#newport folk festival 2017

[brookston]

Holidays 7.25

Holidays

Act Like a Caveman Day

Arthouse Theatre Day

Battle of Isted Day (Denmark)

Bayreuther Festspiele begins (Wagner festival; Germany) [thru 8.28]

Be Adamant About Something Day

Carousel Day

Chicory Day

Community Day (Galicia, Spain)

CTNNB1 Awareness Day

Ebernoe Horn Fair (Sussex, UK)

Feed the Country Ducks Day

Festival of Picaresque Animality

Fire Service Day (Belarus)

Grotto Day (UK)

Guancaste Day (Costa Rica)

Health and Happiness with Hypnosis Day

International AfroLatinx, AfroCaribbean & Diaspora Women’s Day

International Day of Solidarity with Antifascist Prisoners

International Red Shoe Day

International Stop Rapping Over Vocals Day

John Knill Day (Cornwall, UK) [Every 5 Years]

Jumatul Bidah (Bangladesh)

Jumat-ul-Wida (India)

Merry-Go-Round Day [also 5.17]

Miracle Treat Day (Canada)

Mugwort Day (French Republic)

National African American Hepatitis C Action Day

National Campus Press Freedom Day (Philippines)

National Carousel Day

National Clay Day

National Day of Galicia (Spain)

National Day of the Writer (Brazil)

National Hire a Veteran Day

National Houston Day

National Schizophrenia Awareness Day (UK)

National Video Game Team Day

Occupation Day (Puerto Rico)

Patient Safety Day

Rain of Black Worms Day (Romania)

Red Shoe Day

Republic Day (Tunisia)

Road Transport Workers’ Day (Tajikistan)

Rosiland Franklin Day

Santiago Apóstol (Spain)

725 Day (Las Vegas)

Test-Tube Baby Day

Thread the Needle Day

Traditional Palestinian Dress Day

World Drowning Prevention Day (UN)

World Embryologist Day

World IVF Day

World Youth Days 2023 begins (Lisbon, Portugal; Roman Catholic; until 7.31) [Varies; @Every 3 Years]

Food & Drink Celebrations

Antifascist Pasta Day (Italy)

Candles on a Cake Day

Culinarian’s Day

Frozen Fruit Freeze/Juice Day

Indie Beer Day (Australia)

National Hot Fudge Sundae Day

National Wine and Cheese Day

Independence & Related Days

Abode of Heaven (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Andany (Declared; 2017; Dissolved Sep. 2018) [unrecognized]

Atlia (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Commonwealth Constitution Day (Puerto Rico) 

Rathunis (Declared; 2011) [unrecognized]

Revolution Anniversary Day (Cuba)

New Year’s Days

A Day Out of Time (Last Day of the Year; Mayan, Galactic)

4th & Last Thursday in July

Berne Swiss Festival begins (ends Saturday; Indiana) [4th Thursday]

International Digital Adoption Professionals Day [Last Thursday]

National Chili Dog Day [Last Thursday]

National Intern Day [Last Thursday]

Great Texas Mosquito Festival begins (ends Saturday) [4th Thursday]

National Refreshment Day [4th Thursday]

Shiraz Day (Australia) [4th Thursday]

Weekly Holidays beginning July 25 (4th Week of July)

Quilt Odyssey Week (thru 7.28) [Last Thursday thru Saturday]

Festivals Beginning July 25, 2024

Antigua Carnival (St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda) [thru 8.6]

Bangor State Fair - Bangor, Maine) [7.28 & 8.1-3]

Beer Garden (Jackson, Wisconsin) [thru 7.26]

The Big Seafood Festival (Manitowoc, Wisconsin) [thru 7.26]

Burn in the Forest (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) [thru 7.29]

Calgary Folk Music Festival (Calgary, Canada) [thru 7.28]

Cambridge Folk Festival (Cherry Hinton, United Kingdom) [thru 7.28]

Camp Bestival (East Lulworth, United Kingdom) [thru 7.28]

Cave City Watermelon Festival (Cave City, Arkansas) [thru 7.27]

Down to Earth Summer Conference & Trade Show (Wachusett Mountain, Westminster, Massachusetts)

Elkader Sweet Corn Days (Elkader, Iowa) [thru 7.28]

Glier’s Goettafest (Newport, Kentucky) [7.28 & 8.1-4]

Iron River Lions Blueberry Festival (Iron River, Wisconsin) [thru 7.28]

Kneading Conference (Skowhegan, Maine) [thru 7.26]

Labadie Rib Fest (Bay City, Michigan) [thru 7.28]

Latitude Festival (Southwold, Suffolk, England) [thru 7.28]

Munger Potato Festival (Munger, Michigan) [thru 7.28]

Plumas Sierra County Fair (Quincy, California) [thru 7.28]

San Diego Comic-Con International (San Diego, California) [thru 7.28]

Southeast Alaska State Fair (Haines, Alaska) [thru 7.28]

Stan Rogers Folk Festival (Canso, Canada) [thru 7.29]

Sugar Grove Corn Boil (Sugar Grove, Illinois) [thru 7.28]

Viljandi Folk Music Festival (Viljandi, Estonia) [thru 7.28]

Whole Hawg Days & Poker Run (Eufaula, Oklahoma) [thru 7.27]

WOMAD (Wiltshire, United Kingdom) [thru 7.28]

Feast Days

Alexander Rummler (Artology)

Anne (Eastern Christianity)

Christmas in July

Christopher (Western Christianity)

Cucuphas (a.k.a. Cueufas, Cougat; Christian; Saint)

CW Apple Day (Celtic Book of Days)

Elias Canetti (Writerism)

Eric Hoffer (Writerism)

Feast of Formation of Saint Ann (Mother of the Virgin Mary; Byzantine Rite)

Festival of Paper Dolls (Japan; Everyday Wicca)

The Festival of the Knee Knockers (Shamanism)

Furrinalia (Old Roman Goddess of Springs)

Glodesind (Christian; Saint)

Grand Fête des Escaldes (Andorra)

Holbein (Positivist; Saint)

Hot Fudge Sundae Day (Pastafarian)

Ilyap'a Festival (Inca thunder god)

James the Great (Western Christianity)

Jane Frank (Artology)

John I Agnus (Christian; Saint)

Josephine Tey (Writerism)

Julian of Le Mans (Christian; Translation)

Magnerich of Trier (Christian; Saint)

Maxfield Parrish (Artology)

National Baha’i Day (Jamaica)

Nissen, Abbot of Mountgarret, Ireland (Christian; Saint)

Paul (Christian; Martyr)

Shylock Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Slippery Slim (Muppetism)

Thea and Valentina (Christian; Virgins)

Thomas Eakins (Artology)

Unveiling Day (Satanism)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Sensho (先勝 Japan) [Good luck in the morning, bad luck in the afternoon.]

