The 14th annual Voodoo Music & Arts Experience happens from October 26 - 28 at City Park in New Orleans. Among the 70+ acts at this year's fest are Jack White, Green Day, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Skrillex, Justice, Silversun Pickups, Thomas Dolby, Die Antwoord, The Dirty Dozen Brass, and Bootsy Collins. Tickets are on sale with a variety of options as is the usual with festivals these days.

Full Voodoo Experience line-up is below.

Continue reading "Jack White, Green Day, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Justice & more playing the Voodoo Experience in New Orleans (lineup)"

most photos by Alysse Gafkjen, Gulf Restoration Network photos courtesy of Gulf Restoration Network

The Gulf Restoration Network celebrates four years as the official non-profit partner of the Voodoo Experience, one of New Orleans best music festivals. We constructed demonstration barrier islands, marshes and cypress swamps to educate music worshippers about the importance of our natural storm defenses, the threat of the BP drilling disaster, and the need for a national commitment to the recovery and restoration of the Gulf. We also held a press conference with featured musicians speaking out for the Gulf, and welcomed the Acting Outlaws to NOLA. The Acting Outlaws are Tricia Helfer and Katee Sackhoff, actresses who share a line on their resumes (lead roles in Battlestar Galactica), a love of motorcycles, and a belief that everyone can do something to make the world better. The two rode BMW motorcycles cross country for Gulf awareness, supporting the Gulf Future campaign, and the work of GRN and the Gulf Coast Fund.

Pictures of the Gulf Restoration Network's site at the festival, and the rest of our pictures from the New Orleans music fest (the rest here are HERE, HERE and HERE), below...

Continue reading "the rest of the Voodoo Experience pictures "

photos by Alysse Gafkjen

Weezer announced that Free Energy and Best Coast will handle opening duties on their upcoming "Memories Tour", though it's only one opener per show and NYC gets Free Energy. Weezer were another one of the bands that played Voodoo in New Orleans over the weekend. More pictures and some videos from their set there, and updated tour dates with openers listed, below...

Continue reading "Free Energy & Best Coast opening shows for Weezer who played Voodoo (pics & video) "

photos by Alysse Gafkjen

"The Preservation Hall Jazz Band suffered a serious blow, earlier this week, with the passing of bassist Walter Payton. Still, they played on (bassless) - with a photo of Walter, surrounded by flowers, sitting on a pedestal amid life-size wooden cutouts depicting departed PHJB members like John Brunious and Sweet Emma Barrett. My Morning Jacket's Jim James joined the band, as he had at Jazz Fest 2010 (MMJ appears on the band's latest album, "Preservation") for a short set that included a fierce double interpretation of "St. James Infirmary." James sang it straight, as a bluesy dirge; once he concluded, Hallahan grabbed a pair of sticks and joined drummer Joe Lastie for a hot, swung-out version. Hall vocalist Clint Maedgen scorched the mic; plenty of cowbell and tambourine gave the number a street-parade, Mardi Gras Indian feel (sort of like Wardell Quezergue's famous production of the Dixie Cups' "Iko Iko," which, legend has it, utilized ashtrays and water glasses for its unforgettably clanky percussion.)

After the song, the band second-lined out and into the crowd, then returned to the stage for a closing version of Leadbelly's "Goodnight Irene."

From somewhere, Payton surely felt well sent off." [Nola.com]

As noted in the setlist, Preservation Hall Jazz Band also joined My Morning Jacket on stage at Voodoo over the weekend. Preservation Hall Jazz Band's next show is at City Winery in NYC TONIGHT (11/3). More dates, pictures from Voodoo Fest, and some videos too, below...

Continue reading "Preservation Hall Jazz Band played Voodoo w/ Jim James (pics, video), on tour (RIP Walter Payton) "

photos by Alysse Gafkjen

MGMT / My Morning Jacket

"It's more than an average sweat-your-brains-out, suffer-in-the-mud music festival. It's the Voodoo Experience, and it went down at City Park this weekend in New Orleans.

Voodoo Fest, one of the world's largest Halloween parties, housed thousands of attendees who, for three days of musical bliss, watched some of the world's most notorious names -- including Muse, Ozzy Osbourne, MGMT and My Morning Jacket -- and donned costumes ranging from zombies to superheroes, fictional characters to condiments and anything and everything in-between." [The Daily Reveille]

MGMT probably had the most talked about costumes of the weekend. The band dressed up as the cartoon cast of Scooby Doo. More pictures and a bunch of videos from this past weekend's Halloween-themed New Orleans fest (not necessarily in order - a big mix of all three days), and MMJ's setlist (they covered Black Sabbath again), below...

