"STREET SCENE, one of the nation's longest running music festivals, will celebrate its 25th anniversary with two full days of music Friday, August 28 and Saturday, August 29. The Black Eyed Peas, M.I.A., Thievery Corporation, Modest Mouse, The Dead Weather and Cake are among the more than 35 acts that will bring the streets of downtown San Diego's East Village neighborhood alive with music and entertainment from 4:00 PM to midnight daily. The venue site will include Tailgate Park (adjacent to Petco Park) in the heart of East Village, incorporating 14th Street as the main thoroughfare and bordered by Imperial Avenue to J Street."

Continue reading "San Diego's Street Scene Festival announces 2009 lineup"

"Though promoters around the country report strong early ticket sales for festivals and summer tours, the recession is causing jitters. This year Coachella, which has the most glamorous reputation of all American festivals, began selling tickets on layaway, and 18 percent of its customers took that option, Mr. Tollett said.

The proliferation of big festivals, like Bonnaroo near Nashville and Lollapalooza in Chicago, has not been without casualties. This year Langerado in Miami shut down, citing the economy. The Pemberton Festival in British Columbia is on hiatus after only one year, although its promoter, Live Nation, said the problem was permit delays." [NY Times]

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2009 - the official & complete lineup"

Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival is taking place this year August 28th-30th at Golden Gate Park. Tickets for the fest go on Visa presale Wednesday, April 15th at 1pm ET, and general sale Sunday, April 19th at 1pm ET.

Like last year, the San Francisco fest shares a headliner with NJ's All Points West. In 2008, it was Radiohead. In 2009, it's the Beastie Boys.

Also on the schedule for the fest is the Dead Weather, Jack White's new band. Dead Weather plays its first show tonight (April 14th) at the Bowery Ballroom.

M.I.A., Ween, TVOTR, Mastodon, Os Mutantes, Extra Golden, Tom Jones, and many others are also playing. Full Outside Lands line-up and poster below....

Continue reading "Outside Lands 2009 festival lineup, Dead Weather tonight"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Richard Buckner - "Gauzy Dress in the Sun" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Richard Buckner - "Emily Sparks" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Richard Buckner - "Born in to Giving It Up" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Arbouretum - "False Spring" (MP3)

Modern troubadour Richard Buckner will play a Friday, March 20th NYC show at Mercury Lounge with Arbouretum, Ruby Throat, and Lia Ices
(tickets on sale) before heading out an April/May US tour in support of three previously out-of-print, Merge-reissued CDs.

Bloomed, The Hill, and Impasse are all up now as digital downloads on the Merge online store. In his extended take on the old discs (read it below), Buckner writes that he plans to release a new record on the label in 2010, his first since 2006's Meadow.

Opening the Mercury Lounge show is Arbouretum, who just released a new album, Song of the Pearl, on March 9th on Thrill Jockey. Check out the first track on the album, "False Spring", above.

"For two albums, a split EP, and who knows how many lineup changes, Arbouretum has reached further and further inward, honing and intensifying an idiosyncratic sound that is both doomy and folky, visceral and transcendent. They're powerful songs that sound both angry and melancholic, yet carry a sort of internal hypnotic, pacifying churn. The band's newest release, Song of the Pearl, is its most refined and to-the-point--the noodling of 2007's Rites of Uncovering is gone, the stylistic experiments are exhausted."
[Baltimore City Paper]

Buckner reissued press release and vids, and all tour dates below...

Continue reading "RICHARD BUCKNER - reissues, new album, a NYC show with ARBOURETUM & other 2009 Tour Dates"

As previously pointed out, and currently under discussion, tickets went on sale at 11:00 for the Band of Horses show at Carnegie Hall.

DOWNLOAD: Band of Horses - Plans (Grizzly Bear cover) (MP3)

Band of Horses @ the Parish in Austin (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Like Andrew Bird before them, Band of Horses will play the fancy schmancy Carnegie Hall in NYC. The date of the show is June 11. Arboretum opens. Tickets go on sale Fri 2/27 at 11:00AM via CarnegieHall.org, 212.247.7800, or at the Carnegie Hall box office.

UPDATE: The Carnegie Hall show will in fact be ACOUSTIC.

Band of Horses are also scheduled to play Coachella, Bonnaroo and the Beatday Festival in Copenhagen in August.

BEAT DAY 2009
14 Aug 2009 - 15 Aug 2009
Copenhagen, DK

Beat Day is one of Copenhagen's leading summer events.

