Is anything still going on at Zuccotti Park? Regardless, Jackson Browne and Dawes, who have collaborated before (just ask Lefsetz!), will perform for Occupy Wall Street at Zuccotti Park today (12/1) sometime between noon and 1:30pm (I've seen it listed as 12, 12:30 and 1). Oh and Third Eye Blind, who wrote a song for the movement, will be there too! How's it going to be? How's it going to be...

Later tonight the movement will be at Lincoln Center with Philip Glass.

Dawes begin a run of proper NY and NJ shows on 12/3.

More info about Music For Occupy, the above-pictured album that features music by Jackson Browne, Yo La Tengo, Devo, Third Eye Blind, Lucinda Williams, Ladytron, and more, HERE.

Canadian folk/alt-country band Blackie and the Rodeo Kings are set to release Kings and Queens today (6/14) in the US via Music/Dramatico/Universal. The album features a different female vocalist in each track, and the list is pretty impressive. It includes Lucinda Williams, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Exene Cervenka of X, Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek, Emmylou Harris, Rosanne Cash and others. Full tracklist below.

The band plays The Living Room TONIGHT (6/14). Tickets are available. They play at 9 PM before Joseph Arthur plays one of his 10 shows at the same venue at 10 PM.

No special guests are announced, but we know at least one of the artists that appears on the album is probably in town. NYC resident Rosanne Cash, who spends much of the summer touring to promote her music and a book, has no dates scheduled before this Thursday (6/16) when she plays as part of Hal Wilner's 'Freedom Riders' show with Lou Reed, Tao Seeger, and others.

Lucinda Williams also has shows coming up too. She plays Wellmont Theatre on July 20 (tickets) and Beacon Theater on July 21 (tickets) with Amos Lee.

Emmylou Harris plays Summerstage on July 18 with the Levon Helm Band and Hayes Carll. Tickets are still on sale.

Exene Cervenka will be in NYC with X in September and October.

I don't know if Sara Watkins is on tour with the Decemberists (who play Prospect Park tonight), but she did play with them at the Beacon Theater in January.

All B&RK tour dates, album art, and tracklist below...

Continue reading "Blackie & the Rodeo Kings released a guest-filled album, playing a NYC show tonight (and other dates)"

Lucinda Williams and Amos Lee will team up for a string of East Coast dates including a pair in the NYC area on 7/20 at Wellmont Theatre and 7/21 at Beacon Theater. Tickets for Beacon Theater and Wellmont Theatre are currently on Fan presale, and go on AmEx presale at noon today followed by regular sale on Friday.

Both Lucinda Williams and Amos Lee have a bunch of other dates on their tour schedule as well, and Williams is celebrating the release of her recently birthed new LP Blessed, which is streaming in full at her website. She also recently dropped the "Live at SXSW" EP, which is available now via iTunes.

All tour dates and a series of videos where "everyday people from the city of Los Angeles, CA share their story of why they are Blessed," below...

Continue reading "Lucinda Williams released 'Blessed', touring w/ Amos Lee"

photos by Eric M. Townsend

The MUSE: Your debut album was just released this summer. What have the last few months been like for you?

Dylan LeBlanc: I worked really hard touring. It's been a big change in my life, kind of giving up control and having people work for me. It's weird. Not having to book my own shows. It's kind of cool. I like it. I feel like I'm very happy. I feel like I'm moving forward, and I've gotten a lot better over the course of the last year and several months. Playing new songs, it's been really great.

Who are some of the artists and songs that inspired you to get out there and create your own music?

Dylan LeBlanc: As far as artists go, I like what a lot of people like. I like Wilco a lot. They were big throughout my teenage years. And a lot of Neil Young, classic rock, classic folk music. As far as songs go, the first song that made me instantly love music was "Out On The Weekend" from Harvest (Reprise). That was the first real, good song that made me want to start writing songs. I just like that song for some reason, and that whole album. We played a lot of good stuff at my house.

The Mercury Lounge show in direction competition with a show featuring his tourmate Lissie at Webster Hall that night. The two resumed their tour together after NYC and keep going for about another week. Later this month Dylan hops on tour with Lucinda Williams who then plays two shows at Webster Hall without him.

All tour dates, more pictures from the Merc show, and some videos from Lissie's date with Webster Hall, below...

Continue reading "Dylan LeBlanc played Mercury Lounge (while Lissie was at Webster Hall) -- pics & more dates"

Lucinda Williams @ Outside Lands 2009 (more by Chris Graham)

Lucinda Williams will be touring this February and March. Towns she hits include Boston, Ithaca, Red Bank and New York City. Tickets for March 11th and 12th shows at Webster Hall are on a "Lucinda Williams Presale" now. General sale begins Friday at noon (and there's an AmEx presale starting Wednesday). All dates below...

Continue reading "Lucinda Williams --- 2011 Tour Dates"

Ray Davies has a new LP on the way entitled See My Friends due on November 1st. The release will see The Kinks frontman pairing with multiple bands to re-record, and sometimes re-imagine, Kinks songs. And these bands have names like Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Spoon, Black Francis, Metallica, Mumford & Sons... and the legendary Alex Chilton (RIP).

