Wilco at MusiCares Person of the Year...

An All-Star Lineup honored 2010 MusiCares Person Of The Year Neil Young this past Friday.

Performers included Ben Harper, Lucinda Williams, Jack Black, Jackson Browne, T Bone Burnett, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Sheryl Crow, Everest, Patty Griffin, Josh Groban, Emmylou Harris, Elton John, Norah Jones, Lady Antebellum, k.d. lang, Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, Ozomatli, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Leon Russell, James Taylor, and Wilco.

Beastie's AdRock Sings in Harmonic Posession...

AdRock of the Beastie Boys recently sang with Harmonic Posession, a new "super group", covering Train's Hey Soul Sister. This performance was their contribution to OUR HIT PARADE at Joe's Pub in NYC on January 27th.

Harmonic Posession is Adam Horovitz, Pailo Heitz, Carmine Covelli, Eytan Mirsky.

OUR HIT PARADE is a live top-ten countdown show created by Tony nominee and Obie winner Kenny Mellman (Kiki & Herb), carnal chanteuse Bridget Everett (At Least It's Pink at Ars Nova), pop song opera impresario Neal Medlyn (Neal Medlyn's Unpronounceable Symbol at P.S. 122), producer and MTV cameraman Brendan Kennedy, and writers Ada Calhoun and Peter Schjeldahl. The show is inspired by the musical sketch series Your Hit Parade that ran on radio and then television from 1935 to 1959. On that show, cast members performed the week's most popular songs as comically literal skits. In this show, the hosts and special guest stars from the local performance scene present their renditions of current popular hits live on stage!

My Morning Jacket To Tour With PHJB...

It’s been almost a full year, but the wait is finally over. My Morning Jacket are ready to bring their electrifying live show back on the road. The guys will make their way around the Southeastern United States this Spring, including a performance at this year’s Jazzfest in New Orleans. MMJ are also excited to both try something new with their choice for an opening act, and bring some of the spirit of NOLA along with them. The band is honored that the historic Preservation Hall Jazz Band will be supporting them on the run.

The connection with the PHJB originated in the Spring of 2009 when MMJ frontman Jim James was invited to sing with them at their home turf, New Orleans’ legendary Preservation Hall. James recorded two songs with the band: “St. James Infirmary” and “Louisiana Fairytale.” The tracks will appear on the bands forthcoming album, PRESERVATION: An Album To Benefit Preservation Hall & The Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program, out February 16th.

“When I got the invitation to go to the legendary Preservation Hall – where SO much of the music we now know and love on this earth found its early roots – I did not waste a minute,” James reminisces. “Getting to sing while the guys played with such glorious bursts of sound – all live in that holy room with the ghosts and garbage trucks crankin’ along – was an experience I’ll never forget.”

The PHJB’s leader Ben Jaffe shares his memory of playing with James: “I couldn’t have imagined Jim fitting in any better with the guys at Preservation Hall. Creating music is not a science. There is no tried and true formula. There is an unspoken bond amongst musicians. One that exists in the notes we choose. Jim’s like our long lost cousin coming home for the first time.”

MMJ Tour Dates With The Preservation Hall Jazz Band:
4/20 Birmingham, AL @ Alabama Theater
4/21 Nashville, TN @ Municipal Auditorium
4/23 Atlanta, GA @ Chastain Park
4/24 New Orleans, LA @ Jazzfest
4/27 St. Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheater
4/28 Charleston, SC @ Family Circle
4/30 Raleigh, NC @ Koka Booth
5/01 Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
5/02 Columbus, OH @ LC Outdoor Pavilion

Video: EELS ~ End Times

From the EELS Myspace page:
The eighth EELS studio album, END TIMES, is the sound of an artist growing older in uncertain times. An artist who has lost his great love while struggling with his faith in an increasingly hostile world teetering on self-destruction. Largely self-recorded on an old four track tape machine by EELS leader Mark Oliver Everett aka E in his Los Angeles basement, it's a "divorce album" with a modern twist: the artist equates his personal loss with the world he lives in losing its integrity. When Everett finds comfort "in a dying world," the END TIMES he speaks of isn't about "Mayan calendar conspiracy theory bullshit," he says, but, "the state of the desperate times we live in. The bottom line-ness of it all. The end of common decency. The loss of caring about doing a good job. These are tough times. Who can you trust? Walter Cronkite is just a ghost."

Hoots & Hellmouth Hit The Village Idiot...