Basement Jaxx, Arctic Monkeys and Band of Horses are already on the bill for 2009 amongst a tradition mix of homegrown Danish talent represented so far by MEW. [Virtual Festivals]

Continue reading "Band of Horses - 2009 Tour Dates (CARNEGIE HALL, Bonnaroo, Coachella, Beatday...) "

Crystal Castles @ MHOW - New Years Eve (more by Ryan Muir)

Al Green @ the Wellmont Theater - Nov 2008 (more by Eric M Townsend)

Superfly Productions and A.C. Entertainment are excited to announce the initial lineup for the 2009 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. The eighth annual four-day camping and music festival will be held on June 11 - 14 on the same beautiful 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, 60 miles south of Nashville. Every year Bonnaroo seeks to make history by offering unique and exclusive performances by rock's greatest legends as well as its most significant newcomers. A full list of confirmed acts follows, and more will be announced in the coming weeks. The final Bonnaroo 2009 lineup will total over 120 bands and over 20 comedians performing on 13 stages over four days. Tickets go on sale exclusively through www.bonnaroo.com on Saturday, February 7 at 12:00 PM Eastern.

Coachella announced their initial lineup less than a week earlier.

Metallica played Bonnaroo in 2008. Metallica played NY & NJ this past weekend.

Full (initial) 2009 Bonnaroo lineup below...

Continue reading "Bonnaroo announces initial 2009 lineup (Bruce Springsteen, Phish, Beastie Boys, NIN, Wilco, Animal Collective...)"

Headliners Paul McCartney, The Killers and The Cure are among the 130-plus acts set for the tenth COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL (APRIL 17, 18 AND 19) at the beautiful Empire Polo Club in Indio, CA, the same grounds where the COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL debuted in 1999. Other artists confirmed for America's most critically acclaimed music festival include Morrissey, Amy Winehouse, Franz Ferdinand, My Bloody Valentine, Leonard Cohen, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Thievery Corporation, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (the complete line-up is listed below).

This marks the first ever U.S. festival appearance for McCartney who is currently supporting his latest release ELECTRIC ARGUMENTS.

"I have heard that Coachella is one of the greatest festivals in the world. I'm really excited to get out there and rock!" McCartney says.

Throbbing Gristle and the rest of the full (real) line-up (as of 1/30) is below:

Continue reading "Coachella 2009 - OFFICIAL lineup announced (My Bloody Valentine, Leonard Cohen, Paul McCartney, Morrissey, The Cure, Antony, Amy Winehouse...) - tix on sale"

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

Band of Horses played a semi-secret, semi-surprise intimate ACL aftershow at The Parish is downtown Austin last Saturday night - one day before their much larger performace at the actual festival. More pictures from the aftershow below....

Continue reading "Band of Horses @ The Parish, Austin, TX - pics"

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

DOWNLOAD: Band of Horses - The Great Salt Lake (MP3)

"It was 6 o'clock on Sunday evening and the sun was setting on another Austin City Limits music festival. We ambled over to the Dell stage to check out The Band of Horses. At this point, I felt like I had inhaled about 40 lbs. of dust. Remember last years lush green landscapes and temperate climate? Well, this year was more akin to the "dust bowl" ACL Festival of 2006. With very little rain this summer and strict watering restrictions, I could see why, but it didn't make it any easier.
Back to the music.
We got to the stage early because some friends had a blanket pretty close to the stage and we didn't want to miss a minute of the show. Plus, we needed to rest our dogs after all the walking.
Band of Horses took the stage at approximately 6:28, ready to rock for the masses. Immediately, from the first notes of "First Song" off of their 2006 debut "Everything All of the Time," you knew that this show was going to be a good one. It was."
[A Sleepy Company]

Continue reading "Band of Horses @ ACL 2008, Austin, TX - pics"

photos by Chris Graham

Darondo--wiry and hyperkinetic in a flashy suit, gold sneakers, and white hat--hit the stage while Moschella and company backed him. The sexagenarian busted astonishing James Brown-cum-Michael Jackson moves, and belted out songs with a weathered tenor that suggested a cross between Al Green and The Spinners' Bobby Smith. He flat-out commanded the stage, delivering everything from moral indignation on "Let My People Go" to deliciously libidinous boudoir funk on "Legs". Dear God in a velour tuxedo, he was nothin' short of a revelation. [Pop Culture Petri Dish]

The Bumbershoot Festival took place in Seattle over Labor Day weekend. Beck headlined the first of three days. Everyone in this post also played that day (Saturday). More pictures below...

Continue reading "Bumbershoot 2008, Day 1 - Daronda, M Ward, !!! & other pics"

DOWNLOAD: Grand Archives - Torn Blue Foam Couch (MP3)

Sera Cahoone @ Sub Pop SXSW 2008 (more by Ryan Muir)

"How far will this thing go? And what the heck do we call it?

To answer the first question we need to look at the scene's origins. In the beginning, there were two bands.