"This project came about almost by accident," says Davies of the project, which was kick-started when he recorded a version of 'Till The End Of The Day' in the summer of 2009, with Alex Chilton.

Davies is getting back on the road as well, though so far he just has scattered dates in Europe, and a newly-announced show in the United States. He'll be performing his 2009 LP The Kinks Choral Collection with the Dessoff Chamber Choir at the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ on November 26th. Tickets go on sale at noon today (10/8). NYC got that show in 2009.

All dates, the See My Friends tracklisting, and some video are below...

Continue reading "Ray Davies re-recorded Kinks songs w/ special friends, playing NJ & other dates "

photos by Chris Gersbeck, words by Rachel Kowal

"Modest Mouse without a cloud in the sky!" -rojacaliente

"If this were Make A Wish and you were going to die in 20 min, just long enough to play Freebird, we wouldnt play it -Modest Mouse" -georgeferris

"Modest Mouse is testing my love for them by keeping the kid awake with their heavy bass and drumming two blocks away. /fistshaking" -woolyknickers

Lightning may have shut down Modest Mouse in July, but for last night's rescheduled show, the weather was nearly perfect (if not a bit chilly).

This time, the opener was the Americana singer/songwriter Marcellus Hall and his backing band. The pairing was a bit odd. Modest Mouse prompted people to shout along to every song and to rush the stage. Marcellus Hall's performance had people turning around to admire the setting sun over the Manhattan skyline and leaving polite pockets of space throughout the crowd.

After Marcellus Hall's relatively short set, the anticipation for the headliners steadily grew, but more than thirty minutes passed before they marched on stage. As if making up for their severely truncated show last July, Modest Mouse then played a lengthy set - nearly 2 hours long when you factor in the encore.

"Welcome back!" Isaac Brock said by way of introduction. They kicked off the show with "Gravity Rides Everything." Taking no time to get into the show, the crowd enthusiastically sang along from the opening verse. (fittingly, the song contains the line, "Everything will fall right into place.") Isaac Brock hardly talked between songs. He didn't need to. The audience was wholly engaged. Each song was met by cheers and triumphantly extended fists. After all, for many of the people present, this was take two.

From "Cowboy Dan" to "Autumn Beds," the band pulled songs from throughout their career and readily switched between the more raucous and reserved. The pump organ, banjo, glockenspiel, accordion, and trumpet made regular guest appearances that nicely punctuated the set and revealed the surprisingly decent sound quality. The stage lights - which were absent during opening set - certainly helped to set the mood for Modest Mouse.

The band closed their initial set with "The View," leaving the audience with the soothing sound of electronic crickets to underlie their cries for more. After an unusually long wait (10 minutes), they returned for another five(ish) songs before finally concluding just short of 10:00, saying, "Thank you all very much. Have a good night" and delivering a PSA discouraging "driving while drinking and drinking while driving." Luckily, Brock didn't say anything about smoking and riding the subway.

--

Isaac Brock and gang have one set of shows left on their calendar, on October 23rd and 24th at Shoreline Ampitheater in Mountain View, CA as part of the annual Bridge School Benefit. The band will join a reformed Buffalo Springfield. Pearl Jam, Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams, T-Bone Burnett's Speaking Clock Revue (with Elton John & Leon Russell, Elvis Costello, Ralph Stanley, Neko Case and Jeff Bridges, they play NYC on 10/20), and Grizzly Bear among others.

The Bridge School Benefit lineup by day, more Waterfront pics and the Modest Mouse setlist is below...

Continue reading "Modest Mouse played Williamsburg Waterfront again (pics, setlist), playing Bridge School Benefit in CA (lineup)"

photos by Chris Graham

Happy Holidays! 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.

For what was the worst day weather-wise for San Francisco's Outide Lands Festival, its last day (Sunday, August 30th) may have been the best musically. Cold fog and wind took the place of cloudless, sunny skies, but those who attended witnessed sets by Modest Mouse, the Dead Weather, the Avett Brothers, Band of Horses, Calexico, Matt & Kim , and soul legends Robert Randolph and Betty Layvette, and MIA, who complained via Twitter about the fest's substitution of Tenacious D for the Beastie Boys, then covered two Beasties songs, "Intergalactic" and "Sabatage, in her set.

Scrambling to find replacement headliners for the Beastie Boys was a common theme for festivals in summer '09, after the group was forced to cancel all dates when Adam Yauch was dianosed with cancer (he's since had sugery, and reports say that part of his health regiment is a vegan/organic diet). Beastie Boys' slot was filled by Jay-Z at All Points West and Yeah Yeah Yeahs at Lollapalooza

More pictures from Day Three below...

Continue reading "Outside Lands 2009 - Day 3 pics (Tenacious D, MIA, Ween, Modest Mouse, Band of Horses, Dead Weather, more)"

Three-time Grammy Award-winner, and Lost Highway recording artist Lucinda Williams announces a series of special performances to celebrate her 30th anniversary as a recording artist.

