Austin two-piece Not in the Face bring their smelted assault blues to Antone’s on Wednesday. Singer-guitarist, Jonathon Terrell and drummer, Wes Cargal, make scorched earth cow punk on the crossroads where The Replacements and Gun Club might meet The Knitters. They’re brash, heavy and ready to rumble in support of their recently released debut, Bikini. more ›

For a label based in Berlin, Hell, Yes sure has its Austin affections. Birthed in 2008 with a series of "7 singles to its name, Hell, Yes is branching out with a forthcoming LP from Boy Friend. Out on February 6th comes their debut LP Egyptian Wrinkle, and you can hear the title track on Altered Zones. In September, the label put out a single from Love Inks featuring a cover of "Rock On" by Dave Essex. more ›

The Wheeler Brothers know that you like to kick back under an old oak tree after a long day of toil and trouble and have a beer--and they're making music to capture just that feeling. This five-piece sometimes country, sometimes indie-rock band is composed of three brothers (Nolan, Tyler, and Patrick Wheeler) and a couple of their friends (Danny Matthews and A.J. Molyneaux)--all Austin natives. They released their first album, Portraits (a mix of alt-country, Americana, and the good old American love song perfect for that aforementioned beer and oak tree combo) in June of this year. For five guys riding around together in the backwoods of Tennessee in a van they're very polite and almost chipper. Their genuine interest in talking to people has earned them a diverse and devoted fan base (among them local legends Ray Benson and Bob Schneider). Write something on their Facebook page--they'll write you back. Want to meet them? Just go to one of their shows and they'll probably say "Hi!" before you do. more ›

Everyone pile into the hot tub time machine and dial it back to the time when Phil Spector was behind the mixing board and not behind bars. Antone's is hosting this all killer no filler bill of Austin's finest on Saturday night.

Well, no need to drink a bunch of off-brand energy drinks with some Skol vodka, The Carrots music will do just fine. Channeling Spector's own Ronettes and Motown's The Supremes, The Carrots mix a little old school gumption with some new school "indie" rock sincerity. more ›

After being pigeonholed as the second coming of Stevie Ray Vaughn when he came into prominence in the early nineties, guitarist and songwriter Ian Moore began to slowly dismantle those expectations with each subsequent album after his debut. 1995's Modern Folklore was punchy and strange, and the never-released follow-up The First Third's "progressive sound angered the label head, Phil Walden, so deeply upon hearing it" that he and Moore came to blows. Moore's band dissolved after the album was shelved, and though Moore rerecorded many of the songs on And All the Colors..., the original recording was buried. With the arrival of last year's fast and clean El Sonido Nuevo that resembles Moore's early work almost not at all, you might think it'd be an odd time to start looking back. Perhaps it's the perfect time. more ›

For those who would rather moves their heads in a way that doesn't induce whiplash, the lineup for this Saturday show at Antone's will surely make for one of the tamer Chaos in Tejas events. Featuring three acts that are more suited for Psych Fest than a heavy metal and hardcore free for all, it should provide plenty of ambient soundscapes to serve a nice counterbalance to all the doom and gloom. more ›

Don’t just sit at home patiently waiting for White Denim to drop their highly anticipated forthcoming album D, next month - get up and head on out to Antone’s tonight for a taste of their energetic live act, guaranteed to get you moving. more ›

As Austin’s beloved three-piece indie outfit White Denim prepare to drop their next album, D, in late May, they’ve generously gifted fans with a web-exclusive freebie -- an hour long mixtape. This springtime treat reflects the band’s influences with tracks in the mix by Lee Hazlewood, Hank Williams Jr., Emmylou Harris, Triangle, Ernesto Djedje, and Eddie Callahan (full tracklist on Gorilla vs. Bear). It also follows suit with the seasonal appropriateness of The Last Day Of Summer, a free 12-song EP released in September featuring the overflow of their forthcoming album. more ›

