Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers (RCPM) are proof that the crazy, reckless, restless, swaggering soul of American rock is still burning a hole in the night sky...guitars blaze, quake and quiver, drums slip, thud and thunder with killer melodies and hooks and the occasional reggae or mariachi rhythm laced through the middle to keep it all honest and interesting. Known for blazing innovative trails with the release of several past projects, the white-hot foursome is at it again with the web-only release of Glow In The Dark, a spectacularly sparkling live recording taped at Mexicali Blues in Teaneck, New Jersey in 2008. The project concept debuted February 2, 2009, and continues for 14 weeks at the band’s website – www.azpeacemakers.com, where fans can hear and watch an entire live show that captures the true spirit and vigor of RCPM.

UK Artist Bonobo performs his brilliant music with a full eight piece band including female vocals, Stand Up Bass, Live Drums and Bass, Saxaphone, two keys, guitar and laptops. This is one of only 10 performances in the country and is the only show at all in the Southeast. Seriously, don't miss this. It will be talked about around here for years.

Sonic Youth is the avatar of noisy, underground guitar rock. After making the transition from uncompromising avant-rockers in the early '80s to indie guitar-pop trailblazers by decade's end, the group became the alternative-music world's brightest beacon. In the '90s Sonic Youth's sound continued to influence younger bands, the most famous evidence being in the grungy, sometimes discordant riffs of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” And if Nirvana’s mainstream success briefly suggested crossover potential for Sonic Youth, the band’s weakness for wild experimentation never waned. Their newest release, The Eternal, comes out on June 9.

Girls’ Rock Camp (ATL) is a summer camp for girls 10 to 18 years old where they learn to play a rock-based instrument, form a band, write an original song, rehearse, make their own merch, and then play a giant rock show…all in the course of five days! Come show your support for the hardest working girls in show business and for the Atlanta-based non-profit Girls’ Rock Camp (ATL). You won’t be disappointed as the girls take the stage with pride and excitement as they perform the purest rock music you’ll ever experience! All ages are welcome. Proceeds from this event will benefit Girls’ Rock Camp (ATL). For more information about Girls’ Rock Camp (ATL) programming please visit http://www.girlsrockcampatl.org

Some bands blast out of the gate and never recapture their early energy. Other bands establish themselves as models of consistency. Still other bands take a while to find themselves. And then there are bands like the Old 97s, who blast out of the gate, establish themselves as models of consistency, take a while to find themselves, and then, fifteen years in, deliver a glorious record that sums up everything about them that fans have always loved. With Blame It On Gravity, the seventh Old 97's record and the second for New West, the band has made its definitive statement. "It's really exciting," says Rhett Miller, the band's lead singer and songwriter. "I read an interview with Randy Newman where he said that if your work is as good at 50 as it was at 20, you've won the battle. We're nowhere near fifty, but I feel like this collection of songs is the best we've ever done. And I LOVED our earlier albums."

If you think you know Paolo Nutini, think again. His million selling 2006 debut album, 'These Streets', established the young Scotsman as a leading light amongst the new wave of singer-songwriters. Paolo's extraordinary follow up, 'Sunny Side Up', released June 1st casts him in a whole other light. Written by Paolo and produced by Paolo and Ethan Johns, 'Sunny Side Up' is a richly idiosyncratic, passionate and uplifting musical journey that sounds so organic and timeless it could have been hewn from the hills. From the exuberant ragtime of 'Pencil Full Of Lead' to the rolling soul of 'Coming Up Easy', the heart-tearing Stax balladeering of first single 'Candy' to the joyous folky singalong 'Simple Things', it marks Paolo's emergence as a truly individual artist, following his own wayward yet inspirationally musical path.

Two-time Grammy nominee Tommy Emmanuel has a professional career that spans over four decades and continues to intersect with some of the finest musicians throughout the world. Tommy's unique style - he calls it simply "finger style" - is akin to playing guitar the way a pianist plays piano, using all ten fingers. As a solo performer, Tommy’s dazzling performance, flawless guitar skills and voluminous repertoire never fail to amaze and engage his legions. Emmanuel's flair and unforgettable showmanship have created an enviable fan base that continues to grow even larger every year.

Deeply rooted in the traditions of cumbia, salsa, funk and pyschedelia, Grammy-nominated Grupo Fantasma, is the funkiest and finest Latin orchestra in the United States. Formed in 2000, Grupo Fantasma’s reputation as the hardest working Latin group to come out of the United States in the last decade was expanded by the June 2008 release of “Sonidos Gold” and the incredible response that followed. “They blast off in their own funkified, genre-breaking directions” exclaimed Billboard Magazine and the Boston Globe declared that “Fantasma is honing a decidedly 21st-century version of Latin groove.” The band successfully obliterates the clichés that often plague the current Latin music market, all the while keeping their feet firmly planted in the traditions that they love and deeply respect."

