Friday, February 02, 2018

Sights and Sounds: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Dr. Dog, Amazon Music's 'Made in Australia'

So happy it's Friday! And going into the weekend is all the better thanks to great news as it relates to forthcoming album releases from Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats and Dr. Dog, as well as music about Amazon Music's new "Made in Australia" launch...



NATHANIEL RATELIFF & THE NIGHT SWEATS’ “HEY MAMA” DEBUTS TODAY
NEW ALBUM TEARING AT THE SEAMS 
OUT MARCH 9, 2018 ON STAX RECORDS
CONFIRMS ADDITIONAL NORTH AMERICAN DATES

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Photo credit: Brantley Gutierrez

"Hey Mama,” the latest track from Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats debuts today—listen to the track here: http://found.ee/NRNSheymama. The song appears on the band’s highly anticipated new album, Tearing at the Seams, out March 9, 2018 on Stax Records. The record is available for pre-order here: http://found.ee/NRNStats.
Most recently, the band released their single “You Worry Me” to critical praise—Rolling Stone proclaims, “The first single from his forthcoming LP adds Southern-rock bite and weary longing to make for his most urgent song yet.”
In support of the release, the band adds additional dates to their extensive North American tour. Tickets for the dates are on sale now at nathanielrateliff.com. See below for complete details.
Initial writing and recording sessions for Tearing at the Seams took place in Rodeo, New Mexico where Rateliff & The Night Sweats re-established their dynamic off the stage and in the studio. “For the first record I demo’ed everything up and created most of the parts,” says Rateliff. “This time, I felt like we’ve all spent so much time on the road that we should all go off somewhere together. We should all have that experience together.” The band finished recording with producer Richard Swift—who has helmed records for The Shins and Foxygen, in addition to The Night Sweats’ debut—collectively creating a group of songs that capture the band’s emotion and intensity.
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats are: Rateliff (vocals, guitar), Joseph Pope III (bass), Patrick Meese (drums), Luke Mossman (guitar), Mark Shusterman (keys), Andy Wild (saxophone), Scott Frock (trumpet) and Jeff Dazey (saxophone).
Their 2015 debut album is now certified Gold in the U.S., Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands, Platinum in Canada and Silver in the U.K., while their hit single “S.O.B.” is certified Platinum in the U.S. and Canada and Gold in Switzerland.
TEARING AT THE SEAMS TRACK LIST:
1. Shoe Boot
2. Be There
3. A Little Honey
4. Say It Louder
5. Hey Mama
6. Babe I Know
7. Intro
8. Coolin’ Out
9. Baby I Lost My Way, (But I’m Going Home)
10. You Worry Me
11. Still Out There Running
12. Tearing at the Seams
NATHANIEL RATELIFF & THE NIGHT SWEATS LIVE
February 7 & 8—Los Angeles, CA—Troubadour
May 5—Saint Petersburg, FL—Jannus Live*
May 6—Atlanta, GA—Shaky Knees Festival
May 8—Charlotte, NC—The Fillmore*
May 9—Raleigh, NC—The Ritz*
May 11—Asheville, NC—Highland Brewing Company*
May 12—Louisville, KY—Iroquois Amphitheater*
May 14—Richmond, VA—The National
May 16—Washington, DC—Anthem
May 18—Toronto, ON—Massey Hall
May 19—Montreal, QC—MTelus
May 31—Chicago, IL—Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island†
June 1—Indianapolis, IN—Lawn at White River State Park
June 2—Lewiston, NY—Artpark Amphitheater†
June 3—Cleveland, OH—Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica†
June 5—Cooperstown, NY—Brewery Ommegang 
June 6—Philadelphia, PA—Skyline Stage at the Mann Center
June 8—Boston, MA—Blue Hills Bank Pavilion‡
June 9— Forest Hills, NY—Forest Hills Stadium§
August 3—Kansas City, MO—Crossroads
August 5—St. Paul, MN—The Palace Theatre
August 7—Moorhead, MN—Bluestem Amphitheatre
August 9—Missoula, MT—Kettlehouse Amphitheater
August 10—Troutdale, OR—Edgefield Amphitheater
August 15—Los Angeles, CA—Greek Theater
August 18—Oakland, CA—Fox Theater
August 22—Denver, CO—Red Rocks Amphitheatre**
August 23—Denver, CO—Red Rocks Amphitheatre††
*w/ Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
†w/ The Head & The Heart
‡w/ Deer Tick
§w/ The Head & The Heart and Hiss Golden Messenger
**w/ Tank and the Bangas
††w/ Slim Cessna's Auto Club
BOLD—sold out
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Dr. Dog Announce New Album 'Critical Equation,' out April 27, 2018

