Festivals

All Points West Festival Likely To Be Scrapped

Johnny Sanford :: Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 11:45 am

Chalk it up to unpredictable weather, a lack of interest from headliners or maybe even the fact that All Points West Festival is located across the Hudson River in New Jersey, but APW creators are thinking about dumping the music fest entirely. Last year, the festival was held on one of the rainiest weekends of the year and also had the Beastie Boys cancel due to Adam Yauch’s cancer treatment. Despite this fact, around 71,000 people came out to the mud pits and rocked out to replacement headliner Jay Z. The APW website has been suspiciously quiet for the past few months, and even though last year’s turnout was fairly decent, the writing is on the wall. According to a Reuters interview with AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips, “We’re probably going to kill it. As beautiful as (the site) is, it’s very hard to get New Yorkers to cross that river. All Points West is an experiment that just didn’t work.” Another concern, according to Phillips, is that there was a decreased interest from headliners for the festival this year. MORE »

Volcanoes: Bad for Coachella, Great for the Environment?

Stephen Blackwell :: Wednesday, April 21st, 2010 4:15 pm

Everyone’s spent the last week in a huff about the volcanic ash spewing into the air courtesy of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull. We were almost over it, until rumors spread across the internet that another burst is imminent on the part of sister volcano ~~Eygetejnaay37hnd~~ Katla.

Will volcanic ash continue to threaten the already crippled European economy? Will travelers be waylaid for days on end? Will another over-hyped American rock music festival suffer the wrath of Iceland? By Odin’s Raven, what will happen to us? Let’s focus on the positive: MORE »

Record Store Day: Interview With Founder Michael Kurtz (plus: Listen To Bon Iver)

Alex Moore :: Wednesday, April 21st, 2010 1:45 pm

Record Store Day was this Saturday, and it was a huge hit for the organization, getting tons of attention from exclusive releases by Bon Iver and Blur, and even a shout-out from Seth Meyers on SNL.

Now in its third year, Record Store Day seems to be defying all odds, lifting one of the most notoriously challenged industries to national-holiday status, if only for a day. So how did this whole thing happen?

Keep reading for an exclusive interview with Michael Kurtz, Record Store Day founder and visionary. Also, watch the SNL clip a and listen to Bon Iver covering Peter Gabriel in a special RSD release. MORE »

Coachella Vs. Volcano (Update): Frightened Rabbit Cancels

Gray Hurlburt :: Friday, April 16th, 2010 3:45 pm

Due to the airborne toxic event over Europe, Frightened Rabbit just announced they cannot make it out to appear at the Coachella Music & Arts festival on Saturday, April 17th. This follows The Cribs calling out today, with other groups in a similar predicament. The UK has issued a no-fly deadline and all flights are reportedly shut down until 7 am GMT tomorrow. Hopefully, the air will clear up fast enough before other acts have to be nixed too.

Frightened Rabbit will arrive later this April to tour in support of their new album, The Winter of Mixed Drinks, which is expected to begin in Tempe on the 19th. As the adage goes, better late than never! See you soon, FR.

Unpronounceable Volcano Looms Over Coachella

Gray Hurlburt :: Friday, April 16th, 2010 2:15 pm

The Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted on April 14, and since then the airborne dust and glass has brought the UK and Ireland’s air traffic to a frustrating standstill. Because there’s no way out via an aeroplane, several British groups scheduled to play Coachella this week are in danger of having to cancel their plans, including The Cribs, Bad Lieutenant, Frightened Rabbit and Gary Newman. To the chagrin of many, The Cribs will miss their set today, but are trying to reschedule for a later day. The others are waiting to see if the sky will clear soon enough. And according to SPIN, the other limeys on Coachella’s lineup are already in the States and ready to play: Gorillaz, Muse, Florence & The Machine and Little Boots. Let this be a lesson in the school of rock not to wait until the last minute, because, you know, volcanoes and shit.

