by Fred Pessaro // BBG

D'Angelo / Elvis Costello + Princess / Chris Rock & more @ Carnegie Hall

Amidst a snowy midtown backdrop, Carnegie Hall generated a little heat when the Michael Dorf-produced Prince Tribute opened last night (3/7). Stacked with performers giving props to the man in purple and paisley, the lineup featured some of the same names from the previous evening's "rehearsal" at City Winery, as well as surprise appearances from names like Chris Rock and more. Backed by The Roots with guitarist Wendy Melvion (of Prince's backing band The Revolution), D'Angelo show-closing numbers "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night" / "1999" were the clear highlights of the evening, with performances from Bilal (doing "Sister" and channeling Keith Sweat circa 1990s), Bettye LaVette ("Kiss"), Sandra Bernhard ('Little Red Corvette") and Fdeluxe ("High Fashion/Mutiny") also causing impromptu aisle dances. Fun night, and it was great to see people up and out of their seats, wilding out in a buttoned-up place like Carnegie Hall.

More pics from last night including the setlist, The Waterboys, The Roots, Eric Leeds, Diane Birch, the Cardigans' Nina Perrson, DeVotchka, Bhi Bhiman, Kat Edmonson, Blind Boys of Alabama, Citizen Cope & Alice Smith, Talib Kweli, Princess (Gretchen Lieberum & Maya Rudolph) and all iterations there within, are below.

Continue reading "D'Angelo, The Roots, Elvis Costello, Bilal, Chris Rock, Bettye LaVette & more played the Prince tribute @ Carnegie Hall (pics) "

As mentioned, City Winery founder Michael Dorf is presenting a tribute to Prince at Carnegie Hall on March 7, his next in a long line of tribute shows he's done at the historic Manhattan venue. Since we last spoke, the lineup of great musicians that will be performing at the show has been expanded. It features Elvis Costello, The Waterboys, Talib Kweli, Booker T, DeVotchka, Bettye Lavette, Sandra Bernhard, Bilal, Blind Boys of Alabama, Bhi Bhiman, Amos Lee, Citizen Cope & Alice Smith, Maya Rudolph's Prince tribute group with Gretchen Lieberum, Princess, house band The Roots, and perhaps most excitingly, R&B singer D'Angelo (who we're still waiting on that new album from). Tickets are still available and proceeds will benefit underprivileged youth.

Meanwhile, Prince recently posted a lyric video for a new song, "Screwdriver," to his website and revealed another new track, "Chapter & Verse," which you can stream below. You can buy "Screwdriver" and a remix of that song, AND another new song that came out today called "Breakfast Can Wait" at a mysterious website called 3rd Eye Girl. According to Questlove, "#BreakfastCanWait is WOW." Check it out.

In other related news, Elvis Costello and The Roots, who are both on the lineup for the Prince tribute, are releasing a collaborative album this year according to an interview that Questlove did with Billboard. Questlove says of the album, "We had 13 or 14 songs, but then we said, 'Ooh! Wait a minute! Let's replace four of these songs with four better songs! And now we have the tightest 12-14 song collection out of about 20 songs that we made." No release date, title, or any other info has been revealed yet, but Questlove assures us, "I can just say that it is brilliant."

Elvis Costello also plays a cancer benefit with The Who at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden on February 28.

Stream the new Prince songs below...

Continue reading "Roots & Elvis Costello collaborating, added to Carnegie Hall Tribute to Prince (who released new songs)"

Questlove at Brooklyn Bowl (more by Eric M. Townsend)

The lineup for BAM's Questlove-curated Shuffle Culture Fest has been announced and includes Reggie Watts, Deerhoof, Sasha Grey, Willis Earl Beal, Metropolis Ensemble and others. The full list is posted below. Tickets for the two-night affair (Apr 19th & 20th) are already on sale.

In addition to that, the lineup to the Roots Picnic in Philly on June 2nd and 3rd was recently announced.

Also coming up at BAM (and on sale) are Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, the Bryce and Aaron Dessner-curated shows, and several nights with Dr. John (whose guests include the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, Rickie Lee Jones, Blind Boys of Alabama).

* "A Louis Armstrong Tribute" (March 29-31), an homage to the great Louis Armstrong by Dr. John and his collaborators.
* "Locked Down" (April 5-7), the first time Dr. John, Auerbach, and their handpicked band will perform songs from the new album of the same name.
* "Funky But It's Nu Awlins" (April 12-14), an all-out funk-infused night of New Orleans music featuring key players from the Crescent City including The Blind Boys of Alabama.

Lineups for both BAM fests are below...

