![Keep An Ear Out For :: Futurebirds [Athens, GA]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2847853_lg.jpg)
Futurebirds One of a handful of releases vying for the top spot amongst my favorite new releases of 2010, if you haven't taken the time to pick up a copy of Futurebirds' full-length debut Hampton's Lullaby [ Autumn Tone Records ] you've now got something to add to your to-do list. This sextet out of Athens, Georgia has been melting my listening vortexes on a long, slow burn for the past month or so and there is no sign of a let-up [...]
![The Black Twig Pickers--Don't Drink Nothing But Corn [MP3]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2823092_lg.jpg)
Old-time. Mountain music. The beating heart of Appalachia. There's a story in every song and there's a story behind every song. Old-time. Don't take it to mean that this music is the soundtrack to some museum piece set behind a glass enclosure to remind of us bygone days. And this isn't the music of revivalists because that would imply that the sounds of fiery fiddles and claw-hammer banjos were once forgotten or lost and they have now returned. Old-time is more than a reference to a sound so that we can neatly identify [...]
![Megafaun--"Carolina Days" from new EP Heretofore [MP3]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2812532_lg.jpg)
Megafaun [photo by Derek L Anderson ] Just days before the release of their mini-album Heretofore , North Carolina's Megafaun offers up the second free track from their forthcoming release in the form of the home state homage "Carolina Days". And in case you missed it the first time around, you should also give a listen to "Volunteers" [which also appears on the new EP]. The six-song Heretofore hits stores on September 14th via Hometapes . And if [...]
MP3: Sharon Van Etten--Love More ------ ------ MP3: Breathe Owl Breathe--Own Stunts ------ I imagine moments of silence interrupted by the thunderous sound of a pin dropping. A wave of harmonium [...]
This just in! The Black Keys / Whigs show scheduled for tomorrow night [Thursday, Sept. 9] at the Charlottesville Pavilion has been postponed and re-scheduled for next Tuesday, September 14. The official word just came out from the Pavilion's marketing director a little less than a half hour ago. Here's the official release info: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: "Due to a death of a family [...]
![Ned Oldham :: The One Light [MP3]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2805138_lg.jpg)
Ned Oldham-- Let's Go Out Tonight [cover art by Kevin Earl Taylor ] Charlottesville's Ned Oldham [Anomoanon / Oldham Brothers / Palace] has just released his very first solo recording in the form of the 3-song EP Let's Go Out Tonight . Recorded at Blue Third Floor in Baltimore, Let's Go Out Tonight is available as a limited release 7" colored vinyl [via Gold Robot Records ]. There are only 500 copies available so get yours while the gettin' is good. [...]
The War on Drugs So first off, let me dispense with the now obvious, much too long, and unexplained absence from The Rut for the last four and half months. Quite simply...I've been gone. And now I'm back. That's pretty much the long and the short of it. To be honest I wasn't even sure if I was going to pick this endeavor up again...I thought maybe this little hobby had run its course and that over time The Velvet Rut would simply disappear into the ether that is [...]
Crooked Still [photo by Cassandra Jenkins] For those of you who closely follow acoustic music, Crooked Still should need no introduction. The Boston-based five piece has received acclaim over the past six years for bending beyond the boundaries of bluegrass and old-time while still closely honoring the roots of tradition. The band's forthcoming album Some Strange Country was actually recorded at Charlottesville's Haunted Hollow Studios during one of the big snowstorms that hit our area this past winter. Be looking for the new album to hit stores on May 18th [...]
![La Strada :: My New Home [New MP3]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2498845_lg.jpg)
La Strada [photo by Zandy Mangold] Brooklyn's La Strada became an instant favorite after I caught the band's February 2009 performance at the old Gravity Lounge. At the time the quintet was just beginning to tour outside of their hometown in support of their six-song, self-titled debut EP. Since that late winter performance last year the band has released their first official video (for the EP centerpiece "Sun Song"), logged quite a few more touring miles, and in recent months have been featured on a pretty killer [...]
![Paleface :: New York, New York [New Video]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2495905_lg.jpg)
Paleface [photo by Crackerfarm] Paleface's love letter to The Big Apple, the video for "New York, New York" made its premiere earlier this week on Magnet Magazine . The song appears on Paleface's latest album The Show is On the Road which was released last year on Ramseur Records . Now based out of North Carolina, the duo (which includes drummer girlfriend Mo' Samalot and ol' PF himself) are racking up those highway miles with a number of upcoming East Coast tour dates on [...]
A friend writes. The subject lines reads: "Worthy of The Velvet Rut?". Nothing more. Except the link to this video. Worthy?!!? I ask myself. It's the best thing I've posted in a long, long while! ------ Here's what you need to know. This is Paul Curreri's birthday shout-out to his wife Devon Sproule. Need further explanation? Then there's this in Paul's own words: "This is a hella serious big willie rap vid for all my boomhead posse world ova out there [...]
![Documentary Film To Have and To Hold Celebrates The Vinyl Record [Trailer]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2491173_lg.jpg)
I own two turntables. Nothing fancy. An old Sony belt-driven number that I've had for about fifteen years now and a newer direct-drive Audio-Technica that had been sitting in the original packing box until a few months ago. They both work and I've got a few back-up needles around here somewhere. But needless to say, I'll never be considered a true audiophile. My record collection is measured in the hundreds, maybe somewhere close to a thousand (a small sampling of which can be seen above). Through it all there are only [...]
![John Prine :: Long Monday (live) [MP3]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2488562_lg.jpg)
This live version of John Prine's "Long Monday" seems like a perfect track for the start of the work week. The song also serves as your first listen to Prine's forthcoming live album In Person and On Stage which hits stores on May 25th via Oh Boy Records. Here's the complete track listing for the new album: In Person and On Stage Oh Boy Records (May 25, 2010) 01. Spanish Pipedream 02. She Is [...]
The Thermals [photo by Alicia J. Rose] This is the first of three shows coming up in C'ville this week worthy of spotlight status. We haven't seen Portland, Oregon's The Thermals in town since the days of the Satellite Ballroom. Which means we've missed out on the live sounds from last year's Now We Can See (the band's fourth full-length and first for new label Kill Rock Stars). And with the trio's next record, the Chris Walla-produced Personal Life , [...]
Another fantastic acoustic video session from Yours Truly. I gotta say, I love me some Langhorne Slim. The album version of "Cinderella" appears on Langhorne Slim's most recent release Be Set Free (2009). And in case you missed it the first time around, you can also give a listen to "I Love You, But Goodbye", the first single off of Be Set Free , below. As for the folks at Yours Truly, they share and celebrate music in the finest of fashions. Check 'em both out. [...]
![Shipwrecked in C'ville::With the Beatles [Re-Post]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2465112_lg.jpg)
----- [ The Rut Says : Yet another re-post from last year's Shipwrecked in C'ville essay series. The following was authored by Aer Stephen, Charlottesville resident, volunteer disc jockey with local community radio station WTJU 91.1FM, and possessor of the sweetest pair of snakeskin boots this side of the Blue Ridge. WTJU's Spring Rock Fund Drive is officially underway. Donate Now! Aer will be co-hosting a Vic Chesnutt retrospective with local singer-songwriter Keith Morris on Monday, [...]
![Deer Tick :: Twenty Miles [New MP3]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2464475_lg.jpg)
The latest from Deer Tick off their forthcoming album The Black Dirt Sessions . In stores June 8th via Partisan Records . MP3: Deer Tick--Twenty Miles ------------ Deer Tick :: Official Site
One of my favorite local bands since hearing them for the first time almost two years ago to the day, The Cinnamon Band have announced that they'll be releasing their first "official" EP, All Dressed , later this month. The four-track extended player was recorded last fall at Mt. Zoomer Studio in Montreal with Arlen Thompson (of Wolf Parade). Among the tracks featured on the forthcoming release is a re-working of a TCB fave "Buena Vista" [listen below] along with three brand new songs ("I'm Asking You", "You Heard [...]
![Introducing :: Villagers [Debut album Becoming a Jackal due on June 8]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2462427_lg.jpg)
Villagers [photo by Richard Gilligan] Every year, in the weeks following the annual SXSW full-on music blowout, my inbox swells with e-mails about newly discovered bands and noteworthy performances. Here's one such artist whose sound cut through the buzz and made me stop and listen. ------ Dublin, Ireland's Villagers is at its heart the work of frontman Conor J O'Brien [pictured above]. He first recorded under the Villagers name with the release of The Hollow Kind EP in February of last year. [...]
Leaving no doubt that I think The Whigs' upcoming performance at The Southern in Charlottesville is a can't miss, the Athens, Georgia-based trio poured it on during their most recent appearance on Late Night with David Letterman . "Kill Me Carolyne" is the first single off The Whigs' latest release In the Dark (ATO Records). The band hits The Southern on May 5th. [ buy tickets ] Previous Post :: The Whigs [2 [...]
the velvet rut
Noteworthy (Stream): Kanye West – Black Skinhead (SNL Performance)
Hudson Mohawke collaborates with Kanye West on new single
