"Young, Broke and Beautiful," the IFC travel show that filmed an episode in Baltimore in March, will broadcast that episode Friday.

An IFC spokeswoman said that while host Stuart Schuffman - aka Broke-Ass Stuart - was in town, he went  "to see singer Landis Expandis’ boom box collection, gets a taste of crabs, parties with the locals, listens in on a rhyme fest  with Ms Streamz (sic), visits Mink Stole at the American Visionary Museum, attends a live hypnotherapy performance and moves his body at a live show with Dan Deacon."

In March, Schuffman  taped a semi-secret performance at the Bell Foundry that featured Deacon, Jimmy Joe Roche, Ed Schrader, the Santa Dads, and keyboard-and-trumpet duo The Creepers. They also taped a Double Dagger show.

Continue reading "IFC show featuring Baltimoreans, including Dan Deacon, to premiere Friday" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Local music
        

The African American Festival, which takes place Saturday and Sunday, has released its performance schedule, posted below in full.

The most well known performers this year are Charlie Wilson, Estelle ("American Boy"), Chrisette Michelle, Paula Campbell and Noel Gourdine.

Performances will take place on two different stages, Culture and Music. Admission to the festival is free. 

On Saturday, performances start at noon and end at 10 p.m. while on Sunday they start at noon and end at 9 p.m. On the music stage Saturday, Gourdine will perform at 5 p.m.; Estelle and Michelle will be on sometime between then and 10 p.m., the schedule does not specify.

Wilson will perform at 7:45 p.m. Sunday on the music stage, preceded by Campbell.  We'll have an interview with Wilson later this week.

Organizers have also released a map of its layout at M&T Bank Stadium.

One of the largest of its kind on the East Coast, the festival attracts some 300,000 people every year, according to the city. 

Map and schedule are posted below:

Continue reading "African-American Festival performance schedule released; Estelle on Saturday, Charlie Wilson on Sunday" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Local music
        

Chuck Brown has been making music now for over 50 years. On Saturday, he'll be one of the headliners at the inaugural Roots Festival. In an interview, Brown said he's not interested in retiring and still has new ideas to try out.

Here's an excerpt from that interview:

"I don't feel like retiring. I don't get any questions as to why I should retire," he said in his blustery baritone. "Music is just something I still want to do. I still enjoy it. The older I get, the more I want to play."

Brown picked up music when he was around 6 or 7, playing piano at his church and singing gospel songs.

"Run Joe," one of the songs in "We Got This," goes back to his youth. "I used to sing it when I was shining shoes," he remembered. "I knew if one day I was a musician, I would sing it."

The rest of the interview is here.  The schedule for Roots Fest is here.

Posted by Erik Maza at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

This year's Rap Round Robin has a line-up, and it includes Rapdragons, Height with Friends, AK Slaughter and Mickey Free.

The show, now in its fifth year, will take place August 19 at the Floristree.

One of the organizers sent me the full bill, which was finished late last week.

Continue reading "Rapdragons, Height with Friends, AK Slaughter to perform at fifth Rap Round Robin" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

Talib Kweli, Chuck Brown and Anthony David will perform Saturday at Baltimore's first Roots Festival.

The multi-faceted event, which started June 22 and also includes an outdoor festival and workshops at community centers in West Baltimore and MICA, is meant to draw attention to the area in West Baltimore affected by the unsuccessful "Highway to Nowhere" project. 

On Saturday, it's the music portion of the event, which will take place over the 52 acres of green space that sits atop the "Highway to Nowhere," specifically at Franklin and N. Gilmor streets.

The schedule for the main stage, where the headliners will perform, is below. Organizers recently posted it on the festival's website. 

Schedule:

3 p.m. - Chuck Brown

5 p.m. - Anthony David

7 p.m. - Sunni Patterson

7:30 p.m. - Southern Roots Collective

9 p.m. - Talib Kweli

There will also be two other stages. Organizers have a comprehensive schedule of other acts on their website.

Continue reading "Roots Festival schedule released; Talib Kweli to close festival Saturday night" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 1:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Local music
        

Rye Rye will perform at Merriweather Post Pavilion Wednesday at Katy Perry's show.

The rapper will duet with opener Robyn, whose "Be Mine," she features in new single "Never Will be Mine."

After the Merriweather show, Rye Rye, whose new album will be out later this summer, will join the tour full time, she wrote on her Facebook page Monday.

Rye Rye's  "Never Will be Mine" is posted below:

Continue reading "Rye Rye joins Katy Perry tour, including Merriweather stop" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Trombone Shorty, and Matt & Kim will headline Silopanna, a new music festival this year produced by Rams Head Promotions.

The line-up for the one-day festival, which takes place August 27 at at Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds in Crownsville, was announced today.

It also includes Fitz and the Tantrums, Jimie's Chicken Shack, All Mighty Senators, Grilled Lincolns, Harper Blynn, as well as some regional acts that were not included in today's press release.

Silopanna, if you hadn't caught on, is Annapolis spelled backwards.

Silopanna is joining a crowded festival season, but, in today's press release, 103.1 WRNR DJ Bob Waugh is quoted as saying, “In Silopanna, there finally is a local music festival we can really get behind."

Waugh might want to review all the festivals that have taken place already this year - Scapescape, Starscape, Sweetlife, Deathfest - and those that are coming up - Artscape, African American Fest, HFStival, and Virgin Mobile.

Silopanna is intended to be a family-friendly event; the festival is open to all ages and children under the age of six are admitted for free.

Cost of admission was not included in the press release is $39.50; tickets go on sale June 17.

Continue reading "New music festival from Rams Head features Sharon Jones, Matt & Kim; plus, Jill Scott concert news" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Local music, Music News
        

It's been a while since we've heard from Rye Rye. Last time, we got the totally shocking news that her album was getting delayed yet again.

Today, her latest single, "Never Will be Mine," was released on iTunes.

It features Robyn, another favorite of the blog, doing an acoustic version of her "Be Mine."

Hear it below:

Continue reading "Rye Rye releases new single featuring Robyn" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 1:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

Lots of cities have electronic music festivals.

Barcelona's had Sonar since 1994. Miami's Ultra, which started as a sideshow to the long-running, industry-heavy Winter Music Conference, is now, after a decade, its own free-standing event. 

New York City only got its own, Electric Zoo, two years ago. 

Maryland has had Starscape now for 13 years.

Celebrated annually at Fort Armistead Park, the festival will host at least 70 of the best up-and-coming and major headliners in electronic and dance this weekend.

The full schedule is here.  Here are five you shouldn’t miss:

Continue reading "Five Acts to Watch at Starscape: Bassnectar, Skrillex, Infected Mushroom, Uncle Jesse, Mux Mool" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 4:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

Adam Schwarz, who's DJ'ing tonight at Club Hippo at his monthly Deep in the Game party, is giving away an online-exclusive track every day this month. The first one, "Babes," was posted Wednesday, and the second, "La La La La La," went up yesterday. 

The giveaway is similar to Kanye West's weekly music giveaway, G.O.O.D. Fridays, where he showed off some of the tracks that ended up on "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy."

Schwarz said his idea was inspired by other rappers who've given away music away online, including Soulja Boy and Lil B.

"Gorilla Zoe released a full mixtape everyday for a month. That blew my mind," he said. 

Some of the summer tracks, 30 in all, could have ended up on Schwarz' upcoming EP on Baltimore club label Unruly Records, "Deep in the Game."

But they didn't because some are sample-based, and the EP doesn't have any samples except for the drum breaks. 

About 20 of the summer tracks are finished already, and the rest will be made over the course of the month, he said. 

Continue reading "Free music from Unruly Records' Schwarz every day this month" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

Starscape, which starts at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Fort Armistead Park, has released its schedule.

Four acts will go on at 2 p.m., though Segway, the first performer on the main stage, won't go on until 2:30 p.m.

