DUMP playing Hot Tub @ Littlefield this past Monday (by DoneWaiting)

Tickets go on sale at noon for the eight Yo La Tengo Hanukkah shows:

*12/20 Night One Buy Tickets Here!
*12/21 Night Two Buy Tickets Here!
*12/22 Night Three Buy Tickets Here!
*12/23 Night Four Buy Tickets Here!
*12/24 Night Five Buy Tickets Here!
*12/25 Night Six Buy Tickets Here!
*12/26 Night Seven Buy Tickets Here!
*12/27 Night Eight Buy Tickets Here!

Tickets are also still on sale to see Yo La Tengo as the Condo Fucks at Mercury Lounge.

Tickets for the four Phish shows at MSG go on sale Saturday at noon.

Mavis Staples, The Head and the Heart & Dawes have a show coming up at Beacon Theater. Tickets on sale at noon.

Speaking of holiday shows at the Beacon, Cyndi Lauper and friends are playing one too. On sale now.

By noon tickets will also be on sale for Yelle, Nada Surf, Devo and BOBBY.

One of those Devo shows is at the Paramount in Long Island where Cheap Trick also have a show coming up at. It went on sale today.

Ill Fits recently played some shows at CMJ. They play Mercury Lounge on December 7th with Ladybug Transistor and The Echo-Friendly. Tickets on sale at noon.

photos by Kurt Christensen

Dawes headlined a sold out show at Webster Hall last night (10/27). Both Blitzen Trapper & Smoke Fairies opened the show which was part of a tour that lasts through mid November. Pictures from the NYC show are in this post, Halloween decorations included.

Dawes will return to the area by themselves to play three shows in December. First up is the annual WFUV Holiday Cheer show at Beacon Theater on December 5th with the massive lineup of Dawes, Mavis Staples and The Head And The Heart. That should sell out quick when tickets go on general sale Friday (10/28) at noon. Dawes will spend the next two days at the more intimate Maxwell's in Hoboken. Tickets are on sale now for December 6th and December 7th. Dawes play New Year's Eve in Minneapolis.

More pictures from Webster Hall below...

Continue reading "Dawes played Webster Hall w/ Blitzen Trapper & Smoke Fairies (pics), announce 3 December NYC-area shows (dates)"

photos by Tim Griffin

James Blake / Kanye West

"Light sprinkles ushered in the first day of the tenth annual Austin City Limits Music (ACL) Festival, but it was a welcome reprieve from the humid heat that has been plaguing the area and the state. Music and festival fans came in droves to see their favorite ACL artists, and rumors swirled throughout the day as to who the main headliner of the evening, Kanye West, would share the stage with..." [Pegasus News]

Kanye, who was playing opposite Coldplay on Friday night, didn't share the stage with anyone except his dancers. Those who have seen or read about any of Kanye's recent shows know what his set at ACL looked like, complete with multiple acts, ballerinas and big backdrops.

Austin City Limits continues today, Saturday (9/17). You can stream it online. More pictures from Friday below...

Continue reading "ACL 2011 -- Day 1 in pics (Kanye West, Bright Eyes, Big Boi, Cults, Wild Beasts, James Blake, Kurt Vile & more)"

by Jacob Blickenstaff

The Relatives @ Damrosch Park Bandshell

As any hard-living soul singer and Rebecca Black can tell you, after Saturday Night comes Sunday morning. Following the all-day Girl Group Extravaganza at Lincoln Center Out of Doors, it was time to take in some Family Day programming and Goin' to Church music. The afternoon program in Hearst Plaza on July 30th featured the Stax Music Academy and Vy Higgensen's Gospel for Teens choir. The Stax Academy tore through complex Jackson 5 songs and Stax-era staples, teaching the audience to dance the 'Funky Chicken' with delight. As for the Gospel For Teens Choir, you'll just have to check out the pics(below) to believe it. Family day did not equal 'kiddie music' by any means. Both the Stax and GFT groups displayed mature artistry via talent and determination.

The evening program featured recently rediscovered psych-funk gospel group The Relatives (who were a highlight of last year's Ponderosa Stomp) and headliner Mavis Staples who performed, one day after she appeared at Newport Folk Fest, a lengthy and thoroughly satisfying set which included a cover of Curtis Mayfield's 'This Is My Country'. Amen.

More pictures from Lincoln Center Out of Doors Sunday (day and night), below...

