2011 New Years Shows in DC

Still looking for a good music spot on New Years? Here's a few we have found in the MyJoog directory. which includes some heavy hitters such as Little Feat, The Drive-By Truckers, Booker T & the MG's, and The Seldom Scene.

Ocean Street - The Bayou DC Washington, DC:

Mercury Rising - Dogfish Head Alehouse Fairfax, VA:

The Rebels - JV's Restaurant Falls Church, VA:

The Blackjacks - The Light Horse Alexandria, VA:

Flow in the Dark - Tortoise & Hare Bar and Grille Arlington, VA:

5th Annual Rocknoceros New Years Eve Party - Jammin' Java Vienna, VA:

Ted Garber - Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard Dickerson, MD:

First Night Leesburg - Tally Ho Theatre Leesburg, VA:

The Seldom Scene - New Years Eve! - The Birchmere Alexandria, VA:

Little Feat - The Fillmore Silver Spring Silver Spring, MD:

The Drive-By Truckers / Booker T - Nightclub 9:30 Washington, DC:

RPM - IOTA Club Arlington, VA:

New Years Eve with Jammboxx - Lion & Bull Haymarket, VA:

Unruly Blues Band - New Deal Cafe Greenbelt, MD:

Shane Gamble - The Old Brogue Great Falls, VA:

Big Boy Little - The Zoo Bar Washington, DC:

The Blues Buckets - 219 Basin Street Lounge Alexandria, VA:

The Nameless Few - Ri Ra Arlington Arlington, VA:

Juniper Lane - McGinty’s Public House Silver Spring, MD:

Back to Zero - Whitlow's On Wilson Arlington, VA:

An Acoustic Café evening hosted by Carrie Rodriguez

The “an Acoustic Café evening,” the prestigious touring series returns for a third consecutive year hosted by Austin-based singer-songwriter & multi-instrumentalist Carrie Rodriguez. Joining Carrie each night are “The Phantom Monk Of Folk- Blues” Kelly Joe Phelps, fellow tour veteran, Northampton lit/pop darling and multi-instrumentalist Erin McKeown (through January 30th) and poet-songwriter Pieta Brown (January 31st onward).

"The 4 artists on this year's tour are all at the height of their respective creative powers!” notes Rob Reinhart, producer and host of the syndicated radio program Acoustic Café. “This should be a fun, dynamic and unpredictable tour.”

The Riverfront Times notes of a 2011 performance (featuring Rodriguez, McKeown and Mary Gauthier), “The Acoustic Café Tour is smartly arranged as a study in post-Lilith Fair, singer-songwriter contrasts… If you're looking for a night of dainty songbirds in polished folkie cages disappointment is certain — this trio has sharper, shrewder songs to share."

Host Carrie Rodriguez’s most recent releases, Love & Circumstance (2010) and We Still Love Our Country w/Ben Kyle (2011) are primarily cover collections that highlight her vocal and interpretive skills.  But Rodriguez has become more well known as a burgeoning singer-songwriter in her own right behind the strength of her first two solo releases, She Ain’t Me (CRS - 2008), and Seven Angel’s On A Bicycle (Trainwreck - 2007) & a world-class instrumentalist based on her recorded work and her touring with Alejandro Escovedo (2008-2010) and as part of the “an Acoustic Café evening” tours (2010 & 2011). "Rodriquez has that rare ability to make her songs work completely, where the scope of instrumentation is equal to the lyrics and melody.  It is that special innate gift as well as her obvious love of a perfectly attuned and deeply personal song that makes for such a compelling and revelatory listen.”

- Direct Current

A newcomer to the tour, Kelly Joe Phelps is no stranger to the road. He has been described as, “The Phantom Monk Of Folk- Blues,” and rightly so. Over the past 17 years of recording and touring, Phelps has been talked about as much for his passionate, spirit-driven, lone musical ways as for the inventiveness of his playing and singing. He uses the blues as a pallet, his songs as literally a canvas – each performance is an original improvisation. He’ll fit in perfectly in the “an Acoustic Café evening setting.  “Phelps speaks directly to your soul. If that isn’t the stuff of legends, I don’t know what is.” - Popmatters

Erin McKeown has been touring nationally for over a decade and has sold well over 100,000 records. She has put out 2 albums on Signature Sounds, 3 on Nettwerk, and her most recent studio effort came via Righteous Babe Records.  Erin has very strong non-com AAA following and is a press darling - she has countless musician fans too - including Dave Mathews, Mike Doughty, Ani Difranco, Andrew Bird, and Josh Ritter. In addition to her active tour schedule and side projects, she'll have a new record of original songs dropping in 2012.  She just released an anti-holiday collection of songs entitled, f*ck that.
 