The festival, now in its 13th year, won't end until 6 a.m. Sunday.  

The rest of the schedule, sent by promoters Steez Promo, is below. 

Armistead Park will be divided into five stages for the festival: a main stage, 'dub nation beach,'  the fort stage, dance tent, and 'Steez Promo Bass Arena.'

Beyond Skrillex, major headliners from electronic and dance music will perform, among them, Bassnectar, Zeds Dead, Uncle Jesse, Steve Aoki, and Daedelus.

All tickets, including the $169.50 VIP passes, are sold out. They went on sale in January. Last year was the first time the festival sold out, according to organizers. 

Continue reading "Starscape schedule released; Bassnectar to play main stage, Skrillex at Dub Nation stage" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 1:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Local music
        

Celebration, Dan Deacon, Arbouretum and 18 other local acts will perform Sunday at Hampden's the G-Spot for the inaugural Scapescape.

The one-day festival will at least fill part of the void left when Whartscape ended last year. 

Dave Underhill, one of the organizers, said the name is an allusion to the Wham City festival, but that Scapescape doesn't intend to replace it. 

The festival aims "to provide a showcase for what Baltimore is doing as an artistic community," he said.

Organizers have scheduled Cool DJ Willie to kick off the G-Spot Stage at noon, followed by Benjie Loveless and the Creepers. Arbouretum will close the stage at 10:45 p.m.

Lushfarm will open the Ruintown stage at 1:30 p.m., followed by rap duo Rapdragons and Weekends. Celebration and Dan Deacon are the last acts scheduled there, with Deacon scheduled to go on at 10:45 p.m.

They'll all go head-to-head against Coroner, Nuclear Assault and Deathbreath, among others, who will be performing at the last day of the Maryland Deathfest.

Tickets for Scapescape are $20 and sold at Atomic Books, True Vine Record Shop, and missiontix.com. 

The festival is not BYOB; beer and wine will be sold with proceeds going to charity. 

The full schedule posted on Scapescape's Facebook, below:

Continue reading "Dan Deacon, Celebration, Rapdragons, and more perform at inaugural Scapescape festival; schedule released" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 4:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Local music
        

Matisyahu and Fantasia will headline Artscape this year, it was announced today. 

The music side of the festival starts on Friday July 15 and ends July 17; performances take place throughout the day, with some starting as early as noon on some days.

The festival is divided into three stages named after their sponsors.

Fantasia will close the first night on the Wells Fargo stage. And Matisyahu, out with new live album "Live at Stubbs," will perform there as well as the last performer on Sunday night.

In addition, Baltimore's E Major, The Jon Bailey Band, and Telesma, as well as G Love & Special Sauce and Nikka Costa, will perform.

Artscape's organizers provided the full schedule, below:

Continue reading "Artscape schedule released; Matisyahu, E major, Fantasia to headline" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Local music, News
        

When the Preakness Infield line-up was announced, it was surprisingly light on the Maryland talent for an event celebrated here for over a century.

There were headliners Bruno Mars and Train - Hawaii and California, respectively. And there were some Mid-Atlantic standbys, Mr. Greengenes and Phil Vassar, but even they were performing on the second stage.

Then, at the last minute, Hotspur, formed in the classrooms of the University of Maryland seven years ago, was added to the bill to kick things off Saturday.

It was not a surprising addition. The young Maryland four-piece has had an auspicious year since the release of second album, “You Should Know Better by Now.”

With its heavy rotation on mtvU, the band has become a college favorite, an audience heavily courted by Preakness organizers.

Despite being a Terp, singer Joe Mach had never been to Preakness before. He just knew it by reputation.
“Musically, Preakness shows have been known for their mayhem,” Mach said. “This year, they're making it classier and elevating the level of performances. Once they asked us to do it, we couldn't turn it down.”

With a crowd expected to reach the hundreds of thousands, Mach said Preakness is likely to be “one of the biggest if not the biggest show of our young careers.”

Continue reading "Preakness music: Hotspur on College Park, Vans Warped Tour, and their upcoming album" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 2:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

HFStival announced its 2011 line-up Wednesday. The Avett Brothers will headline a show that will also feature Flogging Molly, Dr. Dog, Gin Blossoms, Minus the Bear and Clutch.

The festival, which returned after a four-year hiatus last year, will stay at Merriweather Post Pavilion. 

It will take place September 17. 

The line-up this year is an improvement over last year's, which featured an all-star cast from the 90s, including Billy Idol, Third Eye Blind and Everclear. 

Among the other bands that will perform this year are Diane Birch, Lionize, Pasadena, and the Five One.

Continue reading "HFStival announces 2011 line-up headlined by Avett Brothers; stays at Merriweather" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 9:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Local music
        

The Maryland Jockey Club has released the performance schedule for Preakness InfieldFest, the infield entertainment for the Preakness Stakes.

The fest, now in its third year, will include performances by Bruno Mars, Train, Hotspur, Mr. Greengenes, Phil Vassar, and Puddle of Mudd.

In addition to performances, this year's infield entertainment will also feature a bikini contest, a cornhole tournament, virtual jockey games, a professional women's volleyball tournament and the Mug Club, which gets ticket-buyers a bottomless beer mug for $20. 

Tickets for the infield, which start at $40, are already on sale. 

Musical performances are scheduled to start on Saturday as early as 8:20 a.m. and end as late as 5:30 p.m. They will take place at two places, a main stage and a stage sponsored by Jagermeister.

All acts are scheduled to play 60-minute sets or longer. Hotspur is the first act on the main stage, and Mr. Greengenes will kick-off the action on the Jagermeister stage.

A map of Pimlico Race Track will be released later on Monday, spokesman Mike Gathagan said. 

Continue reading "Preakness InFieldFEST schedule released; Bruno Mars, Train to play hour plus sets" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 9:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Local music, News
        

Members of Animal Collective will present a Shaw Bros. movie that mixes horror and martial arts at the Maryland Film Festival next month. 

The presentation of "The Boxer's Omen's," on the festival's second night, is part of a line-up that is already heavy on music features, as I wrote a couple of weeks ago.

It's not the first time musicians have presented movies at the film festival. Dan Deacon's monthly Gunky's Basement series started as a presentation at the festival. Jonathan Richman and Branford Marsalis have presented films as well.

While Richman presented the classy "Cyrano de Bergerac," Animal Collective's movie is classic Hong Kong schlock. "Black wizards, Taoist monks, rampaging monsters, spooky apparitions, beastly crocodile skeletons, flying human heads, a sexy female zombie with long talons, and demonic bats lie in store for our hero," the movie's synopsis promises.

Animal Collective's Avey Tare, Deakin, and Geologist will present the movie May 6 at 11 p.m. at the Charles Theater.

The band will perform in Columbia July 9, the first time it will play "Merriweather Post Pavilion" at Merriweather Post Pavilion.

A trailer for "The Boxer's Omen" below:

Continue reading "Animal Collective to present schlocky horror movie at Maryland Film Festival" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

"We kept all options. We just piled it on because we could."

That's Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner describing their last album, "The Knot."

After working independently for years, Wasner and Andy Stack got a chance to make that album with all the time and resources that brand-new label representation allowed them. They had just been signed to Merge Records in 2008.

But the financial freedom actually worked against them, Wasner says, and the album was "overdone" and "less sculpted" than "If Children."

In a story in tomorrow's paper, online already, Wasner talks about how their new album, "Civilian," came together last year. 

She says it finds them at a new level of maturity. 

Its best tracks ("We Were Wealth," "Holy Holy," "Hot as Day") are the opposite of the sometimes indulgent, five-minute songs in "The Knot:" they are pared down where the others were overdone; immediate instead of meandering; poignant, rather than just lush.

Below is "Fish," the album's first video:

Continue reading "Wye Oak mature with new album "Civilian;" debut new video " »

Posted by Erik Maza at 4:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Local music
        

Height will performing a homecoming show at the Hexagon on April 20.

