry.
Award-winning singer-songwriter-guitarist Molly Tuttle has unveiled a cover of The Rolling Stones’ psychedelic landmark, “She’s A Rainbow.” The track – available today at all DSPs and streaming services – heralds Tuttle’s eagerly awaited new LP, …but i’d rather be with you, arriving everywhere via Compass Records on Friday, August 28.
“She’s A Rainbow” is joined by an inspiring companion video, conceived by Tuttle as opportunity to express her belief that feminism and the fight for equality require work from all people. With that in mind, she invited famous friends and fans of every gender to join her in the “She’s A Rainbow” video, including (in order of appearance), Ali Harnell, Wrabel, Madison Valentine, Anna Lee, Joey Ryan (The Milk Carton Kids), Justin Hiltner, Snap Jackson, Danny Clinch, Beth Behrs, Jake Blount, Tom Morello, Anamarie Tan, Lilly Hiatt, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Salman Hussein, Kenneth Pattengale (The Milk Carton Kids), Tristan Scroggins, Sionnan Wood, Chris Shiflett (Foo Fighters), Ellen Angelico, Wati Grossman, Roarie Yum, Allison Russell, Maddie Witler, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Rosie Quinn, Elijah Joy, Ketch Secor (Old Crow Medicine Show), Jack Tuttle, Sierra Hull, Linda Perry, Amythyst Kiah, Maureen Roddy, Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes), Nell Coleman (Founder of The Baldie Movement), Talia Grossman, Katie Pruitt, Nathaniel Rateliff, and Milo Sebastian. “She’s A Rainbow” is streaming now via Tuttle’s official YouTube channel.
“I embarrassingly couldn’t name 10 songs by The Rolling Stones,” Tuttle says. “I have never been super into classic rock, to be honest. That being said, I heard this song and fell in love with it. I thought it would be fun to do a version from the female perspective. I don’t know what The Rolling Stones had in mind when they sang this one, but for me it’s a love song to all feminine beings. She comes in colors everywhere, she’s like a rainbow!! YES!”
…but i’d rather be with you collects 10 striking cover songs recorded during quarantine and produced with the help of Tony Berg (Phoebe Bridgers, Andrew Bird). The album includes recently premiered renditions of The National’s epic “Fake Empire,” Rancid’s “Olympia, WA,” and the Grateful Dead favorite, “Standing On The Moon,” both of which are joined by official companion videos streaming now via YouTube.
In March 2020, the Nashville-based Tuttle experienced the devastating tornado that tore through much of East Nashville, followed by the global pandemic. While sheltering at home, she found solace by revisiting favorite songs in an attempt to “remind myself why I love music.” An idea for an album emerged, to be recorded with the Los Angeles-based Berg, despite being over two thousand miles apart.
Tuttle taught herself how to use Pro Tools and then recorded and engineered all of her parts alone at home before sending them to Berg in Los Angeles. The renowned producer enlisted a number of legendary session musicians – including drummer Matt Chamberlain and keyboardist Patrick Warren – to add instrumentation from their respective home studios, with guest vocals contributed by Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith and Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor. “This is how the astronauts do it!” Tuttle recalls Berg saying as they sent the files back and forth.
The result is a surprising and inventive collection of songs that cross the musical spectrum and the decades, from iconic artists spanning FKA Twigs to Cat Stevens, Rancid to Karen Dalton, all united by Tuttle’s clear, true voice, astonishing range, and incredible musicianship. With its remarkable scope and adventurous creativity, …but i’d rather be with you presents a further progression of Tuttle’s distinctive talent and musical ambition while hinting towards what is yet to come.
“I have been working on writing for another original album and am still planning to record that this year,” Tuttle says, “but in the meantime, I wanted to share these covers that have lifted my spirits, in hopes that you’ll find some much-needed joy as well.”
Independent artists from around the world have come together once again to create Talk - Action = Zero Vol. 2: a political action project curated and organized by Bank Robber Music and Rough Trade Publishing. The compilation album will be available exclusively on Bandcamp on Friday, August 28th and all proceeds will benefit Spread the Vote.
The first volume of Talk - Action = Zero paid tribute to the countless Black Americans who have been murdered due to police brutality, with all proceeds benefiting Black Visions Collective. With a pivotal election on the horizon, Volume 2 highlights the importance of voting and empowering citizens to be heard at the polls. It features over 45 unreleased songs including the debut of Sunroof (Daniel Miller and Gareth Jones), and Repressed, a new collaborative project featuring Kurt Wagner (Lambchop), Mac McCaughan (Superchunk), Phil Morrison and Sarah Louis and Sally Hanson (House of Land).
