photos by Chris La Putt

Robert Ellis / Technicolor Hearts/ Shakey Graves

BV Austin, in partnership with The Convoy Group, Regressive Records, Eye in the Sky Collective, Tito's Handmade Vodka, and Mercy hangover prevention, presented a CMJ showcase of Texas bands on Thursday night at Rebel NYC. Here are some pictures from the shindig. They continue below...

Continue reading "Texas (and BV Austin) took over Rebel NYC for CMJ ---- pics (Shakey Graves, Robert Elllis, Technicolor Hearts & more)"

DOWNLOAD: Grandfather Child - Waiting For You / Dog Water (ZIP)

Technicolor Hearts at The Parish in Austin (more by Tim Griffin)

We're happy to report that there have been a couple additions to our previously-announced Texas Takeover Party which happens on Thursday (10/18) at Rebel NYC (251 W. 30th St.) as part of next week's CMJ Festival.

Headlining the night (1 AM) will be Houston's Grandfather Child. The band, who are signed to New West Records, count Robert Ellis as a member. He, who has appeared on BV many times, just happens to be playing a solo set right before them too. You can download both sides of Grandfather Child's "Waiting For You" single at the top of this post.

Grandfather Child are also playing a day party at Lulu's in Greenpoint on Friday (10/19) afternoon, and, later that night, the New West showcase at The Living Room (11:30 PM) with Sydney Wayser, Kalen Nash, White Violet, Ponderosa, and Wolf Ram Heart. All Grandfather Child dates, including a December run that brings them back to NYC, are listed below.

Additionally, Austin's Technicolor Hearts will now open the party at 6 PM (get ready for a long night!). The band will also play Pete's Candy Store later that same night (10 PM). You can stream their most recent EP below, and check out lots of live pictures of them on BV Austin.

The Full line-up for The Texas Takeover Party is:

6:00pm Technicolor Hearts
7:00pm Shakey Graves
8:00pm Josiah Hall
9:00pm New York City Queens
10:00pm The Tontons
11:00pm Wild Child
12:00am Robert Ellis
1:00am Grandfather Child

The folks at Mercy are also giving away CMJ badges, exclusive access to CMJ shows, a week's worth of Mercy hangover prevention beverage and a chance to be Mercy's CMJ Reporter. To enter, visit their Facebook. Hope to see you there!

Meanwhile, for all things Texas, head to BV Austin.

Continue reading "Grandfather Child & Technicolor Hearts added to TX CMJ show"

Robert Ellis at Summerstage, June 2012 (more by Chris La Putt)

Shakey Graves in Austin - 8/11/2012 (more by Tim Griffin)

The 2012 CMJ Festival is less than a month away and you can expect a bunch of announcements soon as to what BrooklynVegan has planned this year. Meanwhile here's one that involves our BV Austin site. The Convoy Group, Regressive Records, Eye in the Sky Collective, and BV Austin presents, along with Tito's Handmade Vodka, The Texas Takeover Party, which is an official and FREE CMJ event (with free Tito's until it runs out).

The party happens on Thursday, October 18 at Rebel NYC (251 W. 30th St.) and features an all-Texas line-up: Houston's Robert Ellis, Austin's Wild Child, Houston's The TonTons, Texas' Shakey Graves, Houston's Josiah Hall and Houston's New York City Queens.

The fun starts at 6 PM and CMJ badgeholders can just walk right in. Everyone else who wants to come should RSVP here.

For the Ton Tons, the show is part of a tour that also includes a CMJ show at Bowery Electric. A video by them and some from other artists on the bill, along with the Texas Takeover flyer, below...

Continue reading "BV Austin Presents: Texas Takeover CMJ Party (Robert Ellis, The TonTons, Wild Child, Shakey Graves & more)"

photos by Chris La Putt

Alambama Shakes @ Central Park Summerstage

Alabama Shakes, who opened for Jack White at Roseland in May and have since played Bonnaroo, headlined a "sold out" free show at Central Park Summerstage in NYC this afternoon, Sunday, June 24th. Did you make it in. If not, did you listen from outside? Here are some pictures from the show.

