Produced By Don Was And Featuring Guests Bonnie Raitt And Jim Keltner, ‘Echo’ Is Set For August 11th Release; Lead Single “John Q. Lonely” Was # 1 Most Added At Triple A Radio For Two Consecutive Weeks

U.S. Headlining Tour Underway

Heralding Maia Sharp as “A Songwriter Set To Arrive,” NPR’s All Things Considered recently aired two separate segments with Sharp.

Sales of her latest album, ‘Echo’, exploded thereafter on Amazon.com. By that Friday, the album ranked #11 on Amazon’s Bestsellers in Music – Adult Contemporary chart.

Buy Music:

Maia Sharp on amazon.com

Momentum has been building ever since lead single “John Q. Lonely,” went to radio in June. The track was #1 Most Added for two consecutive weeks at Triple A radio and can be heard on such influential stations as Sirius/XM Loft, KPRI in San Diego and WYEP in Pittsburgh.

Produced by Don Was, ‘Echo’ will be released physically by Crooked Crown Records on August 11, 2009 but is available now at www.maiasharp.com, iTunes and everywhere music is sold online.

Watch video: “John Q. Lonely”:

The album features Bonnie Raitt singing background on the track “Death By Perfection.” Sharp wrote three songs for Raitt’s 2005 album, ‘Souls Alike’, and Raitt introduced Maia to producer Don Was at a subsequent recording session, thus setting the wheels in motion for ‘Echo’. Jim Keltner plays drums on all 12 songs.

Early reviews of ‘Echo’, Sharp’s fourth full-length solo album, have been stellar. The Boston Herald called it “a nifty power-pop record that could be her breakthrough…studded with hard-to-resist hooks, ‘Echo’ trades the folk and jazz elements that colored Sharp’s earlier records for a rocked-up take on the classic California singer-songwriter sound” while the Portland Press Herald said: “The album is home to 12 striking songs, and Sharp has never sounded better.”

Sharp began her career at a young age, performing her original songs in Los Angeles clubs. She has forged a dual career as a recording artist with three critically acclaimed full length albums – Hardly Glamour (1997, Ark 21), Maia Sharp (2002, Concord) and Fine Upstanding Citizen (2005, KOCH) – and as a sought-after songwriter whose songs have been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, the Dixie Chicks, Keb’ Mo’, Terri Clark, Trisha Yearwood and many others. In 2005 she collaborated with Art Garfunkel and Buddy Mondlock on the exquisite Everything Waits to Be Noticed (EMI/Manhattan).

Maia Sharp 2009 tour dates:

(Dates and information subject to change.)

7/18 Easton, MD NightCat
7/21 Charlotte, NC Evening Muse
7/22 Charleston, SC The Pour House
7/23 Decatur, GA Eddie’s Attic
7/25 Birmingham, AL O Kafes
7/26 Nashville, TN 3rd & Lindsley (WRLT will broadcast live)
7/30 Los Angeles, CA Pershing Square Concert Series (KSWD)
8/7 Balsam, NC Writer In The Round
8/8 Balsam, NC Writer In The Round
8/9 Charleston, WV Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences
8/11 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
8/12 Cleveland Heights, OH Night Town
8/13 Columbus, OH Thirsty Ear Tavern
8/14 Louisville, KY WFPK Live Lunch
8/16 Evanston, IL S.P.A.C.E.
8/17 Saugatuck, MI Saugatuck Center for the Arts
8/19 Des Moines, IA Vaudeville Mews
8/20 Kansas City, MO The Record Bar
8/22 Middleton, WI Capital Brewery
8/29 Los Angeles, CA Hotel Café
9/4 Santa Rosa, CA KRSH Afterwork Concert Series
9/9 Portland, OR Mississippi Studios
9/19 San Diego, CA KPRI Greenflash Festival w/Mat Kearney, Brett Dennon & “mystery guest”
11/4 Santa Ynez, CA Maverick Saloon w/Steve Poltz Tales from the Tavern Concert Series

(Additional dates to be announced.)

For the latest tour dates, music and information, go to:

MySpace
Maia Sharp Official Website
Maia Sharp on Twitter

NPR MUSIC AND STATIONS TO EXCLUSIVELY WEBCAST AND BROADCAST PERFORMANCES FROM GEORGE WEIN’S FOLK FESTIVAL 50 AND CAREFUSION JAZZ FESTIVAL 55 IN NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND AUGUST 1 and 2 AND 8 and 9, 2009

TWO 12-SONG “NPR MUSIC AT NEWPORT” SAMPLERS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD

NPR Music, together with five partner radio stations, is exclusively live webcasting and broadcasting dozens of performances from George Wein’s Folk Festival 50 and CareFusion Jazz Festival 55 next month in Newport, RI, offering four days of music by some of the country’s most acclaimed artists.

NPR Music and WFUV New York, FolkAlley.com (WKSU) Kent, Ohio, and mvyradio on Martha’s Vineyard and in Newport are covering all acts from the Folk Festival on August 1 and 2 – which celebrates its 50th anniversary with performances by trailblazers Pete Seeger and Joan Baez, and current favorites The Decemberists and Neko Case.

At the Jazz Festival on August 8 and 9, NPR Music with WBGO Newark and WGBH Boston are broadcasting and webcasting four complete line-ups from three stages, headlined by Tony Bennett, Mos Def, Miguel Zenon Quartet and The Bad Plus with Wendy Lewis.

For the second straight year, festival concerts will be accessible through free, live audio webcasts at NPR Music, and live station broadcasts.