The compilation also features tracks from Matthew Caws of Nada Surf, Neal Francis, Jennifer O’Connor & Travis Stever, Gary V, LIP TALK & WooF WooF, NY HUSTLERS, LoneMoon, Say Hi, Alanna Royale, Power of Attorney, Roots & Tings, Karyn Kuhl, Pink Mountaintops, The Long Ryders and many more. A majority of the songs featured on the compilation are related to voting, the election or the current state of the country, whether covers or new original songs.
WATCH NEAL FRANCIS “COME IN OUT OF THE RAIN” (PARLIAMENT COVER)
All proceeds will benefit Spread the Vote, a national foundation that helps US citizens and communities empower themselves to be heard at the polls and helping with voter IDs, registrations, education and turnout. “Spread The Vote is thrilled to be working with BankRobberMusic/Rough Trade Publishing on this incredible compilation,” says Spread the Vote founder Kat Calvin. “Music has always been critical for every movement and at this moment, we need great music that inspires us to stand up for our democracy more than ever.”
"This is easily the most consequential election of the last century and after our last compilation we knew we had to keep the momentum going by bringing our artist community together to help raise money for change,” says John Newcomer of Bank Robber Music and Rough Trade Publishing. “All proceeds will go directly to Spread The Vote which focuses on voter education as well as ensuring people that can vote are able to vote.”
The track list is comprised mostly of artists who work directly with Bank Robber Music and Rough Trade Publishing. Talk - Action = Zero Vol. 2 will be available exclusively through Bandcamp and will be released on Friday, August 28.
Dead & Company and The Allman Brothers Band bassist Oteil Burbridge teams up with comedian Mike Finoia to co-host Comes A Time, a new interview podcast series. Burbridge and Finoia are joined by a variety of guests to discuss a range topical issues, where they are today and where they go from here. On episode seven, Burbridge and Finoia welcome longtime Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. The interview will be available on Friday, August 28 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever podcasts can be streamed.
Hart discusses his legendary career with the Grateful Dead, Dead and Co. and the diverse styles of music he’s performed and produced over the years. He delves into what it was like to be in a band with two drummers, why he has a deep appreciation for global music and what he means when he describes himself as a ‘noiseician’.
Hart is best known as a drummer in the Grateful Dead, which for three decades channeled the voices and visions of rock’s psychedelic counterculture and blended them with folk, blues, country, jazz and other American music streams. Hart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and named to Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time.
Comes A Time is brought to you by Osiris Media. Hosted and Produced by Oteil Burbridge and Mike Finoia. Executive Producers Christina Collins, RJ Bee and Kirsten Cluthe. Production, Editing and Mixing by Eric Limarenko and Matt Dwyer. Theme music by Oteil Burbridge. To discover more podcasts, check out osirispod.com.
LOCKN’ has announced that the 2021 festival will now officially take place October 1-3, as always, at Infinity Downs & Oak Ridge Farm, LOCKN’s 387-acre property located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Arrington, VA. A special “Steal Your Thursday” will kick off the festival weekend on Thursday, September 30.
The eighth edition of the beloved camping festival, LOCKN’ 2021 will mark an all-star celebration of Phil Lesh’s upcoming 81st birthday, with the legendary musician performing alongside an array of famous friends and special guests over the three-day event. A complete artist lineup and additional ticket information will be announced soon.
Current LOCKN’ 2020 ticket holders can obtain a full refund for tickets and camping accommodations or choose to rollover their tickets to LOCKN’ 2021. LOCKN’ 2020 purchasers transferring their order to LOCKN’ 2021 will receive one free access voucher for all three crowdless performances from the LOCKN’ site by Joe Russo’s Almost Dead on October 2-4, 2020; additional details of the stream event will be unveiled soon.
A number of additional benefits will be applied per ticket type, with VIP Ticket Holders and Super VIP Ticket Holders will receive an invitation to a private celebration at LOCKN’ 2021 with complimentary food and beverages, along with some surprise guests. In addition, Super VIP Ticket Holders will also get a very special ride on the Main Stage turntable. GA ticket holders who rollover will also be entered to win a VIP ticket and camping upgrades for LOCKN' 2021.
Current ticket holders who cannot transfer their tickets to LOCKN’ 2021 can request a full refund of the total purchase price, including all fees. Refunds must be requested by September 27 at 11:59 PM ET; refunds will be processed in as little as 30 days following the deadline; refunds will be issued to ticket holder’s original method of payment. If no selection is made by September 27, orders will automatically roll over to 2021.
LOCKN’ 2020 ticket holders can also donate their current ticket to LOCKN’, helping to ensure another year of music and family on the farm. A portion of the face value of all donated ticket sales will be given to HeadCount to support its mission of promoting participation in democracy by registering voters at live and virtual events.
