VH1's Hip Hop Honors 2009

This year, the music, the influence and the artists from Def Jam's history past and present will be recognized through performances in collaboration with some of today's hottest talent. Generations of hip hop will bridge the gap for one exceptional night to set it off with the original style and flavor that sparked and inspired the evolution of this now global music phenomenon. Previous celebrations have honored hip hop luminaries who broke new ground and propelled the genre into the true cultural phenomenon that it has become. Last year's honorees included Cypress Hill, De La Soul, Naughty by Nature, Slick Rick and Too $hort. Additional talent will be announced as it is confirmed. - more on this story

Bobby Long Plans Dangerous Summer Tour

PR reports: Singer-songwriter Bobby Long, whose song "Let Me Sign" is included in the soundtrack the blockbuster film "Twilight," is set for what he's calling the Dangerous Summer Tour of the United States to begin in late July.

Long has independently released a 10-song recording of original material called Dirty Pond Songs that he recorded in his bedroom to make available at his shows and via the internet.

He refers to it as "a big EP" or his "bootleg album" rather than a proper CD ("You can even hear traffic sounds from outside my bedroom window on some of the tracks"), which he has plans to make at the end of the year. - more on this story

Hatcham Social Announce Two U.S. Tours

PR reports: The UK's Hatcham Social announces their first two US tours today. Starting June 18, the band will be playing a short run of shows in New York and Boston with bands The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, The Maccabees and Other Lives. The band comes back in early September for a longer tour opening up for the legendary Charlatans.

Hatcham Social will be on tour supporting their debut album You Dig The Tunnel, I'll Hide The Soil which will be coming out on June 16 digitally and physically on July 7 through tbd records, the same label as Radiohead in the States.

The edgy yet melodic album owes a lot of debt to the sound of the 1980's Glaswegian indie label Postcard Records which launched the careers of bands like Orange Juice, The Go Betweens and Aztec Camera. Hatcham Social's album was produced by Jim Spencer and The Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess.
- more on this story

Triple Cobra Map Out Tour With Cliched Announcement

PR reports: Glam-tastic troubadours Triple Cobra will be spreading their feather boas wide as they set out on a cross-country blitz toward NXNE in Toronto this month, following a blistering debut and press commentary that can only be said to be "raving in awe."

This triumph of Triple Cobra's sound is matched only by the grandeur of their stage performance. Dancers adorned in furs, feathers and fishnets shake and grind under a heroic light show overflowing with intrigue and innuendo.

This sensual mix of drama and power, lust and longing, scorn and wit all unite to create an event erupting with radiant glamour and raw spectacle. Lock your doors and hide your daughters. - more on this story

U-Melt Kick Off Groovy Summer Tour

PR reports: New York City's groove rockers U-Melt have announced their initial summer touring schedule which kicks off this Thursday, June 4th, with a Post Phish performance at Mulcahy's in Wantagh following Phish's show at Jones Beach. Mulcahy's is just a few minutes away from Jones Beach and is right across the street from the Long Island Rail Road Station in Wantagh. U-Melt will then take a week off before returning to Pennsylvania on Friday, June 19th to play a very special late night performance at The Stonehenge Music Festival.

The following weekend, U-Melt will be heading up to Boston for a show on the Rock On! Boat Cruise on Friday, June 26th, before heading home to Brooklyn for a show at Southpaw. A couple weeks later, U-Melt will be travelling up the New York State Thruway for a special mid-summer show at Revolution Hall in Troy, NY on Friday, July 10th. The following night, the band will be travelling back down to Long Island to debut at The Great South Bay Music Festival in Patchogue, NY on Saturday, July 11th.

U-Melt has also announced some additional festival appearances later in the summer, including stops at the Somerset County Jam Festival and the Hempstock Festival in Harmony, Maine on Saturday, 7/18 and Thursday, 8/20. Plus, in August, U-Melt is very proud to be returning to play a late night set at Camp Barefoot 3 in Gore, VA on Friday, 8/14 as well as a triumphant return to Phanphest 5.0 in Kempton, PA on Saturday, 8/22. - more on this story

Broadway Debut To Feature Chiodos and Emarosa Guest Stars

PR reports: Upstart Orlando melodic hardcore troupe Broadway will release its debut album Kingdoms July 7 via Uprising Records.

Breaking through the clutter of Florida's ever burgeoning music scene, the aspiring and inspiring five-piece has set its sights high and is loudly laying claim to the throne on this 12-song masterstoke.