Pieta Brown is a striking poet-songwriter with a haunting voice and an unmistakable style. Her beautiful new record on Red House entitled, Mercury, is currently number 1 on the folk radio chart.  Her unique blend of alt-country, folk, blues and indie-rock speaks to music fans around the world and has garnered rave reviews from the likes of the BBC and The Boston Globe, as well as a variety of hip music blogs and indie radio stations. Even her own musical hero Iris DeMent is a fan, saying she is “the best poet I’ve heard in a long damn time.”  She was out supporting dates this fall for Richard Thompson, Amos Lee and Greg Brown.

ABOUT ACOUSTIC CAFÉ:

Acoustic Café is a two hour weekly radio show, and an independent media production of RDR Radio, LLC. The program is produced and hosted by Rob Reinhart who started the show in 1995. Each week, listeners around the globe tune in to Acoustic Café to hear the latest from today’s great songwriting talents. 2010 marked some changes for Acoustic Cafe with the addition of the “an Acoustic Cafe Evening” tour" (returning in 2011), "Acoustic Cafe Live @ Top Of The Park," a summer series with The Ann Arbor Summer Festival and promotion of the 34th Annual Ann Arbor Folk Festival, a fundraiser for The Ark. More information about Acoustic Cafe can be found at Acafe.com or on Facebook.

The “an Acoustic Café evening” tour performs in the following cities this year:

January 24*     ANN ARBOR, MI                The Ark

January 25*     CINCINNATI, OH               MOTR Pub

January 26*     LOUISVILLE, KY                Uncle Slayton’s

January 27*     NELSONVILLE, OH            Stuart’s Opera House

January 28*     LEXINGTON, KY                Natasha’s Bistro

January 29*     CLEVELAND, OH               Night town

January 31^    CEDAR RAPIDS, IA           CSPS

February 1^     CHAMPAIGN, IL               Hi Dive

February 2^     CHICAGO, IL                   Old Town School of Folk

February 3^     MILWAUKEE, WI              Turner Hall/WUWM presents…

February 4^     MINNEAPOLIS, MN           Dakota

* dates with Erin McKeown, Carrie Rodriguez, and Kelly Joe Phelps

^ dates with Pieta Brown, Carrie Rodriguez, and Kelly Joe Phelps

Black Box Revelation - The Next Generation Rocks

Regular readers probably tire of our griping about the lack of authentic rock music - which at times arises again with some garage rock or jam bands. The Black Keys and The Drive-By Truckers are two that we generally migrate to and let me add a third, the Belgium - yes Belgium - based Black Box Revelation. Their publicist sent me a sample not too long ago and immediately took to this duo. There's a ton of music that's emitted by two players and their EP "Shiver of Joy" is awesome - from the title track to DbT-ish Sealed With Thorns. Their sound seems a blend of our two favorites and they youngsters have obviously studied the masters of the sixties and seventies. And I say youngsters, 22-year-old Jan Paternoster is just eligible to participate in MyJoogTV whereas his mate, 20-year-old Dries Van Dijck, can't legally indulge in the U.S.. Which may explain why their current American tour is so short. There are only a few dates left in the DC and NY for this weekend.  If you want to rock - check out Black Box Revelation

MyJoogTV Episode 12: Donna the Buffalo with Cirrus Vodka

Check out MyJoogTV's latest episode which features Donna the Buffalo paired with Cirrus Vodka - a potato vodka distilled in Richmond Virginia. The episode concludes with a live song from the night's performance at the Rams Head Onstage.

MyJoogTV Episode 12: Donna the Buffalo with Cirrus Vodka

Noam Pikelny (Punch Brothers) & Friends Tour

Next week we are pumped to see members of some of our favorite bands performing under the just started Noam & Friends Tour.  The tour is in support of Pikelny's latest CD, Beat The Devil and Carry A Rail - Noam Pikelny, which features Tim O'Brien, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Chris Eldridge, & Mark Schatz. However the tour consists of Pikelny and fellow The Punch Brothers band mates Gabe Witcher and Chris Eldridge, Jesse Cobb from  The Infamous Stringdusters, and Aoife O’Donovan, of Crooked Still.  On Sunday December 11th, I plan on being at IOTA Club, in Arlington Virginia, to see these talented musicians. Here's the tour information to see if/when they are performing at your local music venue.

