photos by Ryan Barkan

Charles Bradley @ Bowery Ballroom

If we didn't mention it before, Charles Bradley is in fact playing Music Hall of Williamsburg on New Year's Eve along with The Budos Band. Tickets are still on sale. Charles is also heading out on the road in early 2012. Dates are scheduled around North America and Australia, and they're all listed below.

Saturday night, 12/3, two days after appearing on WNYC, Charles played a sold out show at Bowery Ballroom with Rodriquez. More pictures from that show, also below...

Continue reading "Charles Bradley played Bowery Ballroom w/ Rodriguez (pics), playing NYE w/ Budos Band & other dates"

Lee Fields @ Summerstage (more by Bryan Kremkau)

While the Budos Band (and special guest TBA) are ringing in the new year in Williamsburg, Dig Deeper will be presenting Lee Fields & the Expressions along with Sugar Pie Desanto over at the Bell House for a soul party closer to Park Slope. Tickets are on sale.

Meanwhile, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings will be helping Daptone Records celebrate 10 years with a run of special NY shows that include 2 at Bowery and 2 at Music Hall. The NYC gigs are now all sold out, but in case you were wondering, here's who they have as openers so far:

12/6 @ Music Hall: Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens
12/7 @ Music Hall: The Sugarman 3
12/13 @ Bowery: The Sugarman 3
12/14 @ Bowery: Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Rodriguez - Sugar Man (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rodriguez - Heikki's Suburbia Bus Tour (MP3)

Born in Mexico but raised in Detroit, Sixto Rodriguez released two soulful folk-rock albums (musically not unlike Shuggie Otis or even Bill Withers) in the early '70s, filled with gritty tales of inner-city life, that barely created a ripple in the United States but became sizable hits in Australia and South Africa of all places. (He toured Australia with Midnight Oil in the early '80s.)

His cult status began to grow in America, finally, at the start of this decade, and last year Seattle label Light in the Attic did the first official reissues of Rodguigez's 1970 debut, Cold Fact. The reissue of 1971's Coming From Reality, just hit stores last week. There's an MP3 from each at the top of this post, and for more info, I highly recommend Fred Mills' article on the man over on Blurt. There's also a new Rodriguez Daytrotter session which is well worth downloading.

Rodriguez is currently on what is his biggest American tour in ages, with a stop at Bowery Ballroom this Friday (5/15) with The War On Drugs. His backing band for the East Coast dates are from Asheville, NC, and includes Obvlivians/Reigning Sound guitarist Greg Cartwright, as well as a horn section. West Coast backing duties will be handled by San Francisco's The Fresh & Onlys who played with Rodriguez last year, including a performance at Amoeba Records which there's video of below, along with tour dates...

Continue reading "Rodriguez is back - MP3's & 2009 Tour Dates"