2011 Carrboro Music Festival boasts over 180 bands on 25 stages

This Sunday, September 25, the annual Carrboro Music Festival will take over Carrboro, boasting a lineup of over 180 bands on 25 different stages around the town. Oh yeah, and it's free.

The venues reach from the Looking Glass Cafe to Jesse's Coffee and Bar. There will be tons of great bands across the stages including Luego, Fan Modine, Birds and Arrows, Brett Harris, Free Electric State, Lilac Shadows, The Tender Fruit, The Moaners, Billy Sugarfix's Carousel, Big Fat Gap, The Stars Explode, Le Weekend, Animal Alphabet and many, many more.

Check out the alphabetized full lineup below and check out stage schedule and map of the venues as a PDF file HERE. There is more information about the festival as a whole, HERE.

A Place To Bury Strangers announces March dates, coming to Durham

A Place To Bury Strangers, whom some call the loudest band in New York, are hitting the road in March on a U.S. tour, still supporting their 2009 album Exploding Head.

The tour will bring them to Motorco Music Hall in Durham on Friday, March 11. Hooray For Earth and Free Electric State will open the show. Tickets are on sale now HERE for $11.24 (that includes fees).

Check out the music video for A Place To Bury Strangers' music video for "I Lived My Life To Stand in the Shadow of Your Heart" below & read our review of Hooray For Earth's latest release Momo HERE.

New music video from Free Electric State - "Feather Bed"

Durham quartet Free Electric State released their debut Caress in April 2010, and now they've released the second music video from the album.

The video is for the heavy song "Feather Bed," and features bassist and vocalist Shirlé Hale trekking through the snow in rather dreary black and white footage which fits the tone of the song. It was directed by guitarist David Koslowski. Check out it out below.

Also, check out our review of Caress HERE and stream the whole album HERE.

Minus Sound Research hosting two-nights of music in Carrboro

The artist collective Minus Sound Research, started by local musicians Maria Albani and John Harrison, is celebrating their fifth anniversary this year and will be celebrating with a two-night concert in Carrboro.

The event will be held at the ArtsCenter. The line-up on Friday, Oct. 8 includes The Moaners, The Kingsbury Manx, Free Electric State and Birds & Arrows. The line-up on Saturday, Oct. 9 includes Americans in France, Shark Quest, North Elementary and Organos. Yes, you read correctly. The excellent Shark Quest will be making a rare live appearance.

Tickets for the event are available via etix. A two-night pass is just $13 or a single night ticket is $10.

Album Review: Free Electric State - Caress

Tuesday, April 20 is an exciting day for Durham foursome Free Electric State. It means the arrival of their debut album Caress on Churchkey records, the Durham label that took them on last December.

Caress is pleasantly surprising in its depth and quality, especially for a first release, managing to sound distant and extraordinarily up close at the same time. It's like the band recorded the album at the bottom of an empty stairwell, and you're standing a few floors up. Despite your distance, the music still envelopes and nearly drowns you in a thick, dark ocean of something that completely transcends the word "noise."

New music video from Free Electric State - "Six Is One" + mp3

Durham band Free Electric State will release their debut album titled Caress on on April 20 via Churchkey Records and have released the video for the barn burning single "Six Is One." The video features darkly shot footage of burning matches that coincide with the song's lyrics. There is also a bit of live footage throughout. Check it out below, where you can also download the song.

Free Electric State will launch the new album in Durham at The Pinhook on Friday, April 16 with A Rooster For the Masses and Beloved Binge. The cover for the show is just $5.

The band have many more upcoming dates which you can check out below.