Steve Martin To Perform on American Idol Finale

In addition to Gill and McEuen, several of the other players who performed on The Crow will perform with him including Gary Scruggs, Tim O'Brien and Stewart Duncan. Martin will also be appearing on Tavis Smiley on May 19, the Ellen DeGeneres Show on May 25 and on Jimmy Fallon on June 2. - more Steve

Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival Expands

PR reports: Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival is proud to announce additional artists to an already incredible line-up for the 2009 event. The expanded line-up now includes Lucinda Williams, Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band, The Avett Brothers, Bat for Lashes and Los Campensinos!

Being a festival that defines itself by putting a spotlight on great local Bay-Area talent, Outside Lands is also adding Tea Leaf Green, Zion I, Big Light, Darondo with Nino Moschella a nd Groundation.

The second annual Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival is taking place August 28-30th in San Francisco's legendary Golden Gate Park. Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band and Beastie Boys are set to hea dline the event. Tickets for the Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival are available for purchase now at www.SFOutsidelands.com. - full lineup

Iron Age Set Release

Tee Pee reports: Iron Age have announced that Tee Pee Records will release their brand new full length, The Sleeping Eye, on August 4th

With The Sleeping Eye, Iron Age remains a modern torchbearer for the long tradition established by the crossover classics (Corrosion of Conformity's Animosity, Crumbsuckers' Life of Dreams, Cro-Mags' Best Wishes, etc), but twists the NYHC-inspired thrash of their debut to create something bigger and darker, enhancing the violence of their former efforts with mammoth Lovecraftian atmopshere. Gargantuan guitar riffs conjure images of astral behemoths while unnamed terrors lurk in the unwavering, resolute rhythm section. The demon doesn't truly emerge though until the blood-curdling, blasphemous growls of Jason Tarpey crawl to the startling forefront. Fans of the vocal madness of King Diamond or G.I.S.M.s Sakevi can rejoice at this reverb-drenched shrieking.

Fans of unconventional hardcore, ripping thrash, and heavy music in general should look out for early June dates with Sex Vid and Mind Eraser around the North East, a July-August west coast tour, and more as 2009 unfolds. - dates

Have fun. in August

Nettwerk reports: Nettwerk Music Group is proud to announce the release of Aim And Ignite, the highly anticipated debut from fun., out August 25th.

Aim And Ignite was produced by Redd Kross' Steven McDonald and is a stunning array of diverse inspirations from three extraordinary musicians-former front man of The Format Nate Ruess, ex-Anathallo multi-instrumentalist Andrew Dost and Steel Train's Jack Antonoff. When combined, they create an irresistible album that rethinks classic 70s pop, where ornate arrangements and inspired orchestrations meet present-day rock 'n' roll.

The band recently joined Manchester Orchestra for a 34-date North American tour in April and has been hypnotizing sold out crowds night after night in major cities such as New York, Boston, Nashville, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Chicago. - dates

iPhone Slackers Get Updated

PR reports: Slacker has announced an updated free iPhone application available at the iTunes App Store. Additions to the new version include:

4x the song library as our leading competitor - Song lyrics for Radio Plus Subscribers - Visual and performance enhancements - Larger album art view (tap Album art for full screen) - Recently played stations folder - Streamlined interface - Faster transitions from song to song - Option to disable sleep mode

There are now two "Now Playing" views: 1) The original view, which features the current album art, a preview of the "up next" album art, the volume slider and the settings button 2) A new "full screen" album art view, which eliminates the preview of the "up next" album art, the volume slider and the settings button in favor of the largest possible album art view - more on this story

Short Attention Span? Monolith Festival Announcing Line-Up One Day At A Time

PR reports: Monolith happening September 12 and 13 at Colorado's breathtaking Red Rocks Amphitheatre, today announces plans to harness the power of social networking realms such as Facebook and Twitter to unveil its 2009 artist lineup. Over the next 12 business days, MONOLITH Facebook friends and Twitter followers will be the first to know which of their favorite bands will hit the stage during this year's festival.

Not on Facebook or Twitter? That doesn't concern MONOLITH much. MONOLITH first crashed into the unsuspecting U.S. festival landscape two years ago, when viral savvy organizers used the internet to collect the hottest young acts and their in-the-know fans to create a boutique, destination event that quickly became of mainstream interest. Three years later, with social networking chatter at an all time high and still climbing, MONOLITH Festival presented by Esurance again flexes its technical muscles with this groundbreaking viral unveiling. - more on this story

Phishy Phans Phamily Reunion Festival

PR reports: Fans that did not score tickets to Phish at Red Rocks Amphitheatre should worry not; there just happens to be a four-day camping and music festival a few short miles away on a private ranch.

