Kool & the Gang (not a recent picture)

Bummer news from GoogaMooga:

We regret to share the news but due to an urgent family matter, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are unable to perform as scheduled this weekend. Sharon and the Dap-Kings are all tremendously disappointed they are unable to appear at GoogaMooga and trust fans will understand. They hope to see everyone at another show soon.

While GoogaMooga will miss Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings and wishes them all the best, we are thankful and excited to announce that festival goers will still be able to get their moves and grooves on with Kool & The Gang, who will now headline the Nethermead Stage on Sunday, May 19 at 6:45pm.

Classic Kool & the Gang video below...

Continue reading "Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings drop off Sunday's GoogaMooga bill; Kool & the Gang added"

The soulful sounds of the great Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings return with Give The People What They Want, the new album which will see the light of day August 6 via Daptone Records. The announcement comes with an appropriately funky new single in "Retreat!" -- streaming below. The cover art, which you can see above, includes a photo taken by BV photographer Kyle Dean Reinford.

SJ's dates this summer are rather limited thus far, but you can catch the singer next weekend in Brooklyn at the sold-out The Great GoogaMooga on May 19. All tour dates are listed below.

Continue reading "Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings give the people what they want on new LP (stream a track)"

GoogaMooga 2012 (more by Chris La Putt)

Brooklyn food, drink, and music festival The Great GoogaMooga, who we're sure have been working hard on figuring out to do things better the second time around, have announced the lineup for their second year which goes down from May 17 to 19 at Prospect Park. We just mentioned that the fest begins with a kickoff show on the Friday (5/17) with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Flaming Lips, and The Darkness. The rest of the lineup includes Matt & Kim, Father John Misty, Sharon Van Etten, Lee Fields & the Expressions, and more playing on Saturday; and Sharon Jones & the Dap-KIngs, De La Soul (who recently announced a tour with LL Cool J, Public Enemy, and Ice Cube), Cults, The Soul Rebels, Delicate Steve, and more playing on Sunday.

Tickets for the kickoff show and VIP Cocktail Experience tickets for Saturday and Sunday go on sale Thursday (3/28) at noon, and general admission tickets for Saturday and Sunday become available in an online ticket giveaway which runs from April 1 to 3. "Complimentary tickets will be awarded at random and recipients will be notified by email on or before Wednesday, April 10."

Check out pictures of day 1 and day 2 of last year's festival.

Full music food and drink lineup below...

Continue reading "GoogaMooga 2013 lineup & tix (Father John Misty, Sharon Van Etten, De La Soul, Sharon Jones, Matt & Kim, and more)"

Charles Bradley at Firefly 2012 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

As mentioned, soul singer Charles Bradley will release his new album, Victim of Love, on April 2 via Daptone Records, and is set to support it with a tour that hits NYC on May 16 at the Apollo Theater. When we first mentioned that show back in January, there was no ticket info, and now there finally is: Tickets go on Ticketmaster/Fan Club presale today (2/21) at 10 AM (password: "CBRAD") and general sale begins Saturday (2/23) at noon. We're also giving away a pair of tickets to the Apollo Theater show, and details on how you can enter to win are below.

Charles' tour has been expanded a bit since we last spoke, and it now also includes a trip to Austin for SXSW, where he will play the first ever DapTone Records Super Soul Revue SXSW showcase on March 14 at ACL Live at the Moody Theater with Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, The Budos Band, Menahan Street Band, The Sugarman 3, and The Como Mamas.

The flyer for the SXSW show, an updated list of dates, contest details, and a stream of "Strictly Reserved For You" from Charles' new album, below...

Continue reading "tickets on sale for the Charles Bradley Apollo Theater show (plus, you can win a pair!); Daptone coming to SXSW"

Sharon Jones @ Bonnaroo 2012 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Jimmy Kimmel couldn't have had worse luck with the timing of his week of tapings at BAM here in Brooklyn, but after cancelling Monday due to hurricane, things are now a go again:

...a rep for the show tells E! News that "Jimmy Kimmel Live! will broadcast an original show tonight from the Harvey Theater at BAM - Brooklyn Academy of Music."

Kimmel himself even tweeted about the good news, writing, "Unless something weird happens, tonight's show in #Brooklyn is ON like fleece on Gov Christie."

The guest lineup for tonight will be the same as the one that was originally planned for Monday, which includes radio personality Howard Stern and 30 Rock star Tracy Morgan, as well as Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.