Continue reading "Mavis Staples, The Relatives, & 'Family Day' @ Lincoln Center Out of Doors (pics)"

photos by Jim Brueckner

Mavis Staples

Newport Folk Festival took place in Rhode Island this past weekend (7/30-31). Day one featured performances by The Felice Brothers, Delta Spirit, Gogol Bordello, Tegan and Sara, Gillian Welch, Mavis Staples (who was joined by Colin Meloy), The Decemberistsand others. Pictures from that day are in this post. If you missed the fest, you can listen to archives of the sets at NPR.

The Felice Brothers, who are no longer playing Truck America, added Nicole Atkins as an opener to their 9/29 Webster Hall show. Tickets are still on sale. You can also catch Nicole tonight (8/3) at Bowery Ballroom when she opens for Fountains of Wayne.

The PS22 Chorus also played day one. Pictures and videos of their set are HERE. Sallie Ford pics & video HERE. More pics from the rest of day one below...

Continue reading "Newport Folk Fest 2011 - Day 1 in pics (Decemberists, Mavis Staples, Gogol Bordello, Tegan & Sara, Gillian Welch, more)"

photos by Dana (Distortion) Yavin & Graeme Flegenheimer

The Strokes

"The 10th anniversary [of Bonnaroo] was a celebration of how far the festival has come but also reminded us how it got there. There was something for everyone. The String Cheese Incident and Widespread Panic, who played at the first Bonnaroo, were there to remind people of the festival's jam-band roots. Lil Wayne and Big Boi were there along with Eminem to represent what the festival has become. In between, there were legendary acts like Robert Plant and The Band of Joy, Buffalo Springfield, Gregg Allman, Loretta Lynn, Dr. John, and Bruce Hornsby, which attracted an older crowd that resembled festival crowds of years past.

There were also more recently successful bands that attracted a younger crowd, such as Arcade Fire, The Strokes, The Black Keys, Neon Trees, Mumford & Sons, and The Decemberists.

One of the greatest features of Bonnaroo is that there are plenty of non-music entertainment options for those who need a break from music, the heat, or just need a diversion.

There was a cinema tent where rockumentaries and movies were screened, if you wanted to get out of the heat and cool down. There was a comedy tent that has been graced by comedians like Conan O'Brien and Margaret Cho. Dave Attelland hosted one of my favorite Bonnaroo performances when Flight of the Conchords performed in 2007. This year saw funny-men Lewis Black, Cheech Marin, and Tim Minchin among others in a strong rotation.

Sports fans concerned about the NHL and NBA Finals were happy to find the Bonnaroo Sports Bar where they could play pop-a-shot and watch the games on flat-screen monitors.

Artists were encouraged to show their stuff on the graffiti walls that lined much of the 700-acre farm. By the end of the weekend, you could spend all day walking up and down along the wall, finding some beautiful (and some not so beautiful) creations. " [The Epoch Times]

Bonnaroo 2012 is on sale at noon. The 10th Bonnaroo happened last weekend. Pictures of Karen Elson from Day One are HERE, with the rest of Day One HERE. Pictures of Decemberists from Day Two HERE, with the rest of Day Two HERE. Pictures of Gogol Bordello from Day Three are HERE, and the rest of Day Three are HERE. Robyn from Day Four HERE. The rest of Day 4, and the end of our 2011 Bonnaroo pictures, below...

Continue reading "Bonnaroo 2011 - Day 4 in pics (The Strokes, Mavis Staples, Beirut, EITS. John Waters, Greg Allman & more)"

The 10th Anniversary ACL Festival line-up is on the books. Stevie Wonder, Arcade Fire, Kanye West, Coldplay, My Morning Jacket, Fleet Foxes, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Nas & Damian "Jr Gong" Marley and Cee Lo top the bill of the over 130 bands. Bright Eyes, Social Distortion, Empire of the Sun, Santigold, Pretty Lights, TV On The Radio, Skrillex, Big Boi and Randy Newman are also on tap to rock September 16-18.

3-Day passes are sold out. 1-Day passes go on sale at 10am. Full lineup below...

Continue reading "Austin City Limits 2011 festival lineup is here, tickets on sale"

The Outside Lands Festival, which runs from 8/12 - 8/14 in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, released their 2011 lineup in April (and now it's May, so consider this a catch up post). Tickets are on sale.

This year's fest will appearances from The Shins, Muse, Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, The Black Keys, Phish (two sets), !!!, Erykah Badu, Big Audio Dynamite (who played Coachella and are also playing Lollapalooza), Girl Talk and many more. The full lineup is below.