By the time 21-year old Dylan Leblanc walked onto the stage at the stroke of 9pm, Antones was already packed to the gills. The diverse crowd ranged from young folks dressed up in clubbing outfits to silver haired couples wearing cowboy hats, all wrangling for a front and center spot in preparation for Lissie's impeding arrival. But first, Leblanc regaled us with his elegant finger-picking acoustic guitar and clear vocals, accompanied by soaring harmonies from the bass player. He relied heavily on slow ballad type songs, with an easy comparison to Amos Lee's sound. The only drawback in the instrumentation was found in a faux-strings keyboard section on some of the songs that ended up serving more as a distraction than addition. Leblanc's debut album Paupers Field was released last August, and he's actually in town for one more night (Friday), . at the Saxon Pub. more ›

Mayer Hawthorne’s set at this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday (at the Austin Ventures Stage) but if you’d prefer to catch his silky smooth soul compositions in a slightly more intimate setting, you’re in luck. He’ll be gracing the fabled Antone’s stage with his presence tonight, and we’d like to send you for free. Enter your information in the contest form below for a chance to win two tickets to this official ACL Fest Aftershow. more ›

Good luck figuring out Jamie Lidell. The British-born Lidell first attracted notice for his solo production work with collaboration with producer Cristian Vogel in the band Super_Collider. Lidell's roots were in dance music production, but with 2005's Multiply, he embraced his love of retro soul and channeled everyone from Prince to Stevie Wonder to Otis Redding. It was a surprise twist for the artist, and one that found him a rather large legion of fans when took the record on the road with Beck for his 2006 tour. It also didn't hurt that Target licensed the track "A Little Bit More" for a lengthy TV ad campaign. more ›

This summer, the Bright Light Social Hour recorded their first album. In the studio, they're an ambitious and detail-oriented band, so the sessions were thorough and occasionally intense. Resulting stresses were abated by the band's camaraderie and indulgence in various homoerotic jokes. As producer Danny Reisch recorded the album at his home and at Cacophony Studios, I recorded a few hours of takes and studio chatter with my handheld over four days and reduced them to nine minutes in the collage below. more ›

Swedish folk singer/songwriter Kristian Matsson has an innate ability to cut to the core of the introspective-everyman. His humble songs spin timeless accounts built from the bare essentials that riddle a wanderlust’s heart: a lust for the dusty trails and the longing for love and simplicity. more ›

White Denim first captured our imagination in 2007 with their irresistible “Let’s Talk About” single and an equally alluring EP of the same name. Since then, the lads have churned out three brilliant full-lengths, fine tuning their experiments in psychedelic garage-rock with great success all along. They are now poised to release their most ambitious effort to date. We touched base with singer and guitarist James Petralli earlier this week to learn more about the new album. Catch the band in concert this Friday night at Antone’s. more ›

Though Kristian Matsson lives across the Atlantic, his unforgettable music has made an impression on U.S. listeners in an undeniable way. He was plucked from obscurity to open for one of 2008's most influential bands, Bon Iver, and after proving himself to be a considerable force on that tour, he was snagged by Austin's own Dead Oceans label. more ›

Last night, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros performed to a completely sold-out crowd at Antone's. Our staff photographer Chad Wadsworth was there to capture all the highlights. more ›

As we mentioned last week, The Mynabirds are playing tonight at Antone's and still riding strong after the release of What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood. The album is the solo debut from former Georgie James member Laura Burhenn, who spent many of her early days making music on her own. The album was built in the Oregon hills last summer with Burhenn and producer Richard Swift trading off on instruments, along with special guests (members of Azure Ray, Bright Eyes) contributing everything from light vocals to pedal steel and horns. more ›

Denton's Midlake have come a long way from their beginning as a lonely group of jazz students getting together to jam. Over the years, their music has launched them into an international spotlight, and after the media frenzy and massive touring surrounding their 2006 new classic Trails of Van Occupanther, all eyes were on their return to the scene this year. more ›

Although much of the album will instantly have you tapping your toes and searching for the closest dance floor, Grupo shifts tempos and rhythms expertly as needed, finding room for the odd slow jam like “Juan Tenorio” (featuring Larry Harlow) as well. Curt Kirkwood also cameos, lending his six-string chops to “Telaraña,” another funky concoction that will get you moving in no time. All in all, El Existential proves that Grupo Fantasma is THE obvious choice when leaning towards a night of riveting Latin music. So it only makes sense that we’d like to send you to one of their two album release shows this weekend at Antone’s -- enter your information in the form below for chance to win a pair of tickets to Saturday’s show: more ›

