C3 has announced the after shows for this year's ACL Festival and the lineups are looking pretty good! Delta Spirit, Gary Clark Jr., Old Crow Medicine Show, Twin Shadow and Cut Copy, Death from Above 1979, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Bright Eyes, are all listed, as well as a rare live performance by Iron and Wine and Jim James. See the whole list with details here. more ›

Whispers flew around the packed ACL Studio as five men in suits as varied as their personalities filed on stage at 8pm. There were the expected four members of Monsters of Folk: Jim James, frontman for My Morning Jacket, M. Ward of She & Him fame, and Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes. (For more background on Monsters of Folk, check out the ACL/Stubbs preview.) But who was the fifth suited man seating himself behind the elegant drum kit? more ›

It takes a special artist to bridge the gap between The White Stripes, My Morning Jacket, and Norah Jones, and apparently M. Ward is that man. Ward has opened for all of these acts in the past two years, and has somehow managed to appeal to all of their audiences. His wonderful album Post-War met with universal acclaim upon release, ending up on best of '06 lists from The Onion, Paste, The Guardian, and... more ›

Where in the hell did My Morning Jacket come from? If you answered "Louisville, Kentucky", you're only half right. Few people know this, but MMJ was actually birthed collectively from a anthropomorphic bear-god, assuming human form so as not to scare off prospective audiences. They learned to play music on instruments they found while foraging at an abandoned mining camp. No, seriously. The reverb that coats their hauntingly translucent albums like so much honey... more ›

There are tons of bands in this world that are carried solely by the strength of their vocalist. Bands without a dominant singer face a particularly difficult challenge in having to create music that commands attention and isn't boring or just plain smooth-jazz lame. The kids of The Big Sleep --Sonya Balchandani (bass), Danny Barria (guitar), Gabriel Rhodes (drums)-- attempt to prove that they're not trying to tuck you in for the night. A majority... more ›

Whether you go down to the local record store or shop through the Tubes, today is new release Tuesday. Birdmonster No Midnight (SpinART) Despite the rock n roll media's underwhelmed response, No Midnight is going to be the biggest indie seller this week, quite easily. Considering the fact that they gained their audience primarily through the web, and were unsigned at the start of the year, it's a pleasant surprise to see such a... more ›