REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar announce summer tour, coming to Cary

Here's a quirky little nostalgia tour rolling across the United States this summer. REO Speedwagon and Bat Benatar are teaming up for a co-headline tour that will bring the the 70s/80s hit-makers to Cary's Booth Amphitheatre on Thursday, Sept. 2.

Tickets for the show will go on sale Friday, March 12 at 10 a.m. here. Tickets for reserved seating and tables will be $59.50 and lawn seats will be $39.50. Strangely, the show is currently scheduled to start at 6 p.m., which is early for a show on a weeknight. How many people are going to get stuck in traffic trying to make it to the show from work?

Check out more tour dates below.

Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse commits suicide

Virginia born songwriter, singer and musician Mark Linkous, who lived western North Carolina, has sadly died after committing suicide on Saturday, March 6. Little has been confirmed yet about the incident, and many reports are even unable to confirm his age.

[UPDATE: The New York Times has reported that Linkous shot himself in the heart in an alley outside a friend's home in Knoxville, TN and was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 47.]

Linkous is known as the creative force behind Sparklehorse and was reportedly close to completing a new album that would have been released by Anti- Records. His collaboration with Danger Mouse titled Dark Night of the Soul that was leaked last year after disputes with EMI arose, is finally going to be officially released sometime later this year.

Megafaun plays a groovy set for Daytrotter

I mentioned back in January when we posted The Rosebuds' Daytrotter session that I'd love to hear a Megafaun session, and know that wish has been granted. The band's session went up on Saturday and features "Gather, Form & Fly," "Kaufman's Ballad," a funkalicious version "His Robe" and an extra-long version of "Drains," clocking in at 10 minutes. Stream or download the excellent session here.

In case you missed it before, the band will be playing a big show at the Cat's Cradle on Friday, May 7 with Mount Moriah and Great White Jenkins. Tickets are available now for $10 via etix or the usual places around the Triangle. Check out the rest of Megafaun's upcoming dates below.

Caribou announces new dates, coming to Carrboro

Canadian musician/group Caribou have announced a huge North American tour in support of his new album Swim which will be released on April 20 via Merge Records. The tour will bring him to the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro on Wednesday, May 12. Tickets will be $12 and will go on sale soon via etix. South Carolina's Toro Y Moi will open the show.

Check out the rest of the north American dates below along with a download of the track "Odessa" and the video for the song. Check out more info on the album Swim here.

First 2010 Summer in the Gardens shows announced

We're still well over two months away from the start of the always awesome Summer in the Gardens series put on by Duke Performances, but a trio of bands have already been announced. Local bands Annuals and The Kingsbury Manx will grace the gardens on May 26 and July 14 respectively. The third performer is Oklahoma songstress Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers on June 29, who is signed to Ramseur Records out of Concord, NC. The full Summer in the Gardens schedule will be released on April 15.

Check out mp3s from each of the three bands below, including a brand new track from Annuals upcoming EP Sweet Sister, due out on March 30. Keep an eye out for a review of the EP in a few weeks.

Check out our past coverage of the Summer in the Gardens series here.