Cold Chisel at Bluesfest

Bluesfest is excited to announce that Cold Chisel will headline the 2012 event, with the legendary Australian band’s exclusive festival appearance closing the main stage on Thursday 5th of April 2012.

It will be the first time that an Australian artist has ever headlined this iconic musical event.

The band’s record breaking Light The Nitro tour is currently drawing to a close, with a final gig scheduled for Brisbane next Tuesday night. The tour has been the biggest ever by an Australian-based band; drawing nearly 300,000 fans across 36 huge shows. It’s also been unanimously hailed by critics and fans alike across Australasia.

In addition to performing classics like ‘Forever Now’, ‘Khe Sanh’ and ‘When The War Is Over’, this special Bluesfest appearance will also see Cold Chisel premiere new songs from their forthcoming album. The as yet untitled collection of new tunes was recorded over the last 2 years – partly with original drummer Steve Prestwich and partly with new drummer Charley Drayton.

“Most of us have played Bluesfest solo over the years, but it feels great to be playing there for the first time as Cold Chisel and also be the first Australian band to ever headline the whole Festival,” said frontman Jimmy Barnes. “We’ve all had an amazing 2011 and this should be a great way to kick off an even bigger 2012.”

Thursday, 5th of April – Day 1 of Bluesfest is fast becoming a day not to be missed. Other artists so far announced for Thursday include:

My Morning Jacket, Lucinda Williams, John Hiatt & The Combo, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Seth Lakeman, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Nick Lowe, Alabama 3 with many more to be released.

 

Bluesfest 2nd Announcement

Bluesfest has made its second artist announcement for 2012. It shows that the Festival is delivering once again with more signature artist announcements yet to come.

The second announcement for 2012 includes:

Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Specials, Lucinda Williams John Hiatt, Donovan, Angelique Kidjo, Seasick Steve, Keb Mo, Nick Lowe, Rosie Ledet, Seth Lakeman, Harry Manx, Fabulous Thunderbirds and Alabama 3.

“Bluesfest continues to deliver the goods” says Peter Noble, Festival Director. “We keep on combing the globe for the best Blues & Roots artists, as well as all the others that mix into our Festival, to yet again bring you the finest artists from around the world. With our 1^st announcement we hit hard, presenting some of the best guitarists on the planet and much more. This announcement mixes it up from absolute Legends to some of the most superb Roots artists performing today. I’m starting to get real excited about Bluesfest 2012 – and if you think we gonna stop now – no way – there’s a whole lot more to come!”

“It’s been a long time coming” sing CS&N – and it has  but finally CROSBY, STILLS & NASH, the world’s first supergroup, still going strong 40+ years on, make it to Bluesfest.

DAVID CROSBY played with folk-rock group, The Byrds, STEPHEN STILLS with Buffalo Springfield and GRAHAM NASH sang with the outspoken political group, The Hollies. Three lifelong friends, from a sing-along in either Joni Mitchell or Mama Cass Elliot’s kitchen (the guys differ on this point!) to a debut gig at Woodstock in front of 500,000 plus, have delivered countless hits with their timeless harmoniesand melodic folk-rock. Despite the turbulent times in which they existed as well as the often volatile climate of their own inner-workings and personal lives they continue to make music that connects with fans around the world.

Chart-topping hits like: ‘Suite: Judy Blue Eyes’, ‘Marrakesh Express’, ‘Wooden Ships’ and ‘Guinevere’, ‘Teach Your Children’, ‘Carry On’, ‘Our House’, ‘Long Time Gone’ and two magnificent anthems of the Woodstock generation – ‘Helpless’ and ‘Woodstock’ have helped list 2 of their albums in  Rolling Stones’ 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, score them a Grammy Award… and see them inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame – TWICE !!! As outspoken today as they ever were… their political activism has never been a secret and is openly reflected in their songs and their association with political causes.