The Reunion Show

Zach Custer :: Tuesday, April 13th, 2010 3:00 pm

There is an art to making indie rockers salivate. The people who put together the Coachella festival, held each April in Indio, CA, know this. It doesn’t involve showcasing new talent or even giving away free booze (though both are generally regarded as a plus). Instead, it is the art of the reunion, and by my lights, the creators of Coachella should have received an M.F.A. by now. MORE »

LCD Soundsystem Headlines World Tour

Adam Kearney :: Monday, April 5th, 2010 1:30 pm

With his third album This Is Happening due out May 18 on Virgin, and his soundtrack to Greenberg gaining critical attention, James Murphy and his electronic project LCD Soundsystem are certainly keeping busy. After Coachella and a tour of Europe, he’ll be in NYC May 20-21, then back over to the West Coast for Sasquatch, then to Tennessee for Bonnaroo. Oh, and then like fifty sure-to-be-awesome festivals in England. Damn. I wonder if people actually try to follow this guy, like the Deadheads of old. They either need a gold American Express, a teleporter, or enough acid to transubstantiate. Screw Terminal 5 man, imma eat all these mushies til I materialize at the Isle of Wight! Full dates after the jump. MORE »

LCD Soundsystem Announce 3rd Album, Tour

Adam Kearney :: Thursday, March 4th, 2010 12:45 pm

Following the much acclaimed Sound of Silver album, James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem has finished recording his third full length, yet untitled album to be released in the US on May 18. Before the album gets dropped, he will headline Coachella on April 16, and then take off to the UK and Europe for the beginning of a tour that will eventually spin back through Sasquatch, Bonnaroo, and the Pitchfork Music Festival. Full tracklisting and tour dates after the jump. MORE »

Thom Yorke Takes the Mystery Out of ????

Shannon Hassett :: Thursday, February 25th, 2010 11:45 am

Thom Yorke and his band, previously billed as ???? and now converted to the much more insightful Atoms For Peace, have announced eight US shows before their grand entrance at Coachella on April 18th. The band’s lineup remains the same (Yorke, Flea, Mauro Refosco, Joey Waronker and Nigel Godrich) as it was for the three shows they played in Los Angeles last October. MORE »

Deer Tick Extends Tour

Adam Kearney :: Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 4:45 pm

Deer Tick have added dates to their Spring tour, including shows with Dr. Dog, Those Darlins, and Holy Suns. They’ll also be bringing their alt-country twang to Coachella. Their 2009 EP “More Fuel For The Fire,” was praised by Rolling Stone as the “country-rock breakthrough of the year.” The album, once exclusive to iTunes, is now on sale at all digital music retailers. After touring with Neko Case last fall, they returned to the studio to finish recording their untitled third album, which will be released sometime this year. Catch their video “Stocking Stuffers.”

Them Crooked Vultures Take On SNL

Shannon Hassett :: Friday, January 22nd, 2010 12:15 pm

Joining veteran host Ashton Kutcher, seasoned SNL performers Dave Grohl and Josh Homme will bring newbie John Paul Jones to 30 Rock as their new gig, Them Crooked Vultures, takes the SNL stage February 6th. The band has also confirmed three east coast dates: February 8 at Roseland Ballroom, February 10 at the Fillmore in Charlotte, NC and February 12 at Atlanta’s the Tabernacle. They’ll also be joining the lineup at Coachella in April, but really, who isn’t?

Public Image LTD Reunited For Coachella

Adam Kearney :: Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 2:45 pm

Without a US show in 18 years, the members of PiL will be back to play the opening day of Coachella on April 16, 2010. John Lydon, former front man for Sex Pistols, along with Lu Edmonds, Bruce Smith, and Scott Firth have already played seven concerts in the UK before their upcoming return.

2010 has added significance for the band, as it marks the 30th anniversary of their first US tour and their first appearance on American Bandstand. They have 30 years of music to draw upon for Coachella, and some surprises are also in store.

Coachella Lineup/Dates Announced

Danielle Johnsen :: Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 11:01 am

You have less than 90 days to plan your heat fueled excursion into the desert to enjoy the sounds of Jay-Z, Pavement, Muse, Thom Yorke, Them Crooked Vultures, Gorillaz, Faith No More and about two hundred other bands. Coachella is upon us, once again ushering in the concert festival season. I am beyond excited to see such a full grouping of bands and the much anticipated American reunions of Faith No More and Pavement! Coachella will unofficially open up the summer festival season on April 16, 2010 in Indio, CA and tickets go on sale this Friday, January 22 at 10AM, with a limited amount of discounted three day packages.

Check out the festival poster, which includes the full lineup as of now, after the jump. MORE »

Today In Music

Zach Custer :: Thursday, January 14th, 2010 3:10 pm

President Obama pledges $100 million to the Haiti relief effort

Wyclef Jean is just one of many musicians joining the Haiti relief effort

Soul singer Teddy Pendergrass passed away on January 13, 2010

William J. Lederer co-author of “The Ugly American” has passed away

Evan Dando, former frontman of the Lemonheads, is heading out on a solo tour

Dr. Dog’s feeling the Shame Shame this spring

Is a Pavement reunion set to take place at Coachella?