The first is Carissa's Wierd, a Seattle "sadcore" band whose members included Sera Cahoone, Mat Brooke and Ben Bridwell. (Brooke and Bridwell went on to form Band of Horses, from which sprung Grand Archives). They were true originals, quiet, mournful and eerie; were briefly signed to Sub Pop; and were local favorites from the mid-'90s until their 2003 demise.

The second is Beachwood Sparks, a Los Angeles collective whose music was a clear and proud homage to the Byrds, Neil Young and Buffalo Springfield, the very same godfathers of the Moondoggies, Fleet Foxes and Grand Archives. Beachwood Sparks was also signed to Sub Pop, somewhere around 1999 until the band's dissolution in 2002."
[The new Seattle sound is pretty, pastoral and mellow]

Grand Archives is an American indie rock band, formed in Seattle. The band, originally called Archives, is composed of several noted musicians from that city, led by Mat Brooke, former guitarist and vocalist for Carissa's Wierd and former guitarist for Band of Horses.

The band emerged, under their previous moniker, to little fanfare in March 2007.... [Wikipedia]

Continue reading "Grand Archives & Sera Cahoone (a Sub Pop Seattle mellow double bill) - 2008 Tour Dates (Bowery & Union Hall)"

Band of Horses @ Blender Theater (more by Jefferson)

Continue reading "Band of Horses - No One's Gonna Love You (video)"

Tyler Ramsey

Tyler Ramsey of Band of Horses (guitarist) plays a solo show at Joe's Pub in NYC tonight (April 13). Rogue Wave, The Epochs, & Wakey! Wakey! play a show for kids at the Living Room today (1pm).

Rogue Wave is on tour with Grand Ole Party. They played Irving Plaza together last night. Los Campesinos! play Kidrockers in May.

photos by Paul Bachmann

Dirty on Purpose opened for Band of Horses last night (Feb 14, 2008). More pictures below...

Continue reading "Dirty on Purpose @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple, NYC - pics"

Band of Horses @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple, NYC - Feb 14, 2008 (Caberger915)

Some tickets were releaed for tonight's Band of Horses show at the Masonic Temple.

sing-along @ Carnegie Hall, NYC Feb 13, 2008 (Kathryn Yu, P4K)

Sufjan Stevens treated show-goers to "The Star-Spangled Banner", while Kinks man Ray Davies led a bill-wide sing-along. Also on-hand for the evening of charity and good cheer: Band of Horses, Philip Glass, Marisa Monte, Ashley MacIsaac, Phamie Gow, Tibet-born Nawang Khechog, and the monks of Drepung Gomang. To learn more and find out how you can help, head to the Tibet House U.S. website. [Pitchfork]

The Brooklyn Masonic Temple (CRED)

Band of Horses and Dirty on Purpose are playing the Brooklyn Masonic Temple on Valentine's Day (Feb 14, 2008). Tickets go on sale today, and include a free subscription to NY Magazine. It's where Mastodon and Neurosis played last night, and where they'll play again tonight (Jan 25). Balkan Beat Box and Jose Gonzalez also have shows coming up there.

Other NYC Valentine's Day shows include Rufus Wainwright, The Gutter Twins, Diamanda Galas, MGMT/Yeasayer, and The Duke Spirit.

This Band of Horses show is one day after they play the Tibet House Benefit.

Ray Davies @ Camden Roadhouse, Oct 28, 2007 (CRED)

Band of Horses, Tom Verlaine and Ray Davies join Sufjan Stevens and Philip Glass on the lineup of this year's Tibest House benefit concert at Carnegie Hall. Ray Davies also played the show in 2005. What I remember most about it is that he has really enthusiastic fans. This year's show is on Wed. February 13th....

Concert tickets are $35-$108 and can be purchased by calling 212.247.7800 or in person at the Carnegie Hall Box Office (57th Street & Seventh Avenue). Concert-only tickets are not available through Tibet House.

Ray Davies recently said the Kinks would reunite. Then Dave Davies denied it.

BEACH HOUSE's Best of 2007
1. Earth: Hibernaculum
2. Cass McCombs: Dropping the Writ
3. Arbouretum: Rites of Uncovering
4. Papercuts: Can't Go Back
5. Om: Pilgrimage
6. Witchcraft: The Alchemist
7. M.I.A: Kala ("Paper Planes" and "Bird Flu"!! Yes!)
8. Jana Hunter: There's No Home
9. Wzt Hearts: Threads Rope Spell Making Your Bones
10. Britney Spears: Blackout

Their number two choice (Cass McCombs) is going on a recently-announced tour with Band of Horses. Those dates (that do not include Beach House or NYC) below....

Continue reading "Beach House, Cass McCombs, Band of Horses, Tour Dates"

DOWNLOAD: Band of Horses - Is There a Ghost (MP3)

In a phone interview last week, Bridwell said the more-holistic-than-thou response didn’t surprise him. He was wary from the start about the Wal-Mart deal, which at first was for a Web site (which no longer seems to be functioning) and later called for a TV commercial for the store.