LOCKN' co-founder Pete Shapiro delves into the decision to reschedule, Joe Russo's Almost Dead livestream, and other special announcements with Relix. To watch, please visit https://youtu.be/5vWxI47Yt48
LOCKN’ is currently working on new health and safety protocols, which will continue to evolve in order to ensure the upcoming festival is safe and comfortable for everyone to attend. These may include reducing overall capacity and increasing the amount of space allocated for campsites. For updates, please visit www.locknfestival.com.
Amanda Palmer and Rhiannon Giddens have joined forces for a cover of Portishead's much adored song, “It's A Fire.” Palmer and Giddens recorded from several continents during lockdown in the midst of one of the most turbulent times the world has ever seen. “It’s A Fire” is available now on Bandcamp.
Half a world away from her home in New York, Palmer found herself in regional New Zealand where her “There Will Be No Intermission World Tour” concluded in March. The decision to stay put as the world quickly closed international borders proved to be an inconceivably fortuitous one.
“I was craving comfort during lockdown, listening to Portishead’s Dummy over and over again in the kitchen of our AirBnB, where I’d wound up an accidental single mother,” says Palmer. “Bent over a pile of dirty dishes in the sink one day, after receiving a long series of texts from my desperately sad friends in New York...I stopped in my tracks...”
STREAM AMANDA PALMER AND RHIANNON GIDDENS “IT’S A FIRE”
“'Cause this life is a farce
I can't breathe through this mask
Like a fool
So breathe on, sister breathe on”
"There is something about this song that speaks to a deeper connection between things happening right now,” Palmer continues. “Black Lives Mattering, COVID, fear and trust are all colliding with one another...I wanted this cover version to sound more like a dark closet talk between two friends...hanging onto each other for dear life whispering, ‘we're gonna make it out of here.’"
Palmer contacted longtime collaborator Jherek Bischof, himself locked down in Los Angeles, and asked him to arrange the song for “our times.” He got on the job, and hired local string players in LA who all played in isolation from one another.
Grammy winner and MacArthur “Genius” Grant recipient Rhiannon Giddens had also just finished her own Australian tour in March in support of her 2019 release there is no Other, when she was locked down in Ireland. The prolific and intensely productive artist (Giddens has acted in two seasons of TV series Nashville, has written an opera that will debut next year, is a six-time Grammy nominee and has been described by Pitchfork as "so fearless and so ravenous") was also craving collaboration.
“It was a delight to work on this with Amanda Palmer,” says Giddens. “It felt so good to make some art together, even separated by half a world. We all need to take a collective breath together, and breathe on...it's all of us or none of us.”
Finally, Palmer tracked down a French illustrator residing in Melbourne, Australia, to help design the single artwork. Jessica Coppet's mesmerizing realistic scribble portraits bring to life her philosophical commitment to female empowerment and they had long ago captured Palmer's attention via Instagram.
“Facial expression and anatomy have become a focal point for my art,” says Coppet. “Amanda wanted to portray two women supporting each other along with vintage and retro aspects to represent the inspiration for the song.”
All profits from this collaboration are going to go to the Free Black University Fund, a hub for radical and transformative knowledge production.
Melz Owusu of the Free Black University team says, “We are overjoyed at the generosity of Amanda and Rhiannon in choosing our project to give proceeds from this beautiful song to. The donation will go so far in us building a sustainable programme of radical education that aims to transform the world.”
“IT’S A FIRE” CREDITS:
Amanda Palmer - Vocals
Rhiannon Giddens - Vocals
Marta Sofia Honer - Violins and Violas
Caleigh Drane - Cellos
Jherek Bischoff - Double Bass, Electric Bass, Percussion, Sequencing
Amanda Palmer's vocals were recorded by Simon Gooding
at Roundhead Studios, Auckland, New Zealand
Studio Assistant- Alexandra Corbett
Rhiannon Giddens’ vocals were recorded by Francesco Turrisi in Greystones, Ireland
Violins and Violas recorded by Marta Sofia Honer at home
Cellos recorded by Caleigh Drane at home
Double Bass, Electric Bass and Percussion recorded by Jherek Bischoff
at Sweethaven, Los Angeles, CA
Mixed and Mastered by Jherek Bischoff at Sweethaven
GRAMMY®-Award-winning guitar virtuosos Rodrigo y Gabriela have shared a new song from their soon-to-be-released METTAVOLUTION LIVE, an all-new double album recorded during last year’s METTAVOLUTION World Tour. The 13-track collection arrives as a 2LP, 2CD, and digital download via Rubyworks/ATO on Friday October 2; pre-orders are available now. The song, "Electric Soul," premiered earlier today with a Q&A on American Songwriter.
