The Drums posted a Ronettes cover to their Facebook in honor of the holiday today, though you need to "Like" them to hear it." "Hey it's Jonny. We wanted to buy you something but we made you something instead. It's Valentines Day so don't be shy with your love. See you soon"

And you can see them soon. The Drums play a free, late show at WIP (Work In Progress) in NYC tonight (2/14) along with DJ Miss Guy and others. You need to RSVP.

You can go after you catch their Frenchkiss labelmate Devin at Pianos, also a free show.

Devin @ Public Assembly in 2010 (more by Leia Jospe)

The Brooklyn-based Devin, who recently opened for Suckers (also on Frenchkiss Records) at Knitting Factory, and, as mentioned, JEFF The Brotherhood at Maxwells, will be playing a free Valentine's Day show Tuesday at Pianos before heading out on tour with the Heartless Bastards. That tour hits Webster Hall on 2/24. Hacienda are also on the bill. Tickets for the Webster Hall show are still on sale.

The Pianos show is part of a 2-floor, free party that also includes downstairs sets by St. Lucia (part of their February residency at the LES venue) and Tiny Victories, and upstairs music by MNDR (DJ set), Make Out & Psychobuildings. Flyer below.

Devin's debut LP, Romancing, is out on April 10th, via Frenckiss who also released his 3-song EP at the end of 2011. The full album tracklist and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Devin announces LP, playing free NYC show w/ DJ MNDR, touring w/ Heartless Bastards (dates)"

The Babies @ Cake Shop - 2/6/2012 (more by Jessica Amaya)

285 Kent, the most difficult venue to keep track of in terms of who is playing, is hosting a show TONIGHT (Thursday, 2/9):

===| THURSDAY 2/9 @ 285 KENT AVE |====
:: Alex Bleeker and the Freaks
:::: the Babies
:::::: Darlings
:::::::: Life Size Maps --- ep release
:::::::::: Heaven's Gate
285 Kent Ave @ South 1st | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L-Bedford, G-Metropolitan, JM-Marcy | 8pm | $7-$10 sliding scale donation | all ages

Continue reading "Vivian Girls playing free Fashion Week event; The Babies are at 285 Kent tonight with Alex Bleeker"

Not to be confused with the BBG-manned day party we're doing at Scoot Inn on 3/16, or our TBA official SXSW showcases, BrooklynVegan will be holding it down on 3 stages for 4 days straight at Hotel Vegas and Vostead Lounge in Austin this year (1500 E. 6th Street). Save the dates (March 14-17, 2012), and stay tuned for lineups and much more.

Screaming Females in the studio (more by Kirstie Shanley)

After spending some time in the studio with the great Steve Albini, Screaming Females have announced the fruits of their labor, Ugly, due on April 3rd. Check out the cover art and track list below. Don Giovanni will do the honors, and you can catch the band reppin' their label at the previously discussed Don Giovanni showcase on Feb 11th at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Tickets are still available.

If you're heading to MHoW, make sure and slide by the merch table to scoop up a limited It All Means Nothing 7" available via the band. The song will act as the band's first single from the LP, and will ALSO be available at their just-announced NYC show at Generation Records the next day (2/12).

The Generation show is FREE, open to all ages, and the start of a week long record store tour that ends at Permanent Records in Chicago on 2/19. Check out all dates along with the record info, and a video of the Screamales on NPR (where they play "It All Means Nothing"), below...

Continue reading "Screaming Females reveal more album info, going on a record store tour (dates)"

Portugal. The Man at SXSW 2011 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Pandora is hosting a show and it's happening in NYC on Tuesday (1/17) at Bowery Ballroom with Portugal. The Man. The show is free and invitations were sent to Pandora listeners with a Portugal. The Man station or who recently thumbed-up a track by the band. However, if you aren't either of those things and still want to go, a limited number of free passes will be given away at the venue at 7 PM on the day of the show.

