Posts by Jeffrey Greenblatt

This past weekend alt.country-experimental-folk-rock, ugh fine…just Wilco, returned to MASS MoCA in the former industrial town of North Adams, MA to host their second annual Solid Sound Festival. The 140-year-old-plus site, which was formerly the home to a textile plant and an electronics factory, offered fans a chance to not only see a variety of bands, which included healthy doses of Wilco side projects, and a full slate of comedy curated by John Hodgman, but also some truly fantastic thought provoking art.

The weather seemed to be a dominant story throughout the weekend, as some torrential rain storms blew through the area on both Friday and Saturday. The large puddles strewn throughout the museum’s campus and a muddy main field, didn’t prevent Wilco from throwing down two lengthy headlining sets that marked their only U.S. shows of the summer. The group treated fans to nearly 50 different songs, spanning their entire catalog – a feat that perhaps only a jamband is capable of doing.

READ ON for more on Wilco’s sets…

We keep our eyes peeled for new tour dates announcements each week and compile them on Tuesdays for this handy column… For the second year in a row, England’s long running Truck Festival will return to the United States, settling once again at The Full Moon Resort in Big Indian, NY. Set to take place […]

Over the last few years, the legendary Booker T. Jones has experienced a bit of a career renaissance thanks in part to a couple of contemporary acts backing the influential organ player on his first studio albums in roughly two decades. In 2009, it was the Southern rockers the Drive-By Truckers, who gave the assist […]

There is nothing quite like a great summer weekend to bring on the Monday Morning Blues. To help make things a bit more tolerable as we kick off the working week, with our eyes on the prize of a extra day or two off thanks to Independence Day, I thought we’d turn to Black Joe […]

After having half of Phish sport the now instant classic Face T on stage, David Mayfield of the aptly named band The David Mayfield Parade has firmly secured his place in annals of Phishlore as the face of famous Gamehenge inhabitant Icculus. While that may be all well and good, we’re pretty sure he’d probably […]

We’re a little over a week away from the start of Phish’s ninth multi-day festival otherwise known as Super Ball. In addition to the seven scheduled sets of music from the Phab Phour, festival goers are also being offered a number of onsite activities and attractions, with the latest being an onsite JEMP Records pop-up […]

We keep our eyes peeled for new tour dates announcements each week and compile them on Tuesdays for this handy column… Reunion-mania seemed to finally peak in 2010, when after over a decade apart influential indie-rock band Pavement regrouped for a highly successful, lengthy world tour. After spending the majority of last year on the […]

When we last left Bon Iver, the Justin Vernon fronted act, was riding the wave of success from the critically lauded debut For Emma, Forever Ago. The album, whose tale has been recounted numerous times since its release, stands in the pantheon of great heartbreak records, with its emotionally wrought songs, delivered in Vernon’s achingly […]

Now that we’re officially entrenched into the warm weather months, it’s time to start giving some thought to constructing your perfect summer playlist. While some might look to big rock anthems or beach friendly, sunshine pop, I wanted to point you in the direction of Surfer’s Hymn from Panda Bear most recent studio album, Tomboy. There […]

As we head into the tail end of the first leg of Phish’s summer tour, we’re sure there are plenty of people out there that are beginning to make travel arrangements for the band’s west coast swing, which kicks off with a two-night stand at The Gorge in George, WA on August 5 and 6. […]

There’s a good chance that you’re already familiar with the music of Noah & The Whale, though you may not even know it, as the band’s music has appeared in a number of television shows and commercials over the last few years. The U.K. act, whose name is a homage to the movie The Squid […]

Much like how Desmond Hume was Daniel Faraday’s constant, the same could be said about Bonnaroo and Widespread Panic. The Southern jam- titans have a long history with the fest, serving as its inaugural headliner back in 2002, and repeating as the anchor in ’03, ’05, ’07 and ’08. So when it came to celebrating […]

We keep our eyes peeled for new tour dates announcements each week and compile them on Tuesdays for this handy column… While Paul McCartney may not be able to hit a 95-MPH fastball, he will be taking the field at a number of Major League Baseball stadiums this summer. With two show already set to […]

As the dust settles – and by all accounts there was a lot of it – and the last of the cars pull out of the parking lots from the tenth installment of the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, we thought we’d take a look at a couple of the big stories that dominated the […]