NPR Music’s folk and jazz festival coverage will be available at npr.org/folkfestival50 and npr.org/jazzfestival55, where there will be artist interviews and festival news from the All Songs Considered blog and A Blog Supreme. In addition, NPR Music will archive all content and provide podcasts of the performances.

Music from this year’s festivals can be previewed by downloading two free 12-song “NPR Music at Newport” Samplers (one folk, one jazz), featuring many of the acts NPR Music will webcast and broadcast from both festivals.

Songs on the folk sampler include the Avett Brother’s single off their forthcoming record I and Love and You, Pete Seeger’s “Shenandoah” and “Mykonos” from the Fleet Foxes. The jazz sampler offers “Summer Song” by David Brubeck, “Precious” from Esperanza Spalding and Miguel Zenon’s “Penta.” Both samplers are currently redeemable at iTunes.

NPR Music, together with WFUV, Folk Alley and mvyradio, will webcast and broadcast two days of performances from the Folk Festival on August 1 and 2 from noon to 6:00PM (ET). The following week, performances from the festival will be available to stream at NPR Music and the station Web sites, and download through NPR Music’s “Live in Concert” podcast.

The festival will celebrate 50 years of music history in Newport, with Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie and Judy Collins performing alongside The Decemberists, Neko Case, Iron & Wine, The Avett Brothers, Gillian Welch, Fleet Foxes, Mavis Staples, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot and many others.

The next weekend, August 8 and 9 from noon to 6:00PM (ET), NPR Music teams with WBGO and WBGH to live webcast and broadcast four stages from the Jazz Festival.

Saturday’s bill includes performances by Mos Def, Esperanza Spalding, the Joshua Redman Double Trio and Miguel Zenon Quartet.

On Sunday, hear from the likes of Tony Bennett, The Bad Plus with Wendy Lewis, Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band and the Dave Brubeck Quartet.

Hosting NPR Music’s coverage of the Folk Festival are Bob Boilen, host and creator of the popular show All Songs Considered and its “Live in Concert” series, and WFUV host and music director Rita Houston. Josh Jackson, WBGO special projects producer and host of The Checkout, will anchor all Jazz Festival coverage. Updated artist lists and performance schedules are at NPR Music, where there is also an archive of last year’s performances from Newport.

Buy Music, Gifts, more:

NPR on amazon.com

For music and more information, go to:

Folk at Newport

Jazz at Newport

NPR Music Official Website

NPR Music is streaming a new album of live recordings from the complex and unpredictable singer Bjork, one week ahead of its official release.

Her new album, ‘Voltaic’, is available for free, on-demand listening now through June 30, 2009 at npr.org/music, as part of the site’s “Exclusive First Listen” series.

Buy Music:

Bjork on amazon.com

Bjork on amazon.co.uk

Bjork, the 13-time Grammy nominee from Iceland, released her sixth album, ‘Volta’, in 2007. Before embarking on what would become a two-year-long tour to promote the record, Bjork and her band held a recording session at Olympic Studios in London.

‘Voltaic’ collects those live-to-tape recordings, which includes selections from Volta and several previous albums: Medulla, Homogenic, Post and Vespertine. The entire album can be streamed now at NPR Music, where there is also a video of Bjork performing “Declare Independence.”

Complete track listings and album information are available at NPR Music, as well as an extensive Bjork archive of music, reviews and a live concert.

NPR Music introduced its “Exclusive First Listen” series last year with Bob Dylan’s 2-CD set Tell Tale Signs. The series is now one of the site’s most popular features, and has offered pre-release streams of albums from artists such as Regina Spektor, Moby, Leonard Cohen and the Dirty Projectors.

The “Exclusive First Listen” series is one feature of NPR Music, a free, multimedia music discovery Web site at npr.org/music. The site offers content from NPR and 12 NPR Member public radio stations, including live performances, studio sessions, first listens to new albums, interviews, reviews and blogs. The site’s continuously expanding sections are dedicated to rock/pop/folk, classical, jazz/blues, world and urban music.

NPR Music culls from NPR’s and the stations’ extensive music archives to present thousands of features; more than 250 new features are added to the site every month.

Bjork – Exclusive First Listen

NPR Music Official Website

Bjork Official Website

St. Vincent’s new album ‘Actor’ (4AD), released last week snagged the #90 spot on the Billboard Top 200 and #9 on the Billboard indie chart.

The album has been receiving rave reviews from critics with NPR describing it as “a surreal sonic wonderland” and last week’s New York Times claiming St. Vincent’s music “defies categories”.

Watch “Actor Out Of Work” video:

On May 19, 2009, St. Vincent will kick off a tour in support of ‘Actor’ with performances at Sasquatch!, Bonnaroo and All Points West and on June 24th she will make her network television debut on the Late Show with David Letterman.

St. Vincent will also tape a performance for Austin City Limits to air this fall on PBS.

Read on to see what people are saying about the album.

“A uniquely potent cocktail of sounds and moods that’ll get you hooked, fast.” – Grade A, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

“Gorgeous, arresting and always sneaky.” – ROLLING STONE

“Stylishly spooky.” – USA TODAY

“‘Actor’ is elaborate and wide awake. There are brief echoes of Robert Fripp’s guitar mandalas and XTC’s sense of ornate and generous melody.” – THE NEW YORKER

“Lush, dynamic and inviting.” – 8.5, “Best New Music” on PITCHFORK

“An indie dream… Clark’s ability to tantalize with what remains just out of view keeps us looking.” – SPIN

Buy Music:

St. Vincent on amazon.com

Photo Credit: Annabel Mehran

For tour dates, music and more, go to:

MySpace
St. Vincent on Twitter
St. Vincent Official Website

NPR Music’s “Live in Concert from All Songs Considered” series will webcast upcoming live concerts with three acclaimed indie music acts: Animal Collective on Monday, May 11; Dan Deacon on Sunday, May 17; and St. Vincent on Friday, May 22, 2009.

