The Sea and Cake are releasing a new album called The Moonlight Butterfly on May 10th. This is the bands 9th album and it finds Prekop, Prewitt, Claridge, and McEntire at their finest. Check out the first single "Up on North Shore" below.

My My My is competing in the Midwest section of the Billboard "Battle of The Bands". The band is one of three finalist and the only Chicago band in contest. They are also doing a short tour as part of the contest and will play against the other bands in Vegas. However, they need your vote before April 8th.

Company of Thieves have announced the details of their sophomore album which will be called Running From A Gamble and will be released by Wind-Up Records on May 17th. The band has shared the first track from the album "Modern Waste".

The band is currently on tour with The Whigs and will be performing next in Chicago at Ravinia Festival on June 26th.

Jackson Bailey is a new band in town, forming last year and now releasing their debut ep, Theories. The group is fronted by PJ Anderson and also contains Steven Gillis (Filter) as drummer. The band plays a very vanilla brand of Americana pop in similar vein of Hootie & The Blowfish. What redeems the project are Anderson’s earnest lyrics. The five track ep is a journey in love and loss and the conflicts in between. Is that enough to redeem the project? Possibly, I’ll let you decide. You can stream three of the tracks on the ep at bandcamp.

Jackson Bailey will celebrate the release of Theories on April 8th at The Bottom Lounge with Molehill, Facing Winter and Nathan Kalish & The Wildfire.

Lujo Records has released their 2011 sampler to give fans a taste of what’s coming out this year from the label. It features tracks from Chicago band’s Yourself and The Air (Who’s Who In The Zoo ep coming soon), A Lull (debut album Confetti coming April 12th), and Baby Teeth. The track from Baby Teeth is from their free ep Boss which was released back in January.

A Lull and Yourself and The Air are performing at Schubas on April 22nd.

The trio of Pillars & Tongues create music that is really intended to be experienced live. The albums are great, but when witnessed live they really expand and transform the sound. Over the last couple of month the band has released three live sessions that you need to check out. We mentioned their Daytrotter session when it came out, but they have also released a session with Dublab, and a Antilog Session live at the 2640 Collective. All three sessions feature new material, and the band just announced that they will be releasing their latest album The Pass and Crossings in May. through Empty Cellar Records.

Project Film is continuing to build on the success of their debut album which was recently released by Tandem Shop. They recently opened for Island of The Misfit Toys at Schubas, see video above, and they will be performing on March 31st at Beat Kitchen with The Window Theatre, JT Royster, and Minnesota’s The ACB’s.

If you are looking for some hard funk and big soul look no further then the Septet Lubriphonic. The band released their latest album, The Gig Is On back in December, but just released a live album for free through bandcamp. The album was record in New Orleans at Tipitina’s during Mardi Gras.

Lubriphonic will be performing at Double Door on April 1st.

The Loneliest Monk appeared over at Daytrotter over the weekend. The band performed four tracks from their self-titled debut album.

The band will be performing at Schubas on April 30th with Scattered Trees and Chaperone.

The latest video from Giant System comes from the band Heavy Times.

Small Chicago took some time off but they are back with a great performance form Suns. The band came by and played 3 tracks including "Little Horn" above from their 2010 ep Close Calls in The U.S. Space Program.

Suns is performing at Bottom Lounge on April 16th.

Island of Misfit Toys will be releasing their debut album via Tandem Shop this summer. To celebrate and build a little hype the lead singer and primary songwriter of the eight-piece band is providing fans with one-of-a-kind give aways. Upon request, Sanders will record personalized acoustic demos on his four-track recorder. Each recording will include nine original songs and one cover, and fans can request specific songs. Recordings will also include a personalized letter from Sanders and information about the upcoming release.

To request a personalized recording, please send an email to sandersbooking@gmail.com with a name and mailing address.

The band will be performing a FREE show today (3/26) at 2pm at Saki (3716 West Fullerton Ave) with Holdfast and Warm Ones and then at Beat Kitchen on 4/10 and Reggie’s Rock Club on 4/17.