A Bluegrass Blowout

Bluegrass music seems to be undergoing something of a mainstream revival.  There's no better music to listen to outside during the summer; it's an audio massage—completely relaxing. While we might not be Telluride, Collardo, Central Pennsylvania has a wealth of options available for fans of bluegrass and jamgrass. The Appalachian Brewing Company books bluegrass bands on a regular basis, and the Susquehanna Folk Music Society sometimes books artists that could be loosely classified in the genre as well. Dickinson College's annual Bluegrass on the Grass event is always a good time, and it seems to grow every year.

But the biggest and best local resource for local bluegrass fans is the bi-annual Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival, and the event coming up this weekend has a big-time headliner.

Their particular brand of music has a little bit too much contemporary country in it for me, but Alison Krauss & Union Station are probably American bluegrass music's biggest stars. Krauss' voice is positively angelic, and this is a huge get for the festival. The band will be taking the stage on Sunday afternoon to wrap up the four-day festival that begins today, and tickets are still available.

Helping Haiti

There's not a whole lot going on this weekend. Unlike Christmas or Halloween or other big holidays, Easter doesn't really spawn too many events other than egg hunts, and people generally don't plan events on Good Friday or Easter Sunday. It looks like it's going to be a good weekend to get outside and take a hike or even — ugh — do some yard work. But if you're looking for something to do on Friday night, The Creative House of Lancaster is hosting Lancaster for Haiti at the Lancaster Convention Center, and it supports a very worthy cause.

Everything’s Coming Up Indie

Like seemingly everything in the universe, good music comes to Central Pennsylvania in waves. For months we'll get nothing but David Allen Coe and Michael Bolton. It's horrible. But then the wave of crap crests and you can see some promising shows on the horizon. The Millennium Music Conference is behind us and March and April seem to be particularly stuffed with highly-worthwhile music, and since now is about the time you'll need to be buying tickets, I figured it might be a good idea to pull everything out into one post. So... Voila!   Full Article »

MMC Noteworthy: The Slant

I've listened to a lot of music in the process of putting together this Millennium Music Conference Noteworthy series. I'm not going to lie, a lot of it was complete crap. I was considering doing a post about 10 bands that you should avoid at the Millennium Music Conference but realized that it would be mean-spirited and completely against everything that Spotobe is supposed to be. But I heard some very enjoyable music too, and I can say without a doubt that the band that impressed me the most throughout all of this, is today's MMC Noteworthy, The Slant.

I don't know how this band hasn't gotten noticed by somebody whose job it is to notice bands. I'm not saying that their latest album Old North is a perfect product, but it's pretty damn good.

The Slant's music is a combination of folk, indie rock and psychedelia that somehow makes perfect sense. Their 2007 album Animanatamy was nice enough, but Old North is a sprawling, loose, jangly effort that should have gotten the band wider acclaim. Most of the bands at the MMC are just trying to make a name for themselves, and even some of the best acts still struggle to put together an album that makes sense as a cohesive project. The Slant has done it. Picking out a favorite song off of the album is tough because the project is so well-constructed as a whole.   Full Article »

This Weekend: Love is Only a Feeling

Obviously we've been getting you ready for the Millennium Music Conference for the better part of the last two weeks, and you should know by now that it kicks off tonight with shows at a few different venues. if you're into live music, there's no reason not to get your fill this weekend. If not, or if you'd just like to find something else to do, here are a few more suggestions for this weekend:   Full Article »

MMC Noteworthy: Lakeherst

I've tried to highlight mostly unfamiliar bands for our little Millennium Music Conference Noteworthy series, but there are a number of bands that have been mentioned in this space before that would be great bets to go see this weekend. Obviously Spotobe has nothing but love for acts like Perkasie, The Tamboureens and Nathanial Hoho and the Click Clack Boom; we just wanted to check out some new stuff. One band we have mentioned briefly before but wanted to highlight again is Philadelphia indie-rockers Lakeherst.   Full Article »

MMC Noteworthy: Hannah Bingman

The Millennium Music Conference offers an experience for everyone. If you're looking to go out, drink some beers and have your face rocked off you can do that. If you're looking to sip a latte and listen to some acoustic music, you can do that too. If you're looking for something in between those two experiences, you might be interested in Spotobe's next Millennium Music Conference Noteworthy, folk songstress Hannah Bingman.   Full Article »

MMC Noteworthy: The Cringe

If you're looking for respect in rock music, being married to Rachel Ray is probably not the easiest way to get it. "Ooooh, babe, that new track is so hot. Yummo!" Spotobe's next Millennium Music Noteworthy is New York alternative outfit The Cringe and lead singer John Cusimano has been fighting that battle ever since he tied the knot with the bubbly (we'll be kind) Food Network star in 2005.

Cusimano was a successful lawyer long before he met his 30-minute mama, and apparently he can put together a pretty solid rock song too.   Full Article »

MMC Noteworthy: The Jupiter Deluxe

Sometimes it seems like no one plays rock music anymore. Every band out there is shooting for some sub-genre or lofty artistic ideal. Most fall short, and people that claim to play straight up rock tend to have an affinity for covering Lynyrd Skynyrd songs. What ever happened to some good old-fashioned, original, don't-have-to-think-too-hard, rock and roll? I always loved seeing The Clarks when they came to State College. Were they in any way earth-shattering? No, but they were fun. Spotobe's next Millennium Music Conference Noteworthy is Jupiter Deluxe (click to hear the entire EP) from New York City, and they play rock. That's it. Simple, right?   Full Article »

MMC Noteworthy: Joel Dobbins

We're going to keep the weekend Millennium Music Conference Noteworthys a little bit shorter. For your Saturday morning pleasure, Spotobe gives you State College-based singer/songwriter Joel Dobbins (hit it to hear some of his music).

Dobbins plays soulful, radio-ready rock, and clearly has the ability to write a solid, melancholy rock song. He released his first album Unreal in November of last year, and it's a pleasant collection of highly accessible and highly listenable songs.   Full Article »