White Stripes documentary screening in Durham

The official U.S. premiere of The White Stripes new tour documentary titled Under Great White Northern Lights is not until SXSW next month, but the film will be screening early right here in the Triangle. The screening is tomorrow night, Sunday, Feb. 28 at Duke Coffeehouse in Durham. It is free and starts at 7 p.m. One lucky attendee will also win a deluxe edition of the Under Great White Northern Lights, currently selling for $206.99 on Amazon.

The film documents the band's Canadian tour in the summer of 2007. The live album and film will be released on March 16 in a variety of formats including vinyl, CD, DVD and Blu-ray. Check out the trailer below.

Jarrod Gorbel announces solo dates, playing Raleigh

Brooklyn singer-songwriter Jarrod Gorbel, best known as the frontman of The Honorary Title, is heading out on a solo tour in March to support his solo EP Ten Years Older. The dates include a stop at the Berkley Cafe in downtown Raleigh on Sunday, March 28. Tickets are available for $10 in advance at etix.

Check out a video of a performance of the song "Optimism" filmed on a rooftop in Brooklyn below where you'll also find a link to download the title track from the Ten Years Older EP.

John Prine, Old Crow Medicine Show to play Cary

The concert season at Cary's Koka Booth Amphitheatre is shaping up nicely with today's addition of John Prine and Old Crow Medicine Show to the venue's calendar on Friday, May 7.

Tickets will go on sale next Friday, March 5 here and are $39.50 for the lawn and $59.50 for reserved seating. There is also a MusicFansDirect presale that opened at noon today, February 25, and will run until March 4 at 10 a.m. Those tickets are priced at $64.50 wth seats being assigned the day of the show.

Check out John Prine and Old Crow Medicine Show's respective tour dates below.

Of Montreal announces new dates, returning to Triangle

The antics and theatrics of Athens, GA's of Montreal will be returning to the Triangle on their latest round of tour dates this spring. As of now, the tour is set to wrap up on Wednesday, June 2 at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro. Noot D'Noot and of Montreal member James Husband will open the show. Tickets will be are on sale soon now via etix for $22.

Of Montreal are currently working a new album that is said to feature Janelle Monáe and Solange Knowles, but no release date is available yet. The band's most recent album is 2008's Skeletal Lamping. Check out the full tour schedule below.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers return to the Triangle

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers with return to Raleigh during their summer tour, announced today.

The band will play Raleigh's Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek on Thursday, May 6, and Charlotte's Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on Friday, May. 7. Joe Cocker will open both shows. Check out the full tour schedule below.

Tickets for the Raleigh show will go on sale Monday, March 8, at 10 a.m. here for $35, $75, $99 or $125. Tickets for the Charlotte show go on sale on March 8, at 10 a.m. too here, but tickets will be $41 to $131.

The Clientele & Vetiver pull big Cradle crowd

Last year when The Clientele played the XX Merge festival at the Cat's Cradle, frontman Alasdair MacLean said that the label's anniversary events were the only time the get to play to a packed Cradle crowd. Well, Wednesday night's show pulled a nice crowd for the double bill featuring the U.K. band and Vetiver.

Vetiver started the night off with an hour long set of jammy folk rock and blues laced tunes. At times the songs were a little too drawn out, but the band certainly has their own little niche. The groove of the song "Another Reason To Go" from their latest album Tight Knit was especially nice.

Amos Lee announces spring dates, playing Raleigh

Philadelphia singer-songwriter Amos Lee is hitting the road this spring and will be making a stop in the Triangle. Lee will play Raleigh's Lincoln Theatre on Tuesday, April 6. Tickets will go on sale Friday, Feb. 26 for $22 via etix. An opener has not been announced yet.

He'll make his way back to North Carolina in July to open for the Dave Matthews Band in Charlotte. Check out his current tour schedule below.

Lee's most recent album is 2008's Last Days at the Lodge. Check out a video of an older song titled "Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight" performed at Abbey Road studios in 2006 below.

The Love Language lose members, finish new album

Work on the sophomore effort by The Love Language has been fervent and taking place at Raleigh's Flying Tiger Sound over the last month and a half and is now complete. The album is titled Libraries and should be in "mid-summer" via Merge Records.

That's the good news, now here's the bad. Three members of the band has parted ways with the group to focus on their own band, The Light Pines. The departees include bassist Josh Pope, drummer Tom Simpson and keyboardist Kate Thompson.

