Summer Set Music & Camping Festival was just announced and will be a welcome new addition to the summer music festivals we’ve seen over the past few years. Set for Somerset, Wisconsin the weekend of August 24-26, 2012, Pretty Lights, Umphrey’s McGee, Big Gigantic, Nas and more will be bringing their own flavors to the Minneapolis / St. Paul / Northern Wisconsin area for the weekend and welcoming a ton of other top tier acts. Read on for the full lineup…

Summer Set Music & Camping Festival
http://www.summersetfestival.com/

Pretty Lights
Umphrey’s McGee
Big Gigantic
Nas
Excision
Lotus
Zeds Dead
Black Star
Matt & Kim
Cloud Cult
Yelawolf
Rebelution
Infected Mushroom
MSTRKRFT
AraabMuzik
DJ Abilities
Bassjackers
Bingo Players
Bonobo (DJ Set)
Break Science
Claude VonStroke
David Jones
Emancipator
Gabriel & Dresden
GRiZ
Hirshee
Mat Zo
Mimosa
Nit Grit
PANTyRAiD
Paper Diamond
Prof
RJD2
Solid Gold
Stratus
Super Mash Bros
Tea Leaf Green
Timeflies
Two Fresh
White Panda

ACL Fest 2012
http://www.aclfestival.com

Red Hot Chili Peppers
Neil Young and Crazy Horse
The Black Keys
Jack White
Florence + The Machine
The Avett Brothers
Iggy & The Stooges
AVICII
BASSNECTAR
The Roots
The Shins
Weezer
Gotye
The Civil Wars
M83
Tegan and Sara
Childish Gambino
Two Door Cinema Club
Thievery Corporation
The Afghan Whigs
Crystal Castles
Andrew Bird
Gary Clark Jr.
Metric
Band of Skulls
Esperanza Spalding
Alabama Shakes
Delta Spirit
M. Ward
Randy Rogers Band
Die Antwoord
Rufus Wainwright
NEEDTOBREATHE
Big Gigantic
Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra
Steve Earle
The War On Drugs
Umphrey’s McGee
Barrington Levy
Old 97′s
Punch Brothers
Bombay Bicycle Club
A-Trak
Trampled by Turtles
Patterson Hood
Michael Kiwanuka
Big K.R.I.T.
Oberhofer
POLICA
Tennis
Zola Jesus
Stars
Kimbra
Black Lips
Los Campesinos!
Jovanotti
Ben Howard
Ruthie Foster
Freelance Whales
Civil Twilight
The Whigs
Dev
The Lumineers
Bad Books
The Devil Makes Three
Asleep at the Wheel
First Aid Kit
Patrick Watson
LP
Caveman
Lee Fields & The Expressions
Father John Misty
The Wombats
Dry the River
The Boxer Rebellion
Soul Rebels Brass Band
Thundercat
Willis Earl Beal
He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister
Kishi Bashi
Deep Dark Woods
Moon Duo
Kopecky Family Band
River City Extension
Quiet Corral
Wheeler Brothers
The Relatives
Space Capone
The Staves
Native Run
Nikki Lane
Quiet Company
Infantree
Wild Child
La Vida Bohème
The Eastern Sea
The Dunwells
Kenny Vaughan Trio
Justin Jones
Sonámbulo Royal Teeth
Noah Gunderson
The Aaron Ivey Band
The Mighty Sincere Voices
G.S.T.
Colorfeels
Lera Lynn
Megan McCormick
Shields of Faith
Stapletones
The Baylor Choir
Disciples of Joy
Ralph’s World
Orange Sherbet
Big Don
Rocknoceros
Hullabaloo
Jambo
Peter DiStefano & Tor
The School of Rock
The Q Brothers

Living in Colorado is great. You have access to world class skiing and snowboarding, 300 days of sunshine per year, and some of the best micro-brewed beer in the country, however you can’t really say you’ve experienced the best of the Centennial state without a trip to Red Rocks Amphitheater. Red Rocks is the crown jewel of the Colorado music scene and is the highlight of the summer for concert-goers of all varieties. Being one of the most well known venues in the world, Red Rocks has hosted acts of all kinds, from The Beatles to Jimi Hendrix to The White Stripes, and this season’s lineup is just as incredible as it has always been. Top shelf acts like The Beach Boys, Florence and the Machine, Neil Young, and Pretty Lights will be rocking every weekend, all summer long, and we at LMB will be doing our best to bring you awesome coverage from as many shows as we can.
Here’s the music schedule so far (with links) and even more shows will likely be announced soon…