On October 3, 4 & 5 Williams will play a three night stand at New York's The Fillmore at Irving Plaza...The first set of the three-night runs will feature selections from specific periods of Williams celebrated career. The opening night will feature songs from 1979-1989, in which she recorded Ramblin', Happy Woman Blues and Lucinda Williams. The second night will cover music from 1992-2001, when Williams recorded Sweet Old World, and Grammy Award-winners Car Wheels On A Gravel Road and Essence. On the final night of each run, Williams will perform music from 2004-present, in which she recorded World Without Tears, West and her latest acclaimed album Little Honey. Following each opening set will be a full second set of songs from throughout Williams celebrated career...Additional multi-night shows will be added in early 2010.

Williams has also posted a message on her website saying she knows how "tough it is out there during the current economic climate", so she is offering concert-goers discounted merchandise to offset ticket fees that "blatantly gouge" fans (thus giving people an incentive to spend even more money!). That message with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Lucinda Williams - 30th Anniversary tour (dates), 3 special NYC shows & discounts on merch to offset ticket fees"

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...)"

today in NYC
* DANCE
* FIXED @ Studio B
* Gary Lucas @ the Stone
* Walter Schreifels @ Bar 4
* The Fleshtones @ the Bell House
* Menahan Street Band & Naomi Shelton @ Southpaw
* Longwave, The Dig & The Silent Years @ Bowery Ballroom
* Tombs, Bloodhorse, Keelhaul & Acid Tiger @ Union Pool
* The Mugs, Mussels, Limbs & Red Tag Rummage Sale @ Cake Shop
* Quasi, Sic Alps, Marnie Stern, Soft Circle, Jeff Lewis & Crystal Stilts @ KF
* Lake Trout, The Jones Street Boys, Wax Fang & Charles Atlas @ Mercury Lounge
* Pwrfl Power, Care Bears On Fire & Rachel Trachtenberg @ Death By Audio
* The Homosexuals, Blonde Acid Cult & a lot of bands @ the Studio at Webster Hall

Tickets are on sale for the Ryan Adams show at Wellmont Theatre in Jersey.

The Black Keys also added a show at Wellmont Theatre. Tickets are on sale for that too. Same goes for Lucinda Williams.

Video of Harvey Milk performing "Crush Them All", below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Saturday?"

Lucinda Williams releases her album tomorrow, Little Honey, which finds the singer-songwriter surprisingly content.

Vic Chesnutt, Elf Power, and The Amorphous Strums' Dark Developments combines some of my favorite musicians in this release from Orange Twin.

The week's release list is filled with worthwhile music, from what I have already heard I can recommend The Courteeners' St. Jude, Frances' All the While, Hearts of Palm UK's For Life, Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs' Dirt Don't Hurt, Nick Jaina's A Narrow Way, and Windy & Carl's Songs for the Broken Hearted.

Holiday music continues to released in droves, this week in no exception. You can celebrate a Psychobilly Christmas, a Jazz & Blues Christmas (compiled by Putumayo), a Classic Rock Christmas, Christmas A Go-Go or even a metal Xmas and headbanging New Year. Not into compilations? Spend a classical holiday with Yo-Yo Ma's Songs of Joy & Peace or a more rocking time with The Fleshtones' Stocking Stuffer.

Any recommendations from the week's music release list?

Continue reading "Largehearted Boy's Interesting CD Releases This Week"

Lucinda Williams is playing the Wamu Theater @ MSG on October 3rd. Tickets are on sale.

Secret Machines are playing Webster Hall on October 18th. Tickets are on sale.

Tickets are on sale for the Decemberists show at Terminal 5.

Tickets are on sale for the Billy Bragg show at Grand Ballroom.

Tickets are on sale for the Dr. Dog and Delta Spirit show at Webster Hall.

Tickets are on sale for both upcoming The Sea and Cake shows.

Tickets are on sale for the Pelican show at Bowery Ballroom.

Goldfrapp tickets were reduced in price

, David Byrne guested at Lucinda Williams' town hall show last night (Oct 4)...they did a few songs..."Heaven" was one of them.. "Buck Naked"...oh, and he came back for her encore and they did "Take Me To the River". Amazing. Fionn Regan was also there, and David Johansen came on to do "Jailhouse Tears", a sort of duet she does. Also a woman from Memphis who toured as a background singer with Cat Power, she did a Janis Joplin cover.

Tuesday Steve Earle guested....and Jesse Malin...

Weird combination for Lucinda, but it all worked great. [Juan via email]

Continue reading "Lucinda Williams & special guests @ Town Hall"

At ACL I decided that Irish Mercury-prize nominee Fionn Regan is not for me. He is gaining American fans though - at least that's what his opening spots for Lucinda Williams at Irving Plaza on September 29-30 AND Town Hall on October 2-4 AND a headlining gig on October 12th at the Gramercy Theatre would imply. Tickets are on sale. More photos and tour dates below...

Continue reading "FIONN REGAN - pics from ACL & 2007 Tour Dates including five LUCINDA WILLIAMS shows"