Music News Net

M Ward Readies "A Wasteland Companion" Album and Tour

MUSIC NEWS - It's been three years since Portland, OR-based troubadour M Ward released his last solo album, the much lauded Hold Time , and druing that time he’s toured the globe, released two albums as one half of Grammy-nominated duo She & Him as well as one with the talented group of friends collectively know as Monsters Of Folk. 

Now, Merge Records will release Ward’s anticipated sixth solo album, A Wasteland Companion, on April 10, 2012.   Inspired by his increasingly itinerant lifestyle Ward set forth to create something of a musical travelogue. He recently explained, “Between now and when I made Hold Time there has been a lot of traveling which requires a lot of reckoning with what to leave behind and what to carry – material and otherwise – and thinking about what I want versus what I need, creatively and otherwise. I wanted to get a reflection of that on the album. It was a process of stripping away my security blanket, which is the same four walls I always record in.”

John Wesley Harding Premiers "Sing Your Own Song" Video

MUSIC NEWS- Singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding has today premiered his new video for “Sing Your Own Song,” and it features comedian Eugene Mirman.  The song is from his new record The Sound of His Own Voice out now via Yep Roc Records.  The thirteen song set features backing from the all-star King Charles Trio, whose lineup includes John Moen, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee-Drizos and Nate Query, all members of The Decemberists, Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Scott McCaughey (Thee Minus Five, The Baseball Project), along with guest vocals from Rosanne Cash, Laura Veirs and John Roderick (The Long Winters). Recorded at the Type Foundry in Portland, OR, The Sound of His Own Voice was produced by Harding and McCaughey and mixed by Tucker Martine (My Morning Jacket, The Decemberists, Spoon). The album also features artwork by acclaimed photographer Jamie Baldridge.

Paul Simon to Take "Graceland" on the Road (the album, not the house)

MUSIC NEWS  - Paul Simon ha said he plans to take his iconic album from 1986, Graceland,  on the road in 2012, to mark the 25th anniversary of his 1987 tour for the album.  The tour is currently under development and is said to have Simon touring with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, who was featured on the Grammy winning album (1987's Album of the Year and Record of the Year, for the song) and performed live with him in '87.  The 2012 will be timed to coincide with upcoming ‘Graceland’ box set and legacy edition releases of the album due out in Spring 2012.

UK Folk Legend BERT JANSCH Dead at 67

MUSIC NEWS - Bert Jansch, the Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle, died in London on Wednesday, British media reported at 67.  Jansch was suffering from cancer and recently cancelled an Edinburgh concert due to health issues.  He was born in Glasgow in 1943 and became well known during the London folk revival during the 1960s as an accomplished acoustic guitar player.

He released “Bert Jansch,” his first album, which was played on a borrowed guitar, in 1965 and two years later formed Pentangle with Jacqui McShee, John Renbourn, Danny Thompson and Terry Cox.  The group performed together first in 1967, released their self-titled, debut album in 1968 and had a brief commercial success, mainly from their 1969 album “Basket of Light.”  Jansch was considered an key musical influence on musicians that range from Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin to Neil Young and Johnny Marr.

2012 Newport Jazz and Folk Fests Dates Announce

MUSIC NEWS- Newport Folk and Jazz Fests are a go for 2012 as today, George Wein, Chairman of the Newport Festivals Foundation, Inc.,  announced the dates of the 2012 Folk and Jazz festivals in Newport, RI. The Newport Folk Festival will be held July 28 & 29 and the Newport Jazz Festival is set for August 3 thru 5. Additional information will be announced in the coming months. 

"Following a sold-out 2011 Folk Festival and a very successful Jazz Festival, we want to make sure that music fans throughout the area and around the world have the 2012 dates on their calendars early," said Wein, who has produced the jazz and folk festivals since their inceptions in 1954 and 1959, respectively.

More information on the Newport Festivals, at  newportfolkfest.net and newportjazzfest.net.   Save the dates, and see you there!

