Great Lake Swimmers Return to The Ark...

Great Lake Swimmers return to The Ark in Ann Arbor on Thursday, August 25th.

MMJ Storytellers Premieres June 3rd...

From VH1.com:
My Morning Jacket front man Jim James declared “[touring] ain’t what like the Beastie Boys promised!” as they ripped into fan-favorite “One Big Holiday” in front of an intimate 200 member-audience last night at the taping of VH1 Storytellers at Metropolis Studios in New York, NY.

The hour-long VH1 Storytellers episode will feature the band performing a selection of songs including “Gideon,” “Dondante,” and a new track, “Wonderful,” from their upcoming album. While introducing “Dondante,” an emotional James told the story of the childhood friend who gave him his first guitar, formed their first band and collectively dreamed of appearing on VH1 Storytellers. That friend has since died, but James explained that he was with them on stage in spirit as their boyhood dream came true last night.

James also spoke of hitting the road during the beginning of the band’s burgeoning career. Prior to setting out on tour in a new van, James was spending Christmas with his grandmother, who asked James if he would be playing music in bars. When James responded with a yes, his grandmother said that “bars are dark and lonely places,” a warning that turned into a key line of the song “Golden.”

Viewers at home will gain a unique opportunity to hear My Morning Jacket share additional stories and insight into their unique songwriting process. This exclusive performance, VH1 Storytellers: My Morning Jacket will premiere on Friday, June 3rd.

Several online-exclusive performances from the show will be available at Storytellers.VH1.com leading up to and following the on-air premiere. The full show will be available at Storytellers.VH1.com following the on-air premiere on Friday, June 3rd.

Now, for you die-hard My Morning Jacket fans out there, here was last night’s VH1 Storytellers setlist:
“Wordless Chorus”
“The Way That He Sings”
“Golden”
“Circuital”
“Movin Away”
“Dondante”
“Gideon”
“Smokin’ From Shootin’”
“Movin Away”
“Wonderful (The Way I Feel)”
“Lullabys, Legends & Lies (by Shel Silverstein)”
“One Big Holiday”

Video: R.E.M. ~ Mine Smell Like Honey...

Video: R.E.M. Interview (Collapse Into Now)...

The Black Keys Set Summer Tour Dates...

The Black Keys, fresh off receiving multiple Grammy Awards for their latest Nonesuch album, Brothers, have announced plans for a summer tour of the United States and Canada. The band will be joined for most of the dates by special guests Cage the Elephant and, for the first date in June, by Booker T. Jones, Nicole Atkins & The Black Sea. Fan pre-sale for the newly announced June and July shows starts this Wednesday, February 23, at 10 AM local time through MusicToday.com and ends at 10 PM the night prior to the public on sale. Public on sale is either Friday, Feburary 25, or Saturday, February 26.

Below are the currently scheduled tour dates, including their recently announced stops at the Bonnaroo and Coachella festivals. For more information, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.

To pick up a copy of the Grammy Award-winning album Brothers, with high-quality, 320 kbps MP3s of the album included at checkout, head to the Nonesuch Store.

THE BLACK KEYS ON TOUR
4/14 Mesa Amphitheatre* Mesa, AZ
4/15 Coachella Festival Indio, CA
5/22 Hang Out Festival Gulf Shores, AL
6/10 The Law at White River State Park** Indianapolis, IN
6/11 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival Manchester, TN
6/27 Deer Lake Park* Vancouver, BC
6/28 Stampede Corral* Calgary, AB
6/29 Rexall Palace* Edmonton, AB
6/30 TCU Place* Saskatoon, SK
7/2 MTS Centre* Winnipeg, MB
7/3 Roy Wilkins Auditorium* Minneapolis, MN
7/5 Stir Cove Amphitheatre* Council Bluffs, IA
7/7 Molson Amphitheatre* Toronto, ON
7/10 Quebec City Summer Festival* Quebec City, QC
7/11 Bell Centre* Montreal, QC
7/12 John Labatt Centre* London, ON
7/13 Artpark* Buffalo, NY

Ray LaMontagne Adds Summer Tour & Live EP...

To go along with their summer tour, Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs are set to release Live - Spring 2010, a new EP featuring 5 new live performances from Ray's Avatar Session including a cover of Bob Dylan's "The Man In Me."

Live - Spring 2010 will be available exclusively at Ray's Music Store on 10" vinyl and as part of his Summer Tour Bundle, with pre-orders starting later this week. All pre-orders come with an instant digital download of the entire EP and exclusive first access to tickets for the upcoming Summer Tour.

Tickets for the tour will be available for pre-sale from March 1st - March 3rd at www.raylamontagne.com and on sale to the general public on March 4th and 5th. Most dates include Brandi Carlile as a support act.