Continue reading "Outside Lands 2011 lineup"

If on you're way out of the subway in late July you happen to notice a busker that looks a helluva lot like Billy Bragg surrounded by an army of other guitar-weilding maniacs, don't be alarmed. The spectacle is just the opening act for the two+ week Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival, which will feature shows with Mavis Staples (as discussed), "Laurie Anderson and Friends", Bettye LaVette, a girl-group heavy Ponderosa Stomp, the 28th Annual Roots of American Music Festival, The Bar-Kays, and many, many others at the Damrosch Park Bandshell and other Manhattan locations from July 27th until its close on August 14th. The full schedule is below.

Billy Bragg leading The Big Busk in the UK

The Big Busk is the first performance scheduled (and it happens twice on July 27th), and will see Bragg leading a play-along concert flanked by an army of cue-cards detailing what chords he is playing. Check out a video from a 2008 'Big Busk' that took place in England, below.

Billy Bragg will also make up his cancelled dates from earlier this year around that 7/27 appearance. He'll play City Winery in NYC on 7/26 (tickets), 7/28 (tickets) and 7/29 (tickets).

All Lincoln Center festival dates and lineups, and all Billy Bragg tour dates are below.

Continue reading "Lincoln Center Out of Doors 2011 schedule announced, rescheduled Billy Bragg dates too"

Mavis Staples @ the Bell House in January (more by Jacob Blickenstaff)

"Mavis Staples has no doubt about why the good Lord put her on this Earth.

"I was put here to sing," she said. "I was put here to spread the word. To bring ya'll a message. To inspire you. To motivate you. You know, that's what Mavis is about. That's my life."" [CBS News]

Mavis Staples is keeping busy. Currently on tour in Australia with the Blind Boys of Alabama (featuring Aaron Neville), she will perform at many festivals and special events betweeen now and the end of July. That includes the Doheny Blues Festival in Dana Point, CA (May 22), Jacksonville Jazz Festival in Jacksonville, FL (May 29), Mountain Jam in Hunter, NY (June 4, one day after she plays with Levon Helm at his Midnight Ramble), Bonnaroo (June 12), Essence Music Festival in New Orleans (July 1), North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam (July 10), Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island (July 30), Lincoln Center Out of Doors in NYC (a free show on July 31st), and many more which are listed, along with a couple of clips from a recent CBS News interview, below...

Continue reading "Mavis Staples playing festivals & other shows (dates)"

"An exciting mix of folk music's founding voices and modern favorites highlights the 52nd edition of the Newport Folk Festival® when it returns to Newport's Fort Adams State Park July 30-31, it was announced today by the Newport Festivals Foundation, the recently-formed 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization which produces the event.

Tickets go on sale worldwide on Thursday, March 31, at 10:00 am at www.newportfolkfest.net.

This year's lineup will bring lots of great artists to Rhode Island in July. The Decemberists (who play Brooklyn 1.5 months earlier), Gillian Welch, Tegan & Sara, Delta Spirit, Mavis Staples, Wanda Jackson, Emmylou Harris, M Ward, Elvis Costello, Middle Brother (proof that the supergroup is not done yet) and even the PS22 chorus are on the list which you can see in full below...

Continue reading "Newport Folk Festival 2011 lineup announced, tickets too"

Bonnaroo (June 9-12 in Manchester Tennessee) has announced the 2011 lineup (slightly early), and like the rumored Lollapalooza lineup, Eminem is among the headliners. Bonnaroo also has Grammy winners Arcade Fire and the Black Keys, in addition to Lil Wayne, Mumford & Sons, the Strokes, The Decemberists, Florence & the Machine, Girl Talk, Beirut (haven't seen them in a while), and many more. Full list below...

Continue reading "Bonnaroo 2011 lineup is here"

words & photos by Jacob Blickenstaff

Mavis Staples delivered a fiery, spiritual and deeply felt performance at the Bell House on Tuesday night in support of her 2010 album You Are Not Alone (ANTI, produced by Jeff Tweedy). Mrs. Staples, 71, was in full command of her unique vocal powers, sweeping up out of deep growls into sermonizing leads. The band, led by Rick Holmstrom on guitar, was a powerful and solid compliment, laying out gravel-rough rhythms and churchy chords. Mavis was supported by 3 additional vocalists, including her sister Yvonne, who provided both rich harmonies and counterpoints. In total, the ensemble put her in an setting reminiscent of the guitar and vocals-driven sound of the classic Staples Singers.