The rapper's been on a long, 25-city tour for the past three months.

The auspiciously-timed show will be his last for a while, as he's leaving on an European tour shortly after.

He will be joined by Soul Cannon, Minor Second, G-Easy, and likely, Mickey Free and Emily Slaughter, who are regular members of the Height and Friends ensemble.  Height was profiled in February.

Another Maryland band announced a homecoming show of sorts Tuesday.

Waldorf's Good Charlotte will include Baltimore on their upcoming tour, which kicks off in late May in New Jersey.

They perform at Rams Head Live June 20. It hasn't been announced yet when tickets will go on sale.

Also coming soon to Rams Head: Scissor Sisters, who canceled their March show at the 9:30 club in DC, will play the venue June 9. And Matt & Kim, who played Rams Head just last year, will perform there again June 1. Tickets for both are already for sale at the venue's website.

Odd Future, the latest uber-hyped Tumblr group, will play Sonar May 19. No word yet when The Weeknd will start touring. Tickets, at $15, for the Sonar show are already on sale at the venue's website.

Continue reading "Concert news: Height, Good Charlotte, Odd Future" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Local music, Music News
        

The Maryland Film Festival announced part of the 2011 line-up today.

Among the most notable selections in this year's showcase is Kelly Reichardt's new movie "Meek's Cutoff," which will have its regional premiere here, and "Uncle Boonmee" by Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul, which won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival last year.

Also notable in the 20-movie line-up that was revealed today is the number of music documentaries that will play the festival next month.

Jed Dietz, the festival director, said there should be more among the other 90 or so films and short films that will be announced later this week.

For starters there's "Freaks in Love," by Baltimoreans Skizz Cyzyk and David Koslowski. The documentary chronicles the 25-year career of seminal punk band Alice Donut.

The trailer is below. 

Then there's "Everyday Sunshine: the story of Fishbone," which follows the veteran Los Angeles punk and funk hybrid band Fishbone. The band, 30 years in the business, are still seeking an appreciative audience.

The film, which has been making the rounds on the festival circuit, will also play the Washington DC Independent Film Festival in early May. The trailer is here.

The third documentary, "Ne Change Rien," or "Change Nothing" is an peripatetic black-and-white profile of the French singer Jeanne Balibar. The film, which was made in 2005 by Portuguese filmmaker Pedro Costa, has only recently made it stateside. In November, it played at the Anthology Film Archives in New York City. A trailer is here.

Continue reading "Maryland Film Festival line-up heavy on music documentaries" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 1:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

Oxes haven't put out a new album in over five years.

But the Baltimore punks have been working on new material since last summer, when they played a few rare live shows.

Friends Records posted one of their new songs today. Listen to it below.

"Orange Jeweleryist" is the second of two 12' singles that will be released by Africantape in May.

Drummer Chris Freeland has been spending his time since the last album at his Beat Babies studio helping other bands like Lower Dens, Double Dagger, and Height, who often collaborates with his brother Mickey Freeland, record their own material. Most recently, he recorded part of Wye Oak's "Civilian."

Continue reading "Oxes release new single "Orange Jeweleryist"" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 1:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Local music
        

Chris Myers and Warning Track Power have come up with a follow-up to their popular tribute song to the Orioles, "How 'Bout Dem O's."

The new song, "Oh Oh Orioles," is online, and has already drawn the team's attention. Spokeswoman Monica Barlow says they're have been discussions to play at future games.

(A story on the Orioles' 2011 entrance songs is here)

Myers, a member of the cover band Egg Babies, co-wrote "How 'Bout Them O's" three years ago while he and the other seven guys in Warning Track Power were waiting for the season to start.

"A few years ago there was a resurgence of the old Orioles song, and we decided we wanted to try our hand at writing a new one," he said.

Orioles tribute music is exclusively what the band does. They updated How 'Bout Them O's several times during the season, and then re-wrote it at the start of the 2010.

They sold the song online and it was downloaded some 100 times, Myers said.

Their biggest endorsement came when the team agreed to play the song during games.  Myers said that happened about 70 percent of the time in '09 and '10 seasons.

"Some of us had bigger high points, but it was the most fun we'd had with music," he said. 

This year, they had to retire the old song because several of the players name-checked in it aren't with the team any more. 

Continue reading "Orioles fan follows-up "How 'Bout Dem O's" with new tribute song" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

Kesha will perform at the Patriot Center in Virginia this summer, promoter Live Nation announced this morning.

Opening for her will be LMFAO and Spank Rock, whose rapping half Naeem Juwan is from Baltimore. He and XXXChange, Alex Epton, are working on an album that will come out later this year. And they've just released a single, "Rush," as their new Italian disco alter ego Mobroder.

Kesha has named her traveling show the "Get $leazy Tour." If that's not enough to stop you from buying tickets, they will go on sale April 8 for the August 21 show.

Tickets, available through Ticketmaster, start at $49.50.

In other concert news, Rye Rye will perform at Metro Gallery this Saturday, it was abruptly confirmed this weekend. Along for the show is producer and DJ Say-Wut. Rye Rye recently talked about her new mixtape with the Sun.

Tickets for the 21 and over show are $5, and are sold at the venue.

Update: Windup Space will host a benefit concert for Japan relief efforts April 17. We Used to be Family, the Great Tap Root, and others will perform. Cover is a suggested $10 donation that will go towards the American Red Cross and the International Medical Corps.

Posted by Erik Maza at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Local music
        

Chuck Brown, the godfather of go-go and recently Grammy-nominated for his song "Love," will perform at the Roots Festival this summer.

R&B singer Anthony David, a Grammy nominee from 2009, will also perform at the free, two-day outdoor festival, organizers announced today, adding that other performers will be announced in the coming weeks.

The festival, which will also include workshops and community meetings at churches, community centers in West Baltimore and the Maryland Institute College of Art, is meant to draw attention to the area in West Baltimore affected by the unsuccessful "Highway to Nowhere" project, said organizers with the Atlanta-based non-profit Alternate Roots.

In the early 1970s, hundreds of homes were demolished in the neighborhood to make way for the project, a six-lane highway connecting Interstate 70 with I-95 that was never finished despite displacing families from the area.

Roots, which was announced in January, will take place over the 52 acres of green space that sits atop the "Highway to Nowhere," according to organizers.

Continue reading "Chuck Brown, Anthony David to perform at Roots Festival 2011 " »

Posted by Erik Maza at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

“It's raw, simple, almost primal music that is meant to be the soundtrack to the time of your life.”

That's DJ James Nasty talking about Baltimore club music. He’s a longtime fan. But for an upcoming gig, he’s been researching it and other historic Baltimore sounds more meticulously than he would for his weekly Moustache party at the Ottobar.

The online magazine Gutter asked him and DJ Benny Stixx to come up with a dance party where only Baltimore music is to be played. The two will finally show off their set lists Friday at the Windup Space at a party where they’ll play songs that stretch as far back as the 1940s.

Nasty took on the magazine's challenge because he's a fan of the city and its sound.

“I saw this as a great opportunity to expand my knowledge of the local music both past and present,” he said.

Continue reading "James Nasty digs up Baltimore Club classics for Windup Space party" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

"I'm 38; I don't want to do that anymore. Unless someone pays me a lot of money and they want to make it super cushy, but that doesn't happen in rock 'n' roll."

That's Celebration's Katrina Ford talking about the long tours she and the band used to do while they were at label 4AD.

They broke with the label three years ago, and have spent that time working on a new album, "Hello Paradise," that they released in January through the low-key, local label Friends Records. 

The quote comes from a profile of the band that appeared in Sunday's Sun magazine. The whole feature is here.

This picture, by Josh Sisk -who'll exhibit some of his work at Windup Space later this month - comes from Celebration's record release show in early March at 2640, where the profile begins.