Hoots and Hellmouth will be thunderin' through Maumee, Ohio with a tour stop at The Village Idiot on Monday, February 1st. Gonna be lots of foot stompin' fun...don't miss it. H&H will be fresh off there appearance at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival on Friday, January 29th.

CCD Drops Preview "Genuine Negro Jig"...

“The Carolina Chocolate Drops are…revisiting, with a joyful vengeance, black string-band and jug-band music of the Twenties and Thirties—the dirt-floor dance electricity of the Mississippi Sheiks and Cannon’s Jug Stompers.” — Rolling Stone

“The Carolina Chocolate Drops may be reclaiming the black string-band tradition, but more importantly they’re just making great music.” — Newsweek

Nonesuch Records is set to release the label debut of North Carolina-based string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops on February 16th. Produced by critically acclaimed recording artist and songwriter Joe Henry (Allen Toussaint, Elvis Costello, Solomon Burke), Genuine Negro Jig features string band interpretations of Blu Cantrell’s beat-box driven R&B single “Hit ‘Em Up Style” and Tom Waits’ “Trampled Rose,” as well as a pair of original compositions, alongside traditional tracks such as “Cornbread and Butterbeans” and “Trouble in Your Mind.” It is the band’s second record; their 2007 release, Dona Got a Ramblin’ Mind, was praised by Paste for “bravely and expertly reclaiming the string band tradition for modern African-American culture,” while NPR’s Weekend Edition calls the band “the hottest thing to hit the old-time music community in decades.” The band is touring in support of the album’s release.

Wilco Offers Live Show Downloads to Help Haiti...

From Wilcoworld.net:

We have just posted two shows for free download on Wilcoworld, all we ask that you do in return, is make a minimum donation of $15 to one of the organizations listed below.

OXFAM - http://www.oxfam.org/en/haitidonate
Doctors Without Borders - http://doctorswithoutborders.org

Both organizations ask that you donate to their Emergency Relief Funds which allows them to spend the money on situations such as Haiti, but, not expressly limited to Haiti.

The shows are:

07-13-09 - Keyspan Park - Brooklyn, NY
11-04-09 - HMV Forum - London, UK

In exchange for the free music, we ask that you make a minimum donation of $15 to one of the organizations listed above if you are able.

Click here for downloads.

Video: Mos Def ~ History...

Blakroc Behind the Scenes on Letterman...

Video: The Low Anthem ~ Tiny Desk Concert...

Don't forget The Low Anthem will be in the area as an opening act for The Avett Brothers:
Cleveland @ House of Blues on February 27th
Ann Arbor @ Michigan Theater on March 9th

and again as a headliner at The Ark on April 7th

Wu Tang vs. The Beatles Remix...

Enter The Magical Mystery Chambers is a remix album using Wu Tang acapellas on Tom Caruana beats that sample Beatles songs.

Download for FREE from:
http://www.teasearecords.net/wuvsbeatles.cfm
or
http://wutangvsthebeatles.bandcamp.com/

Independent Lens Captures Copyright Criminals...

From the Independent Lens Website (PBS)
Long before people began posting their homemade video mashups on the Web, hip-hop musicians were perfecting the art of audio montage through sampling. Sampling — or riffing — is as old as music itself, but new technologies developed in the 1980s and 1990s made it easier to reuse existing sound recordings. Acts like Public Enemy, De La Soul and the Beastie Boys created complex rhythms, references and nuanced layers of original and appropriated sound. But by the early 1990s, sampling had collided with the law. When recording industry lawyers got involved, what was once called “borrowed melody” became “copyright infringement.”

COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS examines the creative and commercial value of musical sampling, including the related debates over artistic expression, copyright law and money. The film showcases many of hip-hop music’s founding figures like Public Enemy, De La Soul and Digital Underground, as well as emerging artists such as audiovisual remixers Eclectic Method. It also provides first-person interviews with artists who have been sampled, such as Clyde Stubblefield — James Brown's drummer and the world's most sampled musician — and commentary by another highly sampled musician, funk legend George Clinton.

Computers, mobile phones and other interactive technologies are changing our relationships with media, blurring the line between producer and consumer and radically changing what it means to be creative. As artists find more inventive ways to insert old influences into new material, COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS poses the question: Can you own a sound?

Trailer


Clip #1


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Clip #3

Cinci's MusicNOW Fest Includes Justin Vernon...

