The 2013 ACL Festival happens in Austin, TX on two consecutive weekends: October 4 - 6 and October 11 - 13. Weekend passes are on sale now and the full line-up is below...

Continue reading "2013 ACL Music Fest lineup announced (Depeche Mode, The Cure, Atoms for Peace, The National, Vampire Weekend + more)"

Tickets to see Death From Above 1979 and Fucked Up play the Governors Ball After Party at Irving Plaza go on Governors Ball presale today at 10 AM. (Password is "JeffGoldblum")

Tickets to see Griz and Cherub play the Governors Ball After Party at Gramercy Theatre go on Governors Ball presale today at 10 AM. (Password is "JeffGoldblum")

Tickets to see The Revivalists, Roadkill Ghost Choir and Swear & Shake at Bowery Ballroom go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets to the BV-Presents Youth Lagoon, show with Majical Clouds at The Bell House  go on sale at noon today.

Father John Misty, who are playing The Great GoogaMooga and Maxwell's in May, have added another NYC show at Terminal 5. Tickets for that show go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets to see King Tuff at Bowery Ballroom go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets to see Girls Against Boys at Bowery Ballroom go on AmEx presale today at noon.

GUNPLAY is playing S.O.B.'s on June 10. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

The Allman Brothers Band, Grace Porter and the Nocturnals are playing Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre on September 7. Tickets for that show go on VIP Package presale today at 10 AM.

Pure Bathing Culture and Monogold are playing Mercury Lounge on June 7. Tickets for that show go on AmEx presale today at noon.

JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound is playing Mercury Lounge on June 22. Tickets for that show go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Syd Arthur and Celestial Shore are playing Mercury Lounge June 18. Tickets for that show go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Firefly Music Festival 2012 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Dover, DE festival Firefly Music Festival had a great first year in July of 2012, and afterwards immediately announced it'd return in 2013. The 2013 festival happens from June 21 - 23 at the Dover International Speedway, and the lineup was just announced. It includes Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Passion Pit, Kendrick Lamar, MGMT, Grizzly Bear, Japandroids, The Walkmen, Django Django, Public Enemy, CHVRCHES, Amanda Palmer, Foxygen, Alabama Shakes, Toro y Moi, Dan Deacon, Action Bronson, The Avett Brothers, and more; and the headliners are Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Vampire Weekend, and Foster the People. The full lineup is below and you can watch the announcement video at their website. TIckets go on general sale Thursday (2/21).

Firefly happens a couple weeks after NYC festival Governors Ball, which has some lineup similarities (Kendrick Lamar, Grizzly Bear, Japandroids, Avett Brothers, etc). That one goes down on Randall's Island from June 7 - 9 and tickets are still available.

Firefly lineup below...

Continue reading "Firefly Music Festival announces 2013 lineup (Vampire Weekend, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Passion Pit, Kendrick Lamar, MGMT, Grizzly Bear, Japandroids, Tom Petty, RHCP & more)"

JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound at #HotelVegan (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Call Maxwell's the unofficial New Jersey headquarters for the Big Apple BBQ. The Hoboken venue will host three of the six artists scheduled to bless the Manhattan festival devoted to woodsmoke in the days surrounding that weekend, each with headlining shows.

First up is JC Brooks and The Uptown Sound, who will hit Maxwell's on June 9th. Tickets for that show are on sale. The show is one of a few extended weekends scheduled for the band, who are mainly playing East Coast/Midwest dates throughout the summer (including XPoNential Music Festival), save for a trip to Bumbershoot 2012.

Similarly, Maxwell's on June 11th will be the home for Alejandro Escovedo, one of several area dates for the singer-songwriter. Tickets for that show are on sale. You can also catch Escovedo at the Clearwater Festival, the Stuyvestant Town Oval on July 28th and Bowery Ballroom on June 5th for his record release.

And lastly, the venue will also host Southern Culture on the Skids on June 10th. Tickets for that show are on sale too.

All three bands' upcoming tour dates are listed below, along with some videos.