Continue reading "Jimmy Kimmel tapings at BAM are back on (look for Howard Stern & Sharon Jones in Fort Greene) (and on TV tonight)"

Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings at Williamsburg Park - 8/18/12 (via Naja Rosa Koppel)

Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings and their Daptone labelmates Antibalas shared a bill for a free show at Williamsburg Park last night (8/18). Antibalas were celebrating their new self-titled album, which came out earlier this month via Daptone. They were followed by a great set by Sharon Jones and her band that left people wanting more, and included a cover of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," like Sharon's sets have in the past. A video of them playing "Longer and Stronger" at last night's show is below.

This summer's Williamsburg Park shows continue TONIGHT (8/19) with another great double bill of My Morning Jacket and Shabazz Palaces. Tickets for tonight's show are still available. MMJ will return to the NYC area for three shows at Port Chester's Capitol Theatre in December.

Video below...

Continue reading "Sharon Jones & Antibalas played Williamsburg Park; My Morning Jacket & Shabazz Palaces play tonight (video)"

Field Report at BV SXSW 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Tonight (7/17) is the first show for new Brooklyn venue Williamsburg Park featuring Counting Crows, We Are Augustines, Field Report, and Kasey Anderson & the Honkies. Tickets for tonight's show are still available. Maybe this isn't the most exciting start for the venue, but there are a lot of cool shows coming up, including Refused with Off! on Wednesday (7/18), a big outdoor edition of Eugene Mirman's "Pretty Good Friends" with "special guests" and OK GO on Thursday (7/19), Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings and Antibalas on August 18 (FREE), Bob Mould playing Sugar's first two albums on September 7 (FREE), David Byrne & St. Vincent on September 29, Animal Collective on October 5 and more. All upcoming Williamsburg Park shows are listed below.

If you're a fan of Field Report (aka former Justin Vernon cohort Chris Porterfield) but would like to see him in a more intimate setting, he's also playing an early show at Mercury Lounge on Saturday (7/21). Tickets are still available and we're also giving away a pair. Details on how to enter are below.

Continue reading "Williamsburg Park opens tonight (check out the full schedule) ++++ win tickets to see Field Report at Mercury Lounge"

As mentioned before, Anitbalas will open for Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings at the free Williamsburg Waterfront show on August 18. Before that the Brooklyn ensemble are playing a few shows on the West Coast. All tour dates are listed at the bottom of this post.

Antibalas' Williamsburg Park show is a record release show for their new album which is out August 7 on Daptone. It's their first album in five years and you can check out "Sare Kon Kon" from the album below.

The half decade since their last album has been spent working on the Tony-winning musical Fela! -- many of the members also in the show's house band. The show's been on a world tour and returns to Broadway July 9, 2012 to August 4 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre and tickets can be purchased here.

Song stream and tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Fela! returning to Broadway; Antibalas streaming new track, playing shows (dates)"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

St. Vincent/Radiohead

Complimenting [Radiohead's] case for its post-major-label forays into art-rock craftsmanship was a stunning stage production that was a work of art in and of itself. With band members backlit by two towering video walls, a dozen tile-like screens shifted shape overhead and changed color with thrilling results. Wild-card set list selections included "I Might Be Wrong," "House of Cards," and "Kid A"; while live staples like "Idioteque," "Karma Police" and fevered-pitch show-closer "Paranoid Android" were among the oldies represented. [Rolling Stone]

Before playing "Supercollider," Thom Yorke took a minute to dedicate the song to Jack White. He said, "This song is for Jack White. We saw him yesterday. A big thank-you to him, we're not going to tell you why but you'll find out." As many have speculated, this could mean that Radiohead have recorded/will be recording a Third Man single. We'll see.

Continue reading "Bonnaroo Day 2 in pics (Radiohead, St. Vincent, Feist, Ludacris, Laura Marling, Little Dragon & Sharon Jones)"

Sharon Jones at Bowery Ballroom in 2011 (more by Tamara Porras)

Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings have a bunch of shows and festival appearances scheduled this summer and they've just announced that they'll be playing Williamsburg Park on August 18 with openers Antibalas. That show falls directly in between the Jane's Addiction (Aug 17) and My Morning Jacket (Aug 19) shows at Williamsburg Park. No word on an on sale yet but keep an eye on Ticketmaster. UPDATE: It's a free show, folks!

In other news, openers Antibalas, who have been busy for the last few years with the Fela! musical, are set to release their first album since 2007. The self-titled LP is due out August 7 on Daptone Records.

All Sharon Jones and Antibalas dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings and Antibalas playing Williamsburg Park in August; Antibalas prepping new LP"

Live From Daryl's House, Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates's TV show, which Sharon Jones has starred on, is hitting the road for some live dates including 4/11 @ Wellmont Theater, 4/14 @ the Borgata, and 4/21 @ Beacon Theatre. All three are with special guests Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings and Allen Stone. Tickets for the NYC show and for the NJ show go on sale today at noon.

speaking of Beacon Theater, Magnetic Fields tickets also go on sale at noon.