America’s finest songwriter’ (Time magazine) LUCINDA WILLIAMS is returning to BLUESFEST with a swag of new songs off her latest work Blessed. LUCINDA has been writing since the age of 6, playing guitar since she was 12 and has been performing for the last 37 years. It’s fair to say she has perfected the art of creating intriguing, gritty lyrics to match her distinctive, haunting voice during this time. Blessed is no exception. This alt-country songstress had Elvis Costello among the guest musicians featured on her latest album, playing some scorching electric guitar that only further offset the strength of her spine-tingling voice.

Born in Louisiana of a poet and a pianist, LUCINDA WILLIAMS won the first of her 3 Grammy Awards in 1988 for her single Passionate Kisses from the album LUCINDA WILLIAMS. She then took a long pause punctuated by one album and various guest appearances, until ten years on in 1998 she hit the road running with Car Wheels On a Gravel Road which not only went gold but won another Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Three years on, in 2001, she earned her third Grammy Award, this time for Best Female Rock Performance for the single Get Right With God, an up-tempo gospel rock song from an otherwise low-key Essence.

JOHN HIATT was one of the most requested and talked about acts of 2008 and he’ll be back at BLUESFEST this Easter. HIATT will be bringing his seminal, highly acclaimed new album Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns with him. HIATT hit the ground running as an 18- year old songwriter in Nashville for artists like the Neville Brothers and Bonnie Raitt. His own highly respected solo career began in 1974 and over the next decade ran through a number of different styles from rock ‘n’ roll to new wave pop before he finally settled on a rootsy fusion of rock ‘n’ roll, country, blues and folk with his 1987 breakthrough album Bring the Family. That’s not to say only the rock and roll generation can appreciate Hiatt’s cleverness, idiomatic versatility, distinctive gruff and endearing voice, or slashing guitar skills. But when everyone from Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Rodney Crowell and Willie Nelson to Buddy Guy, Flaco Jimenez and Ry Cooder have covered his tunes, it’s quite clear that those who appreciate great song writing and savor a keen wit, narrative flair and refusal to pen a sloppy or sappy line, eagerly embrace John Hiatt’s tunes.

Legendary folk-rock-pop troubadour DONOVAN makes an exclusive BLUESFEST performance. Beginning his career as an itinerant folk musician in the mid 60’s, DONOVAN soon became known for his rich-poetic and emotive songs like Catch The Wind and Colours and his version of Buffy Sainte Marie’s protest anthem Universal Soldier. He then partook in the transformation of the pop music landscape with a series of enigmatic and wondrous pop masterpieces that have stood the test of time and are used continuously on radio, television and film. This transition resulted in a phenomenal string of 11 Top 40 hits, including Mellow Yellow, Sunshine Superman, Epistle To Dippy, There Is A Mountain, Wear Your Love Like Heaven, Hurdy Gurdy Man, Jennifer Juniper, Lalena, Atlantis, and Riki Tiki Tavi.

 

Nick Lowe Returns in 2012

Nick Lowe will embark on  an Australian tour in March – April 2012. The 62-year-old singer-songwriter, who last toured here with Ry Cooder in 2009, will be joined on stage by drummer Robert Treherne, keyboardist Geraint Watkins, guitarist Johnny Scott and Matt Radford on upright bass.

Last month Lowe released his first studio album in four years, ‘The Old Magic’ . The album offers eight Lowe originals, plus three covers, and features special guests Ron Sexsmith, Paul Carrack and Jimmie Vaughan, as well as band regulars Watkins, Treherne and Steve Donnelly.

Lowe’s career hit off in ’69 as bass player for seminal pub rock band Brinsley Schwarz, the UK pub rock scene setting the stage for punk rock and new wave.

But it was Lowe’s work as Stiff Records’ (co-founder and) in-house producer which was to be highly influential on the development of punk rock. An extensive list of early producing credits notably include: ‘Damned Damned Damned’, The Damned’s debut album, credited as the UK’s first punk album; Elvis Costello’s first five albums between ’77 and ’81; and The Pretenders debut single ‘Stop Your Sobbing’.

