After the sun set and people started to drink at the festival shows, things got a little weird. From other musicians jumping on stage to trapeze artists, we just didn't know what to expect as the night went on. Whatever it was, we had a great time despite the craziness (or maybe because of it). more ›

Tonight is a show full of bands that have been working their asses off in the Seattle music scene for years, but seem to have just begun hitting their stride. BOAT has been together since around 2005 and they've been in and out of the Seattle limelight over the last six years. We have been a fan of the band since their show a couple years ago at the Vera Project, when they headlined following a performance by Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground. You can imagine the two bands have very different audience,s and that night the concertgoers were about ninety-five percent Kay Kay fans. That just left more BOAT for the rest of us to enjoy, even when lead singer David Crane nearly tripped over the Christmas lights he wrapped around himself for funsies. Their 2010 Bumbershoot performance in the EMP shoved them back into the media spotlight as they played a killer show that impressed several Seattle music blogs. It seems they've earned a decent following in the city that has maintained throughout their six years of existence. It's time they were kicked up a notch and hopefully this show will start the ascent. more ›

SHAKE, RATTLE & HANG 10: The three-day Shake the Shack Rockabilly Ball begins tonight with Surf Nite at The Tractor. The Ball, presented by KEXP, is in its 23rd year and 2010 starts off with four groups that keep the waves rolling and sun shining. Remember this summer? Yeah, us neither. But we remember a summer, and that's all we need to bask in the joy that is surf rock. Seattle bands The Mercury Four and King of Hawaii join San Francisco's Frankie & The Pool Boys and Souther California's Slacktones. Vocals? We don't need no stinking vocals. We got surf rock. Three day passes are only $30. Buy tickets individually and they're $18. more ›

As we reported on Friday, JBM played the Tractor with AA Bondy and Joseph Giant. As predicted, Jesse B. Marchant, who goes by his initials on stage, won over the crowd with his signature ambient folk-tinged tunes. While in town, Marchant was kind enough to answer some questions about his life as a songwriter and touring musician. more ›

JBM plays the type of music that sounds deceptively simple on first listen. It's only with repeat listens when the subtle, dare we say, "brilliance" shines through. Though he's only been writing lyrics to his compositions for the past several years, Jesse B. Marchant's songwriting soars with a quiet confidence that other more famous peers only dream of after a lifetime of practice. Marchant, who goes by his initials on stage, is a classically trained guitarist whose vocal style brings to mind a cross between Jose Gonzales, Jim James and at times James Taylor. more ›

Following the dissolution of the much-beloved purveyors of indie trumpet rock, his well-documented kidney problems and complications around shoulder surgery left him laid up in bed off and on for the past six years. He’s since recovered, fallen in love, gotten married, converted to Buddhism, moved up to the Pacific Northwest and recorded a beautifully rich, complex and deeply personal solo album. In advance of his show tonight at the Tractor, we were able to spend some time chatting with Miles about the success and struggles of his life since Beulah, the current state of this country’s civility and of course, his new, highly-anticipated album The Desert of Shallow Effects. more ›

We've got a pair of tickets to Monday night's Justin Townes Earle show at the Tractor. The son of Steve Earle, Justin Townes Earle plays country for folks who live in the city: more ›

NICK LICATA'S AFTERNOON DELIGHT: The City Council's Nick Licata wants to save the P-I this afternoon. KOMO puts it bluntly [UPDATE: and wrongly, says Licata's office--Licata wants simply to discuss newspapers formed as an L3C (low-profit, limited liability corporation).]: "Licata's plan: convince the city to intervene by putting up its own money to keep in print the oldest newspaper in town." He's convened a Superfriends panel--Roger Simpson and Douglas Underwood, Professors of Communication from the University of Washington; attorney Anne Bremner, Co-Chair of the Committee for a Two Newspaper Town; Beth Hester, programming manager for Seattle Channel; Liz Brown of the PacNW Newspaper Guild; David Brewster, publisher of Crosscut; and Jennifer Towery, President of the Peoria Newspaper’s Guild--to help him. Unfortunately he's made one huge mistake--most people are at work at 2 p.m. If you're near a TV, tune in to Seattle Channel 21, or you can watch the live webcast. more ›

It's hard to believe, but the Dandy Warhols' sixth studio full-length (and the first on their own label) Earth To The Dandy Warhols will be out this August. The tongue-in-cheek Portland alt-rock band plays the Showbox SoDo tonight. Not sure if it would be a better or worse show if longtime frenemies Brian Jonestown Massacre crashed the gig. more ›

Last weekend was dead, so of course this weekend there's approximately one bajillion bands playing. We've already mentioned Kaki King, Dengue Fever, and Born Ruffians, so here's the other weekend shows of interest: more ›

Things are pretty dead, what with all the local music folk in Austin. Here's your limited options: more ›

Last summer (ah, summer!) we drove down to Portland for their annual Pickathon Roots Music Festival, where we found ourselves exposed to all manner of folkies from Portland and beyond. One of the bands that stole the weekend for us was from Indiana, of all godforsaken places. On Saturday night, Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band played a show in the barn that seriously blew our mind. Joined by Seattleite Jason Webley, they just played a flat-out barn burner of a show. more ›