North American Tour On Sale This Friday, Jan 19

Listen to New Single "Listening In" at NPR Music: http://n.pr/2DiVcBD


"I feel like I'm in a totally new band right now," says Dr. Dog guitarist/singer Scott McMicken. It's a bold declaration considering he's been co-fronting the beloved indie outfit for a decade-and-a-half, but it cuts straight to the heart of the intense and transformative experience behind the group's brilliant new album, Critical Equation. Produced by Gus Seyffert (Bedouine, Michael Kiwanuka), Critical Equation is the most infectious and adventurous collection Dr. Dog has laid to tape yet, the record was born from a journey of doubt and discovery, a heavy, sometimes painful reckoning that ultimately brought the band closer together with more strength and clarity than ever before. 

Call it an existential awakening, call it a dark night of the soul, whatever it was, it fueled one of the most fertile creative periods in the group's history and forced them to confront that timeless question: what do we really want?

"We'd been touring and making records for our entire adult lives, and I think we just needed to take a step back," reflects bassist/singer Toby Leaman, who splits fronting and songwriting duties with McMicken. "It was important for all of us to figure out if we were actually doing what we wanted to be doing, or if we were just letting momentum carry us down this path we'd always been on."

"This band has been at work a long time and this record is about a concerted effort to push ourselves to grow with courage and confidence built upon our history together. That ends up being a renewed testimony of love for ourselves, each other, the work we do together, and the willingness to approach something you know so well with a beginners innocence"

Critical Equation is out April 27th on Thirty Tigers.
Dr. Dog have also announced their first tour in two years, see dates below.
Listen to lead single "Listening In" over at NPR Music: http://n.pr/2DiVcBD
'Critical Equation' Tracklist
Listening In
Go Out Fighting
Buzzing In The Light
Virginia Please
Critical Equation
True Love
Heart Killer
Night
Under The Wheels
Coming Out Of The Darkness
Tour Dates
3/2 Phoenix, AZ - McDowell Mountain Music Festival
4/6 Louisville, KY - Mercury Ballroom
4/7 Knoxville, TN - Rhythm N' Blooms Festival
4/8 Columbia, MO - The Blue Note
4/9 Fayetteville, AR - George's Majestic Lounge
4/10 Oxford, MS - The Lyric
4/12 Mobile, AL - Soul Kitchen
4/13 Orlando, FL - The Plaza Live
4/14 Ft. Lauderdale, FL - The Culture Room
4/15 Ponte Vedra Beach, FL - Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
4/17 Charleston, SC - Music Farm
4/18 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
4/19 Richmond, VA - The National
4/20 Charlottesville, VA - Jefferson Theater
5/2 Boston, MA - House of Blues
5/4 Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre
5/5 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre
5/6 St. Paul, MN - Palace Theatre
5/8 Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall Ballroom
5/10 Tulsa, OK - Cain's Ballroom
5/11 Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
5/12 Austin, TX - Moody Theater
5/13 Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall
5/14 San Antonio, TX - The Rustic
5/16 New Orleans, LA - Joy Theater
5/17 Birmingham, AL - Iron City
5/18 Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
5/19 - Black Mountain, NC - Pisgah Brewing Co.
6/1 Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory
6/2 San Diego, CA - Observatory North Park
6/5 Los Angeles, CA - The Theatre at Ace Hotel
6/7 Oakland, CA - Fox Theater
6/8 Portland, OR - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
6/9 Seattle, WA - The Moore Theatre
6/11 Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
6/13 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
6/14 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
6/16 Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Room at Old National Centre
6/17 Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
6/19 Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Steel
6/20 Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Steel
6/22 Vienna, VA - Wolf Trap
6/23 Philadelphia, PA - Festival Pier at Penn's Landing