Premieres

The Adventures of André & Wally B. (Pixar Cartoon; 1984)

Air Force One (Film; 1997)

Alice the Whaler (Ub Iwerks Disney Cartoon; 1927)

Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (Film; 2008)

Armor Wars (Film; 2025)

Auto-da-Fé, by Elias Canetti (Novel; 1935)

Back in Black, by AC/DC (Album; 1980)

Batman: The Killing Joke (Animated Film; 2016)

Broken Quest (Animated tV Series; 2013)

Caddyshack (Film; 1980)

China Grove, by the Doobie Brothers (Song; 1973)

A Chorus Line (Broadway Musical; 1975)

Drinking Buddies (Film; 2013)

Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (WB MM Cartoon; 1953)

Dylan Goes Electric (at the Newport Folk Festival; 1965)

Einstein on the Beach, by Philip Glass (Opera; 1976)

Fame, by David Bowie (Song; 1975)

First Lensman, by E.E. "Doc" Smith (Novel; 1950) [Lensman #2]

Good Burger (Film; 1997)

He Can’t Make It Stick (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1943)

Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man (Film; 1962)

Justice League: Warworld (WB Animated Film; 2023)

Kill ‘Em All, by Metallica (Album; 1983)

Lara Croft Tom Raider: The Cradle of Life (Film; 2003)

Last Train to Clarksville, recorded by The Monks (Song; 1966)

Lego Scooby-Doo! Blowout Beach Bash (WB Animated Film; 2017)

Life is Elsewhere, by Milan Kundera (Novel; 1973)

Lucy (Film; 2014)

Maximum Overdrive (Film; 1986)

Much Ado About Mutton (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1947)

The New Car (Ub Iwerks MGM Cartoon; 1931)

Paul’s Boutique, by The Beastie Boys (Album; 1989)

Porky’s Spring Planting (WB LT Cartoon; 1938)

Red Dawn (Film; 1984)

Ruby Sparks (Film; 2012)

Salmon Pink (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1975)

Seabiscuit (Film; 2003)

Step Brothers (Film; 2008)

The Tree’s Knees (WB LT Cartoon; 1931)

Twelve O’Clock and All Ain’t Well (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1941)

X-Files: I Want to Believe (Film; 2008)

Yes, by Yes (Album; 1969)

You Can’t Hurry Love, by The Supremes (Song; 1966)

Today’s Name Days

Jakob, Jakobus, Thea, Thomas, Valentina (Austria)

Ana, Yana (Bulgaria)

Beata, Jakov, Krsto, Valentina (Croatia)

Jakub (Czech Republic)

Jacobus (Denmark)

Jaagup, Jaak, Jaako, Jaap, Jako, Jakob, Jass (Estonia)

Jaakko, Jaakob, Jaakoppi, Jimi (Finland)

Jacques, Valentine (France)

Jakob, Valentine (Germany)

Anna (Greece)

Jakab, Kristóf (Hungary)

Cristoforo, Giacomo (Italy)

Jēkabs, Marika (Latvia)

Aušrinė, Jokūbas, Kristupas (Lithuania)

Jack, Jakob, Jim (Norway)

Jakub, Krzysztof, Nieznamir, Sławosz, Walentyna (Poland)

Jakub (Slovakia)

Jaime, Santiago (Spain)

Jakob (Sweden)

Jac, Jack, Jacki, Jackie, Jackson, Jacky, Jacques, Jimmie (Universal)

Coby, Colby, Diego, Israel, Jacob, Jacoby, Jack, Jackie, Jackson, Jaclyn, Jacqueline, Jacquelyn, Jacques, Jaime, Jake, Jakob, James, Jameson, Jamie, Jaquan, Jaqueline, Jaxon, Jaxson, Jim, Jimena, Jimmie, Jimmy, Kobe, Koby, Kolby, Santiago (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 207 of 2024; 159 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 4 of Week 30 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Tinne (Holly) [Day 19 of 28]

Chinese: Month 6 (Xin-Wei), Day 20 (Geng-Yin)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 19 Tammuz 5784

Islamic: 18 Muharram 1446

J Cal: 27 Red; Sixday [27 of 30]

Julian: 12 July 2024

Moon: 79%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 10 Dante (8th Month) [Holbein]

Runic Half Month: Thorn (Defense) [Day 2 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 36 of 94)

Week: 4th Week of July

Zodiac: Leo (Day 4 of 31)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 7.25

Holidays

Act Like a Caveman Day

Arthouse Theatre Day

Battle of Isted Day (Denmark)

Bayreuther Festspiele begins (Wagner festival; Germany) [thru 8.28]

Be Adamant About Something Day

Carousel Day

Chicory Day

Community Day (Galicia, Spain)

CTNNB1 Awareness Day

Ebernoe Horn Fair (Sussex, UK)

Feed the Country Ducks Day

Festival of Picaresque Animality

Fire Service Day (Belarus)

Grotto Day (UK)

Guancaste Day (Costa Rica)

Health and Happiness with Hypnosis Day

International AfroLatinx, AfroCaribbean & Diaspora Women’s Day

International Day of Solidarity with Antifascist Prisoners

International Red Shoe Day

International Stop Rapping Over Vocals Day

John Knill Day (Cornwall, UK) [Every 5 Years]

Jumatul Bidah (Bangladesh)

Jumat-ul-Wida (India)

Merry-Go-Round Day [also 5.17]

Miracle Treat Day (Canada)

Mugwort Day (French Republic)

National African American Hepatitis C Action Day

National Campus Press Freedom Day (Philippines)

National Carousel Day

National Clay Day

National Day of Galicia (Spain)

National Day of the Writer (Brazil)

National Hire a Veteran Day

National Houston Day

National Schizophrenia Awareness Day (UK)

National Video Game Team Day

Occupation Day (Puerto Rico)

Patient Safety Day

Rain of Black Worms Day (Romania)

Red Shoe Day

Republic Day (Tunisia)

Road Transport Workers’ Day (Tajikistan)

Rosiland Franklin Day

Santiago Apóstol (Spain)

725 Day (Las Vegas)

Test-Tube Baby Day

Thread the Needle Day

Traditional Palestinian Dress Day

World Drowning Prevention Day (UN)

World Embryologist Day

World IVF Day

World Youth Days 2023 begins (Lisbon, Portugal; Roman Catholic; until 7.31) [Varies; @Every 3 Years]

Food & Drink Celebrations

Antifascist Pasta Day (Italy)

Candles on a Cake Day

Culinarian’s Day

Frozen Fruit Freeze/Juice Day

Indie Beer Day (Australia)

National Hot Fudge Sundae Day

National Wine and Cheese Day

Independence & Related Days

Abode of Heaven (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Andany (Declared; 2017; Dissolved Sep. 2018) [unrecognized]

Atlia (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Commonwealth Constitution Day (Puerto Rico) 

Rathunis (Declared; 2011) [unrecognized]

Revolution Anniversary Day (Cuba)

New Year’s Days

A Day Out of Time (Last Day of the Year; Mayan, Galactic)

4th & Last Thursday in July

Berne Swiss Festival begins (ends Saturday; Indiana) [4th Thursday]

International Digital Adoption Professionals Day [Last Thursday]

National Chili Dog Day [Last Thursday]

National Intern Day [Last Thursday]

Great Texas Mosquito Festival begins (ends Saturday) [4th Thursday]

National Refreshment Day [4th Thursday]

Shiraz Day (Australia) [4th Thursday]

Weekly Holidays beginning July 25 (4th Week of July)

Quilt Odyssey Week (thru 7.28) [Last Thursday thru Saturday]

Festivals Beginning July 25, 2024

Antigua Carnival (St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda) [thru 8.6]

Bangor State Fair - Bangor, Maine) [7.28 & 8.1-3]

Beer Garden (Jackson, Wisconsin) [thru 7.26]

The Big Seafood Festival (Manitowoc, Wisconsin) [thru 7.26]

Burn in the Forest (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) [thru 7.29]

Calgary Folk Music Festival (Calgary, Canada) [thru 7.28]

Cambridge Folk Festival (Cherry Hinton, United Kingdom) [thru 7.28]

Camp Bestival (East Lulworth, United Kingdom) [thru 7.28]

Cave City Watermelon Festival (Cave City, Arkansas) [thru 7.27]