John Wesley Harding To Tour with King Charles Trio

MUSIC NEWS - Acclaimed singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding is ready to tour the USA this autumn with the all-star King Charles Trio, whose lineup includes John Moen, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee-Drizos and Nate Query, all members of The Decemberists, Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Scott McCaughey (Thee Minus Five, The Baseball Project) with Thee Minus Five on the bill as support act.

Mr Harding tours on the heels of his newest record The Sound of His Own Voice out October 11 on Yep Roc Records. The 13 song set features backing from the King Charles Trio along with guest vocals from Rosanne Cash, Laura Veirs and John Roderick (The Long Winters). Recorded at the Type Foundry in Portland, OR, The Sound of His Own Voice was produced by Harding and McCaughey and mixed by Tucker Martine (My Morning Jacket, The Decemberists, Spoon) with artwork by acclaimed photographer Jamie Baldridge.

Dave Matthews Band Caravan Hits NYC This Weekend

 UPDATE 8/25/11- Due to Hurricane Irene, ticket holders for Saturday and Sunday are invited to attend the Friday event at Governors Island. The Governor of New York has issued a state of emergency, therefore the DMB Caravan events on Saturday, August 27th and Sunday, August 28th have been postponed. Organizers will announce the new Caravan Governors Island dates as soon as they have been confirmed.

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MUSIC NEWS - The “Dave Matthews Band Caravan” is coming to New York City’s Governors Island this weekend, August 26, 27 & 28 and MNN has the final line-up and set times (below). The traveling festival will feature performances by 18 artists, including a full set by headliners Dave Matthews Band each night and an acoustic performance by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds on Sunday, August 28.

Governors Island will be the third stop for “Dave Matthews Band Caravan,” which has already visited Atlantic City, NJ’s Bader Field and Chicago’s Lakeside.  Located in the heart of New York Harbor, you can reach Governors Island via free concert ferries that will begin running at 1 pm on Friday and Saturday and at 12:30 pm on Sunday from Battery Park in Lower Manhattan and Liberty Harbor Marina in Jersey City, NJ. Detailed directions are available at dmbcaravan.com/governors-island-travel/.

STRAWBS Return For North American Tour

MUSIC NEWS - You'll find the Strawbs this season on the East Coast, West Coast and all across Canada, as they plan to spend a serious amount of the Fall of 2011 in North America. And Singer guitarist David Cousins, guitarist Dave Lambert and bassist Chas Cronk  won't likely be doing the same shows each night on this run.  We'll have nights like their September 14 tour debut at the Town Crier in Pawling, where the Acoustic Strawbs will hold court all by themselves. And then there will be fall evenings when the Strawbs are pursued by The Zombies. Either way, we know you're in for a night of superb British rock.

Coming out of the early days of the British folk movement, David Cousins, Tony Hooper formed The Strawberry Hill Boys (it was shortened to the Strawbs) to play bluegrass. For a while, they counted Sandy Denny as a member (before she went on to Fairport Convention). As the group got deeper into a more “progressive” sound, they also featured Rick Wakeman [who will also tour the USA this fall] , before he went on to Yes.

(photo of Acoustic Strawbs & Rick Wakeman from July 2011 UK gig by Dick Greener)

Newport Folk and Jazz Fests to Simulcast Live

MUSIC NEWS - Continuing its tradition of bringing listeners the best live music from across the country, NPR Music, together with six partner radio stations, is exclusively live webcasting and broadcasting dozens of performances from this year's (sold out) Newport Folk Festival and the August 6 & 7 Newport Jazz Festival, offering four days of music from leading bands, singers and artists.  

For the Folk Festival on July 30 and 31, NPR Music and WFUV New York, FolkAlley.com (WKSU) Kent, OH, and mvyradio in Martha's Vineyard and Newport, RI are live video streaming many acclaimed acts. At the Jazz Festival on August 6 and 7, NPR Music with WBGO Newark, 89.7 WGBH Radio Boston and WICN New England are broadcasting and audio webcasting line-ups from three stages.

Newport Folk Festival Releases 2011 Stage Schedule

Music News - The organizers of this year's NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL have released the final schedule of performers/ stages for the July 30/31 event.  See below-

 

News on the live simulcast here. 

