Sonny And The Sunsets Reflect On Their Youth


Hospitals have been good to Sonny Smith. He began singing while a patient at Warm Springs Foundation Hospital in Texas. And, at the Canyon Manor Rehabilitation Center north of San Francisco, he met drummer Kelley Stoltz. After adding Sonny’s brother and wife, Ryan Browne and Tahlia Harbour, the Sunsets were born.

Last month, Sonny and the Sunsets released their debut album Hit After Hit, and earlier this week they unveiled the music video for their new single “Reflections on Youth.” Check out the video and a full list of tour dates down below.

Summer Tour Dates

06/04 – Huichica Festival – Sonoma, CA

06/22 – 06/25 Sled Island Festival – Calgary, ALB

06/27 Waldorf Cabaret – Vancouver, BC *

06/28 The Funhouse – Seattle, WA !

07/01 Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA !

07/07 Soda Bar – San Diego, CA $

07/08 The Echo – Los Angeles, CA $

07/22 Empty Bottle – Chicago, IL !

07/23 Pike Room – Pontiac, MI !

07/24 Sneaky Dee’s – Toronto, ON !

07/26 Divan Orange – Montreal, QC !

07/27 North Star Bar – Philadelphia, PA !

07/28 DC9 – Washington, DC !

07/29 Mercury Lounge – New York, NY !
07/30 Glasslands – Brooklyn, NY !

08/05 – 08/07 Pickathon – Happy Valley, OR

* = w/ Hunx and his Punx, Shannon and the Clams

$ = w/ Wounded Lion

! = w/ The Sandwitches

Cut Copy Rock The Road


Did you miss Cut Copy’s energetic Coachella set? Well, the band has uploaded a short clip of the performance, which we’ve included below. And, they’ve announced a summer tour that will allow fans across the country to experience their live show. Peep the dates down below.

Cut Copy Summer Tour Dates
6/5: Houston, TX @ Free Press Summer Fest – BUY TICKETS
7/5: Richmond, VA @ The National – BUY TICKETS
7/6: Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live! – BUY TICKETS
7/7: Pattersonville, NY @ Camp Bisco – BUY TICKETS
7/9: Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Hall – BUY TICKETS
7/11: Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Zoo – BUY TICKETS
7/17: Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Music Festival at Union Park – BUY TICKETS
7/11: Brooklyn, NY @ Celebrate Brooklyn at Prospect Park Band Shell – BUY TICKETS
8/12: Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee – BUY TICKETS
8/13: Orange County, CA @ Pacific Festival at Oak Canyon Park

NXNE Announces 2011 Line Up

North By Northeast (NXNE) recently announced the second wave of bands for the 17th edition of the festival, taking over Toronto June 13-19, 2011. Now confirmed for the event are Devo, Descendents, Stars, The Pharcyde, Men Without Hats, Digable Planets, Twin Shadow, OFF!, Art Brut, Shad, Land of Talk, Chad VanGaalen, and Cults. They join previously announced acts that include The Dodos, Deerhoof, Hot Water Music, The Bouncing Souls, and Anti-Flag, Dum Dum Girls and others.

All NXNE Festival passes and wristbands are now on sale, available at www.nxne.com. Early-bird pricing for NXNE Priority Passes is available through April 25. And, the complete NXNE Music line-up and schedule, NXNE Film schedule and additional NXNE Interactive programming will be announced over the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

Those Darlins Launch Contest For Fans And Spring Tour

Those Darlins announced a fun contest last week that challenges fans of the band to photograph themselves or other people using the record cover of their newest LP, Screws Get Loose, as their face. For examples of how to compete, the band encourages you to check out the newly launched http://www.sleeveface.com/.

The contest will run for one month starting last week and running until May 11th, when 5 winners will be announced. Prizes include a one of kind drawing by someone in the band (they’re all artists), a signed copy of the album (vinyl or CD…winner picks), and two tickets to any of the group’s upcoming shows (dates below).

Tour Dates

April 22 – Denton, TX – Rubber Gloves
April 23 – Austin, TX – The Mohawk
April 30 – Nashville, TN – Mercy Lounge
May 5 – Chattanooga, TN – JJ’s Bohemia
May 6 – Chattanooga, TN – JJ’s Bohemia
May 10 – Augusta, GA – Sky City
May 11 – Jacksonville, FL – Jack Rabbits
May 12 – West Palm Beach, FL – Roxy’s Saloon
May 13 – Orlando , FL – Backbooth
May 14 – Tampa, FL – WMNF Heatwave
May 15 – Charleston, SC – The Pour House
June 2 – Ozark, AR – Wakarusa
June 3 – Keithville, LA – Rustic Cowboy
June 4, 5 – Houston, TX – Free Press Fest
June 5 – New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks
June 9 – Charlotte, NC – Tremont Music Hall
June 10 – Vienna, VA – Jammin’ Java
June 11 – Hoboken, NJ – Maxwell’s
June 14 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
June 15 – Washington, DC – The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
June 17 – Pittsburgh, PA – Brillobox
June 18 – Greenwood, VA – Campout East
July 16 – Louisville, KY – Lebowski Fest
+ w/ Black Joe Lewis

Jukebox The Ghost Go Half Crazy For Rock Band and Tour


Last week was a busy one for Jukebox the Ghost; not only did the trio release the video for their new single “Summer Sun” but they also debuted their track “Half Crazy” on the Rock Band Network. Fans can challenge themselves and play along with JTG keyboardist Ben Thornewill on the first Rock Band song to earn the “Devil Head” difficulty rating for the keyboard controller, the most difficult rating in the game.

After a stop in Oswego, New York last Friday, Jukebox the Ghost and Wakey!Wakey! will continue their co-headlining tour in Virginia this week. A full list of dates, and the band’s new video, can be found below.

Upcoming Tour Dates

4/22/2011 Fredericksburg , VA Eyeclopes Studios

4/23/2011 Washington , DC Black Cat

4/25/2011 Charlottesville , VA Southern Cafe and Music Hall

4/26/2011 Covington , KY The Mad Hatter

4/27/2011 St. Louis , MO Firebird

4/28/2011 Chicago , IL Schuba’s

4/29/2011 Indianapolis , IN Earth House

4/30/2011 Cleveland , OH The Grog Shop

5/2/2011 Cambridge , MA Middle East Cafe

5/3/2011 S. Burlington , VT Higher Ground

5/4/2011 Brooklyn , NY The Rock Shop

5/5/2011 New York , NY Bowery Ballroom

5/6/2011 Philadelphia , PA First Unitarian Church

5/7/2011 Baltimore , MD Sonar

9/29/2011 Tampa , FL Rombello 2011 on Carnival Inspiration

More Details on Javelin’s Canyon Candy


About two weeks ago, we gave you guys the scoop on Javelin’s new record, Canyon Candy. Set for release on April 16th, the album marks a distinct stylistic change for the band. This week, shortly after our friends at Stereogum unveiled the album’s first single, band member Thomas Van Buskirk revealed the album’s origins.

Said Van Buskirk “We recorded some on the road, some at home when on break from tour. George and I spent a fair amount of time driving through the South and Western landscape between Feb-June ’09 … in the course of touring with Yeasayer, playing SXSW, and before that playing with our good friend Lucky Dragons in California. Somewhere along the drives we started noticing amazing National Park signs : “Crater of Diamonds” for instance.  They sounded like song names.

The musician also teased us with this tidbit ” [Our] engineer said one song sounded like The Band mixed with Lil Jon.” Intriguing…