Continue reading "Questlove & Dr. John BAM lineups announced (Deerhoof, Reggie Watts, Sasha Grey, Willis Earl Beal)"

My Morning Jacket at Lollapalooza in August (more by Grant MacAllister)

My Morning Jacket are currently on a tour that will conclude in NYC at Madison Square Garden on December 14 with Band of Horses. Tickets are still on sale and we're also giving away a pair. Details on how to enter to win are below.

My Morning Jacket will also be special guests at the 50th Anniversary of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band at Carnegie Hall on January 7 along with Mos Def, GIVERS, Tao Seeger, Allen Toussaint, Blind Boys of Alabama, Del McCoury Band, and Trombone Shorty. Tickets go on sale Friday (12/2) at 11 AM.

MMJ were just nominated for a Grammy for "Best Alternative Music Album" and performed too songs off that album on Jimmy Kimmel last night. Check out videos of their performance below.

All dates, contest details and videos below...

Continue reading "win tix see My Morning Jacket @ MSG, see them play Carnegie Hall w/ Preservation Hall Jazz Band, watch them on Kimmel..."

The Blind Boys of Alabama [released] a traditional country-gospel album for the first time in their 70-year career on May 3rd, 2011. One of country music's most acclaimed and compelling artists, Jamey Johnson, co-produced the album and performs on it along with Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams Jr., Lee Ann Womack, and The Oak Ridge Boys.

The Oak Ridge Boys join The Blind Boys of Alabama for an intimate show at City Winery in NYC TONIGHT (5/10). It's not cheap, but tickets are amazingly still on sale. All Blind Boys dates, and a video of them performing with Jamey Johnson & the Oak Ridge Boys on "Fox & Friends" this morning, below...

Continue reading "Blind Boys of Alabama released a guest-filled country-gospel album, The Oak Ridge Boys play with them in NYC tonight"

The Blind Boys of Alabama will curate a three-night series at Lincoln Center on July 12, 14 & 16. The events start with an opening night concert featuring rock artists Yo La Tengo, Lambchop, Exene Cervenka of X and Yim Yames of My Morning Jacket [plus Marshall Allen and the Sun Ra Horns]. On July 14 the focus shifts to country music, with performances by Yonder Mountain String Band, Ralph Stanley, Alison Moorer and Randy Travis, plus Ray Benson and Jason Roberts of Asleep at the Wheel. The final evening, The Blind Boys' Family Revival, will feature songs from all of the group's Grammy Award-winning albums and includes collaborations with Aaron Neville, Joan Osborne, Hot 8 Brass Band, Dan Zanes, John Hammond, and Charlie Musselwhite, among others.

Tickets for all three are on sale now.

More details on the gospel group's Lincoln Center shows, their full upcoming schedule, a video of their performance on Letterman earlier this year with Lou Reed (they also visited Daytrotter in March) and more are below...

Continue reading "Blind Boys of Alabama touring, curated 3 shows @ Lincoln Center w/ many guests (Yo La Tengo, Jim James, more)"

by Andrew Frisicano

Preservation Hall Jazz Band...

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, a rotating group of some of the most esteemed musicians in New Orleans, are all kinds of big easy - the mindset, not the proper noun. They are consummate professionals, but it doesn't lend itself to a stuffy or by the numbers brand of jazz music. It's a style that waltzes, lurches and whistles Dixie. It is dripping with the bourbon flairs that might be transcendent there in the streets and the waters, living there amongst a proud group of people who regularly show their elasticity and that pride in the way New Orleans is pulled off, the way that it's perpetrated and seasoned. [Daytrotter]

The band, formed in 1961 under the direction of the late Allan Jaffe, has worked to promote New Orleans-style jazz through the county and world. Now, under the direction of Jaffe's son, Preservation Hall creative director Ben, the collective and its rotating lineup continue to flourish, with concerts booked through 2010. This week, from March 31st to April 5th, the Preservation Hall Jazz band holds court for six-nights at NYC's Blue Note. Each night has an early show and a late show; table reservations for each set are currently available.

Also this week, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band is releasing a live CD titled New Orleans Preservation, Vol. 1. The disc was recorded earlier this year at the group's home venue, New Orleans' Preservation Hall, "located in the French Quarter, just three blocks from the Mississippi River" (says the band's history).

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band will also return to NYC to the perform on the already-huge-and-growing bill of Pete Seeger's 90th birthday celebration at MSG on May 3rd (sold out).

In other New Orleans-to-New York news, we previously reported that NOLA Fest Ponderosa Stomp is presenting a special three-night program of music at Lincoln Center, the first of which takes place on July 17th. A set of pictures from the Ponderosa Stomp event at SXSW was also recently posted.

All tour dates, New Orleans Preservation Vol. 1 track list and art, and clips of Preservation Hall Jazz Band + the Blind Boys of Alabama (PHJB tourmates for part of 2009) below...

Continue reading "Preservation Hall Jazz Band tour dates, NYC this week, MSG "