Lowe released the first ever single and EP on Stiff Records, but his most successful hits read as: ‘I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass’ from his debut album ‘Jesus of Cool’ (or ‘Pure Pop for Now People’ as it’s known in the USA); ‘Cruel To Be Kind’ lifted from his 2nd album ‘Labour of Lust’; and a re-worked Brinsley Schwarz tune ‘(What’s so Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding’, successfully covered by Elvis Costello and later Curtis Stigers for ‘The Bodyguard’ soundtrack.

Over the past forty-plus years, Nick Lowe’s evolving musical styles have forged a path through pub rock, roots, rhythm & blues and rock & roll, with works often echoing strong influences of American vintage country and roots music. There have been many musical incarnations over the decades including Rockpile, a collaboration with guitarist Dave Edmunds, and short-lived super group Little Village with John Hiatt, Ry Cooder & Jim Keltner.

In celebration of his long career, in August of this year during a packed-out, showcase performance at the Grammy Museum in LA, Nick Lowe revealed to a spellbound audience: “As you get older, it’s more fun to sing the blues. It cheers you up.”

Lowe is currently touring with Wilco in the US.

 

The Old Magic’ Australian Tour 2012

Melbourne, Forum Theatre – Thursday March 22*

Adelaide, Norwood Concert Hall – Saturday March 24

Perth, Astor Theatre – Monday March 26

Sydney Opera House Concert Hall – Thursday March 29

Brisbane, The Tivoli – Wednesday April 4

 

All shows fully reserved seating.

Tickets on sale Tuesday October 18, *except Melbourne on sale Monday October 17.

 

Nick Lowe’s New Album

Nick Lowe is one of the great perennial songwriters whose output appears to be getting more frequent and no less interesting with age. He’s an artist respected by his peers and audiences alike and that reputation is likely to be enhanced by his new album, entitled The Old Magic.

Of Lowe, US National Public Radio (NPR) once observed, “Few musicians get better with age, Nick Lowe is an exception.” Nick has always set the standard for smart, switchblade-sharp pop music.

His latest album The Old Magic continues Lowe’s late-career evolution with arguably his best collection yet. Amidst urbanely insistent grooves and spare-yet-imposing shuffles, The Old Magic also features three exceptional Lowe ballads. Lowe also peppers the album with three covers by Elvis Costello, Tom T. Hall and Jeff West.

The Old Magic might be the album title equivalent of confident self-description, but for Nick Lowe it seems more a simple statement of fact.

 

Buddy Holly Tribute Draws Cool Artist List

An upcoming tribute album to Buddy Holly, Rave On Buddy Holly, will feature the likes of My Morning Jacket, Fiona Apple and Jon Brion, The Black Keys, Modest Mouse, Nick Lowe, Florence + The Machine, Cee Lo Green, Paul McCartney, She & Him, Justin Townes Earle, Kid Rock, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Julian Casablancas and more.

19 songs are included in the collection, which will be released on Fantasy/Concord on June 28 in the US. Let’s hope it gets a release here around the same time.

A press release states that “Rave On‘s striking collection of musicians share Holly’s insurgent rebel spirit and outsider point of view. The artists cross generations and styles, collectively and defiantly embracing Holly’s distinctive rough and tumble inventiveness.”

Instead of being a straight cover album, artists were “free to explore radically new interpretations.” For example, Florence + The Machine brings an “industrial New Orleans” feel to “Not Fade Away” with Ivan Neville playing the keys, while Paul McCartney’s rendition of “It’s So Easy” features “raw, propulsive excursion filled with boisterous ad-libs.”

Film-music supervisor Randall Poster, notable for his work with Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson and Todd Haynes, was hired as producer and overseer. “As the tracks from various contributors were gathered for the album, we seemed to be gathering pieces of a complex and original puzzle,” says Poster. “[That puzzle] traces back to the roots of rock and roll and shapes so much of the music that followed.”

