Crocodiles at 4 Knotts 2012 (more by Chris La Putt)

Crocodiles will spend the bulk of next month on tour with Japandroids and that will include their sold-out show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on June 7, which is one of the Governors Ball afterparties. If you'd like to catch them somewhere smaller, Crocodiles will headline their own show at Union Pool the next night (6/8). Opening is drag show Chez Deep and tickets are on sale now.

Crocodiles most recent album is 2012's Endless Flowers and you can watch the video for the title track below. All Japandroids tour dates are listed below as well.

Continue reading "Crocodiles touring with Japandroids, playing Union Pool"

Holy Ghost!, who are playing the Governors Ball next month and touring with New Order this summer, are working on their new album, Dynamics. The record doesn't have a release date yet, but the first single just dropped. The 10-minute whopper is called "Dumb Disco Ideas" and is fueled by a very DFA rhythm section and funky clavinet. You can stream it below via its video that uses time-lapse photography to good effect. You can buy it digitally now and a 200-run vinyl pressing is due out soon.

The band are about to start a West Coast tour, which will make them one of the few active artists on DFA's roster to not play the label's big, sold-out 12th anniversary party at Grand Prospect Hall on 5/25 which is part of the Red Bull Music Academy NYC takeover. They play Governors Ball on June 7 (only VIP tickets left) but tickets are still available for their July 24 show at Williamsburg Park opening for New Order.

All tour dates are listed, along with the new video, below.

Continue reading "Holy Ghost! released new single, playing shows including Governors Ball and New Order tour (dates, video)"

Deerhunter at Austin Psych Fest 2013 (more by Tim Griffin)

Governors Ball is less than a month away, and the fest has now released the daily schedule. They've done a pretty good job with not too many giant conflicts -- though there's a few like Grizzly Bear vs Beirut, Bloc Party vs The xx, Erykah Badu vs Beach House, and Nas vs Guns N Roses. Check out the daily line-ups across their four stages below.

Continue reading "Governors Ball announces set times"

The picture above (via Governors Ball's Twitter) pretty much says it all. Death From Above 1979 have cancelled their appearance at this year's Governors Ball, which is especially unfortunate considering they were one of the ten bands we're excited to see. Apparently they're in the throes of finishing their new album and can't make it.

DFA1979 were also supposed to play Governors Ball afterparty with Fucked Up on Friday, June 7 at Irving Plaza, and that has been cancelled too. Refunds are available at point of purchase.

Taking their place at the actual festival is Foals, who just brought their tour to Terminal 5 last Friday (5/3) for a fairly insane, hyper-energetic shows. The crowd was pretty much going bananas the whole time (as was singer Yannis Philippakis who spent as much time in the crowd as onstage) so this seems like a good addition to Governors Ball, even though DFA1979 will be missed.

Regular Governors Ball tickets are totally sold out, but you can still get VIP Passes for Friday or all three days.

by Bill Pearis

Wild Nothing have a new EP, Empty Estate, on the way, which will be out May 14 on Captured Tracks. That's the cover art above. Recorded in NYC back in January, the record is pretty different than anything Jack Tatum has done before, with a warbly postpunk/synthpop vibe, like what might have been released by Ze Records in 1979. Here's what Tatum says about it:

This is a record that happened very fast for me. We had just gotten back from a particularly long European tour last November, our first supporting Nocturne, and I was feeling a lot of things. I found myself struggling with what it meant to be a musician, with what music in general meant to me and what part I could possibly play in it. Playing the same songs every night for months left me bored with myself. But when I got home, for the first time in awhile it suddenly seemed that the pressure was off. We didn't have any tours planned for several months and I started to remember again why I love music in the first place. I listened to Brian Eno and David Bowie for weeks on end and felt like I was hearing them for the first time. I took a trip to Miami with my girlfriend. I visited my family. I felt free to try things musically that I would have stifled before. The songs on this EP were recorded over a 10 day period and are a reflection of this time. Of all the frustrations and successes and moments of peace in between.