METTAVOLUTION LIVE was heralded in July with the release of an awe-inspiring, 20-minute-plus live version of Pink Floyd’s epic “Echoes,” audaciously reimagined for two acoustic guitars.
The release of METTAVOLUTION LIVE comes in the wake of a deeply creative period that Rod and Gab are continuing to experience in these pandemic days at home in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. One of the world’s most in-demand live acts, the duo had planned to spend this summer celebrating METTAVOLUTION and their historic GRAMMY® Award triumph with an eagerly awaited world tour. Instead, they performed an extremely popular NPR Tiny Desk (Home) performance in April, and have been releasing their daily Lumbini Sessions with inspired live versions of their favorite metal songs, film themes, jazz tunes, RyG album cuts as well as covers of Motorhead, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Dave Brubeck, Van Morrison, Lil Nas X, Radiohead and more. Most recently, Rod and Gab just launched their new Patreon, "Music From The Field," where they will be sharing previously unreleased tracks, new Patreon-only audio and video, plus regular AMAs, Metta talks, exclusive merchandise offers and more.
“Hearing this recording is to be able to reconnect with our marvelous fans from our live gigs during 2019,” say Rodrigo y Gabriela, “the year we got to promote our METTAVOLUTION album all over the world. That was the very moment we felt truly complete as artists and musicians.”
Barenaked Ladies celebrate a milestone 20th anniversary of their fifth studio album Maroon with an Exclusive Double Vinyl and Deluxe Digital edition for the first time ever. Originally released on September 12, 2000, Maroon debuted at #1 in Canada, and #5 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling over 1M records in the U.S. alone, spawning the classic hit singles, “Pinch Me”, “Too Little Too Late”, and “Falling for the First Time”.
As of today, fans are able to pre-order an exclusive vinyl package that features 180-gram double vinyl in a beautiful, gatefold sleeve. A limited number of maroon-colored vinyl will also be available. The original twelve tracks are featured on both the vinyl and digital Deluxe versions' along with rarities, b-sides and demos, including an alternative version of 'Green Christmas'. Pre-order and stream HERE.
The hilarious video for the hit song “Pinch Me” features brand new 2020 band commentary. Watch the World Exclusive premiere on ET Canada HERE.
Also launched today is an exclusive merch capsule collection celebrating Maroon featuring hoodies, tees and other fun items inspired by the “Pinch Me” drive-thru restaurant. Visit BNL’s webstore HERE.
12. Tonight Is The Night I Fell Asleep At The Wheel
13. Hidden Sun
14. Powder Blue
15. Inline Bowline
16. Born Human
17. Falling For The First Time (Demo)
18. Green Christmas (Alternative version)
The multi-platinum band recently announced a pay-per-view live stream show featuring footage from BNL’s 2015 Red Rocks performance to take place on Saturday, September 12 at 7pm Eastern time.
Recorded at the fabled Morrison, CO amphitheater in June 2015 during the Ladies’ Last Summer on Earth tour, the footage captures the rock icons’ incredible live energy, camaraderie, and musicianship that stand as a testament to the band’s remarkable longevity in an ever-changing musical landscape. The live stream features a new exclusive interview where the band discuss their most fun and memorable stories from performing at Red Rocks over the years, as well as commentary from Ed and Tyler throughout the show. The show’s opening will be shown on the band’s Facebook and YouTube. From there you will be able to purchase a ticket for the rest of the show at Nugs.net.
BNL have been staying busy during quarantine with weekly Facebook Livestreams along with their #SelfieCamJams, performing deep cuts and fan favorites from their homes, even bringing in surprise guests. In April, they did a family-fun "Snacktime" #SelfieCamJam for kids of all ages. Many familiar faces made a special appearance to share their favorite snack, like Sarah McLachlan, Tom Greene, KT Tunstall, The Count, and Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish, who Barenaked Ladies toured with in 2019. The band also teamed up with Michael Bublé and Sofia Reyes for a timely single “Gotta Be Patient,” with all proceeds to be donated to charity.
BNL’s recent TikTok video in which Ed takes you ‘Behind The Song’on how he wrote the Big Bang Theory theme song has been viewed over 2.4 million times. Watch it HERE.
The Toronto-based “cult fave” (Paste Magazine) —who have now sold over 15 million albums worldwide and earned multiple JUNO Awards and Grammy nominations— can’t wait to get back on the road when it is safe to do so again. This will be the 6th edition of their Last Summer On Earth tour, following last summer’s critically-acclaimed shows with Hootie & the Blowfish. Other past acts include Cracker, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, Blues Traveler, Guster, Ben Folds Five, Violent Femmes, Colin Hay, OMD, Howard Jones, Better Than Ezra, and KT Tunstall.
