Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Hum adds new summer dates, coming to Raleigh

Once again reunited Illinois alt rockers Hum are are back together this summer to for a short tour with fellow 90s rockers Failure, but on a night off from that tour Hum will make a stop in the Triangle for a headline show.

The band will play Kings in Raleigh on Monday, August 10. Tickets are on sale now via Etix for $20.

Check out a video of "Hum" performing their 1995 single "Stars" from the album You'd Prefer an Astronaut at a show in Chicago five years ago below.

Monday, June 29, 2015

Ms. Lauryn Hill announces 2015 tour, coming to Durham

Soul singer Ms. Lauryn Hill is heading back out on the road later this summer for a new round of U.S. dates that will bring her to a much more intimate venue than her tour last summer which brought her to Red Hat Amphitheater.

Hill will play the Carolina Theatre in Durham on Monday, August 10. Raury will open.Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 1, via the venue box office and Ticketmaster for $57 to $207.63. The venue pre-sale begins at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 30, with the code DOOWOP.

Check out Hill and her band playing "Soul Rebel" and then going into her hit with The Fugees "Killing Me Softly" but with a reggae spin below.

Friday, June 26, 2015

Mike Krol signs to Merge Records, new album out in August

Milwaukee via Los Angeles singer-songwriter Mike Krol is the latest musician to join the ever growing roster of talent signed with Durham-based label Merge Records. Krol's third album, his first via Merge, titled Turkey will be released on August 28.

Check out a teaser for the the new album below along with the complete Turkey track list.

East coast tour dates in support of Turkey have not been announced yet, though he will open for Mac McCaughan on a short run of west coast dates in the fall.

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Willie Watson announces 2015 fall tour dates

Singer-songwriter and former Old Crow Medicine Show member Willie Watson will hit the on another big U.S. tour this fall and he will once again return to the Triangle for an intimate show.

Watson will return to the Cat's Cradle Back Room in Carrboro on Thursday, October 1. Heather Maloney will open. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 26, via Ticketfly for $15.

Check out Watson's new live video for Mexican Cowboy from his debut album Folk Singer Vol. 1 exclusively on Amazon.

X Ambassadors announce 2015 fall tour

Up and coming upstate New York band X Ambassadors won't release their debut album, VHS, until next week on June 30, but the band has already had a hit with their single "Renegades." They'll hit the road this fall on short US tour that will come to the Triangle.

The band will play the Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw on Wednesday, October 28. Skylar Grey and Kevin Garrett will open. Tickets will go on sale at noon on Friday, June 26, via Ticketfly for $15.

X Ambassadors played their aforementioned single "Renegades" on the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon earlier this week. Check out that performance below.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Peaches announces first album in six years, fall tour

Rub album cover
Canadian electronic musician, singer-songwriter and performance artist Merrill Beth Nisker, better known as Peaches, will release her first new album since in six years on September 25 titled Rub. The album will feature guest spots from Feist and Kim Gordon. Peaches will head out on tour in support of the album this fall.

The tour will stop at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro on Wednesday, October 25. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 26, via Ticketfly for $18.

Check out the music video for "Light in Places" from Rub below.

Stone Temple Pilots, Passion Pit, Bleachers & more to play Big Shindig 2015

Passion Pit
The Big Shindig is back for a second year after its resurrection by 95X last year, and this year's lineup features a mix of current artists and a few blasts from the past, a few of which are missing their original lead singers.

This year's event at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre in Raleigh on Sunday, September 13, will feature Stone Temples Pilots (minus Scott Weiland, add Chester Bennington of Linkin Park), Passion Pit, Bleachers, Atlas Genius, Live (minus Ed Kowalczyk), Mutemath, Blues Traveler, Iamdynamite, Kopecky and one artist yet to be announced.

Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 26, via Live Nation for $20 to $62. The 95X and Live Nation/mobile app pre-sale has already begun.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Purity Ring announces new 2015 fall tour dates

Canadian electronic duo Purity Ring just released their sophomore full-length album Another Eternity earlier this year, and they have just announced a new round of North American tour dates this fall that will bring them to the Triangle.

Purity Ring will play The Ritz in Raleigh on Wednesday, September 16. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 26, via Live Nation for $22. Pre-sales started at 10 a.m. today, June 23. A Cat's Cradle pre-sale (they're co-presenting thew show) will begin at 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 25.