5/28 LMFAO
5/29 The Shins w/ The Head and the Heart, Blind Pilot
5/31 Bon Iver w/ Feist
6/1 Bassnectar w/ Diplo
6/2 Bassnectar w/ Flying Lotus (SOLD OUT)
6/8 Michael Franti & Spearhead
6/9 Big Head Todd and the Monsters w/ Barenaked Ladies (SOLD OUT)
6/12 Scorpions
6/15 Ghostland Observatory w/ MiMOSA, Lunice, Zion I
6/16 STS9
6/22 Wilco w/ Punch Brothers
6/23 Wilco w/ Dr. Dog
6/26 Avicii
6/28 Alan Jackson
6/29 Avett Bros w/ City and Colour
6/30 Avett Bros w/ Devotchka
7/3 Foster the People w/ Mayer Hawthorne and the County, Kimbra (SOLD OUT)
7/4 Blues Traveler w/ Fitz & the Tantrums
7/5 String Cheese Incident
7/6 String Cheese Incident
7/7 String Cheese Incident (SOLD OUT)
7/9 The Beach Boys
7/15 O.A.R. w/ Rebelution
7/17 Chicago/The Doobie Brothers
7/18 Emmylou Harris & Her Red Dirt Boys/Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers/Arlo Gunthrie
7/20 Global Dance Festival (Steve Angello, Knife Party, Hardwell, Felix Cartal, Krewella)
7/21 Global Dance Festival (Above & Beyond, Wolfgang Gartner, Morgan Page, Mord Fustang)
7/22 Global Dance Festival (Excision, Zeds Dead, Dillon Francis, Adventure Club, Kill The Noise)
7/23 James Taylor
7/24 James Taylor
7/25 Florence and the Machine (SOLD OUT)
7/26 Tenacious D w/ The Sights
7/28 CAKE w/ The Lumineers
8/1 Kaskade
8/2 Counting Crows
8/3 My Morning Jacket w/ Band of Horses, Trombone Shorty
8/4 My Morning Jacket w/ Band of Horses, Trombone Shorty
8/5 Neil Young and Crazy Horse w/ Alabama Shakes
8/6 Neil Young and Crazy Horse w/ Alabama Shakes
8/7 Passion Pit and Justice
8/8 Jack White (SOLD OUT)
8/9 Skrillex w/ Zedd
8/10 Thievery Corporation w/ Beats Antique
8/12 Sublime with Rome w/ Pepper, and The Expendables
8/17 Pretty Lights
8/18 Pretty Lights
8/19 311 and Slightly Stoopid w/ SOJA
8/21 Crosby, Stills, & Nash
8/23 Norah Jones
8/26 Bonnie Raitt w/ Mavis Staples
8/30 B.B. King & Tedeschi Trucks Band
9/7 Savoy w/ Modestep, SOFI, Robotic Pirate Monkey
9/8 Lotus w/ EOTO and Emancipator
9/14 Umphrey’s McGee and Railroad Earth
9/19 Train w/ Mat Kearney and Andy Grammer
9/21 Furthur
9/22 Furthur
9/23 Furthur
9/24 Jason Mraz w/ Christina Perri
9/25 Jason Mraz w/ Christina Perri
9/29 Big Gigantic

Looking at this list is making me drool. It’s basically like the most kick ass festival line-up of all time except it lasts all summer long and each artist gets to play a full set. Check out these highlights from 2011.

I swear there is never a dull week in for Colorado music lovers. Van Halen will be making the Pepsi Center “Jump” on Thursday while Break Science will be tearing up the Bluebird with Adam Dietch. The Civil Wars will be bringing their particular brand of country to a SOLD OUT Ogden Theater and Best Coast is taking over the Fox. Check out links to these and other shows below!