Already packed when opener Robert Ellis went on around 3pm, the show also included a pre-shakes set by Diamond Rugs who headlined their own show (their first-ever in NYC) at the Bell House in Brooklyn on Friday night (and who play Letterman on Monday). As you may know by now, Diamond Rugs features members of Deer Tick, Dead Confederate, and Steve Berlin from Los Lobos.

Other upcoming Alabama Shakes dates include a recently announced Lollapalooza aftershow. More pictures below...

Continue reading "Alabama Shakes, Diamond Rugs & Robert Ellis played Central Park Summerstage (pics)"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

Willie Nelson & fan @ Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ

Willie Nelson, who recently collaborated with Snoop Dogg and got a statue of his likeness unveiled in Austin on 4/20, came to NJ last week for two shows at the Wellmont Theater with fellow Texas singer-songwriter Robert Ellis. We have pictures from one of those shows, and there are more of them, along with video of a performance Willie did at SiriusXM while he was here, below...

Continue reading "Willie Nelson played 2 nights @ Wellmont w/ Robert Ellis (pics)"

Kenny Rogers & Lionel Richie @ SXSW 2012 (more by Ryan Barkan)

"The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival has had some surprises artists in the past. There was some surprise when country act Dierks Bentley made the cut and maybe a little surprise when rap star Emenim was booked. But the 2012 addition of country icon Kenny Rogers may be the most surprising addition to the line-up yet.

Rogers' appearance was announced on April 26. The complete Bonnaroo schedule is expected to be announced soon. The festival will be held June 7-10 in Manchester, Tenn." [Knoxville.com]

Continue reading "Kenny Rogers (and others) added to Bonnaroo lineup..."

Amadou & Mariam

As you may remember from the past couple of years, "Summerstage" now encompasses more than just Central Park, but Central Park Summerstage will still always be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the series. Here's the 2012 schedule. Check it out below...

Continue reading "Central Park Summerstage 2012 schedule (Alabama Shakes, Dawes, Kurt Vile, Gary Clark Jr, Amadou & Mariam & more)"

photos by Chris La Putt

Corndawg & Ellis @ Mercury Lounge

Of all the unique characters at the South by Southwest Music Conference last week, few stood out like Jonny Corndawg.

A twangy song picker from rural Virginia -- "I never really quite fit in there, which explains a lot," he says -- the real-life Jonny Fritz made a striking figure physically in Austin, with his rail-thin frame under a wide-brimmed cowboy hat. He was conspicuous musically, too, with a traditional yet rowdy, trucker-brand country sound and a status as one of Rolling Stone's 25 artists to watch at SXSW 2012. Part of the buzz is built on an upcoming album he just made at Jackson Browne's studio, backed up by his pals in the L.A. band Dawes.

Maybe the thing that made the Corndawg stand out the most was the tour vehicle parked outside his gigs. He drives a maroon Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van with "Corndawg.com" emblazoned across the back.

"I've been saving up for that thing for about three years," beamed the broad-smiling countryman. [StarTribune]

As promised, the Jonny Corndawg / Robert Ellis / Shoves & Rope train, or should I say Sprinter, pulled into NYC for a show at Mercury Lounge last night (4/2). Here are some pictures. More below...

Continue reading "Jonny Corndawg, Robert Ellis & Shovels and Rope played Mercury Lounge (pics)"

Jonny Corndawg poses with fans @ SXSW 2012 (photo by zavertnik)

Alt-country, singer-songwriter associates Jonny Corndawg and Robert Ellis are out on the road with "sloppy tonk" band Shovels + Rope. That tour brings the party to Mercury Lounge in NYC tonight (4/2) for a show that begins with with a set by Colin Langenus (USAISAMONSTER). Tickets are still on sale (for those who didn't win tix in our Facebook contest).

All tour dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Jonny Corndawg, Robert Ellis & Shovels + Rope are on tour (dates include Mercury Lounge tonight)"

