Asleep At The Wheel

Performing on October 2, 2009

Ray Benson (Ray Benson Siefert, born March 16, 1951), Lucky Oceans and Leroy Preston were really just three alterna-culture refugees when they landed in Paw Paw, W. Va., in the summer of 1969. Their plan was to form a real live Western swing band, influenced by the likes of fellow-gonzo-swinger Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen. After drifting through Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, the band (which got its record deal when Van Morrison raved about them in Rolling Stone) landed in heart of Bob Wills country: Austin, Texas, in the early '70s. With its fondness for jazz, blues, rock and country, the band was an instant hit with the same folks who embraced Willie Nelson and the rest of the Outlaws. The band only scored one Top 10 country hit -- 1975's "The Letter That Johnny Walker Read" -- but has collected eight Grammys since then. In addition to two-all star Bob Wills tributes in the '90s, the ensemble offered a concept album Asleep at the Wheel Remembers the Alamo in 2003. Also that year, Benson (the only remaining founding member) released his first solo album, Beyond Time, which earned two Grammy nominations.

Avett Brothers

Performing on October 2, 2009

When San Francisco’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival began, nobody had heard of the Avett Brothers. Now they might as well be its poster boys. Scott Avett may play a banjo, and Seth strums an acoustic guitar, and bandmate Bob Crawford handles upright bass, but they play with a percussive energy that owes more to their punk sensibilities than to their North Carolina birthplace. To them, a holler is a throat-shredding vocal, a square dance is a manic stomp with high kicks, done from behind a microphone in, say, Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, where they won the Americana Music Association’s Honors & Awards’ inaugural Duo/Group of the Year Award in 2007, along with New/Emerging Group of the Year. Both were in recognition of their breakout album, Emotionalism — the one that captivated Rick Rubin, who signed them to his American Recordings label. The result is I and Love and You, released in July. With their brilliant lyrics and captivating deliveries, and Rubin’s unerring sense of direction, it won’t be long before genre definitions fall away completely.

Coheed And Cambria

Performing on October 2, 2009

If the inevitable — and oh-so-appropriate, frankly — comparisons to Rush throw you off, well, that’s just your loss. Those in the know — and they are legion, across the U.S. and as far away as Japan — know that New York’s Coheed and Cambria’s heady mix of prog-rock, metal and emo makes for one of the most exciting chapters in today’s modern rock scene. Masters of the tricky art of the narrative concept album, C&C have made the jump from indie to major label (Columbia) without compromising their ambitious artistic vision or serious metal cred in the slightest, as proven with 2005’s Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness, and 2007’s Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow.

Andrew Bird

Performing on October 2, 2009

There are classically trained violinists, eccentric folk artists, brainy indie-pop songwriters, glockenspiel players and world-class whistlers to be found all over planet Earth, but there’s only one dude who’s all of the above and more: Chicago’s own Andrew Bird. After graduating college with a bachelors degree in violin performance and self-releasing his 1996 debut, Music of Hair, Bird went on to record three albums under the name Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire: Thrills, Oh! The Grandeur and The Swimming Hour. He then hooked up with Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records for his wonderfully eclectic 2005 set, The Mysterious Production of Eggs, before flying over to Fat Possum for his 2007 breakout, Armchair Apocrypha, and this year’s acclaimed Noble Beast. Live, Bird adroitly manages a sampler that loops bits of violin, whistling and other sounds into a “clone orchestra,” producing a one-of-a-kind “one-man-band” experience that loses none of its magic and wonder even when he’s actually accompanied by a friend or two onstage.

Bassnectar

Performing on October 2, 2009

Bassnectar — aka Lorin Ashton — has been crowned San Francisco’s best DJ, but his kingdom is hardly confined to the West Coast. Nor is his music genre specific; he finds ways to mix everything from punk to rap to heavy metal into his crowd-pleasing live shows and similarly eclectic albums. Bassnectar’s 2007 release, Underground Communication, may have leaned heavily toward hip-hop, but his 2005 double-disc set, Mesmerizing the Ultra, boasted collaborations with artists as diverse as STS9, KRS One and even the enigmatic guitarist Buckethead. It’s no wonder why DJMixed.com called him “a musical renaissance man.”

Dr. Dog

Performing on October 2, 2009

Easy Beat was the title of Philadelphia quintet Dr. Dog’s third album, and it makes for a pretty dandy description of the band’s playful, harmony-steeped ’60s pop and Philly-soul sound, too. Debuting with 2001’s Psychedelic Swamp, Dr. Dog nurtured a small cult following for a few years before landing a tour with My Morning Jacket and warm reviews for 2004’s Easy Beat. After that, the cult following went national, and by 2007’s We All Belong, the band was touring with some of the hottest bands in the country (including the Strokes, the Raconteurs and Wilco). Last year saw the release of Dr. Dog’s fifth album, Fate, as well as a the band’s first compilation, Passed Away, Vol. 1.

Blitzen Trapper

Performing on October 2, 2009

Don’t be scared off — or, for that matter, attracted for the wrong reasons — by the comparisons to the Grateful Dead that often seem to creep into Blitzen Trapper reviews. The Portland, Ore.-based sextet may have jam-ready instrumental chops and undeniable rootsy sensibilities, but this is no more of a hippie jam band than, say, latter-day Wilco. After three terrific releases on the tiny Lidkercow Ltd. label, including 2007’s critically acclaimed Wild Mountain Nation, Blitzen Trapper made the jump to the big leagues (indies) by signing to Seattle’s storied Sub Pop in time for last year’s Furr. Rolling Stone ranked Furr no. 13 on its countdown of the best albums of 2008. Critics across the pond dig Blitzen Trapper’s refreshingly hooky spin on Americana, too. “Their determination to leave no musical stone unturned means Furr is substantially more fun than is normally expected from Dylan-loving Americans with an affection for facial hair,” noted the U.K.’s The Guardian.

Daniel Johnston

Performing on October 2, 2009

Daniel Johnston’s long battle with mental illness is no secret — but as proven by the loyal cult following he’s had for years, neither is the one-of-a-kind genius of his outsider art. In addition to the high dollars his idiosyncratic drawings fetch on the art market, Johnston’s songs have been covered by scores of hip artists such as the Eels, Conor Oberst, TV on the Radio and Tom Waits. Johnston’s funky way with tempo and his high-pitched, pinched vocals were never exactly manna for the mainstream, but to those who get past the surface roadblocks, his music is sweetly melodic on a Beatlesesque scale. The West Virginia-raised and Austin-popularized Houston resident sings about love like a child who has been given a taste of it but only yearned for it since. In Johnston’s world, things are fairly simple: good is good, evil is evil, love is good and whatever opposes love is … evil. The 2007 collection The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered offered two discs of such gems, one featuring covers by some of his most famous fans and the other featuring the same beautifully basic missives sung by Johnston himself with utterly charming, unguarded abandon.

Dave Matthews Band

Performing on October 2, 2009

From their first gig at an Earth Day festival and their early days on the traveling H.O.R.D.E. Festival to their current status as the hardest-touring summer act since the Grateful Dead — not to mention frontman Dave Matthews’ status as the fourth performing board member of Farm Aid — the Dave Matthews Band is practically synonymous with festivals and outdoor concerts. A hero of the jam band nation, Matthews and his jazz/rock fusion outfit, formed in Charlottesville, Va., can be counted on not to stick to a formula. You want samplings from this June’s, Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King? Odds are good. You want “Tripping Billies,” “Crash Into Me,” “What Would You Say,” “Ants Marching” or his feverish cover of “All Along the Watchtower”? You might get lucky, but keep an open mind, because this band’s got a vast repertoire and isn’t given to delivering rote versions of the same old hits. Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, violinist Boyd Tinsley and drummer Carter Beauford, along with sax player Jeff Coffin of Béla Fleck’s Flecktones (replacing LeRoi “Groogrux” Moore, who died last year from injuries sustained in an ATV accident) and trumpeter Rashawn Ross, are given to flights of sonic fancy marked by the kind of tightness that only bands on a telepathic wavelength can achieve night after night.

Citizen Cope

Performing on October 2, 2009

Clarence Greenwood, aka Citizen Cope, was born in Memphis, but his folk-pop/blues/hip-hop/reggae/soul sound is as much influenced by his days in the D.C. area, where he once DJ’ed with Basehead. Though he seemingly fits into the laid-back Jack Johnson/G. Love surfer-slacker mold (not to say anyone’s slacking; it’s just a vibe), he might beg to differ. He’s big on building rhythms and letting lyrics braid around them in sometimes hypnotic waves of repetition, and songs like “Brother Lee” express a social conscience that’s never far from the surface of his work. Though he’s been on (and off) four major labels in his approximately 12-year recording career, he’s got a relatively small discography. Fans have been waiting for another release since 2006’s Every Waking Moment. But even without new releases, Citizen Cope shows are an easy sellout regardless of where he plays — whether he’s doing an intimate solo gig or a larger venue like Stubb’s, where his February appearance left plenty of ticketless fans begging.

Bon Iver

Performing on October 2, 2009

You may or may not find Bon Iver in the “I” section at your local record store. Wisconsinite Justin Vernon manipulated the French phrase for “good winter” for the one-man-band name. And a fitting name it is. For Emma, Forever Ago is the result of Vernon’s three-month solitary stay in a cabin in a remote part of his home state, where he turned frustration and heartbreak into a haunting set of songs featuring bare-bones instrumentation and his ghostly voice whispering, creaking and moaning through it all. Initially self-released in 2007, the album found a label last year, which has kept its winter going for months and months on end, no doubt helped by some of its songs appearing on Grey’s Anatomy. But the TV support shouldn’t undercut a beautifully cohesive statement made by a guy bummed out in a cabin in the cold. Alone.

!!!

Performing on October 2, 2009

Their name may be a head-scratcher (“chk chk chk” is what people usually call them, repeating any three sounds will suffice), but there’s no such mystery when it comes to understanding !!!’s hold on dance-party punk-funk. On Myth Takes, the Sacramento, Calif.-formed band’s latest album, !!! lays down some of the sharpest, tightest grooves the dance-rock movement has produced to date. And that’s nothing compared to the group’s live shows, in which frontman Nic Offer drives his bandmates — not to mention the members of the audience who are invited onstage — to ever-higher peaks of jack-your-body abandon.

And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead

Performing on October 2, 2009

Devotchka

Performing on October 2, 2009

Here are the instruments you’ll see onstage during a DeVotchKa show: Theramin, Sousaphone, bouzouki, accordion, violin, piano, double bass, trumpet and percussion. Oh, and guitar. They’re used to create what has been described variously as gypsy-punk, opera via norteño, Vaudeville meets Sergio Leone and the ghost of Boris Karloff … and folk. The Colorado-based quartet, which gained wider renown after doing the soundtrack to the film Little Miss Sunshine, has been touring behind its 2008 release, A Mad and Faithful Telling. The band’s name, incidentally, came from author Anthony Burgess’ word for “young girl” in Nadsat, the Russian-based language his teenage droogs spoke in A Clockwork Orange.

Eek-A-Mouse

Performing on October 2, 2009

Reggae’s early legends not named Marley had and have a difficult time getting noticed, so good luck to its latter-era stars who aren’t among Bob Marley’s brood. But among the subgenres of music that followed roots reggae, the music of Eek-a-Mouse, a fascinating clown prince of Jamaica, is among the most intriguing and rewarding. Eek-a-Mouse (born Ripton Hylton, he adopted his stage name from a racehorse) found his success straying from the rigid constructs of standard reggae; he was a singjay pioneer, creating a peculiar and plucky blend of singing and speaking that became his calling card. Dancehall became the predominant form of post-roots-reggae to spring from Jamaica, but Eek-a-Mouse remains one of the island’s most in-demand performers. Part of it might be cult of personality, as he’s a peculiar cat, unafraid to clown around. But where dancehall made a bid for the mainstream and proved fleetingly successful, singjay remains more rooted in more organic sounds that could appeal to enthusiasts for Jamaican music, from rock steady and ska to roots reggae and dancehall. And nobody does it better than this committed road warrior, the unofficial king of summer.

Alberta Cross

Performing on October 2, 2009

The name may sound like a Southern gospel singer, but Alberta Cross is actually a London-formed, Anglo-Sweedish rock band based out of Brooklyn, N.Y. Band founders Peter Ericson Stakee (vocals/guitar) and Terry Wolfers (bass) share a deep affinity for the rootsy folk-rock sounds of vintage Neil Young, Van Morrison and the Band, and those influences permeate the group’s soulful 2007 EP, The Thief and the Heartbreaker. Alberta Cross (rounded out by guitarist Sam Kearney, drummer Austin Beede and keyboardist Alec Higgins) recently played a handful of dates opening for Oasis (at the personal request of fan Noel Gallagher), and is set to release its full-length debut for its new label, ATO Records, in June.