Billy Strings kicked off his "Meet Me At The Drive-In Tour" this past weekend with three shows in Wilkes-Barre, PA at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The band has just announced a partnership with TourGigs that will give fans access to video stream the sold out Sept 16 and 17 performances from the McHenry Outdoor Theater in McHenry, IL, located just outside of Chicago.
Fans may purchase live video streams for the shows individually:
The "Meet Me At The Drive-In Tour" will conclude with two nights at the Expo Gardens on Sept 18 and 19 in Peoria, IL. Tickets are available via billystrings.com.
All CDC and local guidelines will be followed. The Billy Strings band and crew are working closely with local promoters and government to ensure this event meets or exceeds all recommended standards.
Vehicles will be spaced to accommodate social distancing.
Patrons may only leave their vehicles to use their tailgating space adjacent to their vehicle, restrooms or to obtain concessions.
Masks/Face coverings must be worn by any patrons traveling to and from restrooms, concessions areas.
Safe social distancing will be strictly enforced.
MEET ME AT THE DRIVE-IN TOUR
September 16 @ McHenry Outdoor Theater | McHenry, IL - SOLD OUT
September 17 @ McHenry Outdoor Theater | McHenry, IL - SOLD OUT
September 18 @ Expo Gardens | Peoria, IL - LIMITED TICKETS LEFT
September 19 @ Expo Gardens | Peoria, IL - SOLD OUT
The Allman Betts Band released their sophomore studio album Bless Your Heart (BMG) on Aug 28 and the (usually) 200 tour date a year band has not slowed since. The band played two successful drive-in shows in the Northeast earlier this month as well as a live-streamed show via NoCap. The band is gearing up for three live performances in PA and NY this coming weekend.
Ahead of their upcoming run of shows, the band surprised fans with their official lyric video for the track “Airboats and Cocaine” last night through their social channels.
*All Covid-19 local and national safety guidelines will be in place. Patrons must wear masks and practice social distancing at all Allman Betts Band live performances. Further info is available through the individual venues.
The Wall Street Journal calls Bless Your Heart “a mature, diverse set of songs that better establishes its own Americana-rooted sound.” And No Depression says “this is The Allman Betts Band’s best offering yet.” In July, the band made their national TV debut in July on CBS This Morning’s Saturday Sessions.
When The Allman Betts Band released Down to the River in June of 2019, the debut album represented not only the first time the group had recorded together but, in fact, the first time the seven-piece ensemble had ever played together. If Down to the River was the sound of the band’s combustible sparks igniting, then Bless Your Heart is their bonfire, built for the summer of 2020 and beyond; a double-album follow-up fueled by road-forged camaraderie and telepathic musical intensity, vibrantly reflecting the individual and collective experiences of these seven, all drawing inspiration from the band’s symbolic hometown- a place Devon Allman calls “the United States of Americana.”
A conflagration of influences and invention, confidence and ambition, Bless Your Heart captures a vast, panoramic scope throughout a baker’s dozen of modern rock. Ragged and stomping. Heady and frayed. Soaring and scorching. Generational and genteel. West Coast scenes and Gulf Coast shores. Gateways of the Midwest and swamplands of Florida. Wyoming’s Big Sky. New York’s Big Apple. Chicago’s Broad Shoulders.
Over a week’s time, they recorded 13 songs at the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studio on 2-inch tape, just as they did with Down to The River. In addition to the time in Muscle Shoals, Bless Your Heart saw additional tracking in Memphis and St. Louis. Within the eclectic repertoire are the familiar: stacks of guitars; electric, acoustic, and slide; a throttling, percussive rhythm section. And the fresh: Bassist and singer Berry Duane Oakley’s ABB vocal debut on his original song (“The Doctor’s Daughter”); Allman’s baritone vocal channeling Johnny Cash (“Much Obliged”); Betts extending the legendary family legacy of incendiary instrumentals (“Savannah’s Dream”). They tapped friends, as well, such as Jimmy Hall, Shannon McNally, Art Edmaiston, Susan Marshall, and Reba Russell for guest contributions. Then, emerged with an undeniable achievement of an album (what sophomore jinx?) worthy of its winking, unabashedly Southern title.
“I think we definitely challenged ourselves, pushed ourselves artistically, and widened the spectrum on all levels. We wanted something that was a little more sweeping. A deeper experience,” says Betts. Says Allman, “I hope what people hear on Bless Your Heart is a band that’s having a love affair with being a band.”