New music video from Bowerbirds - "Northern Lights"

Though Bowerbirds sophomore album Upper Air was released last July, the band have just released their first music video from it. It's a beautifully shot video for "Northern Lights," which features the band's most frequent recurring theme, nature. There are some performance shots too, but most of the video was filmed on and around a lake. Check it out below along with a download of the song.

Don't forget, the band will be playing a big show at the Cat's Cradle on Friday, April 9 with Midtown Dickens and Veelee. Tickets are on sale now for $10 via etix. Check out all of their upcoming dates below.

Album Review: Radar Bros - The Illustrated Garden

When a band goes five years between records, change is inevitable. For the Radar Bros. that change manifested itself mostly in the lineup. Their latest album, The Illustrated Garden, features founder Jim Putnam along with a new rhythm section of Be Hussey (bass) and Steve Treichel (drums). What hasn't changed is the tried and true sound of the band.

From the opening notes to the final fade out, this is unmistakably a Radar Bros. record. Their medium tempo shuffle remains and the vocals are still relaxed, still occasionally dipping below the rest of the mix.

Punch Brothers leave sold out Durham crowd in a haze

The string quartet dubbed Punch Brothers, led by Mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile, rolled into Duke's Reynolds Theatre on Friday night for a sold out show.

They kicked things off with the instrumental "Watch 'at Breakdown" from Thile's 2006 album How To Grow a Woman From the Ground, before launching into a set heavy on new tunes from the band's forthcoming album Antifogmatic, due out in May.

Swaso and Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies get down at Cat's Cradle

The Triangle was full of great bands last night, but Swaso, Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies and The Guns of El Barracho managed to get a fair share of the of folks out and about on what was one of the warmer nights so far this year.

I arrived at the show around 10:30 pm and didn't think I would miss much, but this show was running right on time. The Guns of El Barracho had already come and gone (word from some members of the crowd was that is was pretty mellow) and Violet Vector was finishing up “Grass is Glowing.”

Album Review: Butch Walker - I Liked You Better When You Had No Heart

On Butch Walker's fifth solo album with the hefty title I Liked You Better When You Had No Heart, he has managed to maintain his chameleon-like nature as well as the catchy songwriting that makes his music so appealing.

Right out of the gate, the opening track "Trash Day" kicks off with a twangy guitar, signaling 1970s era California sound present throughout the record. The song lyrically finds Walker delving familiar territory, the hypocrisy of suburban life.

The soaring strings of and incredible melody, appropriately enough, make "Pretty Melody" one of the best songs on the album.

Drughorse Collective to launch 3-way EP in Chapel Hill

The group of local bands and musicians that call themselves the Drughorse Collective are gearing up for their first group release. The EP will feature six songs, two new tunes from each band, Max Indian, Ryan Gustafson and The Light Pines. We'll keep you posted on the details as we have them.

We do know that the EP will launch with a show at Local 506 in Chapel Hill on Friday, March 26. Tickets for the show are just $7 and are available now via etix.com. Not a bad deal at all.

The three bands are playing a number of shows together soon. Check out those dates below.

Gossip include Carrboro on eight city spring tour

Portland indie punk rockers Gossip will embark on a brief cross-country tour after their appearance at Coachella in April, including a stop at Cat's Cradle on April 27. Tickets for the show go on sale Feb. 25 via etix.com for $12.

[UPDATE: Gossip has canceled their show at the Cat's Cradle. No reason has been given.]

Gossip is fronted by Beth Ditto, who is known outside the music world for being outspoken on gay and LGBT issues, as well as in fashion for her plus-size collection with UK retailer Evans. The band released its fourth studio album, Music For Men, last year, which was produced by Rick Rubin.

Check out the full list of tour dates below.

Ivan Howard, Megafaun & Bon Iver featured on Gayngs debut album

It what could be described as one of the most intriguing releases of 2010, a group of local musicians joined up with Ryan Olson, Zack Coulter and Adam Hurlburt's ambitious new project Gayngs. The product is an album titled Relayted that was recorded over the last year and features Brad and Phil Cook of Megafaun, Ivan Howard of The Rosebuds and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver among others.

The album features 11 songs, all of which have a tempo of 69 beats per minute. Both Vernon and Howard taking lead vocals on some songs. Once we have some sounds to share with you, we'll let you know.

Relayted will be released on May 11. Check out the complete track list below.

