Blog: Live Music Blog

MTV Hive is hosting a live webcast right now from the SBTRKT show at Webster Hall n NYC. Tune in here or press play on the video above...

Gramatik just released a new EP called #digitalfreedom. Download it here and catch him tonight in Baltimore at Soundstage with Pretty Lights Music label mates Break Science . Gramatik Tour Dates (w/ Break Science) 3/31/12 Charlottesville, VA Jefferson Theater 4/03/12 Baltimore, MD Soundstage 4/04/12 Philadelphia, PA Blockley 4/05/12 Boston, MA Paradise 4/06/12 Burlington, VT VT Higher Ground 4/07/12 New York, NY Irving Plaza 4/09/12 Pittsburgh, PA Rex Theater 4/10/12 Pontiac, MI Crofoot 4/11/12 Urbana, IL [...]

It’s rare in today’s music business to come across a band that truly takes live music to a new level. With electronic music producers selling out 100k+ arenas it isn’t uncommon to find a sold out show where the stage and light production is much more of a spectacle than the actual performer, but with GWAR, no such distinction need be made. For 28 years these outer space rock gods have blown other acts out of the water with over the top characters, intricate costumes, and a hilarious, inspired mythos, all while featuring some of the best talent in [...]

At first I thought this news was a joke considering that Wilco HQ chose to announce it first thing in the morning yesterday on April Fool's Day, but this turned one turned out to be true (unlike that silly jokester that said Deadmau5 and Daft Punk would be playing Red Rocks )... Wilco and Andrew Bird are playing at the Kane County Cougars minor league ballpark in Geneva , IL the night of July 8th. Given that Fourth of July falls square in the middle of the week, this is the [...]

Santigold @ ACL Fest 2011 Santigold announced a spring / summer tour today in support of her new album, Master of My Make-Believe , which is due out May 1st. I was thoroughly blown away by the set I caught at last year's ACL Fest so I'll definitely be trying to catch a show or set again some time later this year. Read on for the dates... Santigold 2012 Tour Dates 4/30 – New [...]

We've got another great week in NYC live music this week, including several nights of The Boss, Dr. John with Dan Auerbach (of the Black Keys), a multi-night run by Citizen Cope , plus shows by The Rapture , SBTRKT , the North Mississippi All Stars, and the War on Drugs (who come highly recommended ). Last but not least, the Bowery Presents has announced a new webcast for their recently-expanded YouTube channel , featuring Of Monsters and Men live from the Music Hall of Williamsburg this [...]

The lineup for this year's Gathering of the Vibes Music Festival has been announced. No surprise that the top of the lineup will feature a very Dead-heavy set of artists - Phil Lesh & Friends, Bob Weir with Bruce Hornsby and Branford Marsalis , Mickey Hart Band , 7 Walkers and even Dark Star Orchestra - all anchoring down that thing I like to call the "nostalgia side" of the festival. Relative "newcomers" to the Dead ranks would be like Primus , STS9 and The Avett Brothers [...]

The comedy lineup for Bonnaroo 2012 was announced earlier today and will be featuring a few huge names in the scene right now, namely LMB faves Aziz Ansari and Reggie Watts (among many others). They join Phish, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead and a bazillion other bands at this year's round-the-clock party in Manchester, TN... Bonnaroo 2012 Comedy Lineup Aziz Ansari Steven Wright Marc Maron Brian Posehn Judah Freidlander Reggie Watts Rhys Darby Colin [...]

Paul Simon just announced a new set of tour dates with Ladysmith Black Mambazo to celebrate this year's 25th Anniversary of the Graceland album. The announcement just went live a half hour ago or so... Each will be a night of songs spanning Paul's entire career, including a very special performance of the groundbreaking album Graceland, featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Paul Simon & Ladysmith Black Mambazo 2012 Tour Dates 7/12/2012 Dublin, Ireland The O2 7/15/2012 London, U.K. Hyde [...]

End of Friday came, and I was off to Boston for the evening with my girl for a little R&R and some live music! Not only was it about to be my first Perpetual Groove experience, but it will be my first time at The Middle East . The restaurant/club is divided into sections where different live acts can play at the same time without interference, 'The Upstairs' and 'The Downstairs', and also has areas in which patrons can dine-in. For 'The Upstairs' (where I was), the front acted as a restaurant that serves middle-eastern fare [...]

