Umphrey’s McGee is gearing up for a busy 2018, which will mark their 20th year together as a band. In honor of the forthcoming anniversary, Umphrey’s will release the previously announced album it’s not us on January 12th. While fans were excited to hear the first two tracks from the album—”The Silent Type” and “Looks”—as part of a Record Store Day Black Friday release in a few weeks, Umphrey’s fans can now listen to “The Silent Type” today, courtesy of Billboard. The new track features catchy vocals with a huge hook laid over 1980’s-era-sounding synthesizer, guitar parts, and pulsating back-beat. It is a good example of the progression of Umphrey’s McGee’s sound while remaining true to who they are as a band. If this track is an example of what’s to come on it’s not us, then fans of the band have a lot to look forward to.Umphrey’s McGee To Debut 2 Songs On Vinyl Ahead Of New Album’s ReleaseBillboard also revealed the tracklist for it’s not us and some information about the album. The album will contain eleven songs total and will seemingly reflect the diversity of the band’s influences and musical stylings, as Billboard notes that the band “masterfully incorporates a slew of different genres over 11 tracks, from blues-rock to prog-metal to acoustic balladry.”it’s not us will contain 7 brand new, never-before-heard tracks, and 4 road-tested songs that have been performed live several times. “Remind Me” has been played 30 times since its debut back in 2015, while “Speak Up” has become a staple since its debut on 12/31/2015 and has been performed a whopping 47 times in the past two years. The demo for “Forks” was originally released as a bonus track for those who pre-ordered UM’s 2009 album Mantis; it was debuted in the live setting in 2011 and played 17 times since, and now it has been given the full studio treatment by the band on it’s not us. “Piranhas” debuted on New Year’s Eve 2014, has been played 21 times since then, and also made the cut for it’s not us.Umphrey’s McGee Releases Footage Of “Speak Up” From The Capitol Theatre RunBrendan Bayliss told Billboard that he feels the band has “really honed in on the songwriting. . . . We’ve really focused on being more concise and trimming the fat.” He went on to explain their different approaches to a live show or a studio session, explaining that “if 1,000 people are fist pumping and don’t want the moment to stop, it’s your job to read it and ride it and keep it going, whereas the studio, it’s a completely different beast, and you’re not living in the moment. You’re actually doing the exact opposite. You’re etching something in stone.”See below for the full tracklist for it’s not us. Read the full interview with Brendan Bayliss on Billboard and listen to the “The Silent Type” below. Umphrey’s McGee’s it’s not us Track Listing:1. “The Silent Type”2. “Looks”3. “Whistle Kids”4. “Half Delayed”5. “Maybe Someday”6. “Remind Me”7. “You & You Alone”8. “Forks”9. “Speak Up”10. “Piranhas”11. “Dark Brush”[photo by  Shervin Lainez] read more

Earlier today, Rolling Stone released a new interview with David Byrne, the iconic alt-rocker and frontman for the Talking Heads. Currently, Byrne is winding up for the release of a new solo album, American Utopia, which is due on out March 9th and marks his first solo album since 2004’s Grown Backwards. In support of the forthcoming American Utopia, the artist has announced an extensive global tour, which will see him performing across the Americas and Europe.However, in the Rolling Stone interview, Byrne reiterated why he’s avoided a Talking Heads reunion, noting:I see what happens with other people when they do their reunions – and then it turns into a second reunion and a third reunion. With someone like the Pixies, it’s different – they’re getting the audience now that they deserved ages ago. But with a lot of them, it just seems like you don’t have anything new to say, and you go, “OK, this is just some kind of nostalgia exercise.” And I’m not interested in that.Yet, on his website, Byrne writes: “We’ll be doing some new songs… and many others that will, I assume, be familiar. I’m excited. This is the most ambitious show I’ve done since the shows that were filmed for Stop Making Sense, so fingers crossed.”Byrne also explained his vision for the upcoming tour, detailing aspects of the stage set, including that the tour will feature “six drummers and percussionists” and that “the human beings become the set.” Rolling Stone summarized his vision as “a stage full of musicians in constant, choreographed motion, expanding a concept he and St. Vincent used for the horn section on their joint 2012 tour.”During the interview, in addition to discussing his new album, his recent projects, and cultural appropriation and denouncing President Donald J. Trump and the Republican Party (“[Donald Trump’s] a fucking racist. … If [Republicans] don’t break rank, they’re as racist as he is. And let’s not forget that.”), David Byrne also spoke about pop music. While he rebuffed that his recent work has been poppy, he addressed Selena Gomez’s “Bad Liar”, which uses samples from the Talking Heads’ iconic “Psycho Killer”, explaining, “Yeah, repurpose the stuff. That’s totally fine. And, you know, we get paid for it too. So thank you, Selena Gomez!”You can read the full interview with David Byrne on Rolling Stone here. read more