Originally only scheduled to play a mid-afternoon set on Saturday at That Tent, Deer Tick made the most of their first ever trip to Bonnaroo. Getting behind the freewheeling ethos of the festival, the band announced late on Friday afternoon that they would play a surprise late-night set of Nirvana covers at the Sonic Stage […]

This week’s videos feature bands you should check out at Bonnaroo… While it may be a bit too late to make a recommendation to those headed to Bonnaroo or to those already find themselves entrenched on the festival grounds, we wouldn’t be doing our duty if we didn’t implore you to see some music royalty […]

The summer concert season is upon us and the Hidden Track staff knows that it’s virtually impossible for us to afford every show we want to hit, and still be able to pay our insanely expensive New York City rents. Luckily for us, there are a plethora of fantastic free concerts throughout the summer that don’t cost a dime. We decided to weed through all the listings and present to you our 4th Annual NYC Free Summer Concert Picks. Let’s take a look…

HT Recommends: Medeski, Martin & Wood / Josh Roseman & The King Froopy All Stars / Jim Black’s AlasNoAxis

Where: Central Park Summerstage

When: Saturday, June 11, 7:00PM

Official Info: The trio’s combination of jazz, funk, “avant-noise” and a million other musical impulses is nearly impossible to classify. Wide open: That’s the phrase that describes Medeski Martin & Wood’s musical sensibilities, attitude, and the spirit of adventure that the band has pursued for over two decades. The trio’s combination of jazz, funk, “avant-noise” and a million other musical impulses is nearly impossible to classify. Although the “jazz spirit” has been ever-present in their songs, the group has won over a substantial audience that is packed with alternative-rock lovers, jam-band aficionados and jazz heads.

The King Froopy All-Stars is an electric 12-piece project from celebrated trombonist and composer Josh Roseman. Featuring some of the edgiest voices harvested from Brooklyn’s new jazz scene, this electro-acoustic supergroup focuses world beat, spontaneous improvisation, dub, satire and psychedelia through Roseman’s unconventional lens. Able to simultaneously compel both your feet and the neocortex, this is what AAJ has called, “jazz-tinged party music with a master’s degree.”

AlasNoAxis is the culmination of famed jazz drummer, Jim Black’s years of experience on stage and in the studio with some of the world’s greatest composers and improvisors. The band’s 2000 self-titled debut, established a new standard for the cross-fertilization of rock, electro-acoustic and jazz, becoming the standard-bearer of “future jazz” and thrilling listeners with its powerhouse combination of virtuosity, rock emotion and noisy catharsis.

Other Free Shows At Central Park Summerstage: 6/22 – Reggie Watts / Natasha Leggero, 6/25 – Lee Fields & The Expressions / Fitz & The Tantrums / Andreya Triana / Rich Medina, 6/26 – Hugh Maskela / Freshly Ground / Somi, 6/29 – Comedy Central Park w. Jim Gaffigan & John Pinette, 7/2 – Everybody Love The Sunshine – Roy Ayers & The Jazz Mafia Symphony, 7/27 – Wanda Jackson / Imelda May, 8/6 – Shelebration! A Tribute To The Words Of Shel Silverstein, 8/7 – Friendly Fires / The Naked & Famous / Cults, 8/20 – Tiken Jah Fakoly / Meta & The Cornerstones / Los Rakas, 8/21 – Rakim / EPMD / Funkmaster Flex

READ ON for the rest of our list of free summer concerts in NYC…

We keep our eyes peeled for new tour dates announcements each week and compile them on Tuesdays for this handy column… Since debuting in August of 2007, Nickelodeon’s Yo Gabba Gabba! has become something of a pop culture phenomenon not only among its legions of pre-school age fans, but parents as well, with its mix […]

Later this week some 80,000 music fans will descend into Manchester, TN to see scores of bands, comedians, DJs and more at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, which will be celebrating its tenth anniversary. The fest humbly began back in 2002 by hosting around 50 mostly jam-oriented bands across four stages. Over the past decade […]

This week’s videos feature bands you should check out at Bonnaroo… Arguably one of the breakout acts of last year’s Bonnaroo was the U.K. act Mumford & Sons. For those of you who fell in love with their foot-stomping fusion of bluegrass and English folk-rock, let me point you in the direction of fellow Brits Matthew […]