Noam Pikelny & Friends - The Station Inn Nashville, TN: Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Noam Pikelny & Friends - Barking Legs Theater Chattanooga, TN: Thursday, December 08, 2011
Noam Pikelny & Friends - Smith's Olde Bar Atlanta, GA: Friday, December 09, 2011
Noam Pikelny & Friends - The Evening Muse Charlotte, NC: Monday, December 10, 2011
Noam Pikelny & Friends - IOTA Club Arlington, VA: Sunday, December 11, 2011
Noam Pikelny & Friends - One Longfellow Square Portland, ME: Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Noam Pikelny & Friends - Brighton Music Hall Allston, MA: Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Noam Pikelny & Friends - Rockwood Music Hall New York, NY: Thursday, December 15, 2011
Noam Pikelny & Friends - Schubas Chicago, IL: Saturday, December 17, 2011 @ 8:00 PM

MyJoog Events for December 2011

Here is our MyJoog calendar for December 2011 - hoping to film some MyJoogTV episodes with Donna the Buffalo and Steep Canyon Rangers at  Rams Head Onstage.

Donna the Buffalo - "The Sun" Music Hall Floyd, VA: Friday, December 02, 2011     Sierra Hull and Highway 111 - Reston Community Center Reston, VA: Friday, December 02, 2011     The David Mayfield Parade w. Boom Chick - Rams Head Onstage Annapolis, MD: Friday, December 02, 2011     Steep Canyon Rangers - Rams Head Onstage Annapolis, MD: Saturday, December 03, 2011     Donna the Buffalo - "The Sun" Music Hall Floyd, VA: Saturday, December 03, 2011     Ralph Stanley II - Lucketts Community Center Leesburg, VA: Saturday, December 03, 2011     Larry Keel & Natural Bridge - The Southern Café and Music Hall Charlottesville, VA: Saturday, December 03, 2011     Holy Ghost Tent Revival - Cafe Nola Frederick, MD: Saturday, December 03, 2011     Mike Bowers - Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard Dickerson, MD: Sunday, December 04, 2011     Donna the Buffalo - Rams Head Onstage Annapolis, MD: Sunday, December 04, 2011     Black Box Revelation - Nightclub 9:30 Washington, DC: Thursday, December 08, 2011     Scythian - Nightclub 9:30 Washington, DC: Friday, December 09, 2011     Graham Colton (full band!) + Steve Moakler - Jammin' Java Vienna, VA: Friday, December 09, 2011     Honor by August - IOTA Club Arlington, VA: Friday, December 09, 2011     Honor by August - IOTA Club Arlington, VA: Saturday, December 10, 2011     Band of Horses - Nightclub 9:30 Washington, DC: Sunday, December 11, 2011     Noam Pikelny (of Punch Brothers) W/ TIM O'BRIEN AND Aoife O'Donovan - IOTA Club Arlington, VA: Sunday, December 11, 2011     JAMES WILSON of Sons of Bill - IOTA Club Arlington, VA: Thursday, December 15, 2011     Bill Kirchen’s Honkey Tonk Holiday Show - Jammin' Java Vienna, VA: Friday, December 16, 2011     Last Train Home w/ The Defibulators - IOTA Club Arlington, VA: Saturday, December 17, 2011     Up the Chain - Bulls and Bears Pub Hagerstown, MD: Saturday, December 17, 2011     Sons of Bill - Jefferson Theater Charlottesville, VA: Friday, December 23, 2011     Drive-By Truckers / Lucero - Nightclub 9:30 Washington, DC: Thursday, December 29, 2011     The Drive-By Truckers - Nightclub 9:30 Washington, DC: Friday, December 30, 2011     The Damnwells - IOTA Club Arlington, VA: Friday, December 30, 2011     The Drive-By Truckers / Booker T - Nightclub 9:30 Washington, DC: Saturday, December 31, 2011     First Night Leesburg - Tally Ho Theatre Leesburg, VA: Saturday, December 31, 2011     Little Feat - The Fillmore Silver Spring Silver Spring, MD: Saturday, December 31, 2011     The Infamous Stringdusters - Jefferson Theater Charlottesville, VA: Saturday, December 31, 2011