alt-J are officially hitting the road this spring for a North American headlining tour. The indie rockers will kick things off on April 7 at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, CO and conclude at the Pepsi Center in Mexico City on June 26, with festival appearances at Coachella, Bonnaroo, Firefly and Mountain Jam. On June 15, alt-J will perform their biggest show yet at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York, with opening support from Kamasi Washington. The show will feature a surround speaker system, using immersive hyperrealism technology to envelop the entire audience in an incredible surround sound experience, maximizing the space of the largest venue the band has headlined in North America. See below.Additionally, alt-J are currently working with various collaborators on a re-interpretation of their 2017 album Relaxer. See below for a list of upcoming tour dates, and head to the band’s website for more information.alt-J TOUR DATES:04.07.2018 Sat – Denver CO – Fillmore Auditorium04.10.2018 Tue – Magna UT – The Great Saltair04.12.2018 Thu – Phoenix AZ – The Van Buren04.14.20018 Sat – Indio CA – Coachella04.16.2018 Mon – Santa Barbara CA – Santa Barbara Bowl04.18.2018 Wed – San Francisco CA – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium04.20.2018 Fri – Las Vegas NV – The Chelsea Theatre – The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas04.21.2018 Sat – Indio CA – Coachella04.23.2018 Mon – Davis CA – UC Davis – Pavilion at ARC04.24.2018 Tues – Eugene OR – Cuthbert Amphitheater04.25.2018 Wed – Spokane WA – Knitting Factory06.06.2018 Wed – St. Louis MO – Peabody Opera House06.07.2018 Thu – Chicago IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island06.08.2018 Fri – Louisville KY – Iroquois Amphitheater06.07-10.2018 – Manchester TN – Bonnaroo06.11.2018 Mon – Charlotte NC – Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre06.12.2018 Tue – Pittsburgh PA – Stage AE06.14-17.2018 – Dover DE – Firefly06.15-17.2018 – Hunter NY – Mountain Jam06.15.2018 Fri – Forest Hills NY – Forest Hills Stadium06.18.2018 Mon – Portland ME – Thompson’s Point06.20.2018 Wed – Toronto ON – Echo Beach06.24.2018 Sun – Monterrey MEX – Teatro Banamex06.26.2018 Tue – Mexico City MEX – Pepsi Center read more

John Medeski is a virtuosic musician in every sense of the word. Outside of his renowned acid jazz-fusion trio Medeski, Martin & Wood, the pianist and organist has played with just about everyone on the scene (and beyond) and is a master of countless musical styles. This year, MMW has teamed up with another legendary player, John Scofield, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their collaborative album, A Go Go. Medeski was on hand at Jam Cruise 16, where Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood awed attendees with their powerful performances and dynamic improvisations.Live For Live Music got the opportunity to catch up with Medeski on the boat. We spoke about a whole slew of topics, ranging from his relationship with John Scofield over the years to his new project, Hudson, with Jack DeJohnette, Larry Grenadier, and Sco. He also shared news of not one, but two, upcoming Medeski, Martin & Wood albums and discussed technology and dream collaborations. You can read the interview below.Ming Lee Newcomb: You’re here on Jam Cruise with Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood. You guys are rounding toward your 20th anniversary of A Go Go with John Scofield. Can you talk a little bit about how your relationship with Scofield has changed from that first collaboration to now?John Medeski: It’s sort of like with anything: you never really know what’s going to happen. You meet somebody, and sometimes you hit it off, sometimes you don’t. That relationship develops, or it doesn’t. With Sco, when we first met and did that record, it was pre-Internet, pre-cell phones. At that time, Medeski, Martin & Wood spent our winters in Hawaii living in this shack. We’d be in the jungle, and maybe once a week, we’d go into town, get supplies, chill, play music, eat coconuts, swim, you know.We had this 1-800 fan line at the time, and we’d get on the pay phone in town and check our messages. Chris Wood and I were listening to the messages on there, and there was one that was like, “Hey, this is John Scofield! Would love to play with you guys!” I was sure it was a joke and actually a friend of mine messing with us. So, Chris and I, we listen to the message again, and we’re like, we better call the number back just to see. Sure enough, it was actually John Scofield. So we got together and made A Go Go. It was Scofield’s music, it was his record, though we rehearsed and adjusted a few things for the way we play.The truth is, there was just this chemistry with him musically but then also personally—he’s a nice guy, and I’m sure he gets along with just about everybody. That record, in retrospect, did certain things for him in terms of awakening the audience that we had built up to who he is and what he does—and obviously, he’s amazing, and he’s a master. He was doing that sort of thing anyway: taking jazz and mixing it with groove. We had cultivated a younger audience with the way we had been touring and with our style and approach, so really, it opened a lot of people up to him. For us, it gave us a certain credibility in the jazz world, like suddenly we were getting gigs in Europe that paid, which we weren’t getting before. We tried to go to Europe one time, and it was fine, but we did better in the States so we