You can also catch the band three days later. Portugal. The Man will stick around NYC for one more show before they head overseas for an international tour and play Brooklyn Bowl on January 20 (update: with Sam Champion). Tickets for "Freaks Ball XII" go on sale today (1/13) at noon.

All dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Portugal. The Man playing free Bowery show, ticketed Bowl show (dates)"

Sleigh Bells at MHOW in May (more by Amanda Hatfield)

RCRDLBL and Bing are presenting a show at the Eyebeam Art + Technology Center on December 15 with Smoke and Mirrors and special guest Diplo. The 21+ show is free but RSVP is required. The flier for this show is below.

Diplo also just announced a Florida tour with Sleigh Bells and Liturgy. The tour, which has been dubbed the 'Paradise Lost' tour, will be in support of the new Sleigh Bells album, Reign of Terror, which is due out on February 14 via Mom + Pop. No music from the album has been released yet (except for the riff-heavy album trailer) and a lot of the track titles share names with other popular songs and/or bands ("Born to Lose," "Leader of the Pack," "Comeback Kid," "Never Say Die," "D.O.A." etc). The album trailer and tracklist are below.

Speaking of Liturgy, they recently recorded their first ever Daytrotter Session, playing songs off of their Aesthetica album, which came out earlier this year. You can listen and download the entire session for free HERE.

All dates, video, fliers, and other stuff below...

Continue reading "Diplo playing free NYC show, going on tour w/ Liturgy & Sleigh Bells (who announced a new album)"

James Murphy at Terminal 5 in March (more by Andrew St. Clair)

HARD Events and Mouth Taped Shut are presenting five free shows in five cities this month (Chicago, NYC, London, San Francisco, LA). NYC gets theirs this Saturday (12/10) with Bloody Beetroots (DJ), James Murphy (DJ), Proxy, and Eye. The show is free but RSVP is required.

James Murphy will DJ again a few days later at Brooklyn Bazaar on December 15 with Poolside, The Crystal Ark Party Machine, Midnight Magic, and DJ Justine D. Tickets are still available for that and for the show happening in the same venue the next night.

All HARD dates and a flier below...

Continue reading "free HARD shows in 5 cities, James Murphy in NYC this Saturday with Bloody Beetroots and more"

Ximena Sarinana at the Parish on 11/21 (more by Tim Griffin)

Dawes and Hacienda played the free Rolling Stone show today (12/6) in Openhouse Gallery's pop-up park (201 Mulberry Street ). Dawes went on at 1 PM. Check out a video of them warming up below.

RS will continue their fest during the day on Monday (12/12) with performances by Freelance Whales (1 pm), Ximena Sarinana (2:30 pm), Deer Tick (4 pm), and MNDR (5:30 pm). RSVP is free but not does not guarantee admission. Details below.

Monday's show falls in the middle of Ximena Sarinana's tour which hit The Parish in Austin last month, and hits Rockwood Music Hall the next night (12/13) for an early and a late show, both with Graffiti6. Tickets for the early show and the late show are available. All dates below.

Tickets are also still on sale for Deer Tick's New Year's Eve show at Brooklyn Bowl with Virgin Forest, who plays Glasslands on Wednesday (12/7) with Deer Tick's Ian O'Neil and Cat Martino. Tickets are still on sale for that show too.

All dates, video, and RSVP details below...

Continue reading "Ximena Sarinana on tour, playing free Rolling Stone show w/ Deer Tick, MNDR & Freelance Whales"

Mick Collins of The Dirtbombs on stage with The Gories at FFF5 (more by BBG)


The Dirtbombs have a couple months to prepare to be sea-worthy, but until then have a pair of Sailor Jerry-presented FREE-with-RSVP gigs scheduled with White Mystery. The 21+ shows go down on 12/16 at the Subterranean in Chicago and 12/17 at Gramercy Theater in NYC. RSVP now. Flyer below.

The Dirtbombs were last in NYC in June with Dennis Coffey, and recently released a covers album of Detroit Techno.