Trey Anastasio Band will release their new live album, Burn It Down, this Friday, September 18. Produced and mixed by Vance Powell (Phish, Chris Stapleton, Jack White), the album is a three-dimensional sonic time capsule that captures the explosive eight-piece band on their January 2020 tour. The 15-song tracklist combines TAB’s trademark tight musicianship with unbounded performances that make Burn It Down a compelling document of this band at the peak of its powers.
“Over the past few years there’s been an indescribable momentum with TAB,” says Anastasio. “The band seems to get tighter with each successive tour. This past January, we were firing on all cylinders, and it was reflected in the faces of the people coming to the shows. I could feel it and see it every single night — the intensity of the dancing, the smiles on people’s faces, the feeling of unity.
“So immediately after that tour, I put plans in motion to begin a TAB album in the spring. The pandemic changed those plans, and when everything was cancelled, I began working at home on what would later become Lonely Trip.
“Meanwhile, my friend Vance Powell, who produced this new TAB album, called and told me there was already enough great material on tape from the January tour to make the best TAB album ever, and make it a live album. So he started sending me mixes. I loved them. We both agreed that Burn It Down, a line from the song ‘Set Your Soul Free,’ was the perfect title, because it encapsulated exactly what had been happening onstage every night.
“When I listen to this album, it reminds me how much I miss playing live music. In some ways, it’s hard for me to listen for that reason. I can’t wait to experience this again. I miss it so much.”
“Producing and mixing Burn It Down has been absolutely one of my favorite projects ever,” adds Powell. “The band is slamming!”
Despite the ongoing pandemic, 2020 has been a busy year for Anastasio, as TAB’s Burn It Down follows hot on the heels of his Covid-inspired home recordings compilation, Lonely Trip, his appearance with The Roots as the first in-studio performer since the beginning of lockdown on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and the April release of Phish’s Sigma Oasis. Fans can hear Burn It Down in its entirety tomorrow night Thursday September 17, at 9pm ET on SiriusXM’s Phish Radio. Anastasio will also be performing tomorrow night as part of the Central Park SummerStage Jubilee, a free benefit concert supporting City Parks Foundation programs taking place across all SummerStage social platforms (SummerStage Instagram, SummerStage YouTube, Facebook page and Twitch) via livestream beginning at 8pm ET. The digital event will also feature exclusive performances by Sting, Norah Jones, Rufus Wainwright, Leslie Odom Jr., Rosanne Cash, Emily King and PJ Morton.
TREY ANASTASIO BAND IS:
Trey Anastasio – Guitars / Vocals
Cyro Baptista - Percussion
James Casey – Saxophone / Keyboards / Percussion / Vocals
Bonnaroo has unveiled full details for Virtual ROO-ALITY, a free three-night live broadcast airing exclusively via YouTube. The livestreaming event will celebrate the beloved annual festival with a remarkable range of programming, spanning brand new live performances, unique original content, and incredible archival sets captured at Bonnaroo’s home at Great Stage Park in Manchester, TN. Virtual ROO-ALITY will stream live on September 24-26 beginning at 4:30pm CT each day exclusively at the official Bonnaroo YouTube channel HERE. A complete schedule will be announced soon.
Virtual ROO-ALITY will deliver a spectacular lineup of headliners, which like Bonnaroo itself, showcases the greatest artists from a breathtakingly diverse range of musical genres. Topping the bill are 13 legendary live performances from Bonnaroo’s spectacular archive, including Dave Matthews and Friends, Metallica, The White Stripes, James Brown, My Morning Jacket, Alabama Shakes, and more. Among the undeniable highlights will be the full-length streaming premiere of the Beastie Boys’ historic final concert performance, held at Bonnaroo on June 12, 2009.
In addition, Virtual ROO-ALITY will offer thrilling new performances from more than 35 legendary artists, rising stars, and once-in-a-lifetime collaborations, including Nathaniel Rateliff, Chromeo, Big Gigantic, Bruce Hornsby Feat. James Mercer, Rob Moose & Polo G, Old Crow Medicine Show’s Bonnarootenanny, Denzel Curry, Lennon Stella, Billy Strings, Action Bronson, CloZee, Moon Taxi, Live from Tipitina’s featuring Galactic and Tank and The Bangas, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Goose, Live from Graduate Nashville curated by Music City tastemaker Whiskey Jam featuring Ashley McBryde, Ingrid Andress, Devin Dawson and ERNEST, and many more.