were like, “Why we go there and work for nothing when we can keep playing in our own country?”In a way, it was very mutually beneficial, I think, and then musically, it was a blast. Unfortunately, at that time, Billy Martin had just had his first kid, and so when we did a tour for A Go Go, we had to get a different drummer. We used Clyde Stubblefield, who was the drummer from James Brown’s band, and he’s fantastic. It was an amazing experience, but we didn’t get an opportunity to do much playing as a band live when the record came out except for a few shows—I think we played the North Sea Jazz Festival? Basically, we did the record, Chris and I did the tour, and then we went our separate ways.John Scofield & Medeski, Martin & Wood – “Chicken Dog” – North Sea Jazz Festival 1997[Video: d7b9]John Medeski: As time went on, we were like, “We should play with Sco again.” [laughs] Looking back, you realize there’s something special, something magical, a chemistry that you can’t put words to. We decided to make a record on our own label called Out Louder. We got together with Sco, and he came to our studio in Brooklyn and just hung out and played. Everybody brought in a little bit of music, but we also created a lot of music together. Then we did a tour on that, and it was fun, and the same thing happened. It was great, but then a few more years went by and we were like, “God, we miss John! We should play with John!” So we made this record Juice, and we did a tour.It was just one of those things that every time we did it, it’d be really fun making the music and touring. Then also, the audience seemed to really like this band. It’s interesting, there are different schools. Some people’s favorite MMW record is A Go Go, which is actually a Scofield record. I think that people like to hear different sorts of things.It’s been this very natural relationship that’s grown over twenty years. I’ve played with John in other situations, and I think Billy played with John on a Christmas record. We all ended up doing different stuff together in different ways, and I just got done with Hudson, this band that has been a real treat. It’s great to play with him in all these different settings. We did some duo gigs—we called ourselves The Johns. [laughs] It was just a little run in Europe, but that was really fun.Hudson – Festival International de Jazz de Montréal 2017[Video: Sortiesjazznights]John Medeski: Growing up, when I was going to school and playing with people in my late teens and early 20s, I can’t tell you how many people were trying to sound like John Scofield, you know what I mean? Then you play with him, and it’s like, “Wow, he really sounds like John Scofield.” [laughs] For me, I’ve always appreciated certain parts of his playing: that every note counts, the way he plays lines. He just has his own style. In jazz—and really, for me, in all music—great players have their own melodic sense. You can recognize them instantly just because of the way they put the notes together, and then a lot of people copy these guys. Sco is just one of those guys that a lot of people copy, and I’ve always loved his linear, melodic approach.I saw him with Miles Davis in the late 80s or whenever that was. One of my favorite records back then was this album called Bar Talk, which was his trio. He had this way of playing jazz, but not being trapped in the past. With Medeski, Martin & Wood, we have this love of jazz, this love of funk, this love of a lot of different kinds of music. While we have a lot of different degrees of experience in these different styles, but we meet in a place that is special and unique. We love New Orleans music, and there’s this special kind of feel that John has when he plays with Billy. Plus, when we’re playing with John, as a trio, it gives us the opportunity to play the rhythm section, and we get to play together in a different way. When it’s the three of us alone, it’s this organism creating music as a whole. When we have John, we can be the backup band while he’s soloing and that gives us the opportunity to do a totally different thing.MLN: And you like that though: taking the backseat during those performances?JM: I love it. I mean, I’m a piano player originally, and one of the roles is to be an accompanist, and I’ve always loved doing that. It’s just, I don’t know, it’s a certain role that a sax player doesn’t get to do, and a lot of guitar players don’t do it because they’re just soloists. As a pianist, it’s just something that I’ve always done, whether it’s musicals, singers, classical music. It’s one of our rules, so I really appreciate it, and I love playing behind Sco.MLN: Going back to the origin story of meeting Scofield, at the time, he was a little bit more established and you didn’t even necessarily believe his call was real. Did you find there was a mentorship aspect to your dynamic, or do you feel you came into the project on equal footing? Now, twenty years later, do you feel like that relationship is the same?JM: It’s interesting. I think at the time we came in on equal footing. There was a lot of stuff to work out about how it was advertised. At that time, we were doing pretty well from a commercial standpoint, and like I said, it was pretty mutually beneficial. I think musically, John is really strong and he knows how good he is, but he’s also really humble. He doesn’t come into any situation like, “Let me show you something. Let me tell ya.” He comes in very