The 2012 edition of Calgary, Alberta festival Sled Island is set to take place from June 20-23 at venues throughout the city. This year includes over 200 bands performing at 30 venues plus a large comedy schedule, film screenings, and art shows.

Sled Island 2012 will once again use outdoor venue Olympic Plaza as its main stage, featuring performances by Feist, The Hold Steady, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, The Dudes, Shabazz Palaces, Parlovr, and others.

Acts including Russian Circles, Hot Snakes, The Antlers, Boris, Thurston Moore, Willis Earl Beal, Trust, Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, Terry Malts, Neil Hamburger, How To Dress Well, The Evaporators (aka Nardwuar's band), DJ Jonathan Toubin, Hannibal Buress, Andrew W.K., Tim Heidecker, Archers of Loaf, and many more will be performing at various bars and venues. Check out the full lineup at the bottom of this post.

Festival passes, individual tickets for some clubs shows, and tickets for the Olympic Plaza events only are all on sale. The full festival schedule iwill be announced in June.

Full lineup and 2012 festival trailer below...

Continue reading "Feist, Stephen Malkmus, The Hold Steady and lots more playing Calgary's Sled Island Festival (full line-up)"

Pretty Good Friends @ Williamsburg Waterfront 2011 (more by David Andrako)

New Brooklyn outdoor venue Williamsburg Park (located at 50 Kent), which formally announced itself along with news that Refused were playing there, and then today announced a My Morning Jacket show, also have three other shows on the schedule, and they are all listed below...

Continue reading "Williamsburg Park announces more shows (5 total, 1 is free) "

My Morning Jacket at MSG (more by Chris La Putt)

My Morning Jacket are hitting the road for a set of North American dates, with a rotating cast of characters providing support at each date including Band of Horses, Trombone Shorty, Trampled by Turtles, and Shabazz Palaces (who recently played two NYC shows and The Mohawk). Most of those dates will also see the band giving back to a local charity, including the August 19th show at Williamsburg Park with Shabazz Palaces. Tickets go on sale at noon on Friday (5/4) (and will be available at a few places if they don't sell right out).

Williamsburg Park is the new venue replacing Williamsburg Waterfront.

Band of Horses opened for My Morning Jacket last year at MSG. If you were there, or even if you weren't, you might remember Ben Bridwell of BoH played live with MMJ on track "Wonderful (The Way I Feel)" . Well, they recorded that performance and are giving the song away as a free MP3 for a limited time at the My Morning Jacket Facebook page.

All dates are listed below...

Continue reading "My Morning Jacket announce tour, Williamsburg Park show w/ Shabazz Palaces (dates)"

photos by Julie Schabel

The free construction and dub production of Shabazz Palace's music might make them seem like a headphones-only proposition. Not remotely so. The duo didn't give themselves much space to move--Maraire stood behind a pair of congas and at one point played a large thumb piano, as Lazaro switched between mike-stand effects box, waist-high laptop, and a couple other machines...

But the group had a nice little repertoire of choreographed moves (the best one was a high-five-on-the-backhand-side), and generated a lot of compressed energy, something the room returned in kind. The space filled up fast--zero to sixty in the 45 minutes between my 10:15 arrival and the headliners going on...

The show finished with "Recollections of the Wraith," whose chorus goes, "Clear some space out so we can space out," and by that point it was hard to move around at all--which, of course, isn't the same as the music being hard to move to. That was no issue at all. -[Capital NY]

Make sure to head out for Record Store Day on 4/21 to pick up your copy of the new Shabazz Palaces Live at KEXP 12". Culled from a live session on KEXP (no doy), the limited-to-2000 release comes on purple vinyl.

More pictures from SOB's are below.

Continue reading "Shabazz Palaces played BB & SOB's (pics), releasing RSD 12""

Stalley @ SXSW 2012 (more by Ryan Muir)

For the month of April, NYC venue SOBs will be presenting 'I Love SOBs Music Fest.' A $100 badge will grant you access to every single show the venue puts on during April. The flier for the fest is below.

The shows include Obie Trice and friends on 4/3, Stalley and friends on 4/4 (also Stalley's album release party), Schoolboy Q on 4/11, Shabazz Palaces on 4/13, Casey Veggies on 4/25, and more. Individual tickets for all of these shows are on sale too.

