As mentioned, Lil Wayne and T.I. are going on a tour which hits the NYC-area on July 19 at Jones Beach, July 24 at PNC Bank Arts Center, and July 31 at Comcast Theatre. Inititally, Future was said to be opening those shows, but it will actually be 2 Chainz on the Jones Beach and PNC Bank Arts Center shows, and Tyga on the Comcast Theatre show. Ticket info for the shows has also been posted. General and VIP package on-sale begins Saturday (5/4) at 10 AM, Fan Club/VIP Packages presale begin today at 10 AM, and a Citi Cardmember presale begins Thursday (5/2) at 10 AM.

Toronto shoegazers Beliefs released their self titled debut LP this past March and went on a tour that was supposed to hit Brooklyn's Shea Stadium that same month. Unfortunately, they had to cancel that show, but they are now set to come to the venue on May 30 with Slowdance. Tickets for that show go on sale today at noon.

Tickets to see John Grant at Mercury Lounge go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets to see The Monkees at NYCB Theatre go on Live Nation presale today at 10 AM. Tickets to the Capitol Theatre and Count Basie Theatre shows go on sale this Friday at noon.

Tickets to see The Pet Shop Boys play two dates at Beacon Theatre go on VIP presale today at 11 AM (password is "PSB2013").

Tickets to see The Polyphonic Spree at Music Hall of Williamsburg and Bowery Ballroom go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets to see The Gaslamp Killer at Music Hall of Williamsburg go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets to see Medicine at Music Hall of Williamsburg go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets to see Dirty Beaches at Mercury Lounge go on AmEx presale today at noon. Tickets to the Glasslands show go on sale Friday at noon.

Tickets to see Pere Ubu at Bowery Ballroom go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets to see Tricky at Webster Hall go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Cayucas is playing Mercury Lounge on July 5. Tickets for that show go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Fanclub tickets to see Major Lazer, Flosstradamus, Dillon Francis, RIFF RAFF and more at the Mad Decent Block Party go on sale today.

Shugo Tokumaru and Mirah are playing Bowery Ballroom on July 11. Tickets for that show go on AmEx presale today at noon.

The NYC stop on the "Yahoo on the Road" tour happens on May 3 at United Palace Theatre with John Legend and Ryan Leslie. Tickets for that show go on sale today at 10 AM.

PAPA is playing Mercury Lounge on June 17. Tickets for that show go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Needs more punk rock. Check it out on Spotify and listed below...

Continue reading "Obama releases Inauguration Playlist"

The Rockaways, post-Sandy (more by Gretchen Robinette)

THIS IS HAPPENING SATURDAY:

Join We Care NYC, Reshma Saujani and our partners: Google, John Legend, New York Tech Meetup, Viacommunity, Uber, Popchips, Flavorpill, Enstitute, Levo League, Press Play Productions, Pencils of Promise, Agent of Change, LocalResponse, PlumAlley.co, Sailthru, GoGirl Finance, AKILA WORKSONGS, Women Innovate Mobile Accelerator, Office of Congressman Gregory Meeks, Councilman Leroy Comrie, James Sanders, Ruben Wills, Donavan Richards, Eddie Stern & Ashtanga Yoga, Deepak Chopra & Chopra Foundation, Beauty Cares, One World Academy, Russell Simmons, Cure Violence EastNy/Man Up, inc. and I Love My LIFE

We've organized a day of advocacy in Far Rockaway to aid those who continue to suffer in the wake of Hurricane Sandy and we need your help.

Want to join us but don't know how to get there? Uber is sponsoring FREE transportation between Manhattan and our volunteer site at 2052 Mott Avenue. They'll send cars to pick us up at 8am from 37 W. 28th St (28th St. btw Broadway and 6th Ave) and take us and our supplies to Far Rockaway where we'll get started at 9am.

NOTE: Uber is generously transporting over 200 of us tomorrow! If you haven't emailed charlotte@reshmafornewyork.com to confirm your ride, we can't promise transportation tomorrow.