The Newport Festivals Foundation continues to celebrate the festival's historic past by featuring emerging young artists alongside some of folk music's most venerable names. This year's festival features: My Morning Jacket, Jackson Browne, Conor Oberst, Iron & Wine, Patty Griffin, Guthrie Family Reunion, Dawes, The Head & The Heart, Deer Tick, Punch Brothers, City & Colour, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Tallest Man on Earth, tUnE-yArDs, Tom Morello, Trampled by Turtles, Gary Clark, Jr., Alabama Shakes, Blind Pilot, Of Monsters and Men, original music from: Jay Farrar; Will Johnson; Anders Parker; & Yim Yames set to the lyrics of Woody Guthrie, Sharon Van Etten, First Aid Kit, Sara Watkins, Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, Brown Bird, Jonny Corndawg, Jonathan Wilson, Spirit Family Reunion, Deep Dark Woods, Carl Broemel, Ben Sollee, Robert Ellis, Frank Fairfield, The Apache Relay, Spider John Koerner & His Rag Tag Boys, Joel Rafael, Joe Fletcher & The Wrong Reasons, Elizabeth Mitchell, honeyhoney, Sleepy Man Banjo Boys, The Kossoy Sisters, The Berklee City Music Choir and very special guests to be announced.

Levon Helm at Summerstage in Central Park (more by Chris La Putt)

The Band's Levon Helm will step outside of his weekly Midnight Ramble for a show at Wellmont Theatre on February 10th with Peter Wolf. Tickets are currently on AMEX presale and go on regular sale Friday 11/18 at noon. The show, along with a pair of dates that he has lined up at Ulster Performing Arts Center in Kingston, NY (11/18 and 5/25) are his only non-Midnight Ramble dates announced thus far. Full tour schedule is below.

Meanwhile, the Midnight Ramble continues this weekend with special guest Hook Herrera and on 12/3 Helm will welcome Jimmy Vivino (of Conan's Basic Cable band) and Dawes. Tickets for that show, and all others are still available (either seated or Standing Room Only).

Dawes will also head down to NYC & NJ that same week. Both Maxwell's shows, which Robert Ellis is opening, are now sold out though. You can catch Robert Ellis though during a tour with John Doe that hits City Winery on December 4th. For the X man, it's one of many gigs that will be keeping him busy through New Year's Eve.

All Levon and Dawes and Robert Ellis and X dates and a video below...

Continue reading "Levon Helm, Dawes, Robert Ellis & John Doe shows (dates)"

photos by Tim Griffin

Robert Ellis @ ACL Live

Jay Farrar plays his third NYC show in a row at City Winery on Sunday night (10/16). Laura Cantrell opens and tickets are still on sale. Check out a picture of the setlist from Saturday's show below. More Jay dates HERE.

The alt-country at City Winery continues when labelmates James McMurtry & Jason Isbell begin a tour there on Wednesday (10/19). All of their tour dates are listed below.

The 10/19 City Winery show is further enhanced by the addition of Robert Ellis on the bill. It's Robert's first of three NYC shows during CMJ week. The next two are 10/20 at Living Room (again with Jason Isbell) and 10/21 at Living Room. The 10/20 show is one of three Paste Magazine CMJ shows at Living Room. Full lineups, a set of pictures from a 10/6 show Robert played at ACL Live in Austin, and all dates, below...

Continue reading "Jay Farrar is here, Jason Isbell, James McMurtry & Robert Ellis will be soon (dates, CMJ shows & pics of Ellis @ ACL Live)"

photos by Timothy Griffin

"It was hilarious to hear a man as gorgeous as Rhett Miller sing about losing at love to a better-looking man. Who could that have been?" - Jason Crane

Rhett Miller (Old 97's) @ BVSXSW 2011

Old 97's played two shows at The Bell House on Wednesday (7/13) and Thursday (7/14) with fellow Texan Robert Ellis as part of an ongoing tour. A video from the first show is below. A picture of the setlist from that same show can be viewed HERE.

Frontman Rhett Miller, who is not frustrated with Manhattan, will play in NYC again this month on July 30 on the Oval at Stuyvesant Town with Martha Wainwright, Teddy Thompson, and Hayes Carll as part of Peter Cooper VIllage/Stuyvesant Town's "Summer on the Oval series. The show runs from 4 PM to 8 PM and is free to the public. More dates for all of these artists are listed below.

Hayes Carll meanwhile plays Summerstage tonight (7/18) with Emmylou Harris and Levon Helm. We're giving away two tickets on facebook.

A belated and second set of pictures of the Old 97's playing the BrooklynVegan party at Barbarella during SXSW (where Robert Ellis can be seen in the crowd), with that video from the Bell House show, and all tour dates for everyone mentioned above, below...