Tour Dates:
5/25 Waterbury, CT @ Palace Theatre
5/26 Bangor, ME @ Waterfront
5/27 Burlington, @ VT Midway Lawn
5/28 Montreal, QUE @ St. Denis
5/30 Toronto, ONT @ Massey Hall
5/31 New York, NY @ Summerstage
6/1 Boston, MA @ Bank of America Pavilion
6/3 Saratoga, NY @ SPAC
6/4 Canandaigua, NY @ CMAC
6/6 Rochester, MI @ Meadow Brook
6/7 Chicago, IL @ Millennium Park
6/8 Cleveland, OH @ Nautica
6/10 Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo
6/11 Columbus, OH @ LC Pavilion
6/12 Cincinnati, OH @ PNC Pavilion
6/14 Indianapolis, IN @ Lawn @ White River
6/15 Kansas City, KS @ Starlight
6/7 Denver, CO @ Red Rocks
6/18 Salt Lake City, UT @ Library Square
6/20 Missoula, MT @ Big Sky Brewery
6/21 Boise, ID @ Idaho Botanical

DMB to Host Summer Music Fests Across U.S....

Dave Matthews Band will host four three-day music festivals across the US this summer. The multi-stage events will feature a wide array of diverse musical talent with Dave Matthews Band performing a headlining set each night. Exact locations, lineups, ticketing and lodging info will be announced soon.

JUNE 24-26...North East/Mid Atlantic
JULY 8-10...Midwest
AUGUST...coming soon!
SEPTEMBER...coming soon!

Video: Local Natives ~ Tiny Desk Concert (NPR)...

Video: Radiohead ~ Lotus Flower...

Arcade Fire Announce 2011 Tour Dates...

Arcade Fire 2011 Tour Dates:
4/09 – Broomfield, CO @ 1st Bank Center *
4/11 – Orem, UT @ UCCU Center *
4/13 – Phoenix, AZ @ Comerica Theatre *
4/14 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint *
4/16 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music Festival
4/18 – Santa Fe, NM @ Santa Fe Convention Center
4/20 – Kansas City, MO @ Starlight Amphitheatre #
4/22 – Chicago, IL @ UIC Pavilion #
4/24 – Chicago, IL @ UIC Pavilion #
4/25 – Chicago, IL @ UIC Pavilion #
4/27 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Lawn at White River State Park #
4/28 – Memphis, TN @ Orpheum Theatre
4/30 – Dallas, TX @ Gexa Energy Pavilion &
5/03 – Austin, X @ The Backland ^

* = w/ Local Natives
# = w/ The National
& = w/ Okkervil River
^ = w/ Explosions in the Sky

Video: Adele ~ NPR Tiny Desk Concert...

Songbird Julia Klee is Ready to Fly...

The nice thing about beautiful vocals is they speak for themselves. Julia Klee is one such vocalist who is prepared to step into the limelight and take her talents to the world. She has assembled all the pieces and found a style that allows the listener to appreciate her voice. Chicago has known about Julia for years . . . no doubt her fan base is set to spread with her debut release.

Ever since Julia Klee was a kid, she has stopped audiences cold with her breathtaking voice. Formerly a classically trained singer and pianist, she made waves most recently in the Chicago music scene as the female counterpart of critically acclaimed songwriter Joe Pug's music entourage. Julia Klee was invited to sing at Lollapalooza last summer with Pug along with several sold out shows at Schubas and Hideout. Time Out Chicago took note of her performances, raving "She's got pipes that rival Neko Case and Kelly Hogan." Currently, Julia Klee has stepped to the front of the stage for her solo career. With a string of brilliantly crafted piano driven tunes backed by a cast of Alt. Country musicians (including Jay and Tim Bennett formerly of The Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash), Julia Klee plans to come out with a new album this fall, a collections of songs she wrote on her mother's classical guitar and a hand-me-down piano.

"She's got pipes that rival Neko Case and Kelly Hogan"
- TIME OUT CHICAGO

"Showstopping vocals and songs that were at once unique and accessible, in the vein of Neko Case. Keep your eyes open for her, as well."
- Windy City Rock

"She has a varying music style all the way from rock to country and folk, and a voice to be jealous of."
- Gapers Block

"Julia Klee has a Chicago career of her own but shares a huge voice for harmony."
- NO DEPRESSION

Big Charade by Julia Klee

OVERPASS by Julia Klee

Talk by Julia Klee

tUnE-yArDs To Play Pike Room in Pontiac...

tUnE yArDs will play The Pike Room in Pontiac, Michigan on May 11th. Their latest effort is w h o k i l l, which will be released on April 19th.