Amazon Music Announces 
'Made in Australia' Original Playlist to Celebrate Amazon Music Unlimited Launch in Australia and New Zealand


Amazon Music Unlimited is now available in Australia and New Zealand, giving music lovers in both countries access to a catalogue of more than 45 million songs and thousands of playlists and personalized stations.
To celebrate the launch of Amazon Music Unlimited down under, Amazon Music has announced the upcoming launch of "Made in Australia," an Amazon Original playlist of newly-recorded covers of classic songs by Australian artists including Betty Who, Bad Dreems, The Rubens and many more.
Stream the first song released from Made In Australia today: country music singer-songwriter Morgan Evans' cover of Savage Garden's "Truly Madly Deeply." 
Stream it here (Link to US): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0795CCTHY
Stream it here (Link to AUS): https://music.amazon.com.au/albums/B0795CCTHY
The full “Made in Australia” playlist will become available exclusively on Amazon Music Unlimited March 9, with a new track released each week leading up to the launch.
Over the last few years, Amazon Original has released hundreds of exclusive songs and numerous albums featuring both emerging and established artists from the pop, indie, country, Americana, roots, blues and alt-rock and genres, only available to stream and purchase from Amazon Music.

GoGo Penguin releases new single “Window” - 'A Humdrum Star' out February 9, 2018

GoGo Penguin pianist Chris Illingworth performing at
Coachella in Indio, CA on April 23, 2016.
Photo: Robert Kinsler
I absolutely loved GoGo Penguin when I caught the trio at Coachella in April 2016 (Read my review of the band's performance as part of my Coachellafest coverage that year here). You can read my review of 2016's Man Made Object here. 

Now, I 've just watched the music video for GoGo Penguin's new song "Bardo" and it's amazing. Make sure to check that out and catch up on this amazing jazz-minded group from Manchester in the U.K.

The media release below just landed in my inbox and I had to share.


GoGo Penguin Releases New Single “Window” 
From Their Forthcoming Album A Humdrum Star
Out Feb. 9 on Blue Note Records

Releases Video for Their First Single “Bardo”

Upcoming U.S. Tour dates include NYC, DC, Los Angeles, Seattle & Chicago; Set To Make Their Bonnaroo Debut In June 2018



GoGo Penguin has released “Window,” a stunning new single from their vivid forthcoming album A Humdrum Star, which is set for release February 9 on Blue Note Records. MOJO awarded the album 4-stars calling it “the most insistent distillation of their potent brand of piano-driven melody and groove.” The UK trio has also announced a US tour, which includes their debut at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival this June. Full list of dates below.

This week the band also released the video for their single “Bardo,” which The New York Times called “hypnotic,” adding that “there’s no need to parse this music; it’s in perpetual motion.” Watch or embed via YouTube: https://youtu.be/lDLzlsf0McM

Different worlds have always collided in the sound of GoGo Penguin. The Manchester-based trio conjure richly atmospheric music that draws from their shared love of electronica, their grounding in classical conservatoires and jazz ensembles alongside indie bands, and a merging of acoustic and electronic techniques. Over the past few years, it has earned them rapturous responses all over the world—The New York Times highlighted them as one of the 12 best bands at SXSW 2017—and proved that they’re just as at home playing to muddy festival goers as jazz fans. A Humdrum Star builds on the heady momentum of its acclaimed predecessors—the 2014 Mercury Prize-nominated V2.0 and their 2016 Blue Note debut Man Made Object—and transports it to new realms.

“I think we felt even more liberated on this album—and I think there’s more of each of us on it,” says bassist Nick Blacka. Their latest material reveals both native turf and far-flung influences. They evoke the symbiotic flow between Nick, pianist Chris Illingworth, and drummer Rob Turner, as well as their seasoned relationship with producer and sound engineer Joe Reiser (credited as the “fourth member” of GGP, both on tour and in the studio) and co-producer Brendan Williams. As with previous albums, these tracks stemmed from a love of electronic music, whether collectively developed from “sketches” written by Rob on DJ/producer tech including Logic and Ableton, or composed on the bass or at the piano. That electro-acoustic tension pulses throughout the new album. 
 