Continue reading "Old 97's, Rhett Miller, Martha Wainwright, Teddy Thompson & Hayes Carll -- a free NYC show, SXSW pics, video, more dates"

Animal Collective @ Celebrate Brooklyn 2009 (more by Ryan Muir)

today in NYC
* Monogold @ Pianos
* Slavic Soul Party @ Barbes
* Gregory Attonito @ Watermark (NJ)
* Tell All Your Friends @ Lolita Bar
* Peter Frampton @ Wellmont Theater (NJ)
* Old 97's, Robert Ellis @ Stone Pony (NJ)
* Slick Rick, DJ Brucie B @ Crotona Park
* Cibo Matto, Sxip Shirey @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Antibalas, The Stepkids @ Fort Greene Park
* RX Bandits, Maps & Atlases @ Irving Plaza
* Joe Morris, Agusti Fernandez @ The Stone
* Tom Vek, Secret Music @ Mercury Lounge
* Emily Wells, Live Footage @ Tammany Hall
* Bill Callahan, Ed Askew @ Bowery Ballroom
* Alex Barnett, Brett Naucke, Slava @ Zebulon
* YOB, Dark Castle, Batillus @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Jim Campilongo Electric Trio @ Cameo Gallery
* Cold Cave, Cult of Youth, Zambri @ Knitting Factory
* The Belle Brigade, Nightmare & The Cat @ Mercury Lounge
* Little Shalimar, Tit N Twat, secret guest @ Union Pool
* Jason Anthony Harris, Stark & Nimo, Hilly Eye @ Bruar Falls
* Starlight Girls, Anni Rossi, Wild Vibes, Hello Phones @ Glasslands
* Start Making Sense (Talking Heads tribute) @ Rocks Off Concert Cruise
* Animal Collective, Black Dice, Beta & Hatch @ Prospect Park Bandshell
* Bad Banana, Tacocat, Forever, Little Victory, Aye Nako @ Death By Audio
* Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten, Nate Wooley, Joe McPhee, Joe Morris @ The Stone
* Vernon Reid, The Barr Brothers (Hudson Square Music & Wine Festival) @ City Winery
* Whiskey Bravo, Noahs Arcade, Who Is James Kennedy?, Mira Stroika, Julian Fulton & The Zombei Gospel @ Bowery Electric
* Ghetto Metal feat. Dr Cornel West & The Corner West Theory, Bazaar Royale & Game Rebellion, Bilal, more @ SOB's

Today is a Manhattanhenge

Ska-turned-prog rockers RX Bandits are currently on their last ever tour. According to an interview with Playmaker, RX Bandits are not breaking up, they're just doing their last tour. RX Bandits hit the scene in the mid-to-late '90s playing pretty standard poppy ska punk. By 2003's The Resignation, the Bandits showed signs of experimenting outside of the realm of the genre and have since released 2 more progressive albums and have shared significant members with far-out experimental rockers The Sound of Animals Fighting. Catch them in NYC tonight (7/12) and Wednesday (7/13) at Irving Plaza with Maps & Atlases. Check out the latter's recent video for "Solid Ground" below. - Andrew Sacher

Old 97s and Robert Ellis play The Stone Pony in Asbury Park tonight (7/12) and then arrive in Brooklyn for shows at The Bell House on July 13 and 14. The tenth person to email BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: Old 97s) will win a pair of tickets to the Wednesday night show at The Bell House (7/13) and access to soundcheck. Include your first and last name in the email, and check our facebook for more chances to win the same prize (we're giving away 5 pairs total actually). Check out a video of the Old 97's performing "State of Texas" in Texas last month, below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Tuesday?"

photos by Ryan Barkan

DOWNLOAD: The Old 97s - Live at Cicero's, St. Louis, MO, 4-19-96 (zipped MP3s)

Old 97's @ BV-SXSW @ Barbarella

Old 97s "are proud to release The Grand Theatre Vol. 2, their ninth studio album, [July 5th] via New West Records. TGTV2 features 13 brand new songs and is once again produced by Salim Nourallah (The Grand Theatre Volume One and Blame It On Gravity.) Rolling Stone said:

"On their 2010 album, The Grand Theatre Vol. 1, the Old 97's per- formed new material live at a Dallas theater, then took the songs that went over best and recorded them in an Austin studio. Consisting of songs left over from Vol. 1, this second installment places Rhett Miller's articulate, off-the-cuff songs right between the composure of the control room and the looseness of the barroom. Miller savors lines like "He said, 'Can I buy a drink?'/What he meant was, 'Can I buy you?' " over his bandmates' proudly ordinary punky-tonk. But Miller is no roots reactionary: "Manhattan (I'm Done)" is the rare country dig at New York where it actually sounds like the singer gave the big city a fighting chance."