Down to Earth Summer Conference & Trade Show (Wachusett Mountain, Westminster, Massachusetts)

Elkader Sweet Corn Days (Elkader, Iowa) [thru 7.28]

Glier’s Goettafest (Newport, Kentucky) [7.28 & 8.1-4]

Iron River Lions Blueberry Festival (Iron River, Wisconsin) [thru 7.28]

Kneading Conference (Skowhegan, Maine) [thru 7.26]

Labadie Rib Fest (Bay City, Michigan) [thru 7.28]

Latitude Festival (Southwold, Suffolk, England) [thru 7.28]

Munger Potato Festival (Munger, Michigan) [thru 7.28]

Plumas Sierra County Fair (Quincy, California) [thru 7.28]

San Diego Comic-Con International (San Diego, California) [thru 7.28]

Southeast Alaska State Fair (Haines, Alaska) [thru 7.28]

Stan Rogers Folk Festival (Canso, Canada) [thru 7.29]

Sugar Grove Corn Boil (Sugar Grove, Illinois) [thru 7.28]

Viljandi Folk Music Festival (Viljandi, Estonia) [thru 7.28]

Whole Hawg Days & Poker Run (Eufaula, Oklahoma) [thru 7.27]

WOMAD (Wiltshire, United Kingdom) [thru 7.28]

Feast Days

Alexander Rummler (Artology)

Anne (Eastern Christianity)

Christmas in July

Christopher (Western Christianity)

Cucuphas (a.k.a. Cueufas, Cougat; Christian; Saint)

CW Apple Day (Celtic Book of Days)

Elias Canetti (Writerism)

Eric Hoffer (Writerism)

Feast of Formation of Saint Ann (Mother of the Virgin Mary; Byzantine Rite)

Festival of Paper Dolls (Japan; Everyday Wicca)

The Festival of the Knee Knockers (Shamanism)

Furrinalia (Old Roman Goddess of Springs)

Glodesind (Christian; Saint)

Grand Fête des Escaldes (Andorra)

Holbein (Positivist; Saint)

Hot Fudge Sundae Day (Pastafarian)

Ilyap'a Festival (Inca thunder god)

James the Great (Western Christianity)

Jane Frank (Artology)

John I Agnus (Christian; Saint)

Josephine Tey (Writerism)

Julian of Le Mans (Christian; Translation)

Magnerich of Trier (Christian; Saint)

Maxfield Parrish (Artology)

National Baha’i Day (Jamaica)

Nissen, Abbot of Mountgarret, Ireland (Christian; Saint)

Paul (Christian; Martyr)

Shylock Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Slippery Slim (Muppetism)

Thea and Valentina (Christian; Virgins)

Thomas Eakins (Artology)

Unveiling Day (Satanism)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Sensho (先勝 Japan) [Good luck in the morning, bad luck in the afternoon.]

Premieres

The Adventures of André & Wally B. (Pixar Cartoon; 1984)

Air Force One (Film; 1997)

Alice the Whaler (Ub Iwerks Disney Cartoon; 1927)

Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (Film; 2008)

Armor Wars (Film; 2025)

Auto-da-Fé, by Elias Canetti (Novel; 1935)

Back in Black, by AC/DC (Album; 1980)

Batman: The Killing Joke (Animated Film; 2016)

Broken Quest (Animated tV Series; 2013)

Caddyshack (Film; 1980)

China Grove, by the Doobie Brothers (Song; 1973)

A Chorus Line (Broadway Musical; 1975)

Drinking Buddies (Film; 2013)

Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (WB MM Cartoon; 1953)

Dylan Goes Electric (at the Newport Folk Festival; 1965)

Einstein on the Beach, by Philip Glass (Opera; 1976)

Fame, by David Bowie (Song; 1975)

First Lensman, by E.E. "Doc" Smith (Novel; 1950) [Lensman #2]

Good Burger (Film; 1997)

He Can’t Make It Stick (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1943)

Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man (Film; 1962)

Justice League: Warworld (WB Animated Film; 2023)

Kill ‘Em All, by Metallica (Album; 1983)

Lara Croft Tom Raider: The Cradle of Life (Film; 2003)

Last Train to Clarksville, recorded by The Monks (Song; 1966)

Lego Scooby-Doo! Blowout Beach Bash (WB Animated Film; 2017)

Life is Elsewhere, by Milan Kundera (Novel; 1973)

Lucy (Film; 2014)

Maximum Overdrive (Film; 1986)

Much Ado About Mutton (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1947)

The New Car (Ub Iwerks MGM Cartoon; 1931)

Paul’s Boutique, by The Beastie Boys (Album; 1989)

Porky’s Spring Planting (WB LT Cartoon; 1938)

Red Dawn (Film; 1984)

Ruby Sparks (Film; 2012)

Salmon Pink (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1975)

Seabiscuit (Film; 2003)

Step Brothers (Film; 2008)

The Tree’s Knees (WB LT Cartoon; 1931)

Twelve O’Clock and All Ain’t Well (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1941)

X-Files: I Want to Believe (Film; 2008)

Yes, by Yes (Album; 1969)

You Can’t Hurry Love, by The Supremes (Song; 1966)

Today’s Name Days

Jakob, Jakobus, Thea, Thomas, Valentina (Austria)

Ana, Yana (Bulgaria)

Beata, Jakov, Krsto, Valentina (Croatia)

Jakub (Czech Republic)

Jacobus (Denmark)

Jaagup, Jaak, Jaako, Jaap, Jako, Jakob, Jass (Estonia)

Jaakko, Jaakob, Jaakoppi, Jimi (Finland)

Jacques, Valentine (France)

Jakob, Valentine (Germany)

Anna (Greece)

Jakab, Kristóf (Hungary)

Cristoforo, Giacomo (Italy)

Jēkabs, Marika (Latvia)

Aušrinė, Jokūbas, Kristupas (Lithuania)

Jack, Jakob, Jim (Norway)

Jakub, Krzysztof, Nieznamir, Sławosz, Walentyna (Poland)

Jakub (Slovakia)

Jaime, Santiago (Spain)

Jakob (Sweden)

Jac, Jack, Jacki, Jackie, Jackson, Jacky, Jacques, Jimmie (Universal)

Coby, Colby, Diego, Israel, Jacob, Jacoby, Jack, Jackie, Jackson, Jaclyn, Jacqueline, Jacquelyn, Jacques, Jaime, Jake, Jakob, James, Jameson, Jamie, Jaquan, Jaqueline, Jaxon, Jaxson, Jim, Jimena, Jimmie, Jimmy, Kobe, Koby, Kolby, Santiago (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 207 of 2024; 159 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 4 of Week 30 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Tinne (Holly) [Day 19 of 28]

Chinese: Month 6 (Xin-Wei), Day 20 (Geng-Yin)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 19 Tammuz 5784

Islamic: 18 Muharram 1446

J Cal: 27 Red; Sixday [27 of 30]

Julian: 12 July 2024

Moon: 79%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 10 Dante (8th Month) [Holbein]

Runic Half Month: Thorn (Defense) [Day 2 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 36 of 94)

Week: 4th Week of July

Zodiac: Leo (Day 4 of 31)

[lizzygrantarchives]

Billboard, August 22, 2019

With her new album, 'Norman Fucking Rockwell,' the singer makes her most adventurous and candid music yet -- and leads Billboard's list of the 38 most-anticipated things about music this fall.