If you have items to donate, please bring them with you to distribute!

EQUIPMENT: Flashlights, Batteries, Battery powered radios, Battery powered clock radios,

COLD WEATHER CLOTHING (NEW ONLY!!): Blankets, Sweatshirts/Hoodies, Fleece Jackets, Coats, Gloves, Scarves, Socks, Boots

FOR THE KIDS: Books, Notebooks, School supplies, Bookbags/Backpacks, Games, Toys

SUPPLIES: Paper Towels, Plastic garbage bags, Bathroom tissue, Hand sanitizer, Soap, Toothpaste + toothbrushes, Deodorant, Moisturizing lotion, Feminine products, Household cleaning products, Rubber cleaning gloves, Baby diapers and baby wipes

FOOD: Anything non-perishable, Breakfast Bars, Protein bars, Crackers, Chips, Cookies, Canned spaghetti, Canned tuna, Canned meats, Canned vegetables, Juice boxes

And Coney Island is another option for this weekend.

Check out the video below...

Continue reading "Help clean the Rockaways Saturday (with John Legend)"

John Legend on National Voter Registration Day

John Legend says:

Hey beautiful people,

I'm writing with a change of plans to share with you. As you all know, I've been working on my new album, Love in the Future, with Kanye and the rest of my creative team for a while now. I planned to release the album this Fall and go on tour to perform new songs from the album. We announced the dates before we'd finished the album because we were sure we'd finish the album in time. But, unfortunately, while the creative process has been exciting and I'm pretty certain we're going to deliver the best album of my career so far, the timing hasn't adhered to the schedule I originally envisioned. In other words, we're not done with the album. And my team and I have made the agonizing decision to put off the tour until 2013* when we know we will have the new music done and will be ready to fully unveil the creative vision through the album and the live experience.

I've never postponed a tour or done anything like this before. I've only missed a show due to illness a couple times in my eight-year career. I don't like letting my fans down, and I sincerely regret disappointing the thousands of you who have already spent your hard-earned money and gotten excited to see the show. Please know that we will try our best to make the music and the 2013 tour well worth the wait. In the meantime, ticket holders can get a refund on your ticket purchases now.

Thanks for your patience. I sincerely apologize if I've let any of you down. I'm going to get back to work and make sure we make this album the "best you've ever had."

John Legend's tour opener was to be 2013 Mercury Prize nominee Lianne La Havas who is currently trying to put some headlining shows together in the wake of the tour cancellation. Stay tuned.

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

Dave Grohl, Neil Young & Dan Auerbach  / Olivia Wilde / Band of Horses, Global Festival, 9/29/2012

A crowd of 60,000 strong showed up at the Great Lawn in Central Park yesterday (9/29) for Global Festival, a concert to raise awareness about (and funds to help) global hunger, featuring names like Neil Young, Foo Fighters, Black Keys, Band of Horses and K'naan:

The acts seemed especially stunned by the size of the Central Park crowd. "This event is so great, I can't get over it," marveled Band of Horses frontman Ben Bridwell. Auerbach was similarly moved: "What an amazing thing, it feels great up here," he said. The Keys proceded to fill the giant space with their fast, fuzzed-out riffs, Auerbach buzzing across the stage during cuts like "Howlin for You" and "Money Maker," backed by Patrick Carney's tight grooves. The highlight? When 60,000 fans clapped during the furious breakdown of "I Got Mine," and Auerbach lost himself in the monster riff.

Dave Grohl launched the Foo Fighters' set with a mellow solo version of "Times Like These," before the band kicked in raucously and Grohl bounced across each end of the stage headbanging. Grohl seemed most psyched to be there out of anyone, letting out several throaty howls and leading huge sing-alongs on "My Hero" to "All My Life."...Grohl seemed determined to savor every moment; at one point, he made it clear that this would be the band's last show for a while. "I wish we could play all night - but I'd rather see Neil Young," he said. "We don't have any shows after this. This is where we play as many songs as we can in a short period of time, because, honestly, I don't know when we're gonna do it again." -[Rolling Stone]

Pictures of that collaboration as well as all bands and cameos from Olivia Wilde, Selena Gomez, John Legend and more, are below.

