Nashville

Musicians Corner Announces Spring Schedule

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Now that the weather seems to be warming up and the mud is turning back into dirt, Musicians Corner have announced their spring schedule. Taking place in Centennial Park and beginning May 4th, food trucks and music will take over the lawn in the park every Saturday afternoon throughout the duration of May and June.

As of now, Ruby Amanfu, Ravello, The Kingston Springs, The Delta Saints, Alanna Royale, Matt Wertz, and more are scheduled to fill your (hopefully!) sunny Saturdays with an excuse to attempt a tan while supporting local music. Additionally, the event is free.

If you’d like to get a head start on planning your weekends, the full schedule can be found here.

Portland

Bubble Cats Triple EP Release Party at Troubadour Studios 4.6

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What do you get when you put heavy metal, punk, and some rockabilly into a demented, nocturnal clown car and crash it full speed into a brick wall? Something that might sound like the badass music Bubble Cats are pumping out. Bubble Cats are releasing three EPs entitled Hiss, Mews and Purr this Saturday at Troubadour Studios and all three are sure to rock your socks. These guys have somehow managed the difficult task of making music that has a catchy pop feel while still keeping a honest grinding rock edge with songs like “Solidarity” and one of my personal favorites “Birds of Prey”. One can only hope that very soon these fellas will find their way to mainstream radio and replace some of the soul-less riff-raff currently clogging much of the airwaves. Bubble Cats triple EP release of Hiss, Mews, and Purr this Saturday at Troubadour Studios. Bring your girlfriend and enjoy the mellow songs or go stag and tear it up, this show is perfect either way. Grab your girl and go, let the whiskey flow, but mainly just get yourself to the Bubble Cats show! – Cory Huennekens

Portland

The Analog Cafe Opens Its Doors

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Bridgetown is known for doing some things right, two of them being food and music. The Analog Cafe has managed to create a venue where both art forms are celebrated. Donnie Rife is the man behind the recently opened venue that boasts one of the best sound systems in Portland as well as Executive Chef Javier Canteras, a classically trained and well respected Chef, in charge of the menu. This means a few things for Analog Cafe. First, if you are a band, you want to play here. The sound system is amazing, as I found out when I visited on an open mic night last Thursday. Second, Canteras can cook. I came full, not wanting to have another fried meal from a bar. Imagine my surprise when the table next to me was enjoying what turned out to be a proper meal. The man can cook and by the end of the night everyone was enjoying some amazing local talent, amazing local cuisine, and mighty fine drinks from their full bar. The venue can comfortably hold 500- yes you read that correctly- 500 people. That is going to be handy because Analog Cafe is also home of DRD Records, the brains behind this operation. Rife explains the motto behind this endeavor is "Rock stars and rock star chefs," and they are doing it well with an impressive lineup of acts, themed nights and a menu that will satisfy the foodie in all of us. – Joy Pearson

NYC

White Prism debuts EP + plays Glasslands on 04.23

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Wondering what Johanna Cranitch is up to? Have no fear… she has not abandoned us – quite the opposite. Coming up with an entirely new moniker to join her already crowded list of personas (known in part for her always surprising Johanna & The Dusty Floor, also backup singer for The Cranberries), Johanna has now given us the beats-based, stripped down goodness of White Prism. Apparently she began this group’s songwriting sessions looking for something melodic and roots-based, but threw out the demo after deciding to pursue synth dream pop instead. And we’re all the better for it. New video ‘Lover’s Dream’ (from upcoming EP ‘White Prism’) comes complete with evocative images, and syrupy watercolors abound. Check out below also single "Dance On". See White Prism live at Glasslands on April 23 with Home Video and Desert Stars. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

This track was added to our SoundCloud playlist of emerging electronic NYC artists here.

San Francisco

Watch Blackbird Blackbird’s Music Video – It’s A War + Listen to Boracay Planet EP in Its Entirety

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San Francisco based Blackbird Blackbird released a stellar EP that seems to have gone relatively unnoticed. Blackbird Blackbird’s Boracay Planet EP (Lavish Habits) is a vibrant, intricate and heartfelt album. This electronic, dream pop, indie rock duo has created an album that is pristine, sensual and exciting without being overbearing. While Blackbird Blackbird has just completed a US tour, we highly recommend that you go back and take a listen to Boracay Planet EP in full. You can find the full album, here.

L.A.