The show began with the acapella "Wonderful Saviour" and moved through much of the material on the new album, including both Tweedy-penned songs "You Are Not Alone" and "Only The Lord Knows". Mavis performed The Band's "The Weight", a song that the Staples can lay some claim to since The Last Waltz, plus the evergreen inspirational Stax hit "I'll Take You There".

Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio and Jolie Holland each played opening sets, Kip joined Jolie for her last song. Mavis Staples continues to tour throughout 2011. Tickets are on sale for the show she's playing with Billy Bragg in Tarrytown on March 27th. More pictures and a video from the Bell House, below...

Continue reading "Mavis Staples played the Bell House w/ Kyp Malone & Jolie Holland (pics)"

Mavis Staples' new Jeff Tweedy-produced ANTI-released album You Are Not Alone was released in September (it was MOJO's #12 album of the year). Mavis will continue to support that record at various shows in 2011. If you missed her on October 6th at City Winery, she returns to NYC to play the Bell House on January 18th (the same night as Prince's final MSG show). Tickets are on sale for the Brooklyn show which is being billed as "with special guests".

In March Mavis plays a series of dates with Billy Bragg right before he plays three of his own shows at City Winery.

Jeff Tweedy, like he did on the Colbert Report that same week, played with Mavis at City Winery in October. Videos from that show, Colbert and Jools Holland, with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Mavis Staples playing shows in 2011 (Bell House included)"

The Hold Steady @ MHOW in April (more by Jessica Amaya)


today in NYC
* MoMA Nights
* Sean Conly @ The Stone
* Marvin Sewell @ The Stone
* Caves, Jigglers @ Don Pedro
* Kraft @ Avery Fischer Hall
* Gil Scott Heron @ BB King's
* Miike Snow, MNDR @ Terminal 5
* Rosanne Cash: The Lyricist's Voice @ 92Y
* Women, DD/MM/YYYY @ Mercury Lounge
* Small Black (DJ set) @ Hiro Ballroom
* Stripped Stories @ UCB w/ Reggie Watts
* The Hold Steady, Wintersleep @ Beacon Theatre
* Endless Boogie, Arbouretum, Caltrop @ Union Pool
* Fountains of Wayne, Jill Sobule @ Bowery Ballroom
* Bell X1, James Vincent McMorrow @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Lost in the Trees, Midtown Dickens @ The Bell House
* The Black Swans, Matt Bauer, Malaena Cadiz @ Zebulon
* Coasting, Reading Rainbow, Night Manager @ Glasslands
* Behavior, The Babies, The Gamut, Regal Degal @ Cake Shop
* Krallice, Infernal Stronghold, Concussion @ Shea Stadium
* Lavalier, Bad Girlfriend, Pursesnatchers, Motive @ Pianos
* !!!, Onra, Pattern Is Movement @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Pierced Arrows, Ex Humans, Total Slacker @ Knitting Factory
* Val Emmich, Eytan & The Embassy, Allie Moss @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* Loose Limbs, The Caufield Sisters, Submarine Bells, Family Trees @ Union Hall
* Dafna Naphtali, Gisburg, Jessica Feldman, John King, Travis Just, Nick Hallett, Fast Forward (John Cage's Song Books, Lecture on Nothing) @ Issue Project Room

Cee Lo Green's show at Irving Plaza is cancelled.

Corrosion of Conformity's show at Starland Ballroom is cancelled.

"An evening with... Squeeze's Chris Difford" at Mercury Lounge is cancelled.

Somebody was totally slacking. Openers were just added to tonight's Pierced Arrows show at Knitting Factory, and they are Total Slacker and Ex Humans.

Gorillaz are on Letterman tonight.

Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy were on Colbert last night. Video below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

"The 2010 Lollapalooza line-up is official: Soundgarden, Green Day, Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, The Strokes, and Phoenix will headline, joined by Social Distortion, MGMT, Jimmy Cliff, Hot Chip, and The Black Keys. With 130 bands on this year's bill, its sure to be a weekend long feast for the ears.

It's a monumental year for Lollapalooza, filled with homecomings, reunions, and first-times. Soundgarden, 1992 and 1996 Lollapalooza alumni, return to the Lollapalooza stage for their first performance since 1997. Green Day will rock Grant Park sixteen years after their first Lollapalooza appearance. While Lady Gaga will headline the festival only three short years after playing the BMI stage at Lollapalooza 2007.