Continue reading "JC Brooks, Alejandro Escovedo, & Southern Culture on the Skids playing Maxwell's after Big Apple BBQ (not together)"

The 2012 music lineup was announced today for Bumbershoot: Seattle's Music & Arts Festival, which is produced by non-profit arts organization One Reel and takes place over Labor Day weekend, Sept. 1-3, at Seattle Center. The 42-year-old urban festival stands on top nationally in its variety as it showcases both familiar and up-and-coming regional and national talent in many musical genres, as well as in comedy, theater, literary and visual arts, dance, film and children's programming.

Bumbershoot's Mainstage in KeyArena will feature two multi-act performances each day. Artists scheduled to perform there include groundbreaking alternative rock band Jane's Addiction, jazz legend Tony Bennett, electronic phenom Skrillex, a hip hop double bill with Mac Miller and Big Sean, M83, and AWOLNATION among others. Additional Mainstage acts will be announced in coming weeks.

Tickets are all-inclusive. All festival offerings, including Mainstage admission on a first-come, first-served basis (no separate pass required), and late-night electronic music curated by Decibel Festival for Bumbershoot After Dark, are included in the price of a single-day or 3-day ticket

Continue reading "Bumbershoot 2012 lineup (Jane's Addiction, Tony Bennett & Skrillex are the headliners)"

"WXPN, the nationally-recognized leader in Triple A (Adult Album Alternative) music and noncommercial radio service of the University of Pennsylvania today announced the lineup for the 2012 XPoNential Music Festival presented by Subaru. Wilco, Counting Crows, Avett Brothers, Dr. Dog, The Hold Steady, Kathleen Edwards, Diego Garcia, War On Drugs, John Wesley Harding's Cabinet of Wonders and many more acts will play the weekend festival at Camden County's Wiggins Park and the Susquehanna Bank Center located on the Camden waterfront from Friday, July 20th - Sunday, July 22nd.

This year, WXPN has extended the festival to include Susquehanna Bank Center performances on Saturday and Sunday nights. WILCO, THE AVETT BROTHERS and DR. DOG will perform on Saturday, July 21 and COUNTING CROWS will perform on Sunday, July 22. Lawn seat admission to both Susquehanna Bank Center shows is included with the purchase of a 3-Day Pass to the XPoNential Music Festival. "

XPoNential Music Festival tickets are on sale. Full lineup below...

Continue reading "XPoNential Music Festival 2012 lineup announced"

JC Brooks @ BV-SXSW 2012 (more by Nate Igor Smith)

The most non-vegan, free NYC event of the year once again curates a great lineup of rock and soul to accompany the food at Madison Square Park on June 9th and 10th. Bands and set times listed below...

Continue reading "Big Apple BBQ 2012 music lineup announced"

Lollapalooza (more by Grant MacAllister)

Chicago Sun Times reports:

Lollapalooza has revealed its official 2012 list of performers -- a typically wide-ranging smorgasbord of genres and styles topped by nearly a dozen mainstage headliners: the Red Hot Chili Peppers, freshly reunited bands Black Sabbath and At the Drive-In, the Black Keys, Jack White, Florence + The Machine, the Shins and Passion Pit, plus spotlighted electronic music including Swedish house titan Avicii, French dance duo Justice and DJ-producer Bassnectar.

The annual music festival is scheduled for Aug. 3-5 in Chicago's Grant Park.

Rumored lineups have circulated widely, as they usually do, and Lollapalooza itself stoked the speculation in recent weeks via a series of CTA and online advertisements that seemed to hint at who would be playing.

The ads featured lyrics from such acts as Sigur Ros, Santigold, Jack White, Kimbra, Twin Shadow, the Weeknd, Bloc Party and more -- all bands that wound up on the bill.

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2012 lineup (Jack White, At The Drive-In, Sigur Ros, Black Keys, RHCP, Afghan Whigs, M83, Weeknd, SBTRKT, Black Sabbath & more)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield & Tim Griffin; additional pictures by Nate "Igor" Smith

Frankie Rose & band @ Hotel Vegan (by Amanda Hatfield)

BrooklynVegan's Hotel Vegan, located at Austin venues Hotel Vegas & Volstead Lounge, began at noon back on Wednesday, 3/14/2012, on three stages. As "bob dylan wrote propaganda songs" points out:

"...it offered the perfect setting for seeing multiple bands within an intimate setting in a short amount of time. Sure it was a long walk down Sixth Street to get there, and it may not have been the most well kempt venue (I'll be honest, it was a shit-hole), but the three stage set-up provided for prime SXSW day party viewing. I had the pleasure of seeing Chelsea Wolfe, Japandroids, Frankie Rose, Deaf Heaven, and Japandroids all within the span of a couple hours. All of these bands were on my list of bands I wanted to see, and thanks to this venue, I was able to cross more bands off my list than past years"

Deafheaven @ Hotel Vegan (by Amanda Hatfield)

Like on Friday and all four days, we served complimentary HobNob Wines all day. On Wednesday we also proudly passed out Brooklyn Brewery beer and Sailor Jerry drinks.