YOU’VE GOT TO CLIMB THE HILL BEHIND the Chateau Marmont to get to the office where I’m meeting Lana Del Rey, which feels appropriately on the nose on this early-August day: The hotel is Hollywood’s ultimate nexus of glamour and doom, the keeper of 90 years of celebrity secrets that touch everyone from Bette Davis to Britney Spears. It shows up in the homemade visuals for Del Rey’s breakout single “Video Games” and in the lyrics of songs like “Off to the Races.” She lived here while writing her Paradise EP in 2012. Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski lived here, too, in Room 54, before moving to Cielo Drive where — exactly 50 years ago, as of midnight tonight — the Manson Family arrived.

But these kinds of connections are standard in the Lana Del Rey multiverse, where nods to Bob Dylan, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Elton John and Henry Miller can coexist in a single chorus and not feel overdone. (No, seriously: Play her 2017 duet with Sean Ono Lennon, “Tomorrow Never Came.”) And if the Lana of five years ago radiated significant Sharon Tate circa Valley of the Dolls energy, the 34-year-old singer-songwriter has more of a Summer of Love thing going on now. The songs she has previewed from her fifth album, the exquisitely titled Norman Fucking Rockwell, are far more Newport Folk Festival than femme fatale — meandering psych-rock jam sessions and slippery piano ballads that shout out Sylvia Plath. The narrative thread throughout all of this can lead listeners down an endless rabbit hole of references, but you can sum it up like so: The music Lana Del Rey makes could only be made by Lana Del Rey.

That means songs like the nearly 10-minute-long “Venice Bitch,” the most psychedelic tune in her catalog, or the title track, a ballad rich with one-liner gems like, “Your poetry’s bad, and you blame the news” — songs that represent the best writing in her career yet have almost zero chance of radio play. Norman Fucking Rockwell, out Aug. 30, is a “mood record,” as Del Rey describes it while perched barefoot on a velvet couch in the new office of her longtime management company, an airy pad way up in the Hollywood Hills with platinum plaques scattered about that no one has gotten around to hanging up yet. There are no big bangers, just songs you can jam out to during beach walks and long drives. This is not exactly a surprise: Del Rey’s only top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 was a raving Cedric Gervais remix of her song “Summertime Sadness.” But in the streaming era, when success often means getting easily digestible singles on the right playlists, making an album that’s meant to be wallowed in for 70 minutes isn’t just inspired — it’s defiant.

Yet it’s an approach that has worked for Del Rey: Her songs, even the long, weird ones, easily rack up tens of millions of streams, and overall they have amassed a solid 3.9 billion on-demand streams in the United States, according to Nielsen Music. Collectively, her catalog of albums has sold 3.2 million copies in the United States, and all of her full-length major-label studio albums have debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 1 or No. 2. The first of those, 2012’s Born to Die, is one of only three titles by a woman to spend over 300 weeks on the Billboard 200. (The other two: Adele’s 21 and Carole King’s Tapestry.) Born to Die also has spent 142 weeks on Billboard’s Vinyl Albums chart — more than Prince’s Purple Rain, tied with Michael Jackson’s Thriller and just behind Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours. It’s an indication that, as broad as her fan base is, it also runs deep, with a ratio of hardcore devotees to casual ones that even stars with inescapable radio hits might envy.

Credit Del Rey’s strong aesthetic and singular throwback sound that, as it has moved away from its initial pop and hip-hop influences, has kept young fans interested and allowed them to grow up with her. “When we sign [an artist], it’s not necessarily what everyone was listening to, but they had real vision,” says Interscope chairman/CEO John Janick. “Lana’s at ground zero of that. There have been so many other people who’ve been inspired by Lana. She’s massive, she has sold millions of albums, but it always has been on her terms.”

This has been Del Rey’s deal from the jump. “Some people really are trying to get in the mix of the zeitgeist, and that is just not my MO — never cared,” says Del Rey, cradling a coffee with sky blue-painted fingertips. “My little heart’s path has such a distinct road that it’s almost taking me along for the ride. Like, ‘I guess we’re following this muse, and it wants to be in the woods. OK, I guess we’re packing up the truck!’ It’s truly ethereal, and it’s a huge pain in the ass.”

Del Rey’s instincts are what led Interscope to sign her to an international joint-venture deal with U.K. label Polydor in 2011 and what compelled her managers Ed Millett and Ben Mawson to create their company, TaP Music, with Del Rey as their first client in 2009. “It was at that moment of peak piracy when no one in the music business was making money, so labels just weren’t taking risks,” recalls Millett. “You’d play one of her songs at an A&R meeting, and they’d be like, ‘You know what’s selling at the moment? Kesha.’ But we were lucky with Lana because she knew exactly who she was. Our job was about making sure everybody understood that.”

That battle for understanding has followed Del Rey for much of her career. “People just couldn’t believe she could be so impactful without some svengalis behind her. I still think there’s a tinge of misogyny behind all that,” says Millett, referencing the endless debates about Del Rey’s creative autonomy. “She realized very quickly, being at the center of that storm, you’re not going to win.” So she went deeper into her own weird world, and somewhere between her third and fourth records — the haunted jazz of 2015’s Honeymoon and the new-age folk of 2017’s Lust for Life — it felt like people finally got it. Or, at least, the people who were meant to get it got it. After all, Del Rey never had intended to make popular music, even if she now headlines festivals. It just kind of happened that way: a poet disguised as a pop star.

In many ways, Norman Fucking Rockwell feels like a fulfillment of the groundwork she has spent nearly a decade laying: She is now free to be Lana, no questions asked. “People want to embrace her lack of formula,” says Millett. “And now she can do whatever the hell she wants because people have accepted that, well, she’s brilliant.” Though she has sold out arenas in the past, the North American leg of her upcoming fall tour has her playing amphitheaters and outdoor venues that feel especially suited to the style of her music. And if her songs feel lighter, it’s because Del Rey does, too.

“I mean, God, I have never taken a shortcut — and I think that’s going to stop now,” she says, feet kicked up on the coffee table. “It hasn’t really served me well to go by every instinct. It’s the longer, more arduous road. But it does get you to the point where, when everyone is just copying each other, you’re like, ‘I know myself well enough that I don’t want to go to that foam rave in a crop top.’ ”

Although that does sound kind of dope, now that she’s thinking about it. “Yeah, never mind,” she says, laughing. “Google ‘nearest foam rave.’ ”

IN PERSON, DEL REY’S VIBE isn’t noir heroine or folk troubadour so much as friend from college who now lives in the suburbs. Her jean shorts, white T-shirt and gray cardigan could’ve easily been snatched off a mannequin at the nearest American Eagle Outfitters. A couple of times in our conversation, she lets out a “Gee whiz!” like a side character in a Popeye cartoon. Between the tour announcements and Gucci campaign shoots, her Instagram consists mostly of screenshot poetry and Easter brunch pics with her girlfriends. For the most distinctive popular songwriter of the past decade, she appears disarmingly basic.

“Oh, I am! I’m actually only that,” agrees Del Rey, eyes gleaming. “I’ve got a more eccentric side when it comes to the muse of writing, but I feel very much that writing is not my thing: I’m writing’s thing. When the writing has got me, I’m on its schedule. But when it leaves me alone, I’m just at Starbucks, talking shit all day.” Starting in 2011, when her nearly drumless, practically hookless breakthrough single “Video Games” blew up, the suddenly polarizing singer found it hard to move through the real world unbothered. But something changed a few years back; she’s not sure if she chilled out or if everyone else did. In any case, she’s happiest among the people, whether that’s lingering in Silverlake coffee shops or dipping out to Newport to rollerblade. “I’ve got my ear to the ground,” she says with a conspiratorial wink. “Actually, that’s my main goal.”

