Music News Net

Great Hudson River Revival to Honor Pete & Toshi Seeger

MUSIC NEWS- Folk music legend Pete Seeger's vision and desire to clean up NY's Hudson River in the 1960s prompted a series of riverside concerts throughout the Hudson Valley to help raise the funds to “build a boat to save the river.”  The banjo case was laid open to accept contributions, and this was the start of Hudson River Sloop Clearwater that also laid the foundations for the Great Hudson River Revival. This year’s Great Hudson River Revival will honor the late Pete and Toshi Seeger, co-founders of the festival and the organization.  And, organizers of the fest have announced news on the many Clearwater friends that will perform tributes over the festival weekend this June.

The Great Hudson River Revival, the country’s oldest music and environmental festival, brings together major musical performers and Clearwater’s own brand of green activism for a unique weekend every June. This year, the Clearwater Festival will take place on June 21 and 22, on the banks of the Hudson River at beautiful Croton Point Park, Croton-On-Hudson, NY.

 (Pete Seeger photo courtesy: Econosmith)

Neil Young Announces "A Letter Home" Box Set Release

MUSIC NEWS-  Neil Young will release a CD, digital album and a Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set of his recent vinyl album A Letter Home on Reprise Records on May 27. The box set is a beautifully packaged expanded version of the vinyl edition first released on February 21by Jack White's Third Man Records.

The Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set will also contain a Download card for the hi-res Audiophile version of the album. 

Young recorded the collection of covers with White on a refurbished 1947 Voice-O-Graph recording booth at Third Man's Nashville headquarters.  Think of a very simple recording studio not much larger than a phone booth and you'll get the idea.  Young described the album as "an unheard collection of rediscovered songs from the past recorded on ancient electro-mechanical technology captures and unleashes the essence of something that could have been gone forever."  Recorded live to track to one-track, mono, the album has an inherent warm, primitive feel of a vintage Folkways recording.

Conor Oberst Readies "Upside Down Mountain" Release and Tour

MUSIC NEWS- Singer-songwriter Conor Oberst recently signed to Nonesuch Records, which releases his new solo album Upside Down Mountain on May 20.  But before the album release, a limited-edition seven-inch single will be released exclusively for Record Store Day (Saturday, April 19^th). This special single will feature album track “Hundreds Of Ways” along with album outtake “Fast Friends” on the B-side. 

Oberst then kicks off the first leg of a world tour in support of the new album on May 8, 2014 in North Carolina. His friends and colleagues Dawes appear on the bill as “Special Guests”; both opening the concerts and performing as Oberst’s band for the tour.  Tickets are on sale to the general public now

 

Neil Young and Crazy Horse Cancel North American Tour Dates Due to Injury

MUSIC NEWS - Neil Young & Crazy Horse have regretfully announced that in addition to canceling their remaining dates on their European tour, they must also cancel their upcoming USA concert dates due to a hand injury sustained by guitarist Poncho Sampredo.  His doctor has now indicated that Sampredo's hand requires additional time to heal properly.

"We are sorry for any inconvenience this causes to our fans or the Festivals where we were scheduled to appear," the band has said in a statement. "As you must be, we too are disappointed at this unfortunate turn of events."

THE OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW Releases "Carry Me Back to Virginia"

MUSIC NEWS- The Old Crow Medicine Show (OCMS) have released their new EP Carry Me Back To Virginia. The EP features three songs, including "Carry Me Back To Virginia" which is being shipped to Country radio this week. The other two tracks are a newly recorded version of "Ain't It Enough", and a cover of the No. 1 hit Alabama song "Dixieland Delight." This EP is available digitally all digital music outlets. Look for the physical release to hit retail stores on August 6th.

And, the band will be on a big summer tour which will find them traveling from coast to coast through the end of August. The band has made a name for themselves as an exciting and relentless touring act, and this summer will provide no exception to that. For a complete tour itinerary, please see below.

