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SSMF Lineup Announced!

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Kristen

I know we just got back to Bonnaroo and trust me, more on that soon. But today’s big news is the announcement of the lineup for the Sunset Strip Music Festival (SSMF). Once a year, the Sunset Strip puts on a gigantic block party featuring major artists from around the world as well as more local bands that might call the strip their home. It’s a three day party starting on Thursday August 18th with a tribute to this year’s honorees, Motley Crue at the House of Blues. Both Thursday and Friday, clubs around the strip (The Roxy, The Viper Room, Whiskey a Go-Go, Key Club, House of Blues) will host a variety of bands. Saturday the 20th is the daytime festival where headliners Motley Crue as well as Bush, Public Enemy, Matt & Kim, etc will play on an outdoor stage while other bands continue to fill the surrounding clubs.

For more information about the lineups, tickets, etc., check out official SSMF website: http://www.sunsetstripmusicfestival.com/

I’m excited about so many of these artists…especially seeing so many of my favorites on the bill. Based on my initial reaction, here’s what I’ll most likely be up to that weekend.

Thursday August 18th: The Veronicas, The Tender Box, and Run Run Run at The Viper Room

Friday August 19th: Amazing lineup at The Viper Room featuring Eli James, Taylor Locke and The Roughs, Lady Sinatra, and Purple Melon
ALSO: Buckcherry at The Roxy

Saturday August 20th:
Outdoor Stage: Motley Crue, Bush
The Key Club: Deluka, Youngblood Hawke, Indians
The Roxy: Queen Caveat, Sabrosa Purr, Jordan Cook, Imagine Dragons, Semi Precious Weapons

More to come about this festival I’m sure…get your tickets now.

This festival is going to rock!!

~ Kristen

Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 5/16-5/22

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Kristen

Annnnd another week is upon us. Where did the last one go? I’m not quite sure. It was a rough one. By Friday, my stress-induced eye twitch was pretty constant. I knew if I was going to make it through the weekend’s to do list, I needed to take measures. I went to the only place I knew could make me forget about my stressors for an evening, found myself a seat and didn’t move for about seven hours. That place, of course, being The Hotel Cafe. And by the end of the magical evening of music, I was singing along with Daniel Bedingfield covering Chantal Kreviazuk’s “Feels Like Home” and all was once again right with the world.

This week is not looking to be any easier. Fortunately there are more opportunities for great live shows starting Monday night with one of my favorite Las Vegas-based bands, Imagine Dragons!

As for the rest, here’s what I’ve got:

Monday: Imagine Dragons at The Viper Room (10pm)
ALSO: Yael Naim at The Hotel Cafe (8pm)
ALSO: Stephen Kellogg at Bootleg Theater (8:30)
ALSO: Songwriters in the Round at Room 5 featuring Adrianne, Rob Giles, Garrison Starr, and Joel Eckels (9pm)

Tuesday: Alberta Cross and Chasing Kings at The Satellite (9pm)
ALSO: Jenni Alpert and Lelia Broussard at The Hotel Cafe (7,9)

Weds: Patrick Park at Bootleg Theater (9pm)
ALSO: Matthew Mayfield and Kevin Devine at The Hotel Cafe (8,9:30)
ALSO: Golden State at The Viper Room (10pm)
ALSO: Of Verona at Silverlake Lounge (9pm)
ALSO: The Watkins Family at Largo at The Coronet (8:30)
ALSO: Johnny Flynn at The Echo (10pm)
ALSO: The Shakers at Molly Malone’s (8pm)
ALSO: Shawn Mullins and Susanna Hoffs at The Mint (9pm)
ALSO: Semi Precious Weapons at On the Rox (10pm)…FREE with RSVP

Thursday: Paris Carney and So & So at The Hotel Cafe (7,9)
ALSO: Irontom (formally The Bellows) at Silverlake Lounge (11pm)

Friday: Curtis Peoples at The Hotel Cafe (9pm)
ALSO: Kina Grannis at Largo at the Coronet (8:30)

Saturday: Saint Motel’s Judgement Day with Queen Caveat at The Roxy (8pm)
ALSO: The Janks & The Shivers at The Hotel Cafe (10:30)
ALSO: Sabrosa Purr and 100 Monkeys at The El Rey (7pm)
ALSO: Viza at The Key Club (11pm)
ALSO: Jamestown Revival at Molly Malone’s (10:45)