Somehow this only makes Del Rey weirder and cooler: the high priestess of sad pop who now smiles on album covers and posts Instagram stories inviting you to check out her homegirl’s fitness event in Hermosa Beach. You could feel the shift on Lust for Life, which enlisted everyone from A$AP Rocky to Stevie Nicks and traded the interiority of her early songwriting for anthems about women’s rights and the state of the world. She even seemed down to play the pop game a bit, though by her own rules: She worked with superproducer Max Martin on the title track, even as it quoted ’60s girl groups and cast R&B juggernaut The Weeknd as the long-lost Beach Boy.

Among those entering Del Rey’s creative fold on Norman Fucking Rockwell is Jack Antonoff, the four-time Grammy Award-winning producer who has become a go-to collaborator on synth-pop heavy hitters for the likes of Lorde and Taylor Swift. Enlisting Big Pop’s most in-demand producer doesn’t seem like a very Lana Del Rey move, and she knows it.

“I wasn’t in the mood to write,” she admits. “He wanted me to meet him in some random diner, and I was like, ‘You already worked with everyone else; I don’t know where there’s room for me.’ ” But when Antonoff played her 10 minutes of weird, atmospheric riffs, Del Rey could immediately picture her new album: “A folk record with a little surf twist.” In the end, Antonoff wound up co-producing almost the whole project, alongside longtime collaborator Rick Nowels and Del Rey herself.

Most of Norman Fucking Rockwell follows similar whims — or, as Del Rey puts it, “Divine timing.” Though artists like Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande have taken the creation of pop music to a more informal and impulsive place — Eilish recorded her debut album with her producer brother Finneas O’Connell in his childhood bedroom, while Grande wrote most of Thank U, Next in a weeklong blitz — Del Rey’s approach seems even more casual. “She doesn’t follow any kind of plan beyond what she feels is right, and it works every time,” says Millett.

That includes the cover of Sublime’s sleazy 1996 hit “Doin’ Time” — essentially the “Summertime Sadness” of the Long Beach, Calif., ska band’s discography — recorded out of pure fandom, yet somehow a perfect complement to the album’s beach bum vibe. “We were involved in executive-producing the [recent] Sublime documentary because their catalog is through Interscope, and Lana was talking about how big a fan she was,” says Janick. As it happened, her earliest producer was David Kahne, who had worked with Sublime in the ’90s. “So she ended up doing that cover, which turned out amazing. But then she felt like it fit the aesthetic of the album.”

The album title was just something she came up with when she randomly harmonized the name of the American illustrator while recording “Venice Bitch,” though she recognizes that she and Rockwell — an idealist whose cozy depictions of Boy Scouts and Thanksgiving turkeys graced magazine covers for half the 20th century — have both explored big questions about the American dream in their work. And then there’s the artwork she has been using for the record’s singles: bizarrely casual iPhone photos that feel a bit tossed-off because, well, they are.

“Every time my managers write me, ‘Album art?,’ I’m just like, send!” she cackles, pantomiming taking a selfie. “And they just send the middle-finger emoji back to me.”

THE WEEK OF OUR INTERVIEW, JUST a few days after two consecutive mass shootings took place in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, Del Rey recorded a song called “Looking for America.” She hadn’t planned to write it, but the shootings affected her on a “cellular level,” as she phrased it in an Instagram preview, which also included a sharp disclaimer: “Now I know I’m not a politician and I’m not trying to be so excuse me for having an opinion.” Over Antonoff’s acoustic guitar, she sings softly, “I’m still looking for my own version of America/One without the gun, where the flag can freely fly.”

The quiet protest song is a move you can hardly imagine her making five years ago. It wasn’t until Lust for Life, she acknowledges, that she felt brave enough to have an overt political opinion. “It is quite a critical world, where people are like, ‘Stick to singing!’ ” she says. “They don’t say that to everyone, but I heard that a lot.”

With that sense of permission has come a kind of peace and an acceptance that evaded Del Rey in her early career; she has never indulged her critics, but it’s nice to be understood. “Sometimes with women, there was so much criticism if you weren’t just one way that was easily metabolized and decipherable — you were a crazy person,” she marvels, noting a shift in the perception of female pop stars that happened only recently (one catalyzed in large part by her own career arc). She recently recorded a song for the soundtrack to the upcoming Charlie’s Angels reboot with Grande and Miley Cyrus — stars who also have faced criticism for the ways in which they don’t conform to the expectations of women in the spotlight.

Her newest songs are some of her most personal, particularly the album closer, “hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have — but i have it” (a title only Del Rey could pull off). It also hovers anxiously on the margins of the #MeToo movement, though never in such broad strokes. “It was staggered with references from living in Hollywood and seeing so many things that didn’t look right to me, things that I never thought I’d have permission to talk about, because everyone knew and no one ever said anything,” she says in a tangle of sentences as knotty as the lyrics themselves. “The culture only changed in the last two years as to whether people would believe you. And I’ve been in this business now for 15 years!

“So I was writing a song to myself.” She exhales deeply, sinking back into the sofa. “Hope truly is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have, because I know so much.” Del Rey pauses. “But I have it.”

Del Rey has been thinking a lot about hope and faith lately. She has been going to church every Wednesday and Sunday with a group of her girlfriends; they get coffee beforehand, and it has become something to look forward to. She likes the idea of a network of people you can talk to about wanting something bigger — just another extension of her fondness for pondering the mysteries of the universe. (Fittingly, she studied metaphysics and philosophy at Fordham University in New York.) “I genuinely think the thing that has transformed my life the most is knowing that there’s magic in the concept of two heads are better than one,” she says.

That has crept into her music, too. Del Rey says she hadn’t realized until recently how isolating her creative process had been for so long. These days, studio sessions feel more like cozy jam sessions, according to Laura Sisk, the Grammy-winning engineer who worked closely on the record with Del Rey and Antonoff. “Something I love about Norman is how much of the energy of the room we’re able to record,” says Sisk. “We often don’t use a vocal booth, so we’re sitting in a room together recording, usually right after the song was written and the feeling is still heavy in the room.”

Even the cover of Norman Fucking Rockwell, Del Rey says, was designed to cultivate a sense of community. For the first time in her discography, she’s not pictured by herself. She’s on a boat at sea, one arm wrapped around actor Duke Nicholson (a family friend and grandson of Jack), the other reaching out to pull the viewer aboard. As she explains the idea, Del Rey rifles through her sizable mental rolodex of quotations and offers this one from Humphrey Bogart by way of Ernest Hemingway: “ ‘The sea is the last free place on earth.’ ” A place, in other words, where you can finally just be you.

Del Rey says her album covers tend to be self-fulfilling prophecies — whatever energy she puts out tends to shape the next chapter of her life. She’s eager to see how this one, with its open arms and sense of adventure, manifests itself. “We’re going somewhere,” she says with a mysterious grin. “I don’t know where we’re going. But wherever it is, my feet are going to be on the ground.”

Originally published on billboard.com with the headline Lana Del Rey on Finding Her Voice and Following Her Muse: ‘I Have Never Taken a Shortcut’, and in the August 24, 2019 issue of Billboard with the headline Lana Del Rey Speaks Her Mind.

[don-lichterman]

The band kept up a keen-edged commentary on xenophobia, censorship and racism throughout its set of gritty Southern rock. Hear its set now.