BOB DYLAN, WILCO and MY MORNING JACKET to Embark on Summer Americanarama Festival Tour

MUSIC NEWS- Music legend Bob Dylan will be on tour this summer with My Morning Jacket and Wilco as the "Americanarama Festival of Music".

This morning, an announcement for the tour appeared on Dylan's website, along with the festival's logo, with the slogan "Meet me there – Beat me there!"  Besides Mr Dylan and his band and the other headliners, other music artists will include the Richard Thompson Electric Trio and Ryan Bingham at select venues.

Levon Helm Doc, "Ain't In It for My Health" Set to Release on April 19

MUSIC NEWS - Kino Lorber announced recently their acquisition of North American distribution rights to the music documentary AIN’T IN IT FOR MY HEALTH: A FILM ABOUT LEVON HELM, an in-depth and intimate look at music legend Levon Helm, who died of cancer in April 2012.  On April 19th, the first anniversary Levon Helm’s death,  the documentary “Ain’t in It for My Health: A Film About Levon Helm”  will make its USA theatrical debut in NYC.

Levon Helm was in the middle of an intensively creative period in the years just before his death. In addition to establishing the Midnight Ramble concert series as a must-see music experience, Helm’s Dirt Farmer (Vanguard/Dirt Farmer Music) earned the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album in February of 2008, and in November of that same year, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him among The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. In 2010, his follow up album Electric Dirt, also won a Grammy Award in the inaugural category of ‘Best Americana Album.’ In 2011, his live album Ramble at the Ryman was nominated for the Grammy in the same category – and won.

The Avett Brothers, Feist and Beck Announced as 2013 Newport Folk Festival Headliners

MUSIC NEWS- Newport Folk Fest producers announced The Avett Brothers and Beck as headliners of the 2013 Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island this July.  The three-day outdoor fest line up has been set with with Phosphorescent, Amanda Palmer, Jim James among others.  The Newport Folk Fest producer Jay Sweet provided this statement when announcing the North Carolina folk group as one of the headliners:

“The Avett Brothers were the first band I ever booked for this festival. I had worked with them on a festival in Jackson Hole, and after a memorable gondola ride up the mountain, I just knew they would find a home and a welcoming family at Fort Adams. You see, the Brothers are just that, Family. Since that first show, we have all grown up together both personally and professionally. They are loyal, they are kind, they have trusted me when they had no reason to and best of all they can flat out play. Whether it be on a stage, on the roof, on a scissor lift, or the backstage lawn just for fun, they’ve basically done it all at Newport except for one thing, headline. Thankfully that will change this summer. Please welcome home The Avett Brothers.”

DAWES Announces More Concert Dates

MUSIC NEWS - L.A. rock quartet Dawes have revealed additional tour dates for 2013. After recently wrapping up a life-changing trip to Rwanda where the band helped the UN charity Nothing But Nets raise awareness & funds to protect refugee families from malaria and a successful run at this year's SXSW Music Festival, Dawes are currently on the road touring a number of independent record stores across America, performing songs off their forthcoming full-length album, the Jacquire King (Tom Waits, Kings of Leon, Norah Jones)-produced, Stories Don't End (out April 9 via HUB Records). Immediately following the current tour, Dawes will then support the legendary Bob Dylan on a number of dates beginning Friday, April 5 at Alumni Arena in Buffalo, NY.

DAWES Announces Spring Tour Dates Supporting BOB DYLAN

MUSIC NEWS - L.A. rock quartet Dawes have announced an upcoming tour that has them supporting the legendary Bob Dylan. Beginning immediately after the band's recently announced two-week tour of independent record stores across the USA, the Bob Dylan support tour will begin on Friday, April 5 at Alumni Arena in Buffalo, NY. Dawes will be traveling the country performing songs off their forthcoming full-length album, the Jacquire King (Tom Waits, Kings of Leon, Norah Jones) - produced, Stories Don't End.