Continue reading "Voodoo Experience 2010 in pics & video - part 1 (MGMT as Scooby Doo, My Morning Jacket, Jonsi, Muse, Metric & more) "

Justice is DJing at Webster Hall on Thursday, October 29th. Tickets go on sale Friday, July 31st at noon. The NYC gig is one day before the French duo DJ the Voodoo Experience Music Festival in New Orleans.

Justice is on Ed Banger Records, which is headed by Busy P (Pedro Winter). Busy P will be in NYC with DJ Mehdi (also on the label) for Electric Zoo Fest, which is taking place September 5th and 6th on Randall's Island. Other artists playing Electric Zoo include Frankie Knuckles, Lindstrom, and Special Disco Version. That event is also one of Andy Butler's DJing appearances -- he also has scheduled a pair of Hercules & Love Affair shows in NYC on August 14th and 15th.

Busy P will also be at HARD Fest's L.A. party on August 8th with Sebastian (another Ed Banger act) and A-Trak. Note: HARD Fest NYC comes to Terminal 5 on October 10th (but with a different lineup).

While A-Trak isn't on a the Ed Banger label or playing HARD in NYC, he IS spinning with Theophilus London and Treasure Fingers this Friday (June 31st) at Webster Hall. Tickets are still on sale.

Busy P is also used to be the manager of Daft Punk, who, as you may have heard, are scoring the new film Tron Legacy. The trailer for that movie is now online. Check it out below, along with the flyer for the A-Track show this Friday and all tour dates...

Continue reading "Justice DJing Webster Hall where A-Trak plays Friday + other Ed Banger tour dates +++ the Tron Legacy trailer"

Voodoo Experience Festival is happening in New Orleans's City Park on October 30th, 31st and November 1st.

The 11th annual VOODOO EXPERIENCE will once again celebrate music, as well as New Orleans' bohemian culture, arts and cuisine. More than 160 bands will perform in three distinct performance areas--Le Ritual, Le Flambeau and Le Carnival--and eight stages each highlight a unique side of the personality of New Orleans. News re: this year's line-up will be revealed in the coming months.

Three-day weekend passes ($103) and VIP tix are on sale for fest. Its organizers have announced that ticket prices will be all inclusive aka no extra fees, despite being sold through Ticketmaster.

The rapidly approaching Bonnaroo (June 11-14) has added a David Byrne curated stage to its lineup...

We are very excited to announce that David Byrne has assembled a number of performers for the first artist-curated stage! On the evening of Friday, June 12 Byrne, who is performing the "Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno," will host his recent collaborators Santigold and the Dirty Projectors, singer/songwriter and founder of Righteous Babe Records Ani DiFranco, former Polyphonic Spree member and Beggar's Banquet recording artist St. Vincent and up-and-coming multi-instrumental all-female Norwegian alt/folk band Katzenjammer.

Also in the curating news -- My Bloody Valentine, who curated part of ATP's first festival in NY in 2008, is putting together the lineup for ATP UK's Nightmare Before Christmas 2009. It was mentioned previously that Sonic Youth will be there.

[Nightmare Before Christmas '09] event will take place at Butlins Holiday Resort in Minehead, England from December 4th - 6th, 2009. So far confirmed to join the legendary sonic sculptors are:

Sonic Youth
De La Soul
EPMD
Sun Ra Arkestra
The Horrors

And of course, My Bloody Valentine themselves.

Tickets for that are on sale now. If you don't have the cash upfront, there's an option to pay through the ATP "installment scheme," which, though it sounds sketchy, is actually a way to buy part of your ticket now and pay the remainder in July. The poster for the fest is above.

That's somewhat similar to the layaway plan announced by All Points West (Jul 31-Aug 2). Tickets are still on sale for APW. You can also get advance round-trip ferry tickets from Battery Park to the fest for $15. They go up "$20 the week of the show, and $25 if purchased at the ferry box office on the day of the show. Individual tickets must be purchased for each day."

My Bloody Valentine is among the artists playing All Points West this year.

Other quick festival news:

Coachella happened. My Bloody Valentine played. A guy got tased.

The lineup for Lollapalooza (August 7-9) was announced.

Mutek's lineup (May 27-31) was updated.

In NYC, the Tribeca Film Festival is happening now, through May 3rd.

The lineup for Pitchfork Fest (July 7-9) was updated. That's posted below...

Continue reading "Voodoo Fest tix, David Byrne's stage @ Bonnaroo, My Bloody Valentine's UK ATP, Pitchfork's lineup & other festival news"

October 24, 25 and 26 in New Orleans' City Park:

Continue reading "10th annual 'Voodoo Experience' announces lineup "