Fans of Kindercastle‘s dorky rock candy can all let forth a collective exclamation of delight. After a lengthy hiatus, the band is releasing LP number b at Mercy Lounge May 27. Listen to the teaser, "D’s All Round," here. Can we get a hallelujah?

There’s going to be one hell of a delightful performance over at Third Man Records tonight. Ted Leo‘s solo tour (sans the Pharmacists) has brought him to Nashville. Doors are at 8 and tickets are a mere $4; give us a good reason not to go.

Photo courtesy of Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune 

Robert Plant & the Band of Joy opened their Jazz Fest set in a mostly unsurprising, yet still admirable manner—an Americana’d version Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” transitioning straight into Page & Plant’s classic “Kashmir.” After enthusing the crowd with just a few of those generally familiar tunes, Plant & the Band of Joy took the liberty to launch into a set comprised almost equally of covers—including Plant’s “favorite UK songwriter” Richard Thompson’s “House of Cards,” and Low’s “Monkey.” Band of Joy originals, like “Angel Dance,” were played out in a more subdued manner, showcasing the individual members of the band (Byron House, Marco Giovino, Patti Griffin, Buddy Miller, and Darrell Scott) almost as much as Plant himself. The spotlight shined on each of the members’ instrumental talent during these numbers—mandolin, upright bass, and banjo generously layered on many songs—leading to a “jam” element throughout the set. Needless to say, the Fest crowd appeared much more pleased with the renditions of Zeppelin songs, such as “Ramble On” and “Houses of the Holy,” than the country-tinged numbers that allowed Griffin to command the stage (for the remainder of the set, she mostly stood stage left shakin’ it in a sequined mini dress banging miscellaneous percussive instruments against her body whilst doing so….) While it was clear that what the crowd ultimately desired was a Led Zeppelin reunion, there’s no doubt that each of the members of Band of Joy held their own in front of thousands on the Jazz Fest main stage and breathed new life to a generous handful of well-loved classics.–Michelle Landry

 Photo courtesy of Keith I. Marszalek | NOLA.com

Even after last Friday’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival set, it still stands unclear to most whether or not Justin Townes Earle likes trouble more than it likes him. After getting harassed by security and “one of [New Orleans’] fine policemen,” Earle made his way to the shack-like Fais Do-Do stage clad in a classic cream- colored suit and candy cane pinstripe shirt. Adorned with just an upright bassist and fiddler, Townes’ band poured doses of southern pain via folk ballads, as well as rowdy traditionalist country numbers.

Stories of mama, fried chicken, and trailer-dwelling, kiddie-pool bathing women from South Georgia resonated in the southern heat, despite an unfortunate schedule clash with Mumford & Sons. Towards the latter half of Earle’s set, the Mumford audience poured over to the Fais Do-Do stage, enjoying perhaps less powerful yet more earnest tunes such as “Slippin and Slidin,” a song from Earle’s most recent release “Harlem River Blues” about how he “shoulda learned better” from the rash decision making that sometimes gets him into notorious trouble. A Samuel Lightnin’ Hopkins cover was a welcome nod to the blues and slight departure from the mostly Johnny Cash-esque country set. The distinctive influence of these legends, as well as his father, Steve Earle, was evident in Earle’s voice, stirring the crowd around me to gossip about how “he’s only like…22!” (although he’s really 29.) Regardless of the rumours, whether they be about his age or about the trouble he gets himself into, Earle’s voice rang true to the tune of his country fathers before him and pleased the Jazz Fest set on Friday.–Michelle Landry

Modoc, one of The Deli‘s favorite rock outfits, is throwing down this Friday at 12th & Porter with Jamie Grace and Arch Nemisiz. It’s a benefit show for People Loving Nashville, and your donations will go toward helping the homeless. Nice way to spend your money, no? Oh, and P.S., if you haven’t already, you can download the single "Hard Times" off Modoc’s upcoming record. It’s good stuff.

The Basement is where you want to be tonight for The Clutters‘ release of Breaking Bones, which the Nashville Scene has already given props.  If you missed The Clutters at the last Road to Bonnaroo, here’s your chance to catch them again and pick up the record while you’re at it.  Big Surr is sharing the bill, too, so be there at 9.

Celebrate your Cinco De Mayo at 3rd & Lindsley with Angel Snow, Natalie Prass, and Matrimony. The first two gals are two of Nashville’s finest songbirds, who are revered for their beautifully unique melodies and their lyric-driven folk tunes. Both are about to release new albums, so they will be showcasing a lot of new material. Matrimony is coming in from out of town to round out the night, and if they’re sharing a bill with the likes of Snow and Prass, then they can probably be guaranteed to entertain and impress. The show is an early one and starts at 6pm. Check out the facebook event for more details.–Erin Manning

Looking for a good show tonight? The Deli suggests you try some rock ‘n’ roll at The Basement from Shoot the Mountain, The Lonely H and Little Bandit. Show’s at 9 p.m.

After the expected December release date came and went, singer/songwriter Erin Manning finally released her second EP, Back and Forth, April 23. Given that Manning is yet another female singer belting out I’m-not-in-love songs behind a keyboard, it would be easy for her to get lost in the jumble. But with grandiose piano-driven melodies laced with jazz and Latin dance influence as well as a wordy, analytical lyrical style, Back and Forth is a small, six-track piece of proof of Manning’s staying power.