Carolann Ames takes us down Laurel Canyon Road

This week we received the latest from Carolann Ames (Laurel Canyon Road) and probably like many of you, wasn't very familiar with the artist. After a few listens it quickly becomes evident that she was sweet vocals plus very polished backing musicians. Love the fiddle, particularly in "Back to Santa Rosa"; the bluegrass sound of "Sugar Creek"; and its so true that "Everybody's Somebody in a Honky Tonk". The CD won't be released until January 2012 - but keep an eye out for this one. One month earlier and it would have been a perfect stocking stuffer.

Sherman Theater & Railroad Earth present the 1st annual HORN-O-PLENTY GETAWAY

Looking for something to do Thanksgiving Weekend to avoid overcrowded highways and shopping malls? Head out to northeastern Pennsylvania (Stroudsburg) for the 1st annual Horn-O-Plenty Getaway - two days of music featuring Railroad Earth as well as Cabinet, Yarn, Shockenaw Mountain Boys, Slavic Soul Party, Mike MiZ, Boris Garcia, Damian Calcagne Band, Joey Mutis and Bovine Social Club. The festivities commence Friday November 25th 2011 and continue over Saturday. Here's the basics:

The Horn-O-Plenty Getaway will bring a full weekend of music, art, poetry, food and drink deals, special hotel rates (and, of course, two nights of Railroad Earth!) all into one place! All happenings during the Horn-O-Plenty Getaway will be within walking distance in the great town of Stroudsburg, PA near the Delaware Water Gap!

Two Evenings with Railroad Earth at the Sherman Theater on Friday & Saturday, November 25 & 26!

Your two night RRE concert ticket and wristband gets you free access to all special deals and events in town Friday through Sunday (single night tickets get reduced admission). Come join us for the first of many!  

JETHRO TULL Celebrates AQUALUNG's 40th Anniversary

Remember when albums ruled? They were true works of art - both the cover and the music - and we would spend hours listening to each side of the LP. There was no scatter brained downloading of one or two tracks. One of my early favorite LPs was Jethro Tull's Aqualung - didn't understand the social commentary at the time  - but appreciated the music. Hard to believe that Ian Anderson and his mates were only in their early twenties when composing this classic. Well now, 40 years later the band is celebrating its anniversary with a newly digitized version for the modern age.There are two versions, the full scale Collector's Edition which includes:

• 180g heavyweight LP, 2CD, DVD, and Blu-Ray including various unreleased materials, a new stereo mix, the original Quad mix, and 5.1 DTS and Dolby Digital Surround. The "special edition" includes just the two CDs.
• 12"x12" 48-page hardback book featuring liner notes and an interview with Ian, Q&A with engineer John Burns, Don Lawson (initially written for 'Classic Rock Presents Prog' in March 2011), memoirs from band members (Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond (Bass Guitar), Martin Barre (Guitar), Clive Bunker (Drums), Barrie Barlow (Drummer following Clive Bunker’s departure), Glenn Cornick (Original Bassist on early recordings), Terry Ellis (Manager)) and Jennie Franks (Ian's first wife who wrote the lyrics for the title track), rare photos, notes on the new mixes by producer Steven Wilson, and Billie Ritchie (from 60s rock band & label mate ‘Clouds’), rare photos, album lyrics, and more.

Or you can settle for the special edition two CD version.Yea, like you don't have a preference.

• Aqualung - 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition
• Aqualung: 40th Anniversary Special Edition

And here are Ian Anderson's comments:  "Well - it's finally here! The superb remixes by Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson in both stereo and 5.1 Surround. Plus the re-mastered original mixes, bonus tracks, alternative versions and takes of the classic Aqualung material from 40 years ago.

When I wrote and recorded these songs and slaved over a hot audio-mixer in Island Records' Basing Street Studios, I never thought we we would be celebrating this 40th Anniversary release, soon to be released in October. But you can't keep a good song down. Many of these are still favorites on stage today in our concerts throughout the world.

I hope you enjoy this splendid EMI release and, if there's someone out there you really love, then why not treat them to the Collector's Edition in all its glory. Or, come to think of it, if there's someone out there you really dislike, then the same might apply. Each to his own. Me - I kinda like it.....