Also in the story, a video of the band's three core members - Ford, Sean Antanaitis, David Bergander - performing a new song, "Don't Stop Dreaming."

Celebration's next show is April 8, when they'll open for TV on the Radio at Rams Head Live.

Posted by Erik Maza at 3:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

A new IFC show, "Young, Broke & Beautiful," filmed a couple of warehouse shows last week in Baltimore for an upcoming episode about the city.

On Monday, host and creator Stuart Schuffman e-mailed a few cursory responses, via IFC, to questions I'd sent last week.

He writes that he was "stoked" to be in Baltimore and that he came to film here because of "all the amazing underground things going in the city."

"Young, Broke & Beautiful" sounds like IFC's take on Vice's travel series. Schuffman "infiltrates the underground of American cities to find the hidden, cheap and carefully guarded secrets that aren't in any guidebooks," according to the network, which has ordered six episodes. 

The other five episodes will cover Boston, Detroit, Memphis, New Orleans, San Diego.

In Baltimore, Schuffman and his producers filmed a Double Dagger show on Wednesday and a show at the Bell Foundry the next day that featured Dan Deacon, Jimmy Joe Roche, Ed Schrader, the Creepers and several members of Wham City.

When I found out about the shoots Wednesday, I e-mailed Schuffman via his website and IFC to see where else he went and why he chose Baltimore as one of the first cities profiled.

After all,  it wasn't clear if he had ventured outside of the city's DIY music scene or if these cities were again being portrayed as glamorously destitute. 

Below is what he wrote back.

Continue reading "How Dan Deacon ended up on Broke-ass Stuart's IFC show "Young, Broke & Beautiful"" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Local music, News
        

Come this summer, Dan Deacon, Ed Schrader, Jimmy Joe Roche, and a bunch of members of Wham City will appear on an episode of the new IFC show "Young, Broke & Beautiful."

It's not some kind of 'Baltimorelandia.' The show is travel docu-series hosted by blogger Stuart Schuffman that "infiltrates the underground of American cities to find the hidden, cheap and carefully guarded secrets that aren't in any guidebooks," according to IFC's blurb.

The network picked it up for a six episode order last week for a late summer premiere. Episodes will revolve around Boston, Detroit, Memphis, New Orleans, San Diego, and Baltimore.

For the Baltimore episode, the show taped a performance Thursday at the Bell Foundry that featured Deacon, Roche, Schrader, as well as the Santa Dads, and keyboard-and-trumpet duo The Creepers. IFC couldn't say where else Schuffman filmed.

Lola Pierson, one of the organizers, said Thursday night's free show last a little over two hours. "It was well attended, but not crazy," she said.

That makes sense, as it was barely advertised, save for a couple of status updates on Facebook and a private Google group.

Continue reading "Dan Deacon, Wham City to appear in new IFC show 'Young, Broke & Beautiful'" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 12:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Local music, News
        

Lupe Fiasco is coming back to Baltimore, for a meet-and-greet anyway.

Fiasco, who's out with a new album, "Lasers," he's more or less disowned as being the work of corporate lackeys,  was scheduled to appear at Sound Garden earlier this month.

But he canceled there and at South by Southwest at the last minute citing illness. 

He's now rescheduled to appear at the store March 29 for a meet-and-greet, autograph and CD signing, and perhaps, to keep dissing the new album. First come, first serve, but a "Lasers" purchase gets you a bracelet ahead of time

In local hip hop, The Black Hole in Dundalk will host what they're calling the second 'Best in Baltimore' showcase this Friday featuring mostly up-and-comers, Michael Wayne, Lano of Bombsquad, Warzone, among others. Tickets, at $10, are sold at the door.

Also tonight, the IFC channel will film a semi-secret show of Baltimore musicians, including Dan Deacon, at the Bell Foundry in Greenmount West. The show will be part of an upcoming show about Baltimore, IFC says. More on that tomorrow.

On Friday, the always excellent Ultra Nate celebrates her birthday at U Street Music Hall in Washington. Cover is $10. 

Also in Washington, the 9:30 club announced Death Cab will perform June 3. It's the band's seventh (!!) studio album. Tickets, at $35, go on sale Saturday.

Continue reading "Concert News: Lupe Fiasco, Death Cab for Cutie, Social Distortion" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 5:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Local music, Music News
        

Rye Rye's debut album has been in the works for years, and every announced release date just keeps getting bumped.

But NEET/Interscope, her record label, says it will finally be in stores in May, and to promote it, the East Baltimore rapper released a free, downloadable mixtape in February.

In it, she covers and mainly improves upon a bunch of cheesy top 40 songs, like Kesha's "We r who we R," "Like a G6" and the "Party in the USA" cover I saw her do in Miami late last year. 

In a Q&A that ran in Monday's paper, she talked about her love of Miley Cyrus, bold prints, and where she likes to dance in Baltimore when she's not on tour. 

An excerpt:

Q: Where did you dance when you were younger, and do you still go?

A: The Paradox. I still go, here and there, when I'm not on tour. It feels like home. I'm around all the people I grew up with. I go to dance with my friends and to show people that I'm still normal and not stuck up. When I'm there, I'm in my zone. It influences my music as well because I'm staying connected to that Baltimore vibe

The rest of the Q&A is here. NEET says Rye Rye has a few shows scheduled for the near future, including a slot at Coachella.

Posted by Erik Maza at 2:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Local music
        

Celebration, the six-piece art-rock Baltimore band, will open a handful of dates for TV on the Radio this April. 

The announcement came via, where else, Tumblr. 

Celebration just released their third album, "Hello Paradise," last month with a show inside a 110-year-old church in Charles Village.

A profile on the band appears in this Sunday's Sun magazine. 

The band said at the concert it did not have a tour planned, save for the occasional show, as has been their custom since they broke with former label 4AD three years ago.

That's the case with TV on the Radio, said Brett Yale, of the band's current label Friends Records. 

The two bands have a history. They were label mates at 4AD, and TV on the Radio's David Sitek produced Celebration's first two albums.  

Continue reading "Celebration to open for TV on the Radio" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 5:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

Midnight Sun alum Sam Sessa saw Dan Deacon play SXSW last week:

In the past few years, a bunch of Baltimore musicians have signed record deals, toured internationally and earned gushing reviews from critics.

But none have been more successful than Dan Deacon, who, perhaps more than anyone else, helped put Baltimore's music scene on the map.

So when Deacon belatedly announced one -- and only one -- date at last week's South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, it immediately became a must-see. Several hundred eager hipsters and other Deacon fans crammed into an outdoor venue called Cheer Up Charlie's to try and catch a glimpse of the gleefully eccentric musician.

Only the folks in the front few rows actually got to see him. Deacon likes to set up and perform on the ground or floor, so that he's level with the audience. He likes to get down and dirty, so to speak. And that's just what happened Saturday night in Austin.

Continue reading "SXSW 2011: Dan Deacon at Cheer Up Charlie's" »

Posted by Sam Sessa at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Local music, Sessa's Weekend Watch
        

Whew! The past few days have been a whirlwind here in Austin, Texas. Hi, it's Sam Sessa again, bringing you another update from the South by Southwest music festival.

I've been here since Tuesday, seeing and interviewing bands, as well as talking to industry and government folks. My main reason for going (I was sent here by WTMD and The Sun) was to find out why Austin (the "Live Music Capital of the World") has such a great music scene, and what Baltimore could do to help make ours better.

Here's the end result, a piece which runs in Sunday's paper.

After filing the piece, I headed out to catch G. Love (pictured, top), who played at one of celebrity chef Rachael Ray's parties. I shook Rachael's hand (omg!) and talked with G. Love  for a little while after the show. He's got a new, bluesy album he recorded with the Avett Brothers.

Continue reading "SXSW 2011: G. Love, Rachael Ray, Tiny Victories, Baltimore House" »

Posted by Sam Sessa at 3:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Local music, Sessa's Weekend Watch
        

Hello again, it's your old friend Sam Sessa with another dispatch from Austin, Texas.