“I called my family, talked to my girlfriend about it, talked to the guys in the band and decided it’s no big deal,” he said. “We tested it with that Web site thing that I figured nobody would really even see. But in the Internet age, you can’t do anything without someone catching wind of it.”

“Some fans, they don’t even give a crap. They’re like, ‘Whatever, bands got to get paid.’ But at the same time, I was reluctant to do it in the back of my mind, and some fans reminded me there is a reason to feel that way about it,” Bridwell said. “So once I saw our fans were let down by it, I nixed the TV commercial, and said, ‘You know what, this isn’t for me. Keep your money.’” [InForum] (thx Chris)

Continue reading "Band of Horses nix Wal-Mart commercial"

DOWNLOAD: Grizzly Bear - On a Neck, On a Spit (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fischerspooner - Megacolon (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Antony & The Johnsons - Cripple And The Starfish (MP3)

Ed Droste, Casey Spooner, Antony Hegarty

You probably heard: some writers are on strike. That means no new late night TV right now. That means Band of Horses didn't get to play Conan last night, Kanye West didn't get to play Letterman, and it means that Grizzly Bear don't get to play Conan tonight (Nov 6, 2007). They'll probably reschedule the performances, but Grizzly Bear misses out on a TV appearance that was going to synchronize perfectly with the release of their new EP. Friend (the latest addition to the 8.0 club) is out now. Order it from Insound to get a free limited edition silkscreen poster.

Speaking of Grizzly Bear, they performed at the Society of Ethical Culture in NYC on Saturday night (Nov 3, 2007) - part of the Wordless Music Series - to an audience that included Paul Simon (an artist that Grizzly Bear is known to cover, and who they did cover also that night). It was the same night that GB's "friend" Feist was playing right across town on Saturday Night Live. And speaking of SNL, that's another TV show that might not air this week if the writers don't get what they want. That means Amy Winehouse won't get to play it....or maybe she's not playing it already....I'm confused (she is definitely not playing the Woodies though - for "visa issues" related to the drug stuff).

Sigur Ros also has a new CD out today, and Sigur Ros also played the Wordless Music Series recently (October 5th to be exact). .

Grizzly Bear @ Wordless Music Series, NYC - NOV 3, 2007 (CRED)

As Ed pointed out early in the set, this show was an unofficial end of tour celebration of sorts, as the band had been on the road for most of the past year and a half. Usually when this is the case, the performance can go one of two ways. One option is that the band is so drained and sick and tired of playing the same songs that they launch into a sort of auto-pilot self parody (see the Strokes at the end of their "Room on Fire" tour). The preferable option, however, is that the combination of having become so technically in control of one's material coupled with the euphoria of playing a hometown show with the finish line in sight will make for something altogether different and spectacular. [read the rest @ Ear Farm]

Secondly, beautiful show not just the sigur ros part. And yes Sufjan was there. I was sitting right in back of him along with 2 of the guys from The National. They were all impatient and left right before Sigur Ros came on. Poor Sufjan was complaining he had to get out of there. Hard to blame him cause it was a sauna in there. Also there was Superwolf Matt or Chavez Matt however you like supporting his buddy Will. Great show and got to see Sigur Ros play the same amount of songs they are playing tomorrow night for umm lets see 35 dollars less. [Anonymous]

Nico Muhly @ Wordless Music Series, NYC - OCT 5, 2007 (CRED)

Grizzly Bear are playing one more NYC (mini) show before taking a break for a long time - it's tomorrow (Nov 7th) @ the Virgin Union Square Megastore in NYC (7pm, free).

And in case you missed it, the friends that appear on Grizzly Bear's new EP are Beirut, Dirty Projectors, CSS, Band of Horses, CSS and Deerhunter. Will Oldham is not one of Grizzly Bear's friends, but Will ("his buddy Will" in the review above) did also perform at that now-legendary "Wordless" show in October too...

Continue reading "Writers strike, Grizzly Bear, Wordless Music Series, stuff"

DOWNLOAD: Band of Horses - The Funeral (MP3)

BOH @ Blender/Gramercy Theatre, NYC - Oct 19, 2007

Band of Horses played three shows (that I know of) this CMJ. One was their official CMJ showcase at Bowery Ballroom. One was a small in-studio session for KEXP. The other was at Blender Theatre - part of Blender Magazine's late-night CMJ party series. If NYC had a Wal Mart, maybe they would have played one in there too. Jefferson snapped the above and below pics at the Blender party.

Continue reading "Band of Horses played Blender & Bowery"

In case there is any confusion. Counting Crows are also playing CMJ, but they aren't the secret band listed on this flyer.