The complete shows will be available for live, free streaming, beginning at 10:00PM (ET) at NPR Music – www.NPR.org/music. They will later be archived at the site and also made available for download as podcasts.

The sold-out Animal Collective engagement on Monday, May 11th, at the 9:30 Club will feature the enigmatic rock group’s avant-garde and shape-shifting songs. NPR Music calls their latest album ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’ “an early frontrunner for 2009’s best record” and “the year’s most wildly imaginative release with a strangely infectious stew of tribal rhythms, pulsing synths and shimmering vocals.” In January, as part of NPR Music’s “Exclusive First Listen” series, audiences were able to preview the entire album ahead of its release; in comments, listeners called the record “an extraordinary and joyous noise” and an “audio delicacy.”

Dan Deacon and his ensemble will showcase their wildly addictive electro freak-pop on Sunday, May 17 at the 9:30 Club. Having built his reputation on live shows, Deacon’s performances often include what NPR Music refers to as “a comically unpredictable mess of frenetic dancing, audience participation and theatrics.” Deacon has captured this energy on his newest release, Bromst, which was also part of NPR Music’s “Exclusive First Listen” series.

The St. Vincent gig on Friday, May 22, at the Black Cat will treat the audience to the beguiling voice of frontwoman Annie Clark. It’s at the center of the off-kilter rhythms and unconventional mix of instruments and electronics that mark her sound. Clark is currently touring in support of her sophomore album ‘Actor’. NPR Music described it as a “sonic leap” and “breathtaking follow-up” to her debut when it was featured in the “Exclusive First Listen” series at NPR Music. St. Vincent also performed a video session of songs from the album for NPR Music before a string of performances at this year’s South by Southwest.

Visit the NPR Music artist pages for Animal Collective, Dan Deacon and St. Vincent for additional concerts, studio sessions and interviews. NPR Music frequently live webcasts concerts from venues across the country as part of its expanding “Live in Concert” series.

Recent concerts include Neko Case, Mates of State, Leonard Cohen and Andrew Bird. During South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, NPR Music also live webcast and broadcast performances by nine artists and bands. All SXSW coverage is archived at: www.NPR.org/sxsw.

For more information and webcasts, go to:

NPR Music Official Website

Citing Bobbie Gentry, Gram Parsons, and Emmylou Harris as influences, The Tall Pines would make the legends of the past proud with their authentic mix of twang and soul that harkens back to the hey-day of the Nashville and Memphis music scenes while remaining uniquely current in their sound.

Their self-titled debut was named one of the Top Ten Best Records of 2007 by National Public Radio (NPR), and continues to receive praise, as singer Connie Lynn Petruk and songwriter/guitarist Christmas Davis gear up for their sophomore release, ‘Campfire Songs’ out on June 23, 2009.

After recording and performing live with such musical juggernauts as David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Perry Farrell, Moby, and Ronnie Spector, The Tall Pines brings Petruk’s silky alto to the forefront.

Described by NPR as sounding like “the lost sister of Dusty Springfield” with a voice that has the ability “to melt the frost off your windshield,” Petruk’s singing perfectly compliments Davis’ clever songwriting and the band’s skillful backing.

‘Campfire Songs’ moves seamlessly between raucous, foot stomping jams on songs like “Good Woman” and “Seniorita” to such crooning country ballads as the aptly titled, “No One Sings Like You.” Those longing for the nostalgia of country music’s past eras along with those who have an appreciation for such modern day acts as Jenny Lewis or She & Him can easily find something to love in The Tall Pines timeless sound.

Like the diverse cast of characters that make their way into The Tall Pines music, the story of Petruk and Davis’ formation of the group could easily fit into one of their tall tales. Born in Edmonton Alberta, Petruk began singing at the Calgary Stampede Rodeo when she was only a child and later moved to New York City to seek her fortune.

It was in the clubs and coffeehouses of Brooklyn and Manhattan’s Lower East Side that she met southern gentleman, Christmas Davis. Raised by a lively southern family and a mother who loved Jesus as much as she loved the tambourine, Davis’ songwriting inspiration often draws upon his colorful upbringing. According to Petruk, “We tell stories with our songs that we hope are universal. We aspire to connect with people everywhere and from all generations who like good music.”

The album also features stand out performances by Jeremy Chatzky (Bruce Springsteen’s Seeger Sessions Band), Joe McGinty (Ryan Adams, Devendra Banhart), and Jon Graboff (Ryan Adams, Willie Nelson). This past Fall, The Tall Pines supported Country Music Legend Charlie Louvin at New York City’s prestigious CMJ Music Festival.

Buy Music:

The Tall Pines on amazon.com

The Tall Pines MySpace

The Decemberists have launched their ambitious new album ‘The Hazards of Love’ (Capitol Records) today March 17, 2009 with a weeklong exclusive sale of the digital album through the iTunes Store.

The Decemberists on amazon.com

The Decemberists on amazon.co.uk

The album, which NPR called an “epic adventure,” is also being released today as deluxe 180-gram gatefold vinyl through select indie retailers, and will be made available widely through all retail outlets in all formats on March 24th.