Poster also credits various track producers like Matt Sweeney, Joe Henry, Jack White and C.C. Adcock for the record’s richness.

Had Buddy Holly not died in 1959 at the age of 22, he would have been 75 years old on Sept. 7.

Track List:

1. Dearest – The Black Keys

2. Every Day – Fiona Apple & Jon Brion

3. It’s So Easy – Paul McCartney

4. Not Fade Away – Florence + The Machine

5. (You’re So Square) Baby, I Don’t Care – Cee Lo Green

6. Crying, Waiting, Hoping – Karen Elson

7. Rave On – Julian Casablancas

8. I’m Gonna Love You Too – Jenny O.

9. Maybe Baby – Justin Townes Earle

10. Oh Boy – She & Him

11. Changing All Those Changes – Nick Lowe

12. Words Of Love – Patti Smith

13. True Love Ways – My Morning Jacket

14. That’ll Be The Day – Modest Mouse

15. Well…All Right – Kid Rock

16. Heartbeat -The Detroit Cobras

17. Peggy Sue – Lou Reed

18. Peggy Sue Got Married – John Doe

19. Raining In My Heart – Graham Nash

Nick Lowe on Vinyl

Nick Lowe’s triumphant return to the indie world back in 1994 was marked by the release of the critically-acclaimed Impossible Bird.  With the overall excitement that followed the release, it was evident  that Lowe’s music had taken a slightly different twist on the road in  the way of a more mature tone and stripped down musical arrangement.

And  although it was unknown at the time, Lowe’s next two records Dig My Mood and The Convincer would travel the same road, achieving greater success with each effort.

These three records always represented a kind of trilogy to Nick and  now for the first time, all three are being issued on vinyl by Nick’s  now longtime US label Yep Roc Records.

All three 180 gram LPs will be available in US stores on September 21st, but the Yep Roc Webshop is giving you the chance to pre-order all three albums early.  Each LP features a beautiful full-color sleeve and includes a download card for you to get the
full digital album in your Stash to enjoy on your mp3 player or computer.  For a limited time only, you can get all three albums for the low price of just US $39.99

Glastonbury Line Up Almost Makes It Worth Going To England

The Glastonbury Music Festival is one of the biggest ever music events and each year there are literally hundreds of acts performing. Lets face it, I’ve never heard of a lot of them and readers of this website thingy are only going to be interested in a few.

But what a few they are!

The Glastonbury Festival have announced its full bill for this years event which takes place between June 25 and June 27. On various stages at various times it includes:

The full line-up is as follows:
U2
Dizzee Rascal
Vampire Weekend
Snoop Dogg
Willie Nelson
The Flaming Lips
Hot Chip
Florence and the Machine
Gaslight Anthem
The Stranglers
The Black Keys
Mumford & Sons
Tegan and Sara
DJ Fatboy Slim
Newton Faulkner
Muse
Scissor Sisters
Seasick Steve
Jackson Browne
Lightning Seeds
Pet Shop Boys
Imogen Heap
Reef
George Clinton with Parliament / Funkadelic
Christy Moore
Nick Lowe
Imelda May
Al Stewart
Laura Marling
The Lightning Seeds
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
The Avett Brothers
Stevie Wonder
Faithless
Jack Johnson
Ray Davies
Slash
Norah Jones
Orbital
MGMT
Grizzly Bear
Temper Trap
The Hold Steady
Ash
Julian Casablancas
Broken Social Scene
Gang of Four
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Toots & the Maytals
Dr John
Jackson Browne with David Lindley
Richard Thompson
Loudon Wainwright III
Empire Of The Sun
Gomez
The Saw Doctors
Imelda May
Judy Collins
Teddy Thompson

Even I could be entertained by a cross section of that lot!