Arriving over this year’s 4th of July weekend, the new Rothbury Festival is set to take place July 3-6. Appearing to be taking half of its cue from Chicago’s famed, environmentally-focused Lollapalooza fest and the other half from the more hippie-fied Bonnaroo, the Rothbury Festival adds RV parking and luxury camping to the mix, with tix starting at around $250 per person, plus RV tix for an additional $100, or a VIP ticket for $475. “Good Life” cabin camping can also be purchased for around $1,400 per person for the entire four days’ worth of festivities. So what do you get for all that cash? “Circus” and “Theater” experiences, food and water vendors, an Energy Fair, and sets from a broad lineup of over 60 musicians and bands, including the Dave Matthews Band, 311, Widespread Panic, Gov’t Mule, Of Montreal, Gomez, The Dresden Dolls, John Mayer, Snoop Dogg, Beth Orton, Railroad Earth, The Black Keys, and more, all at the Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury, Michigan, just north of Muskegon. Get more info at www.rothburyfestival.com...
Long known for pushing their own band goals, British modern-rockers Muse just wrapped a trifecta of performance accomplishments over the past month. Their travels began with a set at the Dubai Desert Rock Festival, which was cinecast in the U.K., and continued with two performances in South Africa, where they played the My Coke event in Johannesburg and at a separate event in Capetown. The band has also just released their CD/DVD package HAARP, which brings together music and footage from their 2007 Wembley Stadium concerts; a string of movie theaters in Britain co-ran the DVD portion of the package on March 11, while American fans will be treated to screenings of HAARP on dates TBA. Muse will also appear at the UK’s V Festival on August 16-17...
Also last week, NYC icon Lou Reed gathered together a plethora of his famed musical friends - among them Talking Head David Byrne, Moby, Damien Rice, Laurie Anderson, and Norah Jones - for the Speak Up! anti-war benefit that was held at Brooklyn’s St. Ann’s warehouse. Standout performances included those of Byrne, who showed up with a four-person choir for his performance segment; Moby, who played a quiet version of “Slipping Away” that was dedicated to a soldier; and Damien Rice, who performed his “Cannonball” track without the sound system - and, of course, that snazzy show opener, which was Reed, Anderson, and Moby churning through their own unique version of “The Star Spangled Banner”...
U2 is being celebrated by a new Shout! Factory album dubbed In the Name of Love: Africa Celebrates U2, an homage to Bono and crew for their ongoing humanitarian relief efforts for the African continent, with part of the album’s proceeds benefiting The Global Fund. The CD was produced by Paul Heck and Shawn Amos, and will feature tunes from the likes of Farka Toure, the Soweto Gospel Choir, Vusi Mahlasela, and the Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars; all of the songs are interpretations of both classic and obscure U2 songs, including “Mysterious Ways,” “Seconds,” “Bullet the Blue Sky,” and “Pride (In the Name of Love)”...
MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK: Wish you’d been at SXSW, the Austin, Texas music conference that’s a literal potpourri of bands in a dense schedule over the course of a week? Well, whether you were there, or just wanting to be there, you can relive the experience through NPR’s cool series of SXSW concert recordings, including those of R.E.M., Yo La Tengo, Vampire Weekend, Liam Finn, and the Shout Out Louds, at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7729350...
MINI BUZZ:
Coldplay have finally given their new album a name, and no, it’s not going to be named after a fruit - the band’s Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends will hit stores on June 17...
The first-ever Pemberton Festival is now set for July 25-27 in Pemberton, British Columbia, with a lineup of bands including the aforementioned Coldplay, Death Cab for Cutie, Interpol, Vampire Weekend, Minus the Bear, Secret Machines, The Crystal Method, Booka Shade, and DJ Shadow...
Gnarls Barkley jumped the queue on their own album release schedule, and dropped their sophomore set, The Odd Couple, on iTunes last week, a week before the disc’s intended release date; look for them to promote that same album with an April 12 appearance on Saturday Night Live...
N.E.R.D.’s new album, on the other hand, doesn’t even have a release date yet, but they’ll still be promoting the disc, dubbed Seeing Sounds, with a trio of upcoming tour dates in Richmond,VA (3/22), Jacksonville, FL (3/28), and Knoxville, TN (3/26)...
Elvis Costello’s got a new disc, too - his Momofuku will be in-stores on April 22, but here’s the deal - you’ll only be able to purchase the album on vinyl, which will be accompanied by a voucher for a digital download of the set...
And The Roots have lined up a whole, er, root network of tour dates, which will include stops in Boston (4/12), Pittsburgh, PA (4/17), Washington DC (2/20), and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on May 3 ...