Continue reading "The Dirtbombs schedule free NYC show at Gramercy (RSVP)"

Dawes @ La Zona Rosa in August (more by Tim Griffin)

Dawes, who is playing the WFUV Holiday Show at Beacon Theater tonight (12/5), and who hit Zuccotti Park the other day, and who are playing sold out shows at Maxwell's on Tuesday and Wednesday, are one of the bands taking part in this free show Rolling Stone is doing during business hours on Tuesday (RSVP necessary, but does not guarantee admission). Details on the flyer below...

Continue reading "Dawes & Hacienda playing free RS event TuesDAY"

Most 400 of the tickets to the 12/5 Webster Hall show are being given away via Southern Comfort's Facebook page. We're also giving away a pair.

PREVIOUSLY: The Black Keys announce tour w/ Arctic Monkeys, headlining MSG (2012 dates)

On Monday, November 28, 2011 the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District and presenting sponsor Time Warner will host the Twelfth Annual Winter's Eve at Lincoln Square - New York City's largest holiday festival! Winter's Eve kicks off with a neighborhood tree lighting ceremony and features free entertainment, food tastings, in-store activities and shopping around and about this colorful and vibrant neighborhood.
Stores, restaurants, cultural organizations and public spaces in the district will be buzzing with activities for both children and adults. At the same time, sidewalks along Broadway from Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle to 68th Street will be alive with performers, street musicians, jugglers, stilt-walkers and more, making for a festive fun-filled stroll through the streets of this dynamic Upper West Side neighborhood.

WHEN: Monday, November 28, 2011, 5:30 PM, Rain, Snow or Shine!

WHERE: The celebration begins with a neighborhood tree lighting ceremony at Dante Park at Broadway& 63rd Street and continues along Broadway from Time Warner Center to 68th Street.

Strange Boys

Austin's Strange Boys released their latest LP Live Music last week via Rough Trade, and will practice what they preach at a set of NYC dates in middle November: 11/18 at Mercury Lounge with William Tyler, 11/19 at Glasslands with Xray Eyeballs, Habibi & a DJ Jonathan Toubin, and 11/20 at Generation Records. Tickets for Mercury and for Glasslands are on sale. The Generation show is a FREE in-store show. Details on the in-store are at the Facebook invite page.

The Strange Boys appearance is one of two upcoming in-stores happening at Generation. The other goes down Thursday, 11/3, at 6pm with Frank Turner who is playing a sold out show at Bowery Ballroom that night with Andrew Jackson Jihad and Into It. Over It.. The acoustic Frank Turner in-store is free, but you will need to get tickets which are available at the store NOW.

All Frank Turner dates and some videos, below...

Continue reading "Strange Boys playing 2 NYC shows & an in-store @ Generation (where Frank Turner plays Thursday)"

As the first of three BrooklynVegan not-CMJ DAY PARTIES is already underway, I'm happy to announce that Idle Warship will be playing the free BrooklynVegan day party at Public Assembly on Saturday, 10/22, at 5pm! Full lineup TBA shortly

If you missed Idle Warship's free Restoration Rocks show (due to them not playing it), here's another chance! As their bio reads:

A collaboration between hip-hop luminary Talib Kweli and critically acclaimed soulful singer and songwriter Res, Idle Warship is a genre-bending musical project born out of sheer experimentation and unbridled creative expression. Idle Warship's free-thinking approach has always crossed over from the studio to the other end of the process - the delivery of the music. After releasing free music across the web for the past four years, Idle Warship unveiled "System Addict," a track off Habits of the Heart, on the now wildly-popular social music site Turntable.fm just weeks after its launch. Talib Kweli even received Turntable.fm's very first verified account.

Talib Kweli plays his own Blacksmith CMJ showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg (right next door) later Saturday night.

--

Full BV Saturday lineup coming any second! Full BV Friday day party lineup HERE. Thursday lineup, happening as I write this, HERE.