Continue reading "Neil Young, Foo Fighters, The Black Keys, Band of Horses & K'Naan fought hunger at the Global Festival (pics / setlists)"

by Andrew Sacher

After much delay, rumors proved true and false, and some uncertain info, Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music compilation album, Cruel Summer, is fully confirmed and will be out this Tuesday (9/18). Many of its tracks -- "Clique," "Mercy," "New God Flow," "Cold" (previously titled "Theraflu"), and his guest-filled remix of Chief Keef's "I Don't Like" -- have been floating around the internet for some time now. You can stream all of those and snippets of every album track below.

Though Kanye only actually raps on about half the album, his presence is felt throughout and Cruel Summer succeeds at playing from start to finish with an album flow, despite it technically being a compilation. It opens as huge as you expect any Kanye related release to open, addressing the album not just to his fans, friends or family, but of course, "To The World." The track brings together beat master Hudson Mohawke (who's been having a great year as one half of TNGHT) with R. Kelly and Ye. It immediately follows with the album's strongest track, "Clique," which features one of the best Jay-Z verses in recent years and a towering beat from Hit-Boy, who is also behind Cruel Summer tracks "Cold," "Higher," and of course you may know him as the guy behind "Niggas In Paris."

After it continues colossally with previously released singles "Mercy" and "New God Flow," we get the first track on the album without Kanye's voice, "The Morning." However, there's no lack of all-star rappers on the track. We get killer verses from vets Pusha T, Common, and Raekwon, and if guys like Kid Cudi and 2 Chainz are your thing, well they're there too. Cudi, though not the strongest of Kanye associates, does have a shining moment on the album though. Over a clattering beat in "Creepers," he delivers a solo vocal performance making for a rare standout personal moment from not-Kanye in the midst of Ye's encapsulating ego. That's followed by "Bliss," which sees the return of Hudson Mohawke to the boards and is the album's sole track with all singing, no rapping. A distinct contrast to the hanging out and freestyling feel of the closing "I Don't Like" remix.

Streams and tracklist are below.

Continue reading "Kanye's G.O.O.D. Music album 'Cruel Summer' is out next week (tracklist, streams & more on the album)"

Artist rendering of Cushman & Wakefield Theater

R&B crooner and frequent Real Time with Bill Maher guest John Legend, whose 2010 album, Wake Up!, was a collaboration with The Roots and who we recently spotted checking out Frank Ocean at Terminal 5, will be the first artist to play the Cushman & Wakefield Theater, an "intimate theater" within the Barclays Center complex, on October 29. Intimate compared to Barclays Arena at least, the theater seats 3500 - 6000 people. Tickets to John Legend's show go on sale Friday (8/17) at noon.

That show is with UK singer Lianne La Havas, who made BBC's 'Sound of 2012' list and opened for Bon Iver in Chicago (and other dates) in 2011. She also plays her own NYC show on September 11 at Bowery Ballroom (tickets).

The Cushman & Wakefield Theater show is of many dates on John Legend's upcoming fall tour, which also hits the NYC area on October 25 at Wellmont Theatre with Stacy Barthe. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (8/17) at noon. Tickets for the shows will also be available through Tickets-for-Charity, which will donate $1 from each ticket sold to The Show Me Campaign.

John will be using his fall tour to preview cuts from his new Kanye West-produced album, Love in the Future, which is out in the near future, actual release date TBD. You can watch a short video of John announcing the tour and talking about the album at the bottom of this post.

Meanwhile, the Barclays Center opens on September 28 with eight shows by venue director Jay-Z.

A list of all John Legend tour dates and that video are below.