The MusicNOW Festival opens Tuesday, March 30th with arresting harpist and songwriter Joanna Newsom. Wednesday, March 31st, St Vincent, led by composer, singer and guitar virtuoso Annie Clark, will present works from their widely acclaimed latest release, Actor, as well as new works venturing deeper into chamber arranging and composition. The same evening yMusic, will premiere the festival commission written by Clark. Inventive vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Justin Vernon, best known for his work with Bon Iver, presents a rare solo concert to close the festival April 1st. All concerts will be held at the beautiful and historic Memorial Hall in Cincinnati.

Tickets are on-sale now, via the web and by phone 1-800-838-3600. Single concert tickets are $20; a festival pass for all three concerts is $50.

Video: Blakroc ~ What You Do To Me...

The Ark is Full of Good Music...

As we all try to make it through the cold months when touring seems to slow down, we can all be encouraged by the upcoming schedule for The Ark in Ann Arbor, Michigan.



Here are a few highlights that have popped up on their website calendar. You can't really go wrong with any of these:
2/6 Ralph Stanley
2/9 & 2/10 Jackie Greene
2/25 The Guggenheim Grotto
3/10 Horse Feathers
3/12 Joe Henry
4/7 The Low Anthem
4/17 Hoots and Hellmouth
4/21 Martin Sexton
5/9 Raul Midon
5/11 & 5/12 Colin Hay

Seeking Retribution Gospel Choir...

Retribution Gospel Choir will be in Toledo on Thursday, January 21st performing at Frankie's.

Retribution Gospel Choir is a rock trio founded in 2007. The group features Alan Sparhawk on guitar and vocals, Steve Garrington on bass and Eric Pollard on drums and vocals. Alan also fronts the band Low with his wife, Mimi Parker, and Steve also plays bass in Low.

RGC has released a few limited-edition live tour EPs and a self-titled full-length album. They have toured throughout the US, UK and Spain. RGC's new album, appropriately titled 2, will be released January 26, 2010 on Sub Pop Records.

Mixed Up "Hoodies" Take Over Detroit...

The Hood Internet is a Chicago-based duo specializing in mashups of hip-hop (from the mainstream to the underground) with indie rock. They also run a blog of the same name through which they release their music, a venture that helped them earn notability as a minor internet phenomenon. The Hood Internet is composed of Aaron Brink (aka ABX) and Steve Reidell (aka STV SLV)

The Hood Internet will be mixing it up at the Majestic Cafe in Detroit on January 22nd.

Hit their official site to download their "goods".

Check out the tracklists to their Mixtapes on Wiki.



Upcoming Tour Dates:
1/21 B Side Liquor Lounge, Cleveland, OH
1/22 Majestic Cafe, Detroit, MI
1/23 High Noon Saloon, Madison WI
1/28 Fortune Sound Club, Vancouver, BC
1/29 Sugar, Victoria, BC
1/30 Holocene, Portland, OR
2/06 Jerky’s, Providence, RI
2/11 Blu, Indianapolis, IN
2/12 The Gramophone, St. Louis, MO
2/13 The Badlander, Missoula, MT
2/26 Slowdown, Omaha, NE
2/27 Bourbon Theatre, Lincoln, NE
3/24 Casbah, San Diego, CA
3/25 Echo, Los Angeles, CA
3/26 Detroit Bar, Costa Mesa, CA
3/27Bottom Of The Hill, San Francisco, CA
3/28 WOW Hall, Eugene, OR
3/29 Holocene, Portland, OR
3/30 Chop Suey, Seattle, WA
4/01 Mission Creek Music Festival, Iowa City, IA
4/02 Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis, MN
4/03 Empty Bottle, Chicago, IL

Video: Mike Doughty ~ Doubly Gratified...

Stream the New EELS album on Myspace...

MySpace is premiering the new EELS END TIMES album (out next Tuesday, January 19) in its entirety. Listen to the album on the EELS MySpace player right now, right here on the EELS MySpace page!

Soul Train 40th Rock Doc Comes to VH1...

VH1 Rock Docs Commemorates the 40th Anniversary of the Longest Running First-Run Syndicated Television Show in History With Soul Train: The Hippest Trip In America Premiering on Friday, February 5 at 9pm.

Few television series were as innovative and influential to pop culture as "Soul Train." Set first in Chicago, "Soul Train" launched on WCIU-TV with local radio and television personality, Don Cornelius on August 17, 1970. After moving the dance show to Los Angeles, "Soul Train" skyrocketed nationally and firmly secured its place in television by becoming the longest running, first-run syndicated series in history. To commemorate the show's 40th anniversary, VH1 Rock Docs and Soul Train present "Soul Train: The Hippest Trip In America," a monumental 90-minute documentary celebrating the show's impact on pop culture, music, dance and fashion. The film will also feature a rare interview with Don Cornelius in which he reveals exclusive details regarding the launch and early days of the legendary series.