“We started with this idea of ‘inner and outer’, and opposing things that are essentially the same,” says Rob. “A lot of the textures and sounds do come from the electronic writing, but Brendan also wanted everything to be made as organically as possible.” 
 
There is poetry and precision in GoGo Penguin’s new work—and intimacy and vastness. Their titles tend to speak volumes, in tandem with their evocative instrumentals. They’d actually completed the new album’s track-listing before settling on the name for A Humdrum Star—yet it captures a distinctive tone. It’s taken from a quote by American astrophysicist Carl Sagan from his 1980 TV series Cosmos: “Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.”  
 
GOGO PENGUIN – US TOUR DATES
May 4 – Elsewhere – Brooklyn, NY
May 6 – The Hamilton – Washington DC
May 8 – Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA
May 9 – The Loft – San Diego, CA
June 7-10 – Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival – Manchester, TN
June 12 – Dakota Jazz Club – Minneapolis, MN
June 13 – Constellation – Chicago, IL
June 14 – Constellation – Chicago, IL
June 15 – The Armory – Fort Collins, CO
June 16 – Bluebird Theater – Denver, CO
June 17 – Revolution Hall – Portland, OR
June 20 – The Triple Door – Seattle, WA 

Check out what the critics have said about GoGo Penguin:
 
“an energized sound... the band’s new album takes hold right away and sustains an upbeat groove… It’s a piano-driven blend with all the traditional aspects you’d expect from the genre while still scanning as something refreshingly vibrant and contemporary.”— Pitchfork 
 
“…a construction of jazz, classical, electronica, and trip-hop building blocks, it flows together naturally. Their playing centers around delicate piano, which weaves in and out of a tumultuous maelstrom of intense drumming, and a fury that seems to push the limits of what a double bass can achieve.”— SPIN 
 
“With the lineup of a standard piano-bass-drums jazz trio, GoGo Penguin made a different kind of music: repetitive and accretive like dance music, richly chorded over ostinatos, reveling in permutations. As much as it improvised atop its structures, the group burrowed into them, building tension and momentum from within, turning them into meditations or shaping them into galvanizing crescendos that crested in a standing ovation.”— The New York Times 
 
“To ask whether GoGo Penguin plays jazz misses the point of the sense of adventure in contemporary popular music... They are experimentalists in pursuit of superior improvisational music. The groove matters most... the trio knows what it’s doing and does it exceptionally well.”— Wall Street Journal 
 
"Jazz, techno, hip-hop and dubstep are glimpsed here, but for all the looping motifs and dance floor vibes, this is the work of three sure-footed improvisers with deep jazz roots"— The Guardian 
 
Follow GoGo Penguin
Website • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram

Thursday, February 01, 2018

Grammy Award-winner Chris Stapleton set to bring his All-American Road Show to Southern California in August

One of country music's most talented new artists, Chris Stapleton is set to bring his All-American Road Show to a trio of venues here in the Southland in late August 2018. He will perform at Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, 2050 Entertainment Circle, Chula Vista, on Thursday, Aug. 16; at Honda Center, 2695 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim on Friday, Aug. 17; and at the Forum, 3900 W. Manchester Blvd., Inglewood, on Saturday, Aug. 18.

Chris Stapleton / Photo credit: Becky Fluke
Stapleton scored three awards during the 60th Annual Grammy Awards held at Madison Square Garden in New York City earlier this week.On his upcoming tour, he will be headlining on a bill that also features bona fide legend Marty Stuart and emerging singer-songwriter Brent Cobb. On Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, Stapleton returned to “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” last night to perform “Drunkard’s Prayer” as part of their special live episode. Watch the performance here.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 9, and there's a special Stapleton Fan Club pre-sale which begins at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6 at stapletonfanclub.com. 

Stapleton released the wonderful From a Room: Volume 1 in May 2017, and followed that up with the even stronger From A Room: Volume 2 in early December 2017.