Man, my legs are aching. I can't remember the last time I walked and stood and walked and stood so much.

Day two of my trip to the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin flew by. I checked in with Baltimore rockers J. Roddy Walston and the Business, who are playing a few showcases down here (check out the whole list of Baltimore bands at SXSW Erik put together).

Rod and the boys had head colds, and said some kind of bug has been going around -- a bunch of the bands are sick. But they still seemed pumped to be in Austin. Here's the interview; listen for "white people" references.

I also checked in with singer/songwriter Sharon Van Etten, who is buddies with Baltimore's Wye Oak and Lower Dens. Here's that interview, too.

In late afternoon, I caught the Philly-by-way-of-Washington indie band Jukebox the Ghost (pictured at top), who played a mellower-than-normal set at Empire, an old auto shop. Austin is brimming with bands -- hundreds, if not thousands of them -- and much of downtown is turned over to pedestrians.

Continue reading "SXSW 2011: J. Roddy Walston, Jukebox the Ghost, Chico Mann" »

Posted by Sam Sessa at 2:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music, Sessa's Weekend Watch
        

Well, a big Texas hello, Midnight Sun gang!

I'm Sam Sessa. Some of you may remember me as the guy who used to write stuff for Midnight Sun. These days, I edit stuff and boss people around.

If you haven't guessed already, I'm in Austin, Texas, covering the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival for 89.7 WTMD and The Baltimore Sun. A gracious grant from WTMD members helped make the trip possible.

While not the country's biggest music festival, SXSW is perhaps the most important. About a thousand up-and-coming bands descend on Austin every March to try and make an impression on the roughly 10,000 journalists, music industry folks and fans who come to see them play.

I'm here to write a piece about why Austin is such a great city for live music (they call it the "Live Music Capital of the World"), and how Baltimore can be more like it.

Continue reading "SXSW 2011: Greetings from Austin, Texas" »

Posted by Sam Sessa at 4:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Local music, Sessa's Weekend Watch
        

For a solid month now, they've been arriving at a faster clip than spam peddling Viagra. E-mails about South by Southwest.

Will you see this show, Will you attend that panel "Yoko Ono is Set to appear at SXSW," "Mellencamp documentary premieres at SXSW."

The barrage of e-mails has only intensified since last week, when geeks, journalists, angel investors and their friends - some 17,000 of them - started convening in Austin for the interactive portion of the mammoth confab, now un-ironically referred to as "South By."

For the music portion, which began Tuesday, the frenzy made its way to Baltimore, where sitar player and singer Ami Dang desperately tweeted earlier this month: "AMI DANG (@amidang) is going to #SXSW but has no shows. "PLEASE HELP; I WANT TO PLAY!! <3 <3."

While the interactive powwows at SXSW are the biggest draw now, the festival was conceived in 1987 as a place to discover emerging musicians, and it still retains that appeal, hence Dang's tweet. Several other musicians who live here, or started out here, are also headed to Austin, or are already there, to perform.

If you're there, this is a handy guide to Baltimore at SXSW.

If you're not - as I am not (guess why!)  - and depended on Paul Ford's six-word reviews of the festival to keep up on the music side of things, he won't be doing them this year. Blame a panel.

Still, you can preview many of the thousands of bands playing by listening to the MP3s they've submitted to the festival's website. And if they haven't, they can also be previewed at the unofficial torrents site.

Sam Sessa has also been covering things for WTMD, where he hosts "Baltimore Unsigned," and he'll have dispatches for Midnight Sun throughout the week. 

Continue reading "Baltimore at South by Southwest: Wye Oak, Lower Dens, June Star and more" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 2:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Local music
        

Girl Talk, Lupe Fiasco, Crystal Castles and Washington DC's US Royalty are a few of the performers that will join the Strokes at the Sweetlife Festival in May, organizers announced today.

The festival takes place May 1 at Merriweather Post Pavilion, and boasts a line-up any festival, let alone one that's two-years-old would be proud of.

The other performers are Cold War Kids, Theophilus London, Walk the Moon, Modern Man, and Ra Ra Riot, who just performed at Rams Head Live. Their interview with Midnight Sun is here.   

The Strokes, who had been announced as the festival's headliners in late February, did not have any plans to play Maryland before Sweetlife. Same goes for Lupe Fiasco, who has just a couple of promotional appearances planned for new album "Lasers."

Girl Talk last played Baltimore in January.

Sweetlife was created last year by Sweetgreen, the salad and yogurt restaurant group. But it was an infinitely more low-key event.

Hot Chip was the main draw, and the one-day event took place at a tent at Dupont Circle.

This year's festival had been previously scheduled for April 30.  A pre-sale of tickets, which cost $55, starts tomorrow at the festival's website. The pre-sale code is "eatlocal."

A general admission sale begins Friday.

Continue reading "Sweetlife Festival line-up announced: Girl Talk, Lupe Fiasco, Crystal Castles join the Strokes at Merriweather Post Pavilion" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Local music, Music News
        

Starscape Festival, the overnight, electronic and dance music festival that takes place on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in June, announced its 2011 lineup today.

Among the performers are Bassnectar, Steve Aoki, and Zeds Dead.

For the festival, Fort Armistead Park will be divided into four areas: main stage, beach stage, dance tent, and drum and bass tent. 

Starcape starts at 2 p.m. June 4 ends at 6 a.m.  

The festival has been growing since it began 12 years ago. In 2007, some 7,000 people attended. And organizers say 2010 was the first year tickets sold out. 

Early tickets went on sale January 5. They are still available at the festival's website. General admission is $52.50, and VIP admission is $142.50. 

The full lineup is below: 

Continue reading "Starscape Festival announces 2011 lineup: Steve Aoki, Bassnectar, Zeds Dead " »

Posted by Erik Maza at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Local music
        

Take our your ratty agenda books, here's some just-announced shows:

Wye Oak, on tour with new album "Civilian," will play a mini-set at Sound Garden on March 8. 

The band had previously announced a full set at Washington's Black Cat with Lower Dens.

That foursome - who just released a seven-inch, "Batman/Dear Pretty Baby" (hear it here) - also announced a show of their own. They will perform at the Ottobar on March 6. 

Wye Oak tickets are $12, and Lower Dens are $8. Both are on sale now. 

In other concert news, Rihanna announced today that Cee Lo Green would open for her on the Loud tour, including the 1st Mariner show on June 4. Those tickets start at $69.75.

And Bruno Mars and Janelle Monae, fresh off their performance at the Grammys - the one segment I actually saw - announced a joint tour, to be called Hooligans in Wondaland. No dates have been announced yet.

Below: Wye Oak performing at a recent show.  

Continue reading "Concert news: Rihanna, Cee Lo Green, Wye Oak, Lower Dens" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Local music, Music News
        

At the Grammys Sunday night, Maryland was largely ignored. Songwriter Makeba Riddick, who went in with excellent odds for producing Eminem's "Recovery," lost to Arcade Fire in the night's major upset, album of the year. 

And Lady Antebellum beat her in the record of the year category.

Baltimore's critically-loved indie bands had already been snubbed by the time the nominations were announced last month. And that suits them just fine.

"As far as I can tell, the people who nominate artists for Grammys are not the hippest people, and they probably aren't obsessive indie rock fans," said Todd Hyman, of DC's Carpark Records, which represents Dan Deacon and Lexie Mountain Boys. "I'm guessing that they haven't even heard of most bands from Baltimore."

For Sunday's paper, I wrote about the non-existing relationship local musicians have with the awards.

It's not that locals might be producing music too esoteric for the Recording Academy's populist taste  - this year, half the nominees were indies, according to industry group A2IM.  It's that local bands and their labels aren't pursuing them.   In fact, some of their labels didn't even submit them for consideration.