Of course, Bonnaroo has always been about more than just music. Just like the festival does onsite every year, Virtual ROO-ALITY will present viewers with a wide array of original programming, additional activities and exclusive experiences throughout the three-day event. Bonnaroovians will be able to twerk their way through the kitchen as Big Freedia shares her recipe for Booty Poppin’ Potatoes, rule the mic at “Bonnaroke with Allen Stone,” gain some knowledge during “Food Conversations with Action Bronson Live From Greenpoint,” and rock the official “Robe Rage” satin robe during Bonnaroo’s “Robe Rage” late night dance parties. Not-to-be-missed segments also include the virtual Sanctuary of Self Love, the Dog Dance Party, Bonnaroo Campfire Tales and Cheers to Live.
As part of the virtual Sanctuary of Self Love curated by Hayley Williams and brought to you by Toyota, Bonnaroovians can experience engaging conversations about important topics including the digital space and mental health, diversity in wellness, and the origins of gender with panelists ranging from Charli XCX, Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, Laura Jane Grace, Blair Imani, Maryam Ajai, and more. In addition, Sanctuary of Self Love will also present a remarkable “Conversation on Meditation, Creativity, and Consciousness” with visionary filmmaker David Lynch and meditation leader Bob Roth, as well as a special endorphin boost via “Sweatfest” with 2x GRAMMY® Award-nominated dancer/choreographer Ryan Heffington. To help continue the work and journey of these esteemed panelists, Toyota will donate $30,000 in grants toTherapy For Black Girls,Dive In Well,Creative Futures Collective,The Orenda Tribe andThe Okra Project. Additionally, Bonnaroo will make a donation to theDavid Lynch Foundation.
Bonnaroo has teamed with Tito’s Handmade Vodka and the brand's Vodka for Dog People program to create the Virtual ROO-ALITY Dog Dance Party, featuring a special guest appearance from DJ Mel. The daily event will offer viewers and their furry plus-ones a chance to stretch their legs and get their groove on, all while showing support for Manchester, TN’s Coffee County Humane Society.
Everyone who has been to Bonnaroo has a unique story to tell. Bonnaroo Campfire Tales, presented by TWIX® Cookies & Crème, will see a variety of top artists and familiar faces gather around a virtual campfire to share their most amazing tales from the Farm.
Bonnaroo has partnered with BACARDÍ for Cheers to Live, a series showcasing the impact of the live arts from stages of historic theaters that ripple through the entire community and its culture. In each segment, a local bartender will be on hand to share a tutorial on mixing a drink, and Bonnaroovians will learn about a variety of non-profit venues in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville, and Memphis, what their existence means to their community, and how they can show support.
Virtual ROO-ALITY and the Bonnaroo Works Fund are proud to support and raise awareness for the ACLU Foundation, which engages in a broad range of work to protect civil rights and liberties and utilizes donations to help fund litigation and public education efforts, and Headcount, a non-partisan organization that uses the power of music to register voters and promote participation in democracy, reaching young people and music fans where they already are – at concerts and online – to inform and empower. Donations collected during the virtual weekend for these and additional organizations will be made by the Bonnaroo Works Fund, whose core values are community, creativity, and positive influence. Thanks to your contributions, the Bonnaroo Works Fund supports nonprofits benefiting the arts, education, sustainability, and social impact.
Brand new, limited edition “Bonnaroo From Home” merchandise is available now, exclusively via the official Bonnaroo online store. The collection includes such items as a “Virtual ROO-ALITY 2020” poster, a “Robe Rage” satin robe, a “Farm Fresh” 8 oz. candle, a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle, a tie-dye mask, and more. In addition, a special tee – provided by GILDAN – will exclusively support the Bonnaroo Works Fun’s mission of changing the world through social impact, human development, and community engagement. To view the full collection, please visit the official Bonnaroo online store HERE.
Bonnaroo’s Virtual ROO-ALITY is generously sponsored by BACARDí, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Red Bull, Toyota and Twix.
Suzanne Santo released her new single “Fall For That” today. The track, which features an epic guitar solo from Gary Clark Jr. premiered exclusively via Relix earlier this week.
Santo spoke to Relix about the track saying “This tune comes from a deep need to find and understand the truth in the chaotic world around us and to represent myself from an honest place of my own volition. Often I feel clotheslined by the thoughts and agendas of others/the media and feel confused by what beliefs and thoughts are accurately my own.”
“Fall For That” was recorded with Grammy-winning producer/engineer John Spiker (Beck, Steve Earle). Santo sings with a snarl on the track, her bluesy wail paired with a gritty, oscillating guitar line that seems to inhale and exhale of its own volition, rising and falling in slow, steady rhythm like the chest of some sleeping beast. At once fierce and meditative, the song is a message to herself as much as any outside audience, an anthem of fear and determination delivered by a woman who’s seen enough of each to know which side wins in the end.