5/21 10 Years @ Summit Music Hall
5/22 Red Jumpsuit Apparatus @ The Marquis
5/22 10 Years @ The Black Sheep
5/23 10 Years @ The Black Sheep
5/23 The Civil Wars @ The Ogden (SOLD OUT)
5/23 The Twelves @ The Marquis
5/23 Break Science & Orchard Lounge @ The Fox
5/23 Xiu Xiu and Dirty Beaches @ The Bluebird
5/24 Van Halen @ The Pepsi Center
5/24 Street Dogs w/ The Aggrolites @ Summit Music Hall
5/24 Break Science ft. Adam Deitch @ The Bluebird
5/24 One Be Lo and Kublakai @ The Fox
5/25 Signal Path (Album Release) w/ Love and Light @ The Bluebird
5/26 Horse Feathers w/ The Barr Brothers @ The Bluebird
5/26 Best Coast @ The Fox
5/26 Danceland ft. Felix Da Housecat @ Summit Music Hall
5/27 Mt. Eden @ The Bluebird

The Ride Festival was announced today for August 25-26, 2013 in Telluride. The lineup features Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Ben Harper (his only Colorado appearance this year), Los Lobos, JJ Grey & Mofro, The Lumineers North Mississippi Allstars, The Wood Brothers, James McCurtry, David Lindley, Nathaniel Rateliff, Matthew Curry and others to be announced.

The lineup for the Mint Green Music Festival was also announced today for the same weekend at the Salem County Fairgrounds in Woodstown, NJ. Two Fresh, BoomBox, Claude VonStroke, Break Science, Archnemesis, Zoogma and more will be the main acts rocking this one.

Austin fans, take note: tUnE-yArDs are taping an episode of Austin City Limits soon (May 29th) and they’re giving away a few passes to the taping if you want to get down. Head here to get the deets.

Break Science was just in SF this past Friday night and they’ve got a slew of dates announced that will keep them on the road this summer. They’re playing Summer Camp, Wakarusa, Mountain Jam and tons more slots; see the dates here.

In case you missed it last week, the folks at Cloud 9 announced yet another music excursion called Strings & Sol. On December 12th through the 16th, Yonder Mountain String Band, Railroad Earth, Leftover Salmon and The Infamous Stringdusters will be rocking some white sandy beaches in Mexico and bringing bluegrass down to resort-going fans that will undoubtably snatch up rooms and sell out this mini-festival right quick.

Japandroids and Chromatics have been added to the Pitchfork Music Festival lineup.

We just learned last week that Jay-Z was setting up to stage a music festival in Philadelphia over the Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day weekend, and all we knew was that we could expect the lineup today. But ahead of anything officially confirmed at madeinamericafest.com, Pearl Jam confirmed their appearance at this year’s inaugural festival with tons of other bands being revealed slowly online in a few spots. First we saw this at Philly.com…

Pearl Jam, Drake, D’Angelo, and Philly-raised Santigold are among artists expected to be announced later today as performing at the Budweiser Made in America Festival which Jay-Z and Mayor Nutter announced one week ago at the Art Museum. [Philly.com]

Then saw that Hidden Track was on it also, as they have Passion Pit and Dirty Projectors expected to be announced as well. Consequence of Sound has Rick Ross and Meek Mill in addition to a few of the others mentioned above. We’ll know the confirmed lineup soon enough but for now you can start making plans to buy tickets when they go on sale on Wednesday.

Update: the lineup was just officially dropped via the festival’s Facebook page.

Made in America Festival
http://www.madeinamericafest.com/

JAY-Z
Pearl Jam
Skrillex
Miike Snow
Afrojack
Calvin Harris
Odd Future
D’Angelo
Maybach Music (feat. Rick Ross, Wale, Meek Mill)
Passion Pit
Santigold
Dirty Projectors
X
Janelle Monae
Prince Royce
Rita Ora
Savoy (DJ set)
The Knocks & more to be announced…

The lineup for the Holy Ship!! was just announced and will feature a Justice DJ set, Boys Noize, Major Lazer and Diplo and tons more great untz music for you to enjoy right after the turn of the new year. This is on the same boat (MSC Poesia) as Jam Cruise and runs through the Bahamas the weekend of January 4-7, 2013. Pre-bookings are already sold-out so you need to find a spot on the waiting list if you want in on this one. Read on for the full lineup:

Holy Ship!! 2013 Lineup
http://www.holyship.com

Justice (DJ Set)
Boys Noize
Knife Party
Major Lazer
Diplo
A-Trak
Skream & Benga
Busy P
Jack Beats
Zedd
Crookers
12th Planet
Dillon Francis
Tommy Trash
Digitalism (DJ Set)
Breakbot
Gesaffelstein
Brodinski
Kill the Noise
Alvin Risk
Claude Vonstroke
Justin Martin
Big Gigantic
Destructo
Oliver
Eats Everything
L-Vis 1990
Bok Bok
J. Phlip
Jackmaster
Plastician
Girl Unit
Kingdom
Gina Turner
Rory Phillips
The Knocks
+ Special Surprise Guests

As we continue the transition from spring to summer, the NYC concert calendar is starting to pick up some steam. The hot ticket of the week is Jack White with the latest “it” band — the Alabama Shakes — playing two nights at Roseland. But there are plenty of other club shows that are looking just as good to me, including Maps & Atlases at Webster Hall, Hooray for Earth at Glasslands, and American Babies with Dangermuffin and Tall Tall Trees at Brooklyn Bowl. For something a little more classic, I’d recommend Steve Winwood with Bobby Long or Bill Frisell, who’s taking over the Village Vanguard for most of the week. And for those needing some serious dance beats, there’s a powerhouse EDM show at Webster Hall featuring Simian Mobile Disco, Lindstrom, Michael Mayer at Webster Hall.

Read on for all of this week’s highlights….