At a time of flat-lining record sales, they say that the role the Grammys used to play - to goose up sales and raise young bands' profiles - has now been taken up  by a number of other venues. Touring, for instance, is far more lucrative. And they can count on social media for exposure.   

Below, some of them comment on the awards in more length than I had space for in the print story. (Plus video from the show)

Continue reading "Lady Gaga, Lady Antebellum, Lady Arcade Fire win at Grammys; Baltimore bands react: meh" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 2:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Local music, Music News, News
        

When I interviewed Dustin Wong last week to preview his show at Golden West Cafe tonight, he casually mentioned that Ponytail, despite having taken a hiatus last year, had just completed a new album.

Today, the official announcement came: the album is called "Do Whatever you Want all the Time," and will be released April 12. 

It will be released by label We Are Free, which posted the image at right on its website.  (The band had also made a cryptic announcement about the album on its blog several months ago.)

New album or not, Wong said the band has no plans yet to tour together. He's going on a solo European tour in April, so that would seem to put Ponytail shows, if they were to happen, off until after Spring.

For now, he intends to keep performing and recording solo. 

Continue reading "Ponytail to release new album; Dustin Wong on their touring plans, "Infinite Love," and salvia" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Local music
        

WJHU has gotten Dope Body, Ecstatic Sunshine and Rapdragons to perform at the first of its Baltimore Curators concert series.

The series, sponsored by Johns Hopkins' only radio station, is planned to be a monthly event organized and presented by a Baltimore musician or group.

Dope Body, which just released its first non-cassette release, curated this show.

They've gotten experimental band Ecstatic Sunshine and hip-hop duo Rapdragons, Nick Often and Greg Ward, to perform.

The show will take place Saturday at 10 p.m. at the Levering Great Hall, 3400 North Charles Street.

Admission is free with a college ID, $3 otherwise. 

Posted by Erik Maza at 2:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

On Friday, the Ottobar started selling a limited number of annual passes that grant access to most shows from February through December.

It's a decision prompted to boost attendance amid growing nightlife competition, says owner Craig Boarman.

"I think the economy is still affecting attendance at shows and events. And, there's a lot of competition in Baltimore these days with regards to live music," he said. "We felt it's something great we can offer customers to keep the Ottobar name in the public's eye."

The annual passes are a first for the club, which like others, is trying what it can to goose ticket sales and attendance. Rams Head Live now sells tickets via Facebook.

The passes, though, are particular only to Ottobar. Competing venues like Sonar and Rams Head Live do not sell similar seasonal passes, and have never before; Rams Head occasionally given them away as prizes.

At Ottobar, the passes had only been available at its annual Otto Lotto party.

Continue reading "Ottobar selling annual passes to most music shows" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 1:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Local music
        

For Sunday's paper, I profiled several local bands, none more than five years old, that are poised to become Baltimore's next breakouts.

There's Lower Dens - which despite being about a year old, and only possessing some 20 songs in their repertoire - was one of the most sought-after bands at the CMJ Music Festival last year. Their first album, "Twin-Hand Movement" - a set of 11 spare rock tracks - has sold a remarkable 3,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

There's also Future Islands, the North Carolina art-pop trio that relocated to Baltimore in early 2008, and whose new album, "In Evening Air," also sold 3,000 copies last year.

Adam Lempel and Brendan Sullivan, both 24, started Weekends in 2008 by playing small venues like Charm City Art Space and the Copy Cat, where Sullivan lived. But next month, they'll release their first label album, "Strange Cultures," via Friends Records. Other bands featured: rock 'n' rollers J. Roddy Walston and the Business  - which reformed in Baltimore in 2004 - and Lands & Peoples, who makes understated, atmospheric pop.

(Incidentally, Lower Dens and Weekends, along with another young band, Secret Mountains, just announced a show on February 23 at D.C.'s Subterranean A, 1432 R St. NW)

The story focuses on both the young bands that had the most successful year, but also those that have moved here to live and work. They say that it was the city itself that made it possible for them to flourish in 2010.

The full story, along with a photo gallery and selected videos, is here.

Below, a full list of the band's upcoming regional shows:

Continue reading "Baltimore's next music wave: Lower Dens, Future Islands, J. Roddy Walston and the Business, Weekends, Lands & Peoples" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 3:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

Arbouretum will perform a free show upstairs at the Ottobar in February, it was announced Monday.

The February 13 show is the official release of their new album, "The Gathering," which will be in stores two days later.

You might have listened to a preview of it here last month.

Though Dave Heumann's guitar solos are still a hallmark of the new album, as seen in that track, the band's normal instrumentation has also been altered. One of the guitars was replaced with Matthew Pierce’s keyboards and percussion.

The album is said to be inspired, quizzically, by Carl Jung. 

The show will be upstairs at the Ottobar. Doors open at 10 p.m. The great local freak-folk five-piece Secret Mountains will open. 

Admission is free, but on a first come, first served basis, Ottobar manager Craig Boarman says. 

Arbouretum will also perform March 5 at 2640 with Future Islands and Celebration for the latter's new album release party.

The band will then tour the United States in February and March before heading to Europe.

Update: North American tour dates below:

Continue reading "Update: Arbouretum to perform free show at the Ottobar" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

Dan Deacon, Wham City founding member, local goofball, will score an upcoming movie by Francis Ford Coppola, noted filmmaker of "Bram Stoker's Dracula."

And some little-noticed Italian mobster movies. 

Deacon, who was classically trained at SUNY Purchase, will score Coppola's "Twixt Now and Sunrise," a movie starring Val Kilmer and Elle Fanning that will be released later this year, Pitchfork Media reported.

How this meeting of minds happened is not known. I've e-mailed Deacon for a response; Pitchfork credits a press release with the announcement.

Maybe Papa Coppola started listening to "Bromst" on his time off at the vineyard. Though, in all honesty, Deacon sounds more like Val Kilmer's bag, something to rock out to at his ranch.

Interestingly, no Coppola movies are on the schedule for Deacon's Gunky's Basement revival movie series. A suggestion? Screen the deliciously cheese Dracula movie.

Update: Francis Ford Coppola and Dan Deacon explain how they met. 

Posted by Erik Maza at 4:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Local music
        

Weekends, the New York by way of Johns Hopkins/MICA duo, will release their debut LP in February on Friends Records.

The record label just posted an item announcing the band will perform at Golden West Cafe February 12.

Also performing will be Raindeer, Winks - which consists of Weekends' Adam Lempel and Ineveryroom's Chase O'Hara - and Holy Ghost Party, which is not to be confused with the pithier Holy Ghost!.

Weekends' "Strange Cultures" LP, which is available as a digital download already, features "Totem," whose video was created by artist Alice Cohen. It can be seen here.  Winks' upcoming cassette, "She's Done," can be previewed here. (via)

Continue reading "Weekends to play Golden West Cafe, release new album in February" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 3:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

Height with Friends will go on a 45-day tour next month, starting with a kick-off show at Golden West Cafe.

The Catonsville rapper Dan Keech, also known as Height, has 25 shows already booked, with several more to be confirmed soon, he said.

Keech, who started performing with another young white rapper, Michael Freeland - who performs as Mickey Free - when they were both in elementary school, has racked up a solid track record here in Baltimore.

He performed with the hip hop group Wounds, and has several EPs and albums to his credit.

Last year Wham City Records Friends Records released his "Bed of Seeds," which can be previewed here.

Free released his own album last year too, and performed at Rams Head Live's New Year's Eve party. 

Along with Lord Grunge and Brendan Richmond, the two are also collaborating on a new project, Shark Tank, who have a handful of dates starting later this month as well. A track from their debut album is available on the group's website as a free digital download.

 The show at Golden West is February 25. Tickets, at $5, are on sale now at sonar.thundertix.com.