Continue reading "Cushman & Wakefield Theater opening at Barclays Center; John Legend playing first show there (and other dates) "

Atlanta rapper 2 Chainz, who has been making guest appearances for years and has a few mixtapes to his name as well, is set to release his first official album, Based on a T.R.U. Story, this week (8/14) via Def Jam. The album features guest spots from Kanye West, Drake, Nicki MInaj, Lil Wayne, The-Dream, John Legend, Scarface, and more. You can check out some streams and videos from the album and the cover art and tracklist below.

2 Chainz has some upcoming dates in support of the new album. His only live date in the NYC area is Rock the Bells, which he plays on September 1 at PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ, but he'll be in NYC on Thursday (8/16) to sign autographs of the new album at J&R Music and Computer World (23 Park Row) at 6 PM. "Purchase the CD beginning 8/14 & receive a wristband to meet 2 Chainz on 8/16. While supplies last."

That same night (8/16), there will also be an official album release party for Based on a T.R.U. Story at Webster Hall for a Girls Night Out party (ladies free all night). No word on whether or not 2 Chainz will actually be showing up, but if he's in NYC for that autograph signing, it seems likely. The flier for this party is below.

UPDATE: Though Webster Hall is still open Thursday night, the 2 Chainz event is cancelled.

A list of all dates, videos, streams, and more below...

Continue reading "2 Chainz releasing LP, touring, doing autograph signing and album release party in NYC (dates & videos)"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

Jack White / Bassnectar fans

Mallory Bolyard, 25, of Townsend, was planning to go to Firefly Music Festival whether her friends were going or not. And although she has some friends here, a lot of them are only interested in concerts with big names that they like. They're not as interested in discovering new music. Her mom is, though, so the two hit the three-day festival together. Mallory was excited to see the festival come to her home state. "It's the first major concert in Delaware besides the State Fair, which is basically country," she said. [DelawareOnline.com]

Here are some pictures from that day (with Saturday and Sunday on the way soon). More below..

Continue reading "Firefly Music Fest day 1 in pics (Jack White, Silversun Pickups, The Wallflowers, Bassnectar, John Legend, OK Go & more)"

Firefly Music Festival goes down in Dover, Delaware from July 20-22 (which is only about a three hour drive from NYC). The lineup includes Jack White, The Flaming Lips, Passion Pit, The Black Keys, Polica, Cults, Death Cab for Cutie, Ra Ra Riot, The Felice Brothers, Mariachi El Bronx, Silversun Pickups, Lupe Fiasco, The Head and the Heart, Heartless Bastards, The Killers, John Legend, Bassnectar, Girl Talk, and more. Tickets for the fest are on sale now, and camping is available.

No schedule yet, but the full announced lineup is below...

Continue reading "Firefly Music Fest happens in Delaware --- 2012 dates & lineup (Jack White, Flaming Lips, Passion Pit, Black Keys, Polica, Cults, Death Cab & more)"

photos by Chris La Putt

After a 10-year hiatus from the North American concert stage, Sade came. She sang. She danced. She looked radiant. She conquered.

With the hypnotic sound of her elegant, alluring pipes unfolding in serene sonic tapestries of neo-soul, jazz and pop, the 52-year-old Nigerian-born, British-raised Helen Folasade Adu (aka Sade) first seduced music lovers in 1984 with "Diamond Life." And despite more than 25 years passing since her stellar debut, this sexy, exotic chanteuse with the silky, smooth operator voice and cool Anglo-soul is as entrancing as ever, as evident throughout her two-hour, 22-song set Wednesday night at TD Garden that included plenty of highlights, as well as a one-song encore. [Telegram]

Continue reading "Sade continues on tour, played Nassau, Izod & Prudential (pics, setlists & a new video)"

"Sade is back with The Ultimate Collection. In addition to classic Sade songs, the must-have album will include three new, never-before heard songs including "Moon & The Sky" (featuring Jay-Z). Here for the first time, fans can find all of their favorite Sade classics from their most iconic albums including songs from the Best Of collection and the greatest hits off of Lover's Rock and Soldier Of Love.The track listing for The Ultimate Collection, out May 3rd, will be revealed shortly.