Meanwhile, for Shabazz Palaces, the SOBs show (4/13) is one of two NYC shows on their upcoming tour which hits Brooklyn Bowl the next day (4/14). Tickets for the Brooklyn Bowl show are still available.

Stalley, like MANY rappers this year, was just down at SXSW where he played with Rick Ross at Fader Fort and was on the huge Warner Sound bill with T.I., Curren$y, B.o.B., and many others.

'I Love SOBs Music Fest' flier below...

Continue reading "SOB's offering pass to all April shows (Stalley, Shabazz Palaces, Schoolboy Q, Casey Veggies & more)"

Tickets go on sale today.

John Stanier w/ Battles at Treasure Island Music Fest 2011 (more by Autumn Andel)

First it was Dirty Projectors, then The Rapture and Prefuse 73, and on March 16, the 2012 One Step Beyond series at American Museum of Natural History's Rose Center will continue with DJ sets by John Stanier/Battles and Black Moth Super Rainbow. Tickets are on sale now.

Speaking of Battles, they'll release a remix album of every track off 2011's Gloss Drop called Dross Glop on April 17 via Warp. The album features remixes by Shabazz Palaces, The Field, Kode9, The Alchemist, Pat Mahoney and Denis McNany, Hudson Mohawke, and more. Listen to remixes by Kode9, Shabazz Palaces, The Field, and Gui Boratto below along with the tracklist.

Continue reading "Battles releasing remix LP, DJing Museum of Natural History"

Brooklyn's My Best Fiend are set to release their debut LP, In Ghostlike Fading, next week (2/21) via Warp, though you can buy it now on iTunes.

They last played when they opened for The Hundred in the Hands at Glasslands late last month (1/27). How was that show? CMJ said their set was "one of the most impressive performances" of the night.

They've got another NYC show coming up at Le Poisson Rouge on March 1 with TEEN and No Ordinary Monkeys (DJ). Tickets for that show are on sale now. More detais to be announced soon, including SXSW.

My Best Fiend's new album features guest vocals from Shannon Funchess of Light Asylum, who just announced an album, tour, and LPR show too.

And speaking of Warp, Squarepusher plays Webster Hall on March 15th, BrooklynVegan is proud to present the NYC debut of Kwes at Glasslands on March 10th, and !!! have a bunch of dates coming up including an April run with Shabazz Palaces. That tour doesn't hit NYC, though the two artists play Philly together right after Shabazz Palaces plays two NYC shows.

All !!! tour dates and a stream of My Best Fiend's "Cracking Eggs" below...

Continue reading "My Best Fiend schedules dates; !!! touring w/ Shabazz Palaces"

"Following last year's 10th anniversary, which crushed previous attendance records and set a new mark for the speed with which tickets sold out, the Sasquatch! Music Festival unveils its 2012 lineup which once again features 4 days of music. The festival, hailed as "a model of well-paced programming...in a four-day schedule as efficient and natural feeling as an expertly built algorithm" by NPR Music while Wired notes, "leave the landscape out of it and Sasquatch! has a lineup to kill for," runs May 25-28 (Memorial Day Weekend) at The Gorge, the internationally acclaimed concert venue carved in the basalt cliffs high above the Columbia River Gorge in Quincy, WA."

Continue reading "Sasquatch! 2012 lineup announced (Bon Iver, Jack White, Beck, Tenacious D, Shins, Portlandia, Spiritualized & more) "

Shabazz Palaces at Treasure Island Music Fest 2011 (more by Autumn Andel)

As mentioned, Shabazz Palaces began revealing tour dates last week, including a NYC show happening on April 13 at S.O.B.'s. They've since announced the entire tour, which also includes another NYC show happening one day later at Brooklyn Bowl (4/14). Tickets for the S.O.B.'s show and the Brooklyn Bowl show go on sale Tuesday (1/31) at noon.

Shabazz Palaces also just released a video for "Are You... Can You... Were You? (Felt)" off of 2011's Black Up LP. Check out that video and all dates below...