The first two tracks introduce rich instrumental texture, with strings and hard-driving piano sounding over a Latin drum tap in “Let It Go,” and then Manning’s full-bodied voice and thundering piano parts are softened with backing vocal harmonies in “Solar Eclipse.” A collection of influences converge to create her eccentric , key-driven pop craft including a Tori Amos way with the piano and a Santana-like affection for salsa and tango rhythms. Even Alison Krauss sort of work with the violin creeps in unexpectedly, like on the opening track or the EP’s most mainstream, breezy pop number, “The Difference.”

But Manning’s voice is a powerful instrument in itself and delivers her plain and truthful yet poetic song craft. The standout is the sultry bottom-falling-out tango in which she sings, “If love can come undone from following the rules/and giving in to the push and the pull of a person who left when I screamed no more/I should’ve known before you pushed me back and forth.” The album closes with gentle, eyes-cast-down ballad “The Cruelest Thing” tapped out lightly on the keys as she sings, “It’s got to be the cruelest thing when someone takes away what they once so freely gave.”

Manning airs out her dirty laundry infectiously and belts out her breakup stories with a vocal style similar to Amy Winehouse, managing to dress up the mainstream with colorful, campy and vaguely seductive instrumental style that reflects her Louisiana roots. Back and Forth doesn’t transcend pop, but it surpasses the mediocrity often produced from the voice-and-piano combination. – Jessica Pace

If you haven’t heard about Erin Manning yet, I’ll be the first to tell you that you’re a little out of the loop. The Louisville native singer-songwriter has been out and about playing shows around town for the past two years, with just about every other local musician in Nashville. If you’re anything like me, you probably just rolled your eyes to the words “singer-songwriter,” but this girl is no average “singer-songwriter.” Erin Manning has lungs of steel that strike you in a way that really make you come to love her catchy melodies, yet vindictive lyrics. She has a Fiona Apple undertone and her own Nellie McKay moments. As a result, at her shows everyone breaks out in dance while singing about how crazy ex-lovers can be. The irony in her work is beautiful and don’t assume she is some sort of bitter musician—on the contrary—Erin has quite the quirky stage presence, which makes her not only a good musician, but a great entertainer as well.

Her upcoming EP, Back and Forth (to be released digitally), like her previous work will surely not disappoint. On Saturday April, 23, Manning will be having her EP release show at The Basement promptly at 7 pm, sharing the stage with the likes of Peter Barbee, Korean is Asian, and from what I understand, “surprise special guests.” Erin wrote all of the songs on the Back and Forth EP herself and she plans to play every last one of them on Saturday. The only thing that might be disappointing about this show is that it is said to be one of her last, at least for quite a while. As sad as it is, Erin has decided she wants to collaborate and pursue other side projects, and I can only imagine what is to come. Only good things of course!

Also, Erin Manning is Lightning 100’s local artist spotlight of the week, which means that they’ll be debuting the first song off of her new EP, Let it Go, and for this week only (April 17-24) you’ll be able to download that song for free here.

Remember, it’s an early show on Saturday and the show will start at 7pm and if you show up at 9pm, you will have missed the entire thing, so don’t miss out on this opportunity to see her as well as some other great local artists. You can go here for more information about the show.–Hilary Blakeney

What do you get when you put four of the skinniest dudes in Nashville onstage? In this case, you get a great set from PUJOL, who had a busy Record Store Day with an earlier set at Rocketown before heading over to Mercy to open for The Greenhornes. It was Sean Thompson’s and Joey Scala’s last show with PUJOL before they’re off to focus on their new band, Promised Land (which also includes Jamin of JEFF the Brotherhood and Jessi of Those Darlins), and they finished with a typically stripped-down and roughly stylish set. To use a tootsie pop analogy, PUJOL’s songs are sugary and hooky on the surface (whenever they play “Butterflyknife,” it gets stuck in my head for about 17 damn years), and at the core there are a lot of frayed, guttural riffs The Stooges could be proud of. So hurray for PUJOL!

Next was Hacienda, a foursome who illustrated their Mexican-American origins with some loose and rolling rock reminiscent, at many times, of The Band. “We’re from San Antonio,” bassist/vocalist Rene Villanueva announced. Of course they are. Something about their boots and belted jeans was kind of pointing to the southwest. And amid the pounding of the keyboard, lush guitars and Jaime Villanueva’s ceaseless energy on the drum set, it felt like all the girls there were probably thinking, “Hm. I kind of want them.” While all the guys there were probably thinking, “Hm. I kind of want them.” The set was loose, energetic and Tex-Mex flavored, and included a cover of “Bule Bule,” sung by keyboardist Abraham Villanueva, for their friends The Greenhornes! Who were up next!

And oh, such riffage! Long, scraggly hair hanging over their instruments, it was all denim-and-vinyl retro rock ‘n’ roll with bass-heavy blues, glowering keys and Craig Fox and Jack Lawrence trading off on vocals. Oh, and some intense, sweaty drum solos from Patrick Keeler. The Greenhornes have a distinct and not quite definable aesthetic, from Lawrence’s obnoxiously black hair and matching glasses to that jaguar splashed across the kick drum (and the cover of their latest album, ****), and it added to the songs as they stretched out into entrancing instrumental jams. They’re fans of the lingering finish, always prolonging that last chord, and everyone was grateful that they did. – Jessica Pace