TUNE YARDS is the singular musical project of New England native Merrill Garbus. Possessing an expansive sound that marries a coarse folk ingenuity with the bold pop sensibility of an R&B siren, her music is assembled with a staunch DIY aesthetic. Recording herself using a digital voice recorder and assembled using shareware mixing software, she was described by Stereogum as “a self-contained Sublime Frequencies compilation, jumping between blues, African tunes, shiny reggae-esque sprawls, and lo-fi folk”, infusing the worldly sonic palette of M.I.A. and post-punk pioneers The Raincoats.

tUnE-yArDs - Bizzness by ListenBeforeYouBuy

Flaming Lips Set Detroit Date...

Flaming Lips will play the Detroit Fillmore in Detroit, Michigan on Friday, May 13th. Tickets went on Sale February 11th. No confirmation yet if this is a "Soft Bulletin" show that features all the tracks of this album.

Video: Local Natives ~ A Take Away Show...

Adele Tour Includes Royal Oak, MI...

Adele has announced a North America tour in support of her sophomore album 21, available on February 22. The tour will kick off in Washington, DC on May 12 and run through June 20 in Nashville, TN (click here for a full list of dates). Adele will perform at Royal Oak Music Theatre on May 23rd. Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday February 11, but you have the exciting opportunity to get a pre-sale tickets beginning Wednesday February 9 at 12pm est/ 9am pst exclusively via www.Adele.tv.

Listen to 21 on NPR

Tour Dates:
5/12 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
5/13 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
5/15 Boston, MA @ House of Blues
5/16 Montreal, QC @ Olympia Theater
5/18 Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
5/19 New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
5/23 Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
5/24 Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theater
5/26 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
5/28 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
5/29 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
5/31 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
5/31 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
6/1 Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market
6/3 Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
6/4 San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield Theatre
6/8 San Diego, CA @ Humphreys Concerts by the Bay
6/9 Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
6/12 Austin, TX @ Stubbs Waller Creek
6/15 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
6/17 Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
6/18 Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
6/20 Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium

Nelsonville Music fest Announces Line-Up...

From Nelsonville Music Festival website:
Last night at Casa Cantina, we announced the headliners for this year's edition of the Nelsonville Music Festival to a packed house. Duke Jr. and the Smokey Boots, Scubadog, Whale Zombie and Chris Biester (all of whom will be making appearances at this year's fest) provided the music for the evening. Thanks to all who came out to celebrate the good news with us! If you couldn't manage to make it out last night, here's a day-by-day breakdown of the headliners for Nelsonville Music Festival 2011.

Friday night, we'll be welcoming country music legend George Jones to the main stage. At almost 80 years old, Jones shows no signs of slowing down and is sure to deliver a set encompassing his expansive discography.

On Saturday, psychedelic rockers the Flaming Lips will close out the night. The Lips are well-known for their high energy live shows, complete with confetti cannons and costumed dancers. Expect to hear tracks from their 2009 release Embryonic as well as their 1999 classic The Soft Bulletin.

Sunday evening, alt-country songstress Neko Case will deliver the festival's final set. Case is perhaps best known for work with Canadian super-group The New Pornographers, but fans will be pleased to find that her solo material is equally as powerful.

We'll be announcing over 30 more bands in the coming months, all leading up to the festival itself on the weekend of May 13-15. We're extremely excited and we hope you are too!

Video: The Tallest Man On Earth...

Wearing Black as The White Stripes Break Up...

Posted on www.whitestripes.com on 2/2/11
The White Stripes would like to announce that today, February 2nd, 2011, their band has officially ended and will make no further recordings or perform live.

The reason is not due to artistic differences or lack of wanting to continue, nor any health issues as both Meg and Jack are feeling fine and in good health.

It is for a myriad of reasons, but mostly to preserve what is beautiful and special about the band and have it stay that way.

Meg and Jack want to thank every one of their fans and admirers for the incredible support that they have given throughout the 13 years plus of The White Stripes' intense and incredible career.

Third Man Records will continue to put out unreleased live and studio recordings from The White Stripes in their Vault subscription record club, as well as through regular channels.

Both Meg and Jack hope this decision isn't met with sorrow by their fans but that it is seen as a positive move done out of respect for the art and music that the band has created. It is also done with the utmost respect to those fans who've shared in those creations, with their feelings considered greatly.

With that in mind the band have this to say:
"The White Stripes do not belong to Meg and Jack anymore. The White Stripes belong to you now and you can do with it whatever you want. The beauty of art and music is that it can last forever if people want it to. Thank you for sharing this experience. Your involvement will never be lost on us and we are truly grateful."

Sincerely,
Meg and Jack White
The White Stripes