humbly and just deals with what’s happening, and that’s how it was when we played together, but he’s also very strong. You notice that when you play with him, like, “Maybe we can push him in this direction or that direction,” but John does what he does, so we do what we do to give balance to it.But yeah, I think that musically it was very much a collaboration even though that first record was all his music, and very strongly his music. He wrote it in a way and he allowed us to play and arrange those songs in a way that was really us too, or at least a certain side of us. When we play with different guitar players and different musicians, different sides of us come out. With Sco, there’s a certain side that comes out.MLN: Keeping on with talking about collaborations, one of my favorite shows this year was Medeski, Martin & Wood’s show with Joe Russo’s Almost Dead at 1st Bank Center. Can you talk a little bit about that spacey drums and “Dark Star” collaboration that started the second set?JM: Well, we’ve known Joe [Russo] since the Benevento/Russo Duo days when he and Marco [Benevento] first came out. It was his idea to have us all come out and do that. That’s one thing that we do as a band. We play free, expansive music, and there’s room for that in that scene and the Grateful Dead had their moments of doing that. It was very simple, just like, “Hey, let’s get up and do this. We’ll open the set and then go into this tune.” The song was predetermined, but what was going to happen before the tune was just really wide open. There was that crazy instrument that Joe had, so that was as spontaneous as it gets.Joe is that kind of musician. He’s embraced the Dead scene, but that’s not where he was coming from when I first met him—maybe he was into the music, but he was a creative and searching musician. I think that’s what’s beautiful about what he brings to JRAD. He’s done the time playing with a lot of the guys in the Dead to really know that music and have a relationship with them that’s in the lineage, but his spirit is crazier and freer. To me, that performance was a testament to that side of him.Joe Russo’s Almost Dead with Medeski, Billy Martin, Adam Morford, & Stuart Bogie – “Morfbeats” > “Dark Star” > “Mississippi Half-Step” MLN: Can we talk about Hudson now? We mentioned it earlier, but you guys already released an album and toured, but it seems like it’s died down a little bit. Will that project be making a reemergence?John Medeski: Definitely. We’ll be doing a tour next summer, I’m pretty sure. We have July set aside. The problem with that project is everybody is busy doing things. It’s another example of where you get these guys together—you see it especially in this jam band scene where you have these super jams—and just because something seems like a good idea or looks good on paper, it doesn’t mean it’s actually going to work. Just because you get great musicians together, it doesn’t mean that it’s going to be good. Really, the chemistry is everything when it comes to playing together, and especially when it comes to any music with improvisation or that’s spontaneous. The chemistry is really important.It was Jack DeJohnette’s idea for his 75th birthday to put this band together. By the nature of it having Sco and me, it ended up turning into a little bit more of a collaborative thing because Sco doesn’t do sideman gigs anymore, you know? For me, I was just happy to play with Jack and was like, “Forget it! Whatever, anything!” [laughs] But it was nice because everybody had input. We got together and started rehearsing, and it was pretty instantaneously clear that it was a magical thing. It didn’t sound like anything that we’d ever heard before, even though it draws on certain things. It was really kind of instant, and when we went and made the record, it was the same thing—it was very easy and smooth and felt really good.Then the live show that we took on the road for a month, it really got to another level. Sco and I were talking about this the other day; it was unbelievable where it got to. I mean, it was real fun, but normally by the end of the tour, you’re kind of like, “Alright. We’ve been playing these tunes a lot, it’s cool, but I’m ready to play something else.” Instead, it just got deeper. Jack is relentlessly creative and pushing—it’s just who he is—and it’s so beautiful and so inspiring. It’s unusual, but that’s where Jack is, and it’s what we all strive for. We can all do it, but you need everybody to be there. As soon as one person gets into a habit with the music, that’s kind of where it all ends up. It’s one of the reasons Medeski, Martin & Wood can be together for twenty-six years and still like each other and enjoy playing music together—because we all strive for that.With Hudson, we actually did play about the same set every night, in terms of order and songs, but, man, it just kept pushing, pushing, pushing, and just going deeper. It was such a blast, and I think it was that good on every front for all of us. But everyone’s got other stuff going on, though I wish we could do it more, so you never know. We’ll see how this coming year goes. Jack, at this point in his life, doesn’t want to tour as much, and we’ve all got a lot of other stuff going on.Hudson – “Castles Made Of Sand”, “Cripple Creek” – Bardavon Opera House – Poughkeepsie, NY – 10/4/2017[Video: Matt Frazier]MLN: Given the sort of frequently traditional gear you use, do you have any thoughts