Pre-orders of the album begin today at Sade.com, and fans who pre-order The Ultimate Collection will have exclusive early access to tickets beginning March 30th for the newly announced dates in select markets.

Tickets for the newly announced dates go on sale to the public beginning April 2nd at Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com. For Facebook pre-sale codes, announcements and on-sale dates, visit Sade's Facebook events page."

Continue reading "Sade expands tour w/ John Legend, releasing 'Ultimate Collection' w/ 3 new songs (1 w/ Jay-Z)"

And the nominees for "Album of the Year" are:

* The Suburbs by Arcade Fire
* Recovery by Eminem
* Need You Now by Lady Antebellum
* The Fame Monster by Lady Gaga
* Teenage Dream by Katy Perry

Also funny: Mumford & Sons are up for Best New Artist against Justin Bieber (and Drake, Florence & The Machine, and Esperanza Spalding)

Robyn is up for Best Dance Recording against Lady Gaga (and Goldfrapp, La Roux, and Rihanna).

Arcade Fire are also nominated for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals against Muse, Kings of Leon, The Black Keys, and... Jeff Beck & Joss Stone.

The Black Keys also landed in the "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" along with... Dave Matthews.

The Black Keys and Mumford & Sons and Kings of Leon and Muse are also all in the "Best Rock Song" category.

"Best Alternative Album" category:

* The Suburbs by Arcade Fire
* Infinite Arms by Band Of Horses
* Brothers by The Black Keys
* Broken Bells by Broken Bells
* Contra by Vampire Weekend

Other names that got nominated: Cee-Lo, Janelle Monae, Big Boi, John Legend & The Roots, Jay-Z, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, Flight of the Conchords, Devendra Banhart (for "Best Recording Package"), Oh No Ono (ditto), Anais Mitchell (ditto), Danger Mouse, Gorillaz, and Carol Burnett. Full list at the Grammys site.

"Great show. Though, totally unnecessary 3+ hour wait to get in." - Anonymous

Nicki Minaj & Kanye West @ Bowery Ballroom (photo by Questlove)

Kanye West played his entire new album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy from start to finish, followed by a four song encore Tuesday night at the intimate Bowery Ballroom in NYC where Kanye literally brought in "all of the lights" (there were lots of lights). The show started with people who weren't Diddy (he walked right in) waiting on a long line. The show ended with Kanye going on a rant about racism, George Bush, Taylor Swift, the Today Show, etc. Audio of that final portion can be streamed below.

Album guest stars Kid Cudi, Raekwon, Jay-Z and RZA were nowhere to be found, but Terena Taylor, Bon Iver aka Justin Vernon (who might appear again with Kanye in the Thanksgiving Day Parade), Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj (who plays Hammerstein Ballroom on Thanksgiving), Pusha T, Prynce Cy Hi, Swizz Beatz, and John Legend (whose friend Questlove was in the balcony taking pictures) all performed at the show that started around 12:40am and was was over by around 2:15. Full setlist, videos and that audio below...

Continue reading "Kanye West played Bowery Ballroom w/ many special guests (setlist, videos & audio of the show-ending rant)"

If they chose to cover this song the other night at Terminal 5 because they knew it would get blogged about, good idea (though maybe the idea was just related to the name of their new album). Spike Lee-directed live video from the show, below...

Continue reading "John Legend & the Roots did Arcade Fire @ Terminal 5 (video)"