BOB DYLAN Announces USA Summer Tour Plans

MUSIC NEWS- With his 70th birthday behind him, the legendary Bob Dylan has announced a new segment of his “Never Ending Tour” with USA concert dates.  Mr Dylan starts up his USA 2011 summer dates in California.

BOB DYLAN Summer 2011 USA Tour Itinerary-

GILLIAN WELCH's New "The Harrow & The Harvest" Out in June

MUSIC NEWS- Acony Records has announced a June 28, 2011 release of The Harrow & The Harvest, the new album by Gillian Welch.   The set features ten new songs recorded at her own Woodland Sound Studios in Nashville, TN and was produced by David Rawlings.  On May 30, 2011, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings will embark on a North American tour supporting The Harrow & The Harvest that will continue through the summer and into the fall.  The acclaimed duet will visit over seventy cities in their most extensive tour in over a decade.

The Harrow & The Harvest, "is a new Southern sound," wrote Colin Meloy of The Decemberists, "with the sort of songs you wouldn't be surprised to hear issuing from some verdant, wooded hollow in Appalachia;  Songs you'd expect to hear hollered from an Asheville grange hall, all too late in the evening.  Songs with the wry humor of the back porch.  Listen to this record with the lights low.  Listen to it on an old radio, cradled next to your ear."

 

BON IVER Sets USA Concert Run

MUSIC NEWS - Bon Iver has confirmed an extensive USA tour which will bring the band to their largest venues to date, kicking off with two home-state shows at Milwaukee's Pabst Theater on July 22.  And, after a record sellout at Brooklyn's Prospect Park Bandshell in NYC, the band confirms a second NYC show at the United Palace on August 9.

For the shows, indie folk singer/songwrier, Justin Vernon will be performing with an 8-piece band that includes many of the musicians who contributed to the forthcoming album 'Bon Iver' that releases on June 21 via Jagjaguwar. The touring band will consist of regular Bon Iver contributors Sean Carey (drums, piano), Mike Noyce (guitar) and Matt McCaughan (drums), Rob Moose on violin and guitar (Antony and the Johnsons, The National), Mike Lewis on bass (Andrew Bird, Happy Apple), and a horn section including Reginald Pace, Colin Stetson (Tom Waits, Arcade Fire), and C.J. Camerieri (Rufus Wainwright, Sufjan Stevens).

James Vincent McMorrow Plans USA Trek

MUSIC NEWS - Dublin’s singer/songwriter James Vincent McMorrow will be in the USA next month, spending most of June touring here. Starting June 6, James will support Bell X1 in New York City, Boston and Chicago before joining up with The Civil Wars on June 12 in San Diego for a handful of west coast dates.  James will also be performing a special headlining show at Mercury Lounge in NYC on Friday, June 10 (full itinerary below). 

DAVID BROMBERG Readies July USE ME Release

MUSIC NEWS - DAVID BROMBERG announces his follow up to his 2007 Try Me One More Time (after a 17 year recording hiatus) with the upcoming release on July 12 of USE ME (out via Appleseed Records.  And for this one Bromberg asked some of his favorite singer-songwriters and musicians to write (or choose), produce, and perform on songs tailored to his versatile but distinctive guitarist and vocalist skills. 

Responding were well-known artists from the many genres that comprise the amorphous “Americana” musical category.  Folks like the rootsy singer-songwriters: John Hiatt, the first musician Bromberg approached, who penned the pensive “Ride On Out a Ways” for him; for New Orleans “fonk,” Dr. John; there’s three-guitar jam band interplay with Widespread Panic and jug band music with Levon Helm (the sprightly “Bring It With You When You Come,” produced by Grammy-winning Larry Campbell). Linda Ronstadt puts in a rare appearance on a soulful Brook Benton ballad, Los Lobos contribute a Mexican-flavored waltz, Vince Gill and Tim O’Brien take care of the country and bluegrass quotient, Keb’ Mo’ brings the blues, and the hitmaking Butcher Brothers, producers Phil and Joe Nicolo (Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Cypress Hill, Nine Inch Nails), provide the  R&B groove for the title song, a cover of Bill Withers’ classic “Use Me.”