Check out the music video for the song "bodyache" from Another Eternity below.

ODESZA announces 2015 fall tour

Seattle electronic duo ODESZA has just announced a new run of North American tour dates this fall, including a a stop in the Triangle.

The duo will play the Ritz in Raleigh on Thursday, November 5. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 26, via Live Nation for $23. Pre-sales will be as early as 10 a.m. on today, June 23.

Check out ODESZA's set from the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee just over a week ago below.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Merge Records to reissue Seaweed's final album in July

Tacoma punk rockers Seaweed released their final full-length album, Actions and Indications, in 1999 and now the album has been remastered to be released on vinyl for the first time.

Merge Records will release the limited edition vinyl including the song "Everybody's OK," previously only available on international releases, on July 31. The album will also include a bonus download of three demos of unreleased songs of the same time period.

Check out the remastered version of "Red Tape Parade" from Actions and Indications below.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Lord Huron announces fall dates, coming to Raleigh

Indie folk band Lord Huron just released their sophomore full-length album, Strange Trails, earlier this year and the band has been touring constantly in support of it. They have just added a new round of U.S. dates in the fall that will bring them to the Triangle.

Lord Huron will play The Ritz in Raleigh on Monday, September 28. Tickets will go on sale at noon today, June 19, via Live Nation for $24.50.

Check out the music video for "Fool for Love" from Strange Trails below.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Alison Krauss & Union Station, Sam Bush Band & Jerry Douglas to headline Wide Open Bluegrass 2015

Earlier today the International Bluegrass Music Association unveiled more performers for the 2015 Wide Open Bluegrass festivities returning to downtown Raleigh this fall, including the two headliners for the big shows at Red Hat Amphitheater.

Alison Krauss and Union Station will headline the amphitheater on Friday, October 2, with Steep Canyon Rangers, Balsam Range, The Gibson Brothers, Claire Lynch Band, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen Orthophonic Joy and Blue Highway rounding out the lineup.

The Sam Bush Band and Jerry Douglas presents Earls of Leicester will headline on Saturday, October 3, with Infamous Stringdusters, The Wailin' Jennys, Kruger Brothers with special guests, Band of Ruhks, O’Connor Family Band and Flatt Lonesomewill rounding out the lineup that day.

Telekinesis announces new album 'Ad Infinitum,' fall tour

Singer-songwriter Michael Benjamin Lerner, better known as Telekinesis, will return this fall with his fourth full-length album Ad Infinitum, out on September 18 via Merge Records.

The album is self-produced by Lerner and will feature synthesizers and is aid to be a time machine to the 80s. Check out the song "In a Future World" from the album as well as a short teaser video for the album below.

Telekinesis will hit the road in support of the album in the fall and will stop at the Cat's Cradle Back Room on Sunday, October 18. Say Hi will open. Tickets are on sale now via Ticketfly for $13.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

New music from Steep Canyon Rangers - "Radio"

North Carolina string band Steep Canyon Rangers will return this summer with a new album on Rounder Records titled Radio. The album, produced by dobro wizard Jerry Douglas, will hit stores on August 28. Listen to the driving title track from Radio below where you will also find the album's complete track list.

Steep Canyon Rangers will play the Wide Open Bluegrass Festival in downtown Raleigh on Friday, October 2. Ticket are on sale now via Etix.

The group will also play Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill on Saturday, December 12. Tickets are on sale now HERE starting at $49.

Waxahatchee announces 2015 fall tour

Photo by Michael Rubenstein
Singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield, aka Waxahatchee, will continue touring in support of her Merge Records debut, Ivy Tripp, this fall and her newly announced tour plans will bring her back to the Triangle.

After playing the Back Room last time around, Waxahatchee will play the Cat's Cradle proper on Tuesday, October 13. Weyes Blood will open. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 19, via Ticketfly for $14.

Check out Waxahatchee's full performance for radio station KEXP a few weeks ago below. It features the songs "Under a Rock," "(Less Than)," "The Dirt" and "La Loose."

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

My Morning Jacket coming to Durham for 'The Dark Crystal' screening

Continuing the endless parade of impressive speakers at the the Film Acoustic series at the Carolina Theatre in Durham, July's installment might be the most impressive booking yet.