on how technology has shaped your playing or do you feel like you’ve tried to separate yourself from that?John Medeski: I don’t know if I’m equipped to answer that because that’s a very historical question, but that’s a really good and big question. I mean, the acoustic piano is probably the most advanced non-electronic piece of equipment ever created in human history, if you think about it. Really, with the piano, I can tell who’s playing in just about three notes—everyone has their own sound on the piano. The great players you can tell—Bill Evans, [Vladmir] Horowitz, [Thelonius] Monk, Art Tatum, Bud Powell. The fact that this instrument has that power of individuality is very advanced. So, I guess technology is a part of it, but I don’t really think about that.I look to something else in the music, for me. I’m kind of old school. I grew up, I played piano, and then I got a Hammond and played the organ. That was really electric for me, and now, I don’t use technology that much other than a tool for recording and stuff like that. I would say that maybe thirty years ago, I used to think that there was something about acoustic instruments that was “better.” I don’t think that anymore because people can do amazing things with anything. I mean, start with hip-hop and using a turntable as an instrument. Now, it’s computers and everything.I’d love to be able to say, “Aw man, that’s not real music,” but I can’t, because it’s all about the creative spirit and what you can do with it. These are all just tools, and you can do really incredible things. I mean, there’s also a lot of generic crap, but that’s true for any instrument ever, always. With EDM, especially the stuff that’s more esoteric, weirder, tranced out, there’s some stuff that’s really amazing. You can do things with the computer and try things out, like superimposing stuff that from a compositional or harmonic aspect can be really advanced.I don’t really do it that much because I’m kind of old-school and that’s my thing and I like to keep that going. More and more, I’ve started playing other acoustic instruments like flutes because I love sound without any amplification. For me, that’s the essence and root of everything—I’m looking for something that feels like that, but it can be done with a computer. I also feel like it’s important to keep in touch with a certain sonic purity. It’s about not losing touch with the heart connection, so anything that gets too up in the head, for me, doesn’t touch me in the same way. I sometimes fantasize about working with the computer more, but it’s funny because as time goes on, I feel like I’m getting more acoustic. [laughs] I like the limits of that and seeing how we can push those limits and using your imagination to do more, but that’s just me.MLN: You have so many different projects circulating and you’ve worked with so many different artists throughout the years. Are there any people you haven’t worked with who you’d like to?JM: I guess, I trust the universe because I’ve been lucky beyond. I mean, shit, [laughs] it’s kind of crazy. It’s already hard to believe that I get to play with these people that I’ve gotten to play with. But I mean, Wayne Shorter, but that’ll probably never happen. In terms of something that could happen: Jeff Beck. He’s playing better than ever, and it’s incredible. I don’t know how that would work, but that could be a cool thing.Santana is another one. I got to play with him a little bit when I was working with Jack Bruce, who’s another person who I hoped to play with more but he left this planet. We did the lifetime tribute thing, and Carlos played a few gigs with us and sat in. I’ve always thought it would be cool to do something with him. I’d like to go back to the stuff that he was doing with McLoughlin—that sort of more spirit-oriented, jazzy instrumental side.Santana, John Medeski, Jack Bruce, Cindy Blackman, & Vernon Reid – Yoshi’s Jazz Club – Oakland, CA – 2/3/2011[Video: dkeirsteadisback]John Medeski: God, there are so many. Willie Nelson [laughs], I’d love to play with Willie. I guess that’s why I say that I trust. I feel like it’s about the chemistry. There might not be chemistry with these people. It might just be a disaster if I played with them. I’m pretty content with everything that’s happening. Already, I have a lot of stuff of my own that I want to do of my own that I want to get out there.MLN: That kind of gets to my final question, which is about your own music. In summer of 2016, Billy sent out a tweet saying that a new album from MMW was coming out in the fall. There are now rumors of you being in the studio this summer. Do you have an update for us?JM: We were in the studio, and we’re working on the record. It’ll be out probably this coming year, for sure. There’s gonna be a film and a documentary around it about the band. So it actually happened, and we’re working on it!MLN: All new stuff?JM: Yep. All new stuff, and it’s pretty exciting. We actually also have another record in the bag already with this orchestra called Alarm Will Sound. We played gigs in the Denver area with music they wrote, music that we wrote, and some old stuff rearranged for them.MLN: So do you think you’ll release that or the new album first?JM: I don’t know what we’ll do. That record is done so it can come out whenever. We’re just trying to find the right way to put it out. It’s hard to put out records these days, [laughs] unless you do it yourself. The new record, we still have some work to do. We recorded it, and now we have to see what else we need to record, see what we can use from what we have.MLN: I won’t pry too much, but how would you say this new album differs from past works?JM: I’m always kind of bad at this. I just kind of get in it and do it, so maybe it’s the same as all our other ones. I think this one is going to be a little more groove, soundscape-y. That just seemed to be the direction that it was going when we were recording, as opposed to less jammy-bandy-tuney. So yeah, it’s going to be more soundscape-y, soundtrack-y, grooveishness. [laughs] read more

