Cory Graves
Leon Bridges Rides His Buzz To ACL, Decks In The Park Needs Love and We Drop a DSR Premiere.
As in love with large-scale music festivals as everyone is these days, it's no surprise that the leaked-and-then-later-confirmed lineup for this fall's Austin City Limits festival has caused quite a stir these past few days.
Around these parts, though, the hubbub's warranted: Joining the likes of Foo Fighters, Drake and The Strokes at the October 2-4 and 9-11 fest will be — you guessed it! — Leon Bridges. The rest of the lineup is pretty great, too, actually. And at $250 for three-day weekend pass and a short trip down I-35, it's also more economical to attend ACL than most other out-of-town festivals.
Closer to home, on the other hand, you can catch Bridges at South Side Music Hall this Sunday, May 10, where he'll be opening for Lord Huron. And on Saturday June 20 — just three days before his Columbia Records debut is officially released — he'll play a pair of intimate release shows at Fort Worth's 200-capacity Scat Jazz Lounge, though tickets for both of those have already sold out.
On the other hand, you definitely will not see Bridges at this year's Fort Worth Music Festival, mostly because there won't be a Fort Worth Music Festival this year. Says the fest's organizers via Facebook: “Thank you everyone who come out last year. Fort Worth has a great music scene. This year, due to other commitments, we could not devote the time and attention the festival deserves. We hope to be back in the future.” But, similar to 35 Denton, the year off doesn't mean the end for the festival: Reports the Star-Telegram: “In speaking with organizers, it's clear time just got away from them. Rather than phone it in this year, they elected to regroup for 2016 (and they do plan to return).”
Another event facing some sort of turmoil is Dallas' popular Decks in the Park. Now in its third year, organizers of the free summer dance parties held monthly at Klyde Warren Park are currently trying to raise $30 thousand in 40 days via online crowd-funding. It's a dollar amount they say represents less than half of the parties' actual costs.
To a lesser degree, the lineup for this year's Dia de los Toadies has already experienced a shakeup less than a week after its announce. No longer on the bill is Hagfish, which had to drop off due to a scheduling conflict with the band's guitarist Zach Blair, who also plays in Rise Against.
Also keeping Blair busy these days is a new group for the guitarist that also features Riverboat Gamblers frontman Mike Wiebe. The new band, calling itself Drakulas, debuted its first song earlier this week via Noisey. Check out “OWOWOWOWOWOWOW” from the band's upcoming debut EP that'll be released later this month.
Another outfit growing increasingly busy these days is Dirty South Rydaz, which has a comeback EP in the works and a headlining performance at Trees this Friday, May 9, in its immediate future. The group's also been working on a new music video for a new track called “Tippin Down Bruton” — and, better yet, the crew's been kind enough to let us premiere it, too. The song, they say, won't appear on the new DSR album, but it is the first track the guys worked on in the studio when they decided to get the gang back together. If you like what you hear, grab a stream or download of the cut over on Soundcloud.
Sticking on the music video tip, Doug Burr debuted a clip for his “When the Arrow Hits the Sparrow” via Stereo Subversion.
“This song took a long time in writing,” Burr told the blog. “I had been toying with the phrase 'when the arrow hits the sparrow' since around 2009-ish. But after reading [Rene] Girard's I See Satan Fall Like Lightning, then the phrase took on a fuller meaning and new importance, and it gave the song its final shape, and of course is key to the record.”
The visuals in the clip, which you can also watch below, add a whole new layer of depth to those lyrics, too.
More new-music-video news comes from Madison King and Rhett Miller, who can be seen riding a tandem bike in Deep Ellum, putting quarters in the Twilite Lounge jukebox and recommending Old 97's albums to each other in the rom-com-esque clip for the pair's new duet, “Feel Like Fallin' in Love.”
Another premiere for Miller this week was “Kiss Me on the Fire Escape,” the second single from his upcoming solo record The Traveler. Backing him on this one are members of Portland's Black Prairie and ex-R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck. In spite of fronting the 97's for two decades now, the Wall Street Journal writes that the singer “has rarely sounded as rootsy as he does on his new album.”
Similarly, Tony Ferraro premiered a new track, “Go Go Supertoy” from a forthcoming solo record, A Parrot Buys a Hotel. Look for that album later this year. In the meantime, check out the lead single.
Another freshly-premiered new single comes from Radioactivity, which debuted the lead single from its upcoming sophomore record via Brooklyn Vegan this week. Look for that record to drop on June 30 via Dirtnap, or catch the band live on June 15 at Rubber Gloves and June 18 at Sons of Hermann Hall.
Still more new music this week comes from underground Dallas rapper Cashmir, whose “Dear Dallas” comes from the forthcoming Cashmir [All Singles] EP that's slated to earn its release on May 20. Stream and/or download the song for free below.
Likewise, producer Zach Witness has a new EP on the horizon as well — one he's said has been in the works for years. Leading up to its release, he plans on releasing a series of promotional remixes, beginning with today's reworking of Erykah Badu's “Bag Lady,” which she's already given her approval of via Twitter. Hey, if it's good enough for the Queen…
And, finally, Third String Productions founder Mike Ziemer launched a new website offering up his services to speak at your next industry event or engage in one-on-one consultations with aspiring musicians and other music business types on how to break into the business. Topics available for discussion include getting one's foot in the door of the music industry, how to survive in the “not always glamorous” world of promoting, self-branding, booking tours and building a fan base, among others. Say what you will, but the dude certainly knows a thing or two about the business.
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