Somehow we haven't heard of it before, but the second annual Rifflandia Music Festival in lovely Victoria, BC this September 24-27 announced its full lineup today: "Confirmed artists include such acclaimed Canadian acts as Tegan and Sara, Final Fantasy, Buck 65, Holy Fuck, Pink Mountaintops, The Most Serene Republic, Cuff The Duke, Basia Bulat, Timber Timbre, Mother Mother, Woodpigeon, Zeus and 2009 Polaris Music Prize short list nominee, Hey Rosetta!, international acts such as Beach House (USA) and An Horse (Australia), along with DJ sets by K-OS as well as Brendan Canning of Broken Social Scene." Lineup and schedule here; festival wristbands are going for $62.50, plus fees. more ›

As if there's not enough going on in our neck of the woods, there's a couple upcoming music fests in Portland too. July 24-26 is the sixth annual PDX Pop Now!, a free, all-ages fest set to include Portland-centric performers Menomena, Shaky Hands, Thrones, the Mint Chicks, Laura Gibson, and many more. Yet another reason to head south (if you can handle the attitude) is Musicfest NW, scheduled for September 16-19. The lineup, announced today, includes Sunny Day Real Estate (as part of their month-long jaunt), Girl Talk, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Mudhoney, and more. Ticket information here. more ›

Earlier this morning, this year's version of the Decibel Festival site went live, cementing that 2009's edition is indeed a go after some early concerns over finances. To go along with the site release, they've also announced the first portion of the festival lineup, and it's already looking like another promising year. more ›

It's not hyperbole to say that Broken Social Scene is one of the best bands making music today; if anything, it's an underestimation to refer to them as a mere "band." Instead, they're a Toronto-based collective of musicians with prodigious output, both together and separately, with related bands including Feist, Stars, Metric, Apostle of Hustle, and Do Make Say Think. Since their 2005 self-titled release, Broken Social Scene hasn't made any new albums as a band, but have instead released solo efforts with full band support. The latest in the Broken Social Scene Presents... series is from BSS bassist Brendan Canning. We spoke with him last week in advance of the Broken Social Scene show tonight at the Showbox SoDo, where you can expect to hear his songs, as well as those from the band proper. Sorry suckers, it's sold out. more ›

After seeing the recently announced lineups for Coachella and Bonnaroo, one thing was pretty clear: both lineups are strong, but altogether there's only a couple Seattle bands playing at either fest. more ›

Summer's music festivals are essentially over, but that hasn't stopped the cruel marketing geniuses at Taco Bell (the ones who banished the adorable "Yo Quiero Taco Bell" chihuahua) from trying to sell more Mexiwraps and cinnamon twists. Taco Bell has just launched its own cheesy promotion, Feed The Beast. No, sorry, that's a typo. Should be Feed The Beat. That's better. "Winning" bands get $500 in late-night meal vouchers, what the TB folks call the FourthMeal. The whole thing smells like a stale ripoff of Denny's All-Nighter, which at least coughed up some sponsorship bucks for Sasquatch this year. Arf! Back in the box, Gidget. more ›

MSN has listed 15 of the best cities and festivals for music lovers, citing Bumbershoot as the reason they clocked Seattle in at the number two spot. more ›