Continue reading "new Shabazz Palaces video, more dates (including 2 in NYC)"

Shabazz Palaces at Treasure Island Music Fest 2011 (more by Autumn Andel)

Shabazz Palaces are beginning to reveal dates for a North American tour they'll head out on this spring. The whole thing hasn't been announced yet but so far there's a Chicago show, a NYC show happening on April 13 at S.O.B.'s and a few others. Tickets for the NYC show go on sale Tuesday (1/31) at noon. All currently known North American dates below.

In related news, Shabazz Palaces collaborators and Sub Pop labelmates THEESatisfaction are releasing their debut LP, awE naturalE, on the label on March 27. They recently released a song, "Do You Have Time," which won't be on the album, but you can grab it via a widget below. Their only scheduled dates at the moment are hometown shows in Seattle and SXSW.

In other Sub Pop-signed-rapper news, Spoek Mathambo will release his sophomore LP, Father Creeper, on the label on March 13. Grab the album's lead track, "Let Them Talk," via a widget below. According to his website, SXSW, CMW & NYC dates coming soon.

All dates and widgets below...

Continue reading "Shabazz Palaces scheduling dates; THEESatisfaction & Spoek Mathambo announce Sub Pop LPs"

original Digable Planets promo photo with Ladybug vs their last promo photo

Earlier this month, news began circulating that Digable Planets had plans to reunite with their original members in 2012 for a tour and a new album, which would be the followup to 1994's Blowout Comb. However, the group's original female emcee, Ladybug Mecca, has since denied those claims, stating that, "Though a dialog has started about possible plans in the future, nothing has been contracted yet. All reports of Digable Planets, and/or Ladybug Mecca's appearance with them, are false and inaccurate."

However, the group will be playing a show in Brooklyn this Tuesday (12/20) at Brooklyn Bowl with F. Stokes and UGO Crew. Tickets are still available. Digable Planets will be backed by the band The Cosmic Funk Orchestra, like they have been at past shows.

They originally reunited in 2005, and went through a series of reunion tours in the years following, scheduling-then-cancelling-dates with Ladybug and without. In the past Ladybug's role has been filled by MC Madarocka (aka Lady Makka). We contacted the group's agent for more info. He (slightly contradicted Ladybug and) said, "Though Ladybug is not yet slated rejoin her former band mates until 2012, you never know who will show up to a Digable show - constantly reminding listeners why Digable Planets are "Cool like dat"." Hmmm.

Ish aka Butterfly (Ishmael Butler) has recently been spending his time with Shabazz Palaces, who released one of Rough Trade's favorite albums of the year.

Check out some classic Digable Planets video below.

Continue reading "Digable Planets not reunited, playing Brooklyn Bowl"

Josh T Pearson @ BV-SXSW 2011 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Check out Rough Trade's list of the Top 100 Albums of 2011 (yay Josh T Pearson!), below...

Continue reading "Rough Trade's Top 100 albums of 2011 "

photos by Autumn Andel

The Treasure Island Music Festival went down over two days on a small island in the San Francisco Bay, juggling two stages and acts that ranged from Death From Above 1979 to Cut Copy to St Vincent. The bands and sets were staggered so that changeovers allowed for the audience to see all of each band which, on day 1, included appearances from Death From Above 1979, Geographer, Aloe Blacc, The Naked & The Famous, Shabazz Palaces, YACHT (who play NYC in December), Battles, Dizzee Rascal, Chromeo, Buraka Som Sistema, Flying Lotus, Cut Copy, and Empire of The Sun...

"Sometimes a performance impresses you simply because of its natural and flawless flow. This was Chromeo on Saturday [10/15 at Treasure Island Music Festival]. The Montreal duo known for creating modern 80s-inspired electro-synth pop got one of the largest crowds of the day moving immediately as they opened with "Fancy Footwork." The hits kept coming with classics like "Don't Turn the Lights Off," "Bonafied Lovin," "Tenderoni" and set closer "Night by Night." Chromeo over the years has cemented themselves as one of the more fun and original acts in electronic music, Saturday was no disappointment whatsoever."
-[SF Station on the highlights at TIMF]

Belated pictures from day 1 of the Treasure Island Music Festival (which happened on 10/15) continue, more YACHT and Chromeo included, below...

