Matisyahu and The Dirty Heads are playing the Congress Theater in Chicago as part of Riot Fest on Thursday, August 7, 2012. Tickets are on sale at  congresschicago.com. The event is presented by Congress Theater and Riot Fest.

Matisyahu has apparently shaved too and is no longer billed as the “Chassidic reggae superstar.” Now he is just a regular reggae superstar. He does have a new record coming out soon and the first single from that, Sunshine, was made available on the Matisyahu website.

The Congress Theater is located at  2135 N Milwaukee Avenue .

Blind Benny is an ethereal rock band.  You would think those two things mutually exclusive but I assure you they are not. They are releasing a debut EP, September 4, 2012 but you can see the video for their track, No Honor, below. You can also download it free HERE.

The band will be playing at Pianos (we assume the one in NYC) on May 31 for a preview performance of the EP.

Originally performing as Jade (the name of the band’s singer) but changed the moniker to be more all inclusive.  Jade, herself, released a solo ep, It’s My Heart, Cookie.

Have a listen, check out their show and wait patiently for September.

The Cult are out on tour. One of those dates is June 1, in Chicago at the Congress Theater.

Also on this tour are Against Me! and Icarus Line.

Find the rest of the tour dates (which are pretty extensive) at www.cultcentral.com

Allies for Everyone is a dream pop duo who are releasing an ep, the Scavenger EP on June 12. The band will be playing a couple of NYC shows to celebrate (see below). The EP has four tracks and you can hear one of them, Move When I Run, below. You can also hear a remix track below as well.

Last year the two released another recording, the Hour of the Wolf EP. A remix of the title track from that EP was used as the soundtrack for Elle’s Jean Paul Gautier retrospective. Man, I wish I could afford his men’s clothes.  But I cannot. He needs to design a line for K-Mart shoppers.

For more info on the band go to www.AlliesForEveryone.com

Shows

5/12 NYC at Tammany Hall (w/ Solbendr)
5/19 NYC at Lit Lounge (w/ Bunny X)

Straight outta Wales Yo!--The Joy Formidable have finished recording their second full-length record. It was recorded in Maine and in a tour bus (one of these is a much more cultural environment than the other). The record was mixed by Andy Wallace who has also worked with Rage Against The Machine, Jeff Buckley and Nirvana. There is no release date as yet.

The band is playing some dates in May and June and these are below.

Tour

May 29 - George, WA @ Sasquatch Music Festival
Jun 02 - Kansas City, KS @ KRBZ Beach Ball
Jun 07-09 - Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo
Jul 04 - Milwaukee, WI @ Milwaukee Summer Fest
Jul 07 - Kelowna, Canada @ Kelowna Waterfront Park

The Wallflowers are releasing a new record. It has been awhile hasn’t it? The band went on “hiatus” back in 2007. Jakob Dylan has, of course, released a couple records in the interim (Seeing Things and Women and Country).

The band will also play some dates later in the year. These are listed below. The new record will be previewed at these shows. The band’s first record sold a shitload of copies and spawned a  monster hit, One Headlight, and several smaller hits as well.  Find out more about the band and keep up on news at www.thewallflowers.com. 

 

Shows
7/20    Firefly Music Festival, Dover, DE
7/24    Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY (on-sale Friday, May 11th)
7/25    The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ (on-sale Friday, May 11th)
7/27    Schubas, Chicago, IL (on-sale Saturday, May 12th)
9/23    De Luna Fest, Pensacola, FL

They live in Brooklyn now but they are from Miami. Something in Spanish have a new single, For Slowing Down, out. You can hear/download a remix free. The single was produced by Andrew Raposo (Jessica 6, Midnight Magic). The single also has a video (think Miami Vice). See the video HERE.

 Check  out the remix by Matthew Dear below. You can buy the single at the usual music retailers.The group is Julio Monterrey, Michelle Perez and David Mason. Something In Spanish are playing a show at Pianos on May 14 and at Cameo on June 10. Find out more at www.Somethinginspanish.com.

Redgrave, out of Chicago, have a new single, Dick Moves, available for streaming and download HERE. You can also check out a video of a live performance (in the studio) of the track, Custom A, below.  The band is releasing a five track EP, National Act, on the Lovitt Records on June, 12. The record was recorded by Greg Norman (Pelican, Russian Circles). It will be on vinyl and for download.

The band has been together about a year and have a two song 7 inch out. The band is also playing shows in Illinois and Iowa. Check those out below.

Shows
May  26    Chicago, IL @ Quenchers
June 09    Chicago, IL @ Martyrs
June 13    Chicago, IL @ The Whistler (record release show)
June 21    Iowa City, IA @  Iowa City Yacht Club
June 22    Des Moines, IA @ The Lift
June 23    Clive, IA @ Bombay Bicycle Club
June 29    Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall (w/ Pelican, Anatomy of Habit)
July  20    Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle (w/ Del Ray)

Sophie Auster, a NYC-based singer-songwriter, has announced a performance at Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 2 on May 8. The performance will preview songs from her upcoming record due out in the fall. IN addition, for all those not able to attend Auster is offering an advance listen to her track, Wicked World, as a preview of the non-live variety.

This is apparently Auster’s second record after a first that was inspired by her father’s translation of French surrealist poems.

Find out more about Auster at www.sophieaustermusic.com.

Squarpusher are part of a new short film by The Creators Project. The video  is both live bits of their performance at Creators Project: San Francisco this past March (it also includes an interview). The short film is below as is a studio version of Drax 2 from the album Ufabulum, which comes out May 15.

You will be able to get Ufabulum on phosphorescent vinyl, on CD. There will be other merch as well and you can find out about pre-ordering HERE.