The band is heading to Austin, Texas, this week where they will give the highly-anticipated debut live performance of ‘The Hazards of Love’ when they headline NPR Music’s South by Southwest showcase at Stubb’s BBQ on Wednesday, March 18th.

The concert will be streamed live, podcast and archived at NPR – SXSW, and will be available for broadcast on NPR Member stations across the country, including KUT Austin, WFUV New York, WXPN Philadelphia, KEXP Seattle and The Current from Minnesota Public Radio.

Capitol Records and imeem recently hosted a contest for fans to try their hand at designing the official poster for the SXSW showcase, and the band has selected Kathryn Rathke’s entry as the winner, deeming its surreal depiction of Lyndon Johnson being plucked from the earth by a giant hawk “rad.”

View the winning design, runners up on imeem.

Music critics are already weighing in on what is sure to be one of the most intensely debated releases of the year.

Check out what they’ve been saying so far about ‘The Hazards of Love’:

“An epic adventure.” – NPR

“Musically, Hazards of Love is the Decemberists’ full-on classic-rock move, with pretty Zep-style fingerpicking punctuated by crushing stoner-metal lurches.” – ROLLING STONE

“Meloy can write the hell out of a melody… some of the snarliest, bluesiest, rockingest moments in the Decemberists’ catalog… yields spectacular sparks.” – SPIN

“You have to hand it to Colin Meloy and his mob of merry rabble-rousers. Not many bands would event attempt an album this ambitious, and none could pull it off as convincingly as The Decemberists.” – FILTER

The Decemberists will kick-off the first leg of their Spring 2009 tour on May 19th at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. The 16-date run also includes a June 10th performance at Radio City Music Hall in New York, as well as a set at the 2009 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee. On tour, the band will play two sets a night, the first a full performance of The Hazards of Love, and the second consisting of their older material. Joining the band on stage will be special guests Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden. More upcoming tour dates will be announced shortly.

The Decemberists’ confirmed Spring 2009 tour dates are as follows:

(Dates and information subject to change.)

May 19 Hollywood Palladium Los Angeles, CA
May 20 Fox Theatre Oakland, CA
May 21 McDonald Theater Eugene, OR
May 23 Sasquatch Festival Quincy, WA
May 24 Wilma Theatre Missoula, MT
May 26 Fillmore Auditorium Denver, CO
May 27 Uptown Theater Kansas City, MO
May 29 Riverside Theater Milwaukee, WI
May 31 The Pageant St. Louis, MO
June 1 Lifestyle Communities Pavilion Columbus, OH
June 3 Tabernacle Atlanta, GA
June 4 Memorial Auditorium Raleigh, NC
June 5 The National Richmond, VA
June 6 Tower Theatre Upper Darby, PA
June 8 Merriweather Post Pavilion Baltimore, MD
June 9 Bank of America Pavilion Boston, MA
June 10 Radio City Music Hall New York, NY
June 11-14 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival Manchester, TN
July 18-19 Edgefield Winery Portland, OR (w/ Andrew Bird & Blind Pilot)

The Decemberists Official Website
The Decemberists MySpace

Steeped in the fingerpick-guitar rudiments of folk music, inspired by the expressionism of classic jazz vocalists, and finding common ground in the minimalism and ear-taunting of the avant garde, with ‘Beasts of Seasons’ (February 24, 2009, HUSH Records) Laura Gibson offers up an intimate affirmation of mortality; both vulnerable and courageous, ordinary and extraordinary.

Watch Laura Gibson video:

Laura Gibson on amazon.com

Laura Gibson on amazon.co.uk

Download “Spirited” MP3 from ‘Beasts of Seasons’ [Hush Records; February 24th]

Joining the likes of Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, and Animal Collective, we are honored to announce that NPR Music is offering a full album preview of ‘Beasts of Seasons’, as an Exclusive First Listen, from now through the album’s release on February 24th. The record will be available as an on-demand stream at NPR Music.

Listen to ‘Beasts of Season’ on NPR

Laura Gibson’s ‘Beasts of Seasons’ was produced by Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens), and features Rachel Blumberg (M Ward band, Bright Eyes), Nate Query (Decemberists), Adam Selzer (Norfolk and Western, M Ward), Avant-garde violist and composer Eyvind Kang, solo artists Laura Veirs and Shelly Short, Danny Seim (Menomena) and many of the people who have formed her touring band over the past two years (Cory Gray, Sean Ogilvie, Dave Depper, Jason Leonard, Micah Rabwin).

“Beasts of Seasons is nothing short of a masterpiece, both for its flawless and often haunting execution and for its inspired statements on the human experience. Broken into two parts, “Communion Songs” and “Funeral Songs,” the album opens with a foreboding burst of feedback and static. If it’s the sonic equivalent of darkness and what may be lurking there, then Gibson’s fragile voice and plaintively strummed guitar soon emerge as a flicker of light. It’s a mesmerizing contrast, as the curtain rises for Gibson’s beautifully gloomy and arresting meditations on life and death.” – NPR

Laura Gibson ‘Beasts of Seasons’ 2009 tour dates:

(Dates and information subject to change.)