Look for Wild Nothing on tour later this year, including NYC shows at Governors Ball in June and opening for Father John Misty at Terminal 5 on July 24. Tickets for that T5 show go on AmEx presale on Wednesday (4/26) at noon with the regular on-sale happening Friday (4/26) at noon. All Wild Nothing tour dates are below.

Continue reading "Wild Nothing releasing new EP, opening for Father John Misty (dates & stream)"

DFA1979 @ Treasure Island Fest 2011 (more by Autumn Andell)

We already knew Japandroids would be playing a Governors Ball afterparty at Music Hall of Williamsburg on June 7. That one is sold-out, but they are far from the only ones in on the afterparty action. There are a bunch happening over the course of the festival (June 7 - 9), which were all announced today.

Friday (6/7) has the most. In addition to Japandroids, there'll be more Canadians afoot with Death From Above 1979 and Fucked Up at Irving Plaza. Tickets to that show go on sale Friday (4/26) at 10 AM with a Governors Ball presale starting Wednesday (4/24) at 10 AM, and LiveNation and Music Geeks presales on Thursday at 10 AM.

Also on Friday night, Polica and Solid Gold play Brooklyn Bowl and tickets go on sale Friday (4/26) at noon.

For those inclined to dance, Friday night also has Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs DJing at Webster Hall. Those tickets are on sale now.

And one last Friday afterparty: The Revivalists, Roadkill Ghost Choir and Swear & Shake play Bowery Ballroom. Tickets to that go on sale Friday (4/26) with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday at noon.

On Saturday (6/8), Haim and Kate Boy will play Brooklyn Bowl. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (4/26) at noon.

Also on Saturday, over at Gramercy Theatre it's Griz, and Cherub. Tickets go on sale Friday (4/26) at 10 AM with a Governors Ball presale starting Wednesday (4/24) at 10 AM, and LiveNation and Music Geeks presales on Thursday at 10 AM.

Only one afterparty on Sunday (6/9) and it's at Brooklyn Bowl with Sister Sparrow, Hollis Brown, and Shakey Graves at Brooklyn Bowl.

And for those who like to pre-party, Governors Ball is doing that too. Kate Boy, Hey Champ, and Gemini Club will play Santos Party House on Thursday, June 6. Tickets to that show are on sale now.

Flyer for the Governors Ball afterparties is below.

Continue reading "Governors Ball afterparties announced (DFA1979, Fucked Up, Polica, Haim, TEED ++ more) "

Japandroids at Coachella 2013 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

As mentioned, Governors Ball after parties are being planned to happen across various venues in NYC, and it's just been announced that one of those happens on Friday, June 7 at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Japandroids. Doors for the show are at 11 PM and the show starts at 11:30. This show will be almost exactly a year since Japandroids last played Music Hall of Williamsburg, but they've gotten way bigger since, so it should be a pretty intimate (aka sweaty) show for the band at this point. Tickets for that go on sale Friday (4/19) at noon.

Tickets for the Friday and Saturday of Governors Ball are still available. If you're planning on going to Governors Ball and trying to make the afterparty, Kings of Leon headline the fest that night if that helps in decision-making.

Japandroids are over on the West Coast right now for Coachella 2013, which they played over the weekend, and some shows with Cloud Nothings. Check out a video of the band playing "Fire's Highway" at the festival, along with their updated tour schedule, below...

Continue reading "Japandroids playing a Governors Ball afterparty at Music Hall of Williamsburg (updated dates & a video from Coachella)"

by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin

Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen of Grizzly Bear @ Stubb's - 4/8/2012

Grizzly Bear are on tour and in Texas this week and played a sold-out Stubb's with Owen Pallett on Monday night (4/8). Owen, who was shoe-less and sporting a Grizzly Bear shirt, got things going with his violin and sounded great backed by Matt Smith on guitar and Rob Gordon on drums.

Grizzly Bear took the stage to cheers from the audience, and rolled through 19 songs (including a three song encore) ending with a great acoustic version of "All We Ask" with the band gathered around a single mic. Check out the full setlist below.