Continue reading "Treasure Island Music Fest 2011 -- day 1 in pics (Chromeo, DFA1979, Shabazz Palaces, YACHT, Cut Copy & more)"

DOWNLOAD: SBTRKT - "Wildfire" (Drumma Boy remix ft. Shabazz Palaces) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: SBTRKT - "Wildfire" (Feat. Little Dragon) (MP3)

SBTRKT & Sampha @ Nefertiti Jazz Club, Gothenburg, Sweden

Watching SBTRKT with vocalist Sampha, an inch from the small stage at Nefertiti Jazz Club in Gothenburg, Sweden back in August was a highlight of my trip over there for the Way Out West festival. At the time especially, SBTRKT's self-titled album was still in regular rotation in my brain and it was the first time I was seeing them live (I missed their july appearance at PS1). The only bummer was that I had to miss Little Dragon's conflicting festival set in order to catch SBTRKT which was even more frustrating because it was a hometown Little Dragon show (they're from Gothenburg) and it meant that Little Dragon vocalist Yukimi Nagano definitely wouldn't be showing up to play "Wildfire" with SBTRKT live. SBTRKT instead introduced the song by acknowledging that it was sung by one of their own residents and played her vocals from tape. It was still kind of amazing. Sampha sang live on the other tracks, and kept busy with various knobs and other instruments too. SBTRKT himself moves back and forth at lightning speeds from his multitude of electronic equipment to his drum set, sweating in the process. It did not seem at all like he was just "hitting play." Some unposted pictures from that Swedish SBTRKT show are in this post. I saw Little Dragon live a few days later in Brooklyn.

(After SBTRKT's set I ran through a park in Sweden on my way to catch who was playing after Little Dragon at the club they played at. I had no idea where I was - was just following directions. Fittingly, Yukimi passed me, in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, going in the opposite direction. On her way to say hello to SBTRKT I assumed.)

SBTRKT is now on a North American tour which arrives in NYC this week for two shows. The first, for the guys who wear masks on stage every night, is on Halloween at Bowery Ballroom with AraabMUZIK. The next is one night later at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Cubic Zirconia. Both are now sold out. Earlier on the tour SBTRKT stopped in Seattle where Shabazz Palaces made a surprise appearance to rap his remix verse live over "Wildfire" (kind of like Drake did in Toronto over the summer). Video from that Seattle show, more pictures from Sweden and all dates, below...

Continue reading "SBTRKT now in NYC, played with surprise guest Shabazz Palaces in Seattle (video & some belated pics from Sweden)"

photos by Autumn Andel

Shabazz Palaces / The Horrors

The Horrors took matters to another level of performance.. [utilizing] brooding electric grooves and jeering melodies. Forget the spidery androgynous demeanor and spazzy mannerisms - these guys bring it when it comes to live performance, pure and simple. Their new album is a solid piece of work, a considerable triumph over their previous and an exciting sampling of their continuing creative evolution.

The band opened with the first song off new album Skying, called "Changing The Rain," fearlessly putting their newest foot forward in a challenge to those hung up on the band's earlier sounds. We took the evolution in stride, however, as the British quintet delivered a solid performance that continually dipped into new material, finally concluding around the midnight hour with the new 80s throwback "Moving Further Away". [Crave Online]

MFNW Day 2 pics HERE and HERE. Day 1 HERE. More pictures from day three, including shots of Marketa Irglova, Iron & Wine, Shabazz Palaces, and The Horrors, are below.

Continue reading "MFNW Day 3 in pics (The Horrors, Shabazz Palaces, Marketa Irglova & Iron & Wine)"

DOWNLOAD: SBTRKT - "Wildfire" (Drumma Boy remix ft. Shabazz Palaces) (MP3)

Back in June, we announced the killer initial lineup for Moogfest 2011 (October 28, 29, 30). That lineup just got even better with additions including TV on the Radio, Special Disco Version featuring James Murphy and Pat Mahoney, St. Vincent, SBTRKT, Flying Lotus, YACHT, John Maus, Araabmuzik Baths, Zomby, Active Child and more. It was also announced that Brian Eno, part of the initial lineup, will be presenting Brian Eno's 77 Million Paintings and "Illustrated Talks" as part of this year's fest.