February 2009:

25 – Wed : Sacramento , CA @ Luigi’s Fun Garden with Justin Farren
26 – Thu : San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall with Josh Ritter
27 – Fri : Santa Cruz, CA @ Crepe Place with Paleo, Shelley Short and Alexis Gideon
28 – Sat : Fresno, CA @ Tokyo Garden with Circles and Cirles

March 2009:

01 – Sun : San Luis Obispo, CA @ Boo Boo Records
05 – Thu : Tempe, AZ @ St. Augustine’s Episcopal Parish with The Via Maris
06 – Fri : Tucson, AZ @ Solar Culture
07 – Sat : Prescott, AZ @ Raven Café
09 – Mon : Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge with Blind Pilot
10 – Tue : Denver, CO @ The Hi-Dive
11 – Wed : Santa Fe , NM @ College of Santa Fe SUB
14 – Sat : Norman, OK @ Opolis
15 – Sun : Denton , TX @ NX35
17 – Tue : Ft. Worth, TX @ The Chat Room with Birds & Batteries, Telegraph Canyon
18 – Wed : Austin , TX @ SXSW
19 – Thu : Austin , TX @ SXSW
20 – Fri : Austin , TX @ SXSW
21 – Sat : Austin , TX @ SXSW
22 – Sun : Wichita, KS @ Fisch House
23 – Mon : Lincoln, NE @ TBA
24 – Tue : Spearfish, SD @ Flanagan’s
25 – Wed : Bozeman, MT @ Plonk
26 – Thu : Bozeman, MT @ Montana State University
27 – Fri : Moscow, ID @ Mikey’s Gyros with Pablo Trucker

April 2009:

02 – Thu : Portland, OR @ The Old Church with Ah Holly Fam‚ly

With Damien Jurado:

03 – Fri : Boise, ID @ Neurolux
05 – Sun : Denver, CO @ The Hi-Dive
07 – Tue : Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
08 – Wed : Iowa City, IA @ The Picador
09 – Thu : St. Paul , MN @ Turf Club
10 – Fri : Chicago, IL @ Schubas
11 – Sat : Bloomington, IN @ Cinemat
12 – Sun : Ann Arbor, MI @ Blind Pig
14 – Tue : Toronto, ONT @ Drake Hotel
15 – Wed : Montreal, QC @ Il Motore
16 – Thu : Cambridge, MA @ TT The Bear’s
17 – Fri : Brooklyn, NY @ Bell House
18 – Sat : Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Chapel
19 – Sun : Vienna, VA @ Jammin’ Java
21 – Tue : Asheville , NC @ Grey Eagle
22 – Wed : Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree
23 – Thu : Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
24 – Fri : Memphis, TN @ Hi-Tone Café
25 – Sat : Nashville, TN @ The Basement
27 – Mon : Norman, OK @ Opolis
28 – Tue : Denton, TX @ Dan’s Silverleaf
29 – Wed : Austin, TX @ Cactus Café

May 2009:

01 – Fri : Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
02 – Sat : San Diego, CA @ Casbah
03 – Sun : Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland
05 – Tue : San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
07 – Thu : Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
08 – Fri : Seattle , WA @ Crocodile Café

Laura Gibson MySpace

NPR Music will present a South by Southwest showcase headlined by The Decemberists at Stubbs on Wednesday, March 18, 2009, kicking off the opening night of this year’s SXSW Music Conference and Festival in Austin, TX.

The concert will mark the Portland-based band’s first live performance of its forthcoming album ‘The Hazards of Love’, which The Decemberists will debut in its entirety.

Additional bands in the lineup, and NPR Music’s complete schedule of events at SXSW 2009, are to be announced.

Following the popularity of its concerts and on-air and online coverage at SXSW last year, NPR Music will live webcast and broadcast the entire concert.

The concert will be streamed live, podcast and archived at www.NPR.org/music, and will be available for broadcast on NPR Member stations across the country. As in years past, NPR Music is partnering with five NPR Member stations – KUT Austin, WFUV New York, WXPN Philadelphia, KEXP Seattle and The Current from Minnesota Public Radio – to offer extensive coverage of the influential music festival on-air and online.

At SXSW, The Decemberists will perform all 17 songs from ‘The Hazards of Love’ in sequence – how the band intends for the record to be heard. ‘The Hazards of Love’, out March 24 from Capitol Records, is the follow up to the quintet’s 2006 breakthrough ‘The Crane Wife’, and augments the band’s standing as one of the most creative forces in music.

This album tells the tale of a woman named Margaret who is ravaged by a shape-shifting animal; her lover, William; a forest queen; and a cold-blooded, immoral rake.

Joining The Decemberists members Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query and John Moen on stage at Stubbs will be Lavendar Diamond’s Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden, who lend leading vocals to the album.

NPR Music’s broadcast and webcast of the concert will be anchored by Bob Boilen, host and creator of the popular show All Songs Considered and its Live in Concert series. Joining Bob will be NPR Music blogger Carrie Brownstein and David Brown, host of Austin Music Unlimited on KUT in Austin. “Usually, you go to a concert to hear your favorite band perform your favorite songs, but this 17 song journey will be a completely new to the audience,” says Bob Boilen. “It’s going to be so much fun to see everyone experience this absolutely epic and fun song cycle performed live for the first time.” Boilen announced the SXSW show on the Feb. 2nd episode of All Songs Considered, which features a track – “The Rake’s Song” – off ‘The Hazards of Love’. The All Songs episode is available at: www.NPR.org/allsongs.

