Archive - Aug 6, 2008

New England singer/songwriter Ray LaMontagne will be hitting the road this fall with a US tour in support of his third album, Gossip in the Grain (due out Oct. 14th). The 28 show tour is set to take off on Sept. 30th in Indianapolis, IN and will end on Nov. 9 in Seattle, WA. LaMontagne's unique sound in combination with his intimate stage show should make for an blissfully calm night of music. Fellow songwriter Leona Naess will be on the tour in support of LaMontagne and is also featured in the songs "I Still Care For You" and "A Falling Through" off of his new album. This will personally be my first time to see Ray - I will be making the trip to Kansas City, MO, so look for upcoming coverage of the night.

Tour dates after the jump

The Austin City Limits Festival is still a good month and a half away, but my excitement level is already starting to grow more and more by the day. There are so many incredible acts playing ACL that I haven't seen yet, including one of the more recent additions to my favorites list, England's Spiritualized. Jason Pierce aka J. Spaceman's vocal approach is not comparable to any other artist making music today. After seeing their name on the ACL line-up, I started to build my collection of their material including their latest album Songs in A&E (which has not left my car's CD player in quite some time).

Last night, Mr. Spaceman and Spiritualized stopped by The Late Show with David Letterman to play through "You Lie You Cheat", one of the many gems off of Songs in A&E. Give it a listen:

Oh, I can't wait until September!

Over 90 musicians and music industry personages have banded together to draw the presidential candidates' attention to New Orleans and the Louisiana coast. My Morning Jacket, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, and Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor are among those who signed a letter calling upon Barack Obama and John McCain to attend a September 18 debate in NOLA. The letter, which was developed by the Gulf Coast Restoration Network and Tab Benoit's Voice of the Wetlands organization, asks that "the future President of the United States direct the resources and attention necessary to restore coastal Louisiana and secure the future of Louisiana's communities." Rapid loss of coastal wetlands and unhealthy water are mentioned as primary causes for concern. Neither candidate has yet committed to the event, which will be sponsored by Google/YouTube and New Orleans universities.

Read the press release after the jump

Fresh off one of their largest shows, a headlining spot at England's Glastonbury festival, Kings Of Leon are ready to hit the road in support of their latest studio effort, Only By The Night. The follow up to 2007's Because Of The Times, set to be released on September 23rd, will also feature a full North American tour in support. For this trek they have enlisted the help of a few acts that will more than enhance the evenings events. For the whole tour, We Are Scientists will take the opening slot, while The Stills and The Whigs will rotate support duties for different dates.

The first single from Only By The Night, entitled "Sex On Fire", is streaming on their MySpace page as we speak, so after you see if they are coming to your town (they're coming to mine!), head on over there to check out the new tune.

See the full dates after the jump