Superfly Productions and A.C. Entertainment are excited to announce the initial lineup for the 2011 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. The 10th annual four-day camping and music festival will be held on June 9 – 12 on the same beautiful 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, 60 miles south of Nashville. A full list of confirmed acts follows, and more will be announced in the coming weeks. The final Bonnaroo 2011 lineup will total over 125 bands and over 20 comedians performing on 13 stages over four days.Tickets for the event will go on sale this Saturday, February 19, 2011 at 12 noon eastern exclusively here.  Read more...

Lady Antebellum was the big winner at the Grammys with five awards, including record and song of the year for the band’s yearning crossover ballad “Need You Now,” but rockers Arcade Fire won Sunday’s biggest prize, album of the year, for their highly acclaimed The Suburbs.

Arcade Fire’s Win Butler was visibly stunned as the group accepted their trophy and then quickly rushed to perform the last song of the night.  Read more...

Universal Republic recording artist Lauren Pritchard will launch a U.S. tour with Matt White and Brendan James on March 17th in Little Rock, AR. The run, which will include a performance at Los Angeles’ intimate Hotel Café on April 1st, will conclude in Pittsburgh on April 17th. Pritchard, who’s in the midst of a U.K. tour, will play her first headlining show in London tomorrow – a sold-out concert at The Borderline that’s part of the HMV Next Big Thing series.  Read more...

By J. Brown

The artist Jackson C. Frank once solemnly sang that “To sing is a state of mind.” Fittingly, one of Frank’s songs was recently covered by English songwriter Laura Marling, who in my opinion released the best album of 2010.  Read more...

By J. Brown

Mt Desolation is the collaborative effort and side project of Keane’s Tim Rice-Oxley and bassist Jesse Quin, and their gifts as songwriters and musicians translate well to their new foray into country. While their debut album has been billed as country-rock, such nomenclature often evokes an image of mainstream country music that is less than flattering; more accurately, this album is essentially indie English pop with a dose of alt-country.  Read more...

Check out the brand new video from Mt. Desolation, the alt-country side project of Keane’s Tim-Rice Oxley and Jesse Quin. The video is for the single and lead track, Departure and was directed by Tom Palliser. Shake it like a polaroid picture.

Mt. Desolation, which also features members of Mumford & Sons, Killers, and Noah and the Whale are preparing to release their debut album, “Mt. Desolation on October 19, 2010 on Cherry Tree.  Read more...

By J. Brown

Sunday Night at the Belly Up in Solana Beach was a sold out show and for good reason: the night did not disappoint. The energy in the venue was palpable, undoubtedly due to the headliner Mumford & Sons, but the opening acts got the night off to a good start. “The Silent Comedy,” natives of Southern California, opened the show and the crowd loved the high energy, charisma, and style of this rocking band. While their appearance is decidedly old-fashioned, their performance at the Belly Up showed an effortless mix of styles and sounds often with loud, foot-stomping choruses that were made all the better by their lively stage presence. Simply put, their songs were fresh, fun and creative and had the crowd pumped up in no time. They have a new album out that can be purchased on their web site.  Read more...

By J. Brown

“A UK cross between Bon Iver and Ray LaMontagne.” Those are the words that have been used to perfectly describe Matthew and the Atlas and the voice of English singer Matthew Hegarty, who is the force behind the moniker and the modern folk/alternative music on the new EP To the North, which was released by Communion Records. Hegarty is so effortlessly soulful and his voice has that weathered vibe in the vein of LaMontagne, and the comparison to Bon Iver is as equally apt for the haunting quality of his voice on many songs that leave the listener awestruck by its understated beauty. Hegarty’s remarkable voice and talents are a standout addition to modern folk and the EP showcases an eclectic range of banjo, accordion, strings, horns and rolling rhythms swelling around his powerful lyrics.  Read more...

By: J. Brown

“I will come back here, bring me back when I’m old, / I want to lay here forever in the cold.
I might be cold but I’m just skin and bones, / And I never love England more than when covered in snow.” —Excerpt from “Goodbye England”  Read more...

by J. Brown

“Lend me your eyes I can change what you see / but your soul you must keep totally free. Awake my soul, awake my soul […] In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die / Where you invest your love, you invest your life.” —Excerpt from the song “Awake my Soul.”  Read more...