For those that did score tickets, The Phamily Reunion Festival offers what Red Rocks cannot: camping and a safe ride to and from the festival to each Phish show. Set for July 30 through August 2 on the beautiful Van Eden Ranch in Idaho Springs, the good souls that love Phish, live music, camping, hiking, biking, hot springs and much more, will come together for a special string of days, all set to the good vibes of the Colorado Rockies. [showers optional?]

With an already heavy-hitting lineup including The New Mastersounds, EOTO, The Heavy Pets, Juno What?!, LYNX & Janover, Ana Sia, YAMN and others, the festival promises to be big enough to stand on its own without Phish coming to town. With rumors surfacing after the 1996 Phish shows at Red Rocks about the band being banned because of an infiltration of campers in Morrison, CO, The Phamily Reunion is the perfect spot for one of the most coveted aspects of a Phish tour: community. And who knows, campers may just score the ticket they were looking for on the grounds of the ranch. - more on this story

The Believers Hitting The Road

PR reports: Known as a band that's rapidly converting listeners through widespread word-of-mouth for their effortless blend of alt-country and indie-rock, Seattle's The Believers will be celebrating the release of their new album, Lucky You, on the road.

The album furthers the group's reputation being, as they playfully put it, a "rock band with a country problem," pairing 70s-style Fleetwood Mac hooks with a heavy undercurrent reminiscent of Heart and Concrete Blonde. Months before its official release, Lucky You has already gained a whirlwind radio presence around the country, leaving this independent act flooded with preorder requests.

The album's title track "Lucky You," is an irresistible, sexy stomp, sounding like the modern update of X, another punky group who flirted with country regularly, boy-girl harmonies soaring over a four-on-the-floor rock groove. Elsewhere, the singer/songwriting duo Craig Aspen and Cyd Frazzini tackle Hurricane Katrina's aftermath with the barn-burning twang of "Ring Ring Ring" and the country blues "Higher Ground." - more on this story

Robert Berry Releases New Solo CD

PR reports: Frontiers Records is excited to announce the beginning of the cooperation with multi-talented artist Robert Berry with the release of his brand new solo album "The Dividing Line," out today in America.

Berry's abilities came into prominence in 1988, when he teamed with Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer (of ELP fame) and formed the band Three, releasing the album "To the Power of Three" for Geffen Records. He was, however, one of the most well known musical talents in the San Francisco area and was previously involved with the band Hush, and later with another '80s super group GTR. Together with former Yes guitarist Steve Howe (taking the place of none other than ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett), he wrote and recorded several tracks that sadly have never been officially released by the band, which split before the recording of the second album (one of those songs appears for the first time on this new album).

During the '90s Berry kept busy composing, arranging, and performing either as a solo artist (he has released three solo albums, with "Pilgrimage to a Point" particularly being considered a true melodic prog rock masterpiece of its era) or as a producer-session player. He also toured for years with the band Ambrosia, where he took the place of another rock giant, David Pack. - more on this story

The Lonely H's Cheesy Tour Announcement

PR reports: As the story goes, the last time Don Henley sat at the same booth as the rest of the Eagles, he ordered "Concrete Class." With worn out boots and starry eyes, The Lonely H return from the road bearing one thing: "Concrete Class" (The Control Group), their forthcoming third full-length album.

After 200 plus shows in 2008, these knights-in-shining-denim have seen their share of hardwood floors, hopeless drunks, and enough roadkill to feed Detroit. And on top of that, three out the four can't legally hit happy hour, yet.

Simply put: there is nothing ordinary about Seattle, Washington (by way of Port Angeles, WA) based quartet The Lonely H. Fronted by the charismatic, 6'7", 19 year old Mark Fredson, a man hard to miss in any room for both his height and booming voice, and accompanied by the Brothers Whitman - Eric Whitman (guitar) and Johnny Whitman (bass) - and drummer Ben Eyestone, The Lonely H not only look the part, but their sound is as authentic as it comes.

"Those pants are tight, but they ain't too tight, brother." - dates

. Julie the Band - An Act of Communication

Heres a name you need to remember: Nathan Blumenfeld-James. Okay, now you know why he prefers to work under the moniker Julie the Band. And while Julie the Band is in fact a band the show belongs to Blumenfeld-James. And what a show it is! (4 stars) - Read the full Julie the Band - An Act of Communication review

. Wolves In The Throne Room / A Storm Of Light / Krallice / Indian Live

There were plenty of brief moments last Saturday where Chicago's Bottom Lounge could have left the Earth. Sporting a concert lineup intent on expanding psyches, the popular venue hovered between gritty reality and the shimmering possibility of transcendence. - Read the full Wolves In The Throne Room / A Storm Of Light / Krallice / Indian Live review

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