ON CD: Dream Theater’s Greatest Hit (and 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs)... Paddy Casey’s Addicted to Company... Poi Dog Pondering’s 7... The Rolling Stones’ Shine a Light: Original Soundtrack… Of Sinking Ships’ Of Sinking Ships… and The Beach Boys’ Greatest Car Songs...ON DVD: Fall Out Boy’s Live in Phoenix... Bob Marley: Catch a Fire... Simply Red: Stay - Live at the Royal Albert Hall... and Blue Man Group’s How to Be a Megastar Live... and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.
Comments, questions, rants, raves, suggestions on this column or your fave musicians? Send ’em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com
Long known for pushing their own band goals, British modern-rockers Muse just wrapped a trifecta of performance accomplishments over the past month. Their travels began with a set at the Dubai Desert Rock Festival, which was cinecast in the U.K., and continued with two performances in South Africa, where they played the My Coke event in Johannesburg and at a separate event in Capetown. The band has also just released their CD/DVD package HAARP, which brings together music and footage from their 2007 Wembley Stadium concerts; a string of movie theaters in Britain co-ran the DVD portion of the package on March 11, while American fans will be treated to screenings of HAARP on dates TBA. Muse will also appear at the UK’s V Festival on August 16-17...
Also last week, NYC icon Lou Reed gathered together a plethora of his famed musical friends - among them Talking Head David Byrne, Moby, Damien Rice, Laurie Anderson, and Norah Jones - for the Speak Up! anti-war benefit that was held at Brooklyn’s St. Ann’s warehouse. Standout performances included those of Byrne, who showed up with a four-person choir for his performance segment; Moby, who played a quiet version of “Slipping Away” that was dedicated to a soldier; and Damien Rice, who performed his “Cannonball” track without the sound system - and, of course, that snazzy show opener, which was Reed, Anderson, and Moby churning through their own unique version of “The Star Spangled Banner”...
U2 is being celebrated by a new Shout! Factory album dubbed In the Name of Love: Africa Celebrates U2, an homage to Bono and crew for their ongoing humanitarian relief efforts for the African continent, with part of the album’s proceeds benefiting The Global Fund. The CD was produced by Paul Heck and Shawn Amos, and will feature tunes from the likes of Farka Toure, the Soweto Gospel Choir, Vusi Mahlasela, and the Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars; all of the songs are interpretations of both classic and obscure U2 songs, including “Mysterious Ways,” “Seconds,” “Bullet the Blue Sky,” and “Pride (In the Name of Love)”...
MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK: Wish you’d been at SXSW, the Austin, Texas music conference that’s a literal potpourri of bands in a dense schedule over the course of a week? Well, whether you were there, or just wanting to be there, you can relive the experience through NPR’s cool series of SXSW concert recordings, including those of R.E.M., Yo La Tengo, Vampire Weekend, Liam Finn, and the Shout Out Louds, at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7729350...
MINI BUZZ:
Coldplay have finally given their new album a name, and no, it’s not going to be named after a fruit - the band’s Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends will hit stores on June 17...
The first-ever Pemberton Festival is now set for July 25-27 in Pemberton, British Columbia, with a lineup of bands including the aforementioned Coldplay, Death Cab for Cutie, Interpol, Vampire Weekend, Minus the Bear, Secret Machines, The Crystal Method, Booka Shade, and DJ Shadow...
Gnarls Barkley jumped the queue on their own album release schedule, and dropped their sophomore set, The Odd Couple, on iTunes last week, a week before the disc’s intended release date; look for them to promote that same album with an April 12 appearance on Saturday Night Live...
N.E.R.D.’s new album, on the other hand, doesn’t even have a release date yet, but they’ll still be promoting the disc, dubbed Seeing Sounds, with a trio of upcoming tour dates in Richmond,VA (3/22), Jacksonville, FL (3/28), and Knoxville, TN (3/26)...
Elvis Costello’s got a new disc, too - his Momofuku will be in-stores on April 22, but here’s the deal - you’ll only be able to purchase the album on vinyl, which will be accompanied by a voucher for a digital download of the set...
And The Roots have lined up a whole, er, root network of tour dates, which will include stops in Boston (4/12), Pittsburgh, PA (4/17), Washington DC (2/20), and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on May 3 ...
ON CD: Dream Theater’s Greatest Hit (and 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs)... Paddy Casey’s Addicted to Company... Poi Dog Pondering’s 7... The Rolling Stones’ Shine a Light: Original Soundtrack… Of Sinking Ships’ Of Sinking Ships… and The Beach Boys’ Greatest Car Songs...ON DVD: Fall Out Boy’s Live in Phoenix... Bob Marley: Catch a Fire... Simply Red: Stay - Live at the Royal Albert Hall... and Blue Man Group’s How to Be a Megastar Live... and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.
Comments, questions, rants, raves, suggestions on this column or your fave musicians? Send ’em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com
