Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings

Video: Booker T. & The Roots – Everything Is Everything

As we’ve previously reported, on May 10 the legendary Booker T. Jones will release the follow up to his 2009 Grammy winning album Potato Hole, with The Road From Memphis. This time around Jones has recruited the hardest working band in show business – The Roots – to serve as his backing band as well as an impressive roster of talent to make guest spots on the record (Sharon Jones, Lou Reed, Jim James, Matt Berninger).

READ ON to check out the video for Booker T. and The Roots’ instrumental cover of Lauryn Hill’s Everything Is Everything…

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Announcement: Sasquatch! Festival

The Sasquatch! Festival will return to The Gorge in George, WA over Memorial Day Weekend boasting a lineup jammed packed with indie faves who are on major labels such as Wilco, the Flaming Lips (performing The Soft Bulletin plus more), Modest Mouse, Death Cab For Cutie, Chromeo, The Decemberists and the Foo Fighters.


Four-day all-inclusive passes are currently available for $285.

[via Pitchfork]


READ ON for the full initial lineup…

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Friday Mix Tape: HT’s Top 25 Albums

Since we’ve spent the entire week recounting our favorite albums of 2010, and quite frankly you’re probably tired of reading about them, seemed like a no-brainer to end the week

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HT 25 Best Albums of 2010: Numbers 16-20

For the second consecutive year at Hidden Track, we concocted our innovative little experiment for the year-end Best Albums list. Instead of picking the old fashioned way – subjectively – we opted for something a little different: a collaborative, collective list that incorporates the opinions of everybody here at HT.

To begin, we devised an all-encompassing list of well over 100 nominees, whereby most everything our contributors recommended made the list. Then we invited our crew of writers to independently and blindly vote on the whole list on a scale of 1 to 20 (20 = five stars). We ended up with varying degrees of familiarity with the nominees as some folks voted on just about everything, while some just a few. From there, we deployed our egghead algorithm for rating albums: (two times the average rating) + (the total number of votes). At that point, we took the top 25 highest scores and presto: the Hidden Track 25 Best Albums of 2010. No bullshit, no big opinions; just the results.

We’re on to day two of on our week long countdown, let’s check out albums number 16-20…

20) Marco BeneventoBetween The Needles & Nightfall

Key Tracks: Greenpoint, Between the Needles, Numbers

Sounds Like: Brad Mehldau meets Tortoise


The Skinny: Marco Benevento’s latest solo record is the prolific keyboard player’s most impressive release yet. Bassist Reed Mathis’ sense of space and harmony along with drummer Andrew Barr’s subtly explosive poly-rhythmic playing lay the foundation for Benevento’s hook-laden melodies, shape-shifting piano, and circuit-bent sounds. While his first two studio releases were solid, Between the Needles and Nightfall has a cohesiveness not found on either that allows Marco’s songwriting to truly shine. The one-two punch of Greenpoint and Between the Needles at the front of the album set the overall tone for the album, while Marco’s solo at the end of Numbers highlights the whole thing.

READ ON for the next four albums in our countdown…

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Recap: Newport Folk Festival

With a seemingly rotating door on music festivals over the last handful of years it’s assuring to know that you can continually count on the Newport Folk Festival to be there year in and year out, offering up a high quality and diverse lineup in one of the most serene settings imaginable. Returning once again to the historic Fort Adams State Park, the fest delivered an amazing swath of artists from folk to funk and everything in between.


Much like how there are those musicians that are referred to as a “singer-songwriter’s singer-songwriter,” well now after having attended Newport Folk the label of a “music fan’s music fest” might be the best way to describe it. With three stages and 30-plus acts to choose from, it seemed relatively easy to plant yourself in front of one stage for the day – like many did – and take in all the action. For the ambitious music lovers though, the close proximity of the Fort, Harbor and Quad stages made it a breeze to catch an impressive amount of music over the two-day span.

Saturday kicked off with one of the fest’s biggest success stories – The Low Anthem – who just three years prior were picking up trash as on-site volunteers and now found themselves with a main stage slot. The Providence-based band showcased their gorgeous folk music, which features an odd menagerie of instruments – crotales, harmonium and clarinet – along with the obvious guitar, bass and drums. Taking in just a handful of songs, which was highlighted by a sublime take on Apothecary, and their interpretation of Rev. Gary Davis’ Sally Where’d You Get The Liquor From?, I had to pulled myself away from really the one lone conflict of the weekend to see a full set from A.A. Bondy.

READ ON for more of Jeff’s recap of Newport Folk…

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Preview: Free Summer Concerts In NYC

The summer concert season is upon us and the Hidden Track staff know 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 3rd Annual NYC Free Summer Concert Picks. Let’s take a look…

HT Recommends: She & Him / Oakley Hall


Where: The Beach @ Governors Island

When: Sunday, July 4, Beach Opens At 10 AM, Show 4 PM

Official Info: She & Him make music for an eternal springtime, when the temperature is warm enough to go riding with the top (or at least the windows) rolled down and the radio turned up. They occupy an alternate universe where the saddest of songs feel as warm as sun showers; the rain may be coming down, but somewhere nearby, everything looks bright. What began as a fascinating, no-strings attached collaboration on 2008’s Volume One has evolved into a bona fide, touring band, and She & Him are here to stay. Zooey Deschanel and Matt Ward are as comfortable and complementary a musical pair as Les Paul and Mary Ford; hearing them again on Volume Two feels like getting together with two old friends. This time, the harmonies have grown more angelically layered, the string arrangements more dramatic, the songwriting even sharper and more confident. But, as with Volume One, the prevailing mood is bittersweet, dreamy, and romantic.

Other Free Shows At Governors Island: 6/5 – Yeasayer, 7/3 – Portugal. The Man / Alberta Cross, 7/10 – Lucero, 7/16 – Caribou / Phantogram / The Chain Gang of 1974, 8/8 – Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band / Justin Townes Earle / Dawn Landes & The Hounds, 8/14 – Neon Indian, 8/15 – Dr. Dog / Cheif

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

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Friday Mix Tape: New Music Seminar

We’re not going to go with a theme this week as there has been so many great releases that are either already out, or are on their way into stores

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