The initial announcement also included Suicide, Tangerine Dream, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Austra, M83, Little Dragon, Passion Pit, Toro y Moi, Moby (full band), The Flaming Lips, Battles, CANT, Brandt Brauer Frick (who will be on a US tour that hits Glasslands), and more.

Speaking of CANT (aka Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear), he revealed the song "Believe" from his upcoming debut LP yesterday. Stream the track below. The album comes out September 13 on Chris' own Terrible Records. He's also got an upcoming tour surrounding Moogfest which includes a show on October 25 at Bowery Ballroom. Tickets are still on sale.

Speaking of SBTRKT and Little Dragon, Drumma Boy remixed the SBTRKT song with Little Dragon's Yukimi Nagano on lead vocals. Shabazz Palaces is also featured on the remix (compare that to Drake's version). Grab the track above via Gorilla vs Bear. Shabazz wrote on Facebook today, "Besides the release of Black Up, I don't think I've seen one article on here create such a surge of activity as this Wildfire Remix has. Amazing."

Sampha, who sings live with SBTRKT and on his album, also recently released his own song, "Indecision." Stream the track below. Moogfest is one of the stops on SBTRKT's recently announced US tour that also hits Bowery Ballroom on October 31 (with Araabmuzik) and Music Hall of Williamsburg on November 1. Tickets for both shows are still on sale.

Little Dragon plays a BV-presented Record Release show at Music Hall of WIlliamsburg TONIGHT (8/16). The show is sold out, but if you don't have tickets you can catch them in NYC again on their headlining tour which hits Terminal 5 on October 14. Tickets are still on sale.

Song streams and full Moogfest lineup below...

Continue reading "updated Moogfest lineup, new CANT & a Shabazz Palaces/Drumma Boy SBTRKT/Little Dragon remix (MP3s)"

Treasure Island Music Festival is returning to San Francisco, CA on October 15 and 16. The lineup includes Cut Copy, Beach House, The Hold Steady, Flying Lotus, Death From Above 1979, YACHT, Shabazz Palaces, The Antlers, St. Vincent, and many others. 2-Day passes go on sale Wednesday (7/27) 10 AM and single day tickets on Friday (7/29) at 10 AM.

Speaking of St. Vincent, if you haven't already, check out her new track at StrangeMercy.com. The full album is out September 13th via 4AD. More info and tour dates HERE. Still no info on tickets for her Met show.

Full Treasure Island lineup below...

Continue reading "Treasure Island Fest announces 2011 lineup, includes St. Vincent (who recently released a new song)"

Handsome Furs at the Great Escape in May (more by Tim Griffin)

The Handsome Furs 8/18 show at Webster Hall has been moved to Bowery Ballroom. All tickets will be honored, and are still available. THEESatisfaction have also been added as the opener.

Last time I noticed THEESatisfaction's name it was on a bill with Handsome Furs' Sub Pop labelmate Shabazz Palaces. Well, it was also just announced that THEESatisfaction, who have collaborated with Shabazz, have signed to Sub Pop too...

THEESatisfaction, the self-produced "lo-fi rebel hiphop" duo comprised of Seattle's Stasia Irons and Catherine Harris-White, (thankfully) accepted Sub Pop's proposal to join our eclectic family! To celebrate this union, they will be headlining the Vera Project stage at Capitol Hill Block Party today July 22nd. The group, who has released five EPs to date as well as contributed to label-mates Shabazz Palaces latest release Black Up, are expected to release their debut full-length album early next year, For now, the kind women of THEESatisfaction have decided to give you the track Do You Have the Time for free! - Sub Pop

The Bowery show is part of a longer international Handsome Furs tour that includes Parlovr on some dates. Parlovr meanwhile play Mercury Lounge tonight (7/25).

Updated Handsome Furs dates & THEESatisfaction song below...

