Monday, January 12, 2015

Sights and Sounds: Mike + the Mechanics, The Jayhawks, Gavin James,

Happy Monday everybody! Here is a roundup of noteworthy stuff that has landed in my inbox since Friday...

Mike + the Mechanics will hit the road in 2015 in celebration of the group's 30th anniversary - as well as the 25th anniversary of their hit album The Living Years. Check out George A. Paul's Music Minded Blog for all the details.

The Jayhawks wrap up a short West Coast tour with a concert at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano tonight. I'll be at the show, and if you are going or are a fan of the legendary troupe, check out Orange County Register writer Peter Larsen's great story where he interviewed Gary Louris about the current tour and future plans for the band. Read the story here.

Capitol Records has signed Gavin James and is introducing the Irish artist in the U.s. with Live At Whelans, which is now available everywhere, including iTunes andSpotify. The album features James performing in the stripped-back environment of a rapturously received hometown show. "Nervous," his pin-drop account of a one-sided relationship, can be streamed HEREJames' soulful cover of The Magnetic Fields"The Book of Love," which can be heard HERE, recently hit #1 on Shazam in Holland. Live At Whelans - released in international markets via Good Soldier - climbed to #1 on iTunes in Ireland shortly after the pre-order launched.

The 22-year-old artist will join Seinabo Sey on her U.S. tour, which kicks off with a Popshop show at Le Poisson Rouge on January 27 and includes an evening at Hollywood Forever's Masonic Lodge in Los Angeles on February 4. (See below for itinerary.) Jameswill return to Dublin thereafter, where he will play a sold-out show at The Olympia Theatre on March 20. He is the first artist ever to sell out the historic venue before releasing a studio album.

James started playing guitar at the age of eight and comes from a family with a rich musical heritage - both of his maternal great grandparents were famous Irish Opera singers. He has already won Ireland's answer to the Mercury (the Choice Music Prize for Song of the Year). Say HelloJames' Irish debut EP, charted for more than six months, leading to a string of sold-out headline dates and supporting tours with such artists as Lianne La Havas, Beth Orton, Kodaline and Marina & The Diamonds. Clash has praised him as "tender, emotional...no mean talent" and Hotpress noted, "The fresh-faced soul machine possesses the power to hush a room."

Gavin James - U.S. Tour Dates
(All dates are supporting Seinabo Sey)

1/27 - New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge - Popshop
1/29 - Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club
1/30 - Chicago, IL @ Martyrs
2/4 - Los Angeles, CA - Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever
2/5 - San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel

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