Like Chicago and Atlantic City, NYC & Washington will get iterations of the traveling festival with the extremely scary name (and headliner)...

"Dave Matthews Band Caravan" will come to New York City's Governors Island on August 26, 27 and 28 and The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, WA on September 2, 3 and 4. The events will feature a diverse lineup of musical talent performing on multiple stages during the day and a full set by headliners Dave Matthews Band each night. See below for ticket information.

In addition to Dave Matthews Band, the lineup for the Governors Island event will include Dispatch, The Roots, Gogol Bordello, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Josh Ritter & the Royal City Band, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, The Head and the Heart, Vieux Farka Touré, David Wax Museum and many more to be announced soon...."

At least the Flaming Lips, who play the NJ version of the fest, aren't on that lineup, because that gives hope that they'll announce their own real NYC show. "An online presale for the Governors Island event for members of the DMB Warehouse Fan Association will begin on Monday, April 25, at 10:00 AM ET at http://www.warehouse.davematthewsband.com/."

This is the second big Governors Island Fest to be announced this year. The other is the dance-oriented Governors Ball (Punk Island also returns this year).

More DMBC info below...

Continue reading "run & hide, Dave Matthews Band Caravan coming to NY (fest announces stops @ Governors Island & Washington's Gorge)"

...which is being rebroadcast online "shortly" NOW. Other performers include Amadou & Mariam, Hugh Masekela, K'Naan, Tinariwen, Vieux Farka Touré, Angelique Kidjo, Black Eyed Peas, and Shakira.

Naomi Shelton celebrating Brooklyn in 2009 (more by Fresh Bread)

BAM Rhythm & Blues Festival brings free afternoon shows to the MetroTech Commons (corner of Flatbush and Myrtle Aves) on Thursdays June 3-August 5 (noon-2pm). The performers this year include Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens, Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen, Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Touré (who played LPR in April), Bernie Worrell's SociaLybrium (fronted by the Parliament-Funkadelic and Talking Heads keyboardist), Mykal Rose of Black Uhuru, bassist Victor Wooten and more.

The full schedule, with directions, is below...

Continue reading "BAM Rhythm & Blues Festival at MetroTech - 2010 schedule of free Brooklyn shows that happen Thursdays at noon"

Toumani Diabaté & Vieux Farka Touré @ Bonnaroo 2009...

Vieux Farka Touré's show at The Haunt April 11 [in Ithaca] turned Sunday into anything but lazy. The Malian guitarist and singer -- son of famed guitarist Ali Farka Touré -- and his excellent outfit charmed the crowd last Sunday with his unique melodies and unbounded enthusiasm. Hippies swayed, hipsters nodded and ultimately the music proved irresistible too for the audience to refrain from frenetic dancing that broke out towards the end of the set. Touré and his band were even gracious enough to share the stage with a particularly ... enthusiastic member of the crowd.

Cornell Daily Sun: Your music clearly has many influences, how would you describe your musical style?

Vieux Farka Touré: My mentor and godfather Toumani Diabate baptized my music "koroboro rock" -- "koroboro" means "black African" in our main dialect. I guess that kind of sums it up -- my music is basically African but I mix it up with a little reggae, some salsa, some rock, some m'balax, some blues -- all the music I listen to, like people my age everywhere in the world -- and it comes out my own cocktail. I'd like to think that everyone who listens to my music finds something that pleases them.

Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Touré's latest US tour is underway - he continues with an April 15th show in Chicago, and finishes in NYC with a show at (Le) Poisson Rouge on April 27th. Soul reggae band Meta & the Cornerstones open, and tickets are on sale.

Videos and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Vieux Farka Touré on tour - 2010 dates & some videos "

Crystal Castles @ MHOW - New Years Eve (more by Ryan Muir)

Al Green @ the Wellmont Theater - Nov 2008 (more by Eric M Townsend)

Superfly Productions and A.C. Entertainment are excited to announce the initial lineup for the 2009 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. The eighth annual four-day camping and music festival will be held on June 11 - 14 on the same beautiful 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, 60 miles south of Nashville. Every year Bonnaroo seeks to make history by offering unique and exclusive performances by rock's greatest legends as well as its most significant newcomers. A full list of confirmed acts follows, and more will be announced in the coming weeks. The final Bonnaroo 2009 lineup will total over 120 bands and over 20 comedians performing on 13 stages over four days. Tickets go on sale exclusively through www.bonnaroo.com on Saturday, February 7 at 12:00 PM Eastern.

As rumored, Bruce Springsteen (who just played the Superbowl Halftime show) and Phish (who just had some trouble selling tickets to other shows) are headlining this year's Bonnaroo. Nine Inch Nails (who played Lollapalooza last year), Beastie Boys, David Byrne (who has two shows coming up at Radio City), Wilco, Al Green, Erykah Badu, TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (who are also playing Coachella), Andrew Bird (who just played Carnegie Hall), The Decemberists, Bon Iver, Animal Collective (who are very popular right now), Neko Case, Jenny Lewis, Santogold, Grizzly Bear (who have a new album coming out), St. Vincent, Ted Leo, Crystal Castles, and many others are also on the bill according to the now-officially announced initial lineup.

