Austinist Weekend Music Preview: The 4-1-1 on 4-20

This weekend is naturally also the perfect time for the Austin Reggae Festival -- the cost of admission is $10 on each day (plus two cans of food). The fest is presented by the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas; the line-up includes acts such as Lion Head, Full Service, Culture, and Qwiksand. Flamingo Cantina is producing the entire shindig and there will be a “Kick-Off bash” at the 6th St. venue on Friday along with an “After-Party” on Saturday.

Not to be outdone, the Old Settler’s Music Festival kicks off a couple of days earlier on the 17th and lasts until the fabled day of 4.20 as well. Eliza Gilkyson, Delbert McClinton, Terri Hendrix, and Brave Combo are just a handful of the artists scheduled to perform at the The Salt Lick Pavilion and Camp Ben McCulloch.

The one-two punch of Nick Lowe and Ron Sexsmith makes for an exciting bill at Antone’s on the 18th. Lowe has seen it all -- he was a member of the seminal pub-rock outfit Brinsley Schwarz, he produced albums by the likes of Elvis Costello, and his ever-evolving solo work has stood the test of time. Although Lowe has meddled in country, among other genres, we feel power-pop melodies have always been his forte; tracks like “Cruel To Be Kind” and “Rollers Show” are undeniably catchy and we hope to hear some of that ear candy this evening. Sexsmith recently played the iTunes Festival in London and his jaunt in North America with Lowe will be followed by another trip to the U.K., this time to play Glastonbury in late June.

Image provided by Steamroller

Navdo presents the second of two nights of Psychedelic Shack at The Parish on Friday with the music of Soundpool, The Boxing Lesson, My Education, and Skiesfalling. If you're leaning towards an evening of funk, The Rebirth Brass Band at Ruta Maya is a healthy option.

There is a KVRX 91.7 FM benefit as a part of their “Spring 2008 Pledge Drive” at the Rhizome Collective featuring Ghosthustler, Manejo Beto, and iKillCaRS. A donation of $7 is encouraged, maybe even required, and free beer will be offered with legitimate IDs. Negativland entertains at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown on Friday and Saturday -- check out the Alamo website for details.

Saturday’s highlights include The Dillinger Escape Plan at Emo’s, Blind Melon at Antone’s, and the massive Panic at the Disco, Motion City Soundtrack, The Hush Sound and Phantom Planet concert at Stubb’s. For DJ friendly fare, feel free to swing by The Mohawk for beats by Prince Paul, Richard Henry, and Johnny Spanish; or Beauty Bar where Learning Secrets takes over with Ian Orth and Eamon Harkin at the helm. Check out our preview for the Beauty Bar bash here.

And finally, what does the city of Austin (besides the afore-mentioned festivals) have in store for us on 4/20? Ruta Maya’s John Lennon Hoot RockNRoll Revival should be another stellar event at the South Austin coffee shop. Nearly 20 local acts will cover various John Lennon and The Beatles ditties -- The Viet Minh (“Tomorrow Never Knows”), The Boxing Lesson (“I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”), The Story Of (“All You Need Is Love”), The Channel (“Old Dirt Road”), Golden Bear (“Whatever Gets You Thru The Night”), The Lovely Sparrows (“Oh Yoko!”), Nic Armstrong (“I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier”), Shapes Have Fangs (“You Can’t Do That”), and The Tunnels (“Working Class Hero”) -- to name a few. The entire brouhaha costs $8 and kicks off at 6 p.m. with a DJ set from Pyschotropic. The night will include viewings of assorted John Lennon footage on a big screen between sets and also commemorates Bleu French Laundry Productions’ last event at the Ruta Maya headquarters.

Steamroller, once featured in High Times Magazine and also a past performer at the The 5th Annual High Times Party at SXSW 2001, brings us its versatile brand of rock n’ roll at Red Eyed Fly on Sunday. The band’s sound encompasses funk, southern rock, blues, metal -- you name it, they’ll blend it. And classics like “The Kind”, “Can’t Get Hired”, and “Cheap Seats” are likely to be included in their set-list this evening. Killer Crocs of Uganda and The Humiliators open.

Not really up for 4.20 specific fun -- Cat Power at Stubb’s, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks at La Zona Rosa and Mike Doughty’s Band at the Parish offer plenty of alternatives on Sunday.