All dates for Daryl and John Oates, and the Wellmont show poster (which points out a chef will be there too), below...

Continue reading "Daryl Hall bringing 'Live From Daryl's House' & Sharon Jones on the road (dates)"

photos by Tamara Porras

"I hope people don't expect a lot because all I do is go out there and be me," [Sharon Jones] says. "The band comes out, they introduce me, I come out, I dance, I sing, I interact with the audience. I love when I can get people up to dance. I dance, I jump around. I don't know. I just be guided. Before I go on that stage every night I have that prayer. Me and my girls say a prayer with me before I walk on, I say that extra prayer. That prayer is: "Give me the right things to say, Lord. The right things to come out of my mouth." And that's what I do." [Syracuse New Times]

Continue reading "Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings completed their 7-NY-show run @ Bowery Ballroom (pics)"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings play their last of four NYC shows (seven NY shows total) this evening (12/14). Like last night, they're back at Bowery Ballroom. Their first two shows were at Music Hall of Williamsburg, and one day after those they played the seated Tarrytown Music Hall with the Starlight Girls. Here are some pictures from that one.

Earlier on tour Sharon and band opened some shows for My Morning Jacket who play Madison Square Garden with Band of Horses tonight (12/14).

More pictures from Tarrytown below...

Continue reading "Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings played 3 NYC shows & 1 in Tarrytown (pics)"

Sharon Jones & Naomi Shelton - 12/6/2011 (photo by dianna_2ns)

Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens opened for Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings at their first of four NYC shows at Music Hall of Williamsburg last night (12/6). They are the openers again at the last sold out show which is at Bowery Ballroom on 12/14.

Meanwhile you can catch Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens at the Bell House tonight:

Farmers, Shoppers, Cooks and Neighbors unite for a night of revelry December 7, 2011

Join Greenmarket and Harvest Home for an end-of-season party to wring out a soggy year and plant some hope for a strong harvest in 2012. Warm up to winter and dance our regional farmers into the night with music by Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens and Zlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band at the Bell House on Wednesday, December 7 from 7 - 10 p.m.

Groove to sensational gospel music and soul-rattling Balkan beats, bid on books in our 'Cookbook Library' silent auction, enjoy light hors d'oeuvres prepared with locally grown ingredients and $3 Brooklyn Brewery brews all night. Proceeds will benefit participating Greenmarket and Harvest Home farms that were devastated by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee in September. Come shake it with us as we bid good night Irene once and for all.

The Sugarman 3 open for Sharon Jones at Music Hall tonight (12/7). A video of Sharon from last night can be watched below...

Continue reading "Sharon Jones NY run underway, Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens playing Greenmarket event @ Bell House tonight"

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

Those four Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings shows happening in NYC in December (special guest openers TBA) go on sale via Ticketmaster at noon, but there's also still a special presale underway.

Ends up the occasion for the shows is that Daptone Records is celebrating 10 years, and that presale comes with some special merch that marks the occasion....

Join Daptone Records this December to celebrate their 10th anniversary with four very special performances by Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, with support from special Daptone guests (to be announced - stay tuned!) in New York City. Choose your tickets and combine them with one of our 3 exclusive 10th Anniversary bundles below for one all-in, fan-only price!

Tickets must be collected from the venue's Will Call window the evening of the show. All merchandise will be shipped on November 1st.

Sharon Jones at Sasquatch 2011 (more by Josh Darr)

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings have been making booties shake across the continent and will continue to do so through the bulk of the fall, eventually looping back to New York for SEVEN shows, FOUR of which are in NYC. On December 6th and 7th the band will hit Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Then after shows in Tarrytown, Oneonta & Syracuse, they return to the city to play December 13th and 14th at Bowery Ballroom. Tickets for all four NYC shows go on AmEx presale at noon on Wed (10/5) with regular sale hitting two days later. All dates are listed below.

Sharon Jones will compete with their West Coast touring partners My Morning Jacket on 12/14 when the Louisville band headlines Madison Square Garden with Band of Horses. Tickets are still available.

The Budos Band and one more band TBA play Music Hall of Williamsburg on New Year's Eve. Charles Bradley plays Bowery Ballroom on 12/3.

All tour dates and some recent live videos, below...

