It’s been a busy week in Nashville with a ton of announcements about what’s in store for us this spring.
First off, Happy Dre Day! It’s Dr. Dre’s birthday today and even if you aren’t a fan you must respect how the influence of this man has changed the face of popular culture forever. Head over to The Groove in East Nashville tonight from 6-9 to celebrate Dre Day with friends, forties and fun (i.e. giveaways!).
Vanderbilt’s Rites of Spring announced their lineup yesterday. This year they’ve nabbed The National, Matt & Kim, Sara Bareilles, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and, in the spirit of always outdoing themselves on the hip hop/rap tip, Vandy has Kid Cudi & Public Enemy on bill. If that’s not badass I don’t know what is. Tickets will go on sale Thursday, February 24th, 2011 at 10 am CST at all Ticketmaster locations. Prices start at $45 for a single day pass (and don’t forget to save up a little extra to give to the demons at ticketmaster)
Tomorrow, February 19th, Grimey’s is hosting an in-store with Over The Rhine (a day before their performance at 3rd & Lindsley) to celebrate their new album, The Long Surrender. The in-store starts at 5pm but you might want to get their early because the Girl Scouts will be at the shop from 3-6pm selling cookies!!!
The first round of Mercy Lounge & BMI’s Road to Bonnaroo has been announced. Road to Bonnaroo is a battle of the bands type competition that will send one Nashville band to Bonnaroo to perform for the masses. It’s going to be on Monday, February 28th and will feature (in no particular order) Evan P. Donohue, Courtney Jaye, Chancellor Warhol, Majestico, Heartbeater, Kink Ador, The Kicks & Tyler Byant. Click the link above for audio and video for each of the bands in round one and make sure you get to Mercy Lounge early on 28th to ensure your eligibility to vote for who you think should be headed to Manchester in June.
Lastly, in Record Store Day 2011 news, the amazing Numero Group has announce their contribution to the festivities. They will be releasing a collection called Local Customs: Pressed at Boddie. Last year Numero acquired Boddie Record Company and they have been combing the archives of Cleveland gospel, soul, funk, boogie, rock, garage, folk, and all manner of abandoned master tapes to bring you the best of their bounty. They will be pressing 1000 copies of the album on vinyl & CD and 300 on cassette to be released on Record Store Day, April 16th, 2011. In addition to this Numero Group will also be setting up a “flash” record shop on Milwaukee Ave in Chicago with some extremely limited goodies for you. Check out the details at Numero Group’s website.
Happy Friday Vinyl Lovers! I’ll see you next week as I gear up to set sail on the Bruise Cruise!