Live Review: Chelsea Wolfe at KXSC Fest 3/30/13

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The student-run college radio station KXSC, based out of USC, put on the 5th installment of their annual Fest this Saturday. Featuring a cross section of the LA Indie scene, the lineup included garage rockers The Dead Ships, party starters Nguzungzu and headliner Dan Deacon. Undoubtedly an eclectic and entrancing night of music, but the true highlight was Chelsea Wolfe. She brought her doom-folk, and a full band to the stage for a set that transfixed the college ballroom. What normally feels like a lecture hall was transformed into what felt like the site of a cult sacrifice. The crowd – dominated by young males who seemed to know every song by the opening swells – leaned in to worship at Wolfe’s altar as she possessed us with her folklore. She artfully rocked her way through most of the tunes from Apokalypsis, which showcased the insane creative talents of her band, most notably Kevin Dockter’s hauntingly sinister guitar work during “Pale on Pale.” Each song was drenched in a ghostly gloom that filled the room with mystical anticipation, as if Wolfe herself would somehow be transformed by her own incantations. Despite some unfortunate sound issues, we were all relieved when the violinist returned to the stage to close out the set with “Flatlands.” Her artistry and ambiance aside, this is a tune that stays with you. The clear standout, “Flatlands” soars in the live setting. Stripped down, it allows the eastern-leaning guitar riff to take the lead, while her understated tension pours out in a misty cloud of poetry over us, hanging there just out of reach. You can catch the mystifying Wolfe and her band at Desert Daze on April 20. – Jacqueline Caruso

Photo Courtesy of Leslie Andrew Ridings

 

Philadelphia

Details About Ladyfest Philly 2013 Announced

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Grace Ambrose just shared the details about Ladyfest Philly 2013, which is happening from June 7 – 9 and will be held at The Rotunda, Locust Moon and AIRSpace Gallery in West Philly. It features a killer lineup of acts like US Girls, Screaming Females, Attia Taylor, Void Vision, +HIRS+, Trophy Wife, Amanda X, Ghost Ship (Rosali Middleman and Mary Lattimore), Kate Ferencz, and many others as well as very interesting sounding workshops that span a wide spectrum of topics from Youth, Activism and Arts to Victim-Blaming in the Media with Tara Murtha. All proceeds will benefit local organizations Project SAFE and Women in Transition. You can view more info about Ladyfest Philly 2013 HERE.

Philadelphia

Debut Blackhawks LP Finally Available for Streaming

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When Cough Cool, a.k.a. Dan Svizeny, tweeted yesterday on April Fool’s Day that Blackhawks, the defunct project from Svizeny and Yohsuke Araki (The Interest Group, BAnanas Symphony), would be releasing their debut album today, it was hard to take him seriously. After all, it had been 2+ years since the bands demise, and Svizeny has also built a reputation as being a sardonic tweeter, which now makes sense for him to share this news on the day usually meant for acceptable pranking. Well, happy day after April Fool’s Day – check out Blackhawks’ debut self-titled LP! Hopefully someone picks up this album and resuscitates this project. 

Philadelphia

Tuesday Tune-Out w/Sweatheart at PhilaMOCA April 2

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It’s Tuesday and the beginning of a new month so you’ll be finding a new curator for Tuesday Tune-Out at PhilaMOCA. Eric Bresler, the series’ founder and PhilaMOCA’s Creative Director, will be taking over the duties for the first time. Headlining tonight will be the always outrageous Sweatheart, who are performing select songs from this evening’s featured movie, which is “one of the greatest of all ‘80s teen films.” Nicee! (BTW: Bresler, who is a truly knowledgeable and obsessed film enthusiast, is also the founder of Cinedelphia, and he’ll be bringing us the inaugural Cinedelphia Film Festival this month, which is a 24-day celebration of Philly-related cinema. You can check out the festival’s schedule and purchase tickets for its unique events HERE!) PhilaMOCA, 531 N. 12th St., 8pm, $5, All Ages – Q.D. Tran

NYC

Bklyn punks Cinema Cinema tour incessantly + open for Black Flag on 06.15

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So you think your band works hard? Cinema Cinema have practically set themselves up as a new front in the war against sleep with their restive schedule. The group has played over 300 shows in half of the continental U.S., released 4 records, and been on 5 tours in just over 4 years. Maybe it helps that the band’s two members are aggressive enough to carry the weight of their fist-throwing avant-punk music all by their damn selves… Maybe it’s that they’re set to take Brooklyn back from all those wimpy beards and crash every party with the assault of latest LP "Manic Children & the Slow Aggression". Whatever the reason, they won’t be ignored.

See them when they play again at New Jersey’s Meatlocker this Friday, April 5th at 9pm. Also, the true punk fans out there should mark June 15 on the calendar, when the band will open for Black Flag at Warsaw. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)