Continue reading "Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings announce 7 NY shows, 4 in NYC (dates)"

The Budos Band in Prospect Park (more by David Andrako)

Lee Fields & The Expressions are headlining a benefit show at Brooklyn Bowl on Monday night (9/26). Tickets can be had for as low as $15 and as much as $100. Proceeds support NYC's non-religious suicide hotline run by Samaritans of NY. Corey Glover (Living Colour), Danielia Cotton, and The Smyrk are also on the bill. It's one of only three upcoming shows right now for Lee. The other two are in Chicago and Michigan and are listed below.

Other upcoming Daptone-related shows include the previously-mentioned Charles Bradley show at Bowery Ballroom in December (tickets), and the not-yet mentioned Budos Band show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on New Year's Eve (with "very special guests to be announced"). Tickets are on sale.

One thing I can assure you is that the MHOW NYE special guest is not Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings who are due to announce another NYC show of their own soon. Meanwhile they have scattered tour dates scheduled, some with My Morning Jacket. All dates for all of them, below...

Continue reading "Lee Fields playing a benefit @ Brooklyn Bowl, Budos Band & special guests playing NYE @ Music Hall (and other dates)"

My Morning Jacket at Lollapalooza 2011 (more by Grant McAllister)

My Morning Jacket are hitting the road this fall/winter and will return to where they spent New Year's Eve in 2008. After a stint in the EU with The Head & Heart, the fourseome will return for a leg of US dates with varying openers including Delta Spirit and Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. They play the final show of the US leg at Madison Square Garden on December 14th with Band of Horses. Tickets for the NYC show go on sale 9/23 at noon. Check out the video tour anouncement, a KCRW live session, and all other tour dates below.

Both My Morning Jacket and Band of Horses have been on the road. Band of Horses hit MusicFestNW last weekend and My Morning Jacket hit Austin City Limits this past one. Band of Horses' prior/side projects have shows coming up too.

Continue reading "My Morning Jacket announces tour, MSG show w/ Band of Horses (2011 dates)"

by BBG

I followed the music and ended up in the middle of the park, surprised that there weren't too many people there- maybe a few hundred? He deserved a few thousand, at least. During his last song there were flashes of lightning illuminating the night sky followed by a torrential downpour at the end of the song. Some ran away, some (including me) ran for a few small tents that were set up for the sound guys and stayed for the encore song (undoubtedly worth it- wet clothes dry but his voice will stay in my mind forever).

Even from a ways away, I could see his bright smile and feel the positive energy shooting out of him. He was wonderful and the kind of singer who's meant to be heard live, in his element there. I feel so lucky that I heard even a few of his songs in person. -[blogonlyknows]

Charles Bradley was fresh off a July 21st appearance on Jay Leno where he helped The Tonight Show's bandleader Rickey Minor pay tribute to Marvin Gaye by performing "What's Going On" with Grace Potter, Sharon Jones, and The Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles. Video from that appearance is also below. Charles' other recent accomplishments include covering Nirvana for SPIN's new Nevermind tribute album.

The show was one of two scheduled for Beans in the past week. He opened for Buck 65 at Bowery Ballroom a few days earlier.

Charles & The Menahan Street Band continue on tour this summer. Their festival-filled schedule includes Osheaga, Outside Lands, Bumbershoot, MusicFestNW, Austin City Limits, and POPPED!, all before they head to Europe.

An updated set of tour dates, video from Leno, and more pictures & video from Fort Greene below...

Continue reading "Charles Bradley played Fort Greene Park w/ Beans (pics), played Leno w/ Grace Potter & Sharon Jones (video)"

photos by Josh Darr

Wilco / Guided By Voices

"Wilco never makes the second record twice, which makes it doubly remarkable that so many of them are tremendous. As formidable as frontman Jeff Tweedy's catalog is, the sonically inventive rock band really stands out on stage -- the place where extreme technical skill meets the chemistry and rousing showmanship of passionate rock veterans. Of course, it helps that the group has the luxury of drawing highlights from seven very different records when it performs. To see Wilco on stage is to hear the best of the best."

And with this post, our 2011 Sasquatch basically concludes. Previous posts contain The Decembersts, Noah and the Whale, Rebecca Gates, Day 3 pictures, Archers of Loaf, Day 2 pictures, and more Day 2 pics with Day 1 too. The rest of the pictures from Day 4, below...