Rising above all contenders with its unique and dynamic melodies, Kingdoms delivers catchy sing-along hooks, interspersed with cathartic breakdowns, and intermittent bursts of screamed aggression (all the while, maintaining a surprisingly sharp pop sensibility). Joining the band on Kingdoms are guest vocalists Craig Owens of Chiodos and Emarosa's Jonny Craig. - more on this story

Royal Family Get Down

PR reports: In continued celebration of their 10th Anniversary and the launch of their record label, Royal Family Records, Soulive will host a one-day festival featuring some of their closest friends. The band has invited John Scofield, who will join the band during their festival closing performance, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Charlie Hunter Trio and soul singer Nigel Hall to join them for the festivities. More artists will be announced in the coming months.

"Soulive has always wanted to host our own festival and bring together some of the artists who we've grown with over the years," says Soulive guitarist Eric Krasno. "With this year's Royal Family Get Down we have a lot to celebrate and we're lucky to have such a great line up and a venue that we love in the Pines Theater."

The festival will take place at the intimate Pines Theater at Look Park in Northampton, MA on Saturday September 12, 2009. The Pines Theater has gained a reputation as one of the most picturesque outdoor venues in America for its intimate seating and tree-lined stage in beautiful western Massachusetts. The Royal Family Get Down will feature the full line of Magic Hat Brewing Company's Fall line of brews! - more on this story

Kate Wolf Classics Get Reissued

conqueroo reports: Kate Wolf was a welcome presence in the late '70s and mid-'80s folk scene. Her blend of folk, country and pop helped pave the way for artists like Nanci Griffith and Mary-Chapin Carpenter. Wolf never had a hit single, and in fact the All Music Guide points out that "her style is one that tends to grow on listeners over time, as Wolf is not about flash. Her songs, characterized by a strong narrative thread, are about the ebbs and flows of adult life, in terms that are neither overly sentimental not mundane." As late singer-songwriter Utah Phillips once introduced her, "I'd like you to meet Kate Wolf. She owns herself."

Wolf died of leukemia in December 1986 at the age of 44, leaving behind a vast catalog of albums. Five of those albums — Back Roads, Lines on Paper, Safe at Anchor, Give Yourself to Love and The Wind Blows Wild — will be reissued on CD by Collectors' Choice Music on July 7, 2009.

Wolf's legacy is renewed and commemorated every year with the Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival in her native Northern California. That area is the backdrop to many of her songs, which tackle themes of family, love and loss with uncommon sensitivity and insight. It's music for folks with open ears, hearts and minds. - more on this story

Woodhands Head West

PR reports: Toronto electro-duo Woodhands will be continuing their US tour, hitting the West Coast for a set of dates in support of their recent Paper Bag Records Dancer EP.

The band has signed on to be a part of the Monolith Festival at Red Rocks in September, alongside Girl Talk, Health, Method Man & Red Man, The Walkmen, Thunderheist, M. Ward, and MSTRKRFT among others. The band will also be returning to the US for another tour this August.

Since dropping their debut LP Heart Attack in April 2008, Woodhands has been touring pretty much constantly, with stops across North America, Japan, China, and upcoming dates in Europe. - more on this story

Ume Announce Tour Plans

PR reports: In the few months that have passed since the Austin,TX based Ume dropped their incredibly tight 'Sunshower' EP, one question is asked more than any other, "When the hell are these guys coming through my town to hand me my ass?"

Well on June 13th, the trio of Lauren and Eric Larson, and Jeff Barrera are setting out on a 16 date tour, spotlighted with stop offs at the WOXY studios, Toronto's NXNE festival, ATHFEST, and a support slot with the legendary Polvo...so get your hands ready for an ass full.

Ume has built their reputation as one of indie rock's most vigorous live bands, packing melody and intricacy into a densely layered wall of noise. Their EP 'Sunshower' was praised by many for capturing and surpassing their well known live energy. Its 5 songs delivering a unique combination of catchy pop sweetness, delay-drenched noise, and jaw-dropping intensity, finding the band inventing a new style we like to call kraut-pop, and marking the band as one of SXSW '09's break-out acts. - more on this story

. Marilyn Manson - The High End of Low

Its easy to write off a shock rocker, and indeed Manson will never again intimidate parents the way he did in the mid-to-late 90s. But his musical vitality has not waned, and The High End of Low proves it yet again. - Read the full Marilyn Manson - The High End of Low review

. Destruction - Devolution

Acting a little older might have its downsides, but Devolution still delivers Destruction's metallic attack that can cause more damage than Michael J. Fox performing a lumbar puncture. - Read the full Destruction - Devolution review

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