[throughdigitaleyes]

Mt. Joy Show Providence Their ‘Silver Lining’

Mt. Joy played The Strand on Thursday night (12.2.21) when they came through Providence on their Fall Tour 2021.

My first (and only) experience with Mt. Joy’s live show prior to this set was seeing a few songs from their set at the 2017 Newport Folk Festival. Since then I’ve listened to each of their two full-length albums, but probably only gave them a listen or two, each. Despite that, I always dug their Lumineers sound mixed with a slightly more pop energy and heavy indie-rock & roots inspiration, but the past four years just never found me in front of their live show again. Thankfully, that ended on Thursday night.

Mt. Joy’s sound may be reminiscent of The Lumineers, but their stage presence is never so self-serious, and more often brings to mind the more accessible jam bands such as O.A.R. or Dave Matthews Band. They’re clearly having a blast playing with each other, and that chemistry works wonders in creating an exciting experience for their fans that elevates the material found on their albums. Of course, a surprisingly colorful production and an insanely catchy setlist never hurt.

While the audience seemed to favor the likes of ‘Astrovan’, the covers of The Flaming Lips’ ‘Do You Realize??’ and The Rolling Stones’ ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’, and the ‘Silver Lining’ closer, the highlights of the show for me came in the form of three songs off their self-titled debut album; ‘Jenny Jenkins’, ‘Cardinal’ and ‘I’m Your Wreck’. All three are wonderful songs that perfectly sum up this band’s overall energy and sound.

Amy Allen (pictured below) opened the show with a crowd-pleasing set that showed off her knack for songwriting and promising stage-presence.

CLICK HERE to see More Photos from Mt. Joy’s set on Facebook.

All photos ©Timothy Patrick Boyer, 2021.

[hannah-rosengren]

Jim James and Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Adam Kissick for NPR

[krispyweiss]

Song Review: Roger Waters with Lucius - “Hello in There”

“Oh fuck, I miss him,” Roger Waters said of his friend John Prine after he and Lucius performed a cover of “Hello in There.”

Prine, of course, died of COVID-19 in April. And Waters, who’d sung the song with his friend at the Newport Folk Festival in 2017, reprised it with the duo, quarantine-style, for the canceled fest’s “Our Voices Together” online celebration.

“I shouldn’t like this,” Sound Bites thought to himself as Waters half-spoke the words alongside Lucius’ luscious harmonies.

It was awkward. Not particularly harmonious. Waters’ guitar playing was tentative and he cleared his throat off-mic a couple of times as the song unfolded.

And the images of his bare feet ... ewwww.

“I shouldn’t like this,” Sound Bites thought again. “But I do.”

Then the song ended. Waters chuckled sadly and made his comment about missing his friend.

“I love this,” Sound Bites thought. “I shouldn’t. But I do.”

Grade card: Roger Waters with Lucius - “Hello in There” - A-

8/4/20

[weareaudiowarfare]

The duo formed in 2017 and released their debut album, Black Pumas, on June 21, 2019. They performed at South by Southwest in 2019 and won a best new band trophy at the 2019 Austin Music Awards. On November 20, 2019, they were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.[1][2]

Quesada was a member of Latin funk band Grupo Fantasma when it won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album for the 2010 album El Existential, and when it was previously nominated for the same award in 2008 for Sonidos Gold.[2]

Through a mutual friend, Quesada connected with Burton, who had been a singer-songwriter in Austin since busking his way from Los Angeles in 2015. Quesada felt that Burton's vocals were a match for the retro-funk- and R&B-flavored tracks Quesada had been working on, and the two joined forces in 2018 as Black Pumas. Working out their material both in the studio and on-stage during a weekly residency at Austin's C-Boys Heart & Soul Bar, they signed a deal with ATO Records and released a pair of singles, "Black Moon Rising" and "Fire", in early 2019. Their acclaimed debut LP followed in June of that year and helped to earn the duo a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.

The duo's self-titled debut album was called "perfectly realized" by The Guardian, while Pitchfork described the band's sound as "acutely cinematic", and Rolling Stone complimented frontman Eric Burton's "tireless, charismatic energy".[citation needed]

Black Pumas performed "Colors" on Jimmy Kimmel Live![3] following their network TV debut on CBS This Morning[4] along with a taping on season 45 of Austin City Limits.[5] The band's single "Colors" later reached number one on AAA radio.

In 2020, the band performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show[6] and the The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,[7] and embarked on tours of North America and Europe including festival additions at Coachella and Newport Folk Festival. In their hometown of Austin, Texas, Black Pumas became the first band to sell out four consecutive shows at Stubbs, one of the city's live venues,[8] and on May 7, 2020, mayor Steve Adler proclaimed the date as Black Pumas Day.

[nashvillerookie]

More than Music

I was a little girl singing “Delta Dawn” into a hair brush and felling the emotions of Spring.  Not old enough to know myself but soon I would discover I would not be the woman my mother wanted me to be, but as a little girls my mother smiled as I sang about the Jamestown Ferry.  I knew every word of Tanya Tucker’s album “Delta Dawn” before I knew the alphabet.

Years passed  and this little girl would become a woman who much to her mothers distaste would take another woman to be my bride.  We moved from our home town to Nashville, Tennessee.  Two small town girls, used to farm land and bonfires, now living in an apartment building and hearing strangers through the walls go through their morning routines.

December 2017 my phone rang as I was leaving work, my wife had news to share.  She had secured two tickets by chance to see Brett Cobb, Anderson East and Brandi Carlile at Basement East.   I am five foot tall and strangers selflessly pushed us towards the stage until we were front row.  The energy felt in that room changed us .

First we heard one of the greatest voices of our time, Anderson East.  To this day I believe Anderson East, though gaining in popularity is one of he most under appreciated artists of our time.   He has a voice that should be in the top ten on the Billboard charts every day all day.

Then there is the performance by Brandi and the twins, which can only be described as a spiritual experience.  They connect with everyone in the room and bring us all together with positive sounds.  When I say our life changed that day, I am not being overly dramatic.  

We left the Basement East feeling empowered.  We felt driven to put beauty in the world, except I have one small problem, I can’t sing.  So I picked up a point brush and for the first time believed in the power that one simple art piece can have in the world.  Even if just one person finds enjoyment in it or smiles when they see it, then it was worth the time to create it.  My wife picked up the guitar and has been teaching herself to play.  Every single night youtube videos of Brandi plays in our “Hippie Room” as she plays along and sings.

My wife has long turned to Brandi for inspiration on other things.   She was not one for  traditional education, but music seemed to always have a lesson for her to learn.  She bonded with Brandi’s music for the meaning being the songs but also the story of the voice writing and singing the words.  Giving her faith that she could succeed in this world if she followed her heart, even if it was not the traditional path.

The love Brandi and the Twins have for each other was also an inspiration.  No ego, just family even though not by blood (though one is married to Brandi’s sister).  They are students of their own music, even rising to the challenge of finding venues where the building they stood in became and extension of their band.  How the sound echos off the walls, the ceiling and how stage echos when they stop their feet.  Every single detail connected to their music.

Now, years later, this little girl now a woman, was speechless as I watched Brandi and Tanya Tucker perform “Delta Dawn” and that was before they brought out the parade of talented women there to support the relaunch of Tanya’s career, produced and documented by Brandi Carlile.  There is not a day that goes by that Brandi doesn’t show her ability to connect people, bring them together, literally in harmony.  

My mother’s proud eyes turned her back on this little girl when I took a woman to be my bride.  Growing up in the hills of conservative Tennessee, having a gay daughter was shameful for her.  Imagine the emotions I felt, when I saw the queen of the Tennessee Mountains,  Dolly Parton, singing with Brandi Carlile, “I will always love you.”

