If you want to listen to the music while you read, click here for my Spotify playlist featuring some of the music mentioned in this article.
Wednesday, 26 June 2013
Late in 2012, Courtney Love declared she was resuming her solo recording career. Most recently she has been working with former Smashing Pumpkin guitarist James Iha as producer and a new single titled "This Is War" is reportedly being readied for release. At Warsaw, Brooklyn.
Also tonight: Recent Partisan Records signings Treetop Flyers are playing a pair of NYC shows this week Wednesday at the Mercury Lounge and Thursday at Glasslands. Based in the United Kingdom, the British five-piece emerged from the West London and Communion Records open mic nights, which also yielded Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling and Michael Kiwanuka.
And: Buddy Guy is the real deal, a Southern blues legend. Born in Louisiana in 1936, he first recorded in the mid '60s and did much to popularise Chicage Blues - he moved there in 1957 and was heavily influenced by the great Muddy Waters. Buddy's latest album "Living Proof" won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. At B.B. King Blues Club & Grill.
Thursday, 27 June 2013
Peter Frampton is back on the road, energized by a successful world tour in 2011 celebrating the 35th Anniversary of his multi-platinum selling live album "Frampton Comes Alive!" This time around, he's created "Frampton’s Guitar Circus", a star studded lineup of guitar heroes featuring Robert Cray, Don Felder (The Eagles) and Roger McGuinn (founder and lead guitarist of the Byrds). At Beacon Theatre.
Also tonight: Prefuse 73 is American instrumental hip hop producer Scott Herren. He releases music under the aliases Delarosa & Asora, Ahmad Szabo, and Piano Overlord, and is also part of the groups Savath y Savalas, Risil, and Diamond Watch Wrists. This year he launched Yellow Year Records, an independent record label founded with photographer Angel Ceballos. At Output.
Friday, 28 June 2013
Jimmy Webb, the only artist to ever receive Grammy Awards for music, lyrics, and orchestration, plays The Cutting Room. Hear the classics "By The Time I Get To Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman," "Galveston" and maybe even "MacArthur Park" from the legend who wrote them.
Also tonight: In a career that has spanned nearly 30 years, the vocal ensemble Ladysmith Black Mambazo has recorded 40 albums and sold over six million records. First brought to the attention of an international audience through Paul Simon's "Graceland" (check out "Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes,") Mambazo's first US album "Shaka Zulu" (1987) won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album. At Celebrate Brooklyn at the Prospect Park Bandshell.
And: The Seaport Music Festival is back for 2013, presenting an outstanding selection of the cream of the underground music scene, free on Friday evenings around sunset. This week it's Unknown Mortal Orchestra (U.M.O.), a band conceived as a home recording project by Ruban Nielson. At Pier 17, South Street Seaport.
Saturday, 29 June 2013
The Village Voice's annual free all ages music shindig is on again and this year the 4Knots Music Festival will be rocking across two stages at the suitably nautical South Street Seaport. A great lineup is sure to please - starring Brooklyn punks The Men, “the lady who shreds” Marnie Stern, The Babies, Parquet Courts, and Kurt Vile & The Violators. From 1pm 'til 8pm.
Also tonight: MoMA PS1 in Long Island City launches its summer series of Saturday afternoon "Warm up 2013." Featuring the best in experimental live music, sound and DJs, today's line-up features Detroit's techno legend Juan Atkins, Londoner Lee Gamble, Heatsick and Bill Kouligas (both from Berlin), and Japanese DJ/producer NHK'Koyxen.
And: In 1979 Fruitland, Washington-based brothers Donnie and Joe Emerson released "Dreamin' Wild," an album they recorded in an elaborately appointed home-built studio. Check out this fascinating video for the back story. This is the first show they have ever played outside Washington State. At the Mercury Lounge.
And: Bruno Mars' latest album "Unorthodox Jukebox" is already a million seller, hitting the top spot in the U.S, Australia and the U.K. The success of his recent single “When I Was Your Man” marks his 10th consecutive single to hit the top 10. This is the last U.S date of his “Moonshine Jungle World Tour.” At Barclays Center.
Sunday, 30 June 2013
Big Star’s third album, "Sister Lovers," has long been revered by artists and critics as one of the most influential albums ever produced. Written and recorded when the legendary '70s band was primarily a studio project consisting of Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens, the third album has never been performed in public with the original string and wind orchestrations. Hear the album come to life with a core band featuring Mike Mills (R.E.M.) on bass; Mitch Easter (Let’s Active), Chris Stamey (The dB’s) and Ken Stringfellow (The Posies, Big Star) on guitar; Charles Cleaver on keys; Django Haskins (of The Old Ceremony), Brett Harris and Skylar Gudasz on harmony and guitar; and original Big Star member Jody Stephens on drums. Special guests include Sharon Van Etten, Kurt Vile, Marshall Crenshaw and Pete Yorn. At Central Park SummerStage.
Monday, 1 July 2013
John Grant, the 44-year-old former frontman for Colorado rock band the Czars, is now based in Iceland. UK newspaper The Guardian voted his recent album "Pale Green Ghosts" album of the week, saying, "It's hard to imagine a more enjoyable and rewarding hour of music being released this year than Pale Green Ghosts: self-obsessed but completely compelling, profoundly discomforting but beautiful, lost in its own fathomless personal misery, but warm, funny and wise." Catch the unsung, rare talent at the Mercury Lounge.
Tuesday, 2 July 2013
Alpha Blondy emerged as Ivory Coast's first reggae star in the early 1980s, breaking through with his debut album "Jah Glory." His sixteenth studio album is "Mystic Glory," released this year. At B.B. King Blues Club and Grill.