Sunday: Chasing Avalanche and Run Run Run at The Viper Room (8,10)
ALSO: Dead Sara at Bardot (10:30)
ALSO: Alice Smith at The Hotel Cafe (8pm)

To Keep in Mind:

May 27th: The Script at Club Nokia
May 27^th-29^th: Sasquatch Music Festival (Washington)
June 1^st: Parade of Lights at Silverlake Lounge
June 2nd: Manchester Orchestra at The Music Box
June 6^th and 7^th: Band of Skulls at Bootleg Theater
June 7^th: Death Cab for Cutie and The Lonely Forest at The El Rey
June 9^th: Adele at Hollywood Palladium
June 9-12: Bonnaroo (TN)
June 13th: Florence and The Machine at The Greek Theater
June 15^th: Augustana at The House of Blues Sunset
June 17^th: Nico Vega at The House of Blues Anaheim
June 29^th: Brooke Fraser at The Music Box
July 19^th and 21^st: Alkaline Trio at The Troubadour
July 26^th: The Indigo Girls at The Troubadour
July 28^th: A Perfect Circle at Gibson Auditorium
August 12-14^th: Outside Lands in San Francisco
August 18-20^th: SSMF
September 22-24: Hotel Carolina (South Carolina)

~ Kristen

New Band Alert: Hot Brush

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Kristen

According to the band, Hot Brush is defined as an intense moment/experience; enlightenment; an alignment of fate. If it is fate that brought together Jace (Alright Junior) and Elissa (Karma Bat) on their musical journeys, then certainly we should pay attention! This duo from Philadelphia only has a couple songs up for our listening pleasure, but I’m quite excited about what I hear. I’ve always been a huge fan of Jace’s voice and I find it only enhanced by the sweetness of Elissa’s harmonies in “Bloodfed Trees”. I’m also digging the pluckiness of the ukulele which is a fantastic juxtaposition to the darker lyrical tones. The other Hot Brush tune “Dr. Fuller” (see below) is another gem. It reminds me of a darker version of Egyptian’s “Doctor Doctor“…it’s as if Hot Brush is the east coast’s answer to the west coast’s power duo of Aja (Nico Vega) and Dan (Imagine Dragons). But I digress…

If you’re in Philadelphia, you need to go check out Hot Brush (and kindly report back). They have a couple shows on the calendar. May 30th at Kung Fu Necktie and June 1st at PJ Ryan’s Underground in Pheonixville.

In the meantime, like them on facebook, follow them on twitter, listen to some tunes on reverb nation, and generally fall in love with some new music! yay!

~ Kristen

Egyptian EP on ITunes!

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Kristen

SO excited that Egyptian (that’s Aja Volkman from Nico Vega and Dan Reynolds from Imagine Dragons…if you didn’t know) finally have some tunes out for sale.

Check out their EP on ITunes. It includes track 15 off my 2010 end of year music mix!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/egyptian-ep/id433029207

What’s next? Some live dates? We can only hope…

~ Kristen

Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 4/11-4/17

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Kristen

Last night, I ventured down to Temecula where I met up with Amanda and we danced the night away with good friends and one of our favorite bands, Parade of Lights. I want to do it all again (well aside from that drive). Fortunately, if this week plays out as planned, last night was an enjoyable preview for what is to come!

The amazing tunes continue tonight with The Milk Carton Boys at The Hotel Cafe. As for the rest…check my schedule below (pay particular attention to Thursday…eeeeep!).

Monday: The Janks at The Hotel Cafe (8pm)
ALSO: The Canyons at Molly Malone’s (9:30)
ALSO: Chris Robinson Brotherhood at The Echoplex (8:30)
ALSO: The Filthy Souls at The Central in Santa Monica (8:30)
ALSO: Cage 9 FREE at The Viper Room (10:15)
ALSO: Tsunami Relief Benefit for Japan at Room 5 featuring so many amazing artists including Paris Carney, Joel Eckels, Gabriel Mann, Chris Pierce, Kyler England, Jenni Alpert, Keaton Simons, David and Devine, John Elliot, and MORE…seriously WOW (8pm)

Tuesday: The Stone Foxes and Chasing Kings at The Satellite (9pm)
ALSO: Jonathan Clark and Satellite at Molly Malone’s (8,9)
ALSO: Queens of the Stone Age at The Wiltern (7:30)
ALSO: Ryan Calhoun at The Hotel Cafe (9pm)