The band will kick off a new tour this Thursday (7/7), again returning to NYC, but maybe they are done with Manhattan. The Old 97's will instead play The Bell House in Brooklyn on July 13 and 14 . Tickets are on sale for both dates (7/13, 7/14).

Most July dates, including the Brooklyn shows, will be opened by Robert Ellis who released a new album this week too.

One of the few sets The Old 97's played during SXSW 2011 was (a great one at) the BrooklynVegan/Partisan/KF Records day party that Deer Tick, Middle Brother, Jonny Corndawg, Jason Isbell and many others also played. A belated set of pictures from the Austin show is in this post.

More of those pics, with videos from Webster Hall, the setlist to the 1996 live set you can download above, and all tour dates below...

Continue reading "Old 97's released their 9th studio album, heading out on tour -- 2011 dates & belated SXSW pics too"

photos by Tim Griffin

DOWNLOAD: Robert Ellis - What's In It For Me (MP3)

Robert Ellis (2nd from left) & band @ Cactus Cafe

Houston-based country singer-songwriter Robert Ellis, only 22 years young, released his album Photographs this week ("split in two sides with vinyl in mind, the A-side representing a more folksy, dark side of Robert's music while the B-side is a full band country sound, paying homage to the great artists that have influenced him.")

"Making him a name for himself with a stellar debut (2009's The Great Rearranger) and a weekly residency playing old-school country covers at Houston clubs, Ellis' latest release is full of snapshots of a man growing more mature. Some of the songs are actually downright cute, with Ellis singing about the day-to-day aspects of life and love, such as painting a house with his woman ("Two Cans Of Paint"), driving back from an out-of-town gig to be with his woman ("Comin' Home"), and the strains of being in a relationship with the woman ("What's In It For Me?", "No Fun")." [Houston Calling]

Last night, July 5th, Robert shared a bill with Jonny Corndawg at Cactus Cafe in Austin. Pictures from that show are in this post. Tonight (July 6th), Robert and Jonny again share a bill at Robert's record release party at hometown Houston venue Fitzgaralds. Two days after that Robert hits the road with the Old 97's. That tour will bring him to The Bell House in Brooklyn on July 13th and 14th. Tickets for both shows are still on sale (7/13, 7/14).

Past Robert Ellis appearances on BV have both been Texas related too. Tim caught Robert opening for Lucero at Emo's, and we both saw Robert open for Deervana in Austin. More pictures from Cactus Cafe and all tour dates below...

Continue reading "Robert Ellis released a country album, played Cacus Cafe w/ Corndawg, heading out on tour (MP3, pics & dates)"

photos by Tim Griffin

Lucero played Emo's in Austin, Texas on Tuesday night (2/22), one night before they appeared on Carson Daly (can't find a video), with an assist from Robert Ellis & The Boys. Lucero's set included a cover of Jawbreaker's "Kiss the bottle" and Bill Withers' "Ain't no Sunshine." Speaking of bottles, the four-song encore was accompanied by special guest (bottle of) Jameson. Pictures from that show show are in this post.

The show is/was part of a few tour dates that the band has before they go out for a stretch of dates as part of Warped Tour 2011. That tour, which Peelander-Z is also a part of, hits Nassau Coliseum on July 23rd and Monmouth Park Raceway in Oceanport, NJ the next day. Tickets go on sale 4/1.

Lucero is also on board for Krazy Fest in Louisville on May 20-22 alongside bands like 7 Seconds, Against Me, Hot Water Music, Coalesce, Title Fight (who are coming to NYC), and many others. Not long before then, Hot Water Music frontman Chuck Ragan is scheduled to play the Bell House with Sharks. Tickets for the May 16th show are on sale.

More pictures and tour dates are below.

Continue reading "Lucero played Emo's (pics), playing Warped Tour (dates) ++++ Chuck Ragan playing Brooklyn & other dates"