Merge Records to release new Tracey Thorn album

British singer-songwriter Tracey Thorn, who is also one half of the duo Everything But the Girl, has signed with with Merge Records to release her third solo album titled Love and Its Opposite. The album will feature guest appearances by Jens Lekman, Al Doyle of Hot Chip and others. Lekman joins Thorn on a duet of Lee Hazlewood's "Come On Home To Me."

Love and Its Opposite will be released on May 18, but you can download the song "Oh the Divorces!" from the album right now below.

Landon Pigg announces spring dates, playing Raleigh

Nashville singer songwriter Landon Pigg, best known for the song mellow tune "Falling In Love At at Coffee Shop" featured in a numerous commercials and TV shows, will hit the road in March in support of his latest album The Boy Who Never.

The tour will bring him to Raleigh's Lincoln Theatre on Sunday, March 14 for a seated show. Tickets will be are $10 in advance and available via etix.com soon. Local singer Jeanne Jolly will open the show.

Check out the few tour dates that I've found so far below along with the video for "Falling In Love At at Coffee Shop." More dates are likely to be announced soon.

Album Review: Shout Out Louds - Work

For their third album, Work, the Shout Out Louds worked with producer Phil Ek (Fleet Foxes, The Shins) in hopes of distilling their sound to achieve the purest pop around. This sounds great on paper, but the reality isn't so promising. It turns out that the loss of the imperfect fringe from the earlier albums isn't balanced by the gains in melody and production.

Shout Out Louds have always had a small spark of energy that kept things intriguing, but it's missing here, swallowed by the melancholy drizzle of the new Seattle sound. It's not unpleasant – there are at least half-a-dozen melodies I was tapping my foot to – but it is a little boring.

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings announce spring tour

The soulful sounds of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings will be heard around the country this spring and and they will have a new album in tow. The band will release I Learned the Hard Way on April 6 via Daptone Records and the tour will bring them to the Cat's Cradle on Tuesday, May 11. Tickets for the show go on sale Friday, Feb. 19 via etix.com for $25.

Click the link below to download the title track from Jones' new album and check out tour schedule down there too.

Photos: Chatham County Line in Whiteville, NC 2/6/10

To complement the video of "Sweet Marie" we posted last week, check out some photos of Chatham County Line's concert in Whiteville, NC on Saturday, Feb. 6 below. There are shots of the show itself, soundcheck and some candid moments. All of the photos are by Michael Graham.

Chatham County Line currently have no North Carolina shows on the books, but keep an eye out here for info on their new album Wildwood in the not too distant future.

White Rabbits announce headline dates, playing Chapel Hill

New York band White Rabbits are staying busy supporting their 2009 album It's Frightening. They already played the Triangle once since its release, at the Cat's Cradle with Fiery Furnaces in August. Now, they'll come back on their own in April, playing Chapel Hill's Local 506 on Wednesday, April 7. Ticket info is not available yet for the show, but we'll keep you posted. Tickets are $10 in advance and are available now via etix.com.

[Update: UK band and Merge Records artist Let's Wrestle will open the show.]

Check out the other U.S. dates I've pieced together so far below. An official tour announcement will likely be coming soon to fill the glaring gaps. Check out the band's video for the song "Percussion Gun" below too.

Phoenix announce spring dates, coming to Cary

The breakout French band Phoenix, whose latest album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is fantastic and also won the Grammy for best alternative album, have announced a new U.S. tour set to begin this spring and continue later in the summer. The later dates leading up to Bonnaroo will bring the band to Cary's Koka Booth Amphitheatre on Friday, June 11 (yeah, I'm shocked too).

Irish band Two Door Cinema Club will open the show. Apparently Two Door Cinema Club is no longer opening the show and no new opener has been announced. We'll keep you posted.

UPDATE: Tickets go on sale Friday, March 5, at 10 a.m. here and the Booth Amphitheatre box office. General admission tickets are $32.50 in advance and $35 day of show.

Julian Casablancas announces tour, playing Charlotte

The Strokes have been inactive for quite some time, but are hoping to have a new album out by September. In the meantime, frontman Julian Casablancas is going to head out for another short tour in support of his solo album Phrazes of the Young.

The tour will bring Julian to The Fillmore in Charlotte on Saturday, March 27. Tickets for the general public go on sale Friday, Feb. 19, though other details are not currently available, but we'll keep you posted.