Last year, NPR Music and the five stations live webcast and broadcast 14 of the most anticipated concerts from SXSW, among them R.E.M., My Morning Jacket and Vampire Weekend. NPR Music’s daytime concert at The Parish was one of the festival’s must-hears, with headliners Vampire Weekend joined by Bon Iver, Yeasayer, The Shout Out Louds, Jens Lekman and A.A. Bondy. Those concerts, along with artist interviews and live audio and video performance sessions, are archived at: NPR – SXSW

NPR Music is a multimedia music site that features content from NPR and 12 NPR Member public radio stations, including live performances, studio sessions, exclusive first listens to new albums, interviews, reviews and blogs. The site’s continuously expanding sections are dedicated to rock/pop/folk, classical, jazz/blues, world and urban music. NPR Music culls from NPR’s and the stations’ extensive music archives to present thousands of features; more than 240 new features are added to the site every month. The site’s popular Concert section offers hundreds of streaming concerts in every genre.

The Decemberists on amazon.com

The Decemberists Official Website

NPR Music

NPR All Songs Considered

SXSW Official Website

I’ve been enjoying Brett Dennen’s new “Make You Crazy” track from his upcoming release ‘Hope for the Hopeless’ out October 21, 2008. The song features the legendary Femi Kuti.

Luckily for me and all of you, the track is available right here as a FREE download!!

Download “Make You Crazy” MP3

Watch the video of Brett performing “Make You Crazy” on NYC NPR station WFUV:

Brett Dennen – Hope for the Hopeless (Dig) on amazon.com

For more music and information, go to:

Brett Dennen Official Website
MySpace

Juliana Hatfield will celebrate the release of ‘How To Walk Away’ – her 10th solo album in a remarkable 20-year-career – and the publication of her memoir, entitled “When I Grow Up,” with a tour launching September 9th, 2008 at IOTA in Washington, DC.

Other highlights include shows at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom (September 12th, 2008), Boston’s Brattle Theater (September 14th), and Los Angeles’ new Largo (September 27th).

On October 10th, the acclaimed singer/songwriter will appear at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, England. In this special evening, Hatfield will provide a highly personal look at her life, weaving passages from “When I Grow Up” (which will be published by Wiley & Sons on September 29th) in amidst songs from throughout her career.

“This Lonely Love,” the album’s lead single, features Richard Butler (The Psychedelic Furs) on vocals and goes for adds at radio on July 28th. Hatfield will perform on NPR’s World Cafe on September 10th and will play a set at New York City’s Housing Works Bookstore Cafe on October 23rd as part of the CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival 2008.

‘How To Walk Away,’ produced by Andy Chase (of revered alt-rock/pop band Ivy) and due out August 19th on Hatfield’s own Ye Olde Records (distributed via RED), is already eliciting widespread acclaim. “If you have only…4 minutes, 23 seconds: Listen to Juliana Hatfield’s winning take on a failed relationship, ‘My Baby…’ from her shimmering new CD,” says O The Oprah Magazine. While venuszine declared “Ah, Miss Hatfield, you make loneliness feel so good,” praising the “sexy and funky seventies vibe” of “This Lonely Love.”

In “When I Grow Up,” Hatfield chronicles her extraordinary journey, from her teenage beginnings in the pioneering indie-rock combo Blake Babies, and iconic rise to alternative solo stardom, to the past decade’s stunning streak of increasingly mature, critically acclaimed albums.

Whether detailing the origin of her songs, her battles with clinical depression or her quest to find purpose after all of her dreams had seemingly come true, Juliana Hatfield writes in the same engaging fashion her fans have loved for years – spirited, witty, and heartbreakingly sincere.

Upcoming September/October 2008 tour dates are as follows:

Dates could be added or changed! Go to Juliana Hatfield’s Official Website for the latest tour dates and information.

09/09 Washington, DC IOTA
09/10 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live w/special guest Hayden
09/12 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
09/14 Boston, MA Brattle Theater
09/23 Seattle, WA Triple Door
09/24 Portland, OR Aladdin
09/25 San Francisco, CA Cafe Du Nord
09/27 Los Angeles, CA Largo
10/10 London, England Queen Elizabeth Hall
10/23 New York, NY Housing Works Bookstore Cafe
(CMJ Music Marathon show)

(additional dates will be announced shortly)

MySpace
Juliana Hatfield Official Website

The July 8th, 2008 edition of the New York Post will feature a link to a free MP3 download from tripnotica artist Costanza Francavilla.

“Just Another Alien,” the lead single from Costanza’s new album ‘Sonic Diary’, will be available as an “MPFRee” for one week at:

New York Post Music

This week also marks the official physical release of ‘Sonic Diary’.

Though it has been available online for the past two weeks, fans will now be able to purchase Costanza’s latest from physical retailers such as Amazon.com, CDBaby and more. For fans looking to secure a unique piece of memorabilia, they’ll be able to log onto Costanza’s MySpace page to purchase a USB drive loaded with ‘Sonic Diary’ as well as music videos for many of the tracks on the album.

“Just Another Alien” was written as a reaction to the feelings of intimidation Costanza feels when stepping onto U.S. soil. “The questions they ask you, they are intimidating,” says the artist. “It’s almost a test, it’s like they’re asking ‘are you good enough’ to be in America?”

On the meaning of the unorthodox song title Costanza explains: “I named it ‘Just Another Alien’ because I find it interesting that in English, the word ‘alien’ is used to describe both an invader from another planet and a visitor from another country.” As an Italian with dual citizenship, Costanza someday hopes to see a world with no boundaries. Like the European Union, where passports are not required to travel between nations, she hopes one day, America will adopt a more inclusionist foreign policy and consider, as she asks in the song, that “we are all human beings.”