For those of you easily confused about such things, a 'remix' is not the same as a 're-master.' Remixing involves going back to the original studio multi-track masters and balancing and perfecting the sound on all the individual instrumental and vocal tracks and creating from them a new stereo or 5.1 surround master.

'Re-mastering' is just the cleaning up and making a new copy of the original stereo master - which usually results in a clearer and more sparkling listening experience than the original, when CDs were usually just the vinyl master copied straight to the then new CD medium. These days, with digital audio, we can afford to get more dynamic range and frequency response compared to the vinyl album and (God forbid) cassette versions of old.

Many thanks to Tim Chacksfield and Steve Davis at EMI for all their hard work and initiative in making this happen. And to the enthusiastic and respectful Steven Wilson. Who has just sent me the remixes of another album to listen to, which he has been working on. But, another year, another story....
Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull

Merlefest 25 - Lineup and Tickets Now Available

Ticket sales for MerleFest 25, presented by Lowe’s and slated for April 26 – 29, 2012,  will begin on Tuesday, November 8, at 2:00 p.m. EST. Ticket purchases can be made on the web at www.merlefest.org or by calling 1-800-343-7857. The four-day festival will once again take place on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. MerleFest is an annual homecoming of musicians and music fans, gathering to celebrate the memory of musician Eddy Merle Watson, beloved son of American music icon Doc Watson.

The initial lineup reflects the diversity and quality of performers that have become the hallmark of the four-day festival. MerleFest is known for its unique mix of traditional, roots-oriented music from the Appalachian region, including bluegrass and old-time music, and expanded to include Americana, blues, country, Celtic, Cajun, cowboy, zydeco, rock and many other styles that Doc Watson has referred to as “traditional plus.”

“This year’s initial lineup will bring back a little nostalgia for the core MerleFest audience, those fans who return year after year to hear the traditional sounds of roots music. We have some of the leading names in the music industry, of today and yesteryear, lined up to perform at the historic 25^th festival,” says Ted Hagaman, director of the festival. “The MerleFest 25 lineup is made up of many of the artists who have helped make this festival the premier, internationally-recognized event that it has become. And, we are thrilled to welcome back that core fan base that has been with us for the ride all along… and welcome a whole new generation of fans to experience the music, moments and memories that make MerleFest so special.”


The following artists will join host Doc Watson at MerleFest 25: 

• Richard Watson
• Susana and Timmy Abell
• Alberti Flea Circus
• Banknotes 
• Blind Boy Chocolate
• Roy Book Binder
• Laura Boosinger
• The Boxcars
• Jeffery Broussard
• Buffalo Barfield
• Sam Bush
• T. Michael Coleman
• Dailey & Vincent
• The Deep Dark Woods
• Dehlia Low
• Donna the Buffalo
• Casey Driessen
• Enter The Haggis
• Bela Fleck & The Flecktones
• Mary Flower
• The Gibson Brothers
• The Greencards
• Mitch Greenhill
• Stefan Grossman
• Wayne Henderson
• Bob Hill
• David Holt
• The Honeycutters
• Sierra Hull and Highway 111
• The InterACTive Theater of Jef
• Fruteland Jackson
• Johnson’s Crossroad
• Jubal’s Kin
• Kickin Grass Band
• The Kruger Brothers
• Jim Lauderdale

• Jack Lawrence
• Jeff Little
• The Local Boys
• Lost Bayou Ramblers
• Claire Lynch Band
• Dougie MacLean
• Bill Mathis
• Andy May
• Cliff Miller
• Misty River
• Nashville Bluegrass Band
• The Neighbors
• Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile
• Red June
• Tony Rice
• Michael Roach
• Peter Rowan
• Jonathan Scales Fourchestra
• Scythian
• The Sigmon Stringers
• Sims Country Cloggers
• Steve and Ruth Smith
• Joe Smothers
• Snyder Family Band
• The Steel Wheels
• Steep Canyon Rangers
• Marty Stuart
• Tut Taylor
• Tedeschi Trucks Band
• ToneBlazers
• Happy Traum
• Pete and Joan Wernick
• The Wild Rumpus
• Tony Williamson
• Wylie & The Wild West
• Zephyr Lightning Bolts