Josh Ritter, John Williams, set to perform with Boston Pops
The Boston Symphony Orchestra has lined up a season’s worth of special guests to perform during the annual Boston Pops concert series at the city’s Symphony Hall. The series’ opening night concert on May 7 will feature eight-time Grammy winner Natalie Cole performing the music of composer Leonard Bernstein in celebration of the 90th anniversary of his birth. Other Boston Pops concerts planned for the summer include Film Night with guest composer John Williams and EdgeFest with Natalie Merchant and the Dresden Dolls’ Amanda Palmer. One highlight of the season is sure to be Josh Ritter’s performance with the Boston... read more
John Lennon's "Peace" lyrics sheet to be auctioned off in July
All he was saying was "give peace a chance." Christie's plans to auction off a hand-written sheet of lyrics to John Lennon's "Give Peace A Chance" this July during its rock and pop memorabilia sale. Lennon gave friend and fan Gail Renard the piece of paper during his eight-day "bed-in" in with Yoko Ono in Montreal, the one that culminated with the recording of the popular song. It later went on to become a worldwide hit, and a phrase that's part of the popular lexicon, pacifist or otherwise. The event occurred toward the end of Lennon's stint as a Beatle;... read more
Joan Jett to spread her love of rock 'n' roll on tour
Get ready, America. Joan Jett and her Blackhearts are heading out on tour this summer in support of their upcoming greatest hits release, and they still love rock 'n' roll. On four of their dates they'll be joined by Cyndi Lauper and The B-52s. Called the True Colors Tour, the three iconic groups will gallop through Texas and Arizona before parting ways in California. Jett also recently spoke with AOL Spinner about her life and the history of her independent label, Blackheart Records. Jett speaks her mind on the upcoming election, her experience as a woman living the rock 'n'... read more
Band of the Week: Bombadil
"He’s a whimsical dude, he lives off in the forest in his own world and he plays music all day unaffected by all that is going on around him," explains Bombadil guitarist Bryan Rahija. "We just liked his place in the world." He's speaking of his band's namesake... read more
Bloc Party to roc parties in the U.S. this summer
Sound the silent alarm, kids, because Bloc Party's crossing the pond this summer. Although the cheeky British quartet is currently holed up in a studio assembling the third Bloc Party LP, once the weather gets warmer the lads will be motivating folks to move at clubs and festivals across the western hemisphere. The band's not in "Flux" about benefiting the environment or choosing sides in the bizarre London mayoral race. For a taste of Bloc Party's angular aural appetizers, check out Paste's video footage of the band's performance at last year's Austin City Limits Festival. Bloc off these dates: July... read more
Paste’s Replacements Twin/Tone Anthology Playlist
Four seminal Replacements albums were given the Rhino-reissue treatment in April: Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash, Stink, Hootenanny and Let it Be. This playlist compiles the best of the best from the band’s Twin/Tone era. Rip it to your iPod or burn it to disc (it’ll fit nicely), and give it to every rock 'n roll fan you care about—this stuff is essential.... read more
Will Oldham announces Lie Down in the Light details
Will Oldham is preparing his latest release under the Bonnie 'Prince' Billy moniker. Titled Lie Down in the Light, the record will come out on May 20, and will feature Emmett Kelley, Shahzad Izmaily, Ashley Webber and Oldham's brother, Paul. The dozen-song disc will be available on Drag City Records, and it will be available in the UK a day early. (This is something to think about, especially if you have a stimulus check burning a hole in your pocket.) Oldham will tour Europe through June and July. We last left Billy after 2006’s album, The Letting Go, but since... read more
The Fiery Furnaces Remember live album for tour
The Fiery Furnaces will release a new live album, entitled Remember, this fall. But hardcore fans will have chance to snag an early copy at one of the band’s shows this summer. Remember is a double-live record meant to showcase the Furnaces’ one-of-a-kind stage shows. Brother-sister duo Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger reconstruct their songs every time they hit the road, resulting in versions that differ widely in instrumentation, tempo and arrangement from the originals. The band never repeats itself, and sometimes goes as far as combining multiple songs (or even bits of an entire album) to create an intricate musical... read more
Catching Up With... Abigail Washburn
Paste covered one of Abigail Washburn’s early trips to China back in 2005, where she helped introduce the banjo to the Middle Kingdom. She’s been busy since, first with all-female Americana act Uncle Earl, and most recently with the debut from The Sparrow Quartet—her collaboration with... read more
Big name artists join HeadCount, rally for voter registration
Wilco wants you to vote. HeadCount, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that dedicates itself to getting more people registered to vote, has increased its, you know, headcount. Numbers matter, and musicians of all stripes are hopping on the democracy-bolstering bandwagon in this election year, among them Paste favorites The Decemberists, Wilco and My Morning Jacket, as well as Dave Matthews Band, The Allman Brothers Band, members of The Grateful Dead and Phish, Jack Johnson, Megadeth, Santana and The Foo Fighters. The artists are the keystone of HeadCount's plan to register 100,000 voters at over 1,000 concerts this year. DMB, John Mayer... read more
TV on the Radio, Band of Horses, more to play Monolith