A full list of Height with Friends and Shark Tank dates is below:

Continue reading "Rapper Height to start multi-city tour at Golden West Cafe" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 3:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Local music
        

Coming off a successful East Coast comedy tour, Wham City will begin holding monthly comedy nights this month.

Ben O'Brien, who booked the tour, says the monthly event will be different in that it will consist only of stand-up.

The tour was a hybrid of stand-up, video, absurdist theater and dance.

It featured O'Brien, Ed Schrader, Alan Resnick, Robby Rackleff, April Camlin, Pete O'Connell, Mason Ross, Adam Endres, Connor Kizer, Dina Kelberman, as well as Dan Deacon. 

The first comedy night will feature Resnick, as well as some new players - A Funny Clown, Erin Gleeson, Frank Martone, Kevin Sherry, Keith Lea, and Showbiz!

O'Brien and Mason Ross will host. It's scheduled for January 18 at the Zodiac. Tickets are $5 at the door.

The next show, scheduled for February 22, features only female comics. Amy Harmon, Anna Fitzgerald, Cricket Arrison, Ellie Beziat, Liz Donadio, Lola Pierson, and Caroline Marcantoni, who choreographed the tour's dancing finale, will perform. 

O'Brien said in the future the show might include some of the other elements found in the tour. 

Continue reading "Wham City to hold monthly comedy nights" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Local music
        

The cover band Egg Babies has scheduled its first show since July for later this month.

They will perform along the Bellevederes, the local soul band, at the Ottobar January 29.

The band Meetwood Flack, which includes members of both Egg Babies and the Bellevederes, will also perform a series of covers of Crosby, Nash and Stills songs. 

Nah, just kidding. They'll be doing Fleetwood Mac covers, hopefully, along with a couple of Steve Nicks imitations. 

The members of Egg Babies don't perform regularly; they just get together every few months for a show. 

This will be Meetwood Flack's second show ever. Their last was in July, when they got Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner to sing lead on a bunch of songs. 

Why Fleetwood Mac? Band member Michael Ward says it always gets a big reaction. 

"Those songs are timeless and people of all ages still enjoy them," he said. The show will consist of an encore of the last show, but will include one new interpretation.  

Come see the witchy magic at 9 p.m., January 29. Tickets, at $10, will be sold at missiontix.com soon.

Continue reading "Egg Babies plan first all-covers show since July" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Local music
        

Matthew Mondanile will perform at Golden West Cafe in February, alongside local Dustin Wong, it was just announced. 

Mondanile is the guitarist of critically beloved New Jersey band Real Estate. He'll be performing with his side project, the ambient-pop band the Ducktails, who are on tour promoting a new record that will be released later this month.

Wong will open for the band. The guitarist released a new album last year, "Infinite Love," (video below), and performed around town scores of times. Midnight Sun reviewed his show at the G Spot in November.

The show at Golden West, where band Woods will also perform, is February 8. Tickets, at $8, are sold via sonar.thundertix.com. (via)

Continue reading "Dustin Wong, and Real Estate's guitarist to perform at Golden West Cafe in February" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

Radio station WKYS released its top ten list of the most successful area rappers of 2010 last week, and  - surprise, surprise - Wale lead the pack.

The rest of the list includes Phil Ade and Kingpen Slim. 

For us, the most important question is: who's missing?

The DC-based, hip-hop radio station came up with its list after polling musicians, producers, record store owners, and bloggers of the metropolitan area.

They were asked to vote on the rappers who "made the most noise inside and outside the D.C. area by way of buzzworthy shows, tours, videos..." and other things that kept them visible throughout the year. 

Wale is at the top of the list, the radio station says, because "before him there wasn’t as much interest from the outside world" on the area.

That seems like something of a stretch, but Wale did have a pretty good year. He went on an East Coast tour that stopped in Baltimore last month, released a new video for "Pretty Girls," and, with Uncalled 4 Band, was the official band of the MTV Video Music Awards, a measure of commercial success if nothing else.

Last month, he had some bad press, but even more Google mentions, when he went on a six-minute rant on 92Q over Bossman, a Baltimore rapper.

The rest of the station's list features only one female rapper - RaTheMC - and mostly D.C.-based artists.

Continue reading "WKYS: DMV's hottest rappers of 2010 include Wale, Phil Ade" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Local music
        

You asked for it, and here it is: a guide to the week in nightlife. Call it the Midnight Sun Nightlife Pocket Guide: small enough to print out, and carry in your snuggest back pocket. On Monday, Red Maple's weekly free Electric Marmalade party moves to 9 p.m. Maybe a belly dancer will show up. On Tuesday, Second City does Baltimore. Show by the comedy troupe is on until Feb. 20. At the Greene Turtle in Columbia, 22-ounce Coors Light drafts are $1.99. The bar calls it Beer Pong Tuesdays. On Wednesday, one half of noise duo Abiku DJs a new party, "Bent," at Sidebar. Expect grainy video accompaniment. $3. On Thursday, more free trash at Windup Space's Mondo Baltimore. On Friday, go to 851 Hollins St. for the first Lith Hall "Twist & Shout" dance party of the year. $5. Also: Deep in the Game returns to Hippo. No cover before 11 p.m. On Saturday, the king of moombahton Dave Nada spins at Golden West Cafe for TaxLo DJ Simon Phoenix's birthday party. $5. On Sunday, no Lucky Dragons show like January 2, but emerging R&B singer Ledisi performs at Bourbon Street. $30. If you've got suggestions for next week, e-mail me at erik.maza@baltsun.com.

(Photo)

Continue reading "Nightlife Pocket Guide: Jan. 3 - 9: Golden West Cafe, Sidebar, Greene Turtle" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Bars & Clubs, Local music, Nightlife Pocket Guide
        

The Man knows you’re going to drink yourself into a stupor on New Year’s Eve.

December 31 is the year's biggest get out of jail free card. The one day of the year when you can drink yourself numb and you won't have to answer for your actions the next day. And why? Because by the time you regain consciousness, it’ll all be in the past.

By Jan. 1, it’ll be a new you, the 2011 you: more responsible, more in shape, optimistic, armed with resolutions to face a new year that, as always, you’re certain will be better than the last. Last night's debauchery? That was the old you.

And because local government knows all this, it has taken a few steps to make sure you party as safely as possible. Just consider the Maryland Transit Administration partnership with MillerCoors to offer free bus, metro, subway and light rail services from 8 p.m. Friday until 2 a.m. Saturday. 

In addition, the MTA also partnered with Yellow Cab and AAA Mid-Atlantic to comp cab rides under $50 from any city bar to residents’ homes, a service that may not work perfectly, or even very well, but that's just another alternative to the surplus of transportation options available to residents Friday.

Even state legislators want you to have a good time. About 70 years ago, they approved Article 2B of the Annotated Code of Maryland, a law allows only cbars in the city to keep their doors open until 2 a.m. Jan. 2, said Stephan Fogleman, chairman of the city’s Board of Liquor License Commissioners.

And still, all these things have had the desired effect of tempering celebrations, so that residents have fun, but don't go overboard. Fogleman says New Year’s Eve is one of the quietest times of the year in terms of complaints. Maybe this is why Baltimore is 37th among the country's drunkest cities.

With so many bars staying open past 2 a.m., there will be no shortage of options to properly say good riddance to 2010. Here are just 11 of them:

Continue reading "New Year's Eve 2010: Eleven last-minute parties, including Bourbon Street, The Paradox, Golden West Cafe" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Bars & Clubs, Live!, Local music, New Year's Eve 2010
        

East coast and West coast members of the artists collective Cytoplastik will perform at Metro Gallery tonight in their annual electronic music face-off.

The battle, which is really more of an excuse for a dance party, will pit the Baltimore-based trio Megadrives against another trio, Intergon, the Los Angeles-based makers of "intelligent electronica". Also performing will be Florian Mosleh (there as duo English), DJ Infinity, Free Sauce and VJ Chroma, among others.