And of course there is the revolution known as The Highwomen.  I have to recognize, Jason Isbell, showing tremendous loving support for his wife Ashley Shires as she shines as a member of a group that is empowering women all over the world.  If you haven’t seen the youtube video of him introducing the “gay country” song he wrote at the Newport Folk festival, then stop what you are doing and go see it now. The humility he shows and yet confidence in himself is felt as he introduces the song.

Admittedly, I knew very little about Natalie Hemby prior to The Highwomen, but as our worlds come together in funny ways, I now know she co-wrote some of my favorite songs, including “Rainbow” by Kasey Musgraves.  A song that has also been played over and over in our home as we have grieved the sudden lose of friends.  That song has helped us through some very sad times.  Ironically, another song she co wrote, “Tornado” has helped us through some very angry times.  Thanks to The Highwomen, and Brandi Carlile, I know exactly who to thank for these deeply emotional songs.  Thank you Natalie, and I look forward to following your work throughout your career, your words are making a difference.

In short, if you want to go on an amazing journey, follow Brandi Carlile’s career, her music, her charities, music she writes, performs and produces and especially those she surrounds herself with, because they are people of inspiration, hope, strength.  It is more than music.  Her ability to bring people together, excel in what she does and still remain humble is a lesson we all need to learn and one that goes beyond the music.

[slyke25]

2013

I was now in the fifth year of my music blog, and things were going well.  I’d try to cover as many shows as I could, only covering artists I liked, and there was no shortage of talent rolling through Boston, which made for a busy year.

In 2013, I attended numerous memorable shows.  I invite you to click on the bold print below for links to each of the 19 shows, where you’ll find photos, videos, and maybe even a few words.

These are just a handful of some of my favorite shows from 2013, and to see the full list of every show I covered in ‘13 (with links) click the ‘12-’13 archive here.

Twenty One Pilots at The Met (1.19.13) - Prior to this show, I put together a post on the new duo that were relatively unheard of outside of Ohio.  Locally, they managed to sell out the LC Pavilion, a 2,200 capacity venue in Columbus, which isn’t the best concert market.  After hearing their new album, Vessel,  I knew these guys would soon be playing much larger venues across the country.  I couldn’t attend the show at TT the Bear’s, so I went to the show at the Met (capacity 500) in Providence the night prior.  Twenty One Pilots are now playing sold out stadiums, some 20,000+.

Sigur Ros at the Agganis Arena (3.26.13) - I’ve seen this Icelandic band three times (’06, ‘13, and ‘16 in Denver), and they crush it every single time.  They have the ability to invoke emotion quite like no other band.  I managed to film “Glosoli”, which is such a powerful song and still gives me chills.

Alt-J at the Paradise Rock Club (3.3.13) - I enjoyed their debut album, An Awesome Wave, and headed to the ‘dise to check them out.  Solid show.

Green Day at the Dunkin Donuts Center (4.19.13) - Can’t believe I never saw Green Day prior to this show, and I vividly remember when Dookie came out in ‘94.  This was ultimately one of those bucket list shows for me, and I ended up driving to Providence, as there was no Boston show.  A fun concert and worth the drive.

Muse at the TD Garden (4.12.13) - I was amazed at the production for this show.  They really went all out, and a cool experience.

Boston Calling Day #1 (5.25.13) (Portugal the Man,The Shins, Fun) - This was the inaugural Boston Calling Festival.  The Government Center location was less than ideal, and the sound was equally poor in spots depending where you stood, and they’d eventually move the location of the smaller stage for the next installment of the festival.  Since Boston proper had no large music festival of this kind at the time, it was kind of a big deal, and they managed to book a solid and diverse lineup each year.  

Boston Calling Day #2 (5.26.13) (Andrew Bird, Of Monsters and Men, Young the Giant, The National) - The second day of the new Boston festival proved to be as solid as the first.

Newport Folk Festival Day #1 (7.26.13) (Milk Carton Kids, Blake Mills (w/ Dawes), Dawes, Phosphorescent, Feist, Old Crow Medicine Show) - The rainy first day of this festival had a few bright spots, but i must say, Feist was one of bigger misses at Newport.  

Newport Folk Festival Day #2 (7.27.13) (Langhorne Slim, The Lone Bellow, Shovels and Rope, Jim James, Father John Misty, Jason Isbell, Colin Meloy, Justin Townes Earle, The Avett Brothers) - Very entertaining Day 2, and the Newport crowd definitely wasn’t ready for Father John Misty.  If you haven’t seen my live videos yet, please do yourself a favor and check out “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” and “Nancy From Now On”.

Newport Folk Festival Day #3 (7.28.13) (Lord Huron, The Lumineers, Andrew Bird, Beck) - Beck was a really great score for Newport, and a nice way to end the weekend.

The Black Crowes at the BOA Pavilion (7.30.13) - This 2013 tour would sadly be their last, and they officially called it quits in 2015.

The Nines Festival - Devens, MA (8.10.13)  (Delta Spirit, Dr. Dog, Explosions In The Sky) - I really enjoyed this festival.  This new Boston area music and arts festival sadly didn’t make it a second year.  Despite the respectably lineup, it definitely wasn’t promoted enough, and attendance was quite low.  That didn’t stop me from having a great time, and I had a beautiful experience.

After it was over, I appreciated it more and more as time went on.

Boston Calling Day #1 (9.7.13) (Lucius, Okkervil River, Deer Tick, Airborne Toxic Event, Local Natives, The Gaslight Anthem, Vampire Weekend) - Surprisingly, Boston Calling added a fall version, just four months after the initial May festival, but since the interest and ticket sales were strong, they decided to capitalize.

Boston Calling Day #2 (9.8.13) (Flume, Kendrick Lamar, Passion Pit) 

Phoenix at the House of Blues) (10.1.13) - Great show, and the highlight was Thomas Mars climbing into the mezzanine after “Rome”, walking from one end to the other, thanking fans for coming to the show while the band played “Entertainment (reprise)” in the background. I ended up capturing the it on video.

Pearl Jam at the DCU Center (10.15.13) - This was another insane experience, as I was photographing a band I’d loved since their beginning right from the pit.  Eddie Vedder was in great spirits, and even sported a Red Sox jacket.

The Arcade Fire (Brooklyn) (10.18.13) - Arcade Fire seem to like to promote their new albums with special live shows at small venues, and this show took place at a Brooklyn warehouse right before their new album, Reflektor was released.  

There was a small stage in the front, but by the time I arrived, there were so many people standing around it, that I opted for a more comfortable spot in the back.  What happened next was one of the most surprising moments I’ve ever seen at a concert.  Someone next to me ended up capturing the exact moment the band revealed a fake stage in the back, basically right where I was standing.  The stage up front where everyone was gathered was fake. 

I ended up writing a review of the whole experience.

Phish at the DCU Center (10.25.13) - Phish are always a good time.  The crowd, the scene, the music...it’s always a strange trip.  I wrote a few word on this show as well.

Chris Cornell at the Calvin Theatre (11.17.13) - Oddly, this was the first time I saw Chris live.  Hearing his voice for the first time instantly gave me chills, and I was fortunate to see him before his passing in 2017.

[don-lichterman]

Margaret Glaspy Live In Concert Newport Folk 2017 on NPR's All Songs Considered Live

[sinceileftyoublog]

Live Picks: 6/21

Shovels & Rope

BY JORDAN MAINZER

There are five shows going on in the Chicagoland area tonight. Which one are you gonna pick?