“Burqa,” another track from ‘Sonic Diary’, was recently featured between news segments on National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation program.

Check Her Out:

Launch ReverbNation Player to hear and see ‘Sonic Diary’.

Myspace
Costanza Website

Now that Rolling Stone “surprise find” and recently NPR-approved instrumental quintet My Education has released ‘Bad Vibrations’, its fourth and finest record in a soon-to-be 10-year career of composing wordless cinematic soundscapes, the group is ready to bite the high-gas-price bullet and hit the road for a summer tour. The tour just kicked off in the band’s hometown of Austin, TX and will take them across the southwest plains they set purely transcendental music to, up the bungalows of the west coast, to ultimately set their return through the torrential Midwest.

My Education has also recently completed the mesmerizing, if not haunting, new music video to “Bad Vibrations.” What better way to capture the sheer dream-like qualities of its ethereal compositions than through a black and white, soft focus filter.

Watch “Bad Vibrations” video:

Download “Sluts and Maniacs” MP3 – the band’s latest single which may or may not represent the decapitated personages in Bad Vibrations’ striking album art.

‘Bad Vibrations’ showcases My Education’s sonic flights as sharply honed, highly melodic mini-epics. Layers of guitar swell and sway over propulsive rhythms while viola spins yearning melodies ever skyward, sprinkled with delicate color by vibraphone and keyboards. Book-ended by ambient passages pillowing heavy-lidded acoustic strumming languid strings and lap-steel, ‘Bad Vibrations’ is certainly the finest summation of My Education’s highly textured and emotive music yet. Recorded at Bubble Studios by engineer Chris “Frenchie” Smith, who has worked with Built To Spill, Meat Puppets, …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, ‘Bad Vibrations’ is out now on Portland, OR imprint Strange Attractors Audio House (Cul de Sac, Kinski, Sub Arachnoid Space).

Formed in Austin in 1999 by Brian Purington, Eric Gibbons and Sean Seagler, three refugees from San Angelo, TX, My Education flirted briefly with the idea of vocals but soon decided they were never necessary to begin with and became a purely instrumental outfit.

With the addition of keyboardist Kirk Laktas (Stars of The Lid, Ultrasound, etc.), viola virtuoso James Alexander (Cinders) and Floridian transplant guitar god Chris Hackstie (Saturated, Loring), the lineup stabilized and their first album 5 Popes was recorded at the Bubble with Chris “Frenchie” Smith (Sixteen Deluxe, Young Heart Attack) at the helm.

After three years of blood, sweat, and tears My Education finally completed their second CD, ‘Italian’, which was released on Thirty Ghosts Records on April 26th, 2005. Rolling Stone Senior Editor David Fricke soon chimed in with critics all over the world in their admiration of this fine record, which has been described as everything from “…swirling and swaying and leading your ears and your soul into a trippy, calm world, where the sky is glowing a beautiful shade of pink and the sun is always setting on a cold winter’s eve” (Joseph Kyle, mundanesounds.com) to “careening around mischievously, like the score to a fictional film” (Chris Elkjar, trust-me.ca) and “slow-cooked noise bombs (that) left everyone in a daze” (Audra Schroeder, Austin Chronicle.)

My Education 2008 summer tour dates:

Dates could be added or changed! Go to My Education’s Official Website for the latest tour dates and information.

06/28 Austin, TX @ End Of An Ear
07/04 Albuquerque, NM @ Atomic Cantina
07/05 Tucson, AZ @ Plush
07/06 Phoenix, AZ @ Modified Arts
07/07 San Diego, CA @ Beauty Bar
07/08 Los Angeles, CA @ The Silent Movie Theatre Live Sunrise Film Score
07/09 San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock
07/10 Arcata, CA @ Jambalaya
07/11 Portland, OR @ Towne Lounge
07/12 Olympia, WA @ The Voyeur
07/13 Seattle, WA @ Funhouse
07/14 Missoula, MT @ The Palace
07/16 Denver, CO @ Old Curtis Street Bar
07/17 Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge
07/18 Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory
07/19 Dallas, TX @ Hailey’s

“A likely contender for the year’s best post-rock album.” – The Silent Ballet

“…My Education composes wordless songs through vast, gorgeously orchestrated soundscapes. From squealing electric guitar wails to screeching viola yelps, the band’s music has all the vocals it needs, drawing its narrative tension from ambient discord. Each track on the group’s new album, Bad Vibrations, offers a buildup and release that’s equally commanding and cathartic. But with all the musical strife, much of the album proves tranquil and soothing in its atmospheric nature, as the band paints a beautiful musical picture with layers of brooding instrumentation. The album’s title track places a simple, rhythmically strummed and picked acoustic guitar against a rich orchestra of floating strings and ambient keyboard dips and swells. The composition creates a vivid aural landscape, lending the song an ethereal feel. This lush tapestry of sound proves mesmerizing for its eight-minute entirety.” – NPR

Strange Attractors Audio House

Myspace
My Education Official Website

Aimee Mann’s seventh solo release to date, ‘@#%&! Smilers’, is a return to form after the artistic detours of 2005’s concept album ‘The Forgotten Arm’ and 2006’s Christmas CD ‘One More Drifter in the Snow’. ‘@#%&! Smilers’ is set for release June 3, 2008 on SuperEgo Records.

Featuring 13 new original songs, producer Paul Bryan describes the record as “deceptively powerful…very rich and grand sounding”.

The songs range from the stripped-down-to-basics of “Columbus Avenue”, to the almost Cars-esque synth-pop of “Freeway”, along side the classic Jimmy Webb/Glen Campbell-era “Phoenix”, and the hushed creepiness of “Little Tornado.” The final song “Ballantines” is a duet with Sean Hayes complete with barroom piano and trombone section.

Aimee Mann download – “Thirty One Today” MP3

All of the songs were penned by Mann, with the exception of “True Believer”, co-written with fellow singer-songwriter Grant Lee Phillips.

An amalgamation of sounds, Aimee explains “we tried not to echo any previous albums…for this one we wanted to use a different palate, thus replacing electric guitars with distorted Wurlitzers, Clavinets, and analog synthesizers. We made the low end and rhythm section full and organic-sounding, with Jay Bellrose’s quirky approach to percussion and my acoustic guitar together. For this album the acoustic guitar is present in a new way, one that melds with Jay’s rhythm section and acts as an adjunct to the high-hat. On top of that we layered detailed interwoven keyboards and on select songs added a lush string section; on others a full horn section.”

The album was recorded in the latter part of 2007 at the Sound Factory studios in Los Angeles, engineered by Ryan Freeland and mastered by Gavin Lurssen.

After finishing off 2007 with her critically acclaimed sold-out Christmas tour, Aimee will return to the road in support of ‘Smilers’ this Spring and Summer 2008, including a stop at Bonnaroo.

Look for upcoming appearances on NPR – All Things Considered and the Ovation channel – Live from the Artist’s Den performance series, amongst others.

Aimee Mann 2008 tour dates:

Dates could be added or changed! Go to Aimee Mann’s Official Website for the latest tour dates and information.

June 2008

June 2 Los Angeles, CA Largo
June 6 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
June 10 Los Angeles, CA Largo
June 12 Minneapolis, MN Minneapolis Zoo
June 13 Milwaukee WI Pabst Theater
June 15 Manchester, TN Bonnaroo Music Festival

July 2008

July 9 Boulder, CO Chautauqua Auditorium
July 11 Denver, CO Denver Botanical Gardens
July 12 Park City, UT Deer Valley Resort
July 14 Saratoga, CA Mountain Winery
July 15 Rosebud, OR Stewart Park
July 16 Seattle, WA Seattle Zoo
July 24 Calgary, Alberta Calgary Music Festival

@#%&! Smilers on amazon.com

Aimee Mann on Myspace
Aimee Mann Official Website

Having just been selected as Filter Magazine’s, “Undiscovered Artist Of The Month” for March 2008, Backlight Records recording artists Holler, Wild Rose! will be bringing their shoegaze-influenced, ambient post-rock back to World Cafe Live! for a concert with Aquaport on April 25th, 2008 at 8:00pm.

Holler, Wild Rose!’s debut album ‘Our Little Hymnal’ was created over two years and released in September of 2007. Featured as a Napster (US) and iTunes Australia Staff Pick on the day of release, the album has gone on to receive significant airplay on over 150 US and Canadian stations including regular spins on stations such as KCRW, WXPN, WBOS, XM Satellite Radio and Bagel Radio. Additionally, ‘Our Little Hymnal’ is also currently being heard on radio stations in Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Australia and The United Kingdom.

In the few months after the release, Holler, Wild Rose! has been featured on NPR’s Second Stage, in Performing Songwriter Magazine, as a Sonicbids Spotlight Artist, a CMJ Festival 2007 Artist of the week and Mathieu Schreyer of KCRW selected ‘Our Little Hymnal’ as one of his top 10 albums of 2007.

Holler Wild Rose!’s song “Marylawn Hair” was featured as part of the Filter Magazine “Subway Series” Compilation released for CMJ 2007 (alongside artists such as PJ Harvey, Joy Division, Counting Crows and Oslo) and their song “Sun Vines” is included in the 2008 TEVA Anthology Vol. 6 (with Iron & Wine, Nada Surf, Sia and Dave Matthews).

Performing Songwriter Magazine had this to say about Our Little Hymnal:

“I don’t recommend doing anything else – such as reading, writing or dusting – when listening to Our Little Hymnal…with a voice somewhere between Jim James, Thom Yorke and Jeff Buckley, lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist John Mosloskie leads this exceptional band through dramatic, melodic twists and turns that will keep you staring – yes, staring – at the speaker to catch what will happen next. Imagine if Explosions In the Sky had a lead vocalist, and you’re getting close.”

Jack Rabid of The Big Takeover said:

“Few bands match their wall of guitar, wide-screen wash…one bets it’s awesome live, too.”

Holler, Wild Rose!’s recent performance at Brooklyn’s Luna Lounge received a glowing review from influential Brooklyn Music Blog MusicSlut, who stated:

“HWR overwhelmingly impressed me with their brief-yet-strapping set last night at Brooklyn’s Luna Lounge. Following the adage of ‘less talk, more rock’, Holler Wild Rose stormed through about half of Hymnal with zeal, precision and arrant finesse. With countless young acts heavily influenced by early ’90s shoegaze, it’s inspiring to hear a band that can meticulously highlight the genre’s brightest moments all the while adding a layer of richness that is entirely their own into the grand melting pot.”

Show info:

World Cafe Live!
Featuring: Aquaport and Holler, Wild Rose!
Upstairs Live
3025 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Friday, April 25th, 2008
8:00pm
Admission $10.00
21+

For more information, go to:

Backlight Records

Holler, Wild Rose on Myspace
Holler, Wild Rose Official Website