DeVotchKa, TV on the Radio and Band of Horses will be just a few of the bands playing this year’s Monolith Music Festival. The festival will take place Sept. 13-14 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre outside Morrison, Colo. The Monolith Festival debuted just last year as the first multi-stage, multi-day festival ever to be hosted at Red Rocks. Last year’s lineup was a who’s-who of indie artists, including the Flaming Lips, Spoon, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Ghostland Observatory. This year promises more of the same, with artists including Neko Case, Vampire Weekend, the Avett Brothers, Justice and the Tokyo... read more
Jay Sweet talks Paste's May issue on Boston's FOX 25
Paste’s own editor-at-large, Jay Sweet, did one of the things that he does best this morning: he visited the good folks at Boston’s FOX 25 and talked about all of the issues within our newest issue. This month’s discussion focused mainly on Paste’s Top Ten Baseball Songs, Ben Gibbard writing his own cover story and this year’s Newport Folk Festival line-up. He also exclusively spills the name of an artist just signed to the festival. Does Jay think the fest will be folky enough? Who is this mystery artist? Aren't you curious? That’s what we thought! Related links: Feature: Perfect... read more
Patti Smith and Kevin Shields to unleash Coral Sea
After years of speculation, Patti Smith and Kevin Shields' legendary "Coral Sea Sessions" are finally getting a proper release this summer. Documenting the duo's spoken-word collaborations on June 22, 2005 and September 12, 2006 at the QEH in London, The Coral Sea pays tribute to the life of controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, Smith's long-time friend. Although bootlegs of the performances have been floating around message boards and My Bloody Valentine fan sites for years, the double disc is the first official recording of the duo's London performances and is set for release on July 11 via Smith and Shields' new... read more
Black Kids to tour this spring with Cut Copy
What a difference a year can make. Last summer, the Black Kids were a well-received, little-known indie outfit from Florida. Then, last August, they played PopFest in Athens, Ga., and blew critics and festival go-ers away with their performance. Now, the Black Kids have signed to Columbia and are amidst a late-spring tour with the Aussies of Cut Copy. They'll be traveling throughout North America, informing folks that they still won't teach your boyfriend how to dance, much to the dismay of many American and Canadian women. Check out the video below: We wouldn't underestimate their charm (again): May: 6... read more
Death Cab for Cutie preps for album release, extends tour
Death Cab for Cutie will be hitting the road for an international tour in May, only days before the release of the band’s latest album Narrow Stairs May 13 on Atlantic. Frontman Ben Gibbard and bandmates Chris Walla, Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr have added tons of U.S. dates since their original tour announcement last month. The band will kick off its summer tour May 6 in London, before traveling back to the U.S. for two months, and then on to the U.K. and Japan. Narrow Stairs is sure to be one of Death Cab’s most personal albums yet. In... read more
Stevie Nicks tours eastern U.S. in June
Fleetwood Mac fans, now is the time you have been waiting for. That’s right, the golden-haired, raspy-voiced songstress is going on tour this summer. You can see her on the Eastern side of the country throughout the month of June. Mac on Stevie: June 5 - Biloxi, Miss. @ Hard Rock Hotel and Casino 7 - Hollywood, Fl. @ Hard Rock Café Seminole 8 - Tampa, Fl. @ Ford Amphitheatre – Florida State Fairgrounds 10 - Alpharetta, Ga. @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre 13 - St. Louis, Mo. @ Chaifetz Arena 14 - Chicago, Ill. @ Charter One Pavilion 15 -... read more
Langhorne Slim
Langhorne Slim’s new self-titled full-length refines... read more
Coldplay gives away new single, announces free MSG show
When you’re as big as Coldplay, you are granted a series of magical powers. Which ones? Teleportation, for one thing. That one’s useful when you need to buy baby Apple an obscure, handcrafted something-or-other only available in, say, Slovenia. Another magical power? The power to Take Over the Web. Well, not exactly, but you can bet that there may users of “teh intenets” are currently hanging out at Coldplay.com. What’s the appeal of a little homepage? This morning, Coldplay began offering its new single, “Violet Hill,” for download. For free. For one week only. That’s one tenth of the band’s... read more
Wolf Parade announces tour, re-names new album
Recently, we told you that Wolf Parade will grace will help commemorate Sub Pop Records’ “celebration of 20 years of not going out of business.” Well, the lupine-monikered band is not all about celebrating others’ success—it rightfully deserves its own commemoration. That’s why Wolf Parade has announced a summer tour that will take it through the United States and Canada. Why celebrate? Because the sequel to the band’s stunning debut, Apologies to the Queen Mary, is on the horizon and will dock (sorry) June 17. What’s more, yesterday, Pitchfork revealed that the record formally known as Kissing the Beehive has... read more
R.E.M., STP, NIN, more headline Voodoo Music Experience
With this year’s Jazz & Heritage Fest already halfway over, another New Orleans music extravaganza is already shaping up. The 10th New Orleans Voodoo Music Experience will be held October 24-26 at New Orleans’ City Park with R.E.M., Nine Inch Nails and Stone Temple Pilots set to headline. The Neville Brothers, New Orleans’ First Family of Funk, returned to New Orleans for their first performance since Katrina for this year’s Jazz Fest and will make their first appearance at Voodoo Fest this year as well. Other local acts including the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Irving Mayfield’s New Orleans Jazz Orchestra... read more
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