Iron Maiden will continue their Legacy Of The Beast World Tour well into next year, with a run of 38 international (mostly North American) concert dates scheduled for summer and fall 2019. The famous metal group from the U.K. announced the extension of their ongoing tour themed around the animated comic and video game released by Iron Maiden back in 2017.The 2019 dates will begin on July 18th with a show at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The North American leg of the tour will continue throughout July and into August and September. A brief international run of shows will begin in Mexico City on September 29th, followed by three shows in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile in October. Tickets for the newly announced 2019 tour will begin pre-sale on Monday, November 12th, with general on-sale starting one week from today on Friday, November 16th.The Legacy Of The Beast Tour initially began in Europe earlier this year back on May 28th. The international leg continues this weekend with the band currently playing throughout South America. They’re still scheduled to travel to Japan, Israel, Norway, and Iceland before their 2018 comes to a close in December.“We’re excited to return to North America and share the ‘Legacy Of The Beast Tour’ with all our friends there,” Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson mentioned in a statement to go with Friday’s announcement. “We’re immensely proud of this show and we’ve had great reactions from the many fans who came to see us in Europe earlier this year.Dickinson also went on to mention how the world they created in their video game helped to inspire the stage production experience for the tour. A recap of the 2018 European run can be watched in all its explosive hard rock fury in the video seen below.Iron Maiden will be joined throughout the 2019 summer tour by The Raven Age, with Fozzy also set to join in on the fun for the show at the September 14th show at Banc of California Stadium. A complete schedule of 2019 shows can be referenced in the listing below.Iron Maiden – 2018 European Tour Recap [Video: Iron Maiden]Legacy of the Beast Tour Dates7/18 Sunrise, FL BB&T Center7/20 Atlanta, GA Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood7/22 Charlotte, NC PNC Music Pavilion7/24 Washington DC Jiffy Lube Live7/26 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center7/30 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center8/1 Boston, MA Xfinity Center8/3 Hartford, CT Xfinity Theatre8/5 Montreal, QC Bell Centre8/7 Quebec, QC Videotron Centre8/9 Toronto, ON Budweiser Stage8/10 Toronto, ON Budweiser Stage8/13 Buffalo, NY KeyBank Center8/15 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center8/17 Pittsburgh, PA PPG Paints Arena8/19 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena8/22 Chicago, IL Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre8/24 Indianapolis, IL Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center8/26 St Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center8/28 Winnipeg, MB Bell MTS Place8/30 Edmonton, AB Rogers Place8/31 Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome9/3 Vancouver, BC Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena9/5 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome9/6 Portland, OR Moda Center9/9 Sacramento, CA Golden 1 Center9/10 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena9/13 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena9/14 Los Angeles, CA Banc of California Stadium9/17 Phoenix, AZ Talking Stick Resort Arena9/19 Albuquerque, NM Isleta Amphitheater9/21 Dallas, TX Dos Equis Pavilion9/22 Houston, TX The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion9/25 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center9/29 Mexico City, MX Sports Palace10/4 Rio de Janeiro, BR Rock In Rio10/12 Buenos Aires, AR Velez Sarsfield Stadium10/15 Santiago, CL Estadio NacionalView All Tour Dates read more

“This is the fourth consecutive year we’ve done this,” Steve Earle told the audience at New York’s landmark Town Hall, “so I guess we can say ‘fourth annual’ now.” This year’s John Henry’s Friends show, co-produced by City Winery, was the finest yet in what has become a proud tradition for the benefit of New York’s Keswell School for autistic children. With Warren Haynes, Susan Tedeschi, and Derek Trucks joining Earle’s long-time musical mates The Mastersons—Chris and Eleanor—and the Dukes, everyone contributed to the feel-good vibe, each set managing to take the music to the next level.John Henry is Steve Earle’s son who was diagnosed as autistic at 19 months old. Since then, Steve has navigated his way through complicated bureaucratic and legal tangles to get his son the education he deserves. John Henry now attends the Keswell School, and