Last year, just about this same time in September, hevenerlee and I held the inaugural Avett Brothers pre-game party at our little cabin in the woods.  This was held in preparation for the Avetts show at the Satellite Ballroom on September 21, 2007.  We fired up the grill, put the beer on ice, and gathered the troops together for a blowout.  We blew it out.

As Saturday’s Avett Brothers / Drive-By Truckers show at the Pavilion approached, the plans were finalized for a Pre-Game Round Two.  We made a big pot of gumbo, stocked the coolers once again, pitched a big tent in the front yard, and got down to the business at hand.  The Avett Brothers were returning to Charlottesville and we wanted to be ready.  We thought we were.  Then something crazy happened.  The Avett Brothers took the Pavilion stage.

[Avett Brothers photos by Tom Daly] »Read More

Popularity: 25% [?]

Imagine for a moment:  A sunny “October in the railroad earth” San Francisco afternoon.  75 degrees with a cool, deep Pacific breeze blowing in as the car crosses Golden Gate.  The top down on the rental; a convertible rag-top.  Seeing one of America’s greatest cities through eyes so electric that San Fran appears to be some sort of contemporary Atlantis.  The Presido lies just ahead across the expanse of bridge.  North Beach off in the distant left, Speedway Meadows beyond the rise, and the Mission further still.  All this needs is a soundtrack.

[photo by hevenerlee] »Read More

Popularity: 21% [?]

Canadian folk-pop sensation Basia Bulat [pronounced BASH-a BOO-lat] makes a stop in Charlottesville tonight, performing at the Gravity Lounge.  Her latest album, Oh, My Darling (Rough Trade America), has made the shortlist for the 2008 Polaris Music Prize which is awarded annually to the best full-length Canadian album.  (Other nominees include Plants and Animals’ Parc Avenue, Caribou’s Andorra, and Black Mountain’s In the Future) .  The winner will be announced later this month.

With a voice that has been compared to Feist, Natalie Merchant, and Joni Mitchell, Bulat’s music combines elements of traditional folk with a variety of styles including orchestra and acoustic indie rock (although Basia has described her own sound as chamber pop).  You can listen to WNRN’s interview and live in-studio performance from earlier today here.

Local singer-songwriter/composer Wes Swing opens.  Check out our profile post–Wes Swing:  Playing It Smart.  Show starts at 7:30pm.  $10.  [the latest video for the song “The Pilgriming Vine”off of Oh, My Darling is after the break]

[Basia Bulat photo by A. Von Seckendorf] »Read More

Popularity: 21% [?]

Once the lights go up and the curtain comes down (so to speak) on Saturday’s Avett Brothers / Drive-By Truckers show at the Charlottesville Pavilion, the rock n roll party keeps on chugging along as Club R2 at Rapture holds their After-Party concert.  The show will  feature opening act Sun Dried Opossum (from Waynesboro) and headliners Earl Knox, a brand new band out of Crozet who will be making their live concert debut on Saturday night.

Earl Knox frontman Bentley Rhodes describes the band’s sound as “no frills, straight ahead rock n roll with a southern flavor and good bit of soul”.  The band plays a majority of original songs with a few choice covers.  I recently stopped by the band’s MySpace page (click on the band link in the previous paragraph) and I’ve got to recommend you check out their song “Pretty Little Thief”.  I’m on my third straight listen since I began writing this post.  These guys aren’t trying to re-invent the wheel, they’re just trying to make sure it rocks and it rolls.  I really like what I hear.  You should check it out.

The Drive-By Truckers AfterParty kicks off at 10:45pm at Club R2 inside Rapture.  There is no cover charge.

Popularity: 16% [?]

I’m not going to lie.  When I saw that the scheduled Dierks Bentley show at the Pavilion had been postponed until 2009 and that Robert Earl Keen was slotted to fill the show date left behind, I considered it a musical upgrade.  No knocks on Dierks, but he’s no Robert Earl Keen.  I’m just calling it the way I hear it.  But don’t take my word on it.

You can hear the Texan-born singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen for yourself tomorrow night at the Charlottesville Pavilion along with special guests The Sons of Bill.  Unfortunately the Wrinkle Neck Mules, who were also scheduled to perform, have been forced to cancel their appearance due to Hurricane Ike.  (at least two of the band’s members currently reside near the Texas Gulf Coast).  Gates open at 5pm, show time is 6pm.  Tickets are still available.  $27.

After the break check out my 5 reasons for wanting to see Robert Earl Keen live.

[Robert Earl Keen photo by Mark Austin]

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Popularity: 19% [?]

Head up to the District on Sunday for the 30th Annual Adams Morgan Day Festival, the ‘longest continuous neighborhood festival in DC!’

Adams Morgan Day Festival, Washington DC, 1982
SP Salon entry for “The Art of Love”
(image from chuckp via Flickr)

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Popularity: 33% [?]

To say that I’ve been looking forward to My Morning Jacket’s performance at the Charlottesville Pavilion would be an understatement. This was one show that I was psyched to see!  I wasn’t living in Charlottesville at the time of the band’s last visit to town (at Starr Hill Music Hall in January of 2004) and to be honest this was my first time ever seeing My Morning Jacket perform live in person.  (which is why I started my own My Morning Jacket Lobbying Committee in the first place)

Up to this point I had read all the press reports and I had all heard the first hand accounts about what a great live band My Morning Jacket is, but I needed to see it to believe it.  Well, I’ve seen it and now I believe it.  These guys are definitely worthy of the title of America’s Best Live Band.  [concert recap, along with more photos and the full set list after the break]

 [photo by Tom Daly] »Read More

Popularity: 26% [?]

Yeah…I know it’s late, but someone wiser than I once said better late than never.  So with that in mind let’s get hoppin’.  We begin with one for the kids (in both age and in heart):  The Candyapolis Revue is at the Gravity Lounge on Saturday afternoon featuring Keith Morris and a rather large bunny (for starters). »Read More

Popularity: 25% [?]

cvilleMUSE is proud to announce that we’ve got a pair of tickets to give away to see Austin-based indie pop-rockers What Made Milwaukee Famous along with headliners Wild Sweet Orange (from Birmingham, Alabama) perform next Wednesday, September 3 at the Gravity Lounge.  [Details after the break]

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Popularity: 23% [?]

Eight bucks can’t buy a whole lot these days.  Two gallons of gas.  A couple packs of smokes.  A beer or two, depending on your tastes.  But if you happen to be on the Downtown Mall this evening and looking for some live music, eight bucks sure will go a long way.  That’s exactly how much it will cost you to see 19 bands at five different venues in Charlottesville tonight and all of them are seperated by only a few blocks.  I swear I am not making this up. 

The wealth of musical talent on display tonight is such that in some ways it’s almost going to feel like a musical festival in that you can literally move from show to show as you would from stage to stage, and you’ll have to be ever mindful of who’s playing where so that you don’t miss some of your personal favorites.  And here’s the real clincher, every act on every stage has at least one connection to Charlottesville.  The details on a jam-packed night of music after the break.

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Popularity: 28% [?]