The Soft Pack announce spring dates, playing Carrboro

Young San Diego band The Soft Pack just released their self-titled debut album on Feb. 2 and will be rocking across the United States this spring. The tour will bring the band as well as fellow Californians Nodzzz and Beaters to the Cat's Cradle on Friday, March 26. Tickets are on sale now for $10 via etix.com.

The Soft Pack are currently iTunes free Discovery Download, so click here to download pop ditty "C'mon" from their new album.

Video: Chatham County Line perform "Sweet Marie" in Whiteville

Chatham County Line dropped in to the small town of Whiteville, NC on Saturday night for their second annual show at the high school's auditorium. Friend of the blog Michael Graham was there to document the event and he put together a little video featuring a new song titled "Sweet Marie." The song will likely be on the band's new album Wildwood, expected to be out this summer.

The video features some back stage and soundcheck footage. Check it out below and check out photos from last year's show here.

Josh Ritter announces May dates, coming to Durham

Idaho born singer songwriter Josh Ritter has a new album due out on May 4 titled So Runs the World Away, and he'll hit the road immediately after the release on a short tour to promote it. He'll be out with his band The Royal City Band. The dates include a stop at Durham's Carolina Theatre on Tuesday, May 11. Tickets for the show are on sale now here for $25 or $20.

Download the song "Change of Time" from the album below along with the complete U.S. tour schedule.

Mastodon announces spring tour, playing Raleigh

Hard rocking Georgia band Mastodon are taking their latest album Crack the Skye on the road again this spring and will be making a stop in the Triangle on night two of the tour. They'll play Raleigh's Lincoln Theatre on Saturday, April 17 with local hard rockers Between the Buried and Me and Valient Thorr will opening the show. Tickets are $25 in advance and go on sale Friday, Feb. 12 via etix.com.

Follow the link below to download the song "Divinations" from Crack the Skye. You'll also find mp3s from Between the Buried and Me and Valient Thorr down there too along with the complete tour schedule.

Album Review: Carolina Chocolate Drops - Genuine Negro Jig

The Carolina Chocolate Drop's Nonesuch Records debut, Genuine Negro Jig, is an album with a very familiar, comfortable feeling.

For those that have followed the Chocolate Drops online or through concert venues, the track list on their latest is no surprise. Live performances of “Hit 'Em Up Style” and “Cornbread and Butterbeans” at WDVX's Blue Plate Special have nearly reached viral status on the internet. Of course, those just discovering the band will find the mix of roots, blues, R&B, and folk to be surprising at first, but ultimately satisfying. The albums zooms through the first five tracks and then settles in for a slower, but more daring second half.

Arctic Monkeys announce US dates, coming to Raleigh

British band Arctic Monkeys will hit the road for a two week U.S. tour in April and somewhat surprisingly, Raleigh is included on the tour schedule. They will bring their latest album, 2009's Humbug, to Raleigh's seldom used (at least for rock shows) Disco Rodeo on Tuesday, April 6. San Francisco band Sleepy Sun will open the show. Tickets will be $22 in advance and go on sale Friday, Feb. 12 via etix.com.

Check out the band's extremely lo-fi music video for "Cornerstone" from Humbug below along with all of the U.S. dates.

Ween announce a few dates, playing Winston-Salem

Canadian (thanks Craig, I was thinking of Sloan) Pennsylvanian popsters Ween are planning to do quite a bit of touring in 2010, but as of right now they've only announced a quartet of southeast dates (check out all the dates below).

Among the dates is two shows in North Carolina including one in Winston-Salem at the Millennium Center on Wednesday, April 7 and one in Asheville at the Asheville Civic Center on Friday, April 9. Tickets for the Winston-Salem show will go on sale Friday, Feb. 12 via etix.com for $26. Details of the Asheville show are not available yet. Tickets for the Asheville show are on sale now for $25 here.

Soihadto feat. cake ace Duff Goldman to play Local 506

Ace of Cakes superfans take note: Soihadto, band of Charm City Cakes owner Duff Goldman, is set to play Local 506 next Monday, Feb. 8.

Soihadto has been featured on a couple episodes of Ace of Cakes, including where they played at the five year anniversary show for their label, Grape Juice Records, in the fall.

The band's debut album, Adventure Stories (Not Based On Fact?), was released Tuesday.

Chapel Hill-based band It Is Rain On My Face will open the show. Tickets are $8 and show time is 9 p.m.