Arcade Fire returns to Grant Park, having played the reincarnated Lollapalooza in 2005. This is the first Lollapalooza for The Strokes - and also their first show in four years. And making their Lollapalooza debut: Phoenix." - Lollapalooza

After extremely accurate early leaks and then much teasing, Lollapalooza oficially announces this year's lineup. Check it out below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza actually announces 2010 lineup "

The 50th annual Newport Folk Festival will take place at Rhode Island's Fort Adams Park on Saturday, August 1st and Sunday, August 2nd. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, May 6th at 10am

Pete Seeger, who is a cofounder of the Festival and who just celebrated his 90th birthday with a show at MSG, will be playing both nights. On Sunday, he'll be joined by Judy Collins, who is also performing a free Folks on the Island show Sunday, July 26th on NYC's Governors Island.

Saturday acts at the Fest include Billy Bragg and Tom Morello, who just shared a stage with Iggy Pop at NYC's Nokia Theatre, and the Decemberists, who have a big summer tour that's stopping at NYC's Radio City Music Hall on June 10th, Fleet Foxes, who have tour dates including All Points West, and the Avett Brothers, who are on tour and playing NYC's Irving Plaza on June 12th and 13th. Langhorne Slim will be there too (he's also at Lollapalooza this summer). Iron & Wine are playing both this, and ATP NY.

Sunday's show is heavy on big-name folkies with Collins (mentioned above), Joan Baez and Arlo Guthrie all performing. Arlo Guthrie is also playing a free show at Castle Clinton in NYC this summer.

Neko Case, playing Sunday, just did two nights at NYC's Nokia Theater and will be at All Points West, among other festivals.

Elvis Perkins in Dearland will be there. Perkins and Co. played the Bowery in March, and their summer tour includes a May 20th show at the Bell House in Brooklyn (tickets), and the Clearwater Festival (another project founded by Seeger) on June 20th and 21st in Croton-on Hudson, NY.

Also on Sunday is Deer Tick, whose big summer includes opening for Jenny Lewis at MHoW on June 9th, headlining the Bowery on July 24th (tickets go on sale Friday, May 8th at noon), and playing a free Celebrate Brooklyn show at Prospect Park on August 7th.

Full Newport Fork Festival info below...

Continue reading "Newport Folk Festival - 2009 lineup & tickets info (Pete Seeger, Neko Case, Iron & Wine, The Decemberists & more)"

photos by Graeme Flegenheimer

"From the moment you set foot inside the main gate at the Fair Grounds Race Course, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is like a music and food lover's "Choose Your Own Adventure" novel, with nearly every option inciting pure sonic and culinary bliss. A morning beignet in the Gospel Tent with Arthur Clayton & Purposely Anointed? A lazy afternoon perked up by some Crawfish Monica and the Drive-By Truckers joined by Booker T? How about a stroll to the Gentilly Stage for the sounds of Spoon and the Dirty Dozen horns, stopping for a quick bowl of gumbo along the way? Etta James and a Soft Shell Crab Po-Boy, anyone? All signs point to yes...

...Now in its 40th year, the 2009 edition of Jazz Fest continues to ramp up post-Hurricane Katrina, expanding to its full complement of 12 stages, up from nine last year, and seven days, up from six in recent years. The event's first of two weekends boasted music from nearly 200 acts, including the likes of Dave Matthews Band, Crescent City native Wynton Marsalis and his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Joe Cocker, Erykah Badu, James Taylor, Earth Wind and Fire, Pete Seeger, Hugh Masekela, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Etta James and many more." [All About Jazz]

Jazz Fest ran from April 24-26 & April 30-May 3 at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, LA. More pictures from the first weekend of the festival below...

Continue reading "a set of pictures from New Orleans Jazz Fest 2009 "

Joanna Newsom & orchestra, Atlanta, GA - Nov 17, 2007 (CRED)

The first half of the concert featured the lush string arrangements written by celebrated pop composer Van Dyke Parks for Newsom's second album, "Ys." The second half offered older and newer songs in the rootsy, world-music-influenced settings Newsom has devised with her touring quartet. Making a puckish joke about propriety in the classical world and in pop, she wore a full-length black gown for the first part and a candy-pink minidress for the second. In both configurations, Newsom took advantage of Disney Hall's acoustics to give equal weight to every element of her multifaceted compositions. [LA Times - LA show]

All the orchestral shows in other states have been such a tease, so I couldn't be happier to finally announce that Joanna Newsom will in fact be bringing it to Brooklyn - @ BAM on February 1, 2008 to be exact. Stay tuned for more details.

Speaking of BAM, tickets are now on sale for their Spring season of shows. That includes performancs by the Mavis Staples & The National. All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Joanna Newsom & orchestra playing BAM in Brooklyn! ++ National tickets on sale"