Bell X1

Performing on October 2, 2009

Fellow Irish rockers U2 seemed to have had a bit of luck naming themselves after a spy plane, so it makes since that Bell X1 adopted the name of the plane Chuck Yaeger used to break the sound barrier in 1947. Further comparisons to U2 just seem lazy, though fans of Coldplay and even the Talking Heads (courtesy of signer Paul Noonan’s occasionally very David Byrne-esque delivery) will find much to love about Bell X1’s unerringly melodic, bittersweet pop tunes. Noonan, guitarist Dave Geraghty, bassist Dominic Phillips and keyboardist Brian Crosby (who left Bell X1 last year) spent most of the ’90s playing in the Irish band Juniper, the launching pad for solo artist Damien Rice. After Rice went off on his own to much success, the rest of the band rebooted itself as Bell X1 and made its debut with 2000’s Neither Am I, which along with 2003’s Mouth in Mouth was released only in Ireland. But 2005’s Flock took Bell X1 around the world; the Irish chart-topper was the band’s first to be released across Europe and the U.S. (though it didn’t reach these shores until 2008). In the wake of its hard-earned success, Bell X1 launched its own BellyUp label in time for the 2007 live set Tour de Flock, which debuted at No. 4 in Ireland — the highest ever for an independent release. The band’s fourth studio album, the surprisingly playful, synth-embracing Blue Lights on the Runway, was released this March.

Deer Tick

Performing on October 2, 2009

It doesn’t get too much better for a young band than having Rolling Stone’s David Fricke, the reigning eminence of rock ’n’ roll journalism, single you out from among 1,900 artists as the No. 1 breakout act of South By Southwest. Needless to say, the guys in Deer Tick were a little stoked to find themselves so lauded just before the June release of their second album, Born on Flag Day. (Lead vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist/pedal steel player John Joseph McCauley III was, indeed, born on June 14.) Their twangish sound, led by McCauley’s grizzled vox and Hank Williams-warped sensibilities, completely belies their New England roots: All four are Rhode Islanders (though McCauley now lives in Brooklyn), but close your eyes, and you could swear you’re hearing some boys raised sayin’ “y’all.”

Cotton Jones

Performing on October 2, 2009

Prior to launching Cotton Jones (initially called the Cotton Jones Basket Ride), frontman Michael Nau led the Baltimore, Md., band Page France through three albums of folksy indie-pop. In Cotton Jones, Nau and fellow Page France alum Whitney McGraw pursue even dreamier sounds, weaving elements of folk, jazz and country into a woozily melodic quilt of Americana with psychedelic sensibilities. Cotton Jones’ full-length debut, Paranoid Cocoon, released in January, is a quiet storm of a record full of gorgeous, harmony-laden songs like “Gotta Cheer Up” that linger in the air like hazy, sweetly scented smoke long after they’re over.

Damien Horne

Performing on October 2, 2009

Singer-songwriter Damien Horne was raised in North Carolina and first pursued his musical career in earnest in California, but Nashville is where he finally found his groove and real success. That’s where he fell in with the MuzikMafia crowd, the eclectic songwriter/artist circle best known for spawning country music superstars Big & Rich and Gretchen Wilson. In fact, it was Big & Rich’s own John Rich who invited Horne into the MuzikMafia family and ended up producing his 2008 album, Somebody’s Hero — a collection of soulful, rock-infused R&B that proves Music City, U.S.A., has a lot more to offer than just country. Like Horne’s previous album, 2005’s Mista D, Somebody’s Hero showcases Horne’s knack for catchy pop hooks and for writing lyrics with a distinctly uplifting message. He put both to good use earlier this year when he was commissioned to write and record “She Can Play,” the theme song for the Atlantic Coast Conference women’s basketball league.

Ben Harper and Relentless7

Performing on October 2, 2009

Ben Harper rocked Lollapalooza two years ago with his longtime band the Innocent Criminals, but this time around, Harper’s got a brand new bag — and band. Although the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and slide guitarist extraordinaire insists that he’ll always make music with his Criminals, right now he’s playing some of the most exhilarating music of his career with an outfit he calls Relentless7. Consider it Harper’s Texas band. Lead guitarist Jason Mozersky played in a band called Wan Santo Condo that Harper first heard when that band’s singer was driving Harper to a gig in Austin back in 1998. He was blown away, and later invited Mozersky to play on his 2006 album, Both Sides of the Gun. Mozersky then introduced Harper to a couple of his friends who played in another band out of Texas called Oliver Future: bassist and keyboardist Jesse Ingalls and drummer Jordan Richardson. They, too, played on Both Sides of the Gun, and the chemistry was so tight, Harper knew he’d found just the right guys to help him take his music in a new direction. And, as showcased on this May’s White Lies for Dark Times (Virgin), that direction is straight-up rock ’n’ roll, served up, naturally, with a whole lotta soul. The name of the first single sums up the Relentless7 experience perfectly: “Shimmer and Shine.”

Arctic Monkeys

Performing on October 2, 2009

Brits and Yanks alike went nuts over Favourite Worst Nightmare, the 2007 sophomore album by Sheffield, England, lads the Arctic Monkeys. In fact, it shot to the top of the UK charts in its first week. But so did the band’s first effort, 2006’s Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, which was the fastest-selling debut album ever in England and garnered the Arctic Monkeys the coveted Mercury Prize. The legend of the band was built on the Internet, as fans ripped early demo CD-R’s onto their computers and released them into the ether, along the way creating a highly trafficked MySpace page for the Monkeys. The band did its best to eschew the hype its music has created, upending a label feeding frenzy by signing with the small, U.K. independent Domino Records. Comprising Alex Turner (vocals, guitar), Jamie Cook (guitar), Nick O'Malley (bass) and Matt Helders (drums), the band's fast-and-loud, post-punk indie sound lays a foundation for Turner’s wry observations on British working-class culture a la Morrissey or Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker. The Arctic Monkeys began work on their much-anticipated third album last year.

Clutch

Performing on October 2, 2009

On their ninth studio album, Strange Cousins from the West, the Maryland hard rockers continue to grow musically. Due out July 7th 2009, Strange Cousins sees the innovative quartet stirring up a sonic crock-pot of chugging blues riffs, punk rock grit, bombastic funk beats and raw, infectious vocals. Guitarist Tim Sult rips through epic grooves on cuts like "Motherless Child," while bassist Dan Maines and drummer Jean-Paul Gaster lay an impenetrable rhythmic foundation on the likes of "Minotaur." Meanwhile, Neil Fallon croons out a soulful cacophony, lyrically conjuring an intergalactic pulp fiction. Invite these Cousins in, and you'll never be the same.

Dan Auerbach

Performing on October 2, 2009

It might seem strange for one half of a two-man band to do a solo side project, but Dan Auerbach decided not to abide by the title of his solo debut, Keep It Hid. Just last year Auerbach and Patrick Carney released Attack & Release, their finest album to date as Akron, Ohio’s the Black Keys, a powerhouse psyche-garage-blues duo. But a quick play of the songs on Keep It Hid and it’s clear they justified a different treatment. Auerbach’s sandpapery voice remains a constant, but he dresses this set of songs differently, allowing them to unfold rather than drive, with some big and even pretty melodies as heard on “My Last Mistake.” Live, Auerbach may be temporarily missing one Key, but he seems just as comfortable surrounded by a full entourage.

Brett Dennen

Performing on October 2, 2009

His freckled face, red hair and high tenor make singer-songwriter Brett Dennen seem far more boyish than 30, which he’ll turn on Oct. 28. But the Oakland, Calif., native is certainly in tune with his inner child. Dennen, who broke out with his 2006 sophomore album, So Much More, is heavily involved with the Mosaic Project, a San Francisco Bay organization dedicated to teaching children to live peacefully in a diverse world. He wrote a music curriculum for the program, which was released in 2003 as the award-winning album Children’s Songs for Peace and a Better World. He’s also teamed up with the clothing label Life is good to help needy kids, and has a page on his Web site called “Love Speaks,” which is dedicated to recognizing deserving non-profits. Dennen’s latest album, Hope for the Hopeless, was released a year ago. It reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot Independent Albums chart, and the lilting single, “Make You Crazy,” made it onto the mag’s Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks.

Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears

Performing on October 2, 2009

Theoretically speaking, Black Joe Lewis just doesn’t make sense. Seriously, how can any dude still shy of 30 sound this soulful? And, more pertinently, how can anyone raised in suburban Round Rock, Texas, make music this damn funky? But lo and behold, it’s all true: Black Joe Lewis is the real deal, and all skepticism is blown away the minute he takes the stage with his formidable ensemble of like-minded soul mates, the Honeybears. Britt Daniel invited the band to tour with Spoon, and it wasn’t long before Black Joe and Co. were signed to Lost Highway Records. The label released the band’s full-length debut, Tell ’Em What Your Name Is!, in March. It’s a raw and raucous affair from start to finish — classic rock ’n’ soul for a new generation that at least a couple of older generations can dig, too.

David Garza

Performing on October 2, 2009

Alela Diane

Performing on October 2, 2009

Having drawn favorable comparisons to Sandy Denny, Joni Mitchell, Gillian Welch and even her old high-school friend Joanna Newsom, Alela Diane’s music falls right in the happy middle between old-school, Fairport Convention-style roots music and modern freak folk. Raised by musically inclined parents in Nevada City, Calif., Diane self-released her first collection of songs, Forest Parade, in 2003, though it was her second album, 2004’s The Pirate’s Gospel, that put her on the radar following its U.K. release in 2007. Since then, she’s toured throughout Europe several times to considerable critical acclaim. Rough Trade released Diane’s latest album, To Be Still, in February. England’s The Guardian hailed it as “one of this year’s lovelier albums,” and Mojo called it “a spectacular step forward.”

Danny Brooks

Performing on October 2, 2009

When Canadian blues rocker Danny Brooks was 15 years old, his father gave him a choice: give up his budding fascination with the devil’s music, or get out of the house. Brooks ran off with the devil. He soaked up all the inspiration he could by watching touring American blues legends like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and John Lee Hooker play a theater in his native Toronto, then hit the road to play — and live — his own blues. The lifestyle took its toll on his soul. Burned out by the mid-’80s, Brooks took stock of his life, checked into rehab, and reemerged a changed man. These days, his music is still as rockin’ and soulful as ever, but he now uses his potent voice and songwriting chops in the service of contemporary gospel. His records, including It’s a Southern Thing, Soulsville: Souled Out ’n Sanctified, Rock This House and No Easy Way Out, are testament to the healing power of faith and rock ’n’ roll, as is his recently published book, Miracle for Breakfast.

John Legend

Performing on October 2, 2009

Neo-soul. The very word sounds sexy. But when you put it next to John Legend’s name, it’s even sexier. Smoother, silkier. Pianist and singer Legend (born John Stephens) has charmed legions of listeners with his baritone voice and captivating stage presence; even before he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, the Springfield, Ohio, native was grabbing attention for performances with Counterparts, the school’s jazz/pop a cappella group. Legend and his college roommate, Devon Harris, who DJ’d under the name Devo Springsteen, moved to New York in 2000; soon afterward, Harris learned his cousin, Kanye West, was headed to the Big Apple. Legend became the first artist signed to West’s GOOD Music; Harris and West helped write and produce tracks on Legend’s debut album, Get Lifted. The single “Ordinary People” helped carry the album to the top 5 on the Billboard 200 album chart and earn Legend Grammys for Best R&B Album, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best New Artist. Legend’s second album, Once Again, received support from West, will.i.am. and Raphael Saadiq (Tony! Toni! Toné!), and the single, “Heaven,” earned him another Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. His contribution to the Sly & the Family Stone tribute album, Different Strokes by Different Folks, snagged him yet another. Legend released his third album, Evolver, in late 2008.

Kings of Leon

Performing on October 2, 2009

To adapt a lyric from their biggest song to date, this band is on fire. And, judging by their output to date, literally reinventing their sound at a pace nearly reminiscent of the Beatles. For just as Sgt. Pepper sounded nothing like the Beatles who played Ed Sullivan a mere three years earlier, the Kings of Leon on last year’s epic Only by the Night seem light years removed from the scrappy Southern rockers responsible for 2003’s Youth & Young Manhood. In truth, they’re still the same Followill boys from Nashville — brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared and first cousin Matthew — who took the U.K. by storm earlier this decade and later won over their homeland festival by festival with a sound suggesting a cross between Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers and the Strokes. By 2007’s Because of the Times, though, it was patently clear that this was not a band intent to spend its career cooped up in one style; all that touring opening up for the likes of U2, Bob Dylan and Pearl Jam expanded their musical horizons. Some fans might have jumped ship after the Kings shaved off their wooly mustaches and shifted seemingly overnight from fuzzy garage rock to the sophisticated but arena-swelling art rock of Because of the Times and Only by the Night, but the hits kept on coming. “Sex on Fire,” in fact, recently became the best-selling digital single of all time in the U.K. And the Kings of Leon are now well on their way to rock royalty on their own side of the pond, too.

Lily Allen

Performing on October 2, 2009

Being young and brash has carried Lily Allen far. The British pop star literally got her start on MySpace, where she posted song demos and mixtapes that earned so much notice, she nailed a record deal. Her first full-length album, the Grammy-nominated Alright, Still, came out in 2006, followed by this year’s cleverly titled It’s Not Me, It’s You (she is the daughter of a comedian, after all). Its first single, “The Fear,” topped Billboard’s Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart; another cut, “F*** You,” also charted. Her musical talent was first noticed by a teacher who heard her singing an Oasis song on a school playground, but she had a good foundation; she’s the goddaughter of Angela McCluskey, the Wild Colonials vocalist, and claims the Clash’s Joe Strummer as an unofficial godparent. (They reportedly were close, though the bond wasn’t musical; she didn’t know much about his storied career till after his death.)