Organizers have added live video accompaniment to the live music performances. They're calling it an "acoustic performance art experience."

My favorite part of this thing are the directions to attendees: "COLD hooping, spinning, etc. encouraged ON THE DANCE SIDE ONLY, NOT ON THE GALLERY SIDE!D respect the artwork on display PLEASE!"

Yes, respect the artwork. Please.  Anyway, it's the official start of New Year's Eve celebrating.

Continue reading "East vs. West electronic music throwdown tonight at Metro Gallery" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Get Out, Local music
        

J. Roddy Walston and the Business aren't the only locals performing at Rams Head Live Friday night.

Michael Freeland, the rapper who's been working in the city for the last decade as Mickey Free and earlier as Bow 'n' Arrow, will open the venue's New Year's Eve party.

The gig follows a November party at Golden West Cafe for his new album, his first as Mickey Free.

Freeland has been performing in Baltimore since he was 18, when he was still a pizza delivery boy. Most often, he collaborated with Dan Keech, another white rapper he met in high school who goes by the name Height.

He gave up delivering pizza five years ago, and in that time has performed by himself and toured with members of Wham City and indie rock bands, like his brother Chris Freeland's Oxes. 

Still haven't heard of him?  Freeland - who's more goofy than 92Q - posted his new album in its entirety on his website. 

The 13-track album features Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner on "Never Enough," Height on "The Unnies" and Arboretum's guitarist, Dave Heumann.

Freeland's emix of Wye Oak's "That I Do" is also available, and free. The rest of this side story is here.

Video: Below, Height, Freeland, and others performing at the Rap Round Robin.

Continue reading "Mickey Free, the artist formerly known as Bow 'n' Arrow, to open for J. Roddy Walston" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

Tickets for Starscape, the overnight, electronic and dance music festival that takes place on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in June, will go on sale in January, organizers just said.

The festival, which takes place at Fort Armistead Park June 4, will begin at 2 p.m. and end at 6 a.m. 

Organizers won't announce a lineup until February, but Chromeo, Disco Biscuits, and the Bridge performed in 2009; hip-hop pioneer Slick Rick performed the year before.

The festival has been growing since it began 12 years ago. In 2007, some 7,000 people attended. And organizers say 2010 was the first year tickets sold out.

Credit that with the early ticket sales. 

In 2011, the festival will have an all-night main stage, a dance tent, a bass tent, and even a beach stage for dub step acts, organizers said. 

Continue reading "Starscape Festival 2011 tickets to go on sale in January" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Local music, News
        

J. Roddy Walston and the Business have been together for six years now.

And still, critics, sounding more like movie producers, routinely refer to them as a mixture of rock standard-bearers: Jerry Lee Lewis meets AC/DC, AC/DC meets Lynyrd Skynyrd, and so on.

If Leon Russell and Elton John hadn't come together to record "The Union" this year, critics might have used them next to refer to the Business' new self-titled album.

After this year though, that might change. The band has had a remarkable 2010.  

While it took them nearly three years to sell 6,000 copies of their first album, the self-released "Hail Mega Boys," they've sold more than 4,000 copies of their new one since its release in February, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

And though they've always toured extensively, the success of the new album got them booked at more than 180 venues, many much larger than the small clubs where they got their start, like Baltimore's Talking Head.

(On Friday, the band will headline Rams Head Live's New Year's Eve party)

The rest of my interview with Walston, where he touches on leaving Baltimore to record their new self-titled album, Leon Russell's early work, and how recording on tape is more authentic than not, is here.

After the jump, the band's "Don't Break the Needle" video:

Continue reading "J. Roddy Walston on 2010, Leon Russell, and "lifeless rock"" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 2:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Live!, Local music, New Year's Eve 2010
        

Did you hear the one where Wale delivered a six-minute rant on a Baltimore radio station? It is a doozy. The rapper was in town for a show at Rams Head Live  - where he also collected food for charity - and called in for an interview on 92Q. But off the air, he blew a gasket over a diss track called "Nail in the Coffin" by Baltimore rapper Bossman. After pulling an "I don't even know who this guy is" move, he rebutted the local rapper's track with an obscenity-laced verbal clock-cleaning that left the hosts speechless. "I'm trying to do this s*** for the people," he said. "All this bull**** dragged out right now is counterproductive. It's some middle-school s***." Oh, snap. Thankfully, a local blogger posted the whole (warning: NSFW) exchange. (via)

Posted by Erik Maza at 2:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Local music
        

2640 will host a powder keg of a show on March 5.

Not only will Celebration perform, so will Future Islands and Arbouretum. 

The show will be the official release party of Celebration's new album, "Hello Paradise," which Friends Records will release on vinyl in January.

The space is located at the old church on 2640 St. Paul.  Doors open at 8 p.m.

 Tickets are already on sale at missiontix.com. Red Emma's will also start selling them January 3.

Seven of the tracks on "Hello Paradise" are available as free downloads on the band's website.  Song "Battles" premiered on WICV just last month.

Posted by Erik Maza at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

From Midnight Sun alum Sam Sessa:

There's a reason they call it the Baltimore Bass Connection.

Wednesday night at U Street Music Hall, the low end was loud enough to flatten the hairs on the back of your neck. (My ears are still ringing.) Indie rappers Spank Rock, deviant punks the Death Set and Baltimore Club DJs Devlin and Darko had the underground club banging for several hours straight.

The Baltimore Bass Connection's Xmas Celebration, which comes to Sonar tonight, has become a yuletide tradition in these parts. Spank Rock's Naeem Juwan (pictured), a Baltimore native and the event's enigmatic ringleader, has turned the Sonar show into one of the year's most anticipated throwdowns. Hundreds of 20-somethings squeezed into the U Street Music Hall for the DC show --  a sneak preview of what's in store for tonight -- organized by Brightest Young Things the BBC.

While the Death Set and Spank Rock both brought the house down, some questionable lineup choices sapped the night's momentum.

Continue reading "Review: Spank Rock, Death Set, Devlin & Darko -- the 2010 Baltimore Bass Connection Xmas Party" »

Posted by Sam Sessa at 9:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (23)
Categories: Concert reviews, Local music
        

Continue reading "Beach House perform on Conan O'Brien" »

Posted by Erik Maza at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Local music
        

It's likely that when Rye Rye performed in Miami earlier this month no one in the crowd knew who she was.

It's been a while, after all, since she disappeared to have a kid. 

It's even possible that, with her spandex onesie and lopsided blonde wig, the crowd took her for a hometown girl.

So halfway through the set, she took the time to remind the crowd who she was:  ""I go by the name Rye Rye," she said." R-y-e R-y-e."

The rapper's been touring since the beginning of the year - first with M.I.A. and later on her own - to do more of that: re-introducing herself to audiences who might have forgotten her as she prepares to release her first, long-delayed album "Go! Pop! Bang!" in February.

Yes, I was in South Florida earlier this month at the blotto art fair known as Art Basel and saw the rapper do a high-energy show that likely previewed her show at Bourbon Street Saturday.

For the haters, there must be more local fans of her than just me: the gig is sold out. 

My full preview of the Bourbon Street show, along with details of her set in Miami, is here. 

Posted by Erik Maza at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Local music
        

Haven't had enough Christmas music? Maybe you're a glutton for punishment. Well, here's a new one, from Beach House of all people. It's called, "I do not care for the winter sun," and, despite some jingle bells, it sounds exactly as ethereal as you would expect Beach House's interpretation of Christmas to sound like. They're calling it a "winter/holiday" song that's a gift to their fans. The track is posted as a free download on their tumblr. (via)

Posted by Erik Maza at 4:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Local music
        

Wale and Rams Head Live are partnering on a holiday food drive next week.

When he performs December 22, the rapper wants ticket holders to bring canned vegetables and boxed baked goods with them.

The food will be donated to the Maryland Food Bank the day after. 

According to the press release, Wale's been in