The Album Leaf and Sea Wolf announce spring tour

San Diego's The Album Leaf just released a new album titled A Chorus of Storytellers on Tuesday, Feb. 2 and have announced a spring tour with Sea Wolf. The bands are currently touring the west coast together and apparently are enjoying themselves, because they're doing it again in April and May throughout the rest of the country. Check out the dates below.

The tour will bring the bands to the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro on Wednesday, May 5. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, Feb. 5 via etix.com for $12.

Sea Wolf just released a new album September titled White Water, White Bloom. Check out our review of the album here. Download the song "Wicked Blood" from the album below as well as "Falling From the Sun" from The Album Leaf's new album below.

Bowerbirds to headline the Cradle in April

A lot of local heavyhitters will headline the Cat's Cradle in the coming months including The Rosebuds and Megafaun. Now, Bowerbirds have joined the Cradle schedule. They'll play the venue on Friday, April 9 with Midtown Dickens and Veelee. Tickets are on sale now for $12 via etix.com.

The band has a few other dates scheduled in February and March. Check them out below. And if for some reason you haven't heard them yet, download the songs "Northern Lights" and "Beneath Your Tree" below from the band's latest album Upper Air.

Tift Merritt to play NC Museum of Art in June

The North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh will open their brand new 127,000 square foot building in April and the summer concert series to follow has it's first performer. Former Triangle resident Tift Merritt will grace the stage on Saturday, June 5. Ticket info for the show is not yet available.

Merritt has been working on a new album titled See You On the Moon, recorded in Durham. There is not a released date yet, but it's tentatively scheduled to be out in May, just in time for her hometown show.

Suzanne Vega announces tour, two nights in Greenville

With a new album titled Close-Up Vol. 1, Love Songs due out next Tuesday, February 9, singer songwriter Suzanne Vega is gearing up for a busy couple of months of touring. Her schedule will lead her to an odd venue a short drive east of the Triangle.

She'll play two nights at Wright Auditorium at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC on April 19 and 20. Tickets for the April 20 show are available here for $32 for the public (student tickets and those for ages 18 and under are just $10).

Follow the link below to download the song "Gypsy (2010)" from Vega's new album and check out her upcoming tour dates down there too.

Dylan vs. Petty at Local 506 to benefit Haiti

The local music scene has been turning out show after show to benefit the people of Haiti, and now there's one more. The show is dubbed "Dylan vs. Petty" and will feature bands covering the songs of Bob Dylan and Tom Petty. The line-up includes Mandolin Orange, Semi-Formal, It Is Rain On My Face, Mary Johnson Rockers, Big Fat Gap, Birds & Arrows, Gambling the Muse and The Pneurotics.

The show is this Saturday, February 6 at Local 506 in Chapel Hill. There is a $5 minimum donation and the proceeds will go to Partners In Health. So once again, get out and support a good cause. Hopefully the weather will be kind.

Norah Jones adds distant Durham date to tour

Singer songwriter Norah Jones is set to return to the Triangle for the first time since 2004 later this year in support of her latest album The Fall, released last November.

The show will be happening at DPAC in Durham (where else), but the wait is not brief. The show is on Sunday, August 8, but tickets will go on sale next Friday, February 12. They will be between $38 and $58 and will be available here.

If you can't wait to see Jones, she'll also be playing Charlotte and Asheville in May. Check out those dates and along with the complete tour schedule below along with the music video for "Chasing Pirates" from The Fall.

Let's Wrestle announces US dates, play Carrboro

We first told you about UK band Let's Wrestle signing to Durham's Merge Records less than a month ago and now they've announced US dates in April with Quasi. The tour will bring them to the Cat's Cradle on Monday, April 26. Tickets for the show are on sale now via etix.com for $10.

Download the song "We Are the Men You'll Grow To Love Soon" below from the album In the Court of the Wrestling Let's, out via Merge Records on March 23. Check out the details of the album here.

Album Review: Lissie - Why You Runnin'? EP

It might be hyperbole – and even a bit unfair – to write that Lissie's music sounds like the perfect amalgam of Neko Case and Bon Iver as the Why You Runnin'? EP is only her first record and making such comparisons can create unrealistic expectations, but this skinny, freckled, blonde midwesterner has made a striking debut that is hard to describe any other way.

From the first track, “Little Lovin,'” Lissie's voice is on display, overpowering the quiet trot of the instruments behind her. Her voice isn't quite a mature as Case's, but it's remarkably similar in sound and sheer power. In “Everywhere I Go,” there is little beside her vocals, yet it fills every corner of the room.