6/21: Iceage, House of Vans

When we caught their Pitchfork Music Festival 2015 set, Iceage had recently released Plowing Into the Field of Love, a country-tinged album of drunken, hilarious singalongs that was new territory for a band who a year prior had released the difficult, dark, ugly You’re Nothing. Where was the punk spirit of the band who released New Brigade?

Thankfully, the band’s new album Beyondless combines all former iterations of Iceage. The punk spirit resides in provocative opener “Hurrah”, wherein Elias Bender Rønnenfelt takes on the persona of a soldier who has abandoned his original mission because he’s addicted to killing. (Upon listening to it, I can’t help but think of Iggy Pop once calling them “the only current punk band [he] can think of that sounds really dangerous.”) The darkness of you’re nothing blooms in lead single “Catch It”. And they haven’t even abandoned the country--take a listen to the twangy “Thieves Like Us”. Laden with horns and strings and even vaudeville arrangements, Beyondless dares you to see it performed live. It’s the first time in a while I’ll go to an Iceage show actually hoping to hear the new songs.

Atlanta punks Black Lips, harpist Mary Lattimore, and local new wavers Torture Love open.

6/21: The Horrors, Bottom Lounge

The most epic band around: Explosions in the Sky? Not quite. Deafheaven? Try again. I’ll give that title to England’s The Horrors, who have quietly released some of the best Britpop-inspired rock of the past decade. 2009′s Primary Colours established them as the perfect mix between post-punk, post-rock, and shoegaze. 2011′s Skying, containing most-beautiful-song-you’ve-ever-heard “Still Life”, was utterly sweeping. While on 2014′s Luminous they sounded a bit comfortable, last year’s V was a return to form. Slow, subtle, and reserved, songs like the layered “Weighed Down”, acoustic guitar-meets-synth “Gathering”, and trip-hop like “Ghost” saw the band take on new life while also showing what you knew they do best. Holding it all together was the inimitable croon of lead singer Faris Badwan. So while the band sounds great on headphones, imagine how much a big space like the Bottom Lounge would suit their sound?

Local garage rockers Bleach Party open.

6/21: The Bottle Rockets, Brauerhouse

We caught their opening set (and backing band set) for Marshall Crenshaw earlier this year, but a headlining set better suits The Bottle Rockets. They’ll be able to decide the tone of the show and what parts of their varied and great discography to play. Perhaps they’ll play some new material, but you should be just as happy with their self-titled album, The Brooklyn Side, and even their most recent South Broadway Athletic Club. 

Rockabilly band Them Guily Aces and country band Dan Whitaker & The Shinebenders open.

6/21: Shovels & Rope, Temperance Beer Co.

I always found Shovels & Rope a bit too precious of a folk band until I heard their last full-length of original material, 2016′s Little Seeds. The album was everything I wanted from a band like that: dark, down-tempo, pristine, and rich with detail about contemporary and earlier history. It’s high time for them to release a new record, so hopefully they’ll play new songs at the inaugural Out of Space concert, a series of shows to celebrate Evanston venue SPACE’s 10th anniversary.

Revisit our photos of Newport Folk Festival 2017, which includes Shovels & Rope.

Singer-songwriter Becca Mancari opens.

6/21: The New Pornographers, Thalia Hall

We caught The New Pornographers, too, at Pitchfork 2015. Since then, they’ve released Whiteout Conditions, an album that slides by the synth sheen of Brill Bruisers to return to what the band does best: sing about depressing topics over bright power pop. Still, nothing matches the band’s unparalleled first three records. They know it, too, saving the sky high “Bleeding Heart Show”, “Mass Romantic”, “Testament For Youth and Verse”, and “Use It” for the end of the set. Without Neko Case or Dan Bejar, AC Newman, Kathryn Calder, and company have to fill in some serious shoes but always do it admirably.

Singer-songwriter Brett Newski opens.

[mxdwn]

New John Prine Live Album John Prine and Friends from Newport Folk Festival 2017 to Feature Appearances by Jim James, Justin Vernon, Roger Waters, Margo Price and More

https://music.mxdwn.com/2021/03/22/news/new-john-prine-live-album-john-prine-and-friends-from-newport-folk-festival-2017-to-feature-appearances-by-jim-james-justin-vernon-roger-waters-margo-price-and-more/

[clayton-hutson]

John Prine Live LP Featuring Roger Waters, Jim James Planned for Fall

John Prine and Friends, recorded at Newport Folk Festival 2017, also features Justin Vernon, Margo Price, Nathaniel Rateliff, Lucius from Music – Rolling Stone https://ift.tt/3sf7jWm via IFTTT

[1962dude420-blog]

Today we remember the passing of Son House who Died: October 19, 1988 in Detroit, Michigan

Eddie James "Son" House, Jr. was an American delta blues singer and guitarist, noted for his highly emotional style of singing and slide guitar playing. After years of hostility to secular music, as a preacher and for a few years also as a church pastor, he turned to blues performance at the age of 25. He quickly developed a unique style by applying the rhythmic drive, vocal power and emotional intensity of his preaching to the newly learned idiom. In a short career interrupted by a spell in Parchman Farm penitentiary, he developed to the point that Charley Patton, the foremost blues artist of the Mississippi Delta region, invited him to share engagements and to accompany him to a 1930 recording session for Paramount Records.

In 1964, a group of young record collectors discovered House, whom they knew of from his records issued by Paramount and by the Library of Congress. With their encouragement, he relearned his repertoire and established a career as an entertainer, performing for young, mostly white audiences in coffeehouses, at folk festivals and on concert tours during the American folk music revival, billed as a "folk blues" singer. He recorded several albums, and some informally taped concerts have also been issued as albums. House died in 1988. In 2017, his single, "Preachin' the Blues" was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame.

In 1964, after a long search of the Mississippi Delta region by Nick Perls, Dick Waterman and Phil Spiro, House was "rediscovered" in Rochester, New York working at a train station. He had been retired from the music business for many years and was unaware of the 1960s folk blues revival and international enthusiasm for his early recordings.

He subsequently toured extensively in the United States and Europe and recorded for CBS Records. Like Mississippi John Hurt, he was welcomed into the music scene of the 1960s and played at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, the New York Folk Festival in July 1965, and the October 1967 European tour of the American Folk Festival, along with Skip James and Bukka White.

The young guitarist Alan Wilson (later of Canned Heat) was a fan of House's. The producer John Hammond asked Wilson, who was just 22 years old, to teach "Son House how to play like Son House," because Wilson had such a good knowledge of blues styles. House subsequently recorded the album Father of Folk Blues, later reissued as a 2-CD set Father of Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions. House performed with Wilson live, as can be heard on "Levee Camp Moan" on the album John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions.

House appeared in Seattle on Mar 19, 1968, arranged by the Seattle Folklore Society. The concert was recorded by Bob West and issued on Acola Records as a CD in 2006. The Arcola CD also included an interview of House recorded on November 15, 1969 in Seattle.

In the summer of 1970, House toured Europe once again, including an appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival; a recording of his London concerts was released by Liberty Records. He also played at the two Days of Blues Festival in Toronto in 1974. On an appearance on the TV arts show Camera Three, he was accompanied by the blues guitarist Buddy Guy.

Ill health plagued House in his later years, and in 1974 he retired once again. He later moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he remained until his death from cancer of the larynx. He had been married five times. He was buried at the Mt. Hazel Cemetery. Members of the Detroit Blues Society raised money through benefit concerts to put a monument on his grave.