Releasing on April 9, Stories Don't End is Dawes' first release on their own label, HUB Records. The album's first single, "From A Window Seat," recently premiered on RollingStone.com and will also be performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday, May 16. 

Stephen King, John Mellencamp and T Bone Burnett Penned GHOST BROTHERS of DARKLAND COUNTY Set for March Release

MUSIC NEWS- The all-star recording of Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, a southern gothic supernatural musical from co-conspirators Stephen King, John Mellencamp and T Bone Burnett has been finally set for release, by Hear Music/Concord Music Group. The collaboration features original music and lyrics plus key dialog excerpts performed by a stellar cast of guest artists including Elvis Costello, Rosanne Cash, Sheryl Crow, Neko Case,
Taj Mahal, Ryan Bingham and Kris Kristofferson, along with actors noted Matthew McConaughey, Samantha Mathis and Meg Ryan. This special release also includes the musical's complete libretto, penned by Stephen King.

A haunting tale of fraternal love, lust, jealousy and revenge 13 years in the making, Ghost Brothers of Darkland County will be released on March 19th, 2013.

The first track from the record, Elvis Costello's "That's Me," is up for your listening, below.

HEARTLESS BASTARDS Announce Autumn Tour Plans

MUSIC NEWS - Partisan Records has announce that Heartless Bastards have confirmed a run of headlining tour dates in October and November, in addition to the previously announced August and September dates. The tour marks their first time back in several major cities including Chicago, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington since the album's release, culminating with a show in the band's hometown of Austin, TX with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. 

Since the February release of Arrow, Heartless Bastards have toured much of the USA, playing both club dates and festivals, including Hangout Music Festival, Pickathon Festival, and Wakarusa Music Festival. The band has played songs from the new record on Late Show with David Letterman and Conan, and the released received NPR's First Listen treatment upon its release.

Steve Forbert Announces "Over With You" Album

MUSIC NEWS - Over With You is Steve Forbert’s first studio album in three years, and is said to be his a focused song cycle with an earnest account of the often-mixed emotions involved in personal relationships.  The ten new compositions combine the plainspoken honesty and insightful contemplations into this topic that perhaps only a man from Mississippi, the home state of both Jimmie Rodgers and Tennessee Williams, could provide. And these songs make the case that Forbert should be considered in the first rank of American songwriters.

Produced by Grammy Award-winner Chris Goldsmith (who has worked with Ben Harper, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Ruthie Foster and Charlie Musselwhite), Over With You will be released September 11, 2012 on Blue Corn Music.

NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE Announce Autumn Tour Dates

MUSIC NEWS- Back on tour together for the first time since 2004, Neil Young & Crazy Horse today announced a lengthy autumn North American tour that starts up on October 3 in Windsor Ontario. Los Lobos and Patti Smith have signed on as support acts, seperately on the bill at several of the shows.  The tour will be to promote the first Neil Young & Crazy Horse album in almost nine years; Americana arrives June 5.

NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE 2012 Tour Itinerary-

Little Feat Readies ROOSTER RAG Release

MUSIC NEWS- Certainly one of the hardest working bands in show biz, today’s Little Feat is a seven-member powerhouse that carries on the group’s tradition of deftly blending rock, R&B and blues to create a jammin’ blend of Americana that has earned accolades from critics, fellow musicians and fans alike for over four decades.

Their new album, Rooster Rag is out June 26 via Rounder Records and features 10 brand new original songs including four co-writes with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter plus two blues classics, one from Mississippi John Hurt and one from Willie Dixon.  

Fred Tackett contributes four songs that demonstrate some superb songwriting and singing.  Paul Barrere drops a classic cover and a sizzling rocker written with the late Stephen Bruton.  Sam Clayton brings it with a cover of Little Walter.  New band member Gabe Ford keeps Feat’s funky rhythms going in a fashion that would have made Richie Hayward proud.  And Kenny Gradney just keeps on providing a truly superb bottom end.