Jack White

Alabama Shakes

Maps & Atlases
www.youtube.com/watch?v=omp_yGC0uMQ&t=1m27s

Hooray for Earth

American Babies

Dangermuffin

Tall Tall Trees

Bill Frisell

Steve Winwood

Bobby Long

Simian Mobile Disco

Lindstrom

Michael Mayer

As always, there’s a lot more going on. Read on for more interesting NYC shows this week, plus all the links and deets for the ones listed above….

~~~~

MONDAY, MAY 21
Jack White, Alabama Shakes @ Roseland Ballroom
Maps & Atlases, The Big Sleep, Sister Crayon @ Studio at Webster Hall

TUESDAY, MAY 22
Charlie Hunter & Scott Amendola, Del Sol String Quartet @ The Stone
Jack White, Alabama Shakes @ Roseland Ballroom

WEDNESDAY, MAY 23
The Afghan Whigs, Joseph Arthur @ Bowery Ballroom
Bill Frisell @ Village Vanguard
The Polyphonic Spree, Rocky Votolato @ Webster Hall
Steve Winwood, Bobby Long @ Beacon Theatre
Two Gallants @ The Rocks Off Concert Cruise

THURSDAY, MAY 24
Bill Frisell @ Village Vanguard
Dark Star Orchestra @ Bergen Performing Arts Center (Englewood, NJ)
Hooray For Earth @ Glasslands
The Spinto Band @ The Rock Shop
Two Gallants, Mariachi El Bronx @ The Rocks Off Concert Cruise

FRIDAY, MAY 25
American Babies, Dangermuffin, Tall Tall Trees @ Brooklyn Bowl
BAIO (Vampire Weekend) @ Le Bain
Bill Frisell @ Village Vanguard
Hoots & Hellmouth, Tall Heights, Darlingside @ Mercury Lounge
Nels Cline, Julian Lage, Kalabalik @ (le) Poisson Rouge
Simian Mobile Disco, Lindstrom, Michael Mayer @ Webster Hall

SATURDAY, MAY 26
Bill Frisell @ Village Vanguard
O’Death @ Maxwell’s (Hoboken, NJ)
Slick Rick, Converge @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
Steve Winwood @ NYCB Theatre at Westbury
Underground Horns, PitchBlak Brass Band, Zongo Junction @ 92Y Tribeca

SUNDAY, MAY 27
From Good Homes @ Brooklyn Bowl

The Barr Brothers came to Boston this past Tuesday, bringing with them a new self titled album and fresh tour. Brad Barr noted early that it had been years since he’s played on the Brighton Music Hall stage, known then as Harper’s Ferry, and that he and his brother used to live right down the street from the venue. The sold out local crowd gave a warm reception to the new band, most people first knowing the brothers Barr from their band The Slip, a local favorite on the mid-90s jam band scene. The Barr Brothers new lineup features harpist Sarah Page and multi-instrumentalist Andres Vial. They deliver a whole new sound mixing folk, rock, some jazz elements from drummer Andrew Barr and layers of sounds from hand clapping to odd percussion instruments to a bicycle tire rim mounted on the drum kit. The show had a great rhythm mixing the slower folk ballads but keeping people moving with up tempo rock and blues. This project is certainly something I will be checking out again and am already looking forward to the next album to hit.

Check out my gallery from the show below:

Sixty five bands took the stage at Memphis’ Beale Street Music Festival earlier this month, and it was a hefty helping of great music to digest. Three stages as well as a Blues Tent stretched over mile long Tom Lee Park that rests along the east bank of the Mississippi River. The 90 degree temperatures added a taste of summer to the spring festival, and finding the elusive bits of shade seemed one of festival goers’ favorite pastimes. Given that all four stages launched acts simultaneously throughout the weekend, it was damn near impossible to catch every band, but here are a few of the highlights.

Florence & the Machine – Florence Welch’s voice is flat out stunning. If you haven’t seen her live, it’s fair to wonder if there is some studio sleight of hand to make her chords pop like they do on the album, but she is the real deal. Her cape flowed in the wind as she navigated her way through a stirring set. She had a few vocal missteps in the transitions, but she was flawless for the most part.

Jane’s Addiction – Musically it was a hard hitting effort from Farrell and Navarro. The stage theatrics and lighting were strange and off tempo, even distracting at times. The marriage of the two proved for a very uneven set.

Michael Franti & Spearhead – Franti and crew put on a fun set. He couldn’t sit still, bopping around the stage, jumping down off stage to work the crowd line and even venturing into the crowd midsong. David Stahl of Spearhead looked like he was performing a guitar solo at all times. These guys were a trip.

Wiz Khalifa – I didn’t come into this show a fan but I left it as one. Wiz is a bad man on stage. The audience disregarded the piping heat and crammed in ever closer to get a glimpse of this dynamic rapper. This guy will be a big, high wattage star. Mark my words.

Evanescence – Ah, I miss Amy Lee and the old band. This new ensemble of musicians just isn’t Evanescence anymore. They need a name change. Lee and crew put on a strong performance, but the new material overloaded the set list and proved very weak when they sat side-by-side with their best from “Fallen.”

Buddy Guy – The blues legend, at 75 years young, was one of the absolute highlights of the weekend. No one wielded a guitar at Beale Street like Guy did. He spent his hour long set in fanatic facial contortions, coaxing the notes from his guitar and singing his flavorful brand of blues. He is one impressive musician that is a must-see performer.

Al Green – Styling in his dapper suit and matching roses, Al Green brought the romance to Beale Street. He played his classics as well as threw in a good helping of covers to build the mood. Once you see him perform, there is no question in your mind why he’s still relevant after all these years.

The Civil Wars – This duo proved an acoustic vibe will work in a festival setting. One of folk music’s hottest up-and-coming bands, The Civil Wars mined the tracks from their debut album and threw in a few interesting covers (Portishead’s “Sour Times” & Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”). This pair has a lot of talent and their interactions on stage are fun.

The Head and the Heart – The sound check stretched on for-friggin’-ever. The band was starting to have that “someone is getting fired for this” look by the end of the tuning. Once they finally got started, they played a solid set. I thought front man Jonathan Russell was going to bust a vein in his forehead with his intensity at times. I thought these guys were acoustic?

Chris Robinson Brotherhood – This was my first experience with Chris Robinson and his post-Black Crowes band. They have an interesting sound that the Crowes faithful will find easy to take to. The Brotherhood definitely isn’t on par sonically with the Black Crowes at this stage of the game, but they’ve got an interesting sound that grew on me throughout the set.

In all, it was a great weekend feasting on the music of Beale Street. This is a great festival hosted in a fun town. Keep Beale Street on your radar for 2013 if you are looking for a festival rich in talent in a beautiful locale.

Mark Runyon is editor of ConcertTour.org. Concert Tour reports on the latest music news, concert & album reviews and commentary.

Photos © Mark Runyon