Soul Train: The Hippest Trip In America is narrated by Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard and features an original score by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson of The Roots. The documentary includes memorable performances and moments from the show, as well as behind-the-scene stories from the people who lived the "Soul Train" movement, including the cast, crew, and dancers. In addition, popular musicians (Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, Smokey Robinson, Snoop Dogg, Aretha Franklin), Sly Stone's first exclusive documentary interview in years, comics (Cedric "The Entertainer," Nick Cannon), music industry executives (L.A. Reid, Clive Davis, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff) and actors of yesterday and today will comment on growing up with the show and will share their stories of how "Soul Train" affected their own lives.

New Jimi Hendrix Release Set for March...

Experience Hendrix LLC and Sony Music Entertainment's Legacy Recordings will launch their monumental 2010 Jimi Hendrix Catalog Project on Tuesday, March 9, with the release of Valleys of Neptune, a newly curated album of 12 fully realized studio recordings, more than 60 minutes of music never commercially available on a Jimi Hendrix album.

Centered around tracks recorded during a pivotal and turbulent four-month period in 1969, Valleys of Neptune unveils the original Jimi Hendrix Experience's final studio recordings, as the group lays down the foundation for its follow-up to Electric Ladyland, alongside the guitar superhero's first sessions with bassist Billy Cox, an old army buddy he'd recruited into his new ensemble.

Valleys of Neptune is originality electrified, offering more than 60 minutes of previously unreleased Jimi Hendrix music, originally recorded, and newly mixed for this historic release, by Hendrix's longtime engineer Eddie Kramer, who first worked with the guitarist on Are You Experienced? in 1967. Valleys of Neptune is produced by Janie Hendrix, John McDermott (who contributes detailed liner notes to the album) and Eddie Kramer.

Read what NPR has to say about this release.

Video: Vampire Weekend ~ California English...

XMAS Busk w/ Bono, Glen & Damien...

Dublin Simon Community Christmas Busk 2009 featuring Bono, Damien Rice, Declan O'Rourke, Glen Hansard, Liam Ó Maonlaí, Mundy, Vyvienne Long and more busking on Dublin's Grafton St on Christmas Eve. This clip features 'One' and 'Knocking On Heaven's Door'.

A Spoon-ful for Royal Oak...

Spoon will be playing at the Royal Oak Music Theatre in Michigan on March 30th, 2010. Check back for details on tickets.

Video: RJD2 ~ Let There Be Horns...

Kings of Convenience to Play Pontiac...

Kings of Convenience are scheduled to play the Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac, Michigan on February 19th.

Rolling Stone Interviews Jack White...

Enjoyed this Rolling Stone interview with Jack White (of The White Stripes)...check it.

tUnE-yArDs Announces 2010 Tour Dates...

3-17 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
3-18 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
3-19 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place
3-20 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
3-23 Olympia, WA @ Northern
3-24 Portland, OR @ Holocene
3-25 Boise, ID @ Neurolux
3-26 Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
3-27 Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
3-29 Lawrence, KS @ Jackpot Saloon
3-30 St. Louis, MO @ Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center
3-31 Iowa City, IA @ The Picador
4-01 Northfield, MN @ The Cave at Carleton College
4-02 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
4-03 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
4-05 Oberlin, OH @ The Dionysus Discotheque
4-07 Cleveland, OH @ The Spot
4-08 Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place
4-09 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
4-10 Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Downstairs
4-13 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
4-14 Washington, DC @ DC9
4-15 Richmond, VA @ The Canal Club Downstairs

Vampire Weekend 2010 Tour Dates...

Vampire Weekend has announced tour dates that coincide with the release of their upcoming album, Contra (Jan. 12th release). Their new songs can be heard on their website.

January 2010
12 - Los Angeles, CA @ Music Box at Fonda
17 - New York, NY @ United Palace
18 - New York, NY @ Webster Hall
19 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom

March 2010
14 - Edmonton, Alberta @ Edmonton Event Centre
15 - Calgary, Alberta @ MacEwan Hall
16 - Missoula, MT @ Wilma Theater
18 - Salt Lake City, UT @ In the Venue
19 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
20 - Aspen, CO @ Spring Jam Core Party
22 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
23 - Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater
25 - Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theater
27 - Knoxville, TN @ Tennessee Theatre
29 - Columbus, OH @ Lifestyles Communities Pavilion
30 - Toronto, Ontario @ The Sound Academy

April 2010
1 - Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre
2 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
3 - Washington, DC @ DAR Constitution Hall
5 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
6 - Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
8 - Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle
9 - New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
10 - Austin, TX @ Stubb's BBQ
11 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
13 - Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theater
14 - Pomona, CA @ Fox Theater
19 - Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater

Seth Avett Early Solo Works Out Now...