Psychedelic rock superstars My Morning Jacket will come to the theatre on Monday, July 27, for a screening and discussion of the 1982 Jim Henson and Frank Oz classic The Dark Crystal. Check out a trailer for the film below.

My Morning Jacket will play the Red Hat Amphitheater in Raleigh the following night, Tuesday, July 28, in support of their new album The Waterfall.

Dan Deacon, Danny Brown & more join Future Islands 1,000th show lineup

Future Islands just announced their big 1,000th show in Carrboro a couple of weeks ago and now they have revealed the acts that will fill out the lineup of the all day event. Joining Future Islands will be Dan Deacon, Danny Brown, Ed Schrader's Music Beat, Valient Thorr and Lonnie Walker.

The show will happen at Carrboro Town Commons on Sunday, July 26. Tickets are on sale now via Ticketfly for $20.

Check out the song "Haunted By You," the b-side of Future Islands latest singe "The Chase," below.

Monday, June 15, 2015

Janet Jackson preps first album in seven years, announces 'Unbreakable' tour

Pop star Janet Jackson will return this fall with her first new album since 2008's Discipline. The album doesn't have a title yet, but Jackson has already announced a big fall tour in support of it dubbed the Unbreakable Tour.

Jackson will play Walnut Creek Amphitheatre in Raleigh on Thursday, September 17. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Monday, June 22, via Live Nation and Ticketmaster for $29 to $115. An album pre-order and Citi cardholder pre-sale have already begun and other pre-sales will start at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 19.

Win tickets to Jill Andrews at The Pinhook

Singer-songwriter Jill Andrews, formerly half of The Everybodyfields, will make a stop in Durham at The Pinhook this Friday, June 19, and we're giving away a pair of tickets.

Enter using the widget below by midnight on Wednesday, June 17. We will notify the winner Thursday morning.

Tickets to the show are $15 and available via Ticketfly.

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Duke Performances 2015-16 season announced, Nick Lowe, Patty Griffin, Rosanne Cash & many more

The Duke Performances Music in the Gardens series just kicked off last week and will feature fantastic performances through the end of July, but it's time to start looking forward to their big 2015-16 season which is packed with diverse artists.

The season will kick off on September 10 with Mahmoud Ahmed at Baldwin Auditorium and, over the course of the following seven months, will see the likes of Bettty LaVette, Rhiannon Giddens, The Fairfield Four, Hiss Golden Messenger, The King's Singers, Nick Lowe, Los Straitjackets, Rosanne Cash, Patty Griffin, Sara Watkins, Anaïs Mitchell, Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band, Hurray for the Riff Raff and Edgar Meyer, among many others. Check out the full schedule below.

Merge to release debut album from HeCTA in September

Singer-songwriter and Lambchop frontman Kurt Wagner has joined forces with his fellow bandmates Ryan Norris and Scott Martin to form a new experimental electronic group called HeCTA.

Merge Records will release the group's debut album, The Diet, on September 18. Check out the song "Till Someone Gets Hurt" from the album below.

HeCTA currently has only two shows on the books, one of which is at the Hopscotch Music Festival in downtown Raleigh on Friday, September 11. Tickets are on sale HERE.

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

New music from The Old Ceremony - "Fall Guy"

As we first mentioned back in April, local pop rockers The Old Ceremony have a new album coming out on July 14 via Yep Roc titled Sprinter.

After releasing the track "Magic Hour" from the album back then, they have now released another new song, the album's seventh track, "Fall Guy." Check out the song below.

The Old Ceremony will celebrate the release of Sprinter with back-to-back shows at the Cat's Cradle Back Room on July 17 and 18. Tickets are on sale now via Ticketfly for $10 for each show or $18 for both.

Tuesday, June 09, 2015

Langhorne Slim announces new album 'The Spirit Moves,' extends summer tour

Langhorne Slim has become a regular visitor to the Triangle in recent years and he'll make another stop in the Triangle in September as part of his extended summer tour in support of his new album, The Spirit Moves, due out on August 7.

Langhorne Slim and the Law will play the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro on Friday, September 18. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 12, via Ticketfly for $16.

Check out the music video for "Strangers" from The Spirit Moves below.

New music from Phil Cook - "Great Tide"

Local singer-songwriter and Megafaun member Phil Cook will return this fall with a new solo album titled Southland Mission that, as we previously mentioned, he will debut at the final night of his three-night stand at Duke Gardens in a few weeks.