We first stumbled across CA's Local Natives after the UK release of their fantastic debut, Gorilla Manor. We knew it wouldn't take long before folks in the U.S. caught on, and we were right. This year, Frenchkiss Records (home to Antlers, the Dodos, Les Savy Fav and more) released a stateside version of the album. more ›

Girls at Waterloo Records, Times New Viking and Yo La Tengo at Antones, Friday January 29, 2010. Photos by Steve Hopson. more ›

What a ticket: the stage at Antone’s tonight will be shared by two bands whose sounds contrast one another in particularly interesting ways. Yo La Tengo have for over a quarter of a century comforted their many devotees with consistently beautiful and musically intellectual albums. Times New Viking, on the other hand, reward their fans with a sound that is perhaps best described as startling you back to the comforts of youth. Capable of the most tender racket, perennial favorites Yo La Tengo are veterans of a genre they painstakingly shaped out of both homage and innovation, cobbling together folk, punk, shoegaze, noise, and electronic impulses. Veterans without being staid, Yo La Tengo have remained an indie institution without ever becoming demure. This level of consistency is not to be overlooked in an industry that likes to console itself by the rule that most artists only have two great albums in them. Yo La Tengo’s twelfth full-length release, Popular Songs, was one of our top albums of last year. more ›

Photos courtesy Chad Wadsworth. more ›

One of the most unique bands in Austin at the moment, Foot Patrol is slowly but surely making a name for itself and garnering fans from different walks of life along the way. The local funk outfit, still resolutely focused on coining intriguing ditties about feet, has performed at a number of varied events lately, including this year’s Fun Fest and Old Pecan Street Festival, as well as a plethora of private parties and the occasional art opening. Spearheaded by TJ Wade and Hung Nguyen, Foot Patrol has already established itself on the Red River St., and this Saturday the band makes its debut at the historic Austin venue Antone’s. We caught up with Nguyen, bassist and producer, a couple of days ago and quizzed him on the band’s origins, its current momentum, and whether there will ever be a future where Foot Patrol does not write songs about feet. Grupo Fantasma headline the show on Saturday evening with equally riveting funk concoctions; doors to this Winter Funk-a-Wonderland open at 8 p.m. more ›

It’s no secret that your hard earned dough is up for grabs each year come the Holiday season. Requisite decorations to adorn your home, necessary gifts for the ones near and dear to you, and unavoidable travel related expenditures can all take quite a toll on the bank account. But surely that shouldn’t stop anyone from cutting down on their live music intake, faltering economy or not. Here at Austinist, we like to do what we can to offer some respite -- enter the form below for a chance to see Cage The Elephant on us at Antone’s tonight. more ›

The memories of Fun Fun Fun Fest remain vivid and fresh, and after that amazing yet exhausting weekend, surely we could be excused for a taking a deserved break to recharge our bodies. No such luck in our beloved city which refuses to rest on its laurels. Yes, just a week after that immense gathering of music, comedy, and arts, Massive Beacon, Reversal Films, and The Dark Agency present the second annual ATX Converge at The Mohawk. more ›

The internet is undecided - are the Dirty Projectors worthless, off-key hacks, or is their 2009 album Bitte Orca the Best Album Ever? more ›

A scant few years ago, the prospect of an Os Mutantes reunion seemed about as far-fetched as seeing Morrissey and Marr patch things up and hit the road, even in these reunion-crazed times. If Kurt Cobain’s public pleading to the Baptista brothers to reconvene Mutantes for a gig didn’t work, what would? Nevertheless, 3/5s of the São Paulo-based Tropicalia legends found enough common ground between them to reunite for a brief international tour in 2006, 34 years after the original lineup splintered off into their various solo careers. more ›

Local photographer Todd V. Wolfson has captured iconic images of some of Austin's best-known performers and musicians. A successful freelancer, his work has appeared in numerous publications and graced the albums of more than a few bands. This summer, however, Wolfson was faced with the kind of crisis that all freelancers have nightmares about: a bicycle accident put the shutterbug out of commission. more ›

Dirty Projectors sold out their last show in Austin at Red 7, but they're coming back in October. They'll be at Antone's on October 26 and tickets go on sale this Saturday TODAY at Frontgate. Or, you could try your luck winning a pair right here: more ›