GB played Houston last night and are back in Austin tonight (4/10) to tape an episode of Austin City Limits. They then hit El Paso on April 11 before moving on to California for shows including Coachella, and then the world (London, Barcelona, Paris, Milan, München) before heading back to New York where they play Governors Ball.

Check out more pictures from Stubb's, along with the setlist and upcoming tour dates (and maybe I'll see you at the taping tonight), below...

Continue reading "Grizzly Bear roared at a sold-out Stubb's w/ Owen Pallett (pics, setlist), tapes for ACLTV tonight"

Governor's Ball 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

As mentioned, single day tickets to Governor's Ball went on sale today and with that, comes their day-by-day lineups, featuring headliners Kings of Leon (6/7), Guns N Roses (6/8) and Kanye West (6/9). Complete daily line-ups are below.

Continue reading "Governors Ball announces artists by day (tickets on sale)"

Governors Ball 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Though Guns N Roses being announced as the third headliner and related "YOLO" Facebook messages were the most discussed and controversial topics when one of NYC festival Governors Ball's promoters hopped in a Reddit chat yesterday (4/3), we also learned that: Miguel dropped off the festival; the promoters were trying to land Atoms for Peace (whose tour instead brings them to NYC for a Barclays Center show on 9/27); Cut Copy and Kendrick Lamar are playing at the same time on the Saturday of the fest, and there are unannounced afterparties. "Stay tuned for epic shows at Brooklyn Bowl, MHOW, Gramercy, Glasslands, and Irving Plaza." That quote and more over at Reddit.

Governors Ball goes down on Randall's Island from June 7 - 9 and also includes a number of other artists like Kanye West, Nas, Grizzly Bear, The xx, Feist, Beach House, Animal Collective, Erykah Badu, Death from Above 1979, Crystal Castles, Best Coast, Dirty Projectors, DInosaur Jr., Japandroids, Alt-J, Deerhunter, Fucked Up, and many more. 3-Day passes are still available and tickets for individual days are now on Friday (4/5) at 11 AM.

Meanwhile you can catch Guns N Roses tribute band, Mr. Brownstone (no stranger to the pages of BrooklynVegan) at Brooklyn Bowl on May 18 (tickets).

We recently gave you a list of artists we're excited to see at the festival, and though that list already included Deerhunter, we're even more excited to see them after their recent Fallon performance. If you missed the awesomeness of that (which also included debuting their new single, Monomania), you can watch the video below.

Continue reading "Governors Ball plan afterparties, Miguel not playing, Kendrick & Cut Copy competing set times & more we learned on Reddit"

Erykah Badu at Afropunk 2012 (more by Gretchen Robinette)

"Queen of Neo-Soul" Erykah Badu has some scattered live dates scheduled for this year and she'll be making a trip to NYC for a pretty busy weekend here in June. For one, she was added to NYC festival Governors Ball, which goes down on Randall's Island from June 7 - 9. Tickets for that festival are still available.

While she's here, she'll be performing her 2008 album, New Amerykah Part One (4th World War), live at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House on June 8 with the Brooklyn Philharmonic and the Brooklyn Philharmonic's 2011-2012 Artist-in-Residence Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def), who will also be performing a "reprise of selected works" from his 2012 Brooklyn Philharmonic installment, with Lena Horne and the Bed-Stuy Tradition. This show will be taking place right next door to the Barclays Center, a venue Mos Def has some issues with. Mos Def previously performed with Erykah Badu at Afropunk Fest 2012. Tickets for the BAM show are on sale now.

A list of all Erykah Badu dates and the video for "Honey" off of New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) below...

Continue reading "Erykah Badu playing BAM w/ Brooklyn Philharmonic & Mos Def, and Governors Ball (other shows too)"

Guns N' Roses at Webster Hall in 2012 (more by Ryan Muir)

Who saw this coming? When NYC festival Governors Ball announced their 2013 lineup the headliners were Kanye West, Kings of Leon, and one unannounced artist. You guys guessed things like Phoenix, The Postal Service, Vampire Weekend, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but now the announcement of the third headliner has come and it's... Guns N' Roses. Amazing? Totally Lame? What do you think?

The band, featuring Axl Rose and no other original members, last visited NYC in 2012 to play a series of club shows.

Tickets for the festival, which also includes Kendrick Lamar, Beach House, The xx, Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Nas, Japandroids, and so many more are still available. The fest goes down from June 7 - 9 on Randall's Island.

In related news, Kendrick Lamar just announced a headlining NYC show happening before and presented by Governors Ball.

On An On @ Chicago's Lincoln Hall, 1/23/2013 (more by Zach Pollack)

As you may remember, On An On are in NYC this week, playing shows in support of their enjoyable debut album, Give In, which came out last week. You can stream it below where you'll also find their their new video for "The Hunter" which features youth gone wild and a fair amount of pyrotechnics.

In addition to the previously-announced dates at Mercury Lounge on Wednesday (2/6, tix) with Field Mouse and Glasslands on Thursday (2/6, tix) with Tiny Victories and Young Heel, On An On have added a show on Friday (2/8) at Rodrigue's Coffee House at Fordam University campus in the Bronx with The Shockwaves and Hattrick (info).

If you can't make it to any of their NYC shows this week, On An On will be back this summer at Governors Ball. All tour dates are listed below.

Continue reading "On An On released 'Give In' (stream, video), add third NYC show to their visit this week (updated dates)"

by Andrew Sacher and Bill Pearis

Governors Ball 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

As mentioned, NYC music festival Governors Ball keeps growing and its returning this year for it's largest and most exciting festival yet on Randall's Island from June 7 - 9. Early bird 3-day passes go on sale today (1/25) at noon at $190, and once they sell out, they become $205 and then $220. According to the festival's website, single day tickets may or may not become available so if you'd like to go, they advise you purchase a 3-day pass.

The lineup has tons of great names this year and if you're going, we're sure you've got a bunch of stuff lined up to see already, and while you're making your wish list, here's our list of ten bands that we're excited to see at the festival, that you might not want to miss.

Kanye West is one of the headliners, and any chance to catch him in the NYC area is one to take advantage of. It's pretty amazing how far he's come and with seven albums under his belt (including Watch the Throne and Cruel Summer), he's got more than enough material for a hits-filled set, which he tends to do. And there's no telling what else he might do, like break out some snow monster masks or something.

A newer, but no less exciting rapper, Kendrick Lamar, will be there too. He turned the rap world on its head with last year's good kid, m.A.A.d. city, and us New Yorkers only got our chance to see him before its release. So now that we know all the words to his record, we pretty much can't wait to see him perform songs off of it at Governors Ball.

The term "supergroup" doesn't always mean the group is "super," just that the members are all known for other projects. But in the case of Divine Fits, featuring the songwriting talents of Spoon's Britt Daniel and Handsome Furs' Dan Boeckner, it was two great tastes that taste great together. And as a band, Divine Fits were pretty much amazing live right out of the gate, and their danceable vibe is festival-ready.

Deerhunter have been promising a new album for 2013 and while they haven't revealed any formal plans for it, we're hoping to hear some of the new material at Governors Ball. Plus, though we've seen side projects like Atlas Sound, Lotus Plaza, and Moon Diagrams in NYC recently, we haven't gotten an actual Deerhunter show since 2011.

Death from Above 1979 have played NYC a couple of times since reuniting in 2011, and whether you've caught them or not, it's a treat that they have another one on the horizon.

UK art rockers Alt-J became infinitely bigger since first coming to the US last May, and they've got the kind of songs that would sound great on a big outdoor stage. The band have been on tour constantly and we've seen their onstage confidence grow leaps over the visits they've already had here. They should be primed and ready for big crowds by the summer.

Japandroids have already come to NYC a few times in the past year (and those liars said it'd be a while before they came back!) and anyone who has seen them knows every Japandroids show is destined to be a wild time. The band is always nuts on stage and so is the crowd, so it's the kind of thing that will be a killer time at an outdoor festival.

Another band, like Alt-J, that have also had a pretty significant and quick rise since first catching our attention, is Polica, who will be at this year's Governors Ball. Their mix of indie pop and R&B is endlessly catchy and the dueling drummers are a thrill to watch live. Whether you're already a fan or not, they'd be a great band to catch.

Unlike many of the bands on the Governors Ball line-up, it's been a couple years since Australia's Cut Copy have played North America and absence makes the heart grow fonder. CC seem to write their songs with giant crowds in mind and show no shame in working the crowd into a frenzy.

Most of the artists on this list are artists we've been fans of for a while, but festivals are also always good places to discover new artists, and one new group we're excited to see at Governors Ball is Vancouver's Bear Mountain. Last year, they released their debut album, XO, which combined club-ready dance tracks, arena sized atmospherics, and an indie pop sensibility in the songwriting. It's a pretty great mix and sounds like it will be totally fun live. You can stream the album in its entirety below.

Continue reading "Ten Bands We're Excited to See at Governors Ball 2013 (which goes on sale today)"

Governors Ball, which started as a small NYC festival on Governors Island and moved to the larger Randall's Island last year, keeps getting bigger and bigger. This year's fest takes place June 7th, 8th & 9th, and tickets go on sale Friday. Check out the full lineup, in list, video and flyer format - one unannounced headliner included, below...

Continue reading "Governors Ball 2013 lineup (Kanye West, Kings of Leon, Grizzly Bear, xx, Cut Copy, Kendrick, Anco, Beach House & MUCH MORE)"

Governors Ball 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

NYC music festival Governors Ball will return in 2013 for its second year at Randall's Island and third overall (it was initially held on Governors Island in 2011). The 2013 installment of the festival will go down on June 8 and 9. Pre-sale tickets will be announced in the next few weeks and the lineup will be announced in February.

This year's fest went down back in June and featured Passion Pit, Modest Mouse, Fiona Apple, Beck, Devendra Banhart, and more. PIcs of that are HERE and HERE.

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Beck/Devendra Banhart at Governors Ball - 6/24/12

"But the real agenda of Sunday's Governors Ball was a day of crescendos. Separated from Saturday -- a day of computerized repetitions and volume control and equalizer tweaks -- Sunday was for bands building at their own pace. It might be the grunge surges of Cage the Elephant or the strategic crescendos of Explosions in the Sky, but it was hand-played and timed to human impulse. On Sunday, the cheers from the crowd showed how well real-time music-making still moves an audience. Guitars -- in Built to Spill, Cage the Elephant, Alberta Cross -- still grab people." [NY Times]

Continue reading "Governors Ball 2012 -- Day 2 pics (Beck, Explosions in the Sky, Built to Spill, Devendra Banhart, Cults & more)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Modest Mouse at Governors Ball - 6/24/12

After playing Orion Fest in Atlantic City on Saturday (6/23), Modest Mouse made their way to Randall's Island on Sunday (6/24) for another NYC-area festival, Governors Ball. As mentioned, Modest Mouse's set at Orion was plagued by a weak sound system and an uninterested crowd, but at Governor's Ball where they fit in better (playing alongside Fiona Apple, Beck, Devendra Banhart and more), both the band and the crowd were way more enthusiastic. The setlist had some of the same songs as their Orion set, like "Shit Luck, "Dramamine," and "Bury Me With It," but overall wasn't too similar and the Governors Ball show got noticeably more of The Moon & Antarctica than Orion did. More pictures and the setlist from Modest Mouse's Governors Ball set are below.

Now that those two festivals are over, Modest Mouse have been added to another NYC area fest, Firefly Music Festival, which goes down in Dover, Delaware from July 20-22 (which isn't much longer a drive from NYC than Atlantic City is). They'll join the previously discussed lineup of Jack White, The Flaming Lips, Passion Pit, The Black Keys, Polica and more. Tickets for that festival are still available. Modest Mouse's only other announced date at the moment is a Columbus, OH show tonight (6/26).

More pics from Governors Ball and setlist below...

Continue reading "Modest Mouse played Governors Ball (pics, setlist) after Orion Fest, added to Firefly Music Fest"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Fiona Apple just played Governors Ball on Randall's Island on Sunday (6/24) and photos and setlist from her performance are in this post.

Fiona just announced that her next NYC appearances will be two shows at Terminal 5 on October 16 and 17. Tickets for the two T5 shows go on sale Friday (6/29) at noon with an AmEx presale starting on Wednesday (6/27) at noon. The new dates are an addition to her already-announced North American tour which hits Washington, D.C. tonight. UPDATE: And She's playing Wellmont in NJ too.

All Fiona Apple tour dates are listed below along with more pics from her Governors Ball set.

Continue reading "Fiona Apple played Governors Ball (pics, setlist); adds 2 Terminal 5 shows (updated dates)"

Governors Ball Saturday (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Gothamist reports:

"There are conflicting reports about a partial stage collapse on Randall's Island this afternoon, injuring those who were disassembling it following this weekend's Governors Ball rock festival. EMT Jason Rabinowitz, the director of field operations and special events for First Response Ambulance, confirmed that he is responding to a report of the collapse. "They were taking down the stage, and were about halfway up when the bottom half gave way they fell about 6 to 8 feet," Rabinowitz tells us. "It was four people total. Two of them refused medical treatment, one of them is saying they have back pain and the other has a possible fracture in their arm."

An FDNY spokesman didn't have any information on the collapse, and a spokesman for Governors Ball denies there has been a stage collapse, "or anything close to it." We'll update with more information as it becomes available."

UPDATE from the Governors Ball publicist: "To call it a stage collapse is extreme. At approximately 4 pm, while disassembling the stage, 8 stage hands were carrying a truss by hand, to be loaded off the deck, when a portion of the deck shifted, causing one stagehand to fall. He broke his fall with his wrist and has been transported to the hospital for xrays. As a precautionary measure a second stagehand, complaining of lower back pain was also transported for examination."

Our Governors Ball photos from Saturday are HERE. Sunday is on the way.

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Passion Pit / Kud Cudi at Governors Ball - 6/23/12

Governors Ball went down in Randall's Island over the weekend (6/23-6/24) with 26 bands across two stages and no overlapping sets. Day 1 was "headlined" by Passion Pit (though Kid Cudi played after them) and also included Chromeo, Major Lazer, Atmosphere, Santigold, Duck Sauce (Armand Van Helden and A-Trak), James Murphy & Pat Mahoney (Special Disco Version DJ set), and more. Probably the most anticipated set of the day was Passion Pit's, who were playing their first NYC area show in about a year and a half, and first since announcing their new album and releasing two singles from it (both of which they played). NY Times didn't seem to approve much of their set though, writing:

Saturday played out as a party punctuated by angst; there were many, many calls for putting hands in the air. Party and angst mix in Passion Pit, who work in two main modes: the shimmering anthem and the pulsating dance-pop song, both with more cryptic lyrics than might be expected. Passion Pit stacked the anthems at the beginning of the set-among them a new song, "Take a Walk," about an immigrant who finds himself financially ruined-before revving up the dance tunes. But the stage didn't add much beyond subwoofers to Passion Pit's songs; Michael Angelakos's vocals, mostly falsetto, needs studio help.

Pictures from Sunday are on the way. More from Saturday below...

Continue reading "Governors Ball 2012 - day 1 pics (Passion Pit, Santigold, Chromeo, Special Disco Version, Kid Cudi, Major Lazer & more)"

As mentioned, Governors Ball goes down in NYC this weekend on Randall's Island from June 23-24. You can check out the full schedule for both days HERE. The lineup includes a number of bands who haven't played NYC in a while, like Passion Pit, who have a new LP coming out which you've heard two songs from; Modest Mouse, who also play the Metallica-headlined Orion Music & More festival in Atlantic City this weekend, Beck, Devendra Banhart, and more.

Fiona Apple did play in NYC pretty recently, but those shows were her first in a while and were also small venues for her and sold out instantly. Fiona also just finally released her new album and it's great, which is all the more reason to catch her set this weekend. She also recently announced a ton of new dates and performed on Fallon with the Roots.

Other bands playing include Built to Spill, Explosions in the Sky, K.Flay (who also plays Glasslands on 7/13), James Muprhy & Pat Mahoney DJ Set, Cults, Phantogram, and still many more. In addition to the music, there will be some other activities like ping pong, beer pong, silent disco, lawn games (bocce ball, croquet, etc), and from looking at the weather forecast, probably the most important of them all: free water refill stations. Tickets for the festival are still available.

Shuttles to the festival from Brooklyn and Philly are sold out but regular ferry tickets ($25), and parking passes if you plan to drive are still available. If you are heading down there by car, subway, bike or foot, here are some directions from NYC, Long Island, Westchester, and Jersey. Once you've found your way there, this map should help you get around the festival grounds. Leave your nunchucks at home.

Like AA batteries on the subway tracks and college kids in polo shirts trying to get you to sign some petition, music is pretty inescapable on NYC. But today, June 21, 2012, it is even moreso as it's the annual Make Music New York day which puts musicians of all shades and colors on the sidewalks of our fair city. As you might imagine, some neighborhoods (like Williamsburg) will have more going on than others.

Besides a bunch of random bands, there are some fun events. Mass Appeal brings together hundreds of musicians to perform works created for one specific instrument that anyone (with said instrument) can participate in. This includes the world premiere of Philip Glass' choral work "The New Rule" which happens in Times Square at 6:30. If you'd like to join in, you can download the sheet music here.

Other Mass Appeal events happening today include accordions in Sheridan Triangle (6:30PM), bagpipes in Herald Square (7PM), harps at Urban Plaza (5:30), ouds at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza (7PM), and many more.

More MMNY: Joe's Pub is throwing an all-day block party at Astor Pl./Lafayette from 11AM  - 7PM with performances from Chris Parrello, Heather Christian & the Arbornauts, Sxip Shirey and more.

Slavic Soul Party is playing at Jacobi Medical Center Pedestrian Mall; and Tompkins Square Park has Support Women Artists Now at 3PM, the Hungry March Band at 6PM, and Bill Popp & the Tapes at 7PM.

There's lots, lots more going on today. Go outside, you'll probably run into some of it. But you can check their website to see what's going on in your neighborhood.

Historically and technically Punk Island is part of Make Music New York, but this year Punk Island actually happens three days later (this Sunday) on Governors Island. Flyer and more info below...

Continue reading "Make Music New York today (free music & events all over NYC); Punk Island Sunday"

They write:

Interested in being a part of Team Gov Ball? We are looking for kind, eager, and able-bodied individuals that can work with others, have some fun, and earn a ticket to Gov Ball 2012. You'll learn a bit about what it takes to produce a music festival, save yourself some coin, meet some cool people, get an official Team Gov Ball shirt, and much more! Check out all the deets HERE.

She was added to Sunday. The June Randall's Island fest writes:

We are excited to announce the addition of Fiona Apple to Gov Ball 2012! The Grammy award-winning artist will be touring this year behind her first new album since 2005's critically acclaimed Extraordinary Machine. Machine was named by Rolling Stone Magazine as the 49th best album of the 2000s, and was nominated for multiple Grammys. This past Friday, Apple's select six-show club tour (her first live dates since 2007) was met with incredible demand, and sold out in minutes. Apple's addition to the Sunday lineup of Gov Ball will give new fans, as well as her die-hard following, one of the first opportunities to see her perform live in NYC since her sold out show at Central Park in 2006.

Its an honor to have one of the greatest, and most unique, female singer/songwriters in alternative music grace the stage at Gov Ball this year. We can't wait.

In other NYC festival news, Electric Daisy Carnival is coming.