Two Raleigh, NC Festivals Add New Venues

Photo courtesy of progressenergycenter.com

The burgeoning metropolis of Raleigh, NC is already gearing up for the 3rd Annual Hopscotch Music Festival this September (check out our extensive past coverage here). For those of you unfamiliar with the event, the aptly named Hopscotch Festival takes place across over a dozen different venues in downtown Raleigh, all within reasonable walking distance of each other, consisting of a large outdoor stage in City Plaza and an assortment of bars, clubs, and theaters of all shapes and sizes. Back in November, a mere two month after 2011's stellar weekend, the folks at Hopscotch announced that they would be adding the main gallery of Raleigh's Contemporary Art Museum as their fifteenth performance venue, indicating that the festival was continuing to build on the expansive growth that it made after between 2010 and 2011. It turns out that was only the beginning.

In Brief: Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival, Spring 2012

Photo courtesy of The Bottom String.

Recently, Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance released a scintillating taste of what is sure to be an EXCELLENT lineup for their Spring Festival, to be held April 19th-22nd. Featuring returning favorites and some fresh blood, there's no way to complain about this preliminary list. Myxem favorites Driftwood are returning, as well as Midtown Dickens, Mandolin Orange and Holy Ghost Tent Revival. After stunning the entirety of our staff at Hopscotch, seeing Bombadil make it onto the lineup was a delightful surprise. Having been recently introduced to Curtis Eller's banjo-based roots-ragtime, seeing his name pop up was both unexpected and certainly a good reason to dig further into his catalog.

The preliminary lineup announcement is after the jump AND on Shakori Hills' website

Album Review: "Be the Void" by Dr. Dog

Be The Void was released on February 7, 2012 by Anti- Records

With so many new releases so far in early 2012, it would be understandably difficult for any one of them to stand out from the pack. Thankfully, bands exist that have never really cared about "the pack" and continued to charge bravely on doing what they do best. We have one such band in the resilient Philly-based freak-folk outfit known as Dr. Dog. Be the Void is their 6th studio effort and the second released by indie giant Anti- Records, who helped push their last release Shame, Shame to widespread recognition. Thought they're not really a household name (yet), Dr. Dog's burgeoning popularity seems to grow stronger by the second, and it's not at all undeserved.

In Brief: Neil Young's Doing Neil Young Things

Neil Young, seen here expressing either the magnanimity of
his catalog, or his complete confusion regarding Greendale's
popular reception. 

For the first time in almost nine years, Neil Young announced plans last week to re-enter the studio with longtime backing band Crazy Horse. Most initially seemed doubtful about the realistic prospects of the project, given the Grandfather of Grunge's penchant for on the fly decision reversals. Today, however, we are treated to what is (more than likely) an extended jam session recorded by Mr. Young and Crazy Horse, available here. Featuring a nearly 38 minute jam of both "Fuckin' Up" and "Cortez the Killer," Young's growling guitar sits restlessly atop the pulsing rhythms provided by the long adrift backing band. At around the 25 minute mark, when "Cortez the Killer" begins, the guitar switches from the muddy fuzz to a soaring solo. Neil's voice, still his trademark ethereal whine (only slightly older), lends a newer credence to the song, but, be warned, this is probably only for die-hard Neil Young fans (like you should be).