Medeski, Martin & Wood

Performing on October 2, 2009

When they began creating their mélange of avant-jazz improv and in-the-pocket grooves, it wasn’t as if they were intentionally heading toward jam-band land. But that’s where keyboardist John Medeski, drummer Billy Martin and bassist Chris Wood found themselves somewhere in the Phish-dominated ’90s, thanks to their performances with that band — and, perhaps, their propensity toward skipping out of New York to practice in their Maui “shack.” Another factor could have been John Medeski’s early decision to ditch his grand piano for a Hammond B-3 — because it’s easier to tour with (but not by much.) Other ’90s collaborations resulted in a hookup with DJ Logic, who became a de facto fourth band member, and more recently, jazz guitarist John Scofield. In 2006, Wood and his brother, Oliver, of the blues band King Johnson, formed a side project that yielded the Medeski-produced Ways Not to Lose. The Wood Brothers (also appearing at this year’s ACL Festival) followed that up last year with Loaded. Last year also saw the release of Medeski, Martin & Wood’s Let’s Go Everywhere.

Los Amigos Invisibles

Performing on October 2, 2009

K'Naan

Performing on October 2, 2009

Mishka

Performing on October 2, 2009

Leatherbag

Performing on October 2, 2009

The music of Leatherbag — aka singer-songwriter Randy Reynolds — is an engaging mix of rootsy Bob Dylan, fully charged Lou Reed and more than a little Buddy Holly. OK, maybe the Holly thing’s just the glasses, though comparing this Austin-based Houston refugee (thanks, Rita!) to Texas’ most famous rock ’n’ roller isn’t that far off the mark, given the keen pop smarts on display throughout Reynolds’ rapidly growing catalog. Keeping up with Leatherbag’s releases can be exhausting — he’s released two EPs this year alone, including this spring’s Everything I Once Knew; but every one of them to date’s been a keeper.

Jonell Mosser

Performing on October 2, 2009

She’s a red-headed woman with a powerhouse blues voice that’s a perfect cross between smooth groove and true grit. No, we’re not talking about Bonnie Raitt, we’re talking about one of Nashville’s favorite go-to vocalists, Jonell Mosser. She’s been produced by Don Was and recorded with Ringo Starr (unfortunately, label issues killed both efforts), cruised with Delbert McClinton, done an album of Townes Van Zandt covers, written more than 50 songs with John Hall (Orleans) and his wife, Johanna, and contributed to the First Amendment Center’s must-hear Freedom Sings project. Her new album, Trust Yourself, is filled with compositions from her own pen and those of inspirations like Harlan Howard and Bob Dylan. Trust us — she’s an artist you need to experience.

Milkshake

Performing on October 2, 2009

Milkshake is a band on a mission: to create great rock music for kids. Led by singer Lisa Mathews and guitarist Mikel Gehl, whose songs for grown-ups have been featured in movies and prime-time television, and whose indie rock group Love Riot garnered critical praise during its 10-year run, Milkshake has won over preschoolers without compromising songcraft, stagecraft or their authentic rock&roll spirit.

Lunch Money

Performing on October 2, 2009

Lunch Money began in 2003 when singer/guitarist Molly Ledford (The Verna Cannon - Cargo/Headhunter) decided to try her hand at bringing the live music experience to young audiences. She enlisted fellow Verna Cannon bandmate Jay Barry (drums) and multi-instrumentalist J.P. Stephens (bass, mandolin, harmonica) to form Lunch Money, the name chosen to honor that first taste of childhood independence and power. Focusing her writing, which had been described as "full of memories left in a shoebox in the dusty corners of your brain" (Spin.com), on the stuff of childhood, Molly soon accumulated a new catalog of songs about such things as wishing for a pet dog, getting up the nerve to ride a roller coaster, and twirling around in rain and sun beneath an umbrella. The band's debut CD Silly Reflection (Squirrel Mechanic, December 2004) received a top rating from Nick Jr. Family Magazine and their song "Caboose" reached the #2 position on the XM Kids chart (XM Satellite Radio). The band has traveled beyond their Columbia, SC home base to perform at such venues as World Cafe Live in Philadelphia, the New York Public Library in Manhattan and the Summer on Southport Festival in Chicago. Lunch Money delivers a high-energy show that aims to get children and their parents dancing, thinking and laughing.

Ghostland Observatory

Performing on October 2, 2009

Already legends in their hometown of Austin, the duo of Aaron Behrens and Thomas Ross Turner melds guitars, sequencers and programmed beats into a white-hot mix of punk rock, digitized funk and techno. Taking cues from disparate influences ranging from Daft Punk to Jerry Lee Lewis to Queen, Ghostland Observatory delivers with sweat and screams. Studio albums include 2005’s delete.delete.i.eat.meat, 2006’s Paparazzi Lightning and last year’s Robotique Majestique, but Ghostland’s calling card remains its high-energy live shows — a cathartic experience for the duo and their devotional crowds alike. And don’t be fooled by the act’s reputation for incorporating over-the-top light shows into their festival showcases; far from being a smoke and mirrors distraction, all those lasers are merely techno-gravy ladled onto the duo’s already explosive dynamic. Singer/guitarist Behrens may well be one of the most electrifying frontmen in rock working today, and the deceptively reserved-looking Turner is a veritable mad scientist behind his bank of keyboards, cooking up one sky-rattling jam after another.

Mos Def

Performing on October 2, 2009

There are far more prolific artists on the hip-hop scene than Mos Def, but not many in his league when it comes to diversification and political outspokenness. Musically, he sealed the deal with his first two albums — 1998’s Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star and the following year’s Black on Both Sides — which are arguably two of the most highly regarded records in rap history. But by 2004’s The New Danger, Mos Def (born Dante Terrell Smith in Brooklyn) proved he had no intention to be wholly defined as a rapper. On top of The New Danger’s genre-blending aesthetic (the album featured as much soul, blues and rock as hip-hop), by that point in his career, Mos Def was starting to seem more like a critically lauded actor who occasionally dabbled in music than a musician who acted on the side. His films to date have included Bamboozled, Monster’s Ball, Brown Sugar, The Italian Job, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Be Kind Rewind and Cadillac Records (in which he played Chuck Berry). Fortunately for fans of smart, socially aware hip-hop, though, there’s more than enough Mos Def to go around for both film and music. In addition to noteworthy collaborations with Kanye West (“Drunk and Hot Girls”) and the Roots (this year’s “Life in Marvelous Times”), he released True Magic in 2006 and Mos Definite in 2007, and returns full force this summer with the much anticipated The Ecstatic.

Flogging Molly

Performing on October 2, 2009

Just because they’re veterans of many a Warped Tour, by no means are the members of Flogging Molly just another band of snot-nosed Southern California punks. This is one of the best Gaelic punk bands this side of Dublin, which is all the more impressive given that Flogging Molly was formed in Los Angeles — specifically, way back in 1997, at a little Irish bar called Molly Malone’s. Frontman Dave King was actually born in Dublin, but Flogging Molly’s authenticity goes a lot deeper than that: accordion player Matthew Hensley, violinist and tin whistle player Bridget Regan and mandolin/banjo player Robert Schmidt could all hold their own in any traditional Celtic music band on the planet. But throw in lead guitarist Dennis Casey, bassist Nathen Maxwell and drummer George Schwindt, and Flogging Molly transcends the trad-band tag to become a bang-up punk outfit, too. The title of 2000’s Swagger summed up the whole package in a nutshell, though subsequent albums like 2002’s Drunken Lullabies, 2004’s Within a Mile of Home and last year’s Float have charted a remarkable evolution in maturity without ever taming Flogging Molly’s appeal as a world-class bar band.

Mute Math

Performing on October 2, 2009

Grizzly Bear

Performing on October 2, 2009

Steeped in layered vocals, gorgeous harmonies, sparse acoustic instrumentation and, above all, atmosphere, Grizzly Bear answers the question: What would the Beach Boys sound like if they were a minimalist indie-folk quartet from Brooklyn? The band’s 2004 debut, Horn of Plenty, was essentially a solo home-recording endeavor by singer-songwriter/guitarist Ed Droste, though guitarist Daniel Rossen, bassist and woodwind player Chris Taylor and drummer Christopher Bear were all in place soon after and the band is fully represented on 2006’s Yellow House. The 2007 EP Friend featured special guests like Band of Horses and CSS, holding over Grizzly Bear’s growing legion of hungry fans (including Radiohead, with whom the band toured last year) until the release of this summer’s Veckatimest.

Federico Aubele

Performing on October 2, 2009

If Federico Aubele’s sound — a worldly mix of sultry electronica, reggae, hip-hop and Latin American music — triggers thoughts of fellow Lollapalooza ’09 performers Thievery Corporation, well, that’s no coincidence. The native Argentine singer-songwriter/guitarist signed to Thievery Corporation’s Eighteenth Street Lounge Music after sending his demos to Eric Hilton and Rob Garza. Since then, Aubele’s songs have been heard in ultratrendy lounges full of beautiful people the world over. ESL Music released his full-length debut, Gran Hotel Buenos Aires, in 2003, and the eagerly awaited follow-up, Panamericana, in late 2007. As suggested by its title, the album is Aubele’s open-armed embrace of the Americas. “I find the cultural clashes, mixes and blends that have occurred over time [in the Americas] exciting, fresh and very young when you compare it with Europe or Asia,” said Aubele, who’s seen enough of the rest of the world (having lived in both Berlin and Barcelona) to make such comparisons.

Henry Butler

Performing on October 2, 2009

Henry Butler, in the colorful words of fellow Big Easy legend Dr. John, “is the pride of New Orleans and a visionistical down-home cat and a hellified piano plunker to boot.” Jazz Times, in reviewing Butler’s 1996 album For All Seasons, called him “the finest all-around pianist in New Orleans, a city known for its piano masters.” High praise indeed, and all of it warranted every time Butler slides behind a keyboard and works his magic. Blind since birth, Butler began playing piano at age 6 and hasn’t stopped since — though he also found time to earn a master’s degree in vocal music. His earliest albums, beginning with 1985’s Fivin’ Around, were jazz trio affairs, but he’s since proved to be equally at home performing blues, rock ’n’ roll, gospel, Caribbean, gospel and funk — pretty much any and every style found in the musical gumbo of the Crescent City. Naturally, Butler was a key component of the New Orleans Social Club, the supergroup behind 2006’s acclaimed Katrina relief album, Sing Me Back Home. His most recent solo effort, 2008’s PiaNOLA Live, was hailed by Offbeat as “a pure, uncut blast of New Orleans piano.”

John Vanderslice

Performing on October 2, 2009

Before launching his solo career with 2000’s Mass Suicide Occult Figurines, singer-songwriter John Vanderslice spent five years fronting the literate and sonically adventurous San Francisco indie-rock band MK Ultra. He also developed a reputation as both an analog-recording enthusiast (with his own successful San Francisco studio, Tiny Telephone) and a forward-thinking proponent of using digital downloads as a means for connecting with fans; he was posting MP3s of his own music and his friends’ bands on the Web long before MP3 blogs became all the rage (and before even indie record labels understood the merits of the then still controversial medium). Now seven albums into his solo career (counting this May’s Romanian Names), Vanderslice continues to evolve both as a songwriter and an architect of sound. His records are as full of compelling metaphors and engaging pop hooks as they are inspired, audiophile-worthy production flourishes. As AllMusic summed up in its review of 2007’s Emerald City, “Vanderslice is holding the torch as one of indie rock’s most imaginative songwriters.”

Jonathon Tyler & The Northern Lights

Performing on October 2, 2009

Based on the strength of their 2007 release, Hot Trottin’, Dallas’ Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights got picked up by Atlantic Records. We’re still waiting to hear what they’ll turn out for that label, but whatever it is, it’ll undoubtedly be full of this band’s Southern-inflected blues/rock/soul. Tyler’s got a powerful voice that recalls Chris Robinson’s (with less abuse), and he uses it on anything from Skynyrd-singed guitar grinders to sweet ballads to juicy, R&B-flavored rock. (Though Tyler might call it rawk — emphasis on raw.) The band has already opened for a slew of acts of varying genres, from Erykah Badu and the Arc Angels to Kool & the Gang, and they spent the summer on tour with Kid Rawk — er, Rock.

Mimicking Birds

Performing on October 2, 2009

Jeffrey Steele

Performing on October 2, 2009

With his flowing mane of hair, tattooed muscles and hot guitar work, Jeffrey Steele is the kind of performer teenage girls shake it to while their moms throw underwear, yet he’s also an award-winning songwriter whose tunes have been recorded by some of Nashville’s finest. He got his first No. 1 with Tim McGraw’s version of “The Cowboy in Me.” Rascal Flatts’ first No. 1 was Steele’s “These Days”; in 2006, they topped both the Country Singles and the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts with his “What Hurts the Most.” Steele’s compositions have earned him multiple Songwriter of the Year accolades from BMI and other organizations. He’s been a judge on Nashville Star with Jewel and John Rich, and to top it all off, co-wrote the big number on the soundtrack to the Disney animated film, Bolt, with Miley Cyrus.