Continue reading "Sasquatch 2011 - the rest of Day 4 in pics (Wilco, Guided by Voices, Sharon Jones, Deerhunter, Chromeo & more)"

Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears

Black Joe Lewis himself brings a classic James Brown howl and a raunchy sense of humor to some great talking blues moments, but what makes these guys much more than just a gimmick are the musical skills that underlie everything they do. They just groove. With another year of shows under their belt, white dude band mates Zach Ernst (guitar) and Bill Stevenson (bass) have ratcheted up their swagger enough to share the stage comfortably with their charismatic frontman.-[Hippies Are Dead]

After a couple weeks off, Black Joe Lewis will reemerge in Mississippi at the tail end of April for a few dates before heading out on tour with Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings. Those Darlins will still be going strong with their seemingly neverending tour. Both bands will eventually loop back to the NYC-area to play Maxwell's within a day of each other; Those Darlins play Maxwell's on 6/11 (tickets) and Black Joe Lewis hits Maxwell's on 6/12 (tickets). Neither has a NYC show scheduled at that time, but both have plenty of free days right around then (free summer shows TBA?).

Both Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears and Those Darlins recently dropped some new material. BJL's new and-Jim-Eno-produced LP, Scandalous, as well as the new Those Darlins LP Screws Get Loose, are out now. All dates and a couple of videos, below...

Continue reading "Black Joe Lewis & Those Darlins still on tour, schedule more shows (including gigs @ Maxwell's a day apart)"

"Art is made up of moments. Moments of inspiration. Power. Emotion. Grace. Passion. These moments collided in Paris in 1911 and changed the path of art and conventional creativity. There will be another spectacular convergence exactly 100 years later.

Philadelphia, April 7, 2011 - May 1, 2011. Introducing the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts.

Together we will create a city inspired, featuring artistic expression from across our region and around the world. And the world will be invited to join us in a new moment of innovation, collaboration and creativity."

The Philly show is currently scheduled as a one-off for the Portland band who will have finished a European tour eight days earlier and who don't start their tour with Matt & Kim until after Sasquatch at the end of May. That tour ends in Boston on 6/30, one day after they play a sold out show at Terminal 5. One day later, July 1st, the Thermals return to NYC to play their own headlining show at The Bell House. Tickets are on sale now.

Continue reading "The Thermals add Brooklyn show after Matt & Kim tour, playing Philadelphia Int Festival of the Arts w/ Sharon Jones"

Big names and regulars aside, there are a few bands I want to highlight on the just-announced Sasquatch lineup: Wolf Parade ("indefinite hiatus" rumors be damned), The Flaming Lips (performing "The Soft Bulletin"), Death From Above 1979 (now three reunion shows total), Guided By Voices (they're not done yet), and... Archers of Loaf (!). The full lineup of the fest that goes down in Gorge, Washington in May (Memorial Day Weekend), is below...

Continue reading "Sasquatch 2011 lineup announced (Archers of Loaf, Guided By Voices, Wolf Parade, DFA 1979 & "The Soft Bulletin" included)"

"i can't win... Prince apparently at Darby. i'm in BK at Bk Bowl. maceo parker consolation prize? and i turned down Darby... #EPICFAIL" - chinisha

"Can someone explain why #Prince and Maceo Parker were serenading Leighton Meester onstage at MSG tonight? #SoWrongForSoManyReasons" -Miguel Gonzalez

Prince, Maceo & Leighton Meester @ MSG - Jan 18, 2011 (photo by NPG 2011)

Did Prince pull the ultimate con? Maceo (who played with Prince again at Madison Square Garden last night) and Questlove (who was at the Prince show at MSG again last night, tweeting pictures of his co-worker Jimmy Fallon dancing on stage with Prince) were both on the bill of a late-night show at Brooklyn Bowl last night. The Brooklyn Bowl show was set to run later than Prince's MSG show and rumors spread that Prince would play the Brooklyn Bowl show too (the bill even said "very special guests"). Prince is known for playing late-night shows after his main shows. The rumor not only made sense, it worked. Brooklyn Bowl was packed with Prince fans still waiting after 1am for the purple one to appear on stage.

Apparently it even said "Maybe Prince?" on Maceo's setlist. Maybe Maceo didn't even know if he would show up, or maybe he was in on it. Either way, by 1:15am word started to spread that Prince couldn't be playing at Brooklyn Bowl because he had arrived at the (groupie-free?) real afterparty at the Darby on 14th St in Manhattan. Those who ended up seeing Brooklyn Bowl headliner and jam band Lettuce and Dr. John instead of Prince can at least take solace in the fact that Prince didn't actually perform at Darby, though MSG opener Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings did (and of course Questlove was there to see that too).

Sharon Jones on stage w/ Prince @ MSG - Jan 18, 2011 (by Questlove)

You have another chance to see Prince at MSG in February. A picture of the 1/18 MSG setlist, another pic of Prince, Maceo & Leighton, a rough list of what he actually played, and some videos, below...

Continue reading "Prince played MSG, but not Brooklyn Bowl. Sharon Jones played MSG & the real afterparty at the Darby"