Weds: Nico Vega and Imagine Dragons at The Slidebar in Fullerton (8:30)
ALSO: Patrick Stump at The Hotel Cafe (two shows, 7pm and 10pm)
ALSO: Greg Laswell at The Troubadour (10pm)
ALSO: Queens of the Stone Age at The Wiltern (7:30)

Thursday: Dynamite Walls and BIFFY CLYRO at The BellyUp in Solana Beach (8pm)…$6 tickets folks…seriously, you can’t miss it!
ALSO: Electric Touch at 3 Clubs (9pm)
ALSO: Allen Stone at The Hotel Cafe (11pm)
ALSO: The Canyons at Molly Malone’s (9pm)

Friday: Scarlet Grey and Assemble the Skyline at The Roxy (10pm)
ALSO: Matthew Jordan at Pi (9pm)

Saturday: Ben Rector and Matt Wertz at The Troubadour (9pm)
ALSO: Garrison Starr and Raining Jane at The Hotel Cafe (9,10)
ALSO: The Lonely Forest at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa (9pm)
ALSO: 10,000 Maniacs at The House of Blues Sunset (8pm)
ALSO: Infantree at The Echo (5pm)

Sunday: Greg Laswell at Saint Rocke (8:30)

To Keep in Mind:
April 20th: Ellie Goulding at The Music Box
April 22nd: Purple Melon at The Roxy
April 25th: Airborne Toxic Event at The Satellite
April 25th: The Head & The Heart at The Troubadour
April 27^th: Andy Clockwise at The Troubadour
May 2^nd: Xavier Rudd at The El Rey
May 4th: The Pipettes at The Satellite
May 7th: The Silent Comedy at The Roxy
May 9^th: KT Tunstall at The El Rey
May 15th: Eisley at The Troubadour
May 27th: The Script at Club Nokia
May 27^th-29^th: Sasquatch Music Festival (Washington)
June 2nd: Manchester Orchestra at The Music Box
June 7^th: Death Cab for Cutie and The Lonely Forest at The El Rey
June 9-12: Bonnaroo (TN)
June 13th: Florence and The Machine at The Greek Theater
June 29^th: Brooke Fraser at The Music Box
July 26^th: The Indigo Girls at The Troubadour
August 18-20^th: SSMF
September 22-24: Hotel Carolina (SC)

~ Kristen

Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 3/28-4/3

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Kristen

Just got back from Saint Rocke where we experienced a most excellent evening of music. Justin Hopkins lead a mildly chaotic yet thoroughly enjoyable songwriters in the round featuring several artists (whose names I’ve sadly mostly forgotten). Justin himself played only a few songs, although I wish he could have done more. At one point, he brought up a 10-year-old girl who was an incredibly talented guitar player and songwriter. Keaton Simons also made an appearance and took part in several impromptu jam sessions after singing a few of his own tunes including a brand new one he claimed he just wrote yesterday.

The headliner of the evening was the incredibly entertaining Wakey!Wakey! Between the fun tunes and the funny banter, my cheeks still hurt from all the smiling and laughing. Seriously, if you’ve never been in a “conversation” with Wakey!Wakey! frontman, Mike Grubbs, you cannot fully appreciate the full spectrum of his talent. And speaking of talent, I should mention the violinist whose accompaniment elevated each song to a level of mesmerizing despite the fact that she had a cut on her finger.

It was a fantastic way to begin the week. Hopefully the rest of my schedule this week will be equally or more enjoyable. Check out my list:

Monday: Honeyhoney at Bootleg Theater (10:30)
ALSO: Sabrosa Purr at The Viper Room (10:15)
ALSO: Chris Robinson Brotherhood at The Echoplex (8:30)
ALSO: Songwriters in the Round at Room 5 (9pm)

Tuesday: Brian Wright at The Hotel Cafe (9pm)…record release show…and after what I heard at SXSW this would be my top pick of the week!
ALSO: The Canyons and Satellite at Molly Malone’s (8,9)
ALSO: Stop Motion Poetry at Room 5 (9pm)

Weds: Queen Caveat and Imagine Dragons at The Viper Room (8,9)
ALSO: Semi Precious Weapons at On the Rox (10pm)…the last of their Empire residency shows before they head off to re-join Lady Gaga
ALSO: Laura Jansen at The Hotel Cafe (10:30)

Thursday: Ringside at The Roxy (10pm)
ALSO: Ari Hest at The Hotel Cafe (9:30)