Continue reading "Handsome Furs show moved to Bowery, now with THEESatisfaction who are now on Sub Pop --- updated dates"

Bill Callahan @ MHOW in 2009 (more by Ryan Muir)

today in NYC
* Whiplash @ UCB
* comedy @ Ace Hotel
* 40twenty @ Barbes
* Spanglish Fly @ Barbes
* Swingadelic @ Maxwell's
* Yes, Styx @ Jones Beach
* Tony Scherr @ Living Room
* Aaron Neville @ City Winery
* Maze w/ Frankie Beverly @ Wingate Field
* Tombs, Primitive Weapons @ Saint Vitus
* Nels Cline with The Les Paul Trio @ The Iridium
* Hot Tub with Kurt and Kristen @ LIttlefield
* Bill Callahan, Ed Askew @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Karl Berger's Stone Workshop Orchestra @ The Stone
* Washed Out, Grimes, Blood Orange @ Bowery Ballroom
* Dear Lions, Elliott & The Ghost, Josh Flagg @ The Rock Shop
* Jojo Mayer's Nerve, Matt Lowell, Jeremy Benson @ Mercury Lounge
* Derek Piotr, Ggghst, Jared Saltiel, Hannis Brown, NAR @ The Delancey
* Luff, Amour Abscur, Infinity Hotel, Christopher Paul Stelling @ Union Hall
* Ice Cream, Animal Tropical, Jason Anthony Harris, Jon Mizrachi @ Cake Shop
* Two Tears, Des Roar, The Outta Controllers, The Peacekillers @ Knitting Factory
* Lucky Dragons, W-H-I-T-E, Sweatshirt, Alex Barnett, Brett Naucke @ Death By Audio
* MC extraordinaire(s), J-Live, Camp Lo, The Artifacts, Clear Soul Forces, Chris Faust, LA (The 7th Annual Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival) @ Brooklyn Bowl

Tonight's Tombs show is FREE.

Twin Shadow are playing a private event on the roof of Soho House tonight.

Bill Callahan and Ed Askew play Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight and Bowery Ballroom tomorrow. Both shows are sold out.

Washed Out plays Bowery Ballroom tonight with Grimes and Blood Orange. Also sold out.

Today is Free Slurpee Day at 7/11. Today's date is also 7/11.

The show at Union Hall tonight is a benefit:

"On Memorial Day weekend, our friend Ryan Mitchell-Morrison was brutally attacked and left without the sight in his right eye, among other injuries. After a month of hospital time and doctors visits and months of recovery to come, he is left with many overwhelming expenses. We need your help!
Thanks to the generosity of Brooklyn bands, artists, businesses, and friends, we are able to throw this amazing benefit!"

Shabazz Palaces performed live in KEXP's studio. Watch the full performance below..

Beyonce has a video for "Best Thing I Never Had." Check it out below.

Peter Murphy performed at Amoeba Records. Video from that below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Monday?"

DOWNLOAD: Shabazz Palaces - "An echo from the hosts that profess infinitum" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Shabazz Palaces - "Swerve... The reeping of all that is worthwhile (Noir not withstanding)" (MP3)

Black Sheep at Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest 2010 (more by Brook Bobbins)

When we first announced Summerstage's free hip hop show lineup, tonight's (6/28) free show at Soundview Park in the Bronx was listed as Funkmaster Flex and Special Guests. The lineup has since changed and will feature performances by three old school NYC hip hop artists; the duo Black Sheep (Dres and Mista Lawnge), Peter Gunz, who most notably recorded as a duo with Lord Tariq, and frequent Big L-collaborator and Studio 54 DJ Kid Capri. Peter says Flex will also be there.

Q-Tip, who, like Black Sheep, is part of NYC hip hop collective Native Tongues, is DJing at Brooklyn Bowl on Thursday (6/30). Questlove, who usually holds down the DJing at Brooklyn Bowl on Thursdays, returns on July 7.

Q-Tip also plays the Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest is July, part of which is taking place at Music Hall of Williamsburg this year. The July 14th MHOW event, titled "Salute the DJ", will feature Marley Marl, Grand Wizzard Theodore, Roli Rho, Twilite Tone, and Torae. Q-Tip's headlining performance goes down on the Main Stage on Saturday, July 16th. Tickets are still on sale for that (and for the Music Hall party).

Butterfly of Digable Planets, who weren't actually part of Native Tongues but take cues from similar NYC-jazz based sources, released the debut full length Black Up for his Shabazz Palaces project today (6/28) via Sub Pop. You can still stream it at NPR. Download two tracks from the album above, and check out Shabazz Palaces tour dates (though no more in NYC at the moment) below.