Coachella announced their initial lineup less than a week earlier.

Metallica played Bonnaroo in 2008. Metallica played NY & NJ this past weekend.

Full (initial) 2009 Bonnaroo lineup below...

Continue reading "Bonnaroo announces initial 2009 lineup (Bruce Springsteen, Phish, Beastie Boys, NIN, Wilco, Animal Collective...)"

photos by Ryan Muir

This post is the last in a three-part series on a free show that happened at Central Park Summerstage in NYC on June 14th. It started with Vampire Weekend. Then came Kid Sister. And now the very-first opener of that show: Born Ruffians.

This post is also a reminder that this Saturday's free show at the very same location features none other than Vieux Farka Toure. Last year the son of the legendary Ali Farka played a show outside Grace Plaza on 6th Ave and 43rd Street at 12:30 in the afternoon, so he's moving up in the world. Exact details:

Vieux Farka Toure
Fallou Dieng
Kaleta & Zozo Afrobeat
DJ Sirak

Saturday, June 28, 2008
From 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Central Park SummerStage
West Africa shines in this dynamic line-up featuring superstars from Mali, Senegal and Nigeria.

More pics of Born Ruffians below...

Continue reading "Summerstage - Born Ruffians pics & free Vieux Farka Toure "

DOWNLOAD: Crosby, Stills & Nash - Long Time Gone (MP3)

Central Park Summerstage concerts, NYC, 2008
04/20 - Vienna Teng
05/30 - Duran Duran (tix)
05/31 - Duran Duran (tix)
06/13 - Mavis Staples & Stephanie McKay
06/21 - kokayi, JLove Calderon, La Bruja, Lemon, Will Power
06/28 - Vieux Farka Toure
07/23 - Mark Knopfler (tix)
07/27 - The Skatalites
07/29 - Crosby, Stills & Nash (tix)
08/02 - Thollem (SmhSmh) & Germaul Barnes (BitahkizAyeli Movement & Sound)
08/03 - José James
08/06 - Sonny Rollins (tix)
08/09 - Latin Alternative Music Conference presents Scud Hero & ??

ALSO, according to the NY Times:

Crosby, Stills & Nash; Mavis Staples, the experimental Brooklyn rockers Battles and Black Dice; DanceBrazil; and the Mexican pop singer Julieta Venegas will be among the performers at Central Park SummerStage this year, the City Parks Foundation has announced. Crosby, Stills & Nash will play on July 29 in one of the six paid benefit concerts during this 23rd SummerStage season. The other performances, along with the Afro-funk scion Seun Kuti and the vintage-soul revivalists Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, are free, beginning with Ms. Staples's concert on June 13. The complete lineup will be announced in April.

Tinariwen's new album Aman Iman is out now. Clips from it are playing in a player at their site. Listen to a feature at NPR. Catch the band of Tuareg rebels at Highline Ballroom in NYC tonight (Nov 27, 2007). I caught them when they were here in 2005, and though I didn't end up watching their performance at the Oya Festival in Norway this summer, you couldn't miss them walking around the crowd in their blue robes. All tour dates, and some videos, below....

Continue reading "Tinariwen - 2007 Tour Dates (tonight), new album"

DOWNLOAD: David Garland - In My Room (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fionn Regan - Getting Better (Beatles cover) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Devotchka - How it Ends (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Pelican - Far From Fields (MP3)

Did you check out today's free Vieux show that already happened....

Vieux Farka Toure in NYC, July 24, 2007 (by Jefferson)

* The White Stripes play MSG
* Grinderman play MSG
* Porter Wagoner plays MSG
* Devotchka play their first of two shows @ Spiegeltent
* Pelican reaches Bowery Ballroom
* Mercury Prize nominee Fionn Regan is at Joe's Pub
* A member of the Dresden Dolls is @ Joe's Pub too
* Smif N Wessun & Dead Prez are in Red Hook park
* Bon Iver & The Comas @ Mercury Lounge
* David Garland is at Union Hall
* The Swell Season (Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova) are @ Gramercy Theatre
* a cult classic starring some Sex Pistols @ McCarren tonight
* Jill Cunniff & The Epochs play an ASCAP/Delo party @ the Annex tonight

What else?

As previously reported, Vieux Farka Toure performs today (7/24/2007) @ 12:30 pm @ Grace Building Plaza (1114 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street) in NYC. The show is free. His NYC show after that at Highline Ballroom on August 1st isn't. All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Vieux Farka Toure is here + more 2007 Tour Dates"

Vieux Farka Toure, son of Ali Farka Toure, is leaving Mali again to tour North America this summer. He hits Grace Plaza in NYC on July 24 (Grace Plaza??), and he's at Newport Towers in Jersey City the day before (Newport Towers???). All tour dates below.....

Continue reading "Vieux Farka Toure - 2007 Tour Dates"