the show helps fund scholarships for other autistic children. Earle spoke emotionally about his experiences with autism and its impact on children and parents he has known.The Mastersons, Eleanor on violin and Chris on guitar, opened the evening with original tunes before welcoming Warren Haynes. Performing solo on acoustic guitar, Warren spent time tuning between songs. “Have to be in tune when you play Town Hall,” he said. Switching to electric, he welcomed Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks for a crowd-pleasing take on “Soulshine” that recalled Haynes and Trucks’s days together in the Allman Brothers Band.Derek and Susan were up next, starting out on acoustic guitars before welcoming back Warren Haynes and The Mastersons. Among the evening’s many highlights was Susan’s cover of “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” a song, she said, Bob Dylan sang on the Town Hall stage in 1963.Even though it was Steve Earle’s night, he put himself in a tough position following so much talent, but he had no problem delivering a high-energy set that had the crowd on its feet with favorites such as “Guitar Town” and “Copperhead Road.” For the big finale, he brought the evening’s entire crew on stage for “Midnight Rider.” To close, he told how Graham Nash appeared at the second John Henry benefit and every show now ends with “Teach Your Children.”It was a great evening of music for an important cause. Beyond the money raised, people who had come for the music left with a deeper awareness of the challenges of autism. As the crowd dispersed in and around New York’s Times Square, there was an almost palpable glow of having experienced something special.“South Nashville Blues” – Derek Trucks & Steve Earle[Video: Paul Allegretta]“Meet Me In The Bottom” – Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks[Video: Paul Allegretta]“In The Garden” – Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks[Video: Paul Allegretta]“Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” – Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks[Video: Paul Allegretta]“Back Where I Started” – Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi[Video: Paul Allegretta]“Old Friend” – Warren Haynes & Derek Trucks[Video: Paul Allegretta]“The Real Thing” – Warren Haynes Solo Acoustic[Video: Paul Allegretta]“Soulshine” – Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi[Video: Paul Allegretta]“Midnight Rider” – Everyone[Video: Paul Allegretta]“Teach Your Children Well” – Everyone[Video: Paul Allegretta] Load remaining images read more

Prog-jam favorites Umphrey’s McGee announced on Tuesday that Brooklyn-based nine-piece funk powerhouse Turkuaz will serve as support for their show on Saturday, June 22nd at Morrison, CO’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre. On Saturday, Turkuaz announced their newly added gig onstage as they closed out their winter tour at Denver, CO’s Ogden Theatre.On Friday, June 21st, the first night of the run, Umphrey’s McGee will be joined by Arizona jam quartet Spafford. On the run’s final night, Sunday, June 23rd, Umphrey’s will perform three sets including a special Led Zeppelin set with guest drummer Jason Bonham, reprising their collaboration from last summer at LOCKN’.In addition to the three Red Rocks shows, Umphrey’s guitarists Brendan Bayliss and Jake Cinninger will help kick off the weekend with an intimate acoustic performance at Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox in Denver on Thursday, June 20th. Proceeds from the performance will benefit Conscious Alliance. That show is sold out.Tickets for Umphrey’s McGee’s three-night Red Rocks run are on sale now here.For more information and a full list of Umphrey’s McGee’s upcoming tour dates, head to the band’s website. read more

New York City’s most iconic sporting event and concert venue, Madison Square Garden, has announced its plans to partner with CLEAR to make for a more efficient entry screening process going forward.The Garden, as it is also known, announced its latest advanced entry initiative last month, which will see the venue utilizing the technology provided by the secure identity company for fast and easy access into venue events. According to the announcement, registered CLEAR members can expedite their entry into the venue through a dedicated entrance lane where, after the touch of their finger, can then enter The Garden for the physical security screening. CLEAR Ambassadors will be at the designated entrance to assist any fans with the one-time enrollment, which combines a person’s identification and biometrics via their fingerprint. Madison Square Garden is the 14th venue which will use CLEAR technology as a way to expedite the entry process during busy events.Related: See How Phish Made It Rain Inside Madison Square Garden With This New VideoThe main benefit to the addition to CLEAR is the option to head to the venue without the need for physical tickets, or even a wallet, as attendees can also use the technology to purchase food and drinks while simultaneously proving they are of legal age for alcohol purchases.