Special thanks to our official backline providers Vox, Blackstar and Korg, and thank you to NadaMoo for supplying free vegan treats, and to Honest Tea for the tea.

More pictures from the entire SXSW Wednesday at Hotel Vegan, below....

Continue reading "#HotelVegan Day 1 pics (Future of the Left, Japandroids, Bear in Heaven, Frankie Rose, Maps & Atlases, Deafheaven, more) "

As you know, BrooklynVegan is taking over ALL THREE STAGES at connecting Austin venues Hotel Vegas & Volstead for FOUR DAYS STRAIGHT this week, and it's all 100% FREE (no RSVP or badges either). There's a big outdoor stage, and smaller stages inside Hotel Vegas & Volstead. Collectively we're calling the four day long party "Hotel Vegan" (located at 1500 E. 6th St, Austin, TX).

We announced Thursday, Friday, and Saturday too. Here is Wednesday: Wednesday at Hotel Vegan (March 14, 2012)

Stage 1 (Hotel Vegas Outside)
12:00 PM - Devin
12:45 PM - Big Deal
1:30 PM - Pujol
2:15 PM - We are Augustines
2:50 PM - Sun Araw Band (live) + Matthewdavid (DJ Set)
3:45 PM - Frankie Rose
4:30 PM - Japandroids
5:15 PM - Bear in Heaven

Stage 2 (Hotel Vegas Inside) (BBG Stage)
12:10 PM - Freshkills
12:50 PM - White Ring
1:35 PM - The Coathangers
2:20 PM - Razika
3:05 PM - Chelsea Wolfe
3:50 PM - Deafheaven
4:35 PM - Bleached
5:20 PM - Future Of The Left

Stage 3 (Volstead) (BV Chicago stage)
12:00 PM - Minor Characters
12:35 PM - Gypsyblood
01:15 PM - FIELDED
02:00 PM - White Mystery
02:45 PM - Maps & Atlases
03:30 PM - The-Drum
04:15 PM - Flosstradamus
05:00 PM - JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound

And in addition to the completely free lineup of 24 bands playing on THREE stages, we will also have complimentary drinks courtesy of Brooklyn Brewery (while supplies laset) and HobNob Wines, the official wine parter of our entire week of FREE PARTIES at Hotel Vegan (check out HobNob's Facebook page for free music downloads), and a hosted bar courtesy of Sailor Jerry

We will also have FREE VEGAN TREATS courtesy of NadaMoo! and FREE Honest Tea. Arlo's great Vegan Food truck, located right next door, will be at all four days of Hotel Vegan selling food.

Special thanks to all of our partners and sponsors for making this party possible - including Vox, Blackstar and Korg, our official backline partners. And special thanks to Tim Griffin for making our Hotel Vegan flyer.

--

This just one of four full days at Hotel Vegan. Thursday lineup HERE. Saturday lineup HERE. Friday lineup HERE.

We also have THREE official showcases (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday), and a Saturday metal day party at Lovejoys, AND a just-announced bridge show.

"The 2011 Solid Sound lineup thus far: Wilco (Fri. & Sat.), the Levon Helm Band, Thurston Moore, Syl Johnson & the Sweet Divines, Here We Go Magic, Dave Douglas & Brass Ecstasy, Pillow Wand (Nels Cline/Thurston Moore duo), Handsome Family, Liam Finn, Sic Alps, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion, Glenn Kotche, Pronto, the Autumn Defense, Comedy Cabaret curated by John Hodgman featuring Wyatt Cenac, Eugene Mirman & Morgan Murphy, plus the return of the Story Pirates -- all at the largest contemporary art museum in the country with the backdrop of the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts."