After a five year hiatus, Sugar Ray is back and better than ever. The Southern California-based band makes its long awaited return with Music For Cougars, an exuberant reiteration of the band’s signature sound, with particular focus on songcraft and sonic invention. As ever, musical styles – from dancehall to disco, punk to pure pop – are mixed and matched, resulting in a celebratory, swaggering collection that is distinctively and delightfully Sugar Ray. Songs like the buoyant first single, “Boardwalk,” or the Rivers Cuomo-penned “Love Is the Answer” are fit to burst with the wit and energy that once saw the band rule over the Top 10. Music For Cougars sees this band of brothers operating at the very peak of its powers, with the skills, strengths, and smarts that only two decades together can provide.  “I’m not going to say we made the best record of our career,” beams singer Mark McGrath.  “That’s just so clichéd.  But we did!”

Big Mike Geier and his Kingsized orchestra deliver high Vegas glitz right here in the ATL with this annual death day tribute to the King Of Rock N Roll. The big band reworks Presley standards, but in their own distinctive style, and of course backed by the gorgeous ladies of Dames A’Flame burlesque troop.

40 years ago, just as the summer of 1969 was coming to a close, the Beatles released their monumental final recording: ABBEY ROAD.  Featuring classics such as “Come Together”, “Here Comes The Sun” and the epic Side 2 medley, ABBEY ROAD has been widely recognized as the Fab Four’s finest musical work. Tonight the entire ABBEY ROAD album will come to life, complete with horns and strings orchestration. Abbey Road LIVE! is not your typcial Beatle look-alike tribute act; don't expect mop-top haircuts and vintage Rickenbacker guitars. Rather, this show is about bringing to life some of the more mature and complex Beatles material in a raw & spirited fashion, while remaining true to the original recordings. Combining attention to detail with a creative exuberance, the band always delights its audiences with its diverse repertoire of hits and and more obscure favorites. Along with a start-to-finish performance of ABBEY ROAD, fans will be treated to a second set of Beatles tunes spanning the band’s 8-year career. With violins, cello and trumpets on hand, look for rarely-played versions of studio classics like "Strawberry Fields Forever", "I Am The Walrus" and "All You Need Is Love”. It will be a Beatle experience you will never forget!

Led Zepagain takes their audience to a place that not only replicates a Led Zeppelin concert, but captures the heart and soul of the world's greatest band.  A Led Zepagain show features all of the Zeppelin highlights, from the high energy electric classics, to the beautiful acoustic works; from the soaring leads on the double-neck guitar, to the brilliant keyboard passages, and from the high, Robert Plant screams, to the trademark pounding rhythms.  From the moment Led Zepagain hits the stage, you'll believe, this is definitely the “Real Deal!” In January 2004, Led Zepagain was paid the highest compliment ever when Jimmy Page caught their show at the House of Blues in Hollywood. After watching the show, he requested to meet the band in the dressing room, and praised them on their accuracy!

Since the early Nineties the Jesus Lizard have lured a veritable cult following around their sweaty and sometimes shocking live performances. The band emerged out of the much-lauded Austin, Texas outfit Scratch Acid; founders David Yow and David William Sims surfaced in Chicago in the late Eighties to record with legendary indie producer Steve Albini, best known for his work with Nirvana, and regrouped. The Jesus Lizard subsequently recorded several albums filled with nihilistic songs for the Windy City's Touch and Go label, but broke with the notoriously cranky Albini when it came time to record their 1996 major-label debut on Geffen, Shot. The Jesus Lizard, noted Andy Lewis in the Rough Guide to Rock, put forth a "primordial, often indigestible stew of blues and punk," and "have consistently managed to reinvigorate a genre often in danger of extinction or self-parody."

Celebrating one of the best bands of the 90's and a group whose life was cut way too short, the premiere Sublime tribute act Badfish returns to the Variety Playhouse following last year’s packed show. 

Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry March 20, 1936) is one of the most influential people in the development of reggae and dub music in Jamaica. Perry began his career in the late 1950s working with Prince Buster and Clement Coxsone Dodd's sound system. He was soon producing records with Dodd and recording at Studio One, but the pair eventually stopped working together due to personality and financial conflicts. Working with Joe Gibbs at Wirl Records, Perry tried to begin his recording career, but again, personality and financial problems caused conflict, and Perry left to form his own label, Upsetter, in 1968 (see 1968 in music). His first single "People Funny Boy", which was an insult directed at Gibbs, sold very well. It is notable for its innovative use of a slow, sluggish, bass-driven beat that would soon become identifiable as a distinctively "reggae" (or, more accurately, roots reggae) sound. During the 1970s, Perry released numerous recordings and acquired a variety of nicknames including Scratch, The Upsetter, and Super Ape. The nickname Scratch has been attributed to Perry's 1965 song "Chicken Scratch". Most of his hits were big in both Jamaica and the UK, and he soon became known as much for his eccentric character and outlandish style in his appearance as for his music.

When former Uncle Tupelo co-frontman Jay Farrar created Son Volt, the band was greeted with excellent reviews from critics.  Their music offered a set of stark, subtle, mostly downbeat songs that drew from traditional country, folk and roots rock.  Insurgent country, Americana, garage meets the grange or “No Depression” music.  Once known as country rock, this has been reborn as a critically  acclaimed alternative music genre and No Depression’s flagship group, Son Volt, is one of the most respected.

In 1975 Darryl Rhoades formed the now legendary Hahavishnu Orchestra, a twelve piece musical comedy troupe that traveled nationally until June of 1978. During their 3 1/2 years of touring, Rhoades and band received critical acclaim from Rolling Stone, Playboy, Village Voice and too many other magazines to list. In a review of an appearance in New York, Rolling Stone/MTV critic Kurt Loder proclaimed Rhoades "one of the most savagely gifted writer/performers in the country today". Take a look back at their 1976 New Years Show and check out Darryl's Grand entrance. Their show and material was constantly and favorably compared to Zappa, The Fugs, The Tubes and others. They performed a two week stint at The Other End (now called the Bitter End) which were attended nightly by rock luminaries such as Robert Palmer, Phoebe Snow, Leon Redbone, etc. Rhoades knew good things were ahead when Phoebe Snow stated that it was one of the most disgusting shows she'd ever witnessed while he had spit hamburger buns on simply irresistible Robert Palmer. When word of the incident spread many more artists were drawn such as members of Kiss, Martin Mull, and Iggy Pop who sat in with the group. In the years since Rhoades has appeared in several different musical acts and even acted in Hollywood movies along side such thespians as Jeff Bridges, Robert Duvall, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Colin Farrell. In 2009 his eleventh CD was released which features Peter Stroud & Tim Smith (Sheryl Crow Band), Rick Richards (Ga. Satellites), Col. Bruce Hampton (multiple legendary groups and the film "Slingblade") Deborah Reece (Fmr. Randall Bramlett band member) and other incredible southern musicians. The new CD, WEAPONS OF MASS DECEPTION, embodies 15 songs that reflect an attitude that is opinionated and hard hitting. This is definitely a departure from all of his other recordings and is said to be his best work in a career that showcases his music and comedy skills together and separately.

Comprised of denizens of New York's downtown jazz scene, the keys-bass-drums trio Medeski, Martin & Wood built a reputation as one of the most inventive jam bands of the '90s, the rare act that could entertain Phishheads one night and a fringe-jazz crowd the next. The group's self-released debut, Notes From the Underground, shows why these three were in demand from the beginning: It's loaded with knotty jazz exchanges atop unusual rhythmic beds far from jazz orthodoxy. Keyboardist John Medeski serves as the primary soloist, and after this initial album he switched to organ (and, to a lesser degree, electric piano) to make touring easier. That sassy soul-jazz B3 sound defines It's a Jungle in Here, which moved an inch or two closer to the mainstream. The group’s latest album, Radiolarians II, was released April 14.

When the Airborne Toxic Event took the stage at Spaceland in Silver Lake on January 31st of this year, the 400-capacity venue was a madhouse. In the entryway, patrons squeezed in and pled their cases to the door girl. Another 400 people queued impatiently along the sidewalk outside, forming a massive line that snaked down Silver Lake Boulevard, surrounding the venue on all sides. It was the final night of the band's five-week residency at the legendary Eastside venue, and all that month, when they weren't rehearsing or performing, they were busy self-recording their first full-length album in a studio in Eagle Rock. A week earlier, one of the songs on that album, the heartbreaking "Sometime Around Midnight," was unexpectedly added into regular rotation by KROQ, the biggest rock radio station in the world. The highly respected Indie 103.1 would follow suit the next day. The band had no label, no manager, no publicist, and no radio promoter. In fact, both stations were spinning an u