Released December 1, 2017 on Mercury Records Nashville (purchase here), Volume 2 debuted at #1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and #2 on the Billboard 200 chart. Its release follows the May 5, 2017 release of From A Room: Volume 1, which was the #1 best-selling country album of 2017. Stapleton’s 2015 double-platinum solo debut, Traveller, was the #2 best-selling country album of 2017.
Both Volume 1 and Volume 2 take their name from Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A (the capital “A” in “From A Room”) where they were recorded with Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb. Along with Stapleton on vocals and guitar and Cobb on acoustic guitar, the album features Morgane Stapleton on harmony vocals as well as longtime band-members J.T. Cure on bass and Derek Mixon on drums. See below for complete track list.
“CHRIS STAPLETON’S ALL-AMERICAN ROAD SHOW”
June 16—Brandon, MS—Brandon Amphitheater*
June 22—Rogers, AR—Walmart Amp*
June 28—Darien Center, NY—Darien Lake Amphitheater*
June 29—Philadelphia, PA—BB&T Pavilion*
June 30—Mansfield, MA—Xfinity Center*
July 13—St. Louis, MO—Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre* 
July 19—Spokane, WA—Spokane Arena*
July 20—Portland, OR—Sunlight Supply Amphitheater*
July 21—Seattle, WA—White River Amphitheatre*
July 26—South Lake Tahoe, NV—Harveys Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena*
July 27—Sacramento, CA—Toyota Amphitheatre*
July 28—Mountain View, CA—Shoreline Amphitheatre*
August 2—Billings, MT—Rimrock Auto Arena*
August 3—Missoula, MT—Adams Center*
August 4—Boise, ID—Ford Idaho Center Arena*
August 9—Albuquerque, NM—Isleta Amphitheater*
August 10—Denver, CO—Pepsi Center*
August 11—Salt Lake City, UT—USANA Amphitheatre*
August 16—San Diego, CA—Mattress Firm Amphitheatre*
August 17—Anaheim, CA—Honda Center*
August 18—Los Angeles, CA—The Forum*
August 23—Saratoga Springs, NY—Saratoga Performing Arts Center*
August 24—Gilford, NH—Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion*
October 4—Cincinnati, OH—Riverbend Music Center*
October 5—Indianapolis, IN—Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center*
October 6—Chicago, IL—Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre*
October 11—Charlotte, NC—PNC Music Pavilion*
October 12—Raleigh, NC—Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek*
October 13—Bristow, VA—Jiffy Lube Live*
October 19—Alpharetta, GA—Verizon Amphitheatre*
October 20—Atlanta, GA—Lakewood Amphitheater*
October 25—Columbia, SC—Colonial Life Arena*
October 26—Knoxville, TN—Thompson Boling Arena*
October 27—Lexington, KY—Rupp Arena*
November 2—New York, NY—Madison Square Garden*
November 3—Charlottesville, VA—John Paul Jones Arena*
*with special guests Marty Stuart and Brent Cobb  

NAMM 2018: Harmony returns with new guitars and amps

When it comes to style and music making, what's old is definitely new again.

Look no further than the NAMM Show that rolled into Anaheim last month. Bandlab Technologies is relaunching Harmony Guitars (once the single largest manufacturer of musical instruments in the United States) in 2018 with three new electric guitars and an amp reissue. 

The decidedly retro-minded guitars that made their debut at NAMM were Rebel, Silhouette and Jupiter. All three models (seen in the image above) sport Gold Foil pickups, alder bodies, custom cupcake knobs, locking tuners and other essential features. While all three models are based on the original Harmony guitars, the Jupiter and Rebel are now solidbody instruments instead of semi-hollowbody.


In related news, the company's newly-unveiled a range of Harmony combo amps, cabs and heads, and will reissue the classic 8418 Harmony amp. 

"We're embracing the past; bringing it forward and have made it relevant for the modern player," said Lauren Hendry Parsons, Senior Manager, Communications & Partnerships for Bandlab Technologies.

The new guitars and amps are scheduled to be available to the public beginning this summer.

Robert Kinsler