Syl Johnson @ MHOW in 2009 (more by Ryan Muir)

Anonymous 1:57 AM left a potentially true tip that "SJ" are opening for Yo La Tengo at Maxwell's on Saturday. 2:30 quickly followed with a guess that SJ could in fact be Syl Johnson... who happens to be playing Southpaw Friday night (12/3).

Last time Syl Johnson was in town, he was backed by JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound who won't be backing him again this time because they're playing DC Friday night, BUT they will be in NYC one night later to play Public Assembly (with The Above / Fred Thomas / Gospel Queens / Poor But Sexy).

Video of JC Brooks covering Wilco, below...

Continue reading "Syl Johnson & JC Brooks are in town this week too (dates)"

photos by Ryan Muir

I take on more than I can handle. That results in a lot of unposted content. In the name of catching up, while also taking it easy during this final week of the year, here's some of that lost material. Happy Holidays!

Some record collectors have moved from accumulating vinyl to salvaging careers. The Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans, Dig Deeper in Brooklyn and the Light in the Attic label in Seattle have all tracked down fondly remembered names to perform again. On Friday night the Numero Group -- a Chicago label that delves into obscure archives for meticulously researched reissues -- brought its dapper, potent Eccentric Soul Revue to the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn.

J C Brooks and the Uptown Sound provided nonstop accompaniment to soul acts who recorded for the long-gone Twinight label: Syl Johnson, the Notations and Renaldo Domino, all with suits and ties and strong voices. (Numero has released a compilation, "Eccentric Soul: Twinight's Lunar Rotation.")
[NY Times]

Continue reading "Numero Group's Eccentric Soul Revue @ Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn - pics"

"In addition to being the sharpest-dressed band in Chicago, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound have been taking the city by storm with their unique brand of raw power soul." - Gaper's Block

Motown had one, so did Stax. Three deep soul acts and one smoking hot band to back them up. The triple-header of R&B: the soul revue. Once a mainstay of theaters, gymnasiums and VFW halls everywhere, the soul revue ultimately vanished in the late seventies as recorded sound pushed live performance out of the limelight and onto car stereos and refrigerator-sized boom boxes. The performers returned to their day jobs and the world was the poorer for it.

That is, until April 4th, 2009, when the Numero Group, the world's premier reissue label, mounted the first Eccentric Soul Review, packing Chicago's Park West Theater with soul-hungry acolytes, satisfying them and then some with the real thing: a seventeen-piece band backing, The Notations, Renaldo Domino, The Final Solution, Nate Evans and Syl Johnson, putting on a show that combined seventies slick with revival meeting fervor.

It was a magical evening, as the past lived and breathed and got on down, right here in the present. Those in attendance went home that night knowing they'd seen something that just wasn't done anymore. And they went home wanting more. Well, the wait and the want is over. The Numero Group is taking this show on the road: Syl Johnson, Renaldo Domino and the Notations, backed by JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound are hitting Columbus, Washington DC, and two boroughs of New York City.

The premise is somewhat similar to what's going on at the Brooklyn Soul Festival, which occupies the Bell House on August 28th and 29th. The house bands for those nights will be Eli "Paperboy" Reed & the True Loves for the first, and the Sweet Divines for the second.

The trailer for the Eccentric Soul Revue, a flyer and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Numero Group's Eccentric Soul Revue on tour, 2 NYC shows"

Friday January 30th @ DANBRO STUDIOS WAREHOUSE (tentative)

:: BKLYN vs. B-MORE BATTLE MARATHON!
:: 2 stages, bands from Brooklyn on one, Baltimore on the other
:: --| $3 |--

:: DAN DEACON
:::: Thank You
:::::: Future Islands
:::::::: dj Dog Dick

:: secret guests tba
:::: secret guests tba
:::::: These Are Powers
:::::::: USAISAMONSTER

| DANBRO STUDIOS WAREHOUSE |
268 Meserole Ave @ Bushwick Pl | East Williamsburg, Bklyn
L-Montrose, JM-Lorimer, G-Broadway | 8pm | all ages | --| $3 |--

JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound perform "Baltimore Is the New Brooklyn" in the video below...

Continue reading "Broooklyn vs. Baltimore marathon @ Danbro - Dan Deacon, These are Powers, secret guests & more for $3"