2005

Two Boston Music Award 2005 nominees, The Slip and Apollo Sunshine, have announced their New Years Eve show will be held at Pearl Street in Northampton, MA. The Slip will headline the event, with AS starting off the evening. Tickets are on sale now.

Leading up to the holiday celebration, The Slip will also be playing at Lupo’s in Providence, RI on 12/28 (with Apollo Sunshine opening) and at Southpaw in Brooklyn on Friday, 12/30.

for more info see: theslip.com

With his next studio album not due until next year, Ray LaMontagne will tide fans over with a live EP and short run of tour dates. Due Dec. 6 via RCA, “Live From Bonnaroo 2005” features six tracks recorded at this summer’s incarnation of the Tennessee festival, including “Burn”, “Trouble” and the previously unreleased “Empty.”

The artist will hit the road beginning Nov. 30 in Portsmouth, N.H., with support from Brandi Carlile. As previously reported, LaMontagne will also appear at Warren Haynes’ 17th annual Xmas Jam, to be held Dec. 17 in Asheville, N.C.

Here are Lamontagne tour dates:

Nov. 30: Portsmouth, N.H. (Music Hall)
Dec. 1: Montreal, Quebec (Outremont Theater)
Dec. 2-3: Boston (Berklee College of Music)
Dec. 5: New York (Town Hall)
Dec. 7: Chicago (Park West)
Dec. 8: Minneapolis (Pantages Theater)
Dec. 10: Atlanta (Tabernacle)
Dec. 12: Keene, N.H. (Colonial Theater)
Dec. 17: Asheville, N.C. (Asheville Civic Center)

Source billboard.com.

Hasidic reggae rapper Matisyahu will release his studio debut, “Youth,” Jan. 31 via Epic/Or Music/J Dub. As previously reported, the majority of the project was overseen by noted producer Bill Laswell. Three other tracks were co-produced by Jimmy Douglass and ill factor.

Matisyahu has been touring all year in support of the concert set “Live at Stubb’s,” which reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Reggae Albums chart and No. 14 on the Top Heatseekers survey. The album has sold 87,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. “Youth” will feature two songs from “Stubb’s”: “King Without a Crown” and “Warrior.”

The artist’s busy touring schedule will continue through the end of the year, having just announced a six-show Hanukkah tour that begins Dec. 24 in Philadelphia.

Matisyahu is also tipped to appear on two songs from P.O.D.’s new album, “Testify,” due early next year via Atlantic.

Source billboard.com.

Hal Abramson, promoter of this summer’s Shakedown Festival in Oregon, has resurfaced and given Pollstar his side of the story. The jam band event was canceled just hours before gates were to open, leaving a lot of fans and concert insiders scratching their heads.

Lowell MacGregor, owner of festival site Columbia Meadows near the city of Saint Helens, has been fielding calls all summer, giving his side of the story. Abramson, on the other hand, left the area soon after the would-be August 26-28 concert collapsed and could not be reached. His side of things showed up online at the Shakedown’s Web site.

Abramson says he’s quit the music biz and is living at his mother’s house. The experience left him destitute and he’s now under the care of a psychiatric clinic. He recently fired off a screed to the Columbia County board of commissioners, detailing MacGregor’s alleged mishandling of the festival.

To read more, visit pollstar.com.