Guitar Wolf

today in NYC
* Digable Planets @ SOB's
* Venomous Concept @ Europa
* Reggie Nicholson @ The Stone
* Times New Viking @ the Meat Locker
* Kordan, Fantasmes, Mitten @ Lit
* Field Music, Motel Motel @ Littlefield
* John Legend, The Roots @ Terminal 5
* Valient Thorr, Junius, Howl @ Southpaw
* Atari Teenage Riot @ Gramercy Theatre
* These Are Powers, Gatekeeper @ Union Pool
* Basia Bulat, The Acorn @ Mercury Lounge
* Landlady, Translations, Hospitality @ Coco 66
* Guitar Wolf, Peelander-Z @ Santos Party House
* Mike Krum, Honor By August @ Mercury Lounge
* The Posies (play Blood/Candy) @ The Rock Shop
* Twilight featuring "Ensemble Durations" @ The Stone
* Stanton Moore Trio, Anders Osborne @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Pavement, Endless Boogie @ Central Park Summerstage
* LCD Soundsystem, Sleigh Bells @ The Wellmont Theatre
* Merzbow, MV Carbon, Philip White @ Issue Project Room
* Murder By Death, Samantha Crain, Ninja Gun @ Maxwell's
* Simian Mobile Disco (DJ set), JDH & Dave P @ Santos Party House
* Tera Melos, Anamanaguchi, Pterodactyl, Fiasco @ Death By Audio
* The Fundies, Cal Folger Day, Jason Anderson @ Pete's Candy Store
* Laurie Anderson (performing Delusion) @ Brooklyn Academy of Music
* Kyle Bobby Dunn, Happy New Year @ Elizabeth Foundation For The Arts
* Ra Ra Riot, North Highlands, We Barbarians @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Juan Wauters, German Measles, Honey Dos, Easter Vomit @ Shea Stadium
* Richard Lloyd (of Television), Band of Outsiders, Deans Of Discipline @ The Bowery Electric
* Christmas Island, Alex Bleeker & The Freaks, Big Troubles, The Babies, Family Trees @ Glasslands
* Comedy Below Canal™ with Kurt Braunohler, Jiwon Lee, Ben Lerman, David Angelo and Todd Barry @ 92YTribeca

STREAM tonight's special Roots/John Legend show on YouTube:

American Express announced today that music sensations Jennifer Hudson, Common, Melanie Fiona, Estelle, and CL Smooth will join John Legend &The Roots as special guests from Terminal 5 in New York City on September 23rd for the "Unstaged: An Original Series from American Express" live-stream concert, directed by filmmaker Spike Lee (Inside Man, Miracle at St. Anna, Malcolm X, Do the Right Thing). The performance will be live-streamed Thursday, September 23 at 9:00PM/ET at www.youtube.com/johnlegendvevo and coincides with the highly anticipated collaborative album release, Wake Up!, from Legend & The Roots, which is available now.

Merzbow is playing two sets tonight at Issue Project Room.

Godspeed added two more NYC shows.

an official video for Times New Viking song "Teen Spirit In Hell", below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

photos by Andrew St. Clair

Raekwon shows potential groupies his current relationship status

What kind of oldies concert draws a huge audience in its 20s? Rock the Bells, the daylong hip-hop festival that came to Governors Island on Saturday. This year's Rock the Bells borrowed an idea from the indie-rock festival All Tomorrow's Parties, booking groups to perform watershed albums in their entirety.

Two headliners, Snoop Dogg and Wu-Tang Clan, largely complied with the assignment. Snoop Dogg brought along most of the guests from his 1993 album, "Doggystyle," made back when he was Snoop Doggy Dogg. The others - A Tribe Called Quest, KRS-One, Rakim and Slick Rick - went "veering off," as Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest put it, to play additional hits (which no one minded) or to plug more recent projects.

And then there was the wild card: Lauryn Hill, the singer and rapper formerly of the Fugees, appearing half an hour late. She hasn't released a studio album since "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" in 1998, and she has recorded and toured only sporadically since then while raising five children. "I miss you," she told the crowd repeatedly. Partway through the set she pulled guests out of the V.I.P. section and onstage: Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, John Legend. They missed her too.
-[New York Times]

Continue reading "Rock the Bells @ Governors Island - pics (part 2) (Wu-Tang, Street Sweeper Social Club, Yelawolf, Slick Rick & more) "

photos by Eric Townsend, words by BBG

"Can't NOBODY FUCK WITH A TRIBE CALLED QUEST LIVE! ROCK THE BELLS NYC WAS MAGIC!" -Carringtonworld