“Launching at MSG represents a major milestone for CLEAR, and we look forward to making our members’ experience there more efficient, easier and more predictable so they don’t miss out on what they came to see,” CLEAR CEO Caryn Seidman Becker added in a statement to go with the announcement. “By adding The Garden to our growing New York City ecosystem, CLEAR members can now enjoy frictionless experiences at three iconic sports and entertainment venues and three key local-area airports with one biometric ID.”This news, of course, comes with plenty of concerns, mostly regarding who else out there could possibly gain access (granted or stolen) to the fingerprint identification information of anyone registered with the service–not to mention there’s now one more germ-filled device on which New Yorkers will now have to place their bare fingers. Other New York City locations which utilize CLEAR technology include Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, in addition to John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia Airports.Some of the notable upcoming events at Madison Square Garden which were just announced recently include Vampire Weekend, Vulfpeck, and Anderson .Paak. read more

On Monday, The Raconteurs (finally) announced a North American tour in support of their recently-announced album, Help Us Stranger, due out on June 21st via Third Man Records.The Raconteurs consist of Jack White, Brendan Benson, Jack Lawrence, and Patrick Keeler, and have been largely inactive since 2012. The new record will mark the Grammy Award-winners’ first album release in more than a decade, serving as a follow-up to 2008’s Consolers of the Lonely.Over the weekend, The Raconteurs headlined Jack White‘s Third Man Records‘ 10th-anniversary celebration in Nashville, TN, marking the quartet’s first live performance since 2011. The Raconteurs offered up the live debuts of “Bored and Razed”,  “Sunday Driver”, “Help Me Stranger”, and “Now That You’re Gone”, as well as a debut re-worked cover of Donovan‘s “Hey Gyp (Dig The Slowness)”, all of which will appear on the band’s forthcoming Help Us Stranger release.The Raconteurs have shared a recording of their cover of Donovan’s “Hey Gyp (Dig The Slowness)”, which was unveiled as part of the launch of Third Man Records’ new Bandcamp page. Listen to The Raconteurs take on “Hey Gyp (Dig The Slowness)” below:<a href=”http://theraconteurs.bandcamp.com/track/hey-gyp-dig-the-slowness”>Hey Gyp (Dig The Slowness) by The Raconteurs</a>In addition to previously-announced U.S. festival appearances at Woodstock 50 and Railbird, as well as an upcoming international tour, The Raconteurs have confirmed new North American dates that will span from July through October, highlighted by multi-night runs at the Tabernacle in Atlanta, GA (8/21-22); Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN (8/29-30); and Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, OK (10/13-14).Tickets to the North American headline dates go on-sale to the general public on Friday, April 12th at 10 a.m. local time.For tickets and more information on all tour dates, visit The Raconteurs’ website.THE RACONTEURS 2019 WORLD TOUR:April 16: Powerstation – Auckland, New Zealand (SOLD OUT)April 18: Regent Theatre – Melbourne, Australia (SOLD OUT)April 20: Big Top Sydney – Sydney, AustraliaApril 22: Bluesfest Byron Bay – Byron Bay, Australia *April 24: Akasaka Blitz – Tokyo, JapanApril 25: Akasaka Blitz – Tokyo, JapanMay 25: All Points East – London, UK *May 26: L’Olympia – Paris, France (SOLD OUT)May 27: Cirque Royal – Brussels, Belgium (SOLD OUT)May 28: E-Werk – Köln, GermanyMay 30: Verti Music Hall – Berlin, GermanyMay 31: Heartland Festival – Kværndrup, Denmark *June 1: Orange Warsaw Festival – Warsaw, Poland *June 2: Best Kept Secret Festival – Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands *July 12: Masonic Temple Theatre – Detroit, MIJuly 14: Eagles Ballroom – Milwaukee, WIJuly 15: Armory – Minneapolis, MNJuly 18: WaMu Theater at CenturyLink Field Events Center – Seattle, WAJuly 19: Queen Elizabeth Theatre – Vancouver, BCJuly 21: Edgefield – Troutdale, ORJuly 23: Fox Theater – Oakland, CAJuly 26: Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CAJuly 27: Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CAJuly 28: Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre – San Diego, CAAugust 10: Railbird Festival – Lexington, KY *August 11: Knoxville Civic Auditorium – Knoxville, TNAugust 12: Egyptian Room at Old National Centre – Indianapolis, INAugust 13: Stage AE (Indoors) – Pittsburgh, PAAugust 15: Agora Theatre – Cleveland, OHAugust 16: Woodstock 50 – Watkins Glen, NY *August 17: The Anthem – Washington, DCAugust 18: The Fillmore Charlotte – Charlotte, NCAugust 20: Township Auditorium – Columbia, SCAugust 21: Tabernacle – Atlanta, GAAugust 22: Tabernacle – Atlanta, GAAugust 29: Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TNAugust 30: Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TNSeptember 3: Red Hat Amphitheater – Raleigh, NCSeptember 6: Hammerstein Ballroom – New York, NYSeptember 7: Kings Theatre – Brooklyn, NYSeptember 9: House of Blues – Boston, MASeptember 12: Sony Centre for the Performing Arts – Toronto, ONSeptember 13: Express Live! Indoor Pavilion – Columbus, OHOctober 12: The Criterion – Oklahoma City, OKOctober 13: Cain’s Ballroom – Tulsa, OKOctober 14: Cain’s Ballroom – Tulsa, OKOctober 17: Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland – Kansas City, MOOctober 18: The Pageant – St. Louis, MO* denotes festival performanceView Tour Dates read more

Professor of Law Annette Gordon-Reed tackles one of the worst presidents in American history, claiming that his own racism was to blame for his shoddy performance during the Reconstruction era.