Continue reading "Black Sheep playing Soundview Park, Q-Tip DJing Brooklyn Bowl, Shabazz Palaces released 'Black Up' (MP3 & dates)"

Here is the initial lineup for Willamette Week's MusicfestNW, scheduled for Sept. 7-11, 2011 in Portland, Oregon, and it's pretty great. The multi-venue fest includes big outdoor performances by Band of Horses (Sunday, Sept. 11), Explosions in the Sky (Saturday, Sept. 10), and Iron & Wine (Friday, Sept. 9), in addition to shows with everyone from Archers of Loaf to Big Freedia to Butthole Surfers to Neurosis. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 3rd. Check out the full list below...

Continue reading "MusicfestNW 2011 -- dates & initial lineup"

Guided by Voices @ Irving Plaza, New Year's Eve (more by Chris Gersbeck)

"As previously announced, the 2011 Pitchfork Music Festival will be taking place on Friday, July 15th through Sunday, July 17th at Chicago's Union Park! Tickets went on sale on March 4th, and, as predicted, three-day passes sold out in a record time of 24 hours! That said, eager prospective festival goers should fear not, as single-day passes are still available for the totally reasonable price of $45.

And now, without further ado, the newest additions to the 2011 Pitchfork Festival lineup! Friday will see the addition of Guided By Voices and Neko Case; Saturday's lineup will feature No Age, Gang Gang Dance, G-Side, and Chrissy Murderbot; Sunday's stellar lineup now includes The Fresh & Onlys, Radio Dept., HEALTH, Shabazz Palaces, Baths, How To Dress Well, Kurt Vile, and Twin Sister. Stay tuned for more bands still to be announced in the coming weeks!"

Continue reading "Pitchfork Fest expands lineup (Guided by Voices & more)"

Shabazz Palaces have announced the fruits of their union with Sub Pop, the new LP Black Up. The duo whose primary member is/was also a member of Digable Planets, will unleash the new record on May 31st. It will include "An Echo From the Hosts that Profess Infinitum", which is the song currently streaming/avail for download for your email address.

Shabazz Palaces are joining the masses down at SXSW in Austin, TX this month, and the hip-hop crew will play Philly & NYC in May too. The NYC date is May 12 at Santos Party House and tickets are on sale. All tour dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "a new Shabazz Palaces song, shows in NYC, Philly & SXSW"

by BBG

Ish of Shabazz Palaces at Sasquatch (more by Chris Graham)

There have been many projects and solo albums in the days following the (original) fall of Digable Planets, but now Ish is breaking out with his killer new Seattle-based project Shabazz Palaces. The group has only been playing limited dates so far (pics from Sasquatch 2010), but will play three shows in October including NYC's American Museum of Natural History for "One Step Beyond" on Friday, October 15th with the great Blockhead on support. Tickets are on sale.

The show is one of a greater set of dates for Blockhead. All dates for both are below.

Shabazz Palaces have released a couple of EPs during their short existence, and are prepping a new LP for release on Sub Pop in 2011.

"I think we both have a lot of love, appreciation, respect and energy for music and for each other. Recognizing the fact that business is necessary for maximizing exposure to it, I think we mutually feel that doing business is less a 'job' and more an opportunity to exercise those feelings in dope ass ways. Shabazz, we bring a distinct hip-hop mentality from left to Sub Pop, which has established itself wide and deep in r&r from that same field. So, it's going to be cool to see what gets born from rolling together. And, of course, Seattle is the immeasurable muse, the backdrop, backbone, the foundation to how we all get down. So SP feels a lot of pride around this partnering-up as well. The people, the office, the deal, it all feels super plush. So stay tuned, it's 'bouts to be on."-The Palaceer, Shabazz Palaces.

Meanwhile Digable Planets, which is -according to their myspace- "Doodlebug AND Butterfly" (but no Ladybug), is scheduled to play SOB's on Thursday (9/23), their only current tour date. Tickets are still available.

Dig on some streaming audio from Shabazz Palaces's previous EPs, as well as a recent video for "Belhaven Meridian", with all dates, below.

Continue reading "Shabazz Palaces, now on Sub Pop, playing a NYC museum w/ Blockhead (dates), 'Digable Planets' playing SOB's"