We Were Promised Jetpacks @ Southpaw in 2009 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

12:30 Yellow Ostrich (Barsuk)
1:15 Still Corners (Sub Pop)
2:00 Hundred Visions (unsigned)
2:45 Forest Fire (FatCat)
3:15 BOBBY (Partisan)
4:00 Main Attrakionz (Mishka)
5:00 We Were Promised Jetpacks (FatCat)

Maybe you caught WWPJ play an acoustic set alongside Forest Fire last night at Mercury Lounge? How was it? They kick off a tour with Bear Hands that includes a HEADLINING show at Webster Hall (!) in less than a week (Webster tickets are still on sale).

Listen to most of the bands playing this party via our Spotify Playlist. Get there early for Yellow Ostrich who reportedly killed it at Brooklyn Bowl last night.

Listen to a song by Hundred Visions below...

Continue reading "We Were Promised Jetpacks playing FREE BV SHOW TODAY (Main Attrakionz, BOBBY, Still Corners & more too!)"

STAGE 1 (front room)
12:00 Races (new Frenchkiss signing)
12:45 Bleached (ex Mika Miko)
01:30 Widowspeak
02:15 Young Magic
03:15 A Place To Bury Strangers
04:15 Chelsea Wolfe
05:00 J Mascis (solo)

STAGE 2 (back room)
12:30 Cold Specks (1st-ever US show)
01:15 Lord Huron
02:00 Emmy the Great
02:45 Silver Swans
03:30 Xeno & Oaklander
04:15 Hospitality
05:15 Gauntlet Hair

In addition to free music, here are some more reason to stop by Friday. We will have FREE SNACKS courtesy of popchips and Raw Revolution and FREE DRINKS courtesy of Sailor Jerry and our official CMJ wine partner HobNob Wines. Check out HobNob's Facebook page for free music downloads and go to Sailor Jerry's website to read more about all of their CMJ events.

We'll also have FREE BrooklynVegan t-shirts for the first 25 people in the door (not many of these exist - we sold them for charity at CMJ last year).

As mentioned in our Thursday Day Party announcement, we've also partnered with Spotify who are offering 48 hour free Premium trials (playlist for this party coming soon) and Sony Bloggie (stay tuned for our post-CMJ video series) for all BV CMJ/not-CMJ events including this one.

Thanks to Zach Jaeger (Tonally Dude) for the flyer you see above.

See you Friday! And meanwhile to see A Place to Bury Strangers at Union Pool tonight, and see you Thursday afternoon at Knitting Factory too.

Yellow Ostrich @ Barsuk show in August (more by David Andrako)

Yellow Ostrich head out on tour with Ra Ra Riot and Delicate Steve later this month, but first CMJ! You can catch them tonight (10/19) at Brooklyn Bowl, a free-with-RSVP show with Ted Leo and... Royce Da 5'9.

Thursday (10/20) they'll play a 12:30pm set at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn as part of the free BrooklynVegan party. They weren't on the lineup we announced yesterday. That's because they're stepping in to replace The Phantom Family Halo who sadly had to cancel due to a family emergency. They also play three more CMJ shows after that. All their dates are listed, along with a video, below...

Continue reading "Yellow Ostrich playing CMJ shows, tonight w/ Ted Leo, Thursday @ BV party (instead of Phantom Family Halo)"

J Mascis @ BV-SXSW (more by Chris Gersbeck)

As twitter revealed over the weekend, I'm really excited to announce that J Mascis will play a set at the free BrooklynVegan day party at Public Assembly on Friday at 5pm! His only other CMJ show is the sold out Sub Pop one the night before at Mercury Lounge. Full BV show lineup TBA shortly!

Still Corners also plays the Sub Pop showcase Thursday night, and they play the BrooklynVegan day party at Knitting Factory earlier that day. They also play a show today.

Dinosaur Jr., like they did here on the East Coast, will be touring "Bug" with Henry Rollins spoken word on the West Coast in December. Those dates are below...