It's no secret we're huge fans of The Barr Brothers around here, and I would even go so far as to say that we're perhaps over-saturating our site with coverage of the band. Maybe it's because whenever Aaron Fortin passionate writes about something , I pay attention. Or maybe it was because the first time I saw them I had one of those nights, the "you'll probably remember this for the rest of your life" sorta nights, with a beautiful lady that remains cemented in my heart whenever I hear their music. Or maybe [...]

In case you missed it, there were also a few lineup additions yesterday on the RE:GENERATION Music Festival that STS9 is putting on up at Horning's Hideout in June. Umphrey's McGee will be playing two sets at the festival, and they also added Ghostland Observatory , Big Gigantic , MiM0SA, Midnight , Gramatik and more... STS9 will be joined by a slew of other artists, including UMPHREY’S MCGEE, GHOSTLAND OBSERVATORY, BIG GIGANTIC, MiM0SA, MIDNITE, TWO FRESH, MICHAL MENERT, GRAMATIK, WELDER and R/D, plus a SILENT DISCO that will [...]

Reggie Watts just announced that he's going out on a headlining tour in the very near future. YES . After a couple one-off gigs in April in Vegas and Denver, he starts in Chicago in May and goes on to his 13 different major metros along his trek out West. I first caught his show a few weeks ago at the SF SketchFest and I was absolutely floored. I was late to the party with this guy but I'm going to catch up best I can by seeing him any time [...]

The folks behind All Good Music Festival just announced a great set of artists have been added to this year's festival: Dark Star Orchestra , Larry Keel & Natural Bridge, Jerry Joseph & The Jackmormons, Passafire , The Devil Makes Three , Corey Harris & The Rasta Blues Experience, Rubblebucket , The Pimps of Joytime , Red Wanting Blue , Moon Hooch , and Cris Jacobs Band . The full lineup has been updated here...

The Pitchfork Music Festival easily sold-out of their three-day passes, and they just added a huge slew of artists to the already-announced group earlier last month - this time get excited about Sleigh Bells , Dirty Projectors , Flying Lotus , the Olivia Tremor Control and many more... Here's the news from Pfork themselves: Pitchfork Music Festival 2012 just got a lot bigger. The lineup for the fest, which returns to Chicago's Union Park July 13-15, now includes Sleigh [...]

Very excited to see the news of Pretty Lights returning to Red Rocks for a two-night run this August 17-18, 2012; here's the info from his team... Derek Vincent Smith aka Pretty Lights is bringing his banging, soulful beats and mind blowing visual experience to Red Rocks Amphitheatre Friday, August 17 and Saturday, August 18, 2012. These will be the hottest events of the summer, and the biggest PL shows of the year. Special guests will be announced soon. Fan pre-sale begins March 29 at 10am MST [...]

Lots of good shows in NYC this week, including another big 902s jamband reunion with the original lineup of Strangefolk getting the band back together at Brooklyn Bowl. We've also got a number of great indie rock shows, including Of Montreal , Cloud Nothings , Delta Spirit, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. , Wild Flag , and Andrew Bird will be busting out his loops and whistles. On top of that, Dr. John will be joined by the Blind Boys of Alabama at BAM, and there's some good EDM and groove-oriented [...]

On Friday night Conspirator rolled through LA to play The Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, CA. The theatre, a venue which I recently learned was previously occupied by a strip club in the early 702s (hence the layout making more sense to me now) is a smaller club (roughly 500 capacity) with good sound and a rich history of performers. Neil Young, Bob Marley, Genesis (with Gabriel), Zappa, Bruce Springsteen, and on and on have all called it home for shows, live albums - you name it. Just after [...]

Welcome to a new column on Live Music Blog called Stage Right?! , a new look at what it's like to actually be a performer in today's music industry. This column is going to attempt to digest all that goes into making a successful show, a successful touring band, a successful festival, etc. - all through the lens of an up-and-coming band with potential that none of you have heard of yet. It's not an easy business out there and yours truly has taken the last year or so preparing to bring his band, NVO , [...]

Our friends Patrick Hagan and Grayson Simon went and caught the EOTO show last week at the Boulder Theater and got some amazing photos...