King Sunny Ade @ Rothbury 2009 (more by Graeme Flegenheimer)

It is with great sadness that we announce the cancellation of the entire April/May 2010 North American tour for King Sunny Ade and his African Beats.

On March 26th 2010 a tragic car accident took the lives of two members of the African Beats, talking drummer Gabriel Ayanniyi and percussionist Omo Olope, who were en-route to a video shoot for a forthcoming recording. When the US Embassy refused to grant visas to replacement members in a timely manner, there was confusion about the possible courses of action.At the same time, it became clear that the artist and the band had neither recovered from the impact of the tragedy, nor were they able to find consensus on how to move forward with normal touring.

As a result, the North American April/May 2010 tour has been canceled until such a time as King Sunny Ade and his group have sufficiently regrouped and are ready to face the rigors of an International tour again.

We offer our heartfelt condolences to the band and the families of the deceased. On behalf of the artist and his band we extend our apologies to all who will be disappointed by their inability to perform in North America this year.

GRAViTON: African Arts (N.A. management fo King Sunny Ade)

Gabriel and Omo RIP.

Continue reading "King Sunny Ade tour cancelled (not because of volcano) "

by Andrew Frisicano

Tinariwen @ (Le) Poisson Rouge in April (more by Tim Griffin)

Malian band Tinariwen recently won the 2009 Uncut Music Award for best album (given by Uncut Mag) for their record Imidiwan:Companions. The 11 member jury, which included Billy Bragg and Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold, voted the album the "most inspiring and rewarding" of the past 12 months over the seven other entries including Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear and Dirty Projectors. For a better idea of the sizable competition, the shortlist of nominees is below.

Tinariwen, who made a good impression at Coachella and played NYC's LPR both in April, will be coming to North American this February. The trip includes a pair of NYC shows: they return to Highline Ballroom on February 18th and then play a rare Brooklyn show (their first?) at The Bell House on February 19th. Ticket info TBA.

Also coming to the Highline in 2010 will be Malian singer-songwriter Rokia Traore for a show on Saturday, April 17th, as part of the World Music Institute Presents: Songs of Mali series. Tickets are on sale. World Music Institute will also bring Nigarian juju legend King Sunny Ade to the Highline Ballroom on April 9th. Tickets are on sale.

For Rokia, the Highline show is somewhat of a makeup show after her Summer 2009 tour was cancelled.

On Friday, March 26th another Music of Mali show will happen with Bassekou Kouyate (who play the ngoni, a West African lute) at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall. That'll be the New York debut of his band and Mali's "first ngoni quartet," Ngoni ba. Tickets are on sale now.

Videos of all four with the Uncut shortlist and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Tinariwen win an award, announce tour dates ++ upcoming King Sunny Ade, Rokia Traore & Bassekou Kouyate shows too"

photos by Graeme Flegenheimer

"It took Patricia Mudnich and Joshua Garcia two weeks, driving their RV about 3,100 miles in a winding route from Santa Cruz, Calif., to arrive at the Rothbury music festival in West Michigan.

Cool weather and a short wait in line after the campground opened Thursday morning didn't faze them in the least. The diehard fans of The String Cheese Incident -- the popular jam band which plays its only reunion show of the summer at the second-year festival Friday -- were all smiles.

"The lineup was so impressive, we could not turn it down," said Mudnich, 41, a high school English teacher who estimated the couple spent more than $2,100 on the long trip, including festival tickets, gasoline and side trips to tourist spots such as Yellowstone National Park and Mount Rushmore. "I used to go to these festivals all the time, but now I can only fit it into the summer."

For devoted rock fans flocking this week to the remote Double JJ Ranch from far-flung places across the United States and beyond, Rothbury has become THE summer destination.

Drawing an estimated 30,000-plus people again this year, many of the festival's devotees have logged impressive road and air miles to see their favorite bands -- from The Dead to STS9 -- with clusters of enthusiastic, colorfully adorned fans making the journey from Vermont, Florida, Texas, Nevada, Colorado and all points between in everything from compact cars and pickups to dilapidated Volkwagen vans and old school buses." [Mlive.com]

Rothbury happened July 2-5. Here are some (NSFW) pictures & videos...

Continue reading "pictures from the 2009 Rothbury Festival (NSFW)"

photos by Graeme Flegenheimer

King Sunny Adé @ Rothbury 2009

Celebrate Brooklyn!'s annual all-day festival of music, food and crafts features a lineup of music selected to keep dancers moving into the night. This year's headliner is the great King Sunny Adé of Nigeria. The bill also includes a rare U.S. appearance by South Africa's Freshly Ground; The Mandingo Ambassadors, from NYC by way of Guinea, whose music "has been structured to make you feel good" (The New York Times); the wild Senegalese drum troupe Cheikh M'Baye & Sing Sing; the powerful Brooklyn-born, Ghanaian vocalist Abena Koomson; and whirling traditional Egyptian dancer, Yasser Darwish.