Continue reading "J Mascis playing free BV party @ Public Assembly Friday"

by Bill Pearis

Here we go again, folks! I'm still not used to this CMJ starting on a Tuesday thing, even though it's been this way for a few years now. Personally, I'm going to ease into things today and tonight and save my energy. Luckily, there aren't a lot of day parties on Tuesday because five days and nights is just too much for locals, and visitors are just rolling into town and getting settled. But there are some... and it's eerily like last year.

Day parties are free unless noted otherwise, ok?

The Music Slut throws their annual day party at Pianos, with two floors of fun, including the hotly-tipped bands Chad Valley. Also: We Barbarians, The Beets, The Forms, Prussia, Jonquil and more. The action starts reasonably at 2PM.

A few doors down at The Living Room, Paper Garden Records is showing off its roster: Big Tree, Tall Ships, Pree and more.

Snowmine, Secret Mountains, Archie Powell & the Exports,  and more play Spike Hill.

Popstrangers

And Le Poisson Rouge is again throwing a CMJ kickoff party, somewhat in-between a day party and night showcase, with a bunch of New Zealand bands, including new Flying Nun signees Popstrangers (who have definitely studied their label's classic roster), returning band Street Chant (one of last year's highlights I thought), the shoegazy sounds of The Golden Awesome, Cairo Knife Fight and more. It's free with CMJ badges or if you RSVP to international@nzmusic.org.nz (no +1s).

Flyers for some of the above shows are after the jump.

Continue reading "CMJ 2011 - Bill's Tuesday daytime picks (New Zealand bands, Chad Valley & more)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: The Duke Spirit - Don't Wait (Live) (MP3)

The Duke Spirit's new album, Bruiser, won't be out in the U.S. till January but NYCers have two chances to see them tomorrow (10/18) as part of the CMJ Fest: 8:30 PM at Bowery Hotel and then at 11PM at Brooklyn Bowl. Both shows are free whether you have a CMJ badge or not and RSVP details are below. The band are also playing Wednesday afternoon (10/19, 2:30PM) at the Puma Store in Union Square, which is also free.

For those who don't mind not owning a physical product, Bruiser will be out digitally on November 21. The album, which was mixed by Alan Moulder (U2, My Bloody Valentine, TPOBPAH), and is another solid collection of big riffs, anthemic choruses and the powerhouse vocals of pistol Liela Moss. To hold you over, at the top of this post there's a live MP3 of new single "Don't Wait" recorded for Later With Jules Holland. Additionally, The Duke Spirit are also have a track on the soundtrack of the new Dark Night: Arkahm City videogame, which also includes songs by Noel Gallagher, MGMT, Florence and the Machine, and Adele.

The show at Bowery Hotel is the KCRW-hosted It's A School Night party that also features US Royalty, Marcus Hall and Hands. It's free (21+) with RSVP.

The LIVE4EVER-presented Brooklyn Bowl show also features Damndogs, Pint Shot Riot and more. Free with CMJ badge or RSVP. This one's 21+ too.

You can watch the video for "Everybody's Under Your Spell" and video of The Duke Spirit's recent appearance on Later with Jules Holland after the jump.

Continue reading "The Duke Spirit playing 3 free CMJ shows ahead of new album release (dates, video & a live MP3)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Alamo Race Track - Apples (MP3)

Amsterdam's Alamo Race Track are visiting for CMJ this week...but before that madness starts they're playing a free show tonight at Mercury Lounge. It's early, doors at 6:30 and the band on shortly after that (WATERS play the late show at the same venue). As for actual CMJ showcases, Alamo Race Track play two shows at The Delancey: Wednesday (October 19) at 8PM and then Thursday afternoon at 2PM as part of The Dutch Impact party.