Mr. Leebot

Performing on October 2, 2009

Michael Franti & Spearhead

Performing on October 2, 2009

Like his hero Bob Marley’s output, Michael Franti’s body of work is much more than a collection of songs. It’s a catalyst for coming together, a joyful noise in the name of love and a fearless cry for justice. As he evolved from his young punker days in the Beatnigs to his rap era with the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy and then to Spearhead (now Michael Franti & Spearhead), Franti has leavened his R&B/soul/reggae-inflected messages to focus on bridging differences — cultural, political or any other wedge of divisiveness — in an effort to convey that we’re all in this together. As he notes in “Bomb the World,” “You can bomb the world into pieces/but you can’t bomb it into peace.” Franti’s 2008 release, All Rebel Rockers, was recorded in Jamaica with legendary producing duo Sly & Robbie.

Girl Talk

Performing on October 2, 2009

Girl Talk is Pittsburgh-based DJ and mash-up artist Gregg Gillis. Not too long ago, Gillis made his bread and butter as a biomedical engineer, relegating his DJing to hobby status. But the buzz on both his wildly inventive productions — slicing and dicing and stitching together bits of oldies, chart hits, indie-rock favorites and hip-hop jams — and his wilder live performances eventually propelled him to make Girl Talk a full-time endeavor. He’s released four albums to date, including 2006’s Night Ripper and last year’s critically acclaimed Feed the Animals. On the side, he’s also one half of the production team Trey Told ’Em (with Frank Musarra of Hearts of Darknesses); together they’ve remixed tracks by Grizzly Bear, Of Montreal, Simian Mobile Disco, Tokyo Police Club and Peter Bjorn and John.

Heartless Bastards

Performing on October 2, 2009

Formed in Dayton, Ohio, six years ago and signed to Fat Possum Records soon after on the recommendation of Patrick Carney of the Black Keys, the Heartless Bastards may be the meanest-sounding, female-fronted dirty blues band in America. Erika Wennerstrom’s voice is an instrument every bit as snarling and jagged as her guitar, and her songs — hammered home by the rhythm section of drummer Dave Colvin and bassist Jesse Ebaugh — pack a vicious punch, too. The Heartless Bastards scored heady critical acclaim with their first two albums of emotionally volatile garage rock, 2005’s Stairs and Elevators and the following year’s All This Time, but this year’s The Mountain — recorded in Wennerstrom’s new hometown of Austin with Spoon/Patty Griffin producer Mike McCarthy — is the band’s most compelling release to date. Prepare to be awed — and pummeled without mercy.

Here We Go Magic

Performing on October 2, 2009

At the heart of Brooklyn’s Here We Go Magic is one Luke Temple, the unassuming singer-songwriter with the high tenor who found a modest bit of indie-pop fame on the back of two warmly-received solo albums on the Seattle-based Mill Pond Records (2005’s Hold a Match for a Gasoline World and 2007’s Snowbeast), shout-outs by cats like Ben Gibbard and the always handy Grey’s Anatomy endorsement. And at its heart, Here We Go Magic’s self-titled debut — released this year by the Austin label Western Vinyl — is really just another Temple solo record, in that he recorded all of the album’s Afro-beat pop gems and lo-fi psychedelic freak outs on his own. But live, Here We Go Magic becomes something else entirely: an honest to goodness band, with Temple joined onstage by friends Peter Hale, Mike Bloch, AJ Lambert and Kristina Lieberson. For his next trick, Temple just might squeeze the whole gang into his home studio and make a full band record. Until then, Here We Go Magic literally has to be seen to be believed.

Marva Wright

Performing on October 2, 2009

Although she’s been called the Blues Queen of New Orleans, Louisiana’s Marva Wright is — not surprisingly, really — just as royally adept in the neighboring realms of gospel and soul. As befits her title, “Marvalous Marva” is a powerhouse of a vocalist, an electrifying performer, and a born natural at both. Despite having never really sung professionally until 1987, when she was 39, she sounded nothing at all like a first timer on her 1991 debut, Heartbreakin’ Woman. The Louisiana Music Critics Association awarded that effort Blues Album of the Year, and Wright’s only gotten more formidable in the nearly two decades since. In 2007, she released arguably her most powerful collection of music yet, the Katrina lament After the Levees Broke.

Lisa Hannigan

Performing on October 2, 2009

Lisa Hannigan bakes. There’s even a cookie recipe and video on her Web site. Her mom “knitted” the site wallpaper, which looks like a scarf with cutesy appliqués you can click on. She’s homey, folksy, accessible. Her songs have an easy beat, a slight playfulness; her voice has a husky quality that enhances her subtle sexiness, a trait that isn’t so much exuded as unpeeled. You might recognize that voice as the one heard behind fellow Irish folkie Damien Rice for seven years, but she’s on her own now. Her debut album, Sea Sew, was released early this year.

L.A.X.

Performing on October 2, 2009

L.A.X began in 2005 with Andrew Collins and Erin "Dancin" Jantzen. starting as an electro duo from Austin, TX they emerged from the house party scene and shaped their sound into a dance hybrid of House/R&B/Pop. In 2007 they self-released "The L Ep", the first installment of an epic trilogy and since then have been turning heads everywhere. from 2008-2009 the group has happily grown and now includes yadira brown, jon oswald, chris denunzio and rory phillips. Collins, the songwriter thrives on cultural fusions apparent from the hip hop "Pump to the Beat" to the reggaeton anthem "Sacudas las Caderas" while Jantzen and brown, lead vocals, lure and dazzle the listener with unprecedented lyrics and melodies. With the world as their dance floor, L.A.X continues to convert all who listen through a fresh sound and invigorating live performance. “We party hard and play songs. Why else would you be in a dance band?”

Matt Morris

Performing on October 2, 2009

Matt Morris performs music you want to sing along with. His songs are seductive, addictive, playful, soulful, and unforgettable. Each song from his upcoming album causes you to move with the groove, swing your hips, slow dance, or pump your fist. Matt’s musical career began at age seven when he performed “Blue Suede Shoes” to an audience of 15,000, receiving a standing ovation. It’s been hard to get him off the stage ever since. He joined the new Mickey Mouse Club when he turned 11, and that’s where he met collaborator and producer Justin Timberlake. It was shortly after the MMC television show that Matt discovered his gift for songwriting which has landed his songs on records by Christina Aguillera, Kelly Clarkson and other leading artists in the pop, rock, and country markets. In May 2007, Matt signed with Justin’s label Tennman Records. Matt then went to work on his full-length release, produced by Austin legend Charlie Sexton. Before the album was finished, Matt opened the Bonnaroo Music Festival in June 2008 to an enthusiastic reception. After the debut of his new songs at Bonnaroo, Matt released an acoustic EP titled "Backstage at Bonnaroo and Other Acoustic Performances" in September 2008. Understanding that many of his fans know him as an acoustic artist, Matt wanted to offer them a taste of what they love – songs performed with just his guitar and piano to accompany his remarkable voice. “I come from a family where music is played at every large gathering, where people sway in their seats to the melody, and sing along to old familiar songs,” explains Matt. “That will always be a part of who I am - a part of my music. My full-length record will have much more musical texture to offer listeners, but I never forget where all my songs started: just a guitar or a piano in my living room.” During the fall of 2008, Matt opened for Joan Osborne on her “Little Wild One” tour. Matt’s powerful voice and stage presence won over critics and positive reviews for his performances began to pour in. The Boston Globe said Matt possessed "a mesmerizing vocal gift," and the Portland Tribune raved that Matt was a “head-turning master of soul-pop." Joan invited Matt on stage to perform a duet of Jump Little Children’s hit “Cathedrals,” which brought down the house night after night. In 2009, Matt’s star continues to rise. Matt just completed a West Coast tour opening for folk legends, the Indigo Girls. Again, Matt became a fan favorite, earning standing ovations and calls for encores. Audiences were thrilled when Amy Ray and Emily Saliers invited Matt back on stage to lend harmonies and vocals for “Closer to Fine” and “Heartache for Everyone.” Matt also made waves with recent appearances at the San Francisco Music Technology Summit and at South by Southwest. Currently, Matt is adding the final touches to his highly anticipated full length release "The Un-American LP." Sexton, who produced albums for Lucinda Williams and who has toured with legends like Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton, joined forces with Justin Timberlake to create a record that Tennman Records president Ken Komisar calls, “just unbelievable.” Along with a few guest surprises, Matt has made an album that will have something for everyone. Says Timberlake, “Matt is kind of like Ray LaMontagne meets Elton John meets Stevie Wonder meets Rufus Wainwright... It's time for the birth of the hybrid artist." "Backstage at Bonnaroo and Other Acoustic Performances" is available on iTunes, Amazon.com and anywhere you purchase your favorite music online. Look for "The Un-American LP" in the fall of 2009.

Jypsi

Performing on October 2, 2009

Originally from upstate Illinois, the four prodigiously talented siblings in Jypsi may be the freshest phenomenon to spring “out” of Nashville since Texas transplants the Dixie Chicks took mainstream country music by storm 11 years ago. Like the Dixie Chicks before them, Jypsi’s sound is rooted in traditional bluegrass and buoyed by gorgeous harmonies, pop-friendly hooks and top-notch instrumental chops. Lead singer Lillie Mae Rische brings the lion’s share of the vocal firepower, but sisters Amber-Dawn (fiddle) and Scarlett (mandolin) and brother Frank (guitar) all chime in, too. Jypsi’s self-titled debut was released last May by Arista Nashville. Highlights include the single “I Don’t Love You Like That” and the spirited bluegrass instrumental, “Kandi Kitchen.”

Phoenix

Performing on October 2, 2009

The French band Phoenix didn’t exactly arise from ashes, but it did ascend through Air. The synth-pop-rockers — Laurent Brancowitz, Christian Mazzalai, Thomas Mars and Deck d’Arcy — started out as a garage band, released a single on their own Ghettoblaster label, signed to Source Records and began backing labelmates Air, with whom they did a remix on that famed French outfit’s “Kelly Watch the Stars.” Phoenix’s first single, “Heatwave,” preceded the 2000 release of United. Their latest, this May’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, features the songs “1901” and “Lisztomania,” both of which the band performed on Saturday Night Live in April. Phoenix tracks have appeared in a couple of films directed by Sofia Coppola; silky-voiced lead singer Mars is the father of her child.

Reckless Kelly

Performing on October 2, 2009

Though they’re honored by the recognition, Reckless Kelly might have preferred winning something besides Best Country Band at this year’s Austin Music Awards. Something like Best Live Band — their Lone Star Music Award win — works nicely. That’s because they’re hardly country; certainly not in the Nashville-approved sense, anyway. Brothers Cody and Willy Braun and their Austin-based band of merry men have described themselves as a rock band with a fiddle, which also works. But 2008’s Bulletproof, hailed as their best yet, hit No. 22 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart, thanks to hook-filled songs like “Ragged as the Road” and “A Guy Like Me,” or the political statement of “American Blood” and the personal reflection of the title tune. More than just a country band that rocks or a country-leaning rock band — or, for that matter, a good-time party band — Reckless Kelly is a band of substance. And that fits any genre.

Poi Dog Pondering

Performing on October 2, 2009

Poi Dog Pondering is the love child of singer-songwriter Frank Orrall, who first cast his musical net in Hawaii in 1986. After marching across fields, streets and streams performing their almost mystical blend of atmospheric otherworld music, the ever-expanding troupe eventually came to settle in Austin, where they first captured the public eye in 1987. Three Columbia albums — PdP, Wishing Like a Mountain, Thinking Like the Sea and Volo Volo — made the band a franchise. In 1992, Poi Dog Pondering relocated to Chicago, where the band remains a vibrant part of that city’s fertile music scene (the band was recently named Best Rock/Pop Act in the Chicago Reader’s 2009 readers’ poll). Orrall and Co. released Poi Dog’s seventh studio album — simply titled 7 — last year. The Austin American-Statesman called the rock and soul collection “the best album Poi Dog Pondering has yet made.” A new, five-song EP is due later this year.

School of Seven Bells

Performing on October 2, 2009

Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3

Performing on October 2, 2009

Robyn Hitchcock has gone through so many permutations in his career, and collaborated with so many characters, one never knows where he might turn up next. The only safe assumption is that his output will most likely fit descriptions including the words “jangly guitar,” “folk-pop” and “off-the-wall.” His clever , often surreal lyrical whimsies first gained widespread notice in the Soft Boys, followed by a stint alternating between solo projects and his band, Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians, that brought forth albums such as Queen Elvis, Perspex Island, Moss Elixir and Storefront Hitchcock, the soundtrack to the 1998 Jonathan Demme-directed film of the same title. (Notable songs from that era include “So You Think You’re In Love,” “Balloon Man” and “Madonna and the Wasps.”) In 2007, he was the subject of a second documentary, John Edginton’s Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death … and Insects, which coincided with the release of a live EP with the Venus 3 — R.E.M.’s Peter Buck on guitar, auxiliary R.E.M.’er and Minus 5 member Scott McCaughey on bass and Ministry’s Bill Rieflin on drums. His first full album with the Venus 3 was 2006’s Olé! Tarantula; earlier this year, Hitchock, Buck, McCaughey and Rieflin teamed up again for Goodnight Oslo.