Santo, a fiercely independent musician, actress and model has always acted on what’s been personally best for her at any given time, pushing aside any notion or expectation of what or who she should be. And by doing so, she’s turned a few heads along the way. Santo has toured and performed with Hozier as well as Butch Walker, and she is also half of the critically acclaimed roots duo HoneyHoney. Santo has also appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience twice this year.
Billy Strings surprised fans with a special announcement over the weekend that the band will be performing live from Red Rocks for a live streaming event happening on Saturday, Sept 26 at 6pm MT. The band will play three full sets of music to a crowdless Red Rocks Amphitheatre via nugs.tv and Cinematics for their first-ever headlining performance. The video production, which will utilize the latest Red Digital Cinema, Blackmagic Design & DJI Drone 6k cameras mixed with the 7C Cinema live style, will treat viewers to a one-of-a-kind 4K Ultra Cinematic live music experience.
Fans may purchase live video streams for the show for $19.99 HD / $34.99 4K HERE. The purchase of the stream will provide unlimited on-demand access for 48 hours.
The newly announced Red Rocks performance comes almost a year to the day (Sept 27, 2019) after the release of Strings’ latest album HOME (Rounder Records). The release of HOME was seemingly a launching point for an incredible growth spurt. Pollstar reported, “in 2020, Strings has doubled, tripled or even quadrupled his ticket counts in most markets.” The band earned four 2020 IBMA Award nominations including Entertainer of the Year and Album of the Year, and the 2020 Americana Music Association’s Honors and Awards nominated the band for Emerging Act of the Year. The group also made their national television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! this past July and has received national recognition in outlets like The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Relix, American Songwriter, Pollstar, Billboard, Garden & Gun, and so many more.
HOME is undoubtedly the Michigan-born, Nashville-based artist’s bravest excursion thus far, completely rewiring bluegrass with elements of punk, country, folk rock, and genuine psychedelic exploration to fashion something altogether his own. Strings has infused the aesthetic with his own experiences and inspirations, adopting traditional sonic and lyrical idioms to confront contemporary social truths. With guest appearances from the likes of Jerry Douglas and Molly Tuttle and produced by Glenn Brown (Greensky Bluegrass, Marcus Miller), HOME marks a landmark on Billy Strings’ ongoing creative journey, its fearless songs and freewheeling approach recasting string-based American music in his own inimitable image.
Last night, guitar icon Joe Bonamassa truly stole the show. Performing LIVE, in real time, from Ryman Auditorium, Bonamassa played his new studio album Royal Tea (recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London) in its entirety, a month before its release on October 23rd, along with fan favorites from his recent 20th anniversary album, A New Day Now, which is his 23rd #1 album!
The legendary venue typically seats 2,300, but for one night only, the real crowd was the size of a major stadium, and in-house nearly every seat was filled with a custom cardboard cutout. The event sold over 17,000 tickets, reaching 44 countries, bringing audiences of all cultures and backgrounds together, worldwide for one very special live music presentation. Considering the number of households watching concerts together from home, one ticket could actually account for an entire family, so the true number of viewers would likely skyrocket. Furthermore, there’s still time to check out the action – tickets for the livestream are available through the entire rest of the week until September 27th.
Between ticket sales and donations during the After Party Showcase the event raised $32,000 already for Bonamassa’s Fueling Musicians program, presented by his non-profit Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation (KTBA). The showcase featured some of the genre's most talented, emerging acts of this generation, with over an hour of non-stop performances from artists including Ally Venable Band, The Cold Stares, Elles Bailey, Ida Mae, Jared James Nichols, Jontavious Willis, Katy Guillen & The Drive, Robert Jon & The Wreck, Southern Avenue, Tyler Bryant and Vanessa Collier.
Tickets purchased this week will continue to support the cause, benefiting touring musicians unable to make a living due to COVID-19. To date the program has raised over $350,000 in total and has supported more than 190 touring musicians impacted by the pandemic.
Tickets to the pay-per-view concert on demand are available at $35 for the ALL-ACCESS PASS. The All-Access pass includes on demand admission to the virtual concert until September 27th, the Royal Tea digital album available on October 23rd, and a 1-year pass to Bonamassa’s on-demand video service. Bonamassa’s video service includes 17+ concert releases from Joe Bonamassa, Black Country Communion, and Rock Candy Funk Party – available at any time on most devices.
Following the ticketed event, the concert is in the works to be broadcast on public television and will be available on DVD at a later date.
To keep up with everything Bonamassa, visit jbonamassa.com, and be sure to stay connected on social media.