Formed about ten years ago, Alamo Race Track just released their third long-player, Unicorn Loves Deer, which  is thick with horns, strings and five-part harmonies (which they replicate live). It's not that dissimilar to the folk pop of Loney Dear. You can download "Apples" at the top of this post and stream the entire album at the bottom of this post.

The Dutch Impact Party on Thursday afternoon has two more bands from The Netherlands: the rocking, calamitous De Staat (3PM) and even harder-rocking duo Death Letters (4PM). Like most day parties, it's free.

Both Death Letters and De Staat play Local 269 on Wednesday (10/19, 8PM/9PM) and De Staat also play Friday afternoon at Pianos (10/21, 2PM FREE).

Click through for Alamo Race Track album stream, plus videos from all three Dutch bands.

Continue reading "Alamo Race Track & other Dutch bands here for CMJ"

Though most of the lineup has yet to be revealed - except for King Krule, Metronomy (who also play MHOW), Purity Ring, Fat Trel (pictured above) and Bleached (more on them in a sec), this year's CMJ Fader Fort RSVP is up and running for their 10/21 and 10/22 shows at 443 w 18th St in Manhattan. More details, including the lineup, TBA soon.

Those dates are the same as the two free BrooklynVegan parties happening at Public Assembly in Brooklyn (no RSVP required), though Fader Fort runs 2-9pm, and the BV parties are from noon-6pm.

Vice's Noisey party with Twin Shadow happens at Santos Party House on the night of 10/19, and as previously mentioned, Twin Shadow are also playing another show which is now announced and is also free and also requires RSVP. The newly-announced show also happens at night, but on Saturday, 10/22, at Le Bain. It's the "Making Time" party and Seekae is also on the bill.

Making Time is FIXED's Philly sister, and FIXED have a CMJ party of their own as well. Their showcase will take place at Public Assembly on 10/19 with Teengirl Fantasy, Still Corners, Lemonade, Chad Valley, Radio People, Warm Ghost, CFCF (DJ Set), and Resident DJs JDH & Dave P (who also DJs Making Time). Tycho was originally scheduled to play this showcase but has since cancelled all of his CMJ shows in favor of a single pre-CMJ show happening at MHOW this Sunday. Tickets for the FIXED show are on sale.

a shot of Public Assembly last year (more by Chris La Putt)

We're returning to Public Assembly on North 6th Street in Williamsburg this year for another two free during-CMJ day parties on Friday (10/21) and Saturday (10/22). Like last year (Friday & Saturday), these shows will run from noon-6pm on two stages.

As revealed in a post earlier today, one of the many bands playing over the course of the two days is Young Magic. Stay tuned for more details and save the dates!

We also have our official showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg Friday night (10/21) (right next door to Public Assembly where we'll be all day), and a metal party on a boat on Saturday (10/22). More TBA too! Stay tuned!

To quote Todd P:

Wednesday October 19th @ 285 KENT AVE
:: DOMINO RECORDS / STEREOGUM / SOFTWARE party
| 285 KENT AVE |
285 Kent Ave @ South 1st | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L-Bedford, G-Metropolitan, JM-Marcy | 8pm | $10 | all ages

It would seem like one of the bands they're not listing yet is Real Estate, who are signed to Domino, though Real Estate do need to be in Germany to start a tour just one day later, and they are playing a a free NYC show right before CMJ (their "only NYC performance" until November according to the invite)...

Real Estate will perform LIVE at the historic Astoria Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden.

Celebrate the release of Days with Real Estate, friends and the finest selection of beer in NYC.
Real Estate's ONLY NYC performance until their headlining show at Bowery Ballroom in November!
Hope to see you there!

REAL ESTATE 'DAYS' RELEASE PARTY
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2011

4 PM @ BOHEMIAN HALL & BEER GARDEN

29-19 24TH AVENUE
ASTORIA, NY

UPDATE: The Domino CMJ showcase will announce exactly two more acts, and it has a flyer which you can look at below...

Continue reading "Domino CMJ showcase happening at 285 Kent, Real Estate playing a free show Saturday & other dates"