Sara Watkins

Performing on October 2, 2009

What’s a young bluegrass star with pop inclinations to do? In the case of Sara Watkins, singer and fiddler in the immensely popular crossover group Nickel Creek, you call in your friends. Watkins’ lovely self-titled solo debut is graced with guest turns by not only her Nickel Creek bandmates Chris Thile and Sean Watkins (her brother), but also Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, keyboardist Benmount Tench (of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers), pedal steel ace Greg Leisz and Elvis Costello drummer Pete Thomas — not to mention some producer by the name of John Paul Jones (yeah, the Led Zeppelin guy, who also played with Watkins in the Mutual Admiration Society). Throw in smartly chosen covers by Norman Blake, John Hartford, Jon Brion and Tom Waits, and you’ve got the perfect showcase for Watkins’ crystalline vocals and sizzling fiddle leads. She may have been the last member of Nickel Creek to take a solo dip, but she’s off to an ultra-assured and beautiful start.

Prescott Curlywolf

Performing on October 2, 2009

Sarah Siskind

Performing on October 2, 2009

Singer-songwriter Sarah Siskind may be, as the Nashville Scene notes, “one of the best and most arresting voices in Nashville’s Americana and pop community,” but her music is hardly a regional secret. Alison Krauss’ recording of Siskind’s song “Simple Love” was nominated for a Grammy, and Siskind also wrote Krauss’ hit single, “Goodbye is All We Have.” She’s played onstage and recorded with Irish legend Paul Brady, toured Europe with indie-rock buzz act Bon Iver (which has also performed Siskind’s “Lovin’s for Fools” at many a concert), and been called “utterly captivating” by Performing Songwriter. Born in North Carolina to bluegrass-playing parents, she started recording songs at age 14 and has been finessing her songwriting and performance chops ever since, developing a distinct sound combining elements of Appalachian, Celtic and progressive folk with rock, pop and gospel. Her sixth and latest album, the self-produced Say It Louder, was released this year.

Nelo

Performing on October 2, 2009

With a mellow, noodle-dance-friendly vibe and stellar instrumental chops, the Austin sextet Nelo would fit nicely into the jam-band pigeonhole if only they weren’t so handy at writing such insistently catchy pop songs. Blame band founder and acoustic guitarist Matt Ragland, who began honing his songwriting chops in his teens and waited years for all the right pieces of his dream band to fall into place. He didn’t have to look far. Ragland, electric guitarist Stephen Goodson and drummer Chris Hill all played together in high school while growing up in Dallas, and Ragland attended summer camp with singer Reid Umstattd from third grade all the way through college. They all came together as Nelo (with new friends Mike St. Clair on bass and David Long on sax) in 2002, and three years later left Texas for Athens, Ga., where they quickly built up an enthusiastic following. They moved back to Texas in 2007 at the urging of producer, studio owner and Willie Nelson’s nephew Freddy Fletcher, who produced Nelo’s self-titled 2008 debut.

Palm School/Barton Hills Choir

Performing on October 2, 2009

The Palm School/Barton Hills Choir was founded by former Palm Elementary School music teacher and choir director Gavin Tabone in 2003. For the past 7 years they have been known as simply the Palm School Choir but with Tabone's move next year to Barton Hills Elementary School, they've changed their name to the Palm School/Barton Hills Choir. Made up of 5th and 6th grade Austin Independent School District children and accompanied by local rock musicians, the choir has released 6 CDS featuring musicians who have performed with Lions, Polyphonic Spree, Spoon, Low Line Caller, Michael Clay Band, Rockland Eagles and many more. The choir has shared the stage with Lyle Lovett, Ruben Ramos, and Neil Young. They have been featured on the Today Show, KUT's Eklektikos, the Austin American-Statesman, and many other news outlets. They have performed at South by Southwest and regularly travel throughout Texas playing gigs. This year will be the fourth time the choir has performed at the Austin City Limits Music Festival and their performance will include arrangements of Flaming Lips, Wilco, and Beatles tunes as well as some of Tabone's original songs.

Stoosh

Performing on October 2, 2009

Stoosh is a new teen band made up of former members of the Loose Cannons, a band that’s played all over Austin for years. We play fast-paced classic rock, blues, funk and surf. We mostly cover famous songs but we're starting to write our own! Stoosh made their performance debut at the 2009 Austin City Limits festival. Daniel Klasson (lead vocals and rhythm guitar) and Sammy Ivester (lead guitar) were founding members of the Loose Cannons and have been in a band together for six years. Ross Blake (Bass Guitar and backup vocals) is the youngest band member but has rocked out with the other members continuously for years. Stoosh is rounded off by the talented British drummer Harrison Richards.

Paul Green's School of Rock All Stars

Performing on October 2, 2009

Telephone Company

Performing on October 2, 2009

The Decemberists

Performing on October 2, 2009

The Decemberists make arena rock for people who might have role-playing games stashed away in the closet. Frontman Colin Meloy hasn’t met a four- and five-syllable word he can’t rhyme to another four- or five-syllable word as he sings 21st century narrative folk songs with an edgy indie-rock undercurrent. His Portland band matches his picaresque lyrical aspirations with a baroque sort of music — featuring accordions, cellos, Wurlitzers, bouzoukis and hurdy-gurdies — that sometimes suggests sea chanteys, other times old English murder ballads. It would all sound a little precious were it not for the delivery, which has enough punky thrust to sell it to music venues rather than coffee shops. Much ado was made of the band’s jump from an independent label to a major, but The Crane Wife, released in 2006, found the Decemberists being daring but unchanged in their approach. The Hazards of Love boasts a few moments of rock bombast without freezing out the band’s singular approach to making music.

STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9)

Performing on October 2, 2009

Formed in Georgia but based in Northern California since the turn of the century, STS9 (short for Sound Tribe Sector 9) is one of the most innovative acts to ever be associated — accurately or not — with the jam band genre. As befits any band with that tag, the quintet thrives on live performance and puts a heavy emphasis on collective improvisation, but STS9’s mélange of acoustic and electronic instrumentation — with elements of dub, drum ’n’ bass, hip-hop, funk and avant-garde jazz — separates the group from the solo-heavy, overblown jam bands of old. Veterans of Lollapalooza 2005 and 2007, STS9 released their latest studio album, Peaceblaster, last year.

The Airborne Toxic Event

Performing on October 2, 2009

At a time when hit songs have lyrics like, “if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it,” the Airborne Toxic Event’s lead singer Mikel Jollett distinguishes himself from the common pop tune with his delicate and calculated songcraft. Just give the single “Sometime Around Midnight” a listen, where the emotive troubadour describes a heartbreaking encounter with an ex-girlfriend. Jollett turned to the pen while slaving through a series of rough times in Los Angeles. Initially planning to write a novel, he quickly found himself crafting an album instead. After collaborating with drummer Daren Taylor, Jollett asked bassist Noah Harmon, keyboardist and violist Anna Bulbrook and guitarist and keyboardist Steven Chen to join the project. Not all of their songs play off that romantic sensibility, though — their repertoire offers just as much pop-rock punch and catchy hooks as rich storytelling.

Sam Roberts Band

Performing on October 2, 2009

Singer/songwriter/violinist-turned-guitarist Sam Roberts is one of those guys who seems like he came from out of nowhere overnight, but this roots-rocker’s career actually built slowly in his native Canada. It started with a band named William, later called Northstar. After they broke up, Roberts recorded Brother Down, followed by the EP, The Inhuman Condition. A slow starter, it finally caught on after a re-release; the singles “Brother Down” and “Don’t Walk Away Eileen” wound up turning into huge hits in 2002 and made the album the best-selling independent release in Canadian history. Roberts’ major-label debut, We Were Born in a Flame, dropped in mid-2003, followed by Chemical City in 2006. His 2008 disc, Love at the End of the World, debuted at No. 1 on the Canadian album chart. To date, Roberts — who’s been likened to “a young Bruce Springsteen in both sound and swagger” — has racked up six Juno awards (Canada’s equivalent of the Grammys).

Papa Mali

Performing on October 2, 2009

From his days with the Killer Bees to his solo debut with 2000’s storming Thunder Chicken and his rise as a producer helming the widely acclaimed The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster, Malcolm “Papa Mali” Welbourne has established himself as quite possibly the most ferociously funky guitarist and swamp-rock savant between South Austin and the Big Easy. A native of Mississippi who grew up in Shreveport, La., Mali describes his most recent album, 2007’s Do Your Thing, as “the audio equivalent of a warm mudbath on Jupiter,” which is at once both right on the money and deceptive: both Mali and his music may be “out there,” but there’s nothing at all spacey about this dreadlocked artist’s deep and dirty earthy grooves.

Sarah Jaffe

Performing on October 2, 2009

Although she’s still in her early 20s, Sarah Jaffe is well on her way to becoming the next big thing out Texas. Her 2008 EP, last summer’s intensely intimate Even Born Again, was the toast of Denton’s thriving independent music scene, and she cleaned up at the 2008 Dallas Observer Music Awards, winning Best Folk/Acoustic Act, Best Female Vocalist and Best Solo Act. John Congleton (the Polyphonic Spree, Explosions in the Sky) produced Jaffe’s EP and is currently working with the singer-songwriter on her full-length debut.

River City Christianettes

Performing on October 2, 2009

Quinn Sullivan

Performing on October 2, 2009

“Ordinary” is not a word one would associate with 10-year-old Quinn Sullivan. The guitarist, singer, songwriter and recording artist from the Boston area already has a resume people much older than him would envy. He has been amazing people with his guitar playing since the young age of three and when Quinn was six, he caught the attention of the Ellen Degeneres Show and was flown out to Los Angeles to be a guest. Since then, Quinn has made an appearance on the Oprah show and has shared the stage with blues legends Buddy Guy and B.B. King and has played at such illustrious venues as The Beacon Theater in New York City, the Orpheum Theater in Boston and Guy’s Chicago club Buddy Guy’s Legends (where Derek Trucks made his first appearance at the age of 13). Performing on the Legends stage isn’t all Trucks and Quinn have in common. Quinn — like Trucks and along with Susan Tedeschi, Robert Randolph and Eric Clapton — was asked to appear on Guy’s GRAMMY®-nominated CD Skin Deep, released in 2008. Quinn can be heard showing off his guitar skills in a solo on the track “Who’s Gonna Fill Those Shoes”. Quinn has recently been working in the studio recording new material with producer/songwriter Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy, Susan Tedeschi, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Johnny Winter). Hambridge has talked about Quinn’s professionalism in the studio. “I completely forgot how young he was.” He continues, “We’ve recorded some amazing songs. I cannot wait for the world to be turned on to this kid… he’s going to be a big star.” The journey continues for Quinn this summer, when he goes on tour in cities around the country. When Quinn isn’t playing the guitar with music legends or hanging out with celebrities, he’s practicing his drumming skills, playing baseball with friends and watching scary movies. He’s also got dreams of “playing for people and meeting more of my heroes including Eric Clapton, David Gilmore, Carlos Santana… and maybe someday meet Paul McCartney.” So what does the young prodigy think of his extraordinary talents? “I definitely consider myself a regular kid,” says Quinn. “Who can also play guitar.”

Secret Agent 23 Skidoo

Performing on October 2, 2009

By combining the world of infectious beats and rhymes that he grew up on with the magical realm of childhood, He aims to introduce kids to hip hop without compromising either one. His debut album, “Easy”, mixes traditional funk, bluegrass, reggae and blues with classic golden age hip hop beats. Then, he tops it off with positive, party rocking rhymes, and a slew of exciting characters from the last dragon left on earth to the bluegrasshopper. Entertainment and education strike a perfect balance in this story filled party album, making it a pamper shaking good time. Kids of all ages, (even the adult type) have been spotted nodding their heads to its sophisticated musicality. Secret Agent 23 Skidoo had spent over a decade touring nationally in a live hip hop band, and half that time as a Dad, when he realized a need for hip hop both kids and parents could relate to. After traveling the wide world learning life lessons and having a mindbogglingly good time, he was full to the brim with stories and music. With a home base in Asheville, NC, the Southeast’s worst kept secret, he enlisted the help of the local music scene’s top players. Together, they went to town on 13 tracks of ground breaking goodness. Since it’s release, “Easy” has rocked crowds both at live shows and on the radio waves, with the song “Luck” rocketing to #1 on XMKids. 23 Skidoo shows no signs of slowing down. Spending his time on stage and back in the studio, spreading the music like pollen, hich is the whole point anyhow.and making sure his daughter, which is the whole point anyhow.

Ralph's World

Performing on October 2, 2009

Ralph’s World is the mega-fun musical planet shining in the Disney Universe, where kids rock rock rock and dance dance dance to their own and their parents’ delight. It’s the creation of Ralph Covert: indie rocker, songwriter, playwright, and children’s book author. He’s taken the same high-energy and super-melodic sense that he developed for his touring pop-rock band to kid’s music- basically only the lyrics are changed for the ears of the innocent.  His McCartneyesque style (both musically and his sense of charm) has won him hundreds of thousands of three-feet-and-under fans and their parents. His first all-new studio CD for Disney Sound, The Rhyming Circus, was released in May 2008.  With seven currently-available compact discs of Ralph’s World music (Ralph’s World, At the Bottom of the Sea,, Happy Lemons, Peggy’s Pie Parlor, The Amazing Adventures of Kid Astro, the Grammy-nominated Green Gorilla, Monster & Me, and the Disney Sound CD/DVD debut, Welcome To Ralph’s World), and the award-winning Say Hello DVD  (Parenting Magazine's 2003 Video of the Year), the Chicago-based artist was noted by The New York Times in a front page story of the Arts section thusly: “It is possible that Mr. Covert will turn out to be (the) genre's Elvis Presley, or at the very least its Elvis Costello.”

Pearl Jam

Performing on October 2, 2009

At first considered the pariahs of Seattle’s grunge scene because songs like “Alive,” “Even Flow” and “Jeremy,” though dark and often disturbing, sounded great in arenas and helped sell millions of albums, Pearl Jam proved to be the standard-bearers for a genre formed as a reaction to rock-star excess and rooted in the ideal of not selling out. Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard and Mike McCready earned respect by refusing to make videos for years, by capping ticket prices and by eventually boycotting Ticketmaster and taking the behemoth agency to court (nearly killing the band’s career in the process). Fiercely political, they’ve also supported too many causes to list (Vote for Change, reproductive choice and Habitat for Humanity, to name a few), covered songs by their heroes and paid proper homage when they could, recording, for instance, with “Godfather of Grunge” Neil Young. Preferring to give fans high-quality versions of their performances rather than letting sub-par bootlegs suffice, they released copies of every concert from their Binaural tour — 72 in all, and still offer recordings of concerts deemed worthy. Back with longtime producer Brendan O’Brien, Pearl Jam is recording its ninth studio album. In March, it released a commemorative edition of its debut album, Ten, marking the first in a series of re-releases in advance of the band’s 20th anniversary in 2011. Among their more notable side projects was Vedder’s first solo album, the soundtrack for director Sean Penn’s 2007 film, Into the Wild.

The Dead Weather

Performing on October 2, 2009

Let’s not even try to ignore the elephant (pun intended) in the room. The Dead Weather is the latest adventure of one Jack White: White Stripe, Raconteur, Grammy-winning producer, guitar hero and hands down one of the busiest artists in music today. But in the Dead Weather, he’s happy just banging the drums, leaving most of the singing to Alison Mosshart and the guitars to Dean Fertita. Given that Mosshart also sings in the Kills, Fertita shreds with Queens of the Stone Age and bassist Jack Lawrence is also White’s bandmate in the Raconteurs, the word “supergroup” is perhaps inevitable, but this is no ego trip or casual side project (though in typical White fashion, it all came together at lightning speed). The Dead Weather made its debut in March at a concert celebrating the opening of the Nashville headquarters of White’s Third Man Records label, which will release the band’s debut, Horehound, on June 9. Judging by the first single, “Hang You From the Heavens” (backed with a cover of Gary Numan’s “Are Friends Electric?”), the forecast on the Dead Weather calls for searing, blues- and psychedelia-infused goth rock. And like everything else White has a hand in these days, it’s bound to be huge.

Sonic Youth

Performing on October 2, 2009

Half of Sonic Youth’s name doesn’t really apply anymore, as three of its four members are in their 50s. But a youthful disregard for convention remains in the greatest art rock band this country has produced. If guitarist/singer Thurston Moore, bassist/singer Kim Gordon, guitarist/singer Lee Ranaldo and drummer Steve Shelley had quit before 1990’s Goo, they’d still be regarded as the quintessential bridge between the avant-garde and the mainstream for a trilogy of essential rock albums: Evol, Sister and Daydream Nation. And although Sonic Youth has never conceded its blunt approach to making feedback-soaked, melody-light rock, the band has never been impenetrable: You only have to scratch the surface of its fearsome noise to reveal soft spots for the likes of the Ramones and the Carpenters. Over the years, major publications have inevitably called the band’s latest album of the year “a return to form.” But whether it’s 2002’s post-apocalyptic Murray Street or the stripped down Rather Ripped from 2006, the band rarely takes the easy route. This year’s The Eternal is the band’s first independent release in 20 years, but all that really matters is that it’s a new Sonic Youth album — meaning it’s smart and punky, arty and strange. And if that all sounds brainy, the band remains a slayer on stage.

The B-52s

Performing on October 2, 2009

“Rock Lobster,” “Planet Claire,” “Private Idaho” — who turned Athens, Ga., into a dance-crazy party scene as the ’70s segued into the MTV ’80s? It wasn’t R.E.M. It was the impossibly high-haired chicks and retro-geeky guys in the B-52’s, so named because of those beehive bomber ’dos worn by singers Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson. They made up for their lack of early musical finesse with campiness and an unhinged sense of humor, and turned out nonsensical, surf-meets-new-wave rave-ups that were all about fun. (The book, Party Out of Bounds, is named after a cut on their Wild Planet album.) Until Cindy’s brother, guitarist Ricky Wilson, died of AIDS in 1985, that is. The girls and bandmates Fred Schneider and Keith Strickland eventually bounced back with 1989’s Cosmic Thing, which gave them their biggest hits, “Love Shack” and “Roam.” It was followed by Good Stuff in 1992, and then it took 16 years for them to release their next studio album, 2008’s Funplex. But they’ve kept their touring chops sharp, and they’ll still “Dance This Mess Around” like nobody’s business.

Passion Pit

Performing on October 2, 2009

In lieu of a box of chocolates, Michael Angelakos recorded an EP of sunny, playfully eclectic electronica tunes for his girlfriend as a belated Valentine’s gift. We can only assume she loved it, because soon Angelakos was passing the same record around to friends and, next thing he knew, Chunk of Change was released by New York’s Frenchkiss Records, and Passion Pit was born. The video for the EP’s “Sleepyhead” was named one of the Top 40 music videos of 2008 by Pitchfork, and anticipation is high for the Cambridge, Mass.’-based Passion Pit’s full-length debut, Manners, due May 18. Live, Angelakos reproduces his one-man keyboard and samples symphonies with a full band comprising Ian Hultquist, Ayad Al Adhamy, Jeff Apruzzese and Nate Donmoyer.

Raul Malo

Performing on October 2, 2009

Raul Malo so enraptured fans as the frontman for ’90s country band the Mavericks, his departure was a crushing blow. That is, at least until he released his first solo album, 2001’s Today. As he followed it with 2004’s The Nashville Acoustic Sessions, 2006’s You’re Only Lonely, 2007’s After Hours and this year’s Lucky One, Malo convinced listeners that his skills range so far and wide, he can master almost any genre with ease. Whether he’s embracing the schmaltz of old standards, the rhythms of his parents’ native Cuba (he was born in Miami) or channeling Roy Orbison or Merle Haggard, he makes the musical equivalent of velvet: smooth, rich, sensual, and oh, so lovely. The guy could give Pavarotti a run for his money, but he’s more at home covering Doug Sahm with Los Super 7 (on Heard It on the X). Don’t be surprised if you bump into him on South Congress; he’s particularly fond of Austin and reportedly is a regular at a certain hotel next to Jo’s Coffee. You know, the one immortalized in that Mavericks song.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Performing on October 2, 2009

“Preservation Hall — Now that’s where you’ll find all of the greats.” So declared the mighty Louis Armstrong, praising the hallowed performance center opened in New Orleans in 1961. As its house band, Preservation Hall is dedicated to both the preservation and extension of the traditional New Orleans sound — a mission carried out not only at the historic venue in the French Quarter, but around the world. Featuring a revolving, generation-spanning line-up of talented players, Preservation Hall has been touring since 1963, performing everywhere from Carnegie Hall to in front of British royalty and even the king of Thailand. In 2003, the ensemble was honored with a National Medal of Arts Award.

State Radio

Performing on October 2, 2009

Prior to forming State Radio, singer-songwriter/guitarist Chad Stokes Urmston was a founding member of the phenomenally successful indie-roots band Dispatch. That Vermont-formed trio had a remarkable six-year run, culminating in a 2004 farewell gig in Boston that drew 110,000 fans. Three years later, a reunited Dispatch sold out three nights at Madison Square Garden for a Zimbabwe benefit concert. By then, though, Urmston was already off and running with State Radio, which since 2002 has distinguished itself as one of the most politically outspoken American music acts since Rage Against the Machine — if not Woody Guthrie. The trio (rounded out by bassist Chuck Fay and drummer Mike Najarian) plays an engaging mix of rock, folk, punk and reggae, but the main agenda here is a pronounced emphasis on social and political activism. If ’60s protest singer Phil Ochs were alive today, it’s a good bet he’d be tuned in to State Radio’s frequency.

Rodriguez

Performing on October 2, 2009

The mysterious Rodriguez is a living, breathing rock ’n’ roll fairy tale. Born in 1942 in Detroit, Mich., Sixto Diaz Rodriguez released his debut album, Cold Fact, in 1970, followed by Coming From Reality in 1972. Both albums showcased a psychedelic folk-rocker (not unlike Arthur Lee of Love) taking a cold, hard look at the realities of American life in the aftermath of the Summer of Love — particularly the plight of the inner-city poor. Both albums stiffed, though, and Rodriguez moved on, giving up music seemingly for good — completely unaware that on the opposite side of the world, in places like South Africa and Australia, Cold Fact became a multi-platinum success. He did emerge from retirement briefly in 1979 and 1981 for a pair of short tours of Australia, then disappeared again until a South African journalist found him working construction in Detroit in 1996. Shortly thereafter, Rodriguez was playing for the biggest crowds of his life on an incredibly successful comeback tour of Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban and Pretoria, documented in the documentary Dead Men Don’t Tour: Rodriguez in South Africa 1998. A few years later, the world-famous DJ David Holmes included the Cold Fact track “Sugar Man” on his 2002 compilation album Come Get It, I Got It. Both of Rodriguez’s long lost (domestically, at least) albums were reissued by Light in the Attic Records in the last year, sparking his first ever tour in his native America.

Rebirth Brass Band

Performing on October 2, 2009

The Rebirth Brass Band rose from the streets of New Orleans in the early ’80s to international renown with a mix of the brass-band tradition and a refreshingly modern sensibility. The Rebirth Brass Band mastered the traditional jazz sound of their hometown and then melded it with funk, R&B and, most recently, hip-hop. As capable with spirituals and rags as it is with brass-band boogie, Rebirth is a regular highlight of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — and a popular recurring favorite here at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, too. As always, the Rebirth Brass Band promises to get the party started Crescent City-style and then take listeners on a stirring ride through traditions old and new.

Terri Hendrix

Performing on October 2, 2009

“Own your own universe” is more than just a line Terri Hendrix adopted from her song “Wallet” to use as her personal mantra: it’s the closest anyone’s ever gotten to summing up the full scope (and spirit) of her music. Born in San Antonio and based in San Marcos, she’s one of the most successful wholly independent artists in America, and the 10 albums she’s released since 1997 stray gleefully all over the genre map. From folk to pop to country to blues to jazz, she’s done it all — often over the span of a single album and sometimes within a single song. The only common thread is her honeyed voice, deft musicianship (on guitar, mandolin and harmonica) and a heartfelt sincerity that shines through her lyrics, be they playful, spiritual or sharpened with pointed social and political commentary. In addition to her own deep catalog (featuring 2007’s acclaimed The Spiritual Kind and last year’s Left Over Alls, an eclectic collection of studio outtakes and new recordings released to mark the 10-year anniversary of her own Wilory Records label), Hendrix’s songs have been covered by fellow Austin-area favorites Ruthie Foster and Carolyn Wonderland; she also co-wrote the Dixie Chicks’ Grammy-winning instrumental, “Lil’ Jack Slade” (off of 2002’s Home).

Suckers

Performing on October 2, 2009

Brooklyn-based pop band the Suckers claim to be on a mission “to break musical barriers and cultivate something new while maintaining a classic pop accessibility.” There’s a lofty goal, but one they easily achieve on their self-titled debut EP, produced by Yeasayer’s Anand Wilder and released in April. The Suckers are more a merger of solo acts than a meticulously organized collective; multi-instrumentalists/singers Quinn Walker, Austin Fisher and Pan got together and eventually were joined by drummer/keyboardist Brian Aiken. Yes, they’re eccentric, and even though their song “It Gets Your Body Movin’” might have been more aptly titled “It Gets Your Body Swayin’,” there’s something that’ll suck you in, nonetheless.

Sons of Bill

Performing on October 2, 2009

It starts with the music. A sound that’s all too familiar, yet somehow resists an easy definition. Too edgy for Nashville, but too earnest for New York. Drawing comparisons to artists ranging from George Jones to the Gin Blossoms – Gram Parsons to Guns and Roses – Sons of Bill have been called “equal parts raucous and reflective.” A sound which is revolutionary only in its simplicity. It starts with the music because it started with the music. Bill Wilson’s three eldest sons grew up listening to him fingerpick old country tunes around the house. They learned to sing harmony at family holidays and inherited old guitars with their hand-me-down jeans. The past two decades sent James, Sam and Abe in disparate musical directions: teenage heavy metal fests, old-time barn dances, college bars and New York City jazz clubs. But in 2005 the brothers all returned – one from a cattle ranch in Nevada, one from an apartment in Brooklyn, one from Grad school in Maryland – and for the first time in their lives they began to make music together. With the addition of long-time friends Seth Green and Brian Caputo, Bill’s sons became Sons of Bill. With a live show known to evolve from acoustic ballads into sweaty stage-dives, Sons of Bill has gained a loyal fan base from Florida to NYC, sharing the stage with acts ranging from Robert Randolph to Robert Earl Keen. After selling their self-released debut album A Far Cry from Freedom by the thousands, SOB flew to California in late 2008 to record a much anticipated follow up. Tracked live in just 10 days with legendary producer Jim Scott (Wilco, Tom Petty, Whiskeytown) One Town Away is as honest and straightforward as records get. 12 songs about the struggles and hopes of human life, played by five guys from central Virginia, raised on traditional country music with an unabashed love for Rock n’ Roll. With the album out on June 23rd, 2009, Sons of Bill are back on road, pressing hot copies of it on masses of unsuspecting concert-goers. We hope you’ll be one of them.

Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band

Performing on October 2, 2009

Hailing from rural Indiana, Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band plays acoustic country blues (think Son House and Charley Patton) with an understated but undeniable punk kick. Finger-picking guitarist Reverend Peyton, his washboard-rubbing wife, Breezy, and drumming brother, Jayme, have played more than 250 shows a year since selling some 5,000 copies of their debut demo CD, The Pork ’n’ Beans Collection, out of the back of their van a little more than three years ago. They’ve since recorded three more albums full of hootenanny-worthy roots jams: Big Damn Nation, The Gospel Album EP and the new The Whole Fam Damnily, featuring songs like “Walmart Killed the Country Store” and “Your Cousin’s on Cops” that are even more fun than their titles suggest.

Q Brothers

Performing on October 2, 2009

The Q Brothers are GQ and JQ. They both started in the off-broadway smash hit, "The Bomb-itty of Errors." G and three of his friends adapted Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors into modern rhyme and J made the beats. G played more than four characters in the play and J was the live DJ. G's been on the silver screen in a number of movies, including "Drumline", "What's The Worst That Could Happen", and the forthcoming "Rescue Dawn" starring Christian Bale and directed by Werner Herzog. The twosome also wrote and starred in their own hip-hop/sketch comedy TV show for MTV, along with other Bomb-itty guys. It was called "Scratch and Burn", and it has become somewhat of a cult classic to young people everywhere. During this time, G worked on a movie script and Showtime gave him the money to shoot the film "Just Another Story", written and directed by and starring himself. J, his trusty sidekick, once again held down the audio end of things, providing the score and the original soundtrack for the film. It was featured in the Tribeca Film Festival and the Hamptons Film Festival, has aired on Showtime, and is widely available on DVD. G has also had prominent roles on Boston Public and co-starred in Johnny Zero, another Fox one-hour drama. J has produced the Grommits album "Smashing" and a solo hip hop album entitled "Foul Mouth Poet" under his moniker J.A.Q. He toured the country extensively with The Grommits for much of 2004. He is now the lead singer of Them Vs. Them, a new rock band out of Chicago. The Brothers came together once again for "The Feel Good Album Of The Year", a serious departure from everything that's been going on in hip hop (and music, for that matter) right now. There is only one rule: It has to be fun. Remember when hip hop was fun? Well, it's back. Crossing heavily into jazz, rock, R&B, and electronica, The Q Brothers shatter any one category or box and in turn give birth to a brand new category-- FEEL GOOD MUSIC! Enjoy...it's difficult not to.

Thievery Corporation

Performing on October 2, 2009

Recording in their Washington DC based studio, Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, better known as the international production and DJ duo Thievery Corporation, have released their fifth studio album, Radio Retaliation, through their independent music label ESL Music. The 15-track opus features the duo collaborating with a roster of International all-stars to create the strongest statement yet from Thievery Corporation. “Apart from a few independent bastions, there is no musical or informational freedom on the US airwaves anymore. The traditional public commons have been sold to the highest corporate bidders. Music is suffering and society is suffering too. Radio Retaliation is about an exodus of conscious people who are willing to acknowledge something is wrong with the ‘official version’ in news and culture. Therefore, we need to create our own channels," explains Hilton. The tone of the album underscores the freedom of expression that only independent outlets can provide in a society dominated by corporate sponsors and agendas. Garza and Hilton have long positioned themselves as fiercely independent voices within the music industry, successfully building their label over the past decade through continued belief that great music will find its audience – with or without US commercial radio assistance. “Unfortunately our daily experiences via mediated radio, print and televised programming are primarily the results of hype, propaganda, and calls to consume. From fake wars, fake celebrities, a fake political system - Rob and I checked out of it long ago,” Hilton says. “It’s more important to do something we truly believe in and let people experience it uncensored and real.” Washington DC has long been home to a music subculture legendary for strong, independent artists, a staunch do-it-yourself work ethic, and conscientious social activism. This was especially exemplified by genre-defining pioneers like indie punk rockers Bad Brains, Minor Threat and Fugazi. Likewise, although some may lazily pin Thievery Corporation as the soundtrack to their cocktail infused late night soiree, the duo have always drawn deep from the well of independent and confrontational music subculture their home town is known for, to produce an ever expanding globally conscious catalogue of music that is difficult to classify. Starting in 1996 with two international underground hit vinyl singles “Shaolin Satellite” and “2001 Spliff Odyssey,” released on ESL Music, Garza and Hilton soon released Sounds from The Thievery Hi-Fi; an album that defined a genre and crystallized their distinct “outernational sound” aesthetic. Over the next decade the duo would remix the likes of David Byrne, The Doors, and Sarah McLachlan, and record three more critically acclaimed albums of original material, each one transcending the last in scope, style, and message: The Mirror Conspiracy (2000), The Richest Man in Babylon (2002), and The Cosmic Game (2005). “This record is also our most internationally oriented,” adds Garza, describing how Radio Retaliation touches upon the eclectic sounds of Jamaica, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. “The roots of our inspiration have always come from what is happening globally, and at the moment there is so much that demands the attention of all of us.” With Radio Retaliation Thievery Corporation raise the bar with a new cast of musical collaborators including Nigeria’s afro-beat heir Femi Kuti, Brazilian star vocalist and guitarist Seu Jorge, Indian sitar virtuoso Anushka Shankar, Slovakian chanteuse and violinist Jana Andevska, and Washington DC’s own go-go originator Chuck Brown. Also returning are long time microphone co-conspirators Sleepy Wonder, Lou Lou, Notch, Zee, and Verny Varela. A defining element of Thievery Corporation’s sound has always been its decidedly organic quality and this is clearly evident in the rich productions of Radio Retaliation and recent live tour dates. Despite their minimal beginnings, Garza and Hilton have adopted a growing cast of collaborators over the years, vital musicians and vocalists who contribute to a dynamic 15 member live band. Playing sold out venues and festivals worldwide, Thievery Corporation dazzle thousands of music fans every year with their kaleidoscopic live show. With the help of long time partners, the UN World Food Programme, Thievery Corporation also aim to provoke conscientious thought among their audience. Garza explains, “We definitely want to contribute to the opening of ears, eyes, and minds. With our live shows it’s a poignant example of music and culture mixing together in an explosive vibrant way. To see a Persian singer singing in Farsi, as America debates on a war with Iran, next to other band members from all corners of the earth singing in Spanish, Portuguese, French and so on, it makes people wonder . . . and if you can get people to question the things around them, just a little, then that’s not such a bad thing.”

The Walkmen

Performing on October 2, 2009

New York City’s Jonathan Fire*Eater may have gone down in flames shortly after the release of the band’s ultra-hyped major-label debut in 1997, but organist Walter Martin, guitarist Paul Maroon and drummer Matt Barrick rose from the ashes and lived to rock another day — and with considerably more success. Rebirth came after a fortuitous teaming with singer Hamilton Leithauser (Martin’s cousin) and bassist Peter Bauer, who had just emerged from the breakup of the Boston garage rock band the Recoys. The newly formed Walkmen debuted to encouraging reviews with 2002’s Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone, but it was the follow-up, 2004’s Bows & Arrows, that catapulted the band into the big time with the radio hit “The Rat.” Two years later, the Walkmen returned with both A Hundred Miles Off and Pussy Cats, the later an off-the-cuff, song-by-song remake of Harry Nilsson’s brilliantly ramshackle, John-Lennon-produced 1974 album of the same name. The band’s most recent release was last year’s You & Me, which The Guardian hailed as “intimate, intense and beautiful.”

The Knux

Performing on October 2, 2009

The Knux is among the most exciting ensembles working in hip-hop today. Nebbish brothers Krispy Kream and Rah Al Millio are Hurricane Katrina evacuees who landed in Los Angeles, where they set roots and made a masterful debut in Remind Me in 3 Days. The duo bypasses the genre’s more base lyrical inclinations — money, parties, women — for a musical approach to the genre that features creative use of instrumentation and electronics, particularly a savvy use of slinky ’70s-sounding guitar lines as on “Fire (Put It in the Air),” with an OutKast-ready chorus and a delightfully geeky little synth solo.

Todd Snider

Performing on October 2, 2009

From the moment Todd Snider delivered 1994’s Songs from the Daily Planet, he’s dazzled us with his witty socio-political commentaries and all around coolness. When he stands barefoot onstage with an acoustic guitar, elucidating in his slow, stoner-daze manner, it’s like listening to a laconic comedian (or, as he, too, was once known, “the next Bob Dylan”). But his unerring aim might just as easily pierce your heart as your funnybone; he’ll crack you up with a song like “Ballad of the Kingsmen” and follow it up with a total tearjerker about a pitiful lost soul — which just might be autobiographical. Snider spent his formative career years in Texas; he’s a member of San Marcos’ Cheatham Street Warehouse songwriting alum society, to which he paid homage on 2007’s Peace, Love and Anarchy. His new, Don Was-produced album, The Excitement Plan, contains an ode inspired by the no-hitter Pittsburgh Pirates player Doc Ellis pitched on LSD. Both speak volumes about this “Alright Guy.”

Walter "Wolfman" Washington

Performing on October 2, 2009

With the deep and mesmerizing magic his hometown of New Orleans is known for, as well as the trademark Crescent City knack for cooking up sizzling amalgams of roots music styles, guitarist and singer Walter “Wolfman” Washington prowls the greater realms of the blues and beyond with a predator’s skill for the musical kill zone. After years of backing up legends Lee Dorsey, Irma Thomas and Johnny Adams, Washington stepped out on his own in his late 30s. Since then, his French Quarter big-band gumbo of blues, soul, funk and jazz has gotten the good times rolling across both North America and Europe. None other than Dr. John calls Washington’s 2008 set, Doin’ the Funky Thing, “crucialchronic FUNK at its best!”

The Greencards

Performing on October 2, 2009

Famed Texas songwriter Robert Earl Keen once called the Greencards’ music “the best bluegrass I’ve heard in 20 years.” High praise, sure, and probably right on the money at the time; but it’s been a while since this Austin-formed, Nashville-based trio played anything resembling straight-up bluegrass (or even “newgrass”). The acoustic picking and vocal chops are still as impeccable as they were when the Greencards won Best New Band at the 2004 Austin Music Awards and Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2006 Americana Music Awards (and scored a Grammy nomination in 2007 for Best Country Instrumental). But as demonstrated by the eclectic new avenues explored on this year’s Fascination (the band’s fourth album and first for Sugar Hill), the Greencards now have more than a little gypsy in their souls. But of course, they’ve always been travelers: fiddler Eamon McLoughlin is from England, and mandolin player Kym Warner and bassist/standout lead vocalist Carol Young both hail from Australia. At least the band name still fits.

The Wood Brothers

Performing on October 2, 2009

Despite having grown up together, and both having grown up to be professional musicians, Oliver and Chris Wood somehow never got around to making a record together until 2006’s Ways Not to Lose. And even that might never have happened had the Woods not rediscovered the fun of jamming together when their respective “other” bands — Atlanta blues outfit King Johnson for Oliver and the New York-based eclectic jazz trio Medeski Martin & Wood for Chris — shared a double bill one night. At any rate, better late than never. Together, the Wood Brothers perform a soulful hybrid of gospel-tinged country and acoustic blues. National Public Radio named Ways Not to Lose one of its top 10 discoveries of 2006, and 2008’s Loaded was just as rewarding. Both albums, incidentally, were produced by Chris’ MM&W bandmate, John Medeski.

The Parlor Mob

Performing on October 2, 2009

The Parlor Mob is a quintet from New Jersey that cranks out raw and raucous rock ’n’ roll — the kind that sounds just as righteous blasting out of a car stereo as anything by the White Stripes or Led Zeppelin (in no small part due to frontman Mark Melicia’s uncannily Robert-Plantesque wail). The band first gained notoriety in its hometown of Red Bank, N.J. under the name What About Frank?, and even released a self-titled album during that period. But things really started rolling following the name change to the Parlor Mob (after a 19th-century gang of New York hoodlums) in 2006; an initial major-label deal with Capitol fell through, but by 2007 the band was signed to Roadrunner Records and working on its hard rocking debut (as Parlor Mob), 2008’s And You Were a Crow.

The Low Anthem

Performing on October 2, 2009

In February, Providence, R.I., trio the Low Anthem was touted as “one of the hottest unsigned bands on the East Coast.” But not anymore: Nonesuch Records snapped the band up soon after, securing a summer re-release of the Low Anthem’s already highly lauded second album, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin (originally released late last year). Utilizing everything from acoustic and electric guitar to banjo, pump organ, trumpet and clarinet, Ben Miller, Jocie Adams and Jeffrey Prystowsky specialize in haunting Americana and what Miller has described as “secular spirituals.” As England’s Mojo observes, “Theirs is a gloriously romantic vision of America that sits somewhere between Dylan and Waits.”

The Gospel Silvertones

Performing on October 2, 2009

The Levon Helm Band

Performing on October 2, 2009

If there could be such a thing as royalty in the oh-so-democratic realm of Americana music, Levon Helm would certainly have a throne of his own. As drummer and frequent vocalist for the Band, which almost single-handedly put the “roots” into rock by merging country, blues, bluegrass, folk and even a little funk, his place in rock history is chiseled in granite. But Helm didn’t rest on his laurels after the Band’s infamous demise. After fighting back from a nearly fatal bout of throat cancer, he started hosting intimate Midnight Ramble concerts in a converted-barn studio at his home in Woodstock, N.Y. (the same town where the Band’s Music from Big Pink was recorded). The shows have become legendary; artists from Allen Toussaint to Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris and even Austin’s Pinetop Perkins have trekked to his bucolic digs for you-had-to-be-there jam sessions. Helm eventually became strong enough to make his first solo album in 25 years, 2007’s Dirt Farmer. It earned him a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album, and in 2008, he was named the Americana Music Association’s Artist of the Year. Helm, who ranked no. 91 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, is scheduled to release his second album this June.

The Scabs

Performing on October 2, 2009

The Scabs are not only one of the tightest, funkiest R&B revues ever to heat up the stage at Antone’s, Austin’s fabled home of the blues, they’re also undoubtedly the raunchiest. Frontman Bob Schneider — a man who really needs no introduction in the Live Music Capital of the World — allows no opportunity for sexual innuendo, double-entendre or outright ribaldry to go unfulfilled. The result is a riotous dance-party vibe that’ll have you laughing out loud and rolling your eyes while shaking your booty. Keep the kids away from this band, or make sure their ears are well-plugged! But don’t miss ’em; they will rock you. Schneider just took home the latest of 30 Austin Music Awards in March: Best Male Vocals; Band of the Year, for his more refined project, Lonelyland; and Best Bluegrass, for his Texas Bluegrass Massacre. Clearly, the dude’s got a lot of musical irons in the fire, and all of them are intriguing on different levels. But when it comes to Bob’s wild side, the Scabs are unbeatable.

The Raveonettes

Performing on October 2, 2009

Seeing as how they recruited none other than Richard Gottehrer, songwriter of the immortal “I Want Candy” (and producer of the debut albums by Blondie and the Go-Go’s), to produce their own 2003 full-length debut, Chain Gang of Love, Denmark’s the Raveonettes invite comparison to another candy giant: the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. But the proverbial chocolate and peanut butter here is not the duo of Sharin Foo and Sune Rose Wagner (though they do go great together); rather, its their genius melding of the giddy, early rock ’n’ roll innocence of Buddy Holly and the Ronettes with the searing, distortion-drenched noise rock of the Velvet Underground at its most prickly and the Jesus & Mary Chain at its loudest. The fuzz-laden, hooky Chain Gang of Love delivered fully on the thrilling promise of the Raveonettes’ 2002 Whip It On EP, while 2005’s Pretty in Black scaled back on the noise in favor of an understated but wickedly cool, noirish pop vibe. Foo and Wagner returned louder than ever with last year’s Lust Lust Lust, though, delivering what Slant hailed as a “sleazy pop masterpiece.” Rave on, indeed.

The Felice Brothers

Performing on October 2, 2009

“You won’t find more American music than that of the Felice Brothers,” proclaims the New York Daily News. “With their wheezing accordions, broken-down pianos, flinty acoustic guitars and creaky vocals, the brothers capture the history — and mystery — of rural America.” And it’s utterly authentic, too; Felice brothers Simone, Ian and James (and longtime friends Christmas Clapton and Greg Farley) grew up in the wilds of New York’s Catskill Mountains. They wanted to see the rest of the world, though, so they moved to the big city and began playing their rootsy, haunted Americana on the streets and subways of NYC. Their days of busking were short-lived, as it wasn’t long before they were off and running on a professional recording career that has produced four critically acclaimed albums in as many years: 2006’s Through These Reins and Gone, 2007’s Tonight at the Arizona, 2008’s The Felice Brothers and this year’s Yonder is the Clock.

Zac Brown Band

Performing on October 2, 2009

Georgia’s the Zac Brown Band seemed to come out of nowhere when it topped the Billboard Hot Country Chart with “Chicken Fried,” the lead single off of 2008’s The Foundation. But this is no overnight success story. Singer-songwriter Zac Brown and Co. spent years developing a grassroots following through relentless touring and independent releases like 2004’s Far from Einstyne, 2005’s Home Grown and 2007’s Live from the Rock Bus Tour. So by the time Atlantic Records swept in and helped put The Foundation over the top, the Zac Brown Band was more than ready for the mainstream spotlight. And country fans aren’t the only ones invited to this chicken-fried feast; jam-band enthusiasts and Southern-rock hounds will find plenty of stick-to-your-ribs hot licks to savor here, too.

The Virgins

Performing on October 2, 2009

Despite the naiveté associated with their name, these New York dance rockers are anything but innocent. With songs describing cocaine brunches and teen lovers, the Virgins are dirty, funky and clearly well-versed in the NYC clubbing scene. The Virgins are the brainchild of lead singer Donald Cumming who, during his modeling days, met guitarist Wade Oates while on a shoot in Mexico. The band then came to fruition with the addition of bassist Nick Zarin-Ackerman and drummer Erik Ratensperger. Last year’s self-titled debut delivers songs that bridge late ’70s new wave fervor with modern indie rock, giving kids something hip enough for the dance clubs but catchy enough for radio sing-alongs.

The Henry Clay People

Performing on October 2, 2009

The members of the Glendale, Calif., power-pop/punk quartet the Henry Clay People (named after a failed 19th century presidential candidate) have described their sound as “concise, sloppy, fun, spirited rock ’n’ roll music.” Sometimes bands are lousy at summing themselves up, but that nails it. So does the list of artists frequently name-dropped by the band as key influences, including the Replacements, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Neil Young and Pavement. The Henry Clay People, anchored by brothers Joey and Andy Siara, have released three albums to date: Birdman & the Squid, Blacklist the Kid with the Red Moustache and, most recently, the excellent For Cheap or For Free. But as good as the records are, the band’s live shows are even better. Not for nothing did the blog Web in Front enthuse, after one exceptionally fervid HCP gig opening for the Airborne Toxic Event, “…Henry Clay is probably the best live act in Los Angeles.”

The Soul Stirrers

Performing on October 2, 2009

Name a group besides the Legendary Soul Stirrers that has lasted more than seven decades in the music business. Not so easy, is it? Beginning in the 1930s, Chicago’s Soul Stirrers helped redefine the gospel-quartet sound, with innovative arrangements and dramatic, shifting vocals. A number of its lead singers went on to solo careers, most notably Johnnie Taylor and the great Sam Cooke; meanwhile, Willie Rogers has filled the lead role since the ’60s. The group saw no reason to start resting on its laurels back in ’89, when it was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Dexateens

Performing on October 2, 2009

Although the band formed in Tuscaloosa, Ala., 11 years ago, the Dexateens’ self-titled debut (produced by Texas’ own Tim Kerr) didn’t surface until 2004. Not surprisingly, the five-year interim provided plenty of time for principals Elliott McPherson and John Smith (both on vocals/guitars) and bassist Matt Patton to get their act together, resulting in a record that managed to convey both the unhinged, punk-rock abandon of their live shows and an undeniable sense of hook-conscious songcraft — kind of like a Southern-fried Ramones. The Southern rock tendencies became more pronounced on the following year’s Red Dust Rising, and by the time Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers got around to co-producing 2007’s Hardware Healing, the Dexateens were pretty full-bore alt-country, like a grittier Jayhawks; harmonies and acoustic laments proved a new focal point, though the band could still turn satisfyingly raucous on a dime. In 2008, the Dexateens served up the brash, loose-rocking, Lost and Found album as a free download on their Web site, which was followed by this May’s Singlewide.

Toadies

Performing on October 2, 2009

It’s been 15 years since the Toadies exploded out of North Texas (Fort Worth, to be exact) and onto the national rock scene with their ferocious full-length debut, Rubberneck, and its breakthrough single, “Possum Kingdom.” But although the band initially called it quits after the follow-up album, 2001’s Hell Below/Stars Above, it’s almost like they never really went away. “Possum Kingdom” proved to be one of the most enduring modern rock radio staples of the ’90s, and frontman Vaden Todd Lewis’ patented bloodcurdling scream was put to good use for years in his new band, the Burden Brothers. Still, fans kept clamoring for a proper Toadies comeback, and after a handful of on-again, off-again reunion gigs, Lewis, guitarist Clark Vogeler and drummer Mark Reznicek finally made it official by recording a brand new album, last year’s ferocious No Deliverance.

White Lies

Performing on October 2, 2009

West London trio White Lies hasn’t been around for long, but Harry McVeigh (vocals/guitar), Charles Cave (bass) and Jack Lawrence-Brown (drums) already have considerable stage experience under their belts. Prior to launching White Lies, the boys got off to a promising start under the name Fear of Flying. The name change came just in time, because they’re now cleared for take off with enough UK buzz behind them to launch them into the stratosphere. And they’ve got exactly the kind of epic, cinematic sound — likened to such models as U2, Echo & the Bunnymen, Joy Division and pre-Fisherman’s Blues Waterboys — that can keep them airborne.

The Dodos

Performing on October 2, 2009

San Francisco’s the Dodos originated as a one-man-band project (called Dodobird) by singer/guitarist Meric Long, who augmented his acoustic, country-blues guitar picking with loops and ambient keyboards and recorded a solo EP, 2005’s Dodo Bird. But he became intrigued with the idea of adding drums to the mix — or, more specifically, West African Ewe drumming. Curiously, he found exactly what he was looking for in the form of prog-metal drummer Logan Kroeber. Dodobird thus became the Dodos, and the newly formed duo debuted with 2006’s Beware of the Maniacs and followed it with last year’s much-lauded Visiter. Among the rave reviews for the record was Entertainment Weekly’s, which called Visiter “cerebral twisted folk that’s as wistful as it is strident.”

The Durdens

Performing on October 2, 2009

The Durdens, Judy, Larry, Christy, Debra, Sharon, Antuon, Anthony and Albert III, have been touring and performing together for twenty-seven years that really shines on the stage, in their songwriting, and in their recordings. Their dynamic musicianship and captivating songs have led the band to be voted “Best” Gospel talent in Austin and the Central Texas region. Promoting their second CD, God Sent Me An Angel, the Durdens have shared the stage with national artist, The Gospel Keynotes, Carnell Morrell, Canton Spirituals and other national artist. The Durdens have toured to various distances promoting the Word of God in California, Louisiana, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, and Oklahoma. The “God Sent Me An Angel” CD is currently receiving airplay throughout the country, i.e., Georgia, Maryland, Illinois, Texas, Virginia, Alabama and more. With New Day, the Durdens compose a unique element of traditional, pop culture, rock and contemporary gospel music that provides each song with shape and substance from real life experiences. This makes their CD a definite for all.

Vince Mira

Performing on October 2, 2009

Vince Mira sounds like Johnny Cash reincarnated. So maybe it was inevitable that his first release, the EP Cash Cabin Sessions, was produced by John Carter Cash, and recorded at the Nashville studio built by John’s late father. But Mira, born in L.A. and partly raised in San Antonio, wasn’t discovered in Texas or Nashville. He was busking in Seattle when a club owner heard that unmistakable baritone emanating from a kid barely out of puberty. (Mira’s parents had moved their eight kids there a couple of years earlier). Local media jumped on the bandwagon, and so did Good Morning America, Ellen DeGeneres and other tastemakers. Dubbed “Juanny Cash” because of his Latino heritage, Mira is writing songs and working on establishing his own identity. But for now, he’s happy to pay homage to his hero. (FYI, he discovered Johnny through Social Distortion. His older brothers were fans, and SI did a version of “Ring of Fire.”)