Southland Mission features nine new songs co-produced by Phil's brother Brad Cook. The album will be released via Thirty Tigers and Middle West on September 11. Check out the third track from the album, "Great Tide," below.

As mentioned earlier, Cook and friends will play three evenings at Duke Gardens on June 22-24. Tickets are on sale HERE for $10. The final night, June 24, will feature the debut of Southland Mission.

Monday, June 08, 2015

New music from Ben Folds & yMusic - "Capable of Anything"

Piano pop guru Ben Folds has finally released the details of his new orchestra album that will feature collaborations with yMusic and the Nashville Symphony.

The album is titled So There and will feature 8 new pop songs recorded with yMusic and then Folds's concerto for piano recorded with the Nashville Symphony. So There will be out on September 11 via New West Records.

Check out the song "Capable of Anything" from So There below, which premiered via NPR on Friday.

Friday, June 05, 2015

FIDLAR announce sophomore album, fall tour

Bombastic California punk rockers FIDLAR will release their sophomore album on September 4 titled Too and they'll hit the road this fall in support of it.

The band will play the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro on Tuesday, September 29. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. today, June 5, via Ticketfly for $15.

Check out the music video for "40oz. on Repeat" from Too below. It parodies a number of old music videos including ones by Oasis, Weezer, Green Day, George Michael, Britney Spears, Korn and Eminem among others.

Thursday, June 04, 2015

Titus Andronicus announces 'TMLT Around the World' tour

Photo by Matthew Greeley
As we first told you last month, Titus Andronicus has joined the Merge Records family and will release their epic new album The Most Lamentable Tragedy via the label on July 28. Now the band has announced the TMLT Around the World tour in support of the album that includes the Triangle as the fourth stop on the jaunt.

The band will play the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro on Monday, September 14. Spider Bags and Baked will open. Tickets will go on sale at noon on Friday, June 5, via Ticketfly for $10.

In addition to announcing the tour, Titus Andronicus just released the music video for the second single from the album, "Fatal Flaw." Check it out below.

Future Islands announce their 1,000th show in Carrboro

Breakout Baltimore band Future Islands, who used to call Greenville home, have just announced their 1,000th show and they have decided to make it a big shindig right here in the Triangle.

The band will play Carrboro Town Commons on Sunday, July 26. Support has not yet been announced, but the show will be all day event starting at 2:30 p.m. so special guests should be plentiful. Tickets will be distributed through a lottery type system. Head HERE to request tickets. The folks lucky enough to get tickets will be selected and their credit cards charged on Monday, June 8.

Check out Future Islands performing their new single "The Chase" during the final weeks of the Late Show with David Letterman earlier this spring below.

Wednesday, June 03, 2015

Hard Working Americans announce 2015 summer tour

Rock and roll supergroup Hard Working Americans, Todd Snider, Dave Schools, Neal Casal, Duane Trucks, Chad Staehly and Jesse Aycock, are hitting the road this August on a short summer tour and the band will be making a stop in the Triangle.

They'll play the Lincoln Theatre in Raleigh on Tuesday, August 18. Turbo Fruits will open. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 5, via Etix for $25.

Check out the music video for "Down to the Well" from Hard Working Americans' self-titled debut album released last year below.

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World announces solo tour

Jimmy Eat World frontman Jim Adkins is hitting the road this summer without his bandmates as he plays solo acoustic sets at smaller clubs across the U.S.

Adkins will play Motorco Music Hall in Durham on Wednesday, July 8. Tickets are on sale now HERE for $15.

Check out a solo acoustic performance of the 1999 Jimmy Eat World song "For Me This is Heaven" from show earlier this year below.

Tuesday, June 02, 2015

Yo La Tengo announces new album, fall acoustic tour

Indie rock veterans Yo La Tengo will release a new album on August 28 titled Stuff Like That There which will featured reworked versions of some of their old music as well as some covers. The band will hit the road on an acoustic tour this fall in support of the album and will come to the Triangle.

They will play the Carolina Theatre in Durham on Saturday, September 26. The band's former lead guitarist Dave Schramm will join them for the show. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 5, via the venue box office and Ticketmaster for $26 to $63.95.

Check out the songs "Automatic Doom," a Special Pillow cover, and "Deeper Into Movies" from Stuff Like That There below.