Friday: Bird by Bird at The Roxy (8pm)
ALSO: Viza at The Troubadour (11:30)
ALSO: Brendan James and Matt White at The Hotel Cafe (8,9)
ALSO: J. Scott Bergman at Molly Malone’s (8pm)

Saturday: Tyler Hilton at The Hotel Cafe (10pm)
ALSO: Northstar Session at Molly Malone’s (10pm)…album release

Sunday: day of rest…until something inevitably comes along…

To Keep in Mind:
April 6th: Andy Clockwise and The Silent Comedy at The Troubadour
April 10th: Milk Carton Kids at The Hotel Cafe
April 11th: Chris Robinson Brotherhood at The Echoplex
April 15th: Scarlet Grey at The Roxy
April 16th: Matt Wertz and Ben Rector at The Troubadour
April 20th: Ellie Goulding at The Music Box
April 22nd: Purple Melon at The Roxy
April 25th: Airborne Toxic Event at The Satellite
April 25th: The Head & The Heart at The Troubadour
May 4th: The Pipettes at The Satellite
May 7th: The Silent Comedy at The Roxy
May 15th: Eisley at The Troubadour
May 27th: The Script at Club Nokia
June 2nd: Manchester Orchestra at The Music Box
June 9-12: Bonnaroo!!!
June 13th: Florence and The Machine at The Greek Theater
September 22-24: Hotel Carolina
June 29th: Brooke Fraser at The Music Box

~ Kristen

Kristen’s LA Concert Calendar: 3/22-3/27

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Kristen

Back in LA after driving straight through the night from Austin. Forgive me if this email seems a bit incoherent or incomplete at any point. I’m slightly delirious from lack of sleep. I went straight to work after getting into town and have been going ever since. I don’t really recall the last time I slept… The horrible thing is, I really want to go to Bardot tonight for It’s A School Night. James Walsh from Starsailor is singing along with Teddy Thompson and a special surprise guest. And it’s FREE with RSVP. I know I shouldn’t but the pull is so strong.

Here’s what else I’m gravitating towards this week:

Monday: see last week’s email

Tuesday: War on Drugs at The Troubadour (9:15)…opening for Destroyer and unfortunately sold out
ALSO: King Creosote at The Hotel Cafe (7pm)
ALSO: Esben and The Witch at Bootleg Theater (11pm)

Weds: Little Red Radio and Semi Precious Weapons at On The Rox (EMPIRE party-FREE with RSVP to rsvp@semipreciousweapons.com)
ALSO: Liam Finn at The Autry (7pm)
ALSO: Watkins Family Hour at Largo (8:30)

Thursday: Hoots and Hellmouth at The Hotel Cafe (10pm)

Friday: John Elliot, Wakey Wakey, and The 88 at The Hotel Cafe (8,9,11)

Saturday: Aussie BBQ at The Echo featuring Maniac (12:30pm), Andy Clockwise (1pm), Dash & Will (6:30pm), etc. (noon-9pm)
ALSO: Lady Danville at The Troubadour (10:15)
ALSO: The PreZcotts at The Mint (5pm)

Sunday: Justin Hopkins and Wakey Wakey at Saint Rocke (7, 10)
ALSO: The Shakers at O’Briens (10pm)

To Keep in Mind:

March 28th: Chris Robinson Brotherhood at The Echoplex
March 30th: Imagine Dragons at The Viper Room
April 6^th: Andy Clockwise and The Silent Comedy at The Troubadour
April 10^th: Milk Carton Kids at The Hotel Cafe
April 11th: Chris Robinson Brotherhood at The Echoplex
April 15^th: Scarlet Grey at The Roxy
April 16th: Matt Wertz and Ben Rector at The Troubadour
April 20^th: Ellie Goulding at The Music Box
April 22^nd: Purple Melon at The Roxy
April 25th: Airborne Toxic Event at The Satellite
April 25^th: The Head & The Heart at The Troubadour
May 4^th: The Pipettes at The Satellite
May 7^th: The Silent Comedy at The Roxy
May 15^th: Eisley at The Troubadour
May 27th: The Script at Club Nokia
June 2^nd: Manchester Orchestra at The Music Box
June 9-12: Bonnaroo!!!
June 13th: Florence and The Machine at The Greek Theater
September 22-24: Hotel Carolina
June 29^th: Brooke Fraser at The Music Box

~ Kristen

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