King Sunny Adé, who plays juju music, "a Nigerian style characterized by interlocking guitars, talking drums and lap-steel," will also be inducted into the Afropop Hall of Fame at the free concert. He recently played a set at the 2009 Rothbury Music Festival. More pictures from that, with Saturday's times and videos of King Sunny Adé, below...

Continue reading "African Music Festival in Prospect Park Saturday - lineup includes King Sunny Adé (who played Rothbury - pics) "

A performing arts program of BRIC Arts | Media | Bklyn, Celebrate Brooklyn! is one of New York City's longest running, free, outdoor performing arts festivals. Launched in 1979, as a catalyst for a Brooklyn performing arts scene and to bring people back into Prospect Park after years of neglect, Celebrate Brooklyn has been an anchor in the park's revitalization and has become one of the city's foremost summer cultural attractions. Over the course of its history Celebrate Brooklyn has presented over 1,700 artists and ensembles reflective of the borough's diversity, ranging from internationally acclaimed performers to emerging, cutting-edge artists. All Celebrate Brooklyn performances are free. The festival attracts upwards of 250,000 attendees from across New York City to the Prospect Park Bandshell each summer.

All performances except Benefit Concerts are free with a $3 suggested contribution. They are listed below...

Continue reading "Celebrate Brooklyn! 2009 Prospect Park concert schedule "

David Byrne @ Radio City Music Hall (more by Chris La Putt)

Celebrate Brooklyn's opening night gala (and first concert of the season) will take place at the Prospect Park Bandshell on June 8th.

The Green Gala will be an exciting eco-friendly evening with a zero waste goal that launches other green initiatives including cycling and recycling efforts to reduce the Festival's environmental impact and to promote eco-friendly practices. All proceeds from the gala provide vital funds for Celebrate Brooklyn's free programming and will also support our green initiatives.

5:30 Cocktails & Dinner
7:30 Remarks
8:00 Performance (reserved seats)
10:00 Dance Party

Tickets for all of the above will cost you anywhere from $325 for a single ticket, to $10,000 for a Vice Chair Table. However, if you just want see the performance aka DAVID BYRNE, you can, for free (or pay the $3.00 suggested donation).

Most of the shows at the Brooklyn bandshell are free (like did I mention David Byrne on June 8th???), but a few are benefits (aka cost money) to help make the free ones happen. MGMT and Kuroma (sold out), Animal Collective (still on sale), and Jackson Browne (still on sale) all fit into the benefit category. Now you can also add Bonnie Rait and Taj Mahal to that list. They are on tour together and will play there on August 12th (on sale date TBA) (all dates below).

The full lineup of free shows happening at the bandshell in Prospect Park this summer will be announced in a few weeks. Until then we can try and figure them out. One possibility is King Sunny Ade on July 18th. Do you know any others? We're also keeping track of who is playing Central Park Summerstage.

The bandshell is not the only place events happen in Prospect Park though. The Long Meadow, with the addition of a stage, can and has also become a venue (usually for opera, orchestras, and other more-high-art events). According to the Daily News, there's now also a chance it will also become the location of Woodstock's planned NYC anniversary concert...

"It's big, it's convenient. There's public transportation - and Brooklyn's cool," said Lang, 64. "I'd love to do it. But it's been a very tough year."

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe confirmed the city is in talks with Lang about the event.

"New York City has a wonderful legacy of great free concerts," said Benepe, adding Prospect Park would be a great spot for such a concert.

"It's a park we have been pointing concert promoters to," said Benepe. "There's no space anywhere in Central Park as large as the the Long Meadow in Prospect Park."

Lang, who grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, said he knows the clock is ticking and that to make the free daylong show work, he has to find the necessary $8 million to $10 million to pay for it by the end of the month.

If the money comes through, Lang is hoping to attract up to 150,000 people and feature a mix of Woodstock legends like Crosby, Stills and Nash, and Neil Young, as well as newer bands that fit the vibe, like Dave Matthews and Phish.

David Byrne's Brooklyn show comes five days after the not-free one he's playing at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ. You can also catch him playing a different set on May 3rd at Radio City Music Hall. You may have caught him earlier this year, also at Radio City, at one of his two Eno-shows he played there.

Bonnie Rait & Taj Mahal dates below...

Continue reading "David Byrne (!), Woodstock, Bonnie Rait, Taj Mahal & other Prospect Park concert news "

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.

As rumored, Bruce Springsteen (who just played the Superbowl Halftime show) and Phish (who just had some trouble selling tickets to other shows) are headlining this year's Bonnaroo. Nine Inch Nails (who played Lollapalooza last year), Beastie Boys, David Byrne (who has two shows coming up at Radio City), Wilco, Al Green, Erykah Badu, TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (who are also playing Coachella), Andrew Bird (who just played Carnegie Hall), The Decemberists, Bon Iver, Animal Collective (who are very popular right now), Neko Case, Jenny Lewis, Santogold, Grizzly Bear (who have a new album coming out), St. Vincent, Ted Leo, Crystal Castles, and many others are also on the bill according to the now-officially announced initial lineup.

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...)"