From Seth Avett as seen on Timothy Seth Avett as Darling:

In the year 2001, at twenty-one years of age, I recorded an album entitled To Make the World Quiet. The inspiration for the piece was urgent and impatient. There was no managerial or label involvement. There was no funding. Without any consideration towards who (if anyone) would hear the result of this outing, I happily executed each aspect of the process, including all writing, performance of each instrument, engineering and modest production*. The following year, I again, by the same process was obliged to record an album. Killing the Headlamps was the realization of this second venture as ‘Darling’. Both albums were made on a 4-track cassette recorder. I initially mixed them both on a low-fidelity home stereo in my kitchen (to yet another cassette). I spent a perhaps unhealthy amount of time with a ruler, an X-acto knife, and a real-time dual-deck cd duplicator, hand-assembling these two albums (along with the first couple thousand units of the first official Avett Brothers recording Country Was)

Until New Years Eve 2010, the only physical copies of these records laid in the hands of maybe a few hundred people that I sold them to personally. I have been honored by the continued interest in these early works as expressed by those who have inquired about them at Avett performances. It is this kind inquiry that has inspired me again; this time to make them readily available through a proper duplication and ordering process.

Starting on December the 30th in Knoxville, TN, the first two ‘Darling’ records (in addition to The Mourning, The Silver, The Bell), will be available at each Avett Brothers performance through January the 3rd. From then on, all three albums can be obtained here by download or through a mail-order process for the actual physical copies. They will be available on iTunes as well, starting December 29th.

In addition, a set of 5 videos have been created by the fine people at Crackerfarm to coincide not only with the newfound availability of these recordings, but with the New Year as well. Each video is a one-camera/one-angle performance of a song from one of the 3 ‘Darling’ records. These visual pieces are defined by their simplicity, as there has been no editing or audio overdubbing of any kind. Starting today, December 28th, we have posted two of these videos — and for the next three weeks, a new video will be posted on Monday morning at ten o’clock (EST) on this website, in the videos section. We hope you enjoy them.

My sincere thanks go out to all who have made these current developments possible, not least of all to the Avett Brothers fans, who have graciously provided the fire to keep the interest in these solo works alive.

-Seth

Timothy Seth Avett as Darling -- About Love from Cracker Farm on Vimeo.

See more videos here.

Video: Scott Avett ~ The Greatest Sum...

New Martin Sexton Album Due April 2010...

Martin Sexton is currently in the studio recording his next record, due out in April 2010. In his recent video updates, he checks in from the kitchen & the studio and gives you a sneak peek of the upcoming album.

Wilco Announces Spring 2010 Tour Dates...

Wilco will play a run of 16 concerts in Eastern US cities beginning in Miami on March 22 and culminating in Pittsburgh on April 11. The concerts are presented as An Evening with Wilco and will feature extended, varied sets exploring material from each of the accomplished Chicago sextet’s seven studio albums. The tour includes concerts in Clearwater, Savannah, Atlanta, Durham, Richmond, Bethesda, Montclair, Providence, Boston, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. Ticket presales for these new dates are set for Wednesday, January 6, at 10 AM ET, via the band’s official website, Wilcoworld.net. All other tickets go on sale Friday, January 8, and Saturday, January 9.

