"Two years after singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell released the ambitious and career-defining folk opera Hadestown - a musical retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice set in Depression-era America - she's back with a decidedly different but equally ambitious effort, Young Man in America.

Produced by Todd Sickafoose, who also helmed Hadestown, the new album features several New York-based rock and experimental jazz musicians, and has Mitchell inhabiting several musical characters, male and female.

"The record is a reflection on our country as wild place, a not necessarily safe place, where it's each man for himself and you're not sure if anyone's got your back," the 30-year-old Mitchell said by phone from London, where she played a handful of shows before launching her 25-city U.S. tour this week."
[Philadelphia Inquirer]

Guests on the new album include "guitarist Adam Levy, violinist Jenny Scheinman, and drummers Andrew Borger and Kenny Wollesen. Chris Thile of Punch Brothers appears on mandolin as well as alongside Jefferson Hamer and Rachel Ries in a harmonic chorus." That's definitely an impressive ensemble. It is unclear if any of them will be there tonight (2/28) when Anais Mitchell plays early and late shows at Joe's Pub in NYC. All tour dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Anais Mitchell is on tour, plays 2 record release shows at Joe's Pub tonight (dates)"

Iceage @ Emo's in July (more by Tim Griffin)

today in NYC
* One Ring Zero @ Barbes
* Zozo Afrobeat @ Zebulon
* Bill Carney's Jug Addicts @ Barbes
* APB, Ivan Julian @ Highline Ballroom
* Dramarama, Wyldlife @ Bowery Electric
* The Slackers @ Rocks Off Concert Cruise
* Iceage, You., Frank (Just Frank) @ Cake Shop
* Caitlin Rose, Luke Rathborne @ Mercury Lounge
* Perpetual Groove, Hahn Solo @ Bowery Ballroom
* Totimoshi, Pigs, Bezoar, Fashion Week @ Saint Vitus
* Two Tears, Bad Girlfriend, City Streets @ The Gutter
* Canon Blue, Atlantic/Pacific, Forest Fire @ Glasslands
* The Foxx, The Wrong Words, FaceCrimes @ Bruar Falls
* The Rapture, Total Slacker @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Digitalism, Switch, Designer Drugs, Destructo @ Terminal 5
* Friends, Night Manager, Dive, Life Size Maps @ Shea Stadium
* SH101 Nightmare, Hess Is More, Chico Mann @ Cameo Gallery
* Lyonnais, Pacific Theater, The Present, Joywave @ Littlefield
* The War On Drugs, Porcelain Raft, Arc in Round @ Mercury Lounge
* Little Embers, Old Monk, Oceanographer, The Circuit @ Spike Hill
* Menage A Twang, Woodpecker, The Resurrectionists @ The Bell House
* Workout, DJ Nancy Whang (Juan Maclean/LCD Soundsystem) @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Tig Notaro, Amy Schumer, Dave Hill, Heather Lawless @ Knitting Factory
* Wombat In Combat, The Amputees, Alienz, Wounds, Dog That Bites Everyone @ ABC No Rio
* Tiken Jah Fakoly, Meta and the Cornerstones, Los Rakas, Atropolis @ Central Park Summerstage
* Bicep, James Friedman, Paul Raffaele, Mike Servito @ Cameo (Rapture afterparty)
* Juan Maclean, Blood Orange, Solange, Pictureplane, Grimes, Ford & Lopatin @ PS1
* Dinosaur Feathers, Grand Rapids, Problem Solver, Dive (Silent Barn Benefit) @ 49 Wykcoff Avenue
* King Sunshine, Mala, Masashi Nakazawa, Peven Everett (Resident Advisor: RA X) @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Math The Band, The Toothaches, Eskalators, Uncle Monsterface, Leema Mountain @ Death By Audio
* Revocation (Record Release show), Mutant Supremacy, Demilitia, Embrace Agony @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* Danny Brown, Action Bronson, Maffew Ragazino, Delicate Steve, Party Supplies, Count Macula, Ducky, Jon Connor @ The Morgan

Check out This Week in Indie for more.

Like they did in 2010, The Rapture played a secret show at Union Pool last week. We only heard after it happened. Tonight they play a sold out show at MHOW which is followed by an afterparty at Cameo. Their next NYC show is at Webster Hall.

Over 30 food trucks are parked at South Street Seaport today for "Parked" Fest. More importantly, there will be free music by Anais Mitchell, Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens, Two Man Gentleman Band, Soul 2 Seoul, and Mikey Palms (can't find set times, but the fest goes till 9pm). Flyer below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Saturday?"

Here is the initial lineup for Willamette Week's MusicfestNW, scheduled for Sept. 7-11, 2011 in Portland, Oregon, and it's pretty great. The multi-venue fest includes big outdoor performances by Band of Horses (Sunday, Sept. 11), Explosions in the Sky (Saturday, Sept. 10), and Iron & Wine (Friday, Sept. 9), in addition to shows with everyone from Archers of Loaf to Big Freedia to Butthole Surfers to Neurosis. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 3rd. Check out the full list below...

Continue reading "MusicfestNW 2011 -- dates & initial lineup"

Anais Mitchell @ Bowery Ballroom (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Anais Mitchell released her guest-filled concept album "Hadestown" back in March, and performed related shows at Joe's Pub in April. She has since played non-Hadestown shows, but isn't done with the folk opera yet. In fact, Anais will be joined by album contributor and Low Anthem member Ben Knox Miller along with "Jefferson Hamer, Jesse Elliott (These United States) Aoife O'Donovan (Crooked Still), Ruthy Merenda (Mike & Ruthy), Kristin Andreassen (Uncle Earl), plus arranger Michael Chorney and the Hadestown Orchestra, plus producer Todd Sickafoose and other rad players" for two special shows at Rockwood Music Hall (stage 2) on Monday, January 10th. Tickets are on sale for the early (8pm) and late (10pm) shows. All Anais dates below...

Continue reading "Anais Mitchell performing 'Hadestown' w/ special guests @ Rockwood Music Hall ++ other dates"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Horse Feathers @ Bowery Ballroom

Horse Feathers released a 7" vinyl single via Kill Rock Stars on November 2nd. The A side is a cover of the Nirvana song 'Drain You' "done in Horse Feather's own unique style" (aka it's a folk song). Their third album 'Thistled Spring' came out in April on on the same label, and they're currently on tour with Anais Mitchell supporting both pieces of merchandise. That tour hit Bowery Ballroom on Saturday night, 11/13. NYC band The Loom, though not on the tour, opened as first of three on the bill.

All tour dates, a video of Horse Feathers covering the Nirvana song live, and more pictures from the Bowery show, below...

Continue reading "Horse Feathers played Bowery Ballroom w/ The Loom (pics), covered Nirvana, on tour w/ Anais Mitchell (dates) "

photos by Chris La Putt

The Loom

"Neo-folk and it's many reinterpretations predominated the line-up, which included Headless Horseman, Bentley Addison Wood, Strand of Oaks, Matt Bauer, The Loom and more (we left before Death in it's many forms arrived). This is also just to say that the urban-woodsman look--plaid with hair on your head and/or on your chinny-chin chin--is still in, plus instruments that you probably haven't seen played since that brief stint in your middle school band (and a few odd balls): pots and pans, banjo, soprano/baritone ukulele, upright bass, French horn and trumpet. Watching Timothy Showalter of Strand of Oaks shimmy with his guitar, Matt Bauer plucking his banjo singing "Daddy was a spider and Momma was a fly," and The Loom in all their polyphonic glory, I was keenly reminded of how awesome house parties of the non-college-Milwaukee's-Beast breed really can be." [Dirty Art Smock]

Though he didn't stay until the end (much like the above reviewer), Chris La Putt stopped by our loft party that took place on Friday, October 22nd. His pictures are in this post. He left after The Loom which means he missed Alcoholic Faith Mission, Dan Mangan, and O'Death.

The Loom left on a tour not long after the party. They're in Philly tonight (11/12) and the tour ends this Saturday night, 11/13, at Bowery Ballroom. They and Anais Mitchell are both opening for Horse Feathers. Tickets are still on sale, and I have a couple pairs you can win. Details at the end of the loft pictures, below...

Continue reading "BV Loft 2010 in pics ++ more Loom dates (tix tix) "

DOWNLOAD: Anais Mitchell - Flowers (Eurydice's Song) (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Anais Mitchell - Wait For Me w/ Justin Vernon (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Anais Mitchell - Cosmic American (MP3)

Speaking of The Low Anthem, The Low Anthem's Ben Knox Miller recently joined Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Greg Brown, Ani DiFranco, and Petra, Rachel, and Tanya Haden to play on the new record by Anais Mitchell, Hadestown, which is due out March 9th on Righteous Babe. The record is a concept album about the Greek myth of Orpheus & Euridice, and each of those singers plays a role...

Hadestown began its existence in 2006 as a live "folk opera" that the Vermont-based singer/songwriter created in collaboration with director Ben t. Matchstick (Bread & Puppet Theater) and arranger/orchestrator Michael Chorney. After loading the sets and the 22-member cast of Vermont performers into a former circus bus and touring New England during "full-on winter," it was time to rework a few songs. Next, Mitchell called upon a few fellow musicians to lend their voices to a recorded version--not a cast album, but a stand-alone, self-contained song cycle. The result is a veritable Who's Who of modern indie folk/rock: Justin Vernon of Bon Iver plays Orpheus; Greg Brown is Hades, Lord of the Underworld ("king of the kingdom of dirt"); and Ani DiFranco plays Hades' strong-willed, subversive wife, Persephone. Also on hand in smaller roles are the Haden Triplets (Petra, Rachel, and Tanya) as the Greek-chorus-like Fates and Ben Knox Miller of The Low Anthem as the messenger Hermes. Mitchell herself sings the part of Eurydice, the character whose (metaphoric) death propels Orpheus into "Hadestown."

The album's cover art is above along with two songs from the new album, one of which features Justin. Full tracklist below.

In other Justin Vernon collaboration news, he recently performed live with St. Vincent two times (one, two) in NYC, and one of his Bon Iver songs is covered on the new Peter Gabriel album.

Anais's upcoming shows include an April 23rd show at Joe's Pub billed as "Anais Mitchell & the Hadestown Orchestra". Tickets are on sale. All dates and a video of Anais performing with Justin, below...

Continue reading "Anais Mitchell playing shows, releasing 'Hadestown' - concept album w/ Justin Vernon, Greg Brown, Hadens, more (MP3s)"