"#np tribe called quest-steve biko(stir it up)....what yall know about #RocktheBells 2010 live from nyc huh? -"NotoriousDIZZ"

"Some of my rap top 10 will be live on stage: slick rick, lauryn hill, wu tang, rakim, krs one, tribe called quest. nYc represent, represent" -LeRoyLive

A Tribe Called Quest on Governors Island Saturday

Linden boulevard represent, represent
Tribe called quest represent, represent
When the mic is in my hand, I'm never hesitant
My favourite jam back in the day was "Eric B. is President"
-[A Tribe Called Quest - "Steve Biko (Stir It Up)"]

More pictures (and video) from the show are HERE and below (, and one more set still on the way)...

Continue reading "Rock the Bells @ Governors Island - pics & video (part 1) (A Tribe Called Quest, Lauryn Hill, Snoop Dogg, Rakim & more) "

Ferraby Lionheart

today in NYC
* in-store @ Fat Beats
* Whiplash @ UCB
* MNDR, Silk Flowers @ Mercury Lounge
* Ferraby Lionheart, Joemca @ The Rock Shop
* Gold Panda, Pink Skull, Bikini, Wish @ Glasslands
* Black Mountain, The War On Drugs @ Knitting Factory
* The Babies, Unnatural Helpers, Pygmy Shrews @ Shea Stadium
* Jon Batiste, Eldar (Highline Piano Series) @ Highline Ballroom
* The White Ravens, Tony Scherr, Jim Campilongo Electric Trio @ The Living Room

Ferraby Lionheart plays the Rock Shop tonight and Rockwood Music Hall on Wednesday. Ferraby's new video for "Harry And Bess" below...

The private show at Bowery Ballroom tonight is a corporate sponsored show with John Legend and The Roots (the same lineup more publicly coming to Terminal 5 and which is the occasion for the party happening at Brooklyn Bowl on Tuesday).

Speaking of the Roots, Questlove has been rehearsing with Yo Gabba Gabba's Brobee for the "first annual Nickelodeon Mega Music Fest! airing Monday, September 6 at 8 p.m. ET/ PT on Nickelodeon". Video below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Monday?"

Sleigh Bells @ Governors Island in July (more by Matthew Eisman)

Though it wasn't clear from the initial announcement, Sleigh Bells will in fact be opening for LCD Soundsystem at Wellmont Theatre. Tickets go on sale at noon.

Tickets are on sale now for the Omar Souleyman show at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Tickets are on sale at noon for the Peter Hook "Unknown Pleasures" show at Webster Hall.

Tickets are on sale for six separate Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival events happening at the Bell House (including Yo La Tengo, David Cross, Mike Birbiglia, John Wesley Harding & more).

Like they did at Brooklyn Bowl, John Legend and The Roots will team up for a NYC show, but this time at Terminal 5 on September 23rd. Tickets are on AmEx presale now and go on general sale Monday at noon.

Tickets are still on sale for the BrooklynVegan CMJ showcase at MHOW, a show that will include a live set by Yuck.

Tickets are on sale for the Black Milk show at Southpaw.

Tickets are on sale at noon for the El Guincho show at Mercury Lounge.

Three Old 97's shows are on sale at noon today.

Two Clinic shows are on sale at noon today.

Two Los Campesinos! shows are on sale now.

Tickets are on sale at noon for the Phosphorescent show at Bowery Ballroom.

Tickets are on sale for the 2010 Brooklyn Soul Festival.

Big Freedia plays 2 shows in NYC this Saturday (no advanced tickets)

by BBG

Kanye West at The Box last night

Kanye West popped into the 200 capacity club The Box on the LES last night for a 1:30 AM surprise set:

An e-mail went out to a select group late Thursday evening, alerting recipients that West and John Legend would be holding a function. If not quite a black-tie affair, the invite asked guests to be suited and booted. No exceptions. Also noted in the message was a phone number to call to learn the address of the venue, which was Manhattan's Chrystie Street club, the Box. The stage set-up was pretty simple: a baby grand piano at which Legend sat, two microphones (one just for Auto-Tune), an 808 beat machine and a keyboard. -[MTV]

Some video from the show (which was also an afterparty for Rihanna's MSG show), is below...