2-07 Missoula, MT @ Adams Center
2-09 Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Hall
2-10 Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
2-12 Victoria, British Columbia
2-13 Vancouver, British Columbia @ David Lam Park
2-15 Edmonton, Alberta @ Northern Jubilee Auditorium
2-16 Calgary, Alberta @ Southern Jubilee Auditorium
2-17 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan @ TCU Place
2-19 Duluth, MN @ DECC Arena
2-20 Madison, WI @ Overture Hall
2-21 East Lansing, MI @ Wharton Cobb Great Hall
2-23 Hamilton, Ontario @ Hamilton Place Theatre
2-24 London, Ontario @ Centennial Hall
2-26 Quebec City, Quebec @ Imperial de Quebec
2-27 Montreal, Quebec @ Olympia de Montreal
3-01 Ottawa, Ontario @ National Arts Centre
3-03 Halifax, Nova Scotia @ Halifax Forum Multipurpose Room
3-22 Miami, FL @ Jackie Gleason Theater
3-23 Clearwater, FL @ Ruch Eckard Hall
3-25 Savannah, GA @ Johnny Mercer Theatre
3-26 Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre
3-27 Durham, NC @ Durham Performing Arts Center
3-29 Richmond, VA @ The National
3-30 Bethesda, MD @ Strathmore
3-31 Scranton, PA @ Scranton Cultural Center
4-02 Montclair, NJ @ The Wellmont Theatre
4-03 Montclair, NJ @ The Wellmont Theatre
4-04 Providence, RI @ Lupo's
4-06 Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre
4-07 Concord, NH @ Capitol Center for Arts
4-09 Hartford, CT @ Bushnell Center
4-10 Philadelphia, PA @ The Electric Factory
4-11 Pittsburgh, PA @ Carnegie Music Hall

Sean Hayes Release on the Horizon...

Sean Hayes has been busy lately...
New EP, Honeybees Falling available now!

New full-length album, Run Wolves Run out March 2nd, 2010

Get the Honeybees Falling, EP for FREE immediately when you pre-order
Run Wolves Run on vinyl, CD or digital download.
** all pre-ordered CD’s & vinyl will be autographed! **

In addition to all the new music about to drop, he slashed the prices on all 5 albums from the back catalog. Check out the website to view pre-order details, album artwork, & track listings, etc.
www.seanhayesmusic.com

Bela Fleck Plucking Through Ann Arbor...

From ThrowDownYourheart.com:

“Throw Down Your Heart” follows American banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck on his journey to Africa to explore the little known African roots of the banjo and record an album. It’s a boundary-breaking musical adventure that celebrates the beauty and complexity of Africa – an Africa that is very different from what is often seen in the media today.

As Ugandan folk musician Haruna Walusimbi states in the film: “There is this negative thinking about Africa. There is nothing good in Africa. They are beggars, there is HIV/AIDS, they are at war all the time. But that is just a very small bit of what Africa is.” Béla’s trip provides a glimpse into the incredibly rich and diverse musical traditions of Africa.

At first glance, it might seem odd that the banjo is the catalyst for this journey. But in fact, the banjo is originally an African instrument. And Béla Fleck’s passion for the banjo runs deep. In his trailblazing 30-year career, Béla has brought the instrument into jazz, pop, classical, and world music settings, and won eight Grammys along the way (not to mention the 20 nominations, in more distinct categories than anyone else, ever).



Now Bela Fleck will be taking the soul & energy of his African trip on tour. He will present the acoustic tour (Febraury & March) The Africa Project featuring a variety of African musicians, including Bassekou Kouate, Ngoni Ba, Anania Ngoliga and John Kitime. The tour will stop in Ann Arbor on February 17th at Hill Auditorium.

February 2010
2 - Durango, CO @ Fort Lewis College
3 - Santa Fe, NM @ Lensic Performing Arts Center
4 - Fort Collins, CO @ Aggie Theater
5 - Aspen, CO @ Wheeler Opera House
6 - Grand Junction, CO @ Avalon Theater
8 - Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
10 - Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
11 - Oxford, MS @ Lyric Theater
12 - Murray, KY @ Murray State University
13 - Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall
14 - Urbana, IL @ TBA
16 - Cleveland, OH @ Oberlin's Finney Chapel
17 - Ann Arbor, MI @ University of Michigan
18 - Athens, OH @ Ohio University
19 - Indianapolis, IN @ Butler University
20 - Omaha, NE @ Holland Performing Arts Center
21 - Chicago, IL @ Old Town School
22 - Hamilton, OH @ Miami University
24 - Wilmington, DE @ Grand Opera House
25 - Storrs, CT @ University of Connecticut
26 - Waterville, ME @ Opera House
27 - Lewisburg, PA @ Bucknell University

March 2010
1 - Ottawa, Ontario @ Ottawa Jazz Festival
2 - Brunswick, ME @ Bowdoin College
3 - State College, PA @ Penn State University
4 - Roanoke, VA @ Jefferson Center
5 - Frederick, MD @ Weinberg Center
6 - Atlanta, GA @ Georgia Tech University
8 - Orlando, FL @ Plaza Theater
9 - Fort Pierce, FL @ Sunrise Theater
10 - Jacksonville, FL @ Florida Theater
11 - Tuscaloosa, AL @ BAMA Theater
12 - Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel