This year’s edition of KEXP‘s awesome free concert series Concerts at the Mural kicks off tonight at Seattle Center’s Mural Amphitheatre.  The show features local actsThe Maldives, Black Whales, and Hey Marseilles.  The series continues all month with shows every Friday, plus tomorrow’s 9th Annual KEXP BBQ.  The BBQ starts at 3 pm, all other shows start at 6pm.  Get there early and eat something from Skillet Streetfood.  Below we’ve got the lineups and the video for Hey Marseilles hit "Rio."

Friday 8/5, Doors at 5pm, Bands at 6pm 
Hosted by DJ El Toro
The Maldives
Hey Marseilles
Black Whales

Saturday 8/6, The 9th Annual KEXP BBQ! Doors at 2pm, Bands at 3pm
Hosted by Larry Mizell Jr., Troy Nelson, John Richards and Kevin Cole
Fool’s Gold
Rainbow Arabia
Capsula
School of Rock
Virgin Islands
Mad Rad

Friday 8/12, Doors at 5pm, Bands at 6pm
Hosted by Troy Nelson
Seapony
Gold Leaves
Math and Physics Club

Friday 8/19, Doors at 5pm, Bands at 6pm
Hosted by Hannah Levin
Black Mountain
My Goodness
Whalebones [Record Release]

Friday 8/26, No Depression Night, Doors at 5pm, Bands at 6pm
Hosted by DJ El Toro
Shane Tutmarc
Ravenna Woods
Pickwick
Drew Grow & the Pastors’ Wives

Carissa’s Wierd, one of the seminal indie rock outfits of Seattle through the 90s and early ‘oughts, have released a b-side track from a batch of new recordings they have reportedly been working on.  The band, which formed in 1995, broke up in 2003, with many of its members being disseminated into current chamber-pop and folky groups- including Band of Horses and Grand Archives.  Mat Brooke, lead singer of both Carissa’s Wierd and Grand Archives, also went on to found the Redwood bar, which is very noteworthy to me because while living in Capitol Hill I drank many beers and tossed many peanut shells onto their floor (Thank you, Mat).

The band is playing a show August 24 at Neumos, and the rumors about a tour, may or may not be true.  Possibly, I would just like to start a rumor that they’re touring, so as to incite a riotous demand for them to tour.     

Carissa’s Wierd – Meredith & Iris by hardlyartrecords

It’s always sad to see a mainstay band in your city decide to call it quits (RIP, These Arms are Snakes- I’ll never forget the boozy, dangerous swagger of your sweaty live shows).  Six years and several albums later, the electronic shoegazers of Sleepy Eyes of Death are burying themselves.  "We’ve been planning our final show for awhile," the band said in a press release, "and are beyond excited about it.  This will definitely be it.  We’ve got a set we’re really psyched to play and we will also be upgrading the light show to something entirely new and retina-crushing for this last performance." 

The band will be playing material from their latest album, Toward a Damaged Horizon, and, if you’re quick, you can get a vinyl, super deluxe release of both Toward a Damaged Horizon and previous album Dark Signals.  The vinyl is limited to only 300 copies.  Check it out and support them via Kickstarter. 

The illustrious Blue Scholars have announced a new, extensive tour.  It’s their longest headlining extravaganza to date with a whopping 29 dates across the West, Midwest and Northeast.  

09/14 – Vancouver, BC – 560 Nightclub
09/17 – Seattle, WA – Showbox Market
09/20 – Eugene, OR – Wow Hall
09/21 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
09/22 – Olympia, WA – The Royal Lounge
09/23 – Bellingham, WA – Wild Buffalo
09/24 – Belllingham, WA – Wild Buffalo
10/12 – San Francisco, CA – Slim’s
10/13 – Santa Cruz, CA – Atrium @ Catalyst
10/15 – Los Angeles, CA – Key Club
10/16 – San Diego, CA – Casbah
10/18 – Scottsdale, AZ – Chasers
10/19 – Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad
10/20 – Boulder, CO – Fox Theatre
10/21 – Denver, CO – Cervantes
10/22 – Colorado Springs, CO – The Black Sheep
10/23 – Ft. Collins, CO – Aggie Theatre
10/24 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court (early) & Urban Lounge (late)
10/26 – Boise, ID – Reef
10/27 – Missoula, MT – Top Hat
10/28 – Spokane, WA – A Club
11/03 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry
11/04 – Madison, WI – Frequency
11/05 – Chicago, IL – Schuba’s
11/06 – Ann Arbor, MI – Blind Pig
11/07 – Toronto, ON – WrongBar
11/08 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
11/10 – Boston, MA – Paradise
11/11 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom

Blue Scholars – Lumiere by geeksmakebeats

August 2nd will mark the release of Tripper, the fifth studio album from the Fruit Bats.  Since 2001’s Echolocation, Eric D. Johnson and his ever-changing gang of cronies have continued to make excellent folk rock albums; Tripper should be no different.  This will be the band’s fourth release on Sub Pop.  The guys have some local shows coming up, including an in-store at the Queen Anne Easy Street shop on the album’s relase day, before heading out for a 15 date tour with Sub Pop labelmates Vetiver in September.  Check out the 80’s backlighting and Johnson’s Miami Vice look in the video for "You’re Too Weird" below.  

Fruit Bats – "You’re Too Weird" from Townhall on Vimeo.

If the booking has a theme, it’s "big names from lots of genres."

Diverse heavyweights include Swedish pop star Robyn, Idaho indie rock icons Built to Spill and pioneering rap crew Freestyle Fellowship, from Los Angeles — touring with its original lineup for the first time in 10 years.

Also big: American country/rock singer-songwriters Shelby Lynne and Ryan Adams, and Canadian electronic duo Crystal Castles.

The fest’s lesser-known Seattle acts are also strong, representing the top tier of several local momentums: twee pop (Seapony, Witch Gardens), hip-hop and soul (Don’t Talk to the Cops, Metal Chocolates, Allen Stone) and chillwave, the trance-y genre currently taking over America’s dorm rooms (USF, Big Spider’s Back).

City Arts Fest is more than music — the programming involving movies, readings, dancing and visual art. But it’s mostly music. And most of it happens in clubs and established venues, like Chop Suey, Neumos, the Crocodile and the Showbox.

One curveball is the Pacific Science Center Laser Dome, an underutilized space for music — and a cool venue to see Oregon electronic/indie rock band Helio Sequence.

Check the full lineup and schedule at cityartsfest.com/schedule.

-associated press-

The Trashies return from a three year dormant period with their new LP Space Jam!  The Trashies, as you can imagine from their name, are not an ambient project.  They’re a thrashy, psycho-garage outfit that incorporate musical elements ranging from The Stooges to Bo Diddley.  They’re not the tightest band in the world, but they’re not trying to be, and if that’s what you’re looking for in garage music of this brand, you’re missing the point.  Sloppy, thumpin’ backbeats lay the groundwork for catchy, hook-laden guitar riffs that even sound sweaty.  The songs on Space Jam are all short punk-jams, clocking in under three minutes, with the exception of "Bug Smoker," which is typical of their last few albums (which I’m obviously just trying to work in here so I can type their very perfect names), Let it be Trashed, Taz Tattoo, and Fartstorm.  "I wanna Destroy," the probable hit of the album, is below, along with tour dates.  Total Fest sounds fun.          

The Trashies on Tour
August 5th @ The Funhouse – Seattle, WA
August 6th @ SMMR BMMR – Portland, OR
August 12th @ Total Trash Fest – Oakland, CA
August 14th @ LA Record Psycho Beach Party – Los Angeles, CA
August 19th @ Total Fest – Missoula, MT

All shows w/Shannon and the Clams. More tour dates will be confirmed shortly.

The Trashies Space Jam by andrews247

Seattle’s self-described "lo-fi rebel hip-hop" duo THEESatisfaction have been signed by indie label giant Sub Pop.  THEESatisfaction is the brainchild of Stasia Irons and Catherine Harris-White, and between the two of them, they’ve released five EPs and recently appeared on Shabazz Palaces’ Black Up.  Interestingly enough, THEESatisfaction is the only other hip-hop act on the Sub Pop label, next to their other recent and still buzzing acquisition, the aforementioned Shabazz Palaces.  A full-length debut is reportedly in the works for Irons and Harris-White.   

Mourning SAMO by THEESatisfaction

Seattle’s self-described "lo-fi rebel hip-hop" duo THEESatisfaction have been signed by indie label giant Sub Pop.  THEESatisfaction is the brainchild of Stasia Irons and Catherine Harris-White, and between the two of them, they’ve released five EPs and recently appeared on Shabazz Palaces’ Black Up.  Interestingly enough, THEESatisfaction is the only other hip-hop act on the Sub Pop label, next to their other recent and still buzzing acquisition, the aforementioned Shabazz Palaces.  A full-length debut is reportedly in the works for Irons and Harris-White.   

The Royal Sea, Bellingham’s contribution to the surf-tinged pop boom, just put out their first album, The Royal Sea.  Timmy Sunshine and Jettie Lovette started playing their brand of beach jams together last summer and have recently rounded out the lineup with Evan Kuykendall on bass. This is music for the summer, so check it out before the rain starts again.  

This year’s edition of Decibel Festival hits Seattle bars and live music establishments from September 28 until October 2.  The electronic music celebration is in its eighth year, and the recently announced lineup does not disappoint.  Big name acts are playing, such as Amon Tobin, Ladytron, Moby, and buzz-drenched mystery UK producer Zomby, playing one of his first dates on American soil.  Local acts include Truckasaurus, Beat Connection, Nordic Soul, Grym, and Jon McMillion, whose "Climbing Out" features below. Bring some earplugs!

The four-piece is fronted by lead singer, songwriter, former fashion designer and writer Daniel Blue along with collaborators Buddy Ross, Brantley Cady and Forrest Mauvais.  Glitch-folkers Motopony have been selected to have their song "King of Diamonds" featured as the Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week. Starting today, "King of Diamonds" will be offered as a free download at Starbucks locations in the United States. On July 29, the group kicks off their big summer tour sharing dates with Those Darlins and Daniel Johnston. The guys will also be performing at Bumbershoot Festival (9/5) and DeLuna Festival (10/16).