Continue reading "Kanye West & John Legend played a swanky show @ the Box "

The full schedules for this year's Asser Levy/Seaside concerts and MLK Wingate Field shows are posted below. The Seaside series in Coney Island will go on despite the debate over the bandshell's renovations. There's still one TBA on the Seaside schedule (which we have some hints about).

Full schedules for both are below...

Continue reading "2010 Coney Island & Wingate Field concert schedules"

Tickets are now on presale for Rock the Bells at Governors Island (password = CLASSIC)

Tickets are on sale now for a show John Legend and The Roots are playing at Brooklyn Bowl on June 17th (6 days from now). They'll be performing songs from their upcoming album Wake Up!.

Tickets are still on sale for the show The Roots are playing at Highline Ballroom on June 15th (June 21st is sold out).

John Legend was one of the performers at the World Cup kickoff concert.

A whole bunch of other tickets went on sale today too.

The Roots Picnic 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

The Roots will be hosting two night of "The Jam" back at Highline Ballroom on June 15th (tickets) and June 21st (tickets). If the shows are anything like their residency shows at the venue last year, there will be special guests.

The band's ninth studio album, How I Got Over, comes out June 22nd (one day after the 2nd NYC show) on Def Jam. Guests on the record include Joanna Newsom and Jim James/Monsters of Folk. The latter's contribution is actually a reworked version of a MoF song, dubbed "Dear God 2.0." You can check it out, along with the video for the album's title track, "How I Got Over," below. Questlove also recently tweeted a video of Dirty Projectors members (friends of the Roots) in the studio with the band. That's below too.

The Highline shows are in addition to the other shows the group has lined up for the summer (with more coming most likely). They're hosting their second annual Roots Picnic in Philly on June 5th. They have a free Celebrate Brooklyn show on July 11th with Talib Kweli and others.

Meanwhile, Questlove has extended his Thursday night DJ residency at Brooklyn Bowl through July. Tickets are on sale for all dates. He's also going to be DJing the free and BV co-presented Fela! On Broadway Original Cast Recording Release Party on Monday, June 7th, along with performances by Fela! co-leads Sahr Ngaujah and Kevin Mambo and members of the cast (more on that later). Questlove will be at the rescheduled Erykah Badu/Janelle Monae show at Roseland on June 5th.

More album info (include the "not final" tracklist) and streaming tracks are below...

Continue reading "The Roots add more NYC shows (on sale), releasing an album w/ indie special guests + Questlove DJ dates & more"

Live Earth and Dow have partnered to create the largest solutions based global initiative in history aimed at solving the water crisis. The efforts are to increase awareness of the global water crisis and it solutions, inspire and engage individuals to join the cause, and raise funds to support the project efforts. All event locations including Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY will be implementing Live Earth Green Event guidelines.

On April 18, 2010, more than 100 countries will be participating in a series of 6km races will take place over the course of 24 hours in support of the global water crisis. Through a cross-platform global fundraising effort all donations raised by the Dow Live Earth Run for Water will be used to fund sustainable and scalable water programs. Through a cross-platform global fundraising effort, all donations raised by the Dow Live Earth Run for Water will be disseminated to fund sustainable and scalable water programs. A growing global network of NGO partners including Global Water Challenge, A Child's Right, Akvo, Fondo Para La Paz, Indonesia Water Partnership, Lien Ad, Pump Aid, Wildlands Conservation Trust and many others who will successfully implement water and conservation projects around the world. For the comprehensive list of Live Earth's NGO partners around the world, please visit http://liveearth.org/runforwater/partners.

Continue reading "Dow Live